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ice-cap-k · 8 months ago

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*I Always Had Been Partial to the Color Blue (Part 1)

Hey! Got a new story for part of the 2024 MCYT Horror Gift exchange ( @mcythorrorgiftexchange ). This is for the amazing @spicypotstickerbliss. I hope I did your request justice. I went a little wild with the prompt...

It's longer than my old whumptober stuff, so feel free to read it on AO3 here: I Always Had Been Partial to the Color Blue

CH 2

__________________________________________

“Keep running, Tommy!”

“But Wil-” “Don’t talk! Just Run!”

I shoved Tommy’s shoulder. I had meant to give him a boost, but he teetered mid-step and I panicked, digging my fingers into his shirt to keep him from falling forward. I didn’t let go. Couldn’t let go. It almost felt like I was dragging him forward, but his feet kept moving and he stayed in front of me. We were running as fast as our legs could carry us, even if my lungs burned and my feet were numb with cold.

The cold. It seeped through my coat and fought against the heat wafting off my skin, the uncomfortable difference between hot and cold practically stinging me. Ultimately, though, it felt good. Like it was the only thing keeping me from passing out.

Tommy was only in his T-shirt and trousers. The petulant child had refused to put on something warmer when we first left the house to go see Tubbo. Then again, neither of us had imagined we would have gotten chased off the main path through the woods.

This was only meant to be a short trip.

Awoooooooooooooo!!

That sounded like a wolf.

It wasn’t a wolf.

The howl was coming from right behind us. The baying of beasts calling for both of our blood had picked up in tempo. They knew that the two of us would have to tire soon. We couldn’t outrun them forever. How long had we even been running? Minutes? It felt like an eternity.

Our only saving grace was the snow. As much as it weighed on my feet and made it more difficult to put one foot in front of the other, it seemed to be even more troublesome for our pursuers.

When I dared to look back, just for a second, I caught sight of burning pink eyes and steam emanating off of brimstone tentacles. Something hissed and growled like an angry cat when one of Tommy’s steps kicked up a spray of slush and hit one of the figures following us square in the face. Claws flashed, and red pulsed purple-black, it fell behind another few steps, and I looked away, trying not to gag. There wasn’t time to stop and worry about losing the contents of my stomach.

“What the fuck?!! Wil! There, look! ” Tommy grabbed my wrist where I was still gripping his shoulder and pointed. I didn’t have time to see what he was referring to when he wrenched my arm to the side. Now he was the one pulling me.

I stumbled over the snow, nearly running face-first into a low-hanging branch. “Tommy, I-” I cut myself off this time. Despite being fully aware of the things breathing down the back of my neck and swiping at my heels, it dawned on me that there was light up ahead. Tommy was still pointing, though the action was pretty shaky considering the fact that we were running. He wasn’t the best at holding steady, even on a good day, but throw in the need to dodge around trees and uneven footing down a hill in the woods meant Tommy was actually kind of all over the place. I followed the line of his finger as best as I could to the center of the blue light flickering and flaring down the slope ahead of us.

“Is that a castle?” I asked between heavy breaths.

That was the only thing I could think to call the massive building tucked away at the bottom of the valley. It was a crooked thing, made up of stone bricks stacked up on top of each other. The blocky center build took up most of the space with steeped roofs and swooping arches, while turrets that looked more tacked on than anything rounded out the corners. Long, tunnel-like wings swept off the sides and followed a frozen river that cut through the trees. The slate and copper-lined roof was sunken in places and completely collapsed in others. Vines and moss threatened to overtake the lower walls as if the forest was reclaiming it.

Still, there was light. Torchlight. Lamp lights. Fires. Blue lights glowing behind windows that could have still had glass, or been covered over with paper for all that I could make out. Bright blue lanterns marked a small path of inlaid wood steps leading up to a front door where the snow had fully melted away. Someone had to be around to light those fires. Someone had to live there.

“Change of plans, Tommy. We go there and we call for help.”

“Already ahead of you, big man.”

We half slid, half stumbled our way down the rest of the hill. It was only by some miracle that we hadn’t slammed into a tree trunk on the way down. Some of our pursuers weren’t so lucky. Snapping tree branches and howls of pain and frustration assaulted my ears as we bottomed out at the end of the slope.

“They’re stupid, Tommy. They’re giving us an opportunity. Don’t let it go to waste.”

We both took off towards the first light along the muddy path. The trees were thinner here. Almost non-existent, and it didn’t take long for the creatures behind us to right themselves after the slip down the slope. Some of them were still hot on our trail. I could hear the panting of their breathing, and the sound of the snow sloshing beneath their feet as they struggled to stay on our tail.

A shape loomed out of the white ahead of us. There! On the trail further along. Someone riding horseback. I was too focused on running to get a good look at them. Besides, it was too dark to make out their features. When they turned their horse around on the path to see me and Tommy barreling towards them with several terrifying creatures after us, their horse half-reared.

“Heh?!?!”

“Please help us,” Tommy screamed.

The stranger turned their horse around. I caught sight of a glint of moonlight on steel by their waist as they pulled on their reigns. “Phil,” came a deep-throated shout. For as loud as it was, they didn’t sound particularly concerned. “We’ve got a bit of an issue.”

‘A bit of an issue,’ sounded like an absurd understatement to me, even in the moment. I probably pulled a frown, not that I could see my own face, or that Tommy was looking at me to tell me what sort of expression I wore. I just remember thinking about how strange the horseman’s words were considering the situation. I had never seen anything like what was chasing us before tonight. Not in any scary campfire story or wild nature documentary on TV. And here Tommy and I were, accidentally leading their reaching claws and snarling fangs right to this guy.

Of course, I didn’t have time to dwell on those thoughts when my luck ran out.

Something tightened around my ankle.

I went down hard. All the air rushed out of my lungs as I fell belly-first against the first few stairs in the path. Deep, heavy, throbbing pain bloomed to life on my right side. It felt like someone took a sledgehammer to the bottom rib. Instinctively, I went to curl up to cover the spot, but when I did my fingers slipped from the snow-slicked edge of the stair and the thing on my ankle YANKED.

I screamed. I screamed Tommy’s name over and over as if he could help me. A voice in the back of my head worried it had gotten him to, but that was impossible. I could see him come to a stop alongside the horseman, who had drawn something razer thin and gleaming out from his side. Tommy’s blue eyes flew wide, mouth gaping open as our gazes locked for a millisecond. Then the grip shifted and I ended up on my back. From this angle, I couldn’t see Tommy anymore, but I could see what had gotten ahold of me.

I vaguely recognized one of the creatures that I had seen chasing us from amidst the pack. A dark-skinned creature, so black it was near impossible to make out most of its features. I could still see its eyes and mouth, though. Those were bleached completely white. They practically glowed compared to the rest of its complexion, and when it opened its mouth to snarl, I could make out long fangs where they left dark gaps in the stark white. Its clawed hand was wrapped around my ankle, and its grip was reinforced with a red vine or tentacle wrapping from its wrist onto my leg.

Try as I might to kick and scream, I knew that there was no getting out of that grip. All I managed to do was knock the hood off of its horned head as the others from its pack began to draw closer.

There was no consistency to them. The one on my leg might as well have been a demon. That one over there, a giant cat, and the one with red eyes looked almost like it could be human. It certainly moved more like one than the others, glaring at me past blond bangs as if I was a particularly interesting bug.

In a desperate attempt to do something, anything, I swept my arm out and up, tossing an arc of snow up onto the thing gripping my leg.

“Let go of me!”

The snow hissed and sizzled where it came in contact with pitch-black skin. The thing squawked in pain. The grip on my ankle loosened slightly, Clawed fingers loosened when it tried to shake the snow off so that only the red tendril remained.

I kicked out against it. Pulled at the ground with my nails. Even tried sitting up to unwrap it from my ankle with my hands, but I couldn’t stay upright long enough to manage. There was a dull throbbing running up the length of my leg since the thing let go of me, and that pain was starting to drown out the waves of aches washing over my side. I blinked against it, surprised to see a dark shape pass across my vision. Was I seeing dark spots already?

SHING!

The pressure on my ankle disappeared.

It still throbbed, but when I pulled my foot back towards the rest of my body there was no resistance. Part of the red tendril lay squirming in the snow. The other part was probably still attached to whatever had grabbed me, but I couldn’t make it out past the broad silhouette that now stood between me and the monster.

And what an intimidating figure it was. From the back, I could make out a heavy cloak billowing in the late winter breeze, white diamond patterns appearing and disappearing in the shifting folds like whirling snowflakes. When the wind moved the cloak just right, I could make out heavy black boots and pale blue fabric that almost blended into the snowy landscape. Even further beyond that, I could make out the terrified gaze of the creature that had been chasing me as it backed away. Fur trim lined the top of the cloak where the black fabric shifted to red. And at the very top, a blue and white striped bucket hat sat atop a mop of loose blond hair.

