Chapter Text
The sword swung down, killing yet another criminal. Public executions like these were mandatory to attend, probably to scare the population into staying in line. Jude didn't mind the show much, he wasn't afraid or sickened by the blood. He was a trapper, tasked with building traps to keep the kingdom safe, both on a battlefield and in the kingdom itself. He was a part of the Strength Smp, one of the most powerful Kingdom there was and currently they were in war so Jude had been busy.
“Yo Jude, shows over time to get back to work” a voice behind him called out. Jude didn't even need to turn to know that it was Parker, head of all the trappers and one of his best friends.
“Yeah yeah im going” Jude tore his gaze away from the colosseum, and towards the waiting enderman hybrid. “BTW, I've finished the last trap you gave me to build, got any new ones?”
“Oh you did? Good cuz I just got some new orders given to me.” Parker pulled at Jude’s, leading him out of the colosseum and onto a dirt path. “Follow me back to my base so you can pick the one you want.” As they walked, they talked about the war, how they were doing and any other subject that came to mind. Jude hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Parker much ever since the war, he missed talking to him. Jude let his mind wander, thinking of all the adventure they had shared and all the close calls they had been through.
“Yo dreamer, wake up, we’re here” Jude quickly snapped out of his thoughts to find that they had indeed arrived at Parker's base, he entered the house and walked over to Parker’s study. Jude was familiar with the layout as he had been here many times, Parker entered the study behind him and started looking through his desk. He searched for a while until he pulled out a stack of net cards and spread them out on the desk.
“Here, I've gotten 10 new orders, you can pick the one you want.”
Oh the benefits of being friends with the head trapper, he got to pick what he wanted to do and didn't get stuck with the boring traps. He looked through cards on the desk, sand traps, knock backs, four by fours nothing special really. He let out a sigh, wondering which to pick, he didn't really have a preference for one or the other, they were all the same to him. He eventually picks a random card, a push and pull trap. Well that was easy to make and he could return home early tonight.
“Wonderful, well that’s all Jude, wish I could talk to you more but I got to go.” Parker packed up the rest of the cards, shoving them into his pocket. They both walked out the base, exchanging a quick goodbye before going their separate ways. Jude was heading back to his base to get the material he needed, thankfully a push and pull wasn't the most expensive thing to make and he probably had all the materials needed. He was walking, lost in thought until he bumped into someone, causing him to fall to the ground. Well to be clear they ran into him, he was minding his business when they ran round the corner straight into him.
Jude looked up annoyed, ready to shout at the idiot that knocked him down to be met with a stupidly pretty face that he definitely did NOT have a small crush on. It was Sharpness, of course it was Sharpness why was he not even surprised. Sharpness, despite his name, wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, a fact he learned back when they were teamed up and this fact was also on display right now. Instead of helping Jude up or even laughing at him, Sharp just stared down at the rabbit hybrid, a look of pure confusion plastered on his face.
“Are you gonna keep looking at me or are you gonna help me up.” At the trapper’s words, Sharp immediately stretched out his hand towards Jude. The rabbit rolled his eyes at the other but accepted his help. Jude often wonders how someone so empty headed could be the best sword man in the Kingdom. Yep somehow Sharp was as dense as a brick but the second a sword was in his hands he transformed to a mastermind in combat. It was as if the blonde had put all his skill points into combat and forgot to upgrade anything else.
“I'm sorry Judey I didn't see you there” The swordmaster’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Yeah yeah its fine” he replied before resuming his walk towards his base. After a few steps he stopped and turned around looking up at Sharp
“Why are you following me?”
“I'm bored I don't know what to do”
“You can maybe train, there's a war you know”
“There's a war?”
Yeah scratch that, Sharp wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed because he wasn't even in the shed. How did he not know that his kingdom was in a war? While being a fighter? Jude ignored the blonde and kept walking towards his base. Sharpness or no Sharpness he had a job to do and he refused to be held back. Unsurprisingly the blonde followed him all the way back, even when Jude had grabbed the material he needed and made his way to the trap location Sharp was still by his side.
“Look im trying to build a trap and you can't be here, you’ll just get in my way”
“Jude are you kicking me out?”
