Burning Iron and Honey Sweet Promises (TNTDUO/Quackbur)

Chapter One

Eight of Swords. The Tower. Death.

Past. Present. Future.

A simple three card tarot spread.

One of the more common and well-known tarot card spreads.

His past - the Eight of Swords. A tarot card that embodied restriction, imprisonment. Being trapped between a rock and a hard place, with no resolution available. It could mean anything from an unfulfilling job to an abusive and toxic relationship. While it wasn't always a good card, in the past position it made Wilbur feel at least a little settled. All of that was his past, he no longer needed to be worried about it.

His present - The Tower. A tarot card that symbolized the unexpected, upheaval, massive change, destruction, and chaos. It could mean anything from financial or relationship problems, to natural disasters and death. Now, The Tower could also have positive meanings - it wasn't all pain and turmoil. It could technically also be a card of spiritual awakening or revelation. Wilbur doubted it.

His future - Death. A tarot card that represented change, transitions, transformations, and endings. The Death card symbolized getting rid of that which no longer served you, clearing away limiting factors to door to a more satisfying experience of life. However, literal death wasn't completely off the table, and with the cards he had laid out in front of him, Wilbur wasn't ruling out any of the possibilities when The Tower was involved.

Wilbur hadn't been given the opportunity to ruminant on the cards for very long, as he heard commotion from outside his house. He tried to gather up his cards, but his peace was disturbed by a loud bang as his door slammed open, followed by thundering footsteps. Technoblade, his brother, through open the kitchen door, covered in blood of red and gold, clearly injured.

"Lapis, get your cloak and mask on! Now" Techno snapped.

Wilbur frowned, "Your injuries-"

"Now!"

Before Wilbur could reply or continue what he had wanted to say, Technoblade quickly reached for Wilbur's cloak on the other side of the kitchen bench. Wilbur sighed and pulled up his face scarf before he secured his mask over his eyes. He had always hated the masks his father forced him to wear - they had a thin fabric that obscured his eyes, but frustrated Wilbur to no end. He could still see, but everything was slightly tinted. Technoblade tossed the cloak around his shoulders and fastened it, while Wilbur replaced his gloves. As soon as Technoblade stepped back, Wilbur knew he had turned into a simple blob of brown and tans, nothing of interest.

"Can I tend to your wounds now, Gold?" Wilbur asked his brother with venom laced words.

"Keep quiet, Lapis!" Techno hissed, a slight edge to his tone.

Wilbur rolled his eyes at that and went to retort, but he was once again interrupted - this time by a screech. Multiple people yelled and called out as something screeched and hissed at them. This was accompanied by the sound of crashes and metal as it clanked against other metal, furious and frenzied. Technoblade immediately pushed Wilbur behind him and drew his sword as the sounds pulled closer and closer. But the sounds weren't coming from inside the house, instead it came from the kitchen window. So, in all his curiosity and concern, Wilbur rushed forward to the window to take a peek.

In that moment Wilbur finally understood what people meant when they said the fae were inhumanely beautiful.

Phil was accompanied by a group of men - nearly every hunter in the village - and each of them held onto a separate chain that connected to their prisoner. The fae was bound by its wrist and ankles with fic metal cuffs, which rendered its long, red coated talons useless. its wings of black, gray, and white feathers were tied with chains. They even had a collar sat heavy on its neck, which showed signs of burning where it touched the fae's skin. All tools of cold iron Wilbur had blessed the last new moon. A cloth gag had been shoved into its mouth, tied tightly around its head, and Wilbur was almost certain a rock or knot had been added to make the gag more effective.