Their arm was positioned at their side. A steel blade hung from their hand, the very end dripping bright red dots into the white snow.

Their shoulders shifted and the tip of their sword bobbed as they spoke up in a voice so cold it rivaled the winter air. “Looks like someone’s trespassing in our domain.”

I crawled backward, attempting to put some more distance between us. “I’m sorry,” I found the words tumbling out of my lips.

The person in front of me turned to look over their shoulder. It was a man, old enough to be my father with stubble on his chin and eyes that first glinted like ice but warmed like the summer sky when they fell on me.

“Oh, don’t worry. Wasn’t talkin’ about you. As for the rest of you lot, though…” His words lowered into a hiss as he turned back to face the pack of creatures that were backing away. All of them. Not just the one that had grabbed me. They all stared at the tip of his sword as he raised it, and flinched when another red drop fell from its edge. “I’d suggest running back to your own domain before the issue can become…” He spared another side-eyed glance at me. “Complicated.”

The creatures froze. They didn’t back up further, but they showed no signs that they were interested in approaching, either. They shared a few torn looks between themselves.

“Oh, so you intended to trespass?” The man took a step forward and brought the blade out in front of him.

Their eyes flew wide. Any hint of doubt in their expressions vanished. They turned tail and fled back up the slope, clawing and leaping over each other to get away faster. Taking up the rear was the dark-skinned monster that had grabbed me. It ran with its wrist cradled in its opposite arm and its wiry tail tucked between its legs.

“You alright mate?”

The man slid his stained sword into a loop at his waist as he turned to look at me. From the front, he looked warm and friendly. He wore a lopsided grin, and the brim of his hat was a little lopsided over his forehead. The warm clothes he wore looked fine enough to be meant for royalty, but yet still retained an almost militaristic air that did not match the casual slouch to his shoulders. He held out a hand.

I blinked at it, so stunned my brain needed a moment to catch up to what had just happened. I shot a glance down at the tendril that now lay still in the snow, then at the hill where the last of the monsters disappeared over the crest, before realizing he was offering to help me up.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” I croaked, taking his hand. He pulled me up easily. Surprisingly so, considering that once I was up on my feet it became clear that I was considerably taller than him. Even Tommy would have towered over this man.

His eyes screwed shut as a wide smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “No problem. Those guys can be such a pest sometimes. Far less friendly than us. I’d recommend steering clear of them if you can help it.”

“Sounds like sound advice,” I said with a laugh that was one part nerves and two parts relief. “The name’s Wilbur. To whom do I owe a thank you to?”

“I’m Phil.”

Phil? Like the name the gentleman on the horse had shouted? The guy that Tommy ran to?

Wait… Tommy? Oh God, Tommy!

I pivoted on a heel to look behind me, but as I did so, I moved my leg and the throbbing pain came rushing back up my leg like bolts of electricity. The ankle gave out and the whole world tilted as I went down again. “Agh!”

“Careful there!” Phil’s arm managed to wrap underneath mine just in time to catch me before I could hit the ground.

“Tommy,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “Where’s Tommy?”

“Wilbur! Wilbur are you alright?!”

Relief washed over me, even as I struggled to blink back tears. Snow crunched as Tommy came running. He gripped a bright red cloak, similar to Phil’s, over his shoulders. It covered his exposed arms. A hulking shadow of another man walked behind him at a much more laid-back pace. The horse stood back at the side of the path, tied by the reins to a wayward fence post.

“I take it this is Tommy?” Phil asked with a chuckle.

I nodded. “I’ll be fine, Tommy,” I said. The pain made my voice come off strained. It wasn’t doing much to assure him, but my words were true. The worst of the danger seemed to have passed. “I think I’ve got a sprain, but that’s the worst of it.”

“That thing did have you by the ankle, didn’t it,” Phil asked, but didn’t seem like he was expecting much of an answer. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the tendril lying in the snow.

The reassurance seemed to be enough for Tommy, who launched himself at me and wrapped his arms around my torso in a tight hug. There was a twinge as his arms brushed my ribs, but nothing worse than that. It would probably have a bruise there by morning. “Don’t ever do that shit again. You hear me?” he demanded. “I won’t have it. Next time I might not step up to protect you and what are ya going to do then, huh?”

Phil raised an eyebrow. “Protect him?”

“Pretty sure it was Phil who scared them off, kid.” At that point, the man who had been following behind Tommy came to a full stop an arm’s length away. He was dressed similarly to Phil with fancy pale blue winter attire. There was no fur-trimmed cloak, though Wilbur assumed that was where Tommy had gotten his warm new cover. Unlike Phil, though, this man’s expression and demeanor seemed a better match to his outfit. He held his head high and his shoulders stiff, pink hair pulled back in a perfect braid. Not a single hair was out of place, even around the gold circlet that sat above his brow. He was tall. A couple of centimeters taller than me, even. He looked down at me and Phil through wire-framed glasses.

His expression was blank and stony. When I looked a little longer, though, I could have sworn I saw a spark of amusement in his eyes.

“Well I was the one who thought to come here and called for help,” Tommy huffed. “I saw the castle, and I saw you, and you called for this guy.” He pointed a shaky finger at Phil. “If I wasn’t as big and strong and smart as I am, that wouldn’t have happened. So really, it’s because of me that Wilbur’s alright.”

Phil and the other man shared a glance. I rolled my eyes and reached out with the arm that wasn’t being supported by the sword-wielding, bucket hat-wearing man at my side so I could ruffle Tommy’s hair. The teen pulled away from the touch, but I just smiled. “You did good, Toms.”

“Of course I did.”

The man with the braid shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat. Where did you guys even come from?”

“Over the ridge,” I said, jutting my chin back in that direction. “There’s a path leading through the woods back to the town over there. Those things chased us here from the other side of the forest.”

“There’s a town over there now?”

Phil shot the pink-haired man a glare. “Sorry, about my friend,” he huffed. “This is Technoblade,” he said, bobbing his elbow in the other’s direction. “It’s been a while since we’ve been that way. You guys must have made it pretty far.”

“I’ll say,” Tommy whined. He pulled the cloak tighter over his shoulders and leaned away from me, kicking at a clump of snow. “My feet HURT.”

“Welp. That’s a shame.” Technoblade crossed his arms in front of his chest.

He was an intimidating man at first glance, but the change in posture broadened his shoulders and made me want to shrink out from under the shadow he cast.

“The sooner you get out of here, the better. After that scare Phil gave them, our uninvited guests,” he said, monotonous voice dipping ever so slightly in what must have been disgust, ��won’t risk coming back around for a while.”

“Hate to break it to you, but I’m not sure I can walk all that way back,” I admitted, and I hated the words as I said them. There was nothing I wanted more in that moment than to get me and Tommy back home, safe and sound.

“Tommy, do you think I can lean on your shoulder?”

“No way,” Tommy snapped. I turned to look at him, surprised, and he stuttered. Backtracking. “I mean, of course, Wil. I would, but walking right now sounds like bullshit. Can’t we just go bunker down in that castle until morning?”

“I don’t-”

“No.” Technoblade didn’t give me a chance to consider it.

“Bitch!”

He looked down at Tommy with an expression that was impossible to read. “Me and Phil aren’t prepared to take visitors right now. Besides, if you plan on going home to whichever town you came from tonight, the best time is now.”

“Or tomorrow afternoon when the sun’s at its peak,” Phil said brightly.

Technoblade blinked and gave a good hard look at the man who was still supporting me. “Phil,” he hissed, and it had the barest hint of a whine at the end. Almost like he was pleading with his companion.

A hint of that steel returned to Phil’s eyes as he kicked at the severed tendril with the toe of his boot. “Wilbur here got his ankle wrapped up before I cut him free,” he said smoothly. “I think they might have got him good. Don’t you think it would be better if we were to take a good look at it? Make sure it’s nothing more serious?”

“You’re kidding?” Technoblade said, deadpan, although I had a sneaking suspicion that it was probably his default tone.

Phil didn’t say anything. The two men stared each other down, some unheard conversation passing between them that I couldn’t make heads or tails of. Finally, Technoblade looked away first and his eyes bore into mine.

“I… I promise we’ll be on our best behavior,” I offered. What could I say? The idea of trekking through the woods on my tender ankle didn’t sound like fun. And if we had to, I knew Tommy would help me walk. He would whine and complain the entire way there, but he would help. If it meant I didn’t have to put up with a long night like that, then I’d gladly stay in a literal castle with people who were clearly capable of keeping me and him safe from those things.

