Chapter Text
“Quackity! Hurry up, I have to use the bathroom!” Loud, continuous knocking came from outside, echoing inside the room.
Brown eyes opened partly to glare at the door, its owner sighing loudly in exasperation. “Shut up, Gogy! I’m showering! You have a bathroom in your room, you princess!” Quackity yelled back, trying his best to be heard from the insistent knocking.
Thankfully, the loud banging stopped. “Oh, Quackity’s taking a shower? No! You’re there for almost an hour-”
“FUCK YOU, I’M ONLY HERE FOR 15 MINUTES!”
“-15 minutes too long! Don’t hog the entire bathroom! I want to use the bathtub!”
Quackity groans out loud. One year has passed since he started staying in the Badlands. He had gotten to know about his older brothers, who were polar opposites in attitude with only stubbornness seemingly a shared, family trait. Thankfully, all that he has to do now is rinse himself and he’s done.
“Privacy, Gogy! Give me five minutes!”
“FINE!”
Quackity stopped the urge to roll his eyes when he finally heard fading footsteps as George finally left him, in peace, for the meantime.
Did he mention that George, sometimes, acts like a spoiled brat who wants to get everything in his way?
How about Bad always trying to be the voice of reason, only to end up sounding like constant nagging about table manners and whatnot?
Don’t get him wrong, Quackity and his brothers immediately clicked when they met. It was almost like they were never separated. There are just times that reminded him that his and his brothers’ upbringing were different. While he was raised on an island far away from the prying eyes of pure humans wanting to hunt down a hybrid just like him and content with just having food on the table, his brothers were here in the castle, raised by the King and their father, with all the wealth Quackity was sure would only deplete far, far in the future.
He has no idea whether he should be happy that Bad is away with their father to go to the meeting or disappointed that he didn’t get to go with them to see either Technoblade or Dream, since he was informed that they will both be there. It was strictly a meeting of each Kingdom’s Kings and their heirs, guarded closely by each of their royal guards along with soldiers of unspecified numbers. And since Dream and Techno were both Princes that may inherit their Kingdom’s crowns, they were there.
Their topic at hand was not disclosed, but Quackity had deduced that it has something to do with the now dissolved Subtarey Kingdom. Maybe something about what to do with the people from there, or perhaps how to divide the territory that has span eastward.
An entire year… Quackity had come to know a lot of things during the entire year. Although he knew that it wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t help but feel as if he was one of the catalysts that fueled the war that lasted for months. King Sam had always told him that he should not blame himself for the tension brewing that finally exploded between Manberg against the Subtarey. It was only a matter of time then, and since Manberg had both of their princes taken under 24 hrs, Subtarey effectively made the first move towards a war they weren’t even prepared for. Added by the fact that Tommy and Drista were also kidnapped and Quackity only being there as an unsuspecting person related to the Badlands, it brought forth an alliance between the three kingdoms against one.
War broke, and it might have ended with Subtarey dissolving, but at least the only casualties were from the soldiers on each side. One meeting that Quackity had eavesdropped on mentioned that if Niki was there for strategy, the war would have lasted for longer with more deaths on all sides of the board. He was at least glad that there were no civilians caught in the crossfire. Although he didn’t have a clue what would happen to those that were from that kingdom, he wanted to be optimistic that no harm would ever come to them when the remaining kingdoms began talking about territory.
It didn’t take for him to finish rinsing while deep in thought. He was absentmindedly trying to dry the wings behind him so he wouldn’t make a mess outside after he was done. Soon, he found himself opening the door, only to be met by his second older brother.
“Look who’s finally done!” George says, slight irritation rolling off his tone.
Quackity just rolls his eyes. “I’m done, so finish your goddamned business in the bathroom away from your room!”
George stepped in the room. His voice was loud and echoey. “Whatever. You didn’t like your own room with the same bathroom as I do!”
Quackity was already walking away, but he still heard his brother. “Well that’s because I’m not used to fancy shit. Take your stupid beauty bath, Gogy!” He made his way towards his room along the hallway.
He has been learning a lot of things for an entire year. Quackity is more than thankful that he is a quick learner, otherwise, he would still be having issues trying to adjust to his current lifestyle. There was still time for leisure, of course. Schlatt often visits the castle to ask where he is and if he is free to play a few rounds of chess. He would agree and they soon lose track of each other’s winning and losing streaks. It was a lot of fun. Quackity always looks forward to those chess games twice in a week.
Which is something Quackity always found odd. Schlatt was still the Leader of Manberg. He was busy, even more so than him as the youngest prince of Badlands. Whenever Quackity asked him about his availability, Schlatt would only laugh at him and tell him to make his next move on the chess board.
