Chapter Text
Dream allowed his head to slump into his awaiting hand that was propped up against the long ebony table in the dreaded meeting room. Badboyhalo, the advisor for Skeppy’s kingdom, was currently droning on about their nations alliance and how important it was for both Kingdoms in the past and how it would continue to be in the future and Dream was ready to fall asleep.
Bad started spouting poetry about Skeppy’s plans and desires for his kingdom and Dream gently and slowly allowed his eyes to fall closed and grant himself a brief reprise from the boredom of the meeting. Immediately, he felt a swift kick to his shins under the table from his own advisor. He leveled a scowl at Wilbur.
It was Wilbur’s fault that he was at this meeting in the first place. He had originally planned on spending the afternoon practicing archery with his younger cousin who had been boasting of his quickly improving skills. Dream had intended on knocking Tommy down a few pegs, but Wilbur had insisted that he attend a last-minute meeting with Bad instead.
Bad paused his ramblings, noticing the commotion from the other end of the table, “Am I boring you, King Clay?”
Dream sat up straighter in his chair and studied the dare that gleamed in Bad’s eyes. He quickly weighed the pros and cons of what he wanted to say and decided that, as Bad had so ineloquently told him, their Kingdoms had been friends for a long time. Bad was also fairly close and had visited the kingdom often since Dream was a child and Dream decided he deserved his honesty. “Actually, yes Bad. I don’t understand why you are insisting on recounting our kingdoms entire history. Just tell me what you want.” He heard Wilbur take in a breath besides him.
Bad blinked at Dream and looked back in forth between him and Wilbur in surprise. Wilbur coughed pointedly and sent a warning glare at Dream.
“Excuse me, I just, I know all about our extensive history Bad, we do this every meeting. You can just tell me what you came for. Like you said, our Kingdoms do have an extensive history, I think we are past pleasantries.” Dream offered Bad a small smile, the only apology that he would be getting.
Bad returned the smile, abet with more hesitation. “Yes well, as I was getting to, there is a small favor that Skeppy requests of you, on account of our long friendship and all”
Dream frowned slightly, suddenly all of the preamble making sense. He exchanged glances with Wilbur, and Dream could tell that the other was internally groaning.
“And what would that request be?”
“Just,” Bad started, standing up from the table. Dream and Wilbur followed suit and followed Bad over to a large map on the other side of the room. “An acquisition of land. You see, none of your people really inhabit this mountain, and you know Skeppy is always looking to expand his mining efforts-”
“I am not relinquishing any of my land to his majesty the Diamond King,” Dream scoffed, turning away from the nonsense meeting, “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“King Clay!” Bad cried after Dream, “at least allow me to-”
The rest of Badboyhalo’s sentence was cut out as the doors swung closed behind Dream, leaving the two advisors behind to stare after his departure awkwardly.
Techno found Dream practicing archery in the yard that his brother had abandoned just hours before. He watched Dream narrowly miss the center ring of the target.
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” Techno says with a smirk, leaning against the wooden fence that separated them. Dream whipped around and scowled, but Techno could tell it was only half-hearted. “I heard you threw a temper tantrum at the meeting with Skeppy’s advisor today.”
Dream sighed and leveled another arrow at the target. “It wasn’t a temper tantrum-” He let the arrow fly and it found it’s mark in the center, “-Wilbur is exaggerating as usual.”
“Hmm, doubtful, you are prone to over reaction, my dear cousin,” Techno said as he followed Dream to put his bow and arrow away.
“What with the formalities, Techno?” Dream quipped, carefully cleaning his equipment before gingerly putting it away, just like his father had taught him.
“What’s with the attitude? You looked downright murderous when Wilbur mentioned that you had to attend the meeting this morning. And you’ve been in a particularly vexing mood since,” Techno paused tapping his finger on his chin, then smirking, “well since birth really, but its been worse in the last couple months.”
Dream decided that he wasn’t going to dignify Techno with a response. He tried to walk out of the training room, but Techno quickly stepped in front of the door to block his escape.
“Look, Clay, I care about you a lot, just talk to me because I know you aren’t gonna talk to Wilbur and I think he is gonna have a fit if this goes on much longer.”
Dream quickly realized that he didn’t really have a viable reason to avoid the situation and decided to bite the bullet. “I don’t know if I am really meant to be a King.” Techno sucks in a breath in surprise. His momentary shock allowed Dream to slip past and continue on his way back to his room.
Techno huffed in disbelief and followed after him. “This is why I am glad Wilbur just let me become a potato farmer.”
