Chapter Text
The carriage ride was interesting.
Well, nothing really happened. What was interesting was the way Technoblade would stare in awe at everything. The streets, the sky, the stars.
It saddened Phil. This child had been in captivity for so long that he forgot what the sky looked like.
All of the royals were still fuming. Here was a child whose wonder and curiosity of the world had nearly been snuffed out because his parents only cared about money and his captors were the most sadistic jerkwads you’d ever meet. He deserved so much more than that.
Tommy was asking a million questions, his tongue moving a mile a minute. He wanted to know everything about what he missed, but he also wanted to know what his new home would be like. Techno had yet to say a word or even close his mouth from where he was gaping, slack-jawed at the setting around them.
They pulled into the courtyard of the castle, and both Tommy and Techno’s eyes bulged. Phil saw Wilbur snicker under his hand, and he nudged him to shut up and let them have their moment.
Dream, Sapnap and George waited to open the door for them and update them on the happenings when they left earlier. Sapnap held the carriage open for them to step out, and Dream offered his hand to help them down. Kristin took it first, hitching up her skirt as she climbed down. Wilbur jumped down, completely disregarding Dream’s outstretched hand, and Phil nodded at him but pushed it away. Dream smiled at him and stooped into a bow with Sapnap and George following suit. Dream stepped away, leaving George to help Techno and Tommy down, which he did.
Techno and Tommy were hesitant to get out, but then the hesitancy was gone and Tommy jumped onto George, who grunted and almost toppled over.
Techno crawled out too, just as Dream said, “Your Majesty, we have an update for you.”
Sapnap nodded, “Yes. We swept the location and cleared out all of the involved perpetrators. They’re all crowded in the dungeon and are awaiting punishment.”
George yawned. “Yup, you can do what you want with them. Is there anything else you want us to do, or can we turn in for the night?”
Phil sighed. “You three can turn in, as long as you send a maid to us first. Great work today.”
The three bowed and rushed off.
“You’re the king?” Tommy asked ecstatically. Techno was staring at the little family wide-eyed. “That’s so cool!”
Phil giggled. “Yeah, we might’ve forgotten to mention that minor detail.” Techno paled, and that kind of set off alarm bells in Phil’s head. “Is everything alright?”
“If you’re the king,” Techno responded, so quiet the family could barely hear him, “Then why would you save us? What do you want from us? Do you want us to be your guards or your servants or something? Are you gonna sell us again?”
Phil sucked in a breath. Ooh, this was bad.
He stepped forward, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “No, no, no, no, no…” he coaxed the teenager, who was practically hyperventilating.
“I can be a servant if you need me to,” Techno whispered, tears streaming down his face. “But please don’t do what they did, especially not to Tommy…”
Phil’s heart shattered, and he pulled Techno into a hug. “No, I will never do that to you. And you aren’t gonna be our servant. Kristin and I are going to take care of you, and we’re going to love you, and support you. We will never hurt you.”
Techno sniffed. “Promise..?”
Phil hummed. “I promise, mate.”
Techno gave him a wobbly smile, wiping tears from his face. “Thank you…”
“Of course.” Phil turned back to the group, “How about we go inside?”
—(—<->—)—
The castle was huge.
Pillars lined the halls, climbing into the sky it felt like. Every corner had beautiful architecture, an arched window, a vase filled with flowers, a portrait hanging on the wall- something to make the space feel occupied.
A nice-looking woman with poofy brown and white split hair walked up and bowed deeply. “Hello!” she greeted, her voice immediately making Techno feel safe. “Dream said you needed assistance?”
Phil nodded. “Yes. Puffy, this is Techno and this is Tommy. I would like to ask you go start up a bath each and set up two bedrooms for them.”
Puffy nodded and went off to do that. Techno turned to look at him, confusion written all over his face. “What’s a bath?”
All three members of the royal family stopped dead in their tracks and stared at him, horrified. “They didn’t even give you baths?!” He exclaimed.
Technoblade shook his head.
“A bath is when you get in a tub of water completely naked so that you can clean off all of the grime and stuff on you,” Wilbur answered his original question matter-of-factly. “Usually, they’re warm and they feel super good.”
Tommy grabbed on to Techno’s hand and said, “I like baths! Sometimes there are bubbles!”
Phil sighed. “How about this,” he started. “Kristin, you go ahead to our room and start your own bath. While you’re in there, I’ll take Techno and Tommy to their respective bathrooms and show them where everything is, kind of give them a feel for what they’re supposed to be doing.”
Kristin nodded and nudged her son. “Come on, Wil. You need a bath too.”
“We all do, Mum. We have blood, sweat, and tears on us.”
