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When Wilbur and Technoblade were six years old, they were taught what to do if they ever got kidnapped or taken hostage.
Wilbur never considered that to be very odd, but then again he'd never left the palace much either. He supposed the children of commoners wouldn't be learning how to undo ropes when their hands were tied behind their backs or how to negotiate with enemy troops. There was inherent danger in being a prince. There were people out there who would hate them for their blood, for the family they were born into.
There were people who would harm them if they had the chance.
And Wilbur knew that. And he'd been taught what to do against it. How to defend himself and get out of tough spots and sell his soul for loyalty to his country.
But there was such a large difference between being told about these things and actually experiencing them.
The gag inside his mouth made breathing hard. The blindfold over his eyes stole his sight from him, Wilbur only knew they were being taken somewhere from the way the cart rocked beneath him. Every tremor of it hitting a hole in the road was shaking his entire body. He pinched his eyes closed beneath the cloth, a sound building in his throat that might be too similar to a whine.
He felt Techno's hand close around his. His skin was cold.
Straining against the metal that kept his arms chained behind him, Wilbur gripped back hard.
After what felt like an eternity, the cart came to a stop. Silence fell over them and Wilbur swore the wooden surface rocked slightly as the men in the front got off. In the seconds that followed, he could feel the sweat dripping down his neck, the splinters digging into his shoulder. He could feel Techno's pulse through his wrist, his heartbeat as fast as Wilbur's own.
At six years old, they were taught what to do if they ever got kidnapped. A decade had passed and every single lesson had evaporated from Wilbur's mind, replaced by a clawing, horrible fear.
He heard the fabric flap at the back of the cart be pulled up and then somebody yanked on his leg. Wilbur tried kicking at the person who was trying to grab him, but his ankles were also chained together and he couldn't reach far. He was dragged out of the cart and thrown onto the ground, blood filling his mouth as he hit his chin hard enough to bite into his tongue automatically. Wilbur choked on it, spitting against the gag.
"Get up!" A kick landed against his stomach. Wilbur curled up tighter, his entire world narrowing down to a sharp cloud of pain that made it hard to think. His senses dulled, faded out of focus. He hardly noticed when he was grabbed by the shoulders and forced onto his feet.
They were brought inside some place, but without being able to see Wilbur wouldn't be able to tell exactly where they were being taken. He was completely helpless to do anything except get pushed along, down a set of stairs that almost made him stumble. Eventually, he was forced to sit down on a damp stone floor, then another harsh tug on his arms followed as the chain was fastened to a wall.
Finally, the blindfold was pulled away.
Wilbur had to squint at the light that stung his eyes, vision a bit blurry because of it. Gloved fingers hooked into the cloth still in his mouth, ripping it away. Immediately Wilbur bent over and coughed, spitting the blood still stuck in his throat onto the ground. He blinked and looked around, trying to take in where he was.
A dungeon… not the most comforting of sights.
Techno was chained to the wall next to him in a similar position. Once he saw his twin brother, Wilbur couldn't rip his eyes away, suddenly trying to take in every bruise on Techno's skin and allowing those to fuel his anger. They were ambushed while on the road, thrown off their horses and into the dirt. The usually so neat braid of Techno's hair had come half undone and he had a cut on his forehead. His clothes were all messed up, though Wilbur couldn't imagine he looked much better.
They really were in some deep, deep shit.
Satisfied that Techno wasn't hurt beyond getting a bit roughed up thanks to their captors, Wilbur shifted his attention to the men who brought them there. The one closest to him was wearing full armor. The blazon on their chest was that of the rebellion that had been popping up in the southern regions. Wilbur couldn't bring himself to be surprised considering how much they'd heard of this group in the passing months. Their father had been kept busy dealing with their attacks on small settlements on the outreaches of the Antarctic Empire and despite him saying Wilbur and Technoblade were too young to be in the thick of the war, they'd been allowed to attend a few of the war meetings that had been taking place.
Still, Wilbur had not pegged them as the type of people who would be bold enough to make a move like this.
"Our father will have your head for this," Techno said. His voice sounded rough, cracking a bit on the syllables. Wilbur swallowed and his own throat felt like sandpaper.
The general who was kneeling in front of Techno pulled his arm back and slapped him across the face.
"I'd like to see him try." They spat at Techno's feet.
Techno didn't respond, but Wilbur could see him staring daggers at the man as he straightened his back and walked away. With a short gesture, he beckoned the other soldiers to follow him out.
Then the door to the dungeon fell closed behind them and there was only darkness and the sound of their ragged breathing. The sunlight that fell through a small crack beneath the door barely allowed them to see each other through the dimness.
