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Chapter Text

it's the first festival held by jschlatt to celebrate the democracy of manburg. i have been invited alongside with my brother and the rest of the greater dream smp, badlands, and technoblade, the only known member of pogtopia to be invited. i'm assuming he's only been invited due to his royalty status and the fact that he's new to this region. it might also be because he and schlatt go a long way because of an event that occurred a year ago. as far as i know, it was called minecraft monday.

technoblade and i met a few days ago when i went mining with dream for leisure. however, once the two of us went into a cave, i wandered too far after falling a few too many blocks down, leaving dream behind. he told me to stay put while he mined for a safer way for me to get back up, but being me, of course i did not listen. i tried mining myself a staircase back to the surface, but instead i ran into a ravine.

i saw lanterns softly illuminating a block of wood—no, a staircase. it was inhabited. i grew worried. wary as i was, i pull out my sword and hold it steadily in front of me. i heard footsteps, but i reacted too late. an axe was centimeters away from slitting my throat. i heard a booming voice rumble from behind me.

"who are you and how did you find us?" i froze. i've already met every single person on this place except for technoblade, the blood god himself. and he had his infamous axe of peace against my very own throat. as afraid i was on the inside, i did not buckle with my words.

"my name's y/n. i am with dream." the axe instantly dropped at the mention of my... friend. i turned to face him, expecting to see a battle worn face. instead, i see a mystified expression on the face of a boy no older than dream. he donned bright pink long hair that framed his young face. a golden crown glinted in the darkness. his blood red coat hung over his surprisingly neat blouse. the exact opposite of what i've heard of this so called blood god. you would've thought this man would send shivers down your spine at the sight of him, but strangely enough it did not happen to me.

i should be tensed and afraid, and yet i feel myself relax as my shoulders drop.

"dream's with you? you must be the princess. nice to meet you." he offered his free hand to me as i cringed at the mention of my position. i shook his hand anyway and returned it to his side. i must have been observing him for a second too long so i decided to shift my attention to my surroundings. it was quite hard. the bedazzlement of seeing the king of the ancient wilderness hasn't completely worn off, despite me being sort of eased by his appearance. it was odd seeing him like this, his hair slightly ruffled as if he had just woken up to the commotion i've been careful not to cause.

"yes, we were mining. no particular direction. i happened to fall into your—ravine, after getting separated from dream."

"he'd be very worried, i suppose. i'm sure he's looking for you right now." i allow myself to sneak a glance at him once again. i notice his pig-like ears peeking out from his pink hair. *ah, so he is some sort of a pig man as they say.*

"that's right," i reply in a worn-out tone, "he dotes on me, way even more than my own brother does."

"king george, right?" of course he'd know his fellow king. everyone knows king george, the "ruler" of the the greater dream smp.

"correct."

"well, that does explain the accent." i smile a little at his observation.

"which is very quickly fading the longer i spend time with dream and the others." i quipped back. i no longer wanted to speak about my brother. "so, this is pogtopia."

"yup," he replied, putting his hands behind his back and moving to my side as i walked past him. "i can tell you it's a bit more homey than the castles you're probably used to."

"that's true," i agreed, seeing a lot of personal chests spread around the cave. it was nothing like our castle. over there you'd never see anything out of place. but here, it seems as if no one really minded how disorganized this place was.

i was wanting to climb the staircase when technoblade took a stride longer than mine and blocked the way. i stopped immediately before i bumped my head onto his chest.

"i'm not sure i can have you look around too much. i'm not so certain about where your loyalties lie, even though dream's helping us at the moment." my eyes met his from under my eyelashes as i looked up at him.

"with dream or not, i despise governments, darling." and from then on we understood each other. we both held a title that neither of us wanted, and yet we still take on the responsibilities. it was in our blood, after all, and nothing could change that.

he tried to suppress his smile, but he failed. "i think we'll make very good friends, princess." he resorted to smirking, and i flashed him a proper smile of mine.

"i think there's no need for formalities, or do those matter to you, your majesty?"

"not at all."

"then you may call me y/n, technoblade."

"alright then," he eased his posture and slightly stood to the side, allowing me to pass him. i was about to take the first step up the staircase until—

"y/n? where are you?" i heard dream call from afar.

"there's your boyfriend." he gestured to the way we came from and i sigh before i start to walk with him.

"he's not. my brother trusts him very much, so i basically have to have him by my side wherever i go."

"he is the knight after all, and you, a princess."

i struggle not to scoff. "if only i was queen instead of george being king. i'd have as much fun as you do in these... ravines without having someone following my every step." he laughed back and his eyes shifted to the side. he held out his hand to escort me through the hole where i came from, a hole i could very easily jump into. i take his hand anyway.

