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Despite being heir to the throne, life had not come easy to Theseus. Things always seemed to find a way to work against him, so much is evident at this point. Standing between him and his final chance of escaping the cruelty that his brother the king subjected him to was Dream’s personal knight.
Sapnap had always been nicer than he was ever meant to be and the crown prince could only hope that the niceness carried over to this moment of betrayal.“Please,” Theseus said staring at the guard, blue eyes meeting dark brown. “I just need half an hour, please. I can't go back.” Sapnap sighed before lowering his sword to the ground.
“Fifteen minutes,” Sapnap said before brushing past Theseus, walking deeper into the castle. Theseus took a deep breath before scattering towards the castle doors. The rest of the guards wouldn’t be there at this time, none of the citizens dared to breach the castle and Dream would never expect his complacent protégé to attempt to escape.
It was surprisingly easy to leave. Theseus had never been off castle grounds before, the village that surrounded the castle was gorgeous despite the lack of sunlight to fully see the true beauty of the land he was meant to rule over. Despite the urge to stroll around and see all the sights, he knew he was working on borrowed time.
Once he had made it past the cluster of people setting up tents for the morning market, he broke into a sprint. Fifteen minutes wasn’t enough time to do much. It took him twenty to get to the edge of the village, and there was no way that Dream didn’t know that he was gone by that point. The man had told Tommy to be present in the throne room by dawn.
The sun was rising and he didn’t dare look behind him as he ran into the forest, far too afraid that Sapnap had lied and was right behind him. Logically, he knew that he would have heard the man’s footfalls if he had lied but there was no shame in the deep-rooted paranoia.
Theseus didn’t necessarily have a plan, he hadn’t expected to make it this far out honestly. Dream had this way of being three steps ahead of him. Theseus had spent the past few weeks sucking up to the king so that Dream would loosen his grasp over his life. It was successful in how the guards rarely patrolled outside of his door and his bruises have mostly faded.
There were lights ahead, a cozy cabin illuminated in the gaps between the trees. Theseus gasped and prayed to Lady Prime that news of the crown prince escaping hadn’t spread yet. He knocked on the dark oak door heavily, it was still quite early but he needed help as soon as possible.
A man opened the door, he was adorned in a dark green robe and his blonde hair was rustled. Theseus only felt slightly guilty for waking him. “Can I help you, mate?” His voice was gruff, sleep still present in the slight slur of his words.
Theseus stared at the man for a second, sky blue eyes meeting ocean blue. He wasn’t actually sure what he was meant to ask the man, his lack of preparation for this moment wasn’t the best, he had to work fast. “Sorry, is it possible if I could stay here for a while?” He would be caught if he continued through the forest, Dream’s men were far faster than he was and they’d likely take the horses. He’d probably have a better chance of waiting them out.
The chance that this man would lie to royal officials for him was low but it was practically his best bet at the moment. He was so fucked. The man stared at him for a few more seconds before speaking, “sure, come in.” He moved out of the way, holding the door open for Theseus. He asks if Theseus wants tea and the boy just nods awkwardly from his place by the newly shut door.
“What’s your name? I’m Phil.” Phil says once the kettle has been placed on the stove. He had to stand a little straighter to reach the second mug from its place on the third shelf. Theseus is slightly sure people know the prince’s name so that’s out the window. He watches Phil pull a box of teas out of the cupboard and contemplates a new name.
It’d probably have to be something simple, right? Were fancy names typically reserved for royalty and those of higher statuses? He knows he’s taking too long when he feels Phil’s eyes on him. “Sorry, zoned out, can you repeat the question?” He asks purely to stall. When Phil repeats the question Theseus reinvents himself. “My name is Tommy,” he states confidently and Phil smiles.
“That’s a great name.” Phil smiles as if he knows that Theseus, Tommy , had just come up with it on the spot. Which is rather assumptious of the man, he personally believes he makes a rather fine Tommy. Practically made to fill the shoes of a simple Thomas. Theseus had always been far too proper, gilded in fool's gold.
Phil hands The- Tommy a mug and the boy thanks him curtly. It’s not at all like the tea at the castle, ones that had been imported from somewhere off the mainland and tasted of little more than wealth. This tea was warm and tasted as it should. Or maybe Tommy was projecting and truly did need a hug and a quick escape.
There's a soft chime that fills the air and draws Phil’s attention away from Tommy. And while Tommy hadn’t exactly noticed the man’s attention on him, he was grateful that it was no longer there. Phil reached into his pocket and pulled out a communicator, pausing briefly when Tommy tensed at the sight of the device before it chimed again, drawing Phil’s attention once more.
The man’s eyebrow’s furrowed and Tommy couldn’t help but hold his breath. It wasn’t about him, it was okay, he was okay. For now, at the very least. Tommy takes another sip of tea but it’s far more bitter than the first sip was. “Is everything alright?” Tommy asks after a few moments of tense silence.
Phil looks up from the communicator and smiles slightly, it’s warm and gentle but it seems off in a way Tommy can’t quite place. “All good mate, just some work stuff.” Tommy just nodded in response, it truly wasn’t any of his business. A quiet shuffle pulls Tommy out of his thoughts, attention snapping towards the dark hallway behind him.
“Morning, Tech,” Phil says, grabbing another mug from the cabinet. He doesn’t pour tea in this one and the man, Tech– who has long pink hair and tusks that jut out from behind his bottom lip– shuffles past Tommy and towards the coffee pot on the corner of the kitchen counter.
