Burning Iron and Honey Sweet Promises (TNTDUO/Quackbur)

Chapter Five

Last night had been a lot for Wilbur. The witch had made multiple mistakes because of his own impulsiveness, including giving his True Name over to the fae. He was lucky that the fae seemed reluctant to actually abuse that little slip up, otherwise it could have resulted in chaos. All it would take is one command, and the fae could have had Wilbur kill the entire village, or free him, or worse. Instead, he just offered to render Wilbur's True Name useless, which would have removed any leverage anyone had over the witch.

But that behavior just didn't match up with what Wilbur had heard about the Unseelie King.

Which was why Wilbur has snuck his way into the collection of Hunter's Journals. Books and reports that were compiled together so that all fae hunters could use the knowledge of those who came before them. Wilbur had been allowed to read through a few of the books when he was younger, before he had been encouraged to focus on witchcraft. After all, according to the hunters, he didn't need to confuse himself with so many books when he should focus on what he enjoys.

The Unseelie Court was the malevolent one, the Unseelie Court was the wild one and the Unseelie Court was the cruel one. The Unseelie Monarch was supposed to represent all of those things. Not to mention, that some descriptions Wilbur had heard about the Unseelie King over the years didn't fit what Wilbur had seen of Q. Cunning and clever with a silver tongue? That sounded like Q. Brutal, simple, and vicious with a penchant for arson? Well... that could maybe be the Unseelie King he knew... but he really doubted it. Sweet and cruel in all the ways a fae is, cutthroat with a smile like sunshine? That didn't ring any bells at all.

There were even the physical descriptions that the Unseelie King was described as. Wings and talons were common, as was a crown of shadows. But no one could decide on the height the Unseelie King was. The feathers were also described in different ways – from colors and patterns that Wilbur knew were familiar, to bright colors and strange patterns that didn't fit a shrike at all. The older the reports dated back, the more confusing the descriptions got. Sometimes the books even mentioned the possibility of an Unseelie Queen, though unconfirmed based on the reports. It didn't seem like there was anything really solid to go off of.

"Lapis? What are you doing?"

Wilbur jolted, before he whipped around, "Oh, hey Gold. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you" Technoblade glanced at the books in Wilbur's hands, "What are you doing, Lapis?"

"I'm researching" and when Wilbur realized how unconvincing that sounded, he elaborated, "It's just that there are so many conflicting reports on the Unseelie King, and what I saw from him, he doesn't really fit all the accounts I've read. Something just seemed wrong, and I was worried."

Technoblade nodded, "Fae are tricksters, you know that."

"I know, I just... I've never been so close to a fae before, knowing one is in our village has me on edge. I guess I'm just trying to calm my nerves by researching" Wilbur said with a forced steadiness.

Wilbur had never been so glad that he was wearing a hood before. With the way the witch had clung onto the books, with how he shook in where he had stood, Wilbur could only hope that his brother would have interpreted everything as him simply being scared of the fae, rather than scared of getting caught in a lie. The weight of that new moon night sat heavily on Wilbur's shoulders, and Wilbur knew that at any moment everything could fall apart.

"Father and I will protect you," Technoblade said as he placed a hand on Wilbur's shoulder, "No matter what happens, I won't let a single fae lay a hand on you."

"I know, I know. You know I feel the same way about you" Wilbur replied.

"That's not what you need to worry about," Technoblade sighed and started looking through the books, "There are some books you should look into, if you really want to expand your knowledge."