"i mean, you could always marry me if you really badly want to live in a ravine."

"right," a short huff of air emanates from my nose in amusement. although i knew how outrageous it was for it not to be a joke, it makes me pause and look at him in the eyes. his smile does not fade and i lose the unofficial staring competition we had in the darkness.

"well, i'll consider your offer when i develop a deeper love for caves. as of now i have an unspoken commitment to mining."

"update me when that changes, won't you?" i feel his firm grip on my hand slightly slacken, but he still does not let go.

"of course," i roll my eyes and take my hand from his as i meet my original companion on the other side. "i'll see you around, your majesty."

so, that was how my meeting with technoblade went. i must say, underneath the grandiosity of his name, he doesn't seem that terrifying at all. certainly, there was tension between us, although i wasn't sure if it was because i was basically in secret territory, or if it was because we were stupefied by one another.

i, for one, would very much like to see deeper than what i've seen that day. he was nothing like i've heard at all. he was playful, mischievous, and far from uptight. i'm not sure if he's as interested in me as i was in him. it's possible that he simply wants to find out a few secrets between me and dream. after all, i think even technoblade knows that dream holds the most power outside of manburg. and yet, he's been reduced to king george's knight. although it wasn't to say that dream did not enjoy my company as my knight.

in fact, he'd insist on joining me to even the safest places and activities, such as baking with niki or farming with tubbo. i'd always tell him not to follow me, and he'd always reply with, "sorry, y/n. king's orders." eventually i grew used to his company. sometimes, even when george needed him, i'd find myself not necessarily missing, but somehow looking for his presence. on the other hand, dream would always find a way to finish his duties and return to his permanent and official post—by my side.

it does get suffocating at times, which is the sole reason why i "fell" down a few blocks and walked into the caves of pogtopia.

and technoblade was like a breath of fresh air in a stuffy prison.

Chapter Text

i walk side-by-side with niki as we make our way into manburg, dream a few steps behind us. i do my best to ignore him, but the all-too-familiar clanking of his netherite armor distracts me. niki notices my discomfort and points to the ice cream shop, telling me how she and her friends decorated it. i silently thank her, and watch as fundy, ponk, and antfrost take turns with each other, seemingly having way too much fun for participating in what seems to be a simple game of archery.

apparently, they had set up some sort of contraption wherein whoever was able to shoot the button with an arrow would get the pleasure of watching whoever was on top of the platform get soaked to the bone when they drop into a glass tub filled to the brim with water. i lined up to the shooting area with niki, this was going to be way too much fun for me. i had an affinity with archery, and seeing someone get dunked would be the cherry on top.

the line was held up, and i was wondering why no one was sitting on top of the platform. i was looking around when out of nowhere, i hear a whooshing sound. i instinctively look up to where the sound came from and i see him, ripping through the air with his trident. and yet technoblade was not about to land in the lake that was 20 blocks away from where he was above. i was looking around for a water bucket when i see him pull out his own and land gracefully beside me without a hair out of place. i shamelessly beamed, impressed. i look to my side and niki seemed excited as well, so there must be no need for me to mask my own excitement.

"hello, princess," he placed his water bucket down beside me and rested his trident over his cloaked shoulder. i stare into his eyes that were slightly shadowed by his own hair before i greet him as well.

"fancy seeing you here, your majesty." i was about to ask him what in the world he was doing, soaring through the air like that without a safe water source to land in other than his very own water bucket. however, i get cut off as i hear dream's sword unsheath. it was only then when i realized the amount of tension that has been caused by the two men; one silent behind me, and another making a grand entrance—both men with frightening abilities nonetheless.

i see technoblade go a little rigid before i turn to dream who already had his sword between me and the king of pogtopia. "get away from the princess, technoblade." dream warns, moving so he'd plant himself in front of me like a statue.

technoblade all but ignores him and tilts his head to the side to meet my eyes once again. "seems as if i'm not wanted here, y/n." my eyebrows furrow at dream's sudden actions.

"dream, he's been invited." i firmly grip his shoulder, covered with thick, glowing netherite.

"you heard me, technoblade." i see dream's mouth curl downwards in displease, and his sword practically at the other man's chin. "dream—don't do that—" the king makes a move; to either raise his hands or to strike with his trident. my knight took it as the latter and grabbed my arm and pushed me aside and into niki, immediately going into his fight stance that i knew so well after sparring with him too many times.