Even if I had only just met the inhabitants. “Tommy, promise you’ll behave.” “But why should I?” “Because I am asking you to.”

“Need another reason than that, Wil.”

“Please, Tommy?”

Tommy threw back his head. Blond hair rustled in the winter breeze, catching passing snowflakes as he groaned. “Ughhhhhhh. Fine. I promise I will try to behave. Odds of me not breaking your shit goes up if you throw in dinner, too. I’m starved.”

Technoblade shifted from foot to foot. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he considered. Eventually, he let out a sigh. “Alright. But just one night. Let me go get Carl.”

“Oh, good idea!” Phil tilted his head back and let out a high-pitched whistle. A high keen split the winter air almost immediately in reply. “I’ll take Wilbur on Dave and you take Tommy on Carl.” A second later, a large chestnut horse appeared. It crested over a hill and trotted up until it could press its head to Phil’s back.

“Sure. Come on, kid. Have you ever ridden a horse before?”

Tommy screwed up his face into an open-mouthed scowl. “Ew. Of course not. They’re smelly and stupid.”

Technoblade arched one eyebrow. “Would you rather walk?”

“...Oh my! What an amazing horse! How wonderful and nice!”

The next few minutes were a mess. It took a lot of effort for me to get situated on Phil’s horse behind him. The process of climbing up sent pricks through my bad leg like hot knives tearing into me over and over again. More than once I had to stop just to catch my breath and wait for the pain to pass. It wasn’t so bad when I held my ankle still. Just a dull throb. Stretching and flexing it, though, made everything worse.

Tommy wasn’t doing much better, but for reasons that were pretty typical for him. Mainly the arguing. The puffed-out chest and insistence that he knew what he was doing, even as his foot slipped out of the stirrup and he fell so hard against the saddle that it spooked the horse.

I had to admire the man’s patience.

Once we both were secure on the backs of the saddles, though, Phil and Technoblade kicked off and started down the path towards the castle. Technoblade and Tommy led the way, while me and Phil rode to the rear.

“Does that place really belong to you?” I asked as I admired the crumbling walls.

“It does,” Phil answered brightly. “We’ve been trying to fix it up for a while now, but things tend to get away from you, ya know?”

“And do those freaks from the woods come around often,” Tommy asked. He had a white-knuckled grip on the back of Technoblade’s belt that only got tighter with every other sway of the horse.

“Eh.” Technoblade shrugged. “Not really. Put a sword through a few of them or threaten them a handful of times and they learn to leave you alone. It’s all about power. Showing them who’s the boss when and where.”

“I’m a total boss,” Tommy perked up. His grip loosened enough that it didn’t look like his nails were cutting into the leather belt anymore. “Any chance you could show me how to chase them off?”

Phil laughed.

Technoblade paused. He turned just enough to give Tommy a curious look over his shoulder before turning to face the path once more. “Maybe if you were older.”

Phil broke down laughing again.

“So, what, you would show Wilbur but not me?”

“I’d rather just not run into those things ever again,” I said, shutting down that line of thought entirely. “The pen’s mightier than the sword for me. My skills are much better off put to use in politics.”

“Geez, Wil. Can you be less boring?”

“But debates are fun, Tommy.”

“No, they are fuckin’ not. Technoblade. If you won’t show me how to chase off monsters, then can you at least give me some pointers?”

“Yeah. Run.”

Tommy scoffed. “You’re looking down on me. I don’t appreciate this treatment.”

Phil spoke up. “Techno’s right, though. Best thing you could do in those situations is to trust your gut. Both of you knew to run, and you ran. Everything turned out just fine.”

“Yeah, because you pulled out a wicked cool sword and fought them off. Not because we ran.”

“Well, that's what my gut told me to do. Something I didn’t want around was crossing over where it had no business being, so I acted as I saw best. See! Me following my better judgment and you following yours led to some pretty good results.”

Technoblade nodded. “It boils down to observation. You look. You listen. You make a judgment call.”

“Look and listen for what,” Tommy asked petulantly. “I’d much rather fight.”

At this point, the front door of the castle was well within sight. Phil pulled his horse up closer behind Technoblades. From this vantage point, I could no longer see Tommy up ahead. I could still hear the fabric of Technoblade’s outfit shift, see the barest hint of his pink hair over the tops of Phil’s hat and the horse’s ears as the man straightened. He spoke once more, that deep voice of his took on a hint of some emotion that I couldn’t identify but sent a shudder down my spine.

“If the blood pounding in your ears could warn you of the danger at your back, would you listen then?”

“Well, yeah,” Tommy said, utterly oblivious to the change in Technoblade’s demeanor. “I’m not stupid. That literally just happened.”

______________________________________________________________

By the time Phil and Technoblade led me and Tommy into the lavishly decorated sitting room situated near the entrance to their castle, Technoblade had clearly become much more dismissive of Tommy’s big mouth. Which was good, because Tommy was making it pretty clear that the thing he wanted most out of life right now was to get under the man’s skin. He helped me limp through the front door while Phil rushed ahead to light a fire and warm the drafty old building. The entire time we walked, Tommy pestered our remaining guide with questions.

“Do you fight, or is it just Phil?”

“Is that sword just a fancy toy or something? I bet I could take you, easy.”

“What’s a couple of weirdos like you doing so far out here, anyway?”

He asked the last one as he helped lower me into an overstuffed velvet armchair. It was also the only question Technoblade bothered to address.

“Me and Phil have always preferred to stick to ourselves. Last time I bothered to throw my lot in with other people, it didn’t go so well.”

“You got into a fight?” Tommy asked pointedly.

The barest hint of a smile pulled at the corner of Technoblade’s mouth. “Something like that.”

“Aha! So the sword isn’t just for show!”

“Tommy, I don’t think-”

“It is not.” Technoblade clicked his tongue. “And no, I am not showing you how to use it.” Tommy deflated a little at that. Technoblade continued. “Look. This is basically the place where I chose to retire. A place to call my own. It’s peaceful and out of the way, and normally I don’t have to worry about other people showing up.” His eyes flicked from Tommy to me. “So I apologize if I sound a bit rude, but I can’t help but feel a little- just a little concerned when two strangers come running up to me on my evening ride, screaming at the top of their lungs.”

“You didn’t seem very concerned about the monsters,” Tommy said with a frown.

“Because I knew how they would react,” he said without missing a beat. “Me and Phil have dealt with them plenty. They’re easy to predict. I don’t know what to expect from the two of you.” His gaze fell on my throbbing ankle.

I sat up a little straighter in my chair. “Technoblade, if I may… We appreciate that you and Phil are willing to let us stay the night.” Even if Phil had to talk the other man into it. “I also understand that we are complete strangers in your home. I respect that. I really do. It can be scary letting someone brand new into your personal space, especially one as grand as this.” I motioned to the room surrounding us.

It was rather nice, as well, in a homely sense. Bookshelves and plush furniture with well-worn fabric from years of use filled the space. There were scraped wooden tables and worn spots on the floor. The hearth burned bright. Blankets and furs were strewn across the floors and furniture, helping keep the heat in the room. It looked like it could have been made to suit expensive tastes if everything didn’t look so old and well-worn.

What little I saw of the castle on the way in didn’t fall too far from the mark either. Sure there were finely sewn tapestries along the walls, but most had looked pretty sun-faded. Sure the parquet floors were shiny and detailed, but the rails of stairwells were wound with brightly colored ribbons and there were scuff marks everywhere. Weapons lined glass cabinets, but some swords and spears were left resting out in the open, leaning against the wall or a banister where someone had left them and forgotten to put them away.

It was a lived-in home, even if it was a castle. “But,” I continued. “I’m gonna admit that it’s pretty scary for us too. Frankly, I might still be in shock from that chase. We don’t know much about you two, either. So if it helps, I don’t plan on risking upsetting you.”

“Me either.” To my surprise, Tommy chimed in an agreement. One that wasn’t laced with sarcasm or immediately followed up by an insult. I shoved down the pride I felt rising in my chest and smiled instead of vocalizing my approval.

“You know the saying, never look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Some of the tension uncoiled from Technoblade’s shoulders. The crackle of the fire filled the air in place of words as he looked between the two of us. His eyebrow twitched. I caught sight of that amused twinkle in his eye once more. “Gift horse, huh?”

What was I supposed to say to that? I tried opening my mouth but decided to let Technoblade’s question hang in the open air. I didn’t have anything that I was confident would sway him, so I decided to wait and see.

“Cool.” With two long steps, Technoblade crossed the room and sunk into the chair next to mine. “Good to have that all cleared up.”

“Have what cleared up?”

