The Antarctic Empire

5. The Ball

The eve of the ball came around, and Tubbo was up in Tommy's room with him. It was a very fancy ball, and so Tubbo needed a proper suit. Tommy had called in some tailors and they were fitting him for one.

"What do you think, Tubbo?" Tommy asked as they placed the heavy suit jacket on Tubbos shoulders. It was a dark green, with brown pants and a cream colored shirt to match. They had done Tubbos hair, made sure every hair was in place.

"I look weird. I look like you." He said.

"Well that's not very nice." Tommy said, standing and bumping his shoulder into Tubbos.

"You know what I mean." Tubbo sighed.

"Yeah, I do." He nodded. He walked to the closet and pulled out his own suit. Each of the boys had a 'signature color' that they wore at fancy events. Phil wore bright green, Techno wore pink, Wilbur and his family wore yellow, and Tommy wore red. This specific suit was a dark red, almost matching Tubbos, paired with black pants and a cream colored shirt.

Tommy walked to his desk and opened the drawer, pulling out a silver broach. He walked over to Tubbo and pinned it to the lapel of his suit.

"There, now we're matching." He said, referencing his silver crown. Tubbo smiled at that, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He stared for a moment. He had never had enough money to afford to dress up, let alone this nice. He felt a little out of place.

Tommy came to stand behind him and threw an arm around his shoulder. "You look great, Toby." He said with a bright smile. Tommy just wanted to see his best friend happy. "Come on, dude. We don't want to be late." He finally said, grabbing ahold of Tubbos hand and dragging him towards the door.

~•~

The two boys entered the great hall before any real guests arrived. Only the royal family was here at the moment. Wilbur, Sally, and Fundy were standing in the corner of the room. Techno was alone up on the "throne stage", where all the boys had a seat. There was an extra chair sat next to Tommy's, where he assumed Tubbo would be sitting. The boys headed over to greet Sally first, intentionally ignoring Wilbur.

"Well don't you boys look dashing as ever." Sally said sweetly, smiling at the two. She pulled them both into a tight hug. Sally was really the only person who Tommy talked about Tubbo with, and was the only one in the family who had met him as Tommy's friend and not just a kitchen servant.

Wilbur set Fundy on the ground and the little child waddled up to Tommy, pulling at his pant leg. "Well hey little man." Tommy said, picking him up into his arms. He brushed the boys hair out of his face.

"Unca' Tommy." Fundy said happily, placing his small hands on Tommy's cheeks.

"Hey, bud. Are you excited?" He asked, tickling Fundys stomach. The child laughed.

"Uh-huh." He nodded, glancing around the huge room. The doors opened and a few guests started to arrive.

Sally took Fundy from Tommy as they all headed up to the throne stage, taking their seats, Tubbo right next to Tommy. The two boys talked quietly as guests filtered in.

Tommy pointed to different guests and told Tubbo their names, where they were from.

Soon, the ball was underway. Music played from the orchestra in the corner. Some people swayed to the music, while others sat and talked. Tommy had missed big parties like this. They hadn't had one in a long time.

It seemed as if everything was perfect. Wil and Sally were up dancing, Fundy in between them. Techno had even gotten up to go speak to some people he knew from a nearby kingdom.

But, as always, good things must come to an end.

Soon, there were screams. Loud booms and fire crackling from the kitchens. Servants and noble people alike headed towards the exit. Tommy and Tubbo ran towards the kitchen, finding his mom.

"Mum, wheres Lani and Teagan?" Tubbo asked, frantic. "Mum?" He asked again. She looked back into the kitchens with wide eyes. Tubbo was practically holding her up at this point.

Tommy tore off his suit jacket and ran into the flaming kitchen, Tubbo screaming at him to stop. He found his way to the back, narrowly missing beams that had begun to fall. He found the girls huddled in the back of their home. Tommy sighed in relief and grabbed the laundry basket laying in the corner. He grabbed the wet clothing and tied shirts around each of the girls faces, to protect them from the smoke. He then lifted Teagan in his arms, and asked Lani to jump on his back. They did so and Tommy made his way out into the hallway. The fire had spread now, the only way was through it. He yelled for the girls to hold on tight and took off running. He felt the clothing on his arms and legs burning, but tried his best to shield the girls from the flames.

They made it back to the group, who was still evacuating. Tommy quickly found Tubbo and his mother, who was looking a lot better now that she could see her girls. Wilbur and Sally ran up to them.

"Where's Fundy?" Tommy asked. The two looked frantic. Tommy cursed under his breath and ran back into the ballroom. He had to be there somewhere. Wilbur had tried to grab his arm, but missed, and was left standing out in the hallway, Techno holding his arm to stop him from running in after Tommy.

The ballroom was now on fire as well, the smoke filling his lungs. "Fundy!" He screamed, running the the thrones. If he was anywhere, he had to be here. He got on his hands and knees and looked under his chair. And, sure enough, there was the three-year-old. "Come here, bud." He said softly, pulling him towards himself. Fundy clung onto Tommy's neck, sobbing into his shoulder.

"It's okay, bud." Tommy said, rubbing his back. He started towards the doors, but a beam fell over them. The doors were still open and Tommy could see Wilbur looking in. He ran over the the burning beam. The boys were tall enough to look over the flames. Tommy pulled Fundy away from him and passed him over the beam.

"Take him!" He yelled to his older brother. Wilbur did so and handed him off to Sally. He laid his jacket down over the beam and reached his hand out for Tommy. Tommy grabbed them and pulled himself up. Just as he did, another beam fell. He felt his arm being crushed, and Wilbur let go of his hand. He screamed in pain and pulled his arm back as hard as he could, getting himself away from the burning beam.

He could hear Wilbur screaming for him, and the beams cracking. He was probably kicking them. But these were heavy, they weren't going to budge. Tommy coughed and looked around for an exit. The kitchens were out of the question, now bursting with red hot flame. The door was blocked. He glanced up at the single window above the thrones. It was big enough that he could probably get through, but the question was, how high up was it from the ground?

He decided to take the risk and climbed over his fathers throne, breathing in more smoke as he got to the top of the room. He kicked as hard as he could, shattering the glass. He gulped in huge breaths of clean safe air, and saw the party-goers meeting below him. It wasn't too high, maybe 20, 30 feet. He could surely make it alright. He saw his brothers all joining the noblemen, Fundy safe in Sally's arms, and Tubbo with his sisters and mother. Everyone was alright.

He heard screams as people saw him standing on the ledge, his brothers looking up with fear in their eyes. Tubbo screamed for him, his sisters looking away.

Tommy jumped, and then everything went black.

~•~

AHHHHH IM SORRY THIS IS SO LATE!

Life's been crazy recently and it just completely slipped my mind.

I hope you all are enjoying!