Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Tommy! Tommy wake up! We need to get out of here."

Tommy groaned and rolled over under his blanket, muttering something about pancakes. Wilbur shook his brother again, growing slightly frustrated on top of his ever building anxiety about his bold plan.

"Tommy, I swear, if you don't get up this instant, I'm leaving you here."

"Wilbuh, whadduwant", Tommy muttered, finally waking up slightly.

Wilbur sighed with relief. "Come *on*, we're leaving."

"What?"

Ignoring his little brother's confused mutterings, Wilbur grabbed him and pulled him into a sitting position. "Give me your feet so I can put your shoes on for you. Wake yourself up some, you need to be alert for this."

Tommy smacked his lips and watched blearily as his big brother shoved shoes onto his feet, jerking his legs awkwardly in his efforts.

"Wait." Tommy straightened suddenly, his brain finally catching up to the events of the last two minutes. "Did you say we're leaving? You're gonna get us out of this hell hole?"

The older prince finished tying Tommy's boots. Standing, he grabbed the boy's tiny hand. "Yeah. You're going to have to trust me, okay?"

Sweet Tommy hopped off his bed and looked up at his brother, eyes wide and hopeful. "Of course I trust you Wilby."

Wilbur smiled. He slung his and Tommy's already packed bags over his shoulder and marched to the bedroom door, his baby brother still holding onto him.

"Okay. Let's do this."

Chapter Text

Phil let the back door slam behind him as he walked inside. He shuffled through the small foyer into the kitchen, slinging his green and black poncho over the back of a chair. Pulling his floppy hat off his head and throwing it who-knows-where, he let out a soft sigh and began making coffee.

Coffee was always necessary after a morning walk on the beach, no matter how sticky and humid and gross it was outside. It was always sticky and humid and gross on the coast, even if it was raining. But coffee was always necessary.

It felt like these days, these few uneventful days since his retirement (if you could even call it that), had been filled with hot morning walks on the beach and sitting around reading. Phil had enjoyed it at first, but after the first week, it became boring.

Phil was used to a life of excitement, adventure, adrenaline. Always on the run, always in some sort of trouble. But he was good at it, and it was fun.

But those days were over now. Phil was by no means old, but the constant stress of being a mercenary (which was *technically* illegal, but often overlooked by the enforcers of the law), had taken a heavy toll on him over the years. And he needed rest. He knew it, but he didn't have to like it.

Phil took his fresh mug of coffee to the sitting room, which had a large window opening to the beach. He flopped into a hanging chair and sipped his drink, staring out of the window.

Okay. Yes. Phil was bored. Very, very bored. He was longing for a change in the monotonous pace of his new life.

In fact, he had been-

BANG.

Phil jumped and whipped his head in the direction of the front door. “What in the world…?”

“Open the door by order of the King!” A muffled voice shouted.

Phil stood and walked into the kitchen. He picked up his hat from the floor, shaking it out and putting it back on his head, before continuing through the kitchen, down the hall, and to the front door.

Opening the door a crack, he caught sight of a young messenger standing on the steps leading to his porch.

“Hello?” Phil said, calm but confused.

The messenger straightened. “Philza Minecraft, the King has a message for you."

"Go on."

Clearing his throat awkwardly, the messenger pulled a roll of paper from his satchel and handed it over. "I was ordered to give this to you and wait for a response. It's urgent."

Urgent. What did the King need Phil for? Phil was a criminal-a very skilled one, yes, but a criminal all the same.

Phil popped the King's seal off the paper, opened it with a slightly dramatic flourish (he couldn't help it), and began to read.

Philza Minecraft,

My sons, Crown Prince Wilbur and Prince Tommy, have disappeared. I believe they are in danger. You are a skilled man, and I need you to find them. I will pay handsomely. Send your response immediately.

No signature. Short and to the point. Urgent, certainly. The princes had run away, and from the looks of it, the King didn't want this to get out. So he was asking Phil, a criminal, to handle it for him.

Phil looked up at the messenger with a grin. This was what he had been waiting for, wasn't it?

"Tell the King, I accept."

Chapter Text

When had Wilbur woken Tommy up in the middle of the night, he had never expected to end up hiding in the storage of a ship. He didn’t like it at all. It waa dark, and smelled like fish, salt water, and something he couldn’t quite place.

“Wilbur,” Tommy whispered. “Wilbur, how long are we gonna be in here?”

Wilbur jumped, wide eyed. “Tommy!” He hissed. “Shhhhh you’re being so loud. We’ll be in here until it docks next, then we’ll sneak out.”

Tommy huffed. He thought he had been perfectly quiet. In reality, his whisper was something akin to a breathy yell, but the young boy had no idea of this.

“How long until it docks next?”

Wilbur shrugged. “Could be two days, could be two weeks.”