The man pours himself a cup of coffee, forgoing any cream or sugar, and slumps against the counter. “There is a child in our kitchen.” Tommy bristles slightly because he is not a child. Or… maybe he is. Theseus isn’t a child, but that didn’t mean that Tommy couldn’t be. In the end, the blonde decides not to argue, purely to see how it feels to be a child. “Phil why is there a child in our kitchen?” The whiney tone the man uses takes away from his intimidating appearance and Tommy finds himself smiling.
“This is,” Phil pauses, eyes glancing over at the boy sitting at the table, “Tommy. He’s staying with us for a bit.” Tech straightens up slightly at the statement, or maybe at the way Phil stresses Tommy’s name. He’s not sure but it’s unsettling.
Dream had always told him that he talked too much. That he never really said the right things, just talked to fill the silence. Theseus took in Dream’s words as if they came from the gods themselves. Tommy thinks Dream can go fuck himself because the silence is stifling. “Did you know all the stars in the sky are bigger and brighter than the sun?”
Tech looks up from his mug, a confused expression painted on his face. “What?” He asked dumbfoundedly. Which was… fair Theseus was just a random kid who requested refugee in these guys’ house.
“The sun is just the closest star, and it’s actually a dwarf star! So there are like stars that are probably way bigger than our sun,” Tommy said, waving his hands around slightly to exaggerate his point.
Only after he recounted the fact did he notice that both the men were staring at him as if he had grown three heads. He dropped his hands into his lap and stared at his nearly empty cup of tea which was more than likely not hot anymore. “That’s interesting, mate. Do you know a lot about space?”
Tommy shook his head, his tutors had always focused more on what Dream called the ‘practical things.’ Space wasn’t practical enough for his brother, so he only knew a few facts.
Tech looked as if he was going to say something but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Tommy’s face paled and his eyes widened significantly. When the guards found him they were probably going to kill him, Dream wouldn’t waste his time getting his own hands dirty. Tech looked over to Phil as if they could communicate telepathically before nodding at the blonde man.
Phil sighed and walked towards the door to the kitchen and out the door. “So, what brings you here?” Tech asks, completely destroying Tommy’s chances of listening in on the conversation Phil was having.
“Traveling,” he says shortly, trying to avoid looking at the way Phil left. “Is Tech your full name?”
“Nah, it’s Technoblade.” Tommy resist the urge to scrunch his nose at the man’s name, Dream had always said he was too rude for his own good. “You can just call me Techno though.”
Well, really Dream had told Theseus that he was always too rude for his own good and there wasn’t a Theseus in the cabin right now. So Tommy, who thinks all the manner classes the crown prince had to take were a complete scam, says with his full chest, “that is such a shit name, big man. I’m so sorry your parents hate you.”
The pink haired man practically spit out his coffee at Tommy’s comment before letting out a questioning ‘heh’ with wide eyes. Tommy just smiled in response. It was going to be a lot of fun to be Tommy— to be a kid.
When Phil returns, his mouth is set in a fine line and he motions for Techno to follow him before heading to one of the rooms in the back, leaving Tommy alone. It was weird in a way— his first time being alone as his new self. His first time being alone as someone who could be his true self.
Tommy didn’t get much time to revel in the thought as the two men came back, a third with untamed brunette hair and a wild smile trailing after them. “You said you were travelling, mate?” Phil asked, moving Tommy’s attention from the new addition. Tommy nods in response and it feels like a trap.
The brunette moves forward, his communicator in hand. Tommy is well aware that this is a trap, it feels like when Dream puts on a soft and saccharine voice but the conversation ends with Theseus bruised to hell and back. “I’m Wilbur,” the man states before flipping over his communicator for Tommy to see a picture of himself, draped in the kingdom’s wealth with the words missing above it. “And you’re the crown prince, isn’t that right, Theseus?”
Tommy stands from where he was sitting at the island and takes a step away from the men. “What do you want?” He asks, hoping— praying — that this is a situation he can buy his way out of. He hasn’t had a proper chance to be a kid yet, he’s barely just begun to be Tommy.
Wilbur cocks his head to the side before taking a step forwards. “What could you possibly give us, Theseus?” Wilbur asks, ignoring the small correction of ‘ Tommy ’ the boy spits out. “You’re just a spoiled prince who ran out of rebellion, there’s no way you brought anything of value.”
Tommy knew it was a trap, he knew and he didn’t do anything. Why didn’t he do anything? He’s backed up as far as he can and Wilbur is still approaching. “That’s what they’ll say about you, you know? That you were too good for them.” Wilbur’s close enough to touch him now, so the man does. “They’ll never see you as we see you now.” The hand cupping his face wipes away a tear Tommy wasn’t even aware had fallen. “Battered and bruised, just a kid.”
“We can keep you safe,” Phil says and Tommy had no clue when the man had gotten so close. “All you have to do is be ours.”
“Yours?” Tommy questioned, looking at Phil the best he could with Wilbur still holding his face in place. He was vaguely aware of Techno leaning against the wall, just watching all of this occur.
“Ours,” Wilbur confirmed moving his head so that he was making eye contact with the brunette. “My little brother, our family.” And didn’t that sound nice? To abandon Dream as a brother and gain a new family so soon— to find a way to bridge the gap so quickly.
“Yours,” Tommy said leaning into Wilbur’s grasp. And with that, his fate was sealed.