Chapter Text
He already knew this would happen since the day the war started, he could remember it clearly, too clearly in fact. He had been just a child when he got the news himself, and he remembers staring at his mother in horror when she told him his father had to leave to support the war, a war they didn’t want in the first place. Besides that, no one remembers exactly why the war had started, there was supposed to be a simple meeting between the kings of their city, and in the end one of them ended up dead, and the other got blamed.
Ever since then, the two city’s have been at war, neither of them willing to give up, both of them fighting for justice, neither of them aware what it’s even for. Wilbur had joined the war as soon as he possibly could, joining in his father’s footsteps, he has risen in the ranks quickly, his expertise with a sword paying off, and ending up with him having his own squad of soldiers right under his command..
And he still remembers a time where they weren’t enemies, when his once best friend was from that now cursed city, brilliant green eyes, messy dirty blond hair, what was his name again? He couldn’t quite remember, but he remembers making fun of the other boy, spending their days toying around. He hasn’t seen that boy in years but, every now and then, his old friends comes to mind, and he wonders what ever happened to that bright eyed boy with a wheezing laugh.
The sun shone brightly, lighting up the forest clearing beautifully. A short boy around his age quickly took his attention, bright green eyes filled with joy. He was waving his hands around manically, trying to catch Wilbur’s attention, “Look! We can still see our cities from here!’” He immediately went towards his younger friend, an amused smile on his face.
“Really? Thought we were out here to look for wolves! Not sightseeing!”
The shorter boy seemed to pout at that, and started to shake his head. “Alright you meanie! We’ll go find your woofs! Maybe i can find one for Sapnap.”
After that short exchange of words the two continued to walk through the forest, Wilbur taking the lead, while his childhood friend followed close behind him.
He looked down at the new headstone in l’Manberg, letting out a sigh, the boy was much too young to end up under the ground. He leans down and gently places more fresh flowers on top of the fresh dirt, adding to the pile of flowers and small gifts. He brushes his hand over Tommy’s name, sorrow filling his heart, before shaking his head, curly brown hair falling in his face.
With his heart as heavy as stone he turned around, walking away, back towards the rest of his soldiers.
He doesn’t want to think about either of the blondes anymore, one nameless, and one lost.
-☘︎︎-
It was a week later, a week after that fateful duel, and Wilbur looked up at the hill, silently watching the other side’s soldiers advance towards them slowly. His eyes widen as he spots a painful gap in their front lines, the soldiers next to the gap looking down at his soldiers with contempt.
One of the soldier had short brown hair, and his eyes were hidden by white rimmed glasses, they hide his eyes but they don’t hide the openly hostile body language of the soldier. The man had a bow aimed right at him, it hurts when he recognises that it’s one of the soldiers present when they blew up l’Manbergs northern wall. One of the soldiers always right next to their captain, no doubt he was out to get him.
His eyes slowly wander over to the other soldiers, and he immediately regrets doing so, it felt like looking directly into a mirror, the soldier’s eyes were cold, and filled with silent anger,. But underneath all that he sees love and grief, hidden so well, the only reason he could see it so easily was due to the same feelings inside his own heart.
The longer he looks at the ebony haired soldier the more he regrets doing so, as he slowly starts to realise who it was. And he’s taken right back to the day of the duel, it feels like he’s on his knees all over again, hanging his head over the dead body of a young blond boy he considered to be a brother, slowly turning his head to look at the man who did this, the man who shot the arrow right through Tommy’s heart.
He was shocked to recognise that the ebony haired soldier was cradling an equally broken body, but it at least seemed to be a breathing body. The only thing stopping him from running directly towards the broken body of his enemy was Fundy’s hand firmly on his shoulder, stopping him from doing anything rash. And if that wouldn’t have stopped him, the three soldiers guarding their fallen companion sure did, that same Brown haired soldier blocking his path to revenge.
There was a bad taste in his mouth, and he’d only realise later that he had been biting down on his tongue the entire time, hard enough to draw blood.
He’s taken right back to the present when l’Manbergs war horn sounds, and he nods towards the men he has left. “Don’t engage with the soldiers from the duel, i am not losing more of you. If you see them approaching retreat to another part of the battlefield immediately.” They all nod understandingly, there were other times to enact their revenge, but for now, they needed to stay alive.
After a nod from their general, Wilbur raises his sword towards the hill, looking at the other soldiers menacingly, before both sides of the battle start running towards each other. The archers staying back, aiming at the men further back, while the swordsmen run directly at each other, blood spilling already.
Anguished cries and angry shouts echo throughout the battlefield, the sounds of it bring back to the day of the duel, once again.
The second the green tipped arrow pierces Tommy’s heart, he hears screaming all around him, it takes only seconds before he lets out a shout of his own. Tubbo ran towards Tommy the quickest, quickly followed by himself, and eventually Fundy. Before he can even think about it he drops down to his knees, pulling Tommy into his lap.
He feels rage build up within him when he sees it’s already too late for the young boy, he was dead before he even hit the ground. The accuracy of the arrow was something he had only seen in two people before, and he felt gleeful, realising that one of them would be dead by the end of today. It might have caused Tommy’s death, but it seemed he was capable of taking out their captain.
Strands of bloody blond hair slip through his fingers as he anxiously runs his hand through Tommy’s hair, a mockery of the way he did right before the battle. He feels Tubbo’s fingers meet his in the mess, just as bloody as his own, begging his best friend to please come back he feels Fundy’s hand on his shoulder, a steadying and warm anchor before it dissapears.
In the distance he hears Fundy argue and yell, the voices of the enemy soldiers yelling right back at him, he knows he should get up and speak with them, any rational captain would do so, but he can’t find it in himself to force his body upwards. The silence surrounding Tommy, Tubbo and him however, is deafening, so he tunes into the soft whispering he hears across the bridge, and his hatred immediately builds up again, enough for Wilbur to force himself upwards, walking over to Fundy.
“This war is not over, we will not stop fighting for our justice.”
The words echo around them, and all of the soldiers freeze, looking at Wilbur with looks ranging from confusion, to disgust. His own hatred however, fuels him on, if there was one person that should’ve died during the duel it was their captain, not Tommy, never him. And now the man was being held in an embrace he did not deserve, he was glad the other was still suffering however, wishing nothing more for the man that did this to him and his people.
“Our truce is over, and i won’t hesitate to-“
The horn sounds again, signalling their retreat. He looks around wildly for the rest of his soldiers, catching their eyes one by one before, he signalled his confirmation towards them and watched as they slowly retreated back towards the city. He turns around only to be confronted by the ebony haired man, a diamond sword glinting dangerously at his neck.
“Not another step.” Was all the other man had to say to him, his voice sounding surprisingly relaxed, it would be comforting if there wasn’t a sword at his throat.
“What are you here for soldier? Your forces have won for today.” He crossed his arms, looking as unfazed as he possibly could. As far as he was aware the soldiers mostly relied on their old captain for plans, the only reason they managed to get away from him so often was purely because of him, and with him out of the way there wasn’t much to worry about. If the ebony haired man seemed worried, he didn’t show it, as he proceeded to utter a name he didn’t think he’d hear again.
“I’m here for Dream.”