Silent Whispers (An Sbi/ Royal based Au)

part 18

As he left, tommy fell into a deep sleep. silence filling the room as he slept sound less and a bit more relaxed than before. He didn't really know how long he'd sleep for. He only knew, that it would be a few hours before he would wake up. And hoped Wilbur would be alright on his own. Surely now that it was day, he'd be safer.

Down in the castle gardens was another, who talked with a guard.. A concerned expression lined his face as he listened to what he was told carefully. The knight he spoke to, was telling of a rumour. Someone seeing a young blonde with the Prince earlier that morning, one of which was hurt. He didn't know which it was though whom was injured.

The man who the knight spoke to, just so happened to be the King. Who was very concerned for his sons health now, and seeing him in the gardens, under the willow tree. Immediately after spotting him, Philza ran over to make sure he was safe. "Was the rumour I heard true Wilbur? Did they try again?" He asked trying to sound calm, but clearly the father was far from it. Wilbur was his only son, the only thing he worried about now since the boy was born.

Looking around, he noticed he didn't spot Tommy who commonly never left his side. "Where's the boy?"

Wilbur loved when he could rest in the grass and let his mind wander. Especially after a more stressful day like this one was. He could just lay back and think about everything that had happened, which led to some more negative thoughts currently. He was incredibly worried about Tommy, that much was obvious in his own brain. The boy wasn’t badly hurt, but any injury was bad. No matter how minor or severe. And that also brought up the concept that it may not have been as minor. What if the assassin actually accurately aimed and managed to puncture something vital…? What if Tommy had died protecting him? Wilbur wasn’t sure what he would do with himself if that had been the case, in complete honesty. He was just thankful that wasn’t what ended up happening.

The prince perked up at the sound of his father approaching, sitting up in the grass to look at the king. He frowned at the question, looking away a small bit. “Yeah… I’m ok, though!” He reassured, standing up to show his father he was perfectly safe and unharmed. “They didn’t manage to actually hurt me, so I’m fine.” He continued, though he did look towards the ground. His face twisted into a subtle grimace at the mention of Tommy.

“He’s resting…. He got stabbed by the assassin while protecting me..” he murmured, a bit of guilt seeping into his voice. “But, it’ll heal up with enough rest. He’ll be fine after a couple of weeks…” he stated, seeming to more want to reassure himself.

Philza was extremely happy, and over joyed to hear that he hadn't been hurt. If his son were to of been lost, like his wife once had been, he wouldn't know what to do. Everything he had done during Wilbur's life, had always been for the better good of him. Not the kingdom like many think. Every choice the king made, he always thought the outcome for his son. If it would help him later in the future, when he'd be the ruler of the full Kingdom or not.

He wasn't expecting though, to hear who had saved him. Tommy had saved Wilbur? The boy who he never found a story for? Philza never found out how Tommy truly came to work for Wilbur, just that he did now. Seeing the hurt on Wilbur's face, the king moved forward and embraced his son into a warm hug.

"I'm just glad your safe" he said softly. He hadn't fully trusted Tommy in the beginning, but now knowing he had saved the prince, he found some respect for the young boy. As he backed away, he smiled. "I hope he heals well, he's a good kid"

Wilbur was feeling guilt eating up inside of him, tearing at his heart and dropping boulders into his stomach. He still couldn’t help but feel responsible for what had happened with Tommy, even if the rational part of him knew he couldn’t do anything to stop it. His mind kept insisting he could have, though.

He could have locked the window, like he normally did after the first attempt. That would have prevented the assassin from getting in, silently at least. A window shattering would have alerted the guards stationed outside his doors. That may have stopped Tommy from getting hurt, from any of this even happening. No matter how much he pushed that thought out of his head, it still came back.

He startled when arms wrapped around him, eyes going wide. He fumbled a bit with his hands, raising them in surprise. He melted into the hug soon enough, curling his arms around his father like a snake curling around a warm rock. It had been years since he’s been this emotional. The last time was probably when his mother died, and that was almost ten years ago now. “I hope so, too..” he whispers, burrowing his head into Phil’s shoulder.

As the King stood there, his son in his arms, he felt something inside him truly spark. Perhaps it was from having his son hug back, or maybe it was the fact he felt bad for the situation Wilbur was in. Whatever it was, he couldn't deny. Tommy had some how made his way into the kings heart, by accident. It could of been through Wilbur, as Philza didn't originally trust the strange silent boy. But he had proved to be both trust worthy and loyal. So as he was there under the grand willow, he couldn't help but try to comfort his sons fears.

"If you'd like, I could cancel all your meetings for the day" he said, offering to cover for him, to take over the political royal duties, so he could stay by the young lad. He knew how much his son feared for the servant. He always had made odd connections to the people of the kingdom.

"of course, that's your choice" he didn't want to force or demand anything from Wilbur. He could make his own choice, and he'd make sure it happened.