“Yes”
“But what am I supposed to do, where am I supposed to go?”
“Not my problem, I have a job to do and can't be entertaining you.”
The blonde man huffed, crossing his arms looking at Jude with pleading eyes but Jude held firm. He was not going to be manipulated by Sharp, he needed to get this trap done and he needed to do so quickly. He wanted to go back to his base and sleep in peace and Sharp certainly didn't fit that picture.
“Fine” Sharp suddenly said, uncrossing his arms, “but don't come looking for me when you're in the same situation” and before Jude could even reply he was gone. Running away across the field Jude was setting his trap up in.
Well, Jude wasn't going to bother himself with Sharp’s antics, he immediately busied himself with building the trap. He worked at lighting speed and the trap that was supposed to take him four hours to build, was already half done in an hour. He wiped sweat off his brow as he surfaced from the hole below. He was tired and had worked hard today, a little nap wouldn't hurt anyone, he deserved it.
He found shelter under one of the few trees nearby, despite it being late into the afternoon the sun was still hot. Sitting as comfortable as he could, he rested his head on the tree behind him before drifting into a peaceful sleep.
Jude woke up with a jump to his communicator buzzing inside his pocket. Angry and annoyed he fished it out to see who was messaging him. He noticed a few angry texts from Sharp from earlier that day that he had ignored and a few new texts from Parker.
Parker whispers to you: Hey Jude, are you done with your trap yet?
Parker whispers to you: When you do, swing by here, there was a massive trap accident with one of our younger trappers.
Parker whispers to you: Big explosion, gonna take a long, long while to clean up and we need all the help we can get.
Parker whispers to you:
You whispers to Parker: Are you fucking seriouse?
You whisper to Parker: Bro my day is ruined
You whisper to Parker: Fine I'll be there when im done but just know that I'm pissed
Parker whispers to you: Thanks buddy <3
Jude shoved his communicator back into his pocket angrily, so much for a peaceful day. Now he had to go clean up this kid's mistake and by the sound of it it would take hours. He stood up from under the tree, returning to his traps to complete it. As he worked he was lost in thought, sulking about his unexpected task. Well maybe Parker was exaggerating. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he made it seem. Either way he had to quickly finish here so he could go see for himself.
And he did work quickly. He finished the trap in three hours despite his earlier nap. Jude scanned around the finished trap, testing it a few times to make sure it worked well. He hopped down the hole one last time to double check like the perfectionist he was. He stood there for a second, imagining how perfect his life would have been right now if he didn't need to go clean up that stupid kid's mess-
“Jude! Jude!”
A desperate voice pulled him out of his thoughts, climbing out of the finished trap he looked around and spotted the source of the voice. It was Sharpness, what the hell was he doing? Why was he here?
“Over here” the trapper waved his arms in the air so Sharpness could see. The blonde man ran over immediately panic filling his actions. Before Jude could say a word, he was already in the trap lying down flat on his stomach and covering himself with dirt.
“Sharp what the hell are yo- ow!” the man beneath him had given him a quick jab to his leg. Jude looked down and a flicker of annoyance crossed his face. What was his problem today? First he bumps into him on his way home, making him fall, then he comes barging into his trap and now he is hitting him for no reason. Safe to say that Jude was pissed, he didn't feel like dealing with whatever trouble Sharp had gotten himself into on top of his already shitty day.
“Ok what was that for. I'm not in the mood for games Sharp”
“Shush! Keep your voice low.”
“And would I do that, Sharpness!” Jude practically yelled out the last word and the blonde shot him a look of pure desperation and panic. A feeling of curiosity bloomed in his heart. What could have possibly happened to make Sharp this afraid? His life had been boring for the past couple of weeks so he didn't mind a bit of chaos from Sharp. Still he should be careful, Parker and some of his other friends have been telling him to distance himself from the swordmaster. Telling him that all Sharp ever brought was trouble, and he couldn't exactly say that they were wrong. But it was the feeling of trouble, excitement that he carved.
“Please” a low voice pulled Jude out of his thoughts. Sharpness was staring up at Jude with glassy eyes “I'll tell you everything but please, if someone comes by asking for me just say you haven't seen me.”
