Like Father, like Son (discontinued)

Lemon Tarts And Apologies

Pogtopia sat in a large cavern, hidden from the sun and moon, thriving off of their hidden existence. While Manberg searched the forest that devoured the open wilderness, Pogtopia lay undisturbed in the cave system that stretched under the majority of the Dremion Empire and Manberg. Tubbo was dragged around the outskirts of Pogtopia by the youngest prince, who droned on and on about the kingdom's history. As the two toured closer towards the heart of the major city, Tommy handed the Manberg prince a red cloak, laced with white fur and golden silk. Tubbo stared at the intricate robe, feeling the rich textures, draping it across his shoulders.
"Pull it over your horns. If anyone recognizes you, it'll be trouble for both of us since you're not technically supposed to leave the castle." Tommy explained, pulling the hood of the cloak around the brunette's growing horns. They now curled around his ears almost completely, making his head much heavier than he was used to. Tommy noticed the way his company was shifting his weight more often and tilting his head as if in pain, but he didn't comment on the behavior and led the boy into the market. People flew by the two, the city alive with a breath of urgency that Tubbo had never experienced. Back home, marketplaces were quiet and respectful, no bartering or trading, simple capitalism as his father put it. But in Pogtopia, the market was full of stalls selling everything ranging from baked goods to weapons. Tubbo stood and gazed upon the courtyard in awe, taking in the rush and excitement of the enemy kingdom.
Tommy turned to the boy and offered his open hand. "Where would you like to go first?" Tubbo hesitated before taking the other's hand and walking forward silently to the first open booth he saw, the open wall of a bakery. As the two approached, people parted out of the prince and hooded figure's path as they reached the baker herself. She loaded more fresh Danishes onto the counter before noticing the prince standing before her.
"Well, if it isn't his royal highness himself. How've you been, Tommy?" The lady asked, tucking her purple hair behind her ear with a tisk. Tommy rolled his eyes in mock annoyance yet smirked at the woman. "Hello to you too, Minx." She looked between the odd duo, focusing mostly on the hidden face beneath the red hood. "What can I get for you two? Your usual?" Minx questioned. Tubbo shuffled closer to the counter and pointed to the lemon tart that sat in all its flawlessness, the shimmer of it's glaze reflecting in Tubbo's heart. He had never been allowed to eat, much less make desserts like the tart, and the simplicity of its presence enchanted the goat prince. Tommy laughed slightly. "You want the tart? It's gonna be sour, you sure you want that one?" Tubbo turned to the blonde and grabbed both his hands, attempting to show his acquaintance how much he loved the little pastry without speaking. Tommy laughed once again and smiled at the cloaked figure. "Okay, okay. Let's get some sweets too." He assured the other as he turned back to Minx, who leaned on the counter confused by Tommy's unusual behavior. "Since when did you let people disagree with you?" She mocked, the prince tensed slightly but shook off the jab. Minx and Niki were the only two Pogtopians who could make fun of Tommy without being injured in the process, Tubbo however didn't know this and tensed as well at the baker's joking. As Tommy pointed out other treats they were to purchase, he spared a glance to Tubbo and immediately felt fear flood his system. Tubbo stared at the woman's turned back with the most terrifying glare Tommy had ever seen. Pure, unfiltered hatred leaked off the boy's exposed eyes, his boxed pupils dilated, a slight shimmer of red emanated from the void black goat iris. Tommy forced his body to move, moving from his deer in the headlights paralysis, latching his hand on Tubbo's shoulder. The boy snapped out of his deadly ice stare and turned to Tommy, confused. The blonde simply pulled the hood further past Tubbo's eyes as Minx turned back around, a bag of sweets and one lemon tart in her hands. Tommy thanked her and dropped more than enough gold onto her stall, rushing the other prince out before something broke out between the two. The blonde dragged the other to a small alleyway, away from the every growing marketplace.
