It Was Enchanting To Meet You. || DNF

73. Exposed.

Wilbur and his troupe, which consisted of hundreds of men, slowly advanced into the forest that George and the anonymous person had gone into. Niki had been tracking the duo for a while now, and when it came to her attention that they were on the move and that they seemed determined to get away as quickly and as far as possible, she immediately informed Wilbur, and the brunette made a choice of bringing his and Sapnap's camp conjointed, seeing that they saw that George and company were headed to the Royale Dungeon.

Wilbur gulped as he trod lightly on the blankets of snow, his crossbow slung and ready to shoot in his hand. Let's just say that even though the King owns the Royale Dungeon, the people who were forced to work at the said place dislike him very much, and that goes for his hunters and knights, too. When I say 'dislike,' I don't mean not being fond of someone, I mean dislike as in they'd kill them just so they wouldn't have to see their face or feel their presence ever again. Wilbur shuddered at the thought but immediately tried to push it at the back of his mind because they were about three hundred meters away from their destination.

He and his hunters followed quickly and quietly behind him, coming closer and closer which each passing second, and, eventually, they made it to the top of the hill where Dream and George were once standing, looking down at the prison. Wilbur's eyes roamed over the features of the broken and beaten-down building. It was different from when he had last seen it, and not in a good way. There was blood all over the place and the fences looked as though they were hanging on by one thread. The guards were lazily moping around,  and just by the looks of the outside of it, Wilbur couldn't even begin to imagine the interior of it.

"What now, Wil?" Tommy asked in a quiet voice beside him, his blue eyes glued to the prison, and it suddenly occurred to the brunette that this was the other's first time seeing the Royale Dungeon in real life and he suddenly felt guilt well up in his chest. "There isn't much to be done, Tommy. We just need to follow George's step and find him, then take him back to the palace and then everything will be back to normal," Wilbur responded, swiftly turning around so that he could face the other hunters. His eyes quickly found Niki's, and he nodded his head in the direction of her, a small frown plastered on his face. Niki, with an expression of understanding, took Tommy and Tubbo beside her, ushering them to a small group of knights who wouldn't be entering the prison.

"W-wait, what?! What are you doing?!" Tommy questioned with furrowed eyebrows as he was forcefully dragged away, watching as Wilbur began to command the others to their duties. A hole began to form in his stomach as he slowly realized what was happening. "I'm sorry, Tommy. But you know Wilbur wouldn't allow you or Tubbo to come along with us. It's just too dangerous," Niki inquired with a sympathetic voice, watching a flash of hurt spark on the features of the boys.  "But we're not kids anymore!" Tubbo shouted. Wilbur winced at his words because it wasn't too long ago that they had a falling out for this same reason. But Wilbur couldn't help it. The perspective of Tommy and Tubbo as kids followed him everywhere he went, haunting him, and so, he needed to do everything in his power to protect them, especially at a time like this.

"I'm so sorry, Tubbo, but it isn't my call to make," the pinkette spoke, tearing her eyes away from the duo. "Are you serious, Wilbur?!" Tubbo shouted, his jaw clenching from anger and frustration, but most of all, hurt. Did Wilbur think that he was just..simply not capable enough of taking care of himself? Did he think that he was weak? Whatever it was, neither of the boys always seemed to figure out what the reason was, and the more they thought about it, the more it put them in distress.

Wilbur swallowed thickly; the troupes were pulled into place and there was a decent plan set out on a table for them. One that gave them a chance of living rather than none, at least. "We'll talk about this later, Tubbo, once I'm back," he spoke, and the second the words left his mouth he regretted it, and so he turned back around, unable to face the boys. "Fuck you, Wilbur!" Tommy's words spewed out of his mouth like venom, and the brunette bit down on his lip to try and restrain his guilt, trying to put it to a halt until the upcoming battle finished.