“Wilbur didn’t really let you; you just bought a farm one day and started planting potatoes. And when Wilbur questioned it you just told him-“
Techno quickly interrupted him. “-that it was all part of my master plan, yeah yeah, I know, I’m the one who said it. You know, I take my potato business very seriously. I also told Wilbur that strategizing farming techniques translates to running an empire fairly equitably.”
“And he bought that?” They arrived at Dream’s room quickly, as Dream preferred to be situated close to all the action as opposed to taking over his father’s obscenely large chambers on the other side of the castle.
“Well the potato farming competition isn’t any joke, Clay. Squid is always looking for any opportunity to gain the upper hand over me,” Techno said without a hint of humor in his voice as Dream opened the doors and ushered him inside.
Dream laughed anyway, because it was a little ridiculous. “And to think you used to be the most feared fighter in Viridis.”
“Potato farming isn’t intensive all year round, its mostly just the planting, and then harvesting. I could still beat your ass in any fight.” Techno snarks, sitting down in the middle of Clay’s bed as a subtle display of dominance. Dream just sighed, used to Techno’s antics, and flopped down on the floor beneath him, allowing the stress of the day to sink out of him and into the marble below.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, Techno,” Dream said, leaning up on his elbows to squint at his cousin. “If you want to prove your superiority, let’s just duel.”
“Ehhh,” Techno drawled out, “I’m actually busy later, you see I have a progress report meeting with my goons about Squid’s farm production levels so…”
Dream smiled at that, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m serious though.” Dream said, returning to the matter at hand, “I’m kinda just, tired of being King.”
“Well that sucks.”
“Thanks techno, I feel all better now,” Dream replied sarcastically,
“Look,” Techno said, standing and following dream to the window, “I just don’t really know what to say. Being the King is hard, but someone has to do it. The kingdom needs a strong ruler, Clay. And you are a good one. Who else would do it? Me?” Techno chuckled lightly at the thought, but Dream looked at him as if he had a sudden realization.
“That’s it!” Dream grabbed techno’s shoulders excitedly and shook him a little. “I can just leave for a bit, go have a crazy adventure, at least one, you got to have so many when you where younger. And then, you can just take over leading until I come back!”
Techno frowned and pushed Dreams hands off his shoulders. “You can’t just abandon your kingdom Clay. Like it or not, you are the King.”
Dream scoffed. “You aren’t listening. I’d leave you in control. And I’d come back, I wouldn’t be gone forever, I just, I need a break Technoblade.” Dream felt the desperation leaking into his voice. He hadn’t even realized he felt so strongly about needing to escape the pressure of leading an entire nation until Techno had waved the idea right in front of his face. He moved away from where he could feel his cousin’s eyes boring disappointedly into the back of his head and looked outside to where he could see the sun setting behind the sawtooth cut mountain edges. They had never looked so inviting.
“And what If I said I wont rule in your absence, just so you can go play being twelve and having no responsibilities again?”
Dream let out a strange combination between a laugh and a deep sigh. “There has never once been a point in my life where I wasn’t buried under responsibility and you know it.” He turned back to face Techno and place his elbows on the window seal behind him.
Techno remained silent and Dream couldn’t read his expression. He finally let out a sigh. “You aren’t gonna drop this, are you?”
“I am asking, as your King and as your cousin, just give me a couple months to just go on adventures and kill monsters and do everything you got to do when you were 18.”
“This is a bad idea Clay,” Techno said, pinching the bridge of his nose like Wilbur usually did.
“Fine,” Dream said crossing his arms, “I am not asking, I am telling”
“Well, in that case your wish is my command, King Clay.” Techno dropped down into a sort of half bow and Dream pointedly ignored the mocking nature and opened the door to invite Techno out of his room.
Techno paused next to Dream before walking out. “At least take someone with you. I don’t want you getting stabbed out there because of your incompetence.” Dream knew that behind the insult, Techno was just trying to look out for him. “You could take Punz?”
“The whole point is to not be King for once. I just want to be seen and treated like normal.”
Techno rolled his eyes, “Fine, I’ll pick a random knight, one that is very unlikely to recognize you.”
“Fine.” Dream called out to Techno’s retreating back.
