Silent Whispers (An Sbi/ Royal based Au)

part 7

And, For a few months Tommy did do as he told himself he would. Everyday, he'd wake up before Wilbur, and be there with anything he would need for the day. Wether clothes fresh from the maids, or morning tea from the kitchen. He always had something to bring.

He then would help him through the day, doing minor things to make work easier. At night, he'd tell him of what his old life was like. There wasn't much for him there. The reason he hadn't left earlier was another young boy, near his age. The son of Lord Shlatt. But he was sent to school, leaving Tommy with no-one left.

As well as serving Wilbur as a personal aid, he would help others. Help the maids or butlers in the kitchen during the morning before Waking Wilbur up. And any time he saw a guard or knight in need of water, he'd get some if he wasn't already doing A task.

He always seemed to be busy, and have a smile as he went. The only thing he feared, was it all ending. And the moment of peace leaving. Till then, he never frowned or complained about how hard the work could be.

Wilbur wasn’t expecting Tommy to be as good a servant as he was. He was impressed, to say the least. And Tommy had truly proven to be invested in his job, he was oddly driven and it was incredibly endearing. He seemed to actually care about helping people, something he rarely saw in anyone.

Unfortunately, Shlatt had gotten more pushy with trying to find his servant. Wilbur had found a fraud of the Ruby necklace, and figured out a full plan to keep Tommy, but it was still stressful. Shlatt had came to visit recently, and Wilbur was determined to keep Tommy a secret. His family and castle staff knew, of course. It would be hard to keep him a secret from them, after all.

But, he managed to keep Shlatt away from him to the best of his abilities. He couldn’t keep up forever, though. He knew they would slip soon, and the consequences would crash down on top of them like a burning building.

Tommy wasn't told Shlatt had came for a visit. Never one had he even heard of a mention of the Lord from the south parts coming to see the king. It wasn't on purpose, but. Like he knew from day one, not everything stays perfect.

He was asked by A kind woman of the kitchen to deliver tea to the Royal family in the main hall. A job he really enjoyed, as Even the king himself, was captivated by his kindness and will to keep going with the work.

Taking the silver tray, with an unusual amount of cups, he didn't think twice. Maybe the general was here? Maybe that's why there was an extra? He wasn't sure as he pushed open the grand doors, he nearly dropped it to the floor. Thankfully he hadn't. Instead he kept his head down, walking to the table of which the Royal sat at with their guest. He slid the tray and bowed respectfully. The reason he didn't dare look up? Lord Shlatt.

Of course, Shlatt saw him, and even if it had been A while, could recognize him in some way. "Hey, young man.. Haven't I seen you before?" He asked as Tommy tried to slip away unnoticed.

Stopping in his tracks he wasn't sure what to do, but return to Wilbur's side faithfully. Hoping to the heavens above this would end okay. He slid A note onto the princes lap. 'What do I do Wilbur?' He had quickly written it, so it wasn't the best handwriting. His hands shook as Shlatt tried to remember where he knew the young blonde from.

The clothes were different and he had grown just a slight bit in the few months. He changed from the commoner looking boy, to a palace servant. Th difference would be hard to see, hadn't he once owned the boy. "Prince Wilbur.. Why won't he answer me?" Shlatt asked curiosity in his tone

Wilbur was leaned back in his chair as the meeting went on and on. Shlatt had always been one of his least favorite lords, and the fact he mistreated his servants brought him even further down in his eye. It would be over soon, though, and everything would be fine. He was sure of it. That went down the drain as soon as Tommy walked in.

Wilbur paled a slight bit, trying to hide his minor panic. He was hoping they could stall for longer, but alas… they had to confront this. He felt his stomach drop as Shlatt recognized tommy, or at least felt a bit of recognition.

The prince subtly signed his aid over, trying to get him where Wilbur could more easily protect him. He gave Tommy a reassuring glance, looking back to Shlatt. “I’m sure you have. He’s been my aid for the last few weeks, though he’s also been quite busy helping around in general.” He tried to explain away, tried to play innocent, but Shlatt knew. The game had begun.

He looked back up towards Tommy, giving him a look of reassurance: a look reading ‘let me handle this’ as he took the boy’s lower arm gently in his hand. He gave his attention back to Shlatt, trying to sooth Tommy as subtly as possible. “He is mute, lord Shlatt.” He said, an air of harshness in his tone.

Shlatt raised his eyes a tad bit more now, wasn't his old servant muted? Or at least.. Partially silent? Surely this was the same boy, he knew it. The blonde hair blue eyes and that smile. He always wore that smile on his face no matter what. How hard the work was he gave, he always had it.

But why had he came here? Was it because Tommy knew it was the last place he'd dare look?  Shlatt looked at Tommy, a bit of a smirk on his face showed before it faded. As if it was never there. That set a chill down Tommy's spine, as he held onto Wilbur tightly. He had seen that glance before, and feared what he would say.

"Oh I'm sorry. I hadn't realized it" Shlatt apologized, in an almost believable way. "Its just, you see.. He reminded me of a certain young boy my son was fond of" He took a sip of the tea tommy had brought before resuming. "It was a shame he left, Tubbo was really looking forward to seeing him when school ended" He looked straight to Wilbur. Of course, he wasn't lying about anything, if he was. He knew the prince would be able to tell. He wasn't a good liar anyway.  "I was just curious on who he was. That's all"

Looking again, to Wilbur Tommy shook his head. He didn't want to be there, but didn't want to leave. He felt safer around him then without.