SBI Royalty AU (NO SECOND BOOK)

Chapter Five: Old Revolutionary

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Cursing and Talking About Death(s)! Stay safe loves!

-Tommy's Point of View-

It was the next day. I held the papers in my hand as I sat on my bed. My daily routine was already completed. Which means I have a lot of time until nightfall. I looked at my door and started wondering how I would get to Wil's room without being caught with the papers. Especially by Techno. He'd have my head for even touching these. I looked around and spotted a leather-backed notebook. I quickly grabbed it and shoved the papers into it. I swiftly walked out, not looking at any of the guards. It felt like forever until I reached Wil's room. I nodded to the guard standing outside his door and started banging on it.

"Wilbur!" I yelled, "I wanna talk to you! I'm bored!" I complained to the door. I heard Wil curse under his breath before he opened the door.

"What do you want?" He asked snappily.

"Cursing isn't very prince-like." I whispered to him with a smirk. He glared at me. "I'll tell Techno unless you let me come in." He scoffed and dragged me in, slamming the door behind me.

"Tommy what do you actually want?" He huffed. I hesitantly pulled the papers from my notebook. I looked at them for a moment. I handed them to him. He looked at me in confusion before taking the papers. His face paled as he read the song lyrics.

"Wil, please don't be ma-" I started to say before he grabbed my wrist and led me to the window. He forced it open and crawled onto the roof.

"Follow me." He said, scrambling up the snow-covered roof. I took a deep breath before following him, trying not to slip. He finally stopped at a point on the roof that was flat. I huffed and sat next to him. There was silence as he glared at the papers. "Where did you get these?" He asked, slightly angry. I looked away.

"I found them." I told him. I don't know what to say! I went to the city and I've been talking to a random orphan? Absolutely not!

"Tommy, don't lie to me." He said darkly. I gulped and closed my eyes as I spoke.

"I've been sneaking out." I told him quietly. I looked back at him, his eyes wide. There was silence.

"Tommy why did you show me these?" He asked, "I could have told Techno and dad would have executed anyone you met down there!" He hissed.

"I wanted to know if you knew anything about the song!" I yelled back. I covered my mouth with my hand, realizing I had just yelled that. Wil and I tensed up, expecting a guard to find us. After what felt like forever, Wil let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the paper again.

"I helped write the song." He said quietly.

"W-what?" I whispered. He nodded. He even looked a bit sad. He sighed and looked down to the city.

"When the revolution started, I was a teenager. I didn't understand why it was happening. So one day... I snuck out. I met a bunch of revolutionaries and they explained the dark side of The Empire to me. There were several revolutionaries who were actually my age," he paused, looking at me before looking back down, "so I helped them. I never told them who I really was. But they trusted me and I trusted them. Then..." he stopped completely, seeming to not want to go any further. But I wasn't gonna be left on a cliffhanger.

"Then what?" I asked. Tears pricked in his eyes.

"Several revolutionary hide-outs were found. List after list of names were coming up. Revolutionaries were being mass-executed. You couldn't hide anymore. We were forced to disband and go into hiding or back into our normal lives. Some people even changed their name, changing their appearance as much as possible. I knew people who cut off their wings and horns because they were so afraid to be caught," he said with a choked sob, "Tommy, so many of the people who died were more than friends... they were my brothers and sisters." He wiped his eyes and sighed. He looked at the paper fondly.

"I-I'm sorry." I managed to say. He shuffled the papers.

"The lyrics have been altered a bit..." He mumbled absentmindedly. He looked behind himself. I looked behind us too. The part of the castle wall behind us looked... fake? Wil motioned for me to follow him as he approached it. I hesitantly stood up as he pushed on that section of the wall. The bricks moved like an out-of-place door, creating an entrance to some sort of hideout. He went in. I looked around before climbing in after. The brick door shut behind me as I heard the sound of a match being lit. A lamp flickered on and illuminated the tiny space. There were papers littering the floor and attached to the walls. On the furthest wall hung a flag. It was red, white, blue, and black with three yellow X's across it. I looked at it skeptically, wondering why Wil owned a random flag. I think he noticed me staring at it, so he spoke up.

"That's the L'Manburg flag." He told me distantly, like he was speaking of a fond memory. I glanced at it again before picking up one of the pages. It was a list of names, some of them appearing to be crossed out. I decided not to inquire about it since I felt it would be a bit of a touchy subject for Wil.

"So what's this?" I asked, gesturing to the small room-cave-thing we were currently in.

"Well," he began, grimacing at some cobwebs on the floor, "I used to come up here when I was around your age." He turned behind himself and pulled out a guitar. He sat down cross legged. I did the same across from him. He looked at the paper as he tuned the old guitar. He started humming a tune before he turned to me.

"You gonna play it?" I asked excitedly. Will shot me a look before closing his eyes. He then began strumming his guitar and singing quietly.

"I heard there was a special place. Where men could go and emancipate. The brutality, and the tyranny of their rulers. Well this place is real you needn't fret, with the revolutionary set! It's a very big and not blown up L'Manburg. My L'Manburg. My L'Manburg. My L'Maannbuurg." He sighed as he finished the seemingly short song.

"Why is there a line about L'Manburg being blown up?" I questioned Wil who looked to the flag.

"Well, when the revolution began, someone got their hands on a huge plot of land. It was like a super-base. Where revolutionaries from all parts of the city would meet up when needed. We called it L'Manburg. And declared that one day we'd have independence from the Antarctic Empire. I even wrote a declaration of independence." He said with a small chuckle. But then his face darkened. "One day, however, we were attacked with several explosives. Everyone made it out alive but we were all a bit shaken up. After a few months, we went back to L'Manburg. Because no one could take our home from us." I looked away. Was the revolution actually a good thing? I might have to sleep on this.