She chuckled. “Fair enough.”
—(—<->—)—
Turns out that baths were quite nice.
Admittedly, he probably spent longer in there than he should’ve, but it just felt so good to be able to have something nice for once. It was warm, safe, he had never felt like that in all of the past ten years.
Techno rubbed a dry towel over his wet hair and marveled at the soft texture of the new clothing he found himself in. It was red and it felt silky, with just the right temperature that felt cool against his skin.
When was the last time he was given a change of clothes? Or the last time he ever was properly cleaned.
Honestly, when Techno had stepped out of the bath, the water in the tub had turned a reddish-brown. It was disgusting.
Techno set the towel aside and flopped on the bed. Oh, this was nice too. It was soft and warm and comfortable- it was so much better than sleeping on the hard ground, shackled to a wall.
Tap-tap-tap.
Someone was knocking on the door.
“It’s me, mate.”
Oh. Phil.
“Come in,” Techno managed.
Phil peeked his head in, stepping across the threshold and closing the door behind him. He was holding some sort of cream.
Techno sat up and stared at it warily. “What is that for?”
Phil smiled. “Do any of your scars ache or anything?”
Techno nodded, confused.
“Well this is a relief cream. Goes on sore spots to ease the throbbing. It really works.”
Techno perked up at that. That kind of thing existed?
Phil crossed the room and sat on the bed. “You want me to help you get it on?”
Techno nodded, tugging his shirt off mindlessly.
Phil smiled, screwing open the lid and scooping some of the solution onto his finger.
He started first on Techno’s arms but stopped when he came across the stab wound in his hand. “What is this?” he asked, already feeling anger boiling inside him.
Techno shrugged. “Discipline. They had a schedule they held us to, and sometimes, during Discipline, they just punched and kicked us, but…” at this Techno’s eyes welled up with tears. “Sometimes, they’d use guns and knives and s-spears and bats and pipes and-“
Phil was beyond horrified- and beyond furious- but right now his priorities lie with Techno. He pulled Techno into a tight hug. “Shh, shh… it’s okay…”
Techno buried his face in Phil’s shoulder. “Why do I feel like I’m getting weak? Why have I cried three times today when I haven’t cried once in the past four years? Am I as pathetic as they said I am?”
Phil rubbed a hand up and down his back. “No, no… you aren’t pathetic and you sure aren’t weak. Technoblade, you spent ten years in torture while trying to be strong for everyone else, conviently shoving your own feelings and emotions to the side. You’ve gone through so much for so long, and you’re hurting, and that’s okay. You don’t have to be strong anymore. You are enough. And I cry sometimes, you have even more of a reason to.”
Techno looked at him, plain vulnerability in his eyes. “Really?”
“Really,” Phil responded. “Whether you realize it or not, you are still a kid, a kid who’s been suffering, and if you need to let out the tears of pain and hurt that you had to repress, then go ahead.”
Techno didn’t say anything more, instead pulling away and allowing Phil to continue applying the cream.
When Phil got around to his back, which took a bit, because he had a lot of scars. When Phil finally laid his eyes on the wings, he drew in an awestruck breath. Techno glanced back at him in confusion. “Is something wrong?”
Phil shook his head, glancing at the wings on Techno’s back. They were beautiful, a soft pink in color with feathers littered throughout that were different shades of pink. The tips of the primaries and secondaries were a cream color, and each of the coverts had flecks of gold littered throughout. They were truly a spectacle. “They’re beautiful,” he whispered.
Techno turned bright red, turning away in embarrassment.
“Although,” Phil continued, gently resting his hands on either side of them and guiding them outwards. “It won’t do you any good to have them pressed so tightly against your back, mate. They’ll get sore and start to lock in place like that, meaning they’ll start to throb when you do move them. You don’t have to keep them all the way out, they can still tuck nicely between your shoulder blades, just relax them a little.”
Phil felt Techno’s wings slacken in his hand. “Great job, mate.”
Phil finished off applying the cream before he stood up. He rested a hand on top of Techno’s head and smiled. “You’re doing great. Come to me if you need anything at all. My room is right down the hall.”
Techno nodded.
Phil smiled. “Great. Sleep well.”
With that, Phil left. Techno didn’t know why he felt so bubbly inside.
Actually, he did.
No one had ever deigned to hold him and tell him it was going to be okay or to tell him that it was okay for him to cry. That was usually what he did for the other kids. It felt nice to have someone care about him and do that for him in the way that he did for the others.
Techno sighed and shuffled under his bed comforters, once again allowing the soft comfortable mattress to envelope him, and with that fuzzy feeling in his heart, he finally fell asleep.