Ugh. Two weeks? Tommy certainly hoped not.

Wilbur leaned against the wall, and Tommy settled under his arm. The slight curve of the wall made the position comfortable and the gentle rocking of the boat as it made it’s way to it’s next destination lulled the boys to sleep.

Tommy never felt afraid when he was with Wilbur, even if they were on the run from the King, all alone on a strange ship, going who knows where. Tommy was safe with Wilbur.

—————————

Technoblade’s POV

Technoblade had ordered his men to ignore the two stowaways in the storage room. They were clearly running from something, and Technoblade didn’t really mind them joining him and his crew on their voyage. Of course, the brothers had no idea that Techno knew they were there. It was better that way. If they knew Techno meant them no harm, they might become bold and start asking for things like food. Heaven forbid.

The trip wouldn’t be long. They would dock in three days, and Technoblade would let the boys off then, without a fuss. It would be much easier to go about his business without having to worry about two stowaways on his ship.

He tried to block out the memory of thise two pale, frightened faces that he had seen for just a moment before they disappeared below deck. He tried not to wonder what they were running from, or what could be after them. He tried not to care.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times he denied it, Technoblade was a good man. So of course he cared. Of course he was curious. And of course he decided to find the boys in their hiding spot one day, and make sure they were alright. Of course.

Chapter Text

Phil had not a single idea on where to start looking for the princes. But, seeing as this was a coastal kingdom, he thought that the docks were as good a place as any to start asking around. So that's just what Phil did. Phil, the un-retired illegal mercenary who was suddenly in the King's service. What in the world.

The harbors were constantly busy and full of life. Sailors, merchants, fishermen, prostitutes, pirates, law enforcement, all bustling around at every hour of the day-and night. After hours of asking anyone and everyone if they had seen two boys, one brunette teenager and one blonde pre-teen, with only the smallest leads, Phil wondered if this was worth it at all.

And then he got a lead, a real one this time. A merchant had seen two boys matching Phil's description leave on a ship yesterday morning. The man said that the captain of the ship went wherever he pleased and was a common source of trouble on the docks. A pirate, Phil assumed. When Phil had asked where they were going next, the merchant had shrugged.

"If I had t'guess," he'd said slowly. "I'd say 'e'll make dock at the next kingdom over. That's where he normally goes after doing business 'ere. Good luck sir, yer gonna need it."

Phil had thanked the man, and then boarded the next ship to the kingdom across the strait. He would be roughly a day behind the princes, which would be a problem if he wasn't Philza Minecraft, a master tracker. He would find the boys, bring them back to the palace, take his payment and go back into retirement.

And that was that.

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Wilbur's pov

Somehow, Wilbur and Tommy had successfully avoided being caught. Despite Tommy's constant loud whispering that could barely be considered whispering. Despite their hideout occasionally coming within inches of being discovered. Despite the fact that crew members were always passing their area and, strangely, leaving plates with slices of bread and cheese on them, just within reach of the two terrified boys.

Wilbur was not going to question why the sailors tended to leave food unattended so near to his and Tommy's hiding place. If he thought about it too hard, he might discover something he would rather not know. If he denied the fact that the crew's kindness was probably intentional, then he would not be indebted to anyone for their help. He couldn't owe anyone anything, otherwise he might have to choose that over Tommy and that was unacceptable. Tommy always, always, came first, no matter what.

"I know you two are hiding back there."

Wilbur froze at the sound of the deep, unfamiliar voice. He locked eyes with Tommy, who stared at him in utter terror. The older boy took the risk of raising his finger to his lips in a shushing motion. Maybe if they stayed silent, the man would think he was wrong and leave them be. Wishful thinking, Wilbur knew. All the man had to do was look around a few boxes, and he would find the stowaways.

Taking a deep breath, Wilbur made the reckless (and possibly safer) decision to reveal himself before the man found them first.

"I'm here," he whispered, stomach roiling with anxiety.

There was silence for a moment, as if the crew member was deciding what to say or do. "You can come out. I won't hurt you."

Wilbur looked at his brother who was violently shaking his head no. Tommy clearly wanted to stay in their hiding place, and Wilbur agreed. But...what if the sailors could help them? Wilbur was very aware of his limited resources. Maybe the sailors would let him work for them for the rest of the voyage and he could earn some money or food.

Steeling himself, Wilbur stepped out of the hiding spot, and Tommy grabbed onto his hand, following behind.

The brothers came face to face with a tall pink haired man. He was wearing a loose white shirt, and brown pants. Wilbur noticed that he wore quite a few belts, and had boots that came up almost to his knees.

The man smiled slightly. “Hello boys. I’m Captain Technoblade. Welcome to the Emerald.”