"What the hell was that?! You looked like you were going to kill her!" Tommy whisper yelled to the other, who pulled the heavy hood off his fragile horns, revealing himself in the darkness. "I didn't know people were allowed to talk to you that way. Forgive me, if that had been in Manberg, she would have been killed on the spot." Tubbo explained, regret building in his words, much to Tommy's horror. "Do you... really kill people over small stuff like that?" Tubbo nodded sadly, the other gulped nervously. "Big T, do you like living in Manberg?" Tubbo froze at the question, his blood going cold. "I-"He started before snapping his head to look into the courtyard, his ears perked up at full attention.
"What are you-" Tubbo shoved his hand on Tommy's mouth, earning a muffled fit of rage as the goat prince listened and sniffed the air coming from Pogtopia. Something was wrong, there's someone here who isn't supposed to be. "We have to go now." Tubbo turned back to Tommy as he released the other. "Just tell me to shut up next time!" "No, that's rude." Tubbo peaked out of the alley and pulled the hood back around his face. "Why are we leaving? Don't you want to see the market more?" Tommy grabbed the other's hand, a new constant in their developing friendship. Tubbo grimaced, the smell coming back to his nose. There was another Manbergian.
"There's an intruder. Someone is looking for me. Someone from Manberg is here looking for us." The blonde stiffened and nodded solemnly before taking off in a sprint towards the castle, Tubbo in tow behind him. The two ran at a constant pace, citizens parting out of their way in fear of getting plowed down. Tubbo's ear twitched. Behind them, someone had seen the two and begun to chase after them. The heavy hood that shielded Tubbo's face had begun to slip, exposing slips of his brown hair, glances of his curling ram horns, and peaks of his unusual eye color. Those close enough to the running duo gasped or screamed if they caught a glimpse of the enemy prince. The castle door opened for the incoming flurry of two boys and shut the second they had entered the wide vaulted entrance way. Niki stood confused at the gates as Tommy heaved over attempting to catch his breath, Tubbo however peaked out the side window, looking for anyone out of the ordinary that could have followed them. There out in the crowd, stood a single man who smiled up at the locked, wooden door. The man stayed still as people around him pushed and ebbed in the growing crowd. Tubbo caught his eye contact and recognized where he had seen the feline shaped pupils. Fox ears peaked out from under the man's hat and an orange tail wagged gleefully, mockingly as he bowed slightly to his prince and joined the crowd once more. His father had sent Fundy, the half fox who had scarred his face, to retrieve him. Tubbo shrunk back away from the window and shuffled to Tommy, who sat defeated and out of breath on the stone floor.
"We're in trouble." Tubbo huffed as he joined the prince on the floor. "Are you two okay?! What happened?" Niki floundered, her arms moving with nothing to do. Tommy sighed and shrugged, shifting the woman's focus onto his acquaintance. Tubbo gulped nervously. "My father has sent an assassin to save me from my captors." Tommy and Niki froze, staring at the goat prince as he fiddled with the cloak that weighted down his shoulders. "We're in serious trouble if he's here for more than returning me to Manberg."

Schlatt paced around his office, books and open files littered the floor as his polished shoes crumpled the pages he was standing on. The more the emperor was left alone, the more he missed his son. In his rage of losing his only child, the man had trashed the office he holed himself up in. He walked around the demolished study, something cracked beneath his heel. A picture frame set, cracked beyond repair under his foot. The picture inside that of Schlatt holding Tubbo as a toddler. Schlatt wasn't wearing his crown, or any royal clothes, instead settling for a hoodie and yankee's baseball hat that fit his younger features. Tubbo sat in the man's arms, smiling up at his father as said man pointed to the camera, smiling, pure joy radiating from the yellowing picture. The emperor collapsed onto his knees, cradling the picture in his shaking hands as tears fell from his stone-cold scowl. The goat king with no empathy suddenly caught up to all the regret that accumulated from neglecting his son. As Tubbo got older, he reminded Schlatt more and more of the boy's mother, driving a wedge between the violent ruler and his pacifist son. Schlatt curled over the picture, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed, afraid of the thought that his son would never come back home, that he had pushed the boy too far too fast and couldn't bring him back. The emperor cried until the morning's sun brought light into the broken man's study, waking him for another day of lonesome as his boy was still missing.