this is a collab piece between the anons and Pink and I. This Prologue was written by:
@local-angst-dispenser and 🌹 Anon!
Philza knew from the moment he asked for that favor from that man, his family was doomed. Asking for something from the (L/n) family was practically a death wish. That's what everyone in the entire town knew. But his family had been in a tight spot, and the father had no one else to turn to. He was glad that the favor was granted and he was given the money, but now he worried what would be expected of him in return.
“Phil! There’s a letter for you!” called the voice of his wife, Kristin. Her statement caused a bit of fear to well up inside of him. He stood up from his previous position on the couch. The blonde man watched as she walked over to him, holding out the envelope once it was in front of him. The worried look in his beloved’s eyes told him everything he needed to know.
Phil took the letter out of her hand gingerly before cautiously looking at the emblem on it. Seeing the emblem sucked away all of his breath. A king cobra, the winged man thought grimly. Of course.
After carefully opening the envelope, Phil pulled out the letter that was folded inside. He turned his head slightly to see his sons walking up behind him with concerned faces. “Dad?” Wilbur, his second eldest and twin to Ghostbur, asked. “Is there something wrong?”
“And why do you have a letter?” Tommy, the youngest of his children, inquired.
“I’m about to find out..” the father mumbled in response, turning his head back to look over the letter. His eyes scanned over the words written on the page, and his heart slowly dropped to his stomach. Of course. Of course. Why did he even hope that maybe, just maybe, the favor would be forgotten about? Why did he hope that his family would be safe from the (L/n) family? Why did he believe that Xavier (L/n) had forgotten about the money he had asked for?
The piglin hybrid snatched the letter from his father’s hand before he could react. As the pink haired male read, his three other brothers crowded around him to see what the fuss about the letter was. Phil closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his wife as his group of sons shouted in shock.
“You asked them for the money?!” Wilbur cried out. He snagged the letter from his elder brother and reread it again and again. He didn’t want to believe his father, a man of honesty and integrity, had borrowed money from the (L/n)s of all people! “Dad, why?! Why them?! There are so many other people you could have asked!!”
Phil still didn’t respond. He simply kept his eyes closed and tried to ignore his tears. He could hear Kristin sobbing. Even if she hadn’t read the letter, she knew what the price would likely be for them. She had heard of other people who had asked for the same type of money they had, and she had heard the consequences of asking for such a large sum.
“And one of us is going to have to go work for those.. those.. assholes?!” Tommy sneered. “But why! Those stuck up bitches have enough butlers and maids! They don’t need another-”
“I’ll go,” Ghostbur spoke up. Everyone in the room fell silent. Phil opened his eyes to look at his son in disbelief.
“What?! Hell no! Ghost, I am not losing you to THEM!” Wilbur looked at his twin and grabbed him by the shoulders. “You’d be stuck there forever! You’d never see anyone again! Don’t you know that?!”
Ghostbur let out a small sigh and gently grabbed his twin’s hand and pulled them off of his shoulders. He turned to look at his mother and father, who were both looking at him as if he was crazy. Inside, the ghost hybrid knew he was. He was volunteering to go work for the (L/n)s. They were notorious for being harsh on their maids and butlers. But at the same time, he knew none of his brothers would be able to survive. Techno would end up killing someone. Tommy would end up cussing people out, and Wilbur would end up speaking his mind too often. If they were lucky, they would get themselves kicked out. If they weren’t lucky.. God, Ghostbur didn’t even want to think of that possibility.
“I can keep my composure too, asshat!” Tommy glared.
“.. As I was saying, I can keep my composure and I can resist the temptation to kill someone if they get onto my nerves,” the ghost twin finished.
Techno let out a small grumble. “I see your point. But you still wouldn’t last a day in there. They’d walk all over you.”
The brunette crossed his arms, “I know, Wilby. I know. But you guys would get yourselves kicked out at the first moment. I’m the only one who could keep their composure long enough to pay off the debt.”
Kristin managed to pull herself away from Phil and walked up to her son. She wiped away her tears before hugging him. Ghostbur didn’t hesitate to hug back. He knew that she had accepted that he was going to accept this new role and that this would be their last embrace for some time. The twin of Wilbur felt another join the hug, possibly his father, followed by two more. He turned his head slightly and saw Wilbur standing there, an unreadable look on his face. However, the ghost hybrid knew that his brother was upset that he would be losing him. The ghost didn’t blame him. He was going to miss them too. But he knew that to keep his family safe and from getting disgraced, he had to take on this new role.
“I doubt he will.” Techno gave a small smile to reassure his younger brother.
Ghostbur smiled before turning his head to look at his father. Phil had a bittersweet smile on his face. He could tell that his father was proud of him for being so brave in volunteering, yet it was clear he didn’t want to lose his son. “I’m going to miss you, Ghostbur.”
“I’m going to miss you guys, too. I promise to send letters.” Ghostbur smiled. However the smile couldn’t mask the nervousness he had for the days to come.