I startled at the sound of Phil’s voice. The other man swept into the room carrying a small box in one hand and a wooden crutch in the other.

Technoblade waved him off. “Eh. These two just assured me they wouldn’t cause any trouble. That’s all.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good.” Phil dropped down onto one knee next to me and let the crutch rest on the floor. He flipped the lid off the box in his hands. Inside were rolls of gauze and bandages. Small, marked vials of liquid rattled as he began pulling out supplies.

“Go ahead and make yourself feel right at home, boys. I brought the first aid kit and something to help you get around a little easier.”

“You couldn’t find anything better than that hunk of junk?” Tommy muttered.

I shot him a disapproving glare and tried to keep the embarrassed flush burning at the tips of my ears from becoming noticeable. “It’s fine. Honestly. We’re just happy for the help.”

“Of course, mate,” Phil said easily. “Hey, Techno. Could you take Tommy and show him around the rest of the castle? I’d like a little space while I take care of Wilbur’s ankle.”

“He means peace and quiet, Tommy.”

“Shut up, Wilbur. I’m an absolute angel.”

Technoblade snorted. “Sure.” He pressed his hands against the arms of his chair and pushed himself back up to his feet. “Come on, Tommy. You feel up for a lesson or two on sparring?”

“For real? Like, with real weapons.”

“Of course.”

“Then hell yeah!” Tommy threw up his arms like he had just won something.

Tommy? Sparring. I gulped. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea…”

“Don’t listen to Wilbur,” Tommy shouted. “He’s just jealous because he can’t compete with these guns.” He held up both of his arms to flex his biceps.

“I’m really not.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Phil said dismissively. “Techno knows his way around the sparring field better than anyone. Tommy may even learn a thing or two.”

It sounded more reassuring than it probably should have.

“If you say so…” I conceded. It’s not like there was much I could do to stop Tommy. His eyes were already shining at the prospect. Knowing him, he’d probably get too tired to bother for very long.

The teen shot up from his seat and rushed to the taller man’s side. “I thought you said you wouldn’t teach me how to fight off those freaks from the woods?” Technoblade shook his head until the braid running down his back bobbed. “Oh, this won’t help with those guys. Trust me. But a little time to figure out how to defend yourself from the average thug would benefit anyone, and I want to blow off some steam. You up to the challenge?” “Boy am I!” Tommy followed Technoblade as the man made for the door. He had to slow down to keep up with Technoblade’s more leisurely pace. With all that excess energy, though, he might as well have been vibrating between each step.

“So what are we using, big man? Swords? Guns?”

“You said you wouldn’t show him how to use a sword,” I said quickly. “And no guns. Absolutely not.”

Technoblade rolled his eyes. “Didn’t plan on either of those, actually. You ever swing an ax, Tommy?”

“Like, a battle ax? Or do you mean for chopping wood?”

“Either?” “Nope,” Tommy crowed, popping the ‘p.’

Technoblade let out a weary sigh that made me laugh. Not many people were equipped to handle Tommy. This man was probably another of the long line of people whose patience wasn’t built to stand against the challenge, but I had hope.

As I watched them retreat, I blinked and had to do a double-take. For a moment there, I could have sworn Technoblade’s blue clothes with white trim looked different. Shifted. More cream-white with red running down the sides like droplets soaking through the fabric. When I blinked again, the image righted itself and his clothes were clearly a pristine pale blue.

Tommy continued to badger poor Techno with questions about whether or not it would be a ‘real’ fight when they shut the door behind them.

“Maybe sending them to blow off some steam was a good call,” I said with the smallest of chuckles. I pulled my eyes away from the shut door to where Phil was taking the catch off a roll of gauze. “Tommy’s great and all, but the kid doesn’t know how to contain himself.”

“He seems like a handful. Here. Hold onto this if you would,” He passed me the loose roll of gauze and reached for a bottle of antiseptic. “Let’s get a better look at that ankle.” Gently, he pulled back the fabric of the bottom of my trousers.

The motion didn’t hurt, but I let out a hiss at the sight of the angry mark wrapped around my ankle. The skin was already bruising a dark purple where the creature had its fingers wrapped around me. Four shallow scratches, barely big enough to bead blood, ran from the top of my shin down to my foot where its claws had dragged the moment I kicked loose. In the gap where my skin had been exposed between the bottom of the trousers leg and my sock was a fiery red rash. The veins running beneath it were clear through the damaged skin. They leached out from the bruise, breaking up into smaller and smaller capillaries. I could feel the throbbing sensation pulsing from that point through the rest of my leg and foot. No wonder it hurt so much.

Phil let out a small gasp as soon as he saw it. His head flinched back. “Looks like they got you good.”

I gritted my teeth and looked away. Anything else in this room had to look more appealing than my leg right now.

“Good lord! I didn’t realize it was that bad. They just grabbed me… I knew I would have a bruise or a sprain but not something like this. No wonder it feels like shit.”

Phil’s hands hovered over the worst of the rash as he considered how to approach cleaning it. “I was hoping for just a sprain, but it looks like ya got unlucky,” he said without looking up. “They’ve got something like a poison up their sleeves. Don’t always use it, but this time it looks like they did.”

“What, like a snake bite?” I scoffed.

He shook his head. “Nothing nearly so… deadly. But it’s not pleasant either. Gonna feel like shit.”

“I take it you and Technoblade had to live through that unpleasantness at some point?”

He shook his head again. “Nah. Not us, but I’ve seen what it does. Here.” With that, he flipped over the bottle and dumped its contents all over my leg.

The antiseptic STUNG. Almost as bad as the rash. The smell didn’t help to keep the tears out of my eyes either. I gritted my teeth to bear it while the rash practically sizzled.

“Oi, watch it! You nearly kicked me.” “Sorry,” I sputtered. Some sort of fabric brushed against my ankle. Phil must have finished cleaning the wound and started wrapping it. When I turned back to look, Phil’s cloak moved. My eyes locked onto the folds of his black cloak. That. I could focus on that instead of my leg. The fabric was shifting as he moved. It rustled and twitched, and for a moment I could have sworn I saw feathers poking out from between the diamond patterns.

“Does that feel better?” “Huh?” My eyes snapped back to Phil’s blue eyes.

“How does that feel?” he asked with a smile. “Not too tight?”

When my eyes trailed down his back again, all I could make out was fabric. I must have imagined the feathers.

“Y-yeah. It feels fine. Not too tight.”

“Good.” He flipped the lid of the first aid kit closed. “That should take care of it for a while now. I’m no doctor, but it would be smart to avoid putting weight on it. That’s what the crutch is for. Give it the night, see how you’re feeling in the morning, and I’ll take another look at it then.”

He scooped the crutch off the ground and held it out for me. I slid to the edge of the chair and took it. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“No, really,” I insisted, pushing off from the chair. It took some effort to balance. I teetered as I figured out how to leverage the crutch, but Phil was right there with an arm hovering, waiting to reach out if I needed it. After a few seconds, I got a feel for how to best adjust my weight without havint to use my bum ankle. “I appreciate the help,” I admitted. I was now confident enough with my balance to tap the crutch against the floor. “You and Techno didn’t have to put up with us for the night, and you certainly didn’t have to go to this length.”

His blue eyes flashed, and for a moment they looked far too deep and far too vast. Like an ocean in an iris, or the dome of the sky. “Pffft, as if I was just goin’ to leave ya out there. As if. As much as Techno might have put up a good front, he’s not all that bent out of shape about it. If he minded that much, he wouldn’t have rushed off to go play with Tommy.”

I paused, blinking wide-eyed at him. “Play?!”

Phil’s smile grew a little wider. “You heard what I said. Trust me, I’m sure those two are having fun. I can also say with one hundred percent certainty that it’s no skin off our back. You’re welcome here.”

I opened my mouth to thank him once more, but he wrapped his arm under mine in a show of support and cut me off before I could even start. “Now, I don’t know about you, but it’s getting late and I’m starved,” he said. “Any chance I can talk you into helping out in the kitchen?”

______________________________________________________________

Helping out in the kitchen mostly consisted of sitting on a stool and chopping vegetables while Phil did most of the work. It was a big kitchen for two people, but Phil had an odd way of filling the space. He easily fluttered back and forth between burners and the icebox, counters and the cupboards. Sometimes he swung the hinged doors open and shut as he went. Sometimes he left drawers and cupboards open well after he pulled out what he needed. In no time at all, he had multiple pots boiling and a roast in the oven.

As he worked and I chopped, we talked about life. He politely asked about the basics of my life. Where Tommy and I were from, what I liked, what kind of career I was pursuing. He never pushed for details if I didn’t outright give them to him. And in turn, he told me a few stories about his life before coming to this castle.

