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Wilbur's breaths came in short gasps as he sprinted through the woods, pushing off tree trunks and careening forwards. His feet flew over stones and leaves, wind whipping his hair back from his face. He forced himself to take longer strides, panting when he finally came to a halt. The prince stumbled around, staring back through the twisting of the forest he traversed through. Every step he took was a blur, travelling further from the palace grounds as his guard chased close behind. The man had seemingly disappeared however, leaving him only with his thoughts to accompany him. A bead of sweat rolled down his face, letting out a final sigh as he stared up at the bright summer sky. Beams of sun shone down, the warmth kissing his skin as sunlight's hands cupped his face.
He pulled out his pocket mirror, gazing at his reflection and running a hand through his brown tresses of hair and smoothing it down. The day was still young, he had time to lurk around these woods for a few hours more. He couldn't of ran that far, either way. He moved towards the small lake that had caught his eye, bushes with flowers adorning them surrounding the waters. He sat himself down, leaned back and let the peaceful forest morning drag him to a world of his own. The chirps of the birds sunk in, filling his ears, along with the small breezes that caused the leaves to rustle and shake against each other. The incessant maunderings of small animals prancing around, squirming into small cracks in the rocks or tiny dens in the ground.
The rushing damp smell of the water attacked his nose, pocket mirror laying discarded beside him. Wilbur relished in the peace, letting it pry into his pores and wriggle under his skin, the hyper-awareness of his surroundings clashing with the usual chaotic manner of his home. As his eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the light of the blue sky that poured down, he thumped back down into the dirt. The wisps of grass tickled his ears as they flew around, his fingers reaching for the pocket mirror once again, admiring the light carvings that embellished the case. A fish and a fox, strange things that were completely different yet somehow worked together perfectly. The mirror also had a strange pull to it.
Perhaps he liked the mirror because of how it perfectly symbolized his relationship with Technoblade, this week alone arguing three times thus far. They were so different yet always came back to each other, twirling around together in a lovely dance as they skittered down the steps of the palace, laughs filling the hallways as servants watched from a distance. Something else lingered in his mind though, racing to try and remember what, a memory that Wilbur couldn't quite recall. There was something important he seemed to had forgotten, if only he could find out what.
A loud crunch caused him to nearly drop the mirror out of his hands, whipping his head forward to where the noise came from. The susurration of the summer breeze was drowned out by the heavy thumps of his heartbeat. Technoblade wouldn't win this battle today, their little tag came couldn't come to an end now. On the opposite side of the lake though, a boy let out a heavy groan and fell on his knees near the edge of the water, shifting in place as he hugged his legs and pulled them closer together. His golden locks shone as small cracks of light tugged on them, the forest much thicker on the other end as shadows loomed over him. The silence dragged on before Wilbur cleared his throat.
"Hello?!" Wilbur hollered to the boy, who lifted his head and immediately crawled back. Shock painted the boys features, eyes darting around in panic before he let out a small wave. "What's your name!?"
"Sup, I'm Tommy.... What's your name?" He responded, words trembling and weak as he tried to string together words. His voice was raspy and hoarse, rim of his eyes red and puffy.
Wilbur contemplated for a moment, could he give his identity away to a stranger? Tommy looked about fourteen, perhaps older, but he could easily be a trap set by an assassin. His mind rushed for a moment, like a racecar it zoomed through the complex racetrack of his mind. When his mind finally settled and he looked back at the boy, he noticed the bright blue eyes blinking back at him, sparkling with curiosity. "You can... You can call me Wilby!"
Wilby. He let out a small grin, memories of when he was a child and his mother would run her fingers through his hair, whispers of that very name escaping from her tongue.
Tommy seemed satisfied with that answer, returning a smile back to him, be it a weak one, and muttering something under his breath. The two sat in heavy silence, Wilbur shooting holes through the boy who in return picked at some grass and chucked it around. The lake stirred, water filling the thick quiet to the brim with somewhat comforting noise. The birds swooped down and tumbled around together, the shadows of the leaves shrouding the two. Wilbur tapped his foot on the floor, the kid seemed quite awkward. Tommy peeped up again, tensing his shoulders seeing the way Wilbur pierced darts through his soul. The small critters roaming through the woods around the two quiet figures rushed away as a familiar monotone voice rang through the trees.
