#spare him

"It sounds as though you trust yourself less than me. You can't speak your mind in front of my council?" He raised a brow and gestured to the grandiose of the room, how everyone was listening, waiting to see why she had shown up- this girl who was alone in front of a king, and too afraid to speak.

Villain tapped his fingers against the arm of his throne. He still bore that half-amused smile. It made Hero's stomach churn, and for a moment, she had to stop herself from crying. His smile widened as if he could see the halted tears in her waterline.

However, his smile fell away in another moment, when he rolled his eyes, seemingly tired of his own game. As Hero concentrated on Villain's eyes, she realized they were no longer focused on her, and instead focused behind her. The guard. "Take her away."

"Villain, wait!" Still, a hand remained on her shoulder. Villain held a hand up and nodded. The hand slid away, but in its place, a weight held her down.

Hero was afraid. She was alive, and as great as it was, she half-expected to be killed when she walked in. It was part of Villain's plan; she was certain given his betrayal. She squeezed her eyes shut thinking about it, gave herself a moment to regain her composure.

The plan was to make a bargain, but not believing she would make it this far, Hero had no bargaining chip- only a plea.

"You killed my brother"- her head twitched and she recoiled at her own memory. Villain. Sword. Brother. Blood...She couldn't finish her request.

"And what? You took it personally?" He tilted his head at her, remarking her as though she were a curiosity, not as someone who he had ever loved, cherished, or betrayed. Villain's lips came to a satisfied close as his council snickered and jeered at Hero from their seats.

"I came to ask you a favor." Her chest was hurting, swelling with the thought of her request. She felt herself swallowing as she heard her own breaths, too loud in her own head. Villain's fingers tapping against his throne didn't help. "I know you plan to kill my last brother. I am sure you have planned to kill me, as well. While I don't ask for you to spare me, I ask that you spare him."

She paused for the briefest moment. Hero couldn't take her eyes off of Villain's hand, its incessant tapping. It reminded her of two things.

It reminded her of humid nights when she and Villain knew the guards in her homeland wouldn't be on standby due to the mugginess outside. They would go off into the woods, find a clearing, and lay down, then peak at the stars through the foliage. Villain would wrap an arm through her own and drum against it with his fingers. They felt warm, always warm.

The tapping reminded her of another moment, one more sinister. Her brother was a good man; he was going to make an even greater king. He would take his armor off, beat it into a sheet, and lay it on the ground for anyone if there were a puddle. And if that weren't enough, he'd walk away and let the armor become a bridge so that no one faced the puddle again. Oftentimes, he didn't wear his armor, and Hero scolded him for it. There was no scolding him as Villain killed him. Hero could hear her own screams echoing back to her now.

Though these memories happened over a course of years, they flashed across her eyes in a moment. She begged Villain, "Please let my last brother live."

"Speak up."

Hero could only close her eyes and bite her tongue. What she wanted to do, what she wish she had to capability to do, was to scream at Villain. Curse him for the love he gave and the terror he committed after- during. Hero would have never imagined Villain would betray her, would kill her brother in a passing moment.

It was a duel. It was meant to be a duel. But Villain grabbed her brother's shoulder so ferociously, so intently as he pushed his sword.

'First blood?'

Hero had been happy that Villain and her brother got along. Hero could still hear her brother's sword bouncing off the ground as he bled into Villain's chest.

'How about first one to stumble?'

Her brother didn't enjoy fighting and would only swing his sword while training. Hero was shocked he agreed to duel Villain.

And Villain held her cheek afterwards, fingers coated in blood. He told her that he would be leaving now. A brisk murder and an even swifter absence.

"Hero."

A knot formed in her stomach as her attention was recaptured. Villain stood in front of her, and his hand was reaching towards her cheek. Her chest shook with sobs as his hand touched her skin, and it was soft.

"Don't," she said, and she spoke quietly so that no one else could hear, save Villain, and maybe the guard if he were still behind her.

"What would you do?"

Hero hadn't realized she pushed her cheek further into his hand until she was looking up to meet his gaze. Did his love always look like curiosity? Had she been mistaking him all along?

"For my brother?" she asked, and waited for his single nod. "Anything."

He hummed, and his closed lips lifted into a gentle smirk. His thumb ran across her cheek bone, and Hero clenched her jaw. "Your life for his. On your knees."

Her chest quaked again and she swallowed. Without thinking, she dropped. "How will I know you won't kill him?"

It was in the next moment that she knew the guard was still behind her because his sword came to rest on her shoulder. The edge of the blade touched her neck and Hero found herself turning away from it.