It made me a little jealous, hearing about how he had flown all over the world when he was younger. Literally. He had even gone so far as to spend some time in the Antarctic. That would explain why he didn’t mind the winter chill here. I can only imagine the types of people he met. The things he saw. I hung on to every word.

Not all of it sounded like a walk in the park. He didn’t push for details in my life, so I tried to extend the same courtesy, but my curiosity was in full swing as he talked about dog fights over the ocean and the civil wars that he and Techno had fled.

I guess that was some of what Technoblade was hinting at when he mentioned that the last time he mingled with people, it didn’t turn out so well.

By the time the roast came out of the oven, Technoblade popped his head in to check on the time. He and Tommy had called it quits on their little sparring session. They set the table while Phil transferred potatoes and vegetables onto platters for serving. Everything got moved to a cozy dining room with a small table looking out of place in the regal space. It was big enough to seat six at maximum but perfect for the four of us. I didn’t do any of the prep work. I hobbled out of the kitchen and took a seat at the table where Phil pulled out a chair for me.

“So, how was the sparring session?” I asked as I poured gravy over my cut of roast. I still had my doubts that Tommy had bothered with strenuous physical activity for as long as he was gone.

Tommy speared a carrot so hard his fork clattered against the plate. “Fuckin’ boring. Techno kept trying to show me ways to hold the ax and swing it. Everyone knows how to swing an ax.” He mimed the motion with his fork, swinging it over his head to the point where I was afraid the carrot might fall off.

“Always start with the basics,” the pink-haired man said evenly. “You seemed pretty excited when it finally clicked that moving your shoulders with the motion did more damage to the target.”

“That was just me unlocking my big, powerful muscles.”

“Uh-huh.”

Phil folded his hands in front of him, propping his elbows on top of the table so he could rest his chin against his knuckles. “So I take it you wouldn’t be interested in another lesson tomorrow morning?”

Tommy brought his fork back down to his plate and straightened up in his chair. His eyes flew wide with giddy excitement. “Wait, is that an option?”

Both me and Phil laughed at the same time over that. “So I guess it wasn’t that boring after all?”

“...Maybe.”

“You’re not fooling anyone, Tommy,” I teased. Tommy sputtered a handful of unintelligible syllables as he tried to think of a comeback while I turned to Technoblade. “He didn’t give you too much trouble, did he?”

“Excuse me, I was an absolute angel!”

Techno finished chewing his bite of the roast before setting his knife and fork down on the napkins folded on either side of his plate. This guy had been the perfect image of prim and proper as he ate, as opposed to Phil who was comfortably slumped in his chair as he shoveled a few bites of roast beets into his mouth.

Techno shrugged. “The kid picked up a few things pretty quickly. I wouldn’t mind going over a few more forms tomorrow morning.”

Phil shot me a lopsided smile from across the table and wiggled his eyebrows as if to say ‘see? I told you so.’

Tommy didn’t seem to be sporting any fresh bruises or cuts, so I chalked it up to a good thing.

“What about you two,” Techno asked.

“I’d say our evening was pleasant,” I said as I cut into my portion of roast. “Phil had a lot of very interesting stories to tell. It sounds like you two have had quite the adventure.”

“Really?” Techno shot Phil a look. “What kind of adventure did you discuss?”

“Just the Antarctic and a few of our side excursions.” Phil popped a chunk of potato into his mouth and twirled his fork through the air as he chewed.

Technoblade relaxed a little deeper into his chair. “Ha! Yeah, those were great times. I’m sure Phil gave you the rundown on how we ticked off our neighbors.”

“Of course I did.”

“It’s given me a lot of my own ideas. You should hear all about it, Tommy. It’s a really good story.”

“Sounds boring.”

“You might learn something new.”

“Don’t care. Hard pass.”

I snorted. “I’ll just tell you about it on the way back home.”

He pulled a disgusted face, but I ignored it.

With a bit of insistence on my part, Phil hit the highlights of what he told me. This time, Techno was nearby to provide his input. It wasn’t much, but the pink-haired man would offer a “humph” of agreement here and there, or offer a few extra details of what he worked on while the two of them were working apart. Tommy perked up at the talk of business and air battles and rolled his eyes when it came to the political impact of it all. I found it just as interesting to listen to the second time around as it was on the first.

The topic began to drift as time went on and we cleaned our plates. We talked about our day, about me and Tommy’s hometown, and what we were studying. Phil and Techno talked about how they filled their days with hunting, horse riding, and dog-breeding… apparently.

To be honest, I was enjoying myself. Whatever tense feelings from earlier were gone. The atmosphere was warm and cozy. We were just a couple of people getting to know each other and sharing a few laughs.

But as I polished off the last of my food, something caught my eye.

It was such a little thing. I’m not even sure what made me notice it.

It’s just that, wasn’t Technoblade drinking a glass of water a moment ago?

The glass in his hand was stained red. Red like wine, but when his arm moved the liquid inside looked thicker than alcohol.

I looked over to see if there was a bottle of wine on the table I hadn’t spotted before, but when I did, the unnatural movement of something along Phil’s shoulder pulled my attention.

Had Phil swapped out his cloak?

There were feathers along the trim instead of fur.

I found myself looking back and forth between the two. Their laughter and Tommy’s wild shouting faded into the background. I could still hear them, but the words were muffled in my ears. The longer I looked at our two hosts, the sharper their outlines appeare.

That was when I noticed that there was something else there.

It was like someone had superimposed an image on top of what I was seeing. On one hand, I could clearly make out Phil and Technoblade. They looked just how I expected them to look. Phil’s near-endless sky-blue eyes, blond hair, and always-present smile. Technoblade’s long braid, mouth set into a thin line, and subtle amusement crinkling at the corners of his eyes. That was there. That was them. But there was also something else where they sat. Something hazy around the edges. Something that gave me the impression of long tusks and hunched wings.

I squinted my eyes, trying to make out what I could possibly be seeing.

Then Technoblade noticed me staring and turned to face me.

As soon as our eyes met, the hazy image flared like a sunburst. Colors and shapes solidified and then washed out like an overexposed photo. Dark eyes glinted red and violent.

“Wh-”

I dropped my fork, and the other image vanished entirely.

Phil’s eyes locked on me, sky blue sharpening to pale steel. “Is something wrong, Wilbur?” I dragged my attention back to him, sucking in a breath. He was looking at me with a curious tilt to his head.

I dared to steal another glance at Technoblade. His eyes were thrown wide open, shoulders held stiff. It was the most emotion I had yet to see the man show.

He put down his glass. It was filled with water. Regular, clear water.

Phil leaned forward in his seat, shoulders stooping as his elbows rested against the tabletop. The trim at the top of his cloak was lined with fur.

“I…. I’m fine.”

“You sure, mate? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Ghost? More like a monster. I shook my head as if that could knock the image of what I thought I just saw right out of my thoughts. “It’s nothing,” I insisted. “I think the stress of the day is starting to get to me.”

Phil and Technoblade exchanged a glance. “And what makes you say that?”

“I think I might be starting to see shit. Call it PTSD or whatever the fuck you like, but I feel like I’m starting to imagine monsters.”

“Like the ones that chased us?” Tommy asked.

“Kind of.” A shudder ran down my spine and goosebumps ran up my arms. A sympathetic twinge pulled at my ankle, and I adjusted it beneath my seat. My imagination must have been running wild. What I saw had been just as unnatural as the creature that had grabbed me, but it made my heart rate spike in a way that not even the run through the trees had managed to do.

“Please excuse me.”

Technoblade abruptly pushed back his seat, grabbed his cutlery, and in a few brisk steps he was out the door.

Tommy frowned and turned to Phil for answers. “Where’s Techno going?”

His bright blue eyes narrowed. The creases around his eyes grew for a moment as something akin to worry passed over his expression. I could have imagined that too, though, because in the blink of an eye that easy breezy smile was back on his face. He waved off Tommy’s question with one hand. “Off to his room, probably. He’s a creature of habit. He’s got his own set of nightly rituals like anyone else.”

“Will he come back out?”

Phil hummed. “Probably not. He’ll be up bright and early tomorrow, though.”

“Well, alright I guess.” Tommy made no effort to hide his pouting. He slumped deeper into his seat.

“We got a late start on dinner as it was,” Phil mused, drumming his fingers against the table. “Maybe it would be a good day to follow his lead. Hit the hay. What do you two think?”

“Yes, please,” I groaned, carding a hand through my hair. “Before I start having any more waking nightmares like a crazy person.”

Phil flinched. I know for a fact I didn’t imagine that one.

“I am perfectly fine.” Tommy stuck his nose in the air. “But if you were to show us where we’ll be sleeping then I demand the biggest luxury suite you’ve got.”