"Prince Wilbur! Your father is requesting you down at the stables! Prince Wilbur?!"
Wilbur hoisted himself up, taking one final wave at the boy plucking the grass under his feet before scurrying towards the source of the voice. The whispers of a pocket mirror laying lost in the grass, the begs of the fish and the fox for the prince to return was left unheard.
Wilbur felt a sense of deja-vu, looking out to the other side of the lake at the familiar boy who rested a book against his lap, turning the pages every few seconds. They were canopied by overhanging trees, the mellow bright sky penetrating through the cracks in the leaves. The luminescent and unearthly orange hue the forest soaked in radiating a golden glow. Gnarled trees shivering, wreathed in ivy, whilst younger ones stood tall and shook in the breeze. The crisp smell of dewy foliage wafted through the air, the waters of the lake churning. Petrichor emanated off the wisps of grass, traces of the heavy roars of thunder plaguing the midnight sky. He rested the guitar in his hands, tinkering around with a few strings as he tuned the instrument. He knitted his brows closer together, clenching his teeth as he attempted so desperately to create the right rhythm.
"That sounds really pretty, Wilbur..." Tommy commented from the other end of the lake, eyes drawn away from his book and curiously watching as Wilbur fiddled around with the guitar. "Like... It's really fucking manly that you play the guitar."
Wilbur's face twisted into a warm smile as he shook his head, the word manly echoing through his mind. He glanced up at Tommy, smirk tugging at his face. "Manly? That's the word you use for it?"
"Oi! It is! Get yourself a man who can play an instrument, y'know!? Well, you're out here spending time with me, so it looks like you don't have any game anyway. Need all the help you can get!" Tommy grinned as he spoke, seemingly no care in the world as he threw his head back and roared with laughter. Wilbur chuckled softly in response, strumming the guitar strings and playing around with different melodies. As the laughter died down, all that was left was the enchanting pull of the guitar, a sirens call that lured poor sailers in. The dance of the earth under their feet, the swaying of the waters and winds, a curious set of blue eyes observing and watching with a undiscernible emotion glazed over them.
"You know, that joke really isn't funny. I could get you executed, I'm a prince after all." Wilbur's hands paused. "I'm guessing you know that, though. You didn't call me Wilby, after all."
"No shit, I didn't call you Wilby! I heard that weird low guy before, you lied to me!" Tommy huffed, slamming his book shut and placing it next to him. "A liar, you are. Dirty liar."
The kid truly had no fears, did he? Talking so casually to a prince. The strange tug it gave his heartstrings was odd, to say the least, the fact that someone who didn't have years of history with him could address him so casually. The boys eyes fell to his hands that were swathed in bandages. "The hell happened there?"
"Huh- oh, my hands? Callouses from horseback riding yesterday, the reins I used weren't the best for my hands..." Wilbur admitted, resting his guitar against his chest and displaying his hands for Tommy to gawk at.
"Eh? Horseback riding, you really are a posh prince. You should loosen up more, use your creativity" Tommy teased, the prince raising a brow in response.
"Use my creativity?" Wilbur sighed, gripping onto his guitar again. "What do you think I'm doing? Just randomly plucking strings?"
"Not like that! Picture this, we've started a nation together!" He pointed his finger toward a tree on his own side, before pointing to a tree on Wilbur's side. "That tree to that tree is our nation. We can call it... I don't know to be honest..."
Wilbur wasn't five, he wasn't the type to enjoy playing stupid make believe games with little commoner boys. But when he closed his eyes, letting out a low hum, he imagined a city built with solid foundations. He envisioned the two sitting like they were right now, except closer, watching the sun fall as they declared a new world for...
"If we're making a country together... How about we call it, L'manberg?"
"L'manberg it fucking is!"