Despite all instinct telling him to refuse, to kick Sharp out of the trap and save himself the trouble, Jude nodded. He’ll never learn. No matter how many punishments from the king, no matter how many disapproving glances from others, no matter how many warnings from his friends the lesson just wouldn't click. A moth to a flame, that's what Parker and Tai said and they weren't wrong.
The sound of hooves reached his ears. Remember Sharpness's words, Jude glanced down at the blonde covered in dirt, scoffing at his pathetic attempt to hide. Yeah despite his name, Sharpness was definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed. Anyone with a working pair of eyes would immediately spot him on the floor. Nudging him with the toe of his boot he leaned down to his ear and hiss.
“Sharp honestly your hiding spot is terrible you'll be caught at once. Go down that ladder to the kill chamber and hide. Do NOT touch anything.”
The blonde quickly nodded and raced down the latter, vanishing from Jude's sight. Jude then immediately started pretending to play with some Redstone in his trap. The sound of the horses drew nearer until they stopped right above him. The trapper immediately claimed out of the hole he was in to greet the new commers, bowing his head in a polite gesture.
“Oh hey Jude” it was Leek, a friend of his but also one of the top hunters in the kingdom.
“Hi Leek wsp?”
“Nothing much, have you seen a person in all black run by per chance?” Huh Leek was looking for someone in all black, well Sharp was dressed like that so they are for sure looking for him.
“Nope, haven't seen anyone in ages, why” Jude looks at Leek with a calm expression, lying through his teeth.
“Well… I shouldn't be telling you this but… someone stole the sword.” Never mind, Sharp wouldn't do something that stupid, they couldn't be looking for him.
“The sword? No way like that sword?”
“Yep that sword.”
“Like the ancient, most powerful sword in our kingdom, sword?”
“Yep that one.”
“Who the hell would do that?”
“Well apparently the guy I'm chasing would.”
“That's insane, well good luck, Leek. I hope you catch that bastard soon.”
“Thanks, talk to you later Jude.”
Jude hopped back into his trap in his daze, mind still spinning with the information that Leek shared. Who is crazy enough to even attempt to steal it, not to talk about actually succeeding in taking it. Well not like that mattered much, the King had a compass that pointed at the sword at all times, and he was returning any minute now from the battlefield. Whoever was the thief was bound to get caught, and Jude was going to make sure he got a front row seat.
“Umm hello? Jude?.”
Oh yeah he kinda forgot that Sharp was still here with him. Before the other could even open his mouth, Jude had already begun bombing him with questions.
“Yo did you hear what Leek just told me?”
“Who the hell would even think of doing ts?”
“Nah whoever it is is 100% dead.”
“Dont you agree Sharp.”
The rabbit after blowing off some steam finally looked at Sharpness, waiting for a reply. Wait, was Sharp's face always this pale? And he's shaking a bit, is he cold? And the way he's avoiding my eyes? That's funny, nothing suspicious right? Right?
“Uhh Jude I have something to tell you, please don't freak out.”
Oh no. Nothing good ever followed after that sentence. Jude played with the hem of his shirt nervously, I mean it couldn't be that bad. It's not like Sharpness was the one who stole the sword.
“Sure man wsp”
“I umm.. I accidentally stole the sword.” The last part was mumbled and Jude wondered for a second if he had misheard the man.
“What was that? I didn't hear you right the first time.”
“I said I stole the sword.” Sharpness repeated louder, avoiding Jude’s gaze.
“YOU WHAT!”
“Im sorry Jude, it was an accident”
“How the hell do you accidentally steal the legendary Frostwalker sword the most powerful sword in the kingdom that is heavily guarded at all times?”
“I didn't know, it was a stupid bet.”
“Who on earth would give you such a bet.”
“I don't know”
“What do you mean you don't know.”
“I just found a piece of paper on the ground with some instructions.”
“And you just blindly followed them?”
Sharp hung his head in shame, face devoid of the cocky expression he always seemed to wear. Jude started pacing in the small space, muttering to himself under his breath. Sharp stood awkwardly unsure of what to do, when suddenly, the rabbit stopped his pacing to look at Sharp. One hand was still tangled in his hair as he narrowed his eyes at the swordmaster.