Phil pushed back his chair and stood up. “Right. We’ve got a couple of spare rooms in the east wing. I’ll show you where to go. Leave your plates. I’ll come back for them later.”

________________________________________________________________

“Did you actually have fun today, Tommy?”

“I’m not sure if fun is the right word, Wilbur. We were chased through the woods by ugly beasts.”

“Fine. Let me rephrase. Did you actually have fun learning how to swing an ax? Not too sore, are you?”

“It was alright.”

Tommy pulled his legs up onto the bed he would be using for the night. His words were nonchalant, but his eyes were shining.

“So if we were to leave without you doing another sparring session with Technoblade, you wouldn’t be disappointed?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold up there, bub.” Tommy’s voice shot up a couple hundred decibels. “I never said that.”

I chuckled.

Me and Tommy finally had some time alone. Phil had been kind enough to show us to our rooms and leave us be. Breakfast was in the morning, and he made it clear we were welcome to stay after that for a bit. Noon would be the best time to travel safely, according to him. Considering he was the one who knew how to swing a sword and scare off monsters, I trusted his better judgment.

Tommy let himself flop backward against a row of pillows. “This place is cool. So are Technoblade and Phil. It’s crazy we’ve never realized they were out here this whole time.”

“We’ve never had much reason to leave the path.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of that. I can just imagine what Tubbo’s doing right now. He’s so obsessed with me. He probably can’t sleep.”

As hyperbolic as Tommy tended to be, I couldn’t help the seed of guilt that had rooted itself in my gut. The truth was, Tommy might be right about that. “We’ll clear it up when we get back. Eventually, we’ll look back at this and laugh.” “Maybe I can make it up to him by showing him this place. Go when it’s nice and bright out and freaky shit isn’t happening.”

“Techno didn’t seem all that interested in us stopping by unprompted. Might want to warn him if you plan on bringing Tubbo.” The castle might not survive the two of them together.

Tommy snorted. “Sure I will,” he said. It was an utter lie, with all the sarcasm he could possibly inject into his voice. Oh well.

“Hey Tomm, you uh… You didn’t notice anything strange at dinner, did you?”

“Other than the fact that you ate something as disgusting and shitty as vegetables, no. Why?”

“No reason.”

He tilted his head to get a better look at where I was seated at the end of the bed. The crutch leaned precariously against one of the bedposts. I noticed him looking, how his eyes trailed down to my ankle even as I tried to keep my gaze on the moon hovering just outside the window.

“How you feeling, Wilbur?” “I’m fine, Tommy.”

“And the, uh… the ankle?”

“I barely notice it.”

That wasn’t entirely true. It still throbbed on occasion, and though Phil had wrapped it tight and cleaned it well, the rash was starting to smart beneath the gauze. The stinging wasn’t unbearable, though. If anything, I took that as a sign that it was starting to heal. This had to be the itch before it began scabbing over. As long as I didn’t jostle the sprain too much, it was manageable.

“You sure?”

I threw a pillow at his face. “What? You don’t believe me?”

“Hey!”

Tommy wasted no time flinging another couple of pillows directly at my face. The downy surface packed a surprising punch. I battered them away as best as I could with an elbow until Tommy grew tired and slumped back against the mattress.

“Seriously, Wil. If you don’t feel up to it tomorrow, just say something. I’d hate it if a weak, fragile thing like you are now went and hurt yourself further. Protecting you all through the woods would be a tall order, even for me.”

The smile dropped off my face because for all Tommy’s bluster, I knew what he really meant.

He’s worried about me.

Wasn’t that a scary thought? It was supposed to be the other way around, what with me being so much older than him.

I tried to play it off with a bit of humor. “I think we might drive Phil and Techno up the wall if we stuck around longer than necessary.”

“They’d let us stay,” Tommy said without an ounce of doubt. He propped himself up on an elbow as he lay on his side to get a better look at me. “They seem cool like that. And it’s not like staying another night would be awful. I mean, it’s a fuckin’ castle.” He waved his hand out above him, letting his fingers wave at the ancient walls and ceiling.

He wants to stay longer.

My ankle twinged with a pinprick of pain.

“I’ll tell you what. Let’s see how I feel in the morning. Okay?”

“Alright.”

“Good.” I patted my palm against the side of the mattress and reached for the crutch. “Now get some sleep. It’s late. We’re both exhausted, and I don’t think I can stand spending any more time around you right now,” I teased.

“I’m not exhausted,” he huffed, only to immediately let out a yawn.

“Sure you’re not.”

With a heave, I was propped back up on the crutch and my one good foot. My crutch tap tap tapped against the tile floor as I made my way across the room.

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, Wilbur.”

“Night, Tommy.”

I left the candle flickering on the nightstand for the teen to put out whenever he was ready. The door clicked shut behind me and I began my clumsy trek back to the room next door. It was late, and now that Tommy was all squared away I was allowing my worries to settle. Exhaustion really was finally dawning on me.

I was going to sleep hard tonight, as long as I could find a way to get comfortable and not jostle my foot too much.

____________________________________________________________________________

The sun filtered through the gap in the heavy curtains. I could feel its warm rays against my back. It felt good to lie in bed a little longer than necessary, basking in the heat of the sun like a cat.

It was morning.

It had been a blissful, dreamless night.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It even looked pleasantly warm out, if the dwindling snow on the ground was anything to go by. Tommy and I should be safe to go back home now.

Phil and Techno had been pleasant last night. I wasn’t necessarily in a rush, but I was also very aware of the fact that we hadn’t had the chance to tell anyone where we were. Tubbo had been expecting us to show up last night. He would have panicked when we never did. That would take some apologies and smoothing over once we got back.

With a deep breath, I pulled myself out from under the covers and began to get ready for the day.

It wasn’t hard. I only had the clothes on my back, and Phil and Techno hadn’t pointed out a shower last night. Just the nearest, bare-bones bathroom they had set up. It was probably somewhere on the other side of the castle. I’d have to ask them about it. For now, though, I settled for passing a comb over my hair and straightening my clothes as best as I could.

A quick glance outside gave me a beautiful view of the rising sun glistening across the frozen river. Red streaks worked their way across the shallow hills in long lines, highlighted by tha shadow of tall grass and snow. They wavered in the rising sun as if they were moving, the landscape practically breathing.

Like the day outside, it felt like things were looking bright. My leg was no longer stinging. The throbbing had gone down, but not quite stopped. There was a pep in my step as I tried to make the room look as tidy as it had been before I showed up. It seemed rude to leave the bed a mess, so I straightened the sheets a little before hobbling out the door.

Tommy’s room was right next to mine. I stopped at the door and rapped my knuckles against it. “Morning, Tommy!”

“Wh-wha…”

He was never much of an early riser.

“Wake up, sleepy head.”

“Go away, Wil. Let me sleep in peace.”

“Aw, and I thought you would be excited to wake up in a castle and head down to breakfast.”

“Phil or Techno can come to wake us up when they're ready for that shit. They never gave us a time. Now go away and let me sleep.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. If you miss breakfast, that’s all on you.”

A few grumbled curse words filtered through the door. That was all I was going to get out of him until he was ready to come out on his own time.

That was fine. There was an entire castle for me to explore. I wasn’t sure where Phil or Technoblade would be, but I wasn’t Tommy. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me looking around the place as long as I didn’t touch anything that looked important. It wouldn’t hurt to check out a few side corridors while on my way down to the dining room. And if Phil and Technoblade weren't there, then I was sure there were a few rooms nearby I could check out. They both seemed like learned men. Perhaps they had a library around here somewhere?

I lowered myself down a staircase with some difficulty and found myself in a particularly fancy hall. There were glass cases with all sorts of odds and ends on pedestals. Pieces of pottery, old maps, measuring equipment, and a handful of decorative weapons were displayed prominently, as were beautiful hangings made from quilted fabrics; tapestries, pendants, and flags. They depicted old civilizations and glorious battles. I took it all in excitedly as I walked.

It also looked like someone had already been this way.

Fires were lit down the length of the hall. Torches were placed in sconces to light up the darker corners while braziers and lamps took care of the bulk of the lighting. That was a good sign that someone had come through recently to light them all.

I was so busy taking everything in, it was surprising to hear something other than the crackle of the torches.

Babump!

What was that?

I whirled around, taking in the fine masonry with all its cracks and chipped paint. Scanned the faded banners and tarnished braziers hanging from the ceiling by fine linked chains. Nothing seemed to have fallen. No rats were scurrying through the shadows in the corners from what I could see. I strained my ears, listening.

Babump!

There it was again. I know I heard something, but nothing moved. Nothing outside of the snap and crackle of the fire lighting the hall. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see if there was something else I could be missing. Anything else.