"Wasn't 'don't aggravate your kidnappers' the first thing they taught us in those lessons forever ago," Wilbur managed to say, licking his bloodied lips. "Shame on you, Technoblade. You're supposed to be the studious one."
"Shut up," Techno said with a laugh, dropping his head back against the wall.
Yes, their situation was terrible, but the humor seemed to come naturally to them. Maybe if Wilbur pretended he didn't feel like they were in the deepest shit imaginable, he wouldn't think of what could happen to them next.
"Thank the gods Tommy wasn't with us when we got nabbed," Techno said casually. He was doing the same thing, making light of the situation to keep their nerves from fraying.
"Can you imagine?" Wilbur asked. "He'd be insufferable to deal with. Worse than any torture they're going to inflict on us."
Techno chuckled. "Don't jinx it, Wil."
Wilbur's nails scratched at the ground a bit. "Do you think that's what they're going to do? We're hostages, right? They're not going to… you know-"
He didn't know if he should finish that sentence.
"Maybe," Techno answered. As if it hadn't even occurred to him to lie. But then he followed it up with, "everything will be fine, Wilbur."
You don't know that, Wilbur thought. But maybe there was such a thing as too much honesty.
"Yeah…" He exhaled. "Yeah, everything will be fine. We just have to wait."
It's not like they had much of a choice in the matter.
Time was hard to tell in their prison. Wilbur didn't try to count how often the sunlight would disappear and then come back. Sometimes, he fell asleep. Sometimes, he was kept awake with nervous energy pulling at every inch of his body.
They weren't fed anything except bread, which was concerning in its own right. Hunger gnawed at the inside of his stomach. But Techno never complained so Wilbur didn't want to either. It felt like such a stupid thing to make a fuss about. They got just enough water and food to survive. They were being kept alive and that should be all that mattered.
But the fact that they weren't told anything was driving Wilbur up the walls.
It must have been over a week since they were taken and their captors hadn't spoken more than a word to them. They were just sitting there, chained up and waiting. At least they'd done them the decency of unlocking their arms long enough to pull them to the front before restraining them again. That way, they could keep the dignity of feeding themselves.
"What do you think is happening out there?" Wilbur asked. He felt tired, pulling his legs up to his chest so he could rest his chin on his knees. His back hurt from sleeping on the ground but that also felt stupid to complain about.
That didn't make Wilbur miss his bed any less.
"Probably dad tearing their pathetic army a new one," Techno said. He shrugged, the chains pulling on his arms with the movement. "I never knew being taken hostage could be this boring."
Wilbur didn't say anything, but he would agree. There was a helplessness in sitting around doing nothing. Whenever their captors came, they could hurl insults to their heads (because, yeah, that whole 'don't aggravate them' lesson pretty much went out the window as soon as they'd gotten bored with the situation) but it's not like that fixed anything.
With a sigh, he leaned forward.
"We just have to wait," Techno said again. Wilbur must have heard those exact words a hundred times by then. He was almost starting to get a bit irritated.
"What for?" he asked, not able to keep the annoyance from slipping into his voice.
"Anything," Techno said.
The door to their cell opened.
Wilbur flinched at the sudden brightness - he always did - which tore a hiss from his throat. Three men came in, that seemed to be their routine. There were always three of them. As if even chained up and underfed, they wanted to outnumber the royal family as some kind of powerplay. Fucking weirdos.
Wilbur didn't hesitate to curse them out.
"Took you fucking long enough today. You realize we're starving right."
In truth, he had no particular feelings about when they came in there. Wilbur couldn't give a shit. It was simply cathartic to be able to do something, even if that something was run his mouth.
Techno looked at him and almost smiled. Wilbur's antics brought him more amusement than anything else.
One of the soldiers came forward to give them their daily ration of bread and water.
"Are you finally going to tell us what the fucking point of this is?" Wilbur asked, looking them straight in the face with a scowl. The man stared back at him, before starting to put the plates on the ground within arm's reach of the two princes.
"Don't concern yourself with that," they said in a gruff voice. "It's none of your business."
And for some reason, that was more than Wilbur could take.
"Like hell it is!" He lashed out with his leg, managing to kick one of the plates from their hand. It went clattering across the cobblestone. The soldier cursed, their hand probably hurting from the heel of Wilbur's boots. His chest was full of vindictive pleasure. Even if it didn't do anything in the long run, it felt good to push back a little.
Or it did until another one of the guys stepped forward.
"You'd think all the starvation had tempered that attitude of yours," the general huffed, irritated. They reached forward, grabbing the front of Wilbur's shirt. "But if you want to play games, we can play games, little boy."
The first punch hit him against the cheek. The pain blossomed sharp and sudden, an explosion across his temple. They picked Wilbur up again to hit him again.
"Stop it!" Techno screamed but he went ignored.