George stood guard outside of one of the main halls with Ponk where they had been stationed all morning. Nothing much was happening, so he allowed his mind to wander back to when he had seen the king storm out of his meeting earlier that day. He hadn’t managed to catch a glimpse of his face before he was already halfway down the hall with his advisor shouting after him. George had been there for three months already and that was the first time they had even been in the same room. He was taller than George had imagined and seemed to command the room despite his young age. George supposed that he wasn’t altogether that young anymore. He was actually the same age as other Kings nearby, but Clay had kept his image of being a young king since he was inaugurated at 16. George had been 19 himself at the time and he distinctly remembered being impressed and a little surprise.
Suddenly, he felt an elbow jab into his side. “What are you daydreaming about Georgie?” Ponk teased.
George rolled his eyes at the nickname. “I’m standing guard, Ponk. Leave me be.”
Ponk rolled his eyes in return. “Right,” he drawled out, “are you sure you aren’t thinking about our handsome King?”
“Handsome? I didn’t even really see him Ponk. You’re ridiculous,” George said.
Ponk opened his mouth to snark back, but just then, Punz, the head guard, marched over and locked eyes with the two. Ponk and George immediately stood up straighter.
“You.” Punz pointed at George. “Sir, uhh, George, right?”
George nodded, stepping forward slightly nervously.
“Badboyhalo, the advisor of King Skeppy, requires an escort to his room in the south wing,” Punz said quickly, motioning for George to follow him, “Do you think that you can do that?”
George affirmed that he could and Punz lead him to where Badboyhalo was waiting. Punz introduced them and left, leaving George to lead Bad to the west wing.
“Hello!” Bad said cheerfully.
“Hello.” George responded, a little taken aback by the friendliness.
Bad eyed George curiously as they walked through the hallway. “You’re new here, aren’t you? Are you from Eret’s Kingdom?”
“I’m from Rast,” George said, sighing internally. He had many fellow knights ask him the same question when he first arrived.
“Ahh.” Bad nodded. “That’s right on the border of Eret’s Kingdom, so the accent makes sense. I think Wilbur might actually be from that area as well.”
George nodded although not entirely sure himself. “I am new actually. I arrived like three months ago.”
“What do you think so far?”
“Uhh…of what?” They were nearing the east wing and George was ready to escape the small talk with the energetic advisor.
“Of the castle! Of the King,” Bad smiled, “What is it like being a knight in the kingdom of Viridis?”
“It’s nice.” George said hesitantly.
“Oh, come on! You have to have more than that!” Bad said with on open smile and a gleam in his eyes.
George frowned slightly, wondering what exactly the foreign advisor wanted from him. “I like working in the castle, but I have not personally spoken with the King. I obviously think he is a good ruler, or I wouldn’t be a knight for him.”
George thought back to the moment he had first heard that the then 16-year-old prince was taking up the mantle of king. It was that same moment that he had decided he wanted to become a knight. He supposed it was a sense of duty of some sort. Or, maybe it had simply been a desire to prove himself as someone capable of taking care of himself and of others. He had decided to wield the sword instead of a hoe, a decision that had led him to the castle and to protecting the King.
He looked over at Bad and could tell that he was trying to read his face, which caused him to further soften his features into a neutral expression. He didn’t like people, especially strangers snooping into his thought process. George didn’t think of himself as a shy person per say, just someone who knew when to speak his mind and when to keep his mouth firmly shut. This situation was one of the latter.
He saw Bad open his mouth, presumably to push him further about his relationship with the King, but to his relief, they had finally made it to the wing where Bad was staying.
George gestured to the room Bad was staying in, eager to be done with the conversation. “Well, we’re here.”
“Thank you for walking me, Knight George!” Bad grinned brightly and George couldn’t tell if it was completely genuine or not. He turned to walk back to his station, already planning on complaining to Ponk about the nosy Advisor.
“George!” Bad called, forcing him to turn back around. “You should know the person you are willing to spend your life fighting for.”
With that cryptic statement, Bad walked into his room, leaving George to ponder exactly what he had meant.
As he walked back to his post with Ponk, he thought about how stupid Badboyhalo’s statement was. George was just a knight and Clay was the King. He wasn’t one to pretend he was anything other than a farmer’s son who was good with a sword. But he had trained for years and had finally made it to the castle and was getting used to the simple routine that he followed each day.
Suddenly, a sharp voice interrupted his inner monologue from a room off to his left. Now, normally, George wouldn’t be one to eavesdrop because it could get him killed by angry nobles. But his conversation with Bad was fresh in his mind, so when he heard King Clay’s name, he found himself stopping and crouching outside of the door. He glanced around him and found the hall to be empty, so he quickly pressed his ear to the door.