Chapter Text

Technoblade did not like children. But he also did not like the thought of two children hiding in the cargo hold of his ship because something had scared them so bad they felt the need to run from it.

And so, Technoblade, the infamous, the feared, the brilliant captain of the Emerald, found himself standing in front of two boys, one in his mid-teens and the other no older than 8. Both had pale faces, both were much too thin for their ages.

“Hello boys. I’m Captain Technoblade. Welcome to the Emerald.”

The boys stared up at him, wide-eyed and terrified.

Techno raised an eyebrow. “Well? What are your names? Who are you running from?”

The younger boy looked uncertainly up at the older, who let out a long sigh.

“I’m Wilbur,” the older boy said quietly. “This is my little brother, Tommy.”

Wilbur and Tommy. Hmmm…

Technoblade knew those names. Anyone familiar with the area did. The gears in Techno’s pirate mind began spinning. These two boys were princes, and they had run away from home. Chances were, the king did not know where they were. Which meant he would be looking for them.

Techno, while not necessarily a bad man, was still a pirate. So, a very pirate-y idea popped into his mind. He would think more on it later.

“Wilbur and Tommy. Good to meet you, I suppose. Are you hungry?"

Tommy nodded his head violently. "Yes, yes I'm hungry. All we've had for the past two days is bread and cheese."

"Tommy," Wilbur hissed, as if Technoblade was not standing right in front of them and could clearly hear him speaking. "We don't know if we can trust him, let alone eat food he offers us."

Techno cleared his throat. "You can't trust me. But that bread and cheese that has been left for you the past two days? That was from me. So, you can't trust me, but you can eat my food."

With that, Techno turned and climbed up the ladder of the storage hold, not waiting to see if the boys were following.

Chapter Text

“Wilburrrrrrr,” Tommy whined, tugging on his brother’s sleeve. “Wilbur, he’s offering us foooooood!! I’m starvinggggggg. Pleaaaseeee, can we go up there? What if he changes his mind?”

Wilbur frowned. “I don’t know, Tommy. We don’t know him. Besides, it can’t be much longer until we land. We can survive without a meal til then.”

Tommy groaned and threw himself on the ground. He was frustrated yes, but he wouldn’t go up to the deck without Wilbur no matter how hungry he was. So he decided he would whine and complain until he got his way (this usually worked because he could be very annoying when he wanted to be).

“Wilbur, please? I’m so hungry." He stared up at his brother with wide, pathetic eyes. "You wouldn't let me starve, would you Wil?"

Wilbur regarded him for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I don't trust him, Toms. I think he might be a pirate."

"But-but that doesn't matter! It's not as if he knows who we are! Plus, I'm starving."

It took another half hour of Tommy's nagging and whining for Wilbur to finally, grudgingly, give in.

—————————

Wilbur’s POV

Wilbur was not keen on going above deck to eat Captain Technoblade’s food. He didn’t trust the man, and he even suspected he might be a pirate.

But…Tommy was hungry. And being really, really annoying. Technoblade couldn’t do anything too bad to them, right?

Plus, Wilbur could use a little something to eat himself.

So, after half an hour of Tommy’s incessant whining, Wilbur gave in.

Wilbur climbed the ladder first, to make sure it would be safe. Then he hauled Tommy up behind him. Once he was sure Tommy was okay, he let himself look around.

And…

The sky was blue. So very blue. And the sun was warm and shining. The boys stood, basking in the rays, for the first time in days. It was a wonderful feeling.

Wilbur nearly jumped out of his skin as Technoblade landed with a soft thud in front of them, having swung from a rope on the mast.

“I see you’ve decided to join us. You’re hungry, I suppose? Follow me.”

Tommy grabbed Wilbur’s hand and tugged him forward, in the direction of Technoblade. With a sigh, the older brother allowed himself to be led away. They followed the captain to a cabin under the quarter deck-Technoblade’s quarters, Wilbur assumed.

The pink-haired man led the boys inside. Directly in front of them was a large desk, with two plates full of bread, cheese, and meat. Tommy ran towards this as Wilbur took in the rest of the room. The bed was in a nook in the left wall, the far wall was a huge window, showing off the vast expanse of the sea, and the right wall was covered in maps and charts.

“Wilbur, come on!” Tommy exclaimed, already pulling a chair out to sit down and eat.

Technoblade smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. “Yes Wilbur, your brother is hungry and waiting for you.”

Wilbur warily approached the table, and, hesitating slightly, sat down beside Tommy. Technoblade gestured for them to start eating, and when they did he opened his mouth to speak.

“While you enjoy your meal, I have something I need to speak to you about.”

Wilbur looked up from his plate, mouth empty, having been pushing food around unhappily. He did not trust this man.

“Crown Prince Wilbur, and Prince Tommy, I have decided to hold you for ransom.”