"Because you will be alive to stop me should I try."

Looking up, Hero found the same grin Villain wore before as he shoved his sword through her brother. "I want you to kneel there and beg me to marry you." His voice was loud enough for all to hear, and the Council even began shifting in their seats, leaning forward, straightening their spines for a better look.

"Marry you?"

His eyes darted up, and in the same moment they found Hero's again, she felt the blade sink in just a little further. "Villain, please..." ...don't make me do this.

"Continue."

She tried to adjust her shoulder, to make the blade fall, but the guard just pushed it further than before. It took everything not to push it away with a hand. If her arms left her side, she knew the guard wouldn't hesitate to harm her. So she clenched her fists instead. Her breathing was perhaps the least controlled aspect.

"You want to save your brother, don't you?"

"Villain." She couldn't do this. She couldn't-

"Three," he began, "two..."

The back of her head was pounding and her heart was throbbing, beating against her chest like it needed an out as much as she did. Chills spiraled up and down her arms and neck. She shuddered.

"One. Take her outside. I will be there shortly." Villain turned his back and began walking towards his throne once again.

Hero felt the sword cut into her neck as the guard slid it away. She winced and her back caved as she felt relief. Tears streamed down her face and for a minute she thought she was in the clear. Villain let her live.

But the realization hit as quickly as the relief. He would kill her in the public's eye to prove a point. The chills resurfaced, and as she was pulled from the ground onto her kicking feet, Hero screamed, "Villain, no! Please. Let me marry you. Let me be your queen and I will never look back at home or my brothers or anything that you have done. Please, Villain. Let me save my brother."

The room erupted in short snorts and satisfied chuckles. Villain hushed them with a hand before circling back to Hero. His steps were off-beat from the beating of her heart; it made Hero's head spin faster than the memories she relived just minutes ago. Had it only been minutes?

"Tomorrow. You become my queen, and your kingdom receives no word of it. You will not speak to them, and you will not speak of them. Let go of her." This last part was said to the guard, and so he did. Hero was once again a slump on the ground. Villain leaned down to her, and grabbed her arm before yanking her forward. She winced as his lips touched her ear, but she released a breath as he whispered, "There's something you need to know. Follow along."

******

Austin, if anything, is suffering from the fact that it’s the largest growing city in the country and therefore much of old Austin icons and features are being destroyed

Literally the motto for this fucking place is “Keep Austin Weird”

The other thing is that Will traveled with his mom on tour when he was young, and then became an all-year camper when he was ten

If this mf went back to Austin he’d be confused as shit because “What do you mean ___ was closed/shut down/demolished!”

Yes, I agree that feral Will is fun! I do! But I cannot express enough that Will is less feral and just Weird and so I give my list of hcs:

-Will likes disgustingly sweet iced tea and puts hot sauce on fucking everything

-Will, when he’s walking, will just wave at people to greet them (evidenced by the fact that in neighborhood setting drivers and pedestrians wave at each other)

- Even though the plates in the dinning pavilion magically conjure whatever is asked of it, Will stands by the fact that the BBQ is just not as good as authentic Texan BBQ

- Will did not know how to ride a horse until going to CHB I stand by this

- Will lives in this state where he’s both violently ashamed and pathetically proud to be Texan

- Has an unhealthy obsession with Texas wildflowers and occasionally asks the Demeter cabin to grow some every March

- Will can walk outside, look at the sky, sniff the air, and tell you whether or not it’s going to rain and he’s never wrong

- Polite as shit this boys got some manner it’s all sir and ma’am and it causes distress that there’s not a proper gender neutral option

- anyone asks him where he’s from and instead of saying the state he specifies that he’s from Austin he doesn’t associate with the rest of the state

- he does own a pair of cowboy boots. For the bit

-HEB enjoyer (Popular Texas grocery chain)

- gets lost every time he visits Austin because the city is constantly changing

-Likes bats, critters and bugs (Nico doesn’t like bugs)

-maintains that Bluebell Ice cream is superior to all ice cream (Cookie two step my beloved)

- can dance the Texas two step (he teaches Nico and Nico teaches him how to waltz)

- knows way too many facts about Texas and its history

And I will continue to update this because I love Will and i refuse to let the Texas Stereotype take him

Edits:

- Because of living in an urban population, Will doesn’t have a Texas accent, but every now and then he’ll say a word slightly off/occasionally has relaxed vowels

- He has breakfast tacos every morning. The type of taco always chances but it’s always a taco