“He’s just not being a good King,” a voice said with heavy annoyance. George’s eyes widened in surprise. He leaned closer to the door, but the rest of the sentence was cut off. Not a good King? Objectively, George knew that not all of the nobles in the kingdom got along with Clay all of the time, but he hadn’t been aware of any grievances recently.
A second voice responded. “He’s being irresponsible. I just don’t understand…”
Once again, the rest of the words were lost as the voice delved into more of a whisper. George was about to decide to just move on, because ultimately the conversation was none of his business despite the rude words about the King, when he heard something that made him freeze in place.
“Well, he’s not going to be king anymore.”
A couple hours after his conversation with Technoblade, Dream was done packing, and stood exchanging his crown from hand to hand. He felt ready and confident, but his foot was still tapping apprehensively against the ground.
Suddenly, there was a short rapping at his door that Dream easily recognized. “Come in Punz.”
Punz leveled Dream with a scowl as soon as he entered, and Dream prepared himself for another argument. Punz stopped just in front of him and crossed his arms, the scowl not dropping from his face.
“You talked to Techno, didn’t you?” Dream sighed.
“What the hell man!?” Punz asked explosively, “You’re leaving? What’s that about?”
“I’m not leaving for good. I’ll come back.” Dream ran his fingers through his hair tiredly.
“The fact that you’re leaving in the first place, its just so irresponsible,” Punz said, rolling his eyes.
“Maybe I’m tired of being responsible!” Dream yelled. Punz’s eyes widened in shock, but Dream kept going. “I’ve been responsible my whole fucking life, I just want to live for once before being King for the rest of my life.”
Dream’s heart was beating rapidly in his chest and he could feel the beginnings of tears in the corner of his eyes. Punz studied him for a moment before dropping his hostile stance and pulling Dream into a tight hug. He allowed himself to relax into Punz embrace and return the hug. He didn’t often get hugs, so he relished in the comforting contact.
“I just don’t want to be as big as I am. Just for a little bit. Just for a few months,” Dream muttered into Punz’s shoulder.
Punz didn’t respond, just patted Dream’s back comfortingly. After a few more seconds, he pulled back and held his shoulders so that they were looking each other in the eyes. “Be safe.”
“I will,” Dream said, eyes landing on the sword he had placed next to his pack, “Techno is making me take a knight.”
“Good.” Punz smiled, and Dream waved his hand to dismiss him, walking over to his bed to begin readying for the night. Punz turned towards the door, then hesitated and looked back. “Clay?”
Dream grunted in response from where he was sitting in his bed.
“I hope you can realize what this kingdom means while you are out there” Punz said, with a tinge of sadness in his voice. Dream opened his mouth to respond but he found that he didn’t really know what to say in response. Punz nodded respectfully and let himself out.
Dream groaned and buried his face into his hands. He felt guilt and uncertainty settle in his stomach. He thought about all of the people who depended on him that he would be leaving behind, and picked up his crown that he had discarded when Punz came in. The gold glinted in the setting sunlight and he traced the ridges with his thumb. It was both heavier and lighter than he had imagined it when it was atop his father’s head.
He placed the crown on top of his pack with a sigh and finished getting ready for bed. Punz’s words echoed in his heads as he brushed his teeth and get dressed for the night. His eyes landed on his crown again on the way to blow out the candles and he felt himself grimace. He deftly picked it up and moved it to the mantle above the fireplace.
“I am allowed to be selfish this once,” was Dream’s last thought as he drifted off to sleep.
George woke up in a panic. The only thing that had been on his mind all night was what to do about the treasonous talk that he had heard the previous day. He felt anxious because he wanted to tell someone, but he didn’t know who he could trust. He hadn’t stayed long enough to discover who they were, and the voices had been familiar but not enough for him to recognize.
He stressed all throughout breakfast, enough that Ponk questioned his weird behavior, but George just shrugged it off.
He went through his morning routine in a daze, his mind arguing between two trains of thoughts. The first was that he should just mind his own damn business, the things nobles talk about do not always come to fruition, it was the safer option for him. However, it wasn’t necessarily the safest option for the King, which was his second train of thought. King Clay deserved to be informed. It could save his life. And George was a knight after all.
Which was why he found himself walking past the dining hall at lunch, and instead making his way to the throne room. The decorative oak doors were wide open and there was a lone figure lounging on the throne.
George immediately dropped into a bow. “Your Majesty I-“
The person on the throne let out a low chuckle. “You must be new here. I’m Techno, his cousin. Not the King.”