"step. away." dream's voice slightly rose, and technoblade finally completely raises his arms in mock defeat. i could spot his fingers twitching on the handle of the trident. as much as technoblade wanted to fight dream then and there—how dare he raise a sword at a king? especially the one who escorted the very princess he was tasked to watch over and yet he failed—he did not want to cause much more of a scene as dream already had by overreacting.

dream finally lowers his sword by his side and reverts back to his normal posture, stout as a soldier. "are you hurt?" he finally addresses me, as if i had not been protesting for the past minute.

"no—dream, what are you doing? are you insane?" i do my best to keep my voice low, but i fail to keep my emotions at bay.

"he landed way too close for comfort," he mumbles, eyeing technoblade from his shoulder, who was currently standing beside fundy, who did the honor of attempting to cut down the tension by speaking to the king about his contraption.

"he didn't even touch me," i look dream in the eyes, which was a little hard considering his mask, but i spot the green in the darkness anyway. "besides, he didn't do anything to harm me when we lost each other, did he? so what makes you think he'd hurt me in front of a crowd?"

"i know that, i just thought— you know i'm working on your—the king's orders." i exhale a little too loudly at the mention of my brother. "i'm just trying to keep you safe."

"i appreciate that. but he's a king too." i pause and look at technoblade, who sneaks a glance at me despite being in a conversation with another.

"well, he's not my king, and he's certainly not yours." he reminds me in a low voice, although i'm sure everyone heard it, for all conversations fell into a hush. i see technoblade's smile fade as he shifts his attention from me to my knight. i glance at dream once more before i step away to apologize for the both of us. he does not hesitate to follow, either way.

there may be two kings, one tyrant, and a leader of a rebellion, but as long as war has not broken out yet, my job is to maintain good relations with every side, as i have been tasked. and maintain good relations i shall. neither my knight or my brother were making it easy to do so, though.

i ask niki to wait for me there before i made my way to technoblade, who was doing his best to enjoy his conversation with fundy. perhaps he was making it seemed as if the scene had not bothered him, although i'm sure it had bothered everyone, what with all the previous destruction between the greater dream smp and l'manburg. technoblade sees me coming and excuses himself from fundy and the others. he's reminded by dream's presence, so he ensures to clasp his hands behind him so as to not instigate any further misunderstandings.

"i'm sorry about that, your majesty." i start with looking directly into his eyes. "you understand how important it is to my brother that i remain safe. i hope you can excuse my knight's actions on his behalf." i continue, and i lose yet another staring contest with him.

"of course, i understand your... friend's responsibilities." he pauses when dream slightly shifts, but he tests the waters anyway. "i was, and still am sort of a knight. i know how far protection goes." all of a sudden, i feel all stares fall upon the three of us once again. two monarchs from entirely different kingdoms is surely a sight to see.

"thank you," i nod quickly, making a mental note to ask technoblade what he meant about being a knight in the future. i tilt my head towards the attraction and the king nods, understanding what i had intended to do. so i walk to fundy in an attempt to try and diffuse the stiffness still present in the air.

"so, fundy, who's next in line?" sounding cheery was not my specialty, but my interest in his archery-related contraption does help quite a bit. fundy looks a little bit taken aback, but he responds anyway.

"oh—uh, well, supposedly, technoblade over here's going to land in that water with his trident," fundy points to the little tub of his contraption. i notice that the platform on top has been taken away. *oh, so that's where he was supposed to land*. he missed by more than 5 blocks, landing next to me. unless, he missed on purpose. i push the thought away. anyone would most likely miss that. it was a narrow aim. but, from what i've heard, technoblade had a deadly aim, making him lethal with both close and long-range combat. with that, i'm pretty sure he's precise enough to land it. i decide to doubt him nonetheless. i smile in mischief and steal a look at the king, who was *still* watching me despite his attempts to engage in conversation with niki about the stands she'd made with the others.

"are you guys sure he can do that?" i announce louder than necessary. "i mean, that's rather a high-risk, isn't it? kind of unsafe if you ask me." i carry on with jesting, shifting my balance to the heels of my feet as i clasp my hands in front of me.

technoblade shuffles past dream and stands beside me. "are you sayin' you're concerned for my safety, princess?" he questioned, pulling his trident out once again—my knight takes a few steps forward in protest but i ignore this. i slightly lean forward to try and catch the king's gaze which was fixed on his aim.

"well, sir," my smile transitions into a smirk. "i wouldn't be concerned for your safety if i didn't doubt your abilities, now, would i?"

he raises his eyebrow at me. "you want me to prove it to you?" he fiddles with his weapon as he slightly bounces on the balls of his feet, presumably considering entertaining my otherwise meaningless teases.

