TACENDA // Technoblade X Reader

3

When you woke up the next morning, the matter of the gold was still dancing around the corner of your mind. You didn't understand how your father could dismiss something so obviously out of place so easily - but as the second-born, it wasn't your place to say anything on the matter, so you kept quiet, and went about your day as you normally would. 

You took your breakfast in the library - freshly toasted sourdough bread drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of basil and pepper - as you worked your way through a novel you'd been reading for some time. The tome was over a thousand pages and easily one of the biggest books in the room, but it had caught your attention not for the size, but for the contents. It was a traveler's guide, written by one of the great explorers of the old age. He had detailed everything from the coast to the mountains, and even traveled to both the Nether and the End. It was a treasure trove of information and wonder for someone who had never left the 500 block radius around the palace.

This morning, you skipped to the section about the Nether, still wondering if somehow, the pillagers had managed to find a way there. The book had nothing to offer you on that front though, so you set it aside once you finished your breakfast, and made your way to the ballroom. 

You would often go there after breakfast, just for a snatch of quiet and maybe a dance before your other royal duties called you. Usually it was empty. Today, as you pushed open the large oak doors and slipped inside, it was not.

Two sets of purple eyes turned to look at you from the orchestra's balcony. The twins.

"Good morning Your Highness." They said in unison, disappearing from the balcony to pop back into existence in front of you. They both stooped into a quick bow before straightening up again. 

"Good morning Tarquin, Deirdre." You said. "What brings you in here so early?"

They traded a look, and Deirdre cracked a smile. You knew that look - you had seen it many times when you had been growing up.

A smile playing on your lips, you leaned forward. "What have you got?"

From behind his back, Tarquin pulled out a large disc, the light from the windows catching on the vinyl and coating it in a shine. You peered over it curiously - this was not one of the discs you had seen the orchestra play before - you didn't recognize the colors painted in the center. 

"Nicked it from the chests your brother brought home." Deirdre said. "He must have stopped at a dungeon or something along the way."

You reached out and took it from Tarquin gently, turning it over in your hands. "Have you played it yet?"

"We were about to when you walked in." Tarquin said. 

You handed the disc back to him. "What do you think it'll sound like?"

Tarquin twirled the disc on his fingers before disappearing, teleporting to the orchestra's balcony again, where the jukebox was. You watched as he slid the disc in and dropped the needle, the slow crackle fading into a pleasant waltz as the music filled the room. It reminded you of birdsong, or the gentle flow of water over stone. 

In front of you Deirdre cocked her head and hummed. "Not what I was expecting from a bunch of pillager loot."

"It kind of makes you want to dance, doesn't it?" You said, gently swaying to the rhythm. 

There was a twinkle in Deirdre's eye as she stooped into another bow, extending a hand towards you. "May I have this dance, your Highness?"

You smiled, and placed your hand in Deirdre's. "Of course."

With that, Deirdre righted herself, and your other hand found her shoulder as she began the steps to s simple waltz, moving in time with the music. Your feet moved on their own accord, having done this same dance countless times before - birthdays and festivals and balls thrown in the honor of some noble. The twins were your favorite dance partners; there was something otherworldly about the way that they moved. 

Deirdre spun you around and your turned easily with the momentum, closing your eyes as you spun and just feeling the music. The waltz swelled and Deirdre pulled her hand away - for a moment you were spinning freely, but then a hand caught yours again, and you opened your eyes to see Tarquin, smiling down at you. 

"Your Highness." He said simply, picking up where Deirdre had left off. You laughed; taking it in stride - it was a favorite party trick of the twins to change partners with each other in the middle of the song. Of course, most party guests wouldn't be able to tell they had changed partners at all - but as nearly identical as the twins were after growing up with them, you had a knack for telling them apart.

Tarquin spun you around the floor until you reached Deirdre again, where he traded you for his sister with a smile. You stopped, sitting down in the middle of the floor to watch them dance - all the spinning you had done leaving you slightly dizzy. Watching the twins was almost like watching both sides of a mirror - they moved in perfect unison, a perfect reflection of one another. 

The dizziness began to fade as the song came to a close, and the twins stopped their spinning, breaking apart and taking a bow. You applauded with a laugh as they dropped to the floor beside you, Tarquin crossing his legs neatly underneath him but Deirdre letting her limbs stretch out, and laying her head in her brother's lap. 

You reached over to stroke her curls with a smile. "It was a good song."

"Yes, I liked it." Deridre said, leaning into the touch. "Very upbeat." Tarquin hummed in agreement. 

As you sat on the floor, sunlight streaming through the windows as you talked and laughed, you let the matter of the gold drop from your mind completely. It would be a while before it became an issue again, but what an issue it would become.