George’s eyes widened and his heart dropped as he recognized the voice as one of the ones from the night before. “Your Highness then,” George said hesitantly, rising from his bow.
“Bingo,” Techno drawled out, studying George with interest.
George was internally panicking because he was possibly too late. “Where is the King? Why are you on the throne instead?”
“I don’t see how that is any of your business, as a lowly knight,” Techno said, raising his eyebrow amusedly. “He is taking a leave of absence for a while, kingly business, you know the drill, I wouldn’t worry if I was you.”
George narrowed his eyes at the insult. “No way, he wouldn’t leave you in charge,” George retaliated, biting his tongue when he realized what he was saying.
“What, you think I can’t lead?” Techno shot him a dangerous smile. George’s mind unwilling flashed back to the time Techno had dyed his hair pink in his teens. Word had spread all the way to George’s small village. George smartly decided to keep his mouth shut this time and stared slightly remorsefully back at Technoblade.
“I could rule easily if I wanted to,” Techno said casually, “Why did you come running in here wanting to talk to Clay so bad anyway?”
George hesitated, knowing that he had to pick his words carefully. “I overheard a conversation that the King should be privy to.” That was not carefully.
“Eavesdropping? Interesting,” Techno said, the dangerous gleam back in his eyes, and George felt a drip of sweat bead down the back of his neck. He was dead. “What did you say was your name again?”
I didn’t. “George,” he said, because his fate was unfortunately already sealed.
“Well knight George, I think I have just the assignment for you,” Techno said, hoping off the throne and walking down to meet George. He unconsciously reached for the sword that rested at his side, but instead of attacking him, Techno slapped his hand onto his shoulder his shoulder and grinned. “I need you to accompany Dream on his travels.”
“What?” George asked in utter confusion.
“Dream. A friend of mine. He wants to go on an adventure, but he is a little dumb. Doesn’t really know how to take care of himself, most likely gonna get himself killed, you know the drill. I need you to watch him and keep him alive until he comes back.”
George’s mouth fell open in shock. “For- for how long?”
“As long as it takes,” Techno said with a little bit of a grimace. He slaps George’s shoulder again. “You leave in three hours.”
George walked back to his room and began packing in a little bit of a daze. He decided quickly that techno must have known that he had overheard his conversation yesterday, and was planning on sending him on a mission just to distract him. The real question was how long it would be before this ‘Dream’ person tried to kill him and frame it as the quick work of a monster.
He grimaced, folding an extra set of clothing into a bag. This wasn’t exactly how he had expected the first few months of his knighthood to go. He supposed he should have taken the easier option and simply not have gone to tell the King of the plot against him. He had waited to long anyway. He wondered if Clay was still alive out there , or if his death was going to quickly be made to look like an accident as well.
With that grim thought, he finished packing and surveyed the room that he had shared with his fellow knights and gave a quiet goodbye. Ponk was out still doing rounds and George regretted not taking the chance to warn him about the danger of Technoblade earlier. He decided to leave him a note letting him know that he had not just decided to vanish.
‘I finally did something of importance. See you in a couple of months hopefully,’ George wrote out, and tucked it underneath Ponk’s pillow before heading out to find Dream.
Dream paced back and forth nervously, waiting just outside the castle wall by the old willow tree, where his cousin had told him the knight he had chosen would meet him. He tugged on the simple white mask he had chosen to cover his face. Not many people would know what he looked like once they got outside of the city limits, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
“You must be Dream,” A foreign voice called out from behind him that must have been the knight. Dream relished in the anonymity of his childhood nickname.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Dream replied, turning around, and sticking out his hand for a handshake.
The knight gave him an unamused look but delivered a firm handshake. “I’m George.” He watched as George sized him up carefully. His eyes lingered on the mask that covered half his face, but he didn’t question it.
“Thanks for agreeing to accompany me, George,” Dream flashed him a smile, before realizing that his mask would render the expression useless.
George grimaced. “Didn’t really have much of a say in the matter.”
He adjusted the pack on his back, giving Dream the opportunity to study the knight. He was shorter than him, with short brown hair and brown eyes to match. His stance gave off the appearance of being indifferent, but dream could see tension in the way he was holding he shoulders high and how his hand never strayed too far away from his sword. He didn’t seem to trust or like him very much, but he also didn’t recognize him as the King, which was all that really mattered to Dream.
“Well?” Dream said, gesturing to the expansive forest behind him. George nodded and began down the trail leading deeper into the forest. Dream followed him, slightly behind, one step closer to everything he desired.