"i'd love to see you try. if it's not too much trouble," i make sure to sound sweeter than usual. his eyes briefly lock onto mine. "for me, sir?"

i see his expression morph into one of exhilaration and i instantly knew that i won. although, i knew that he was going to do it anyway. he failed the last time. he was bound to try again once more, even without my encouragement. this simply made him want to attempt again right this instant. so he walks as quick as he can to the nearest water source. i stay in my place as i watch him get into position with the others.

"for you, princess?" he looks me dead in the eyes. "anything," was his last word before he launched himself forward and high into the sky.

Chapter Text

today was the most brilliant day i've ever had. i must say that this day probably beats even my own investiture a few months ago— george and i spent the aftermath sparring with dream and sapnap. now that i think of it, i have not seen george in a while. i've catched a few glimpses of him discussing dream's post with me, or when he was drafting a statement of neutrality during the manburg vs pogtopia with punz, but he was always fleeting.

back to the events of today, after challenging technoblade to land himself into the vat of water, fundy had the funniest idea of trapping him inside. of course, technoblade protested for a short while, but we all knew that monarchs like him and i who wore a crown weren't wearing it purely for the sake of regality. my small crown; which was practically a tiara of some sorts, already had some respiration enchantments. what more for a king's crown like his?

"oh no... my respiration three isn't going to save me, i'm going to drown, noooo," he droned on and on as dramatically as he can with that rather monotonic voice of his. i was practically rolling on the floor with niki, laughing as fundy tried to come up with an explanation for technoblade's nonchalance. of course, fundy hasn't been let in on the secret yet. two of our kingdom's greatest warriors, silent dream and good-natured punz, obviously knew. niki was no exception. ponk and antfrost seemed to catch on quite quickly and joined me in the laughter.

once they've all decided that fundy already had enough mental torture, technoblade mutters, "hold on, i left the stove on at home," and launches himself up into the air and out of the tank, earning him a giggle from me. this time, he landed a little bit farther from me compared to the last time, as anyone normally would after all the disturbance it had caused earlier.

as excited as i was, i did not wait for fundy to regain his sanity. once my laughter died down, i pull the arrow from the button and take out a bow from a nearby chest. if i was to impress the king with my archery like he had impressed me with his dexterity with his trident, then it's in my best interest to use the bow i've been loyal to for almost the entirety of my life. after all, it was given to me by george when he decided archery was not for him as much as sword-fighting was. but alas, i did not bring any weapon today as dream insisted.

"who's next?" technoblade declared, interested. i did not mind, but he certainly wasn't even blinking as he focused his gaze on me. what an intense gaze he has. is this the king that frightens the souls of his enemies away? if anything, i only saw a boy with a hunger behind those eyes. a hunger for what? competition? for pure show of skills? or was it something else that was shadowed by his status? i had yet to know.

ponk offered to step on the platform. i did not look at my target for i had already seen it. i just had to make sure that ponk already had two feet planted. i may be impatient enough to not wait for him to sit, but not too much that i risk injuring him by making the platform disappear before his body was angled to the tub perfectly so he'd fall properly. his left foot finally finds its way to the platform—most of the people were still hung up on fundy's antics, except for my knight and the king—loose! it disappears from beneath him and he falls. a rush of exhilaration courses through me.

i hear niki cheer for me and i laugh with her along with everybody else—except dream, of course. he kept his eyes trained on technoblade, who had an approving smile that seemed permanently etched on his face when i caught his attention. he was somewhat bewildered, but amused nonetheless.

---

the day progressed, and the start of the actual festival was nearing. through the unified messages that imprint on our wrist, we see that the vice president, quackity, has summoned the citizens of manburg (and the invited monarchs, of course) to gather near the infamous podium. once i finally get there, niki by my side, my knights behind me, and technoblade at the other aisle, the memories come flooding through.

it feels like it was only yesterday. the whole ordeal occured a few days after i had taken my oath as princess y/n, duchess of the holy lands. i had officially taken on the responsibility of maintaining good relations with l'manburg, and that peace within the holy lands are maintained in my name. it wasn't as much to do for me, i need only to not cause any conflict and try to mediate any risky war-starting conflicts inside the greater dream smp before they burst out, and i should survive my dukedom. however, considering that most citizens under the greater dream smp are rather hot-headed, it was quite the challenge. hence, my anxiety needed to be quelled by none other than my friend, niki.

now, niki was indeed part of l'manburg, but what was my dukedom for if i hadn't maintained my friendship with my childhood friend who had claimed independence from our kingdom? after all, the treaty had been signed, the war was over, and soon, elections were fast approaching. but first, the investiture.