“Sharp”
“Yes,” he answered, staring at the ground.
“Where’s the sword”
“What sword?” Sharpness’s back was suddenly slammed against the dirt wall behind him. He looked up in surprise to be met with Jude’s cold gaze, devoid of the warmth it usually held.
“Dont pay dumb with me Sharpness. Where did you put the Frostwalker” Jude voice was low with barely suppressed anger.
“Its in my inventory”
“Bullshit, we all know that legendary weapons can't be stored in our inventory."
“Ok ok, I’ll tell you just please hear me out first and don't get mad.”
“Too late for that, I'm already mad.”
“Umm.. well the thing is i hid it.”
“Where did you hid it”
“I can’t tell you,” Sharp said after a pause. Was it just him or did Sharp seem to look really guilty at the mention of where he put the sword? Well he should feel guilty he had really gotten into a lot of trouble and Jude was not gonna get dragged into it this time.
“Fine dont tell me, I dont even wanna know, i have better things to do than talking to you at this moment.” Jude started climbing out the trap to leave but Sharpness caught his ankle, locking him in place.
“What do you want now?” Jude turned to look down at the other with impatience, not even bothering to try and hide it from his face and voice. Below him, Sharp shifted nervously on his feet, biting his lip while staring at the ground. This was one of the first times Jude had seen Sharpness look so down. It made Jude panic all the more at what else he had to say.
“I'm sorry Jude” he finally said “Please dont hate me, please don't snitch on me when the time comes…”
Ok now Jude really was panicking. “Fuck you mean when the time comes?” Sharp just looked at his feet, not giving him a single reply. “Actually dont tell me, i don’t wanna know I'm leaving.” Shaking free from Sharpness’s grip, the rabbit sprinted away not daring to look back. His mind was still swirling with questions when he got to the coordinates Parker sent, what was that about? He knew Sharp was not the brightest but this was a new low even for him.
“Whats up with you? You've been quiet ever since you arrived here.”
Parker looked at him with sincere eyes and for a second Jude wanted to tell him everything that had happened, but he paused. If he told Parker, Parker would surely tell one of the officials in the kingdom and if that happened Sharpness was fucked. He might pretend (and actually) to hate the swordmaster from time to time but he didn't want him to get hurt. Unlike him, Sharpness had a bright future ahead of him and Jude didn't want to take it away.
“Nothing wrong with me, just pissed that I have to be here,” he said looking up at Parker giving him a small smile.
Parker laughed and threw an arm round his shoulder “Aww the lil bunny wants to go back home?” He mocked. Jude shrugged off Parker’s arm and stepped away from him.
“Firat of all, im a rabbit not a bunny”
“Same thing” Parker interrupted
Jude shot him a weak glare before continuing “And second, yes I do wanna go back home.”
“Dont worry, we’ll be done soon”
And Parker was right, they were done in less than an hour but as Jude returned home he found himself wishing that it had taken longer. Alone in his room, he was now forced to face reality. Sharpness had hidden the Frostwalker somewhere and soon all of the kingdom’s guards would be on the look out. Maybe Parker was right, he should distance himself from the other for a bit, at least until this all blows over. The problem was, he couldn't seem to stay away from the blonde for too long. All throughout the day he would catch himself daydreaming about him, from his blonde hair to his green eyes, Sharpness absolutely captivated his attention. Jude let out an annoyed groan as he rolled over in his bed, he was too far gone and he knew it. A bit of a hopeless romantic if he did say so himself. The logical part of him was screaming to leave Sharpness, forget about him and find someone else who would love him back, but another part, the emotional part still couldn't let go.
Unable to take it anymore, the rabbit got out of bed and slipped out of his house to go for a short walk. Technically he wasn't supposed to be out at this hour but Jude didn't care. He couldn't stand another minute lying down in bed, trapped in his thoughts. The night air danced around him, cooling his overheating brain. He already knew the answer to his dilemma, but it wasn't one he wanted to accept. Jude stared up into the night sky in annoyance, weather he liked the answer or not he knew what he had to do.
Jude had to cut Sharpness off. Whether permanently or not he did know but he did know this… Sharp has got to go.