Babump!

The slightest bit of movement caught my eye. It wasn’t by the ground where a rodent might be trying to hide, or at eye level where any of the ancient decor stood, but up by the ceiling. There, in the corner where the light of the torches didn’t hit, something was sliding down the wall. It was so small and fast, that I was surprised I noticed it at all.

Gingerly, I made my way over until I stood beneath that same spot on the wall and craned my head back. Whatever it was it dripped down the stone. Something liquid, but thick and slow and dark. I couldn’t tell what it was in this light. I reached up.

Babump!

It dripped. A warm droplet hit the center of my ring finger and pooled down in the space where it met my pinky.

My lip curled up at the feel of it. Gross. It felt sticky. It stank of iron and looked ruddy like it had picked up some rust from wherever it seeped out of. I flicked my hand away, knocking as much of it off as I could. Dark flecks speckled the cobbled floor, but my hand was still stained and sticky.

When I looked back up at the wall, rivulets of the strange liquid started streaming down the cracks in the mortar. The first stream was already trickling past eye level down to the floor.

Babump!

Something dripped on my nose. With the forefinger of my already messy hand, I reached up and wiped at it. Sure enough, there was more of that dark liquid. The smell of iron was growing worse now. It was practically scathing against my nostrils. I did my best to wipe it off of my nose and clear away the smell. My skin wasn’t even dry yet when more droplets fell right in front of me. They splattered the floor in front of my toes. I looked up to see a large wet spot pooling in the ceiling. The droplets running down the wall were growing more numerous now. The seams between the stone bricks were starting to look more like little streams. A steady trickle of the dark liquid was running along the mortar paths. A small puddle was pooling at its base.

“Hey, uh, guys?” I called down the hall, hoping one of our hosts could hear. They couldn’t have gone far. Not yet. Someone had to have lit the fires. Surely if I shouted loud enough, they would notice. “I think you might have sprung a leak or something.”

Babump!

I felt more droplets splashing off the shoulders of my coat. I backed away. Hopefully that wouldn’t leave a stain. Whatever leak they had must have come on suddenly and quickly, because the dark water was now practically running down the walls. Had a pipe blown? Did this place even have running water?

“Hello! There’s a mess starting over here. Can you hear me? Phil? Techno?” There was no answer.

The puddle was growing bigger. About to reach my shoes. I backed further away. I shouted louder. “HEY! SOMETHING’S WRONG.”

Babump!

When I looked around, It dawned on me that this spot on the wall wasn’t the only one leaking. The opposite wall had streams of murky liquid running down it. The firelight danced across its slick, undulating surface. It roiled and flickered like angry red sunlight over deep dark rivers. It was getting harder and harder to make out the wall beneath it all.

Splotches were seeping through the brightly colored tapestries of knights marching, staining their bright white armor and horses into an ugly red.

Puddles were spreading out from the entire length of the hall as far as I could see. Even far off where the furthest brazier burned and the rest of the space fell into shadow, I could see the light flickering off wet walls.

And the smell! The smell!! It was so strong I could almost taste the metallic tang now. The sickly sweet notes now underlying the overwhelming smell of iron only made it worse.

This… this couldn’t be a burst pipe. Could it?

Babump!

The puddles were closing in. The ruddy liquid was pressing in from all sides. I looked behind me and there was more lapping at the heels of my shoes. I took a step, more to test the floor than go anywhere. The liquid felt oddly thick. Droplets splashed up onto my ankles.

I panicked.

“Help! Phil! Techno! Somebody! Can anybody hear me? Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong!”

I shouted it at the top of my lungs and took off as fast as my bum leg could handle. Having to use a crutch was horribly slow, and every time instinct tried to kick in and have me put my weight on it, horrible throbbing rocked that side of me.

“Something’s leaking! The hall is filling! What’s happening?!?”

Babump!

And yet it kept dripping down. Tapered streams of red poured off the ceiling and dripped off sconces and braziers so that their flames sputtered and threatened to go out. It was getting harder to slosh my crutch through the heavy liquid. It already pressed uncomfortably against both ankles, leaking into my shoes, and threatening to climb higher.

I spotted a light at the end of the tunnel, both figuratively and literally. There were shafts of light stretching out from a crack in a door. I zeroed in on that light and threw my all into getting there. Someone had to be inside.

I slammed my fists against the wood. “Who’s in there?! The hallway’s flooding!?! Please!”

Babump!

The door flung outwards and I shrieked.

Something was towering over me in the doorway. A beast that put to shame each and every one of the monsters that chased me through the woods. It had a bristly hide and cloven hooves. Eyes flashed an angry, fiery red, and beneath those were long tusks that dripped blood red.

Another scream dried up in my throat. I had half the thought to back away when my crutch slipped. It fell out from underneath me and I found myself tumbling backwards. My backside hit the growing pool of red liquid and sent foul-smelling blood seeping through my clothes.

Because that’s what this was. I knew it deep within my bones now. I was sitting in a massive hall flooded with blood. Blood that ran down the walls and threatened to fill the entire castle. Blood like the gore that dripped from the tusks of the monster that leaned closer and closer and closer…

I threw my arm up over my eyes.

Babump!

“Wilbur?”

Huh?

With some effort, I forced my eyes open and lowered the arm in front of my face.

There before me, standing in the doorway and looking over me with a surprising amount of concern was Technoblade. I took a shaky breath and flicked my gaze back and forth to look at my surroundings. The hall was pristine. Well, not pristine. It was still dusty and a little scuffed from years of boots passing over the threadbare carpets, but it was dry. Nothing was dripping from the ceiling or running down the walls. The floor was clear. My clothes weren’t actually soaked with red. I took a long, slow breath in through my nose and my heart soared as I realized there wasn’t a metallic tang in the air. It smelled a little musty, and that was all.

A hand waved in front of my eyes and pulled my attention back to the man in front of me. “Wilbur,” Technoblade said again, this time a little sharper. “Are you okay?”

“I… I-I… I…”

“Geez, man. Please don’t tell me you’re going into shock or something. I’m not equipped to handle that sort of thing.”

I didn’t trust my voice enough to form a coherent sentence, so I shook my head.

“Not shock?” Techno leaned further past me and looked up and down the corridor with wide eyes. “Phil is much better at this sort of thing than me,” he admitted, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. If he was looking for Phil, he was out of luck. Nobody else was nearby. I was surprised Techno was here in the first place.

“Let’s get you up off the floor. It’s gotta be cold down there.”

He stooped down to wrap his arms under mine. I braced myself to help push myself to my feet, but in the blink of an eye Techno had me back up on my feet. The motion was fluid and fast. As effortless as picking up a doll and plopping it back down.

“I-I just…” I swallowed a lump in my throat and tried pulling myself together. “I just heard something. I… I heard something and I don’t- I didn’t know what it was.” A nervous laugh bubbled up in my chest. “God, I must still be half asleep. You really scared me there for a second.”

Some of the tension in his shoulders uncoiled. The concern on his face began to fade. He let out a grunt. “Heard something? Mind describing it to me?”

I wasn’t about to tell him about a wall that bled faster than a heart could beat. I wasn’t.

“Rhythmic,” I started, and wanted to kick myself when my voice pitched high. “Booming, maybe? Just a couple loud thumps. Probably nothing worth concerning yourself about, I’m sure. Could have just been footsteps. There’s a second floor above here, right?” Better. My voice was closer to its normal register, but now my words were picking up speed. That was more believable, right?

To my surprise, Technoblade perked up. “Rhythmic, you say? I think I know what you heard.” He nodded his head towards the room he just emerged from and went back inside. “Here. I want to show you something.”

I took a moment to stop and process. Probably too long. I doubted that he knew exactly what I was talking about, but if there was some sort of reasonable explanation past that door, I was in desperate need of something to cling to that could prove I wasn’t going crazy.

Color me surprised when I followed him inside.

“Drums?”

The corner of Technoblade’s mouth turned up in the barest hint of a smile as he looked at the strung-up instruments. There were two padded mallets left on the mantle of a fireplace at the front of the room. The leather stretched across the drumheads was scuffed from plenty of use. When Techno looked back at me, he tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.

“Everyone’s gotta have a hobby,” he droned in that monotonous voice of his.

I laughed again, utterly relieved. That explained half of my hallucination, which was more than I could have hoped for.

I wiped at the corner of my eye. “Forgive me, Technoblade. I didn’t take you to be much of a musician.”

“Well, I’ve always been pretty good at dishing out hits. Phil likes to think that this allows me to put that energy towards a more creative option.”

That sounded a little more in line with what I knew about Technoblade so far.