Quackity stopped asking after half a year of it happening. At least, he was glad that he was able to be friends with the person a lot of people refer to as a tyrant.
Papers were on his office desk at the far corner of the room. Quackity sighed as he wore a long-sleeved white shirt with crease-covered slits big enough for his wings to get through. He has an entire notebook filled with his daily schedule. After the bath comes learning manners. He dreads it the most. He was enthusiastic about it the first two weeks. An entire year of figuring out how to use a billion different spoons for an entire three-course meal is killing him. He never understood how the hell he can’t use one spoon for the entire meal.
Well, he hopes Techno will be around later for his weekly swordsmanship lessons for him. He was sulking slightly because Dream cancelled on him at the last minute last week. Techno hasn’t done the same yet and he was looking forward to that for today.
After wearing presentable clothes, Quackity looked at his reflection from the vanity mirror in his room. He let out a sigh.
For now, he has to get through manners.
-/-/-/-
“Hello, big guy.”
Wilbur turned around from the door to see who it was, even if he was already aware. There was only one person who has ever called him that anyway. A polite smile reached his face in greeting. “Hello yourself, Emperor Schlatt.”
“That’s not a way to greet a good, long-time friend now, Wilbur.” Schlatt walked forward and looked at the door before them. He was wearing a black, three-piece suit with a necktie, looking ever so formal despite him putting his hands on his pant’s pockets and walking casually. He is being accompanied by Karl, who is standing behind him from his right. “Besides, calling me with honorifics doesn’t suit you for shit.”
Wilbur sighs. “I don’t know what you mean, man. We’re here for business, right? Honorifics are the way to go for formality's sake” His attention went from Schlatt to his eldest son. “Good day to you, Karl. How have you been?”
“Huh?” Karl was busy looking at the stray cat far away for him to reach. The cat was on the far right, and it walked away right after Karl turns to Wilbur with a smile of his own. “Oh, hello Wilbur!” He waved at him. He is wearing a black, two-piece suit. He was not wearing a necktie, like Schlatt does, and he looked as if he was uncomfortable with his get-up.
Wilbur understood the sentiment. He didn’t like dressing up formally but it can’t be helped.
“Do you know how long the meeting would take?” Karl asked, curious.
“Not really, it depends on how it will go. I’m not even supposed to be here.” Wilbur replies. He finally opened the door, gesturing for them to get in. “I did ask Phil but even he isn’t sure. The next time something like this happens, I’d rather someone else be the mediator, maybe Prince George from the Badlands.” He sighs.
“Huh?” Schlatt raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re complaining, big guy? I thought that you volunteered.”
“No, I didn’t. Phil wanted me to be around so he volunteered for me. Anyway, since we’re not hearing shit from the other side, it looks like we’re the last to arrive. Come in and we’ll begin.”
“Right, right.” Schlatt nods at him. He was the first person in, followed by Karl. Wilbur closed the door behind right after he entered.
“Mate, this is the first time I see you late.” Philza says, tipping his hat in greeting towards the newcomers. He was talking directly to Schlatt, but then he turned to his son. “You sure did take your time.” He doesn’t sound annoyed, rather, amused. He has a smile on his face.
Schlatt shrugged his shoulders. “You guys are just early. Host guy here came in a few minutes before us. Besides, meeting’s not that important.”
“Well, we do have to talk about the territory sooner or later.” Most of the people in the room turned to the left to see King Dexter of the Skylands. He has his arms folded in front of him, his aura oozing of kind firmness. “I do remember having this scheduled in another week or so, but I’m also wondering why we moved it this week.”
Wilbur rolled his eyes at his dad. “I got lost, Phil. I had to look for berries too because I got hungry!”
“Wil, you could’ve taken some potatoes from your house, I left some there.” It was Technoblade. He is sitting right beside Philza, who is covering his mouth in an attempt to hide the smile he had.
“Moving it today would make it better for everyone involved.” King Sam announced, referring to King Dexter’s question. “Subtarey Kingdom doesn’t exist anymore, and as long as territory is involved, arguments will continue. It’s to make sure that if we don’t reach a full agreement, we can still schedule a new meeting in the future.”
All of the people in the room are wearing a suit, either a three-piece formal one or a two-piece suit. But each of them wore the colors that represent their kingdom. King Philza of the Antarctic and Prince Dave wore red, King Sam and Prince Bad wore blue, King Dexter and Prince Dream wore green and King Schlatt and Prince Karl wore black. Around the long table, nearest the head, the Manberg’s representatives sat on the left while the Antarctic Empire’s representatives were across them. Skylands were a seat away at the same side as Manberg, just like Badlands were to Skylands.
“Well, gentlemen.” Wilbur greeted, standing right at the head table. “This is going to be a long day ahead of us, shall we begin?”
Chapter End