Wilbur's head snapped in the other direction with the second hit. Then another, and another. The taste of his own blood in the back of his throat was becoming a much too familiar thing. When they let go of him, he sagged onto the ground.
"Know your place," they said simply, looking down at him like Wilbur was a piece of filth under their shoes.
"Fuck you," Wilbur replied vehemently as he pushed himself upright. Spit dribbled down the side of his face, tinged red. "I'll enjoy seeing my father put you and all your pathetic men on the gallows."
The general simply tilted his head. His grin didn't falter and that in itself might be more frightening than any other reaction he could have.
"You're a feisty one. Let's put that energy to good use."
They reached for him again and instinctively Wilbur pulled back, trying to make himself smaller. To get away from their touch. But he couldn't go anywhere.
They hauled him up. "Bring me the keys."
Wilbur could only blink, still too sluggish from the battering to realize they were undoing the chains. They were-
"Stop!" Techno repeated, but there was a desperation in his voice, tight and painful. Wilbur had never heard his brother sound this scared. "Leave him alone!"
"He's not who you should be worrying about."
Wilbur was turned around and shoved back to his knees in front of Techno. Something was thrown onto the ground before him.
It was a tasseled horsewhip.
"Wh-What?" Wilbur couldn't speak. He couldn't-
"Use it." The general kicked softly against his knees. Not even enough to hurt, just a little nudge to tell Wilbur to move. "You have so much energy left to give. Use it on him."
Wilbur couldn't respond before Techno did. "Do it, Wilbur."
His head shot up. Techno was looking at him with a steely gaze, set in determination. The blood felt like it was clogging up Wilbur's throat.
"No-"
"I'd rather have you do it than one of them," Techno said - voice wavering. Not scared, not for his own safety. For Wilbur's.
"No!" Wilbur couldn't do anything. Fingers wrapped around the back of his neck, pushing him until he was bent double.
"You either do this or we kill you. We only need one of you brats alive to keep your father in line. So get on with it!"
"Wilbur, please!" Techno insisted.
And Wilbur's world felt like it was trembling on its very foundations. He should have kept his fucking mouth shut.
His hands were weak but he reached out for the handle, scratching the rough leather against his palm. He was shaking his head, even as he was pulled up onto his feet by the general.
Techno was looking right at him with those blue, blue eyes and Wilbur felt like he was going to puke.
"Go ahead!" The hold on his neck tightened, nails digging into his skin. Wilbur barely registered it. "Now!"
"It's okay, Wilbur," Techno said. "It's okay."
It was like watching somebody else do it. The leather flayed open the scarred over cut on Techno's brow. Then the second lash split his lip. Techno didn't make a noise except a small grunt on each impact before he raised his chin.
The general pushed Wilbur forward. "Come on! Do it like you mean it!"
Wilbur was close to sobbing. He couldn't breathe.
Fingers were threading through Techno's hair, forcing his head back and exposing his throat. Fresh flesh for the whip to dig into, to massacre.
"I can't..." Wilbur tried, smothered.
"Wil-" Techno coughed. His nose and mouth were full of blood.
Wilbur continued.
The whip fell from his hands when they started shaking too much for Wilbur to hold it. The general let go of them and stepped back, watching Techno hunch over bleeding, watching him cough and choke. Wilbur's vision was a blurry mess of tears.
With a nod, the soldiers stepped forward to chain Wilbur to the wall again. They left without another word, not even bothering to pick up the filthy whip from the floor.
And just like that it was over.
Shock was making everything feel fuzzy and unreal, so Wilbur didn't even move until he heard Techno hacking, spitting more blood out on the ground.
"Techno," Wilbur tried to reach out, tried to help. But he was restrained again. He couldn't do anything.
He'd already done enough.
After another few strained inhales, Techno finally sat back against the wall. Wilbur wished he could stop hearing the rattling sound of his breathing. "I'm-" Techno swallowed. The frown on his face was barely visible under the lacerations. "I'm okay."
Techno's throat and upper chest were a mess too, one of his eyes was glued shut by sticky globs of blood. He could probably go blind in it. Even if not, these wounds were sure to leave scars.
Wilbur hung his head.
"I'm sorry," he said. He didn't feel the tears streaking down his face. Only knew they were there because they fell onto his legs and he could see the dark spots on his pants. "Techno, fuck, I'm sorry, I'm-"
There was a light rattling of the chain as Techno scooted closer to him, wincing when the effort hurt him. Wilbur could feel Techno's hand wrap around his own. His skin was warm and slick with blood.
He didn't have the strength in him to squeeze back.
"It's okay Wilbur," Techno said. After that, he just kept quiet, in too much pain to speak.
Together they sat there and returned to waiting.