He picked up one of the mallets and let it twirl across the back of his hand. The handle wobbled over the catch of his knuckles before falling neatly back into his palm. Then he pointed the fabric-wrapped tip at my chest. “You play?”

“Not the drums. I’m more of a guitar man myself. Had this dream of starting up a band one day and figured the guitar made the most sense. But now that I’ve said that, you wouldn’t happen to know how to work a full drumset, would you?” The massive bass and snare drums in front of me gave me hope.

Which was immediately snuffed out when he shook his head. “Sorry. I’m not that kind of drummer.”

“Then what kind are you?” “The war drum kind.”

I rolled my eyes. “Technoblade, I’m sensing a running theme with you.”

“Then that means I’m staying on brand.”

It was hard to argue with that.

“You know,” he continued, drawing the words out. With one hand, he reached out to run his fingers across the edge of the nearest drum head. He placed the drumstick back on the mantle with the other. “I do enjoy it. Outside of techniques and terminology, or even staying on brand, it gives me something else to focus on. It feels good.

“For instance, there’s nothing quite like the beat of a drum. It’s more than sound. The best bass drums can be felt deep in your bones.” He placed a hand on his chest over his heart. “Have you ever stood next to one as it’s being played?”

I had.

“You can feel every stroke in your chest. It resonates. Like a heartbeat. Thud. Thud. Thud.” With each spoken ‘thud,’ he pounded his fist against his chest. The fingers resting against the drumhead tapped in time, making tiny, hollow sounds in the instrument.”

I could imagine the thrum in my own chest, as clear as if I were standing next to the drumset on stage again.

“The sound goes for miles. And like a heartbeat, it’s good for keeping time. That’s why drummers played over the sounds of battle while men marched in time. They relaid orders by playing codified beats that the others had memorized. It kept the tempo while men bled for their country.”

His phrasing nearly made me shiver.

“If you look into the history of it, what you find might pique your interest,” Technoblade finished, pulling both hands back so he could clasp them behind his back.

“Huh. Interesting. I was under the impression Phil was the history buff.

Techno smirked. “He’s seen his fair share, but I’m fairly well-read.”

“So I take it that those antiques on display in the corridor are yours?”

He grunted. “Eh. Most of them. Comes with the territory. We are in a castle, after all. There’s a lot of history here as well.”

I turned my back on him so I could peer out the door. It perfectly framed a small glass case shoved against the opposite wall with a gold totem inside. “I can only imagine the stories they’d tell.”

“If the walls could bleed, would you listen to the kind of stories they would tell?”

A shiver crawled down my spine and whipped back around to face Technoblade. There was that odd tone of his again. The same one he used during the horse ride up to the front gates. It practically echoed with a thousand other voices, years and years of experience and expectation packed into an odd question. Experience and expectation that Techno didn’t appear old enough to have. He looked like he could have been a year or two older than me at the most, though, that odd sense of maturity did seem to ooze out of every aspect of his personality.

And what a question to ask. One that hit a still-fresh nerve.

My heart raced once more as crystal-clear images of red dripping down walls and soaking through tapestries ran across my mind.

I shook my head. “I don’t think I would, honestly.”

Something sparked in the back of Techno’s eye. That barest glint of amusement. He tilted his head at an angle and let a huff of air out of his nose. “Yeah. You don’t seem the type.”

What did that mean? I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s a weirdly specific question-”

SLAM!

I nearly leaped out of my skin as Phil rounded the doorframe and smacked his hand against the already-open door. “Hey, Techno, are you still practicing your… Oh! Wilbur! You’re up. And here. Good. I was planning on stopping by you and Tommy’s room next.”

Techno crossed the room to snatch up a few blankets resting on a chair. “What do you need, Phil?”

“I wanted to talk breakfast. I wasn’t going to make our guests help in the kitchen.” Phil’s eyes flicked to me. “At least, not this time.”

“I’ll help.” Technoblade spread the blankets out over the top of the drums with an apathetic look. Any hint of concern or amusement over what we were just discussing was gone.

I wanted to prod him further, but Phil was looking at me again with those vast blue eyes. “Is Tommy up too?”

I shook my head. “No. He chose to take full advantage of the opportunity to sleep in this morning.” ‘Well, it shouldn’t take more than a half hour for me and Techno to throw something together. I’ve already started some of the prep work. Could you go wake him up and have him get ready?”

“Of course. That should be no problem at all.”

“You remember where the dining room is, right?”

I nodded.

“Then I’ll see you both down there soon. We’ll have ourselves a nice breakfast.”

“That sounds nice,” I admitted. “It was nice hearing about your hobbies, Techno,” I said, turning back to him.

“I appreciate that. Maybe next time I could listen to you play guitar.”

Phil gave me a curious look. “You play guitar?”

“I do. Maybe I’ll play you both a sample of my music some other time.”

Phil flashed a brilliant smile. “Sounds like fun.”

On that note, I slipped past him and out into the hall. Phil waited until I had hobbled a few paces away before gently shutting the door behind them.

That had been a lot to take in all at once. I needed a moment. It took some effort, but I managed to maneuver the crutch so that I could sidle up against the wall. To my relief, it wasn’t slick. The stone was still perfectly dry. Not a spot of red in sight. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I just needed a moment to take a deep breath and remember how to get back to the guest rooms.

That’s what I told myself, until Phil and Technoblade’s voices began to drift through the shut door.

“Thanks Phil.”

“Of course. It seemed like you two were getting along there.”

“Perhaps.”

“How are you feeling?”

There was a pause and a shuffle of fabric. “...better. But I also feel like I owe him an apology. Last night… It was an accident. I didn’t mean to let myself get out of hand like that.”

Huh. Curiosity kept me in place. I perked my ears up to listen. ‘Out of hand’ was the last thing I would use to describe Technoblade.

“I know.”

“I think it happened again. Just now, when he knocked on my door-”

“I know.” Phil’s voice sounded tired. “You’re not used to having to hide like this. I’m not either, mate. If things were different, it wouldn’t have mattered and he wouldn’t have seen anything and I wouldn’t have had to step in just now. You wouldn’t have had to walk out last night.

“The kid’s fine, at least,” he continued. “But this… I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. With that mark on his ankle, it’s only going to get more difficult. We’ll have to be careful.”

I looked down at my leg. It was still throbbing, and the angry purple bruise was clear in the dim firelight. Do what on purpose? And were they talking about me? They had to be. Who else would have a mark on their ankle? I couldn’t imagine what that would have to do with anything.

“They should have left as soon as you chased off those eggheads.”

“I don’t think that would have helped this time, Techno. Getting them out of here might have slowed down the process, but I saw the mark. This isn’t a case of our rowdy neighbors playing with their food. They were going to pull him into their domain. There’s no going back from that, and we stopped it before it could go any further. He’s floating adrift.”

I latched onto every word they spoke, no matter how little sense it made. They spoke as gravely as one might discuss a funeral. Even Technoblade, who up until now seemed barely capable of much when it came to inflection, spoke with words so heavy it sounded out of place in his voice.

They were talking about me. They had to be. I was somehow adrift, whatever that meant, and it was because of my ankle. I shifted it, pulling it ever so slightly closer to my other leg, and for a moment I could have sworn I saw blood dripping down the walls once more. When I blinked, though, everything looked fine.

Perfectly normal, even.

“Is he going to be able to go back?”

Phil didn’t answer for a moment, and my breath caught in my throat.

“I don’t know,” he finally answered, and the breath I was holding came out sharply. “If not, then I have a contingency-”

“Phil.”

“It’s fine, Techno.”

“Are you sure that’s even an option?”

“What, you wanna try?”

Another pause.

“He’s the one who said the pen is mightier than the sword. He sounded more like a politician, Phil. Not to mention he just failed one of my inquiries. It would never work if it were me.”

“Then let’s not argue over this. We’ll both just have to reign it in. I’ll try to convince them to stay another night. By then we’ll know for sure. If we have to take care of him, then we will.”

“What about the kid? Tommy?”

“I don’t know. We’ll figure that part out once we’ve sorted out Wilbur.”

“I suppose I could make use of him in my domain if I absolutely had to. Seems bloodthirsty enough.”

“Let’s not talk like that. Keep your chin up, mate. A couple of old souls like us finally have some company out here. Maybe we can ask them about what the world’s been like for the past couple of decades.”

“Alright. I’m done with the drums for today. How about the two of us make breakfast first, then we check in on those two?”

“Good, ‘cause I’m starving.”

They were coming. I couldn’t hear the footsteps behind the door but they sounded like the conversation was over. I was still eavesdropping right next to the door that they would be walking out of any second. My heart leaped in my chest and I bolted as fast as my injured leg would allow. The crutch tap tap tapped down the hall.

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