niki had the wonderful idea of bringing her fellow citizens with her. after all, everyone was invited to my investiture. it wasn't only for the greater dream smp, it was also for my revelation as a princess, for i had been mainly wandering the lands near our castle. it was only a few childhood friends like niki, wilbur, tommy, and tubbo who had known of my existence as a monarch, but other than that, no one knew me. and of course, i had no say in the wars that occurred before i had come of age.

after i took my oath, i enjoyed everyone's companies for a while until my brother came to congratulate me. now, i haven't seen much of him as much as i had when we were younger, so it was a joy for me to be able to spend most of the day with him, dream, and sapnap. it was a lovely day. i did not expect to see george after my investiture as well—i'd seen him an hour before the event, and the only thing he said to me was, "you'll do great. you're already the best princess i know."

and that was it. i barely saw him again after that.

either way, the point is, that day was nothing short of amazing, and today would have beat that had we not been sitting in the very same place where two of my friends from outside the lonely castle, tommy and wilbur, got exiled by the very same tyrant we still have a statement of neutrality with. god, if i had been a princess before that dumb election, i would have made sure that the treaty between us and l'manburg no longer existed to be safe. i would have burnt it to the ground, and made a new one after.

but, as i think of it, what could i have done? dream had always droned on and on how we've signed it with l'manburg, not with wilbur himself. it did not matter who was the president. sure, there may have been a change in government, but it was fairly elected, and it governed over the same citizens.

my words fell to deaf ears as george reiterated that the only way that the treaty would be broken is if their government fell. the government did not fall. it simply changed its leader.

i was also lectured on how my future responsibility would be to maintain peace, not to break it. it suffocates me to think that they thought that this was peace. this was anything but peace.

so now, i watch helplessly as niki slips away into the night, meeting with wilbur and the others in secret. every single day that she returned, i would ask her to reveal the location of pogtopia to me. i haven't seen tommy and wilbur in ages, and niki telling me that they were alright was never enough to me. and every single day, she would always say no. she tells me that i should understand. after all, i was second in line to the throne of the greater dream smp, a kingdom that once fought a bloody war against the two exiled.

i never stop asking her, though. i'll always take my chances for the two people that felt more like brothers than my own did. so when i accidentally found the ravine while getting separated with dream the other day, i was so relieved. shocked because of the king that i met there, but relieved, nonetheless. my best friends trust him, so i trust him as well.

now, i look at niki for a good second until i hear fireworks coming from the other side of the seats. i find technoblade launching red, white, and blue fireworks with his own crossbow. my neck remains craned until the mini fireworks display ceases. i glance back at the king, and i see him smiling at me crookedly. he must have sensed how miserable i was and fired l'manburg's colors into the air.

"thank you," i mouth to him, and he answers with a shrug.

"this is very expensive stuff so i'm gonna stop. can't go splurging my friends' resources on this country now, can i?" i hear him joke to ponk beside him.

i chuckle a little bit until dread fills my stomach. i hear someone tapping the microphone at the podium.

"hello everybody, and welcome to the festival of manberg!" schlatt greets us all, tubbo cheering beside him. although the sight makes me sick to my stomach, i clap out of habit. decorum does not disappear no matter how much i despise the person speaking.

"i've invited all the citizens of manberg and some very close friends of mine to enjoy the festivities that this nation—something—i don't know," niki's knuckles turn white, so i take her hand in mine and rest it on my lap to try and calm her down even just a little bit. i hear her sharply exhale a little bit of her frustration out, and that's good enough for me.

"basically, i just want to throw a party. can we get a democracy on three? one, two, three—"

"democracy!" fundy screams the loudest of them all.

"why is he cheering—he was their friend!" niki whisper-shouts to nobody in particular, and i do not speak. instead i look at just how many people were cheering.

yeah, today was the best day. until schlatt and his brainwashed minions entered the picture.

Chapter Text

"everyone, let's go dance at the pokimane island!" the vice president herds us onto the said area. niki and i fall behind a little. we weren't enjoying this one bit. as usual, dream was following me a few steps behind, silent as ever.

niki and i were in a hush, pretending to dance and have fun whilst conversing about her last visit to wilbur. she was telling me about how tommy was doing when technoblade's voice suddenly became quite distinct amongst everyone's cheers of "party!"

"alright, any critical, national weaknesses we want to talk about? for fun!" even dream, who stood perfectly still in the corny, made eye contact with me.

"uh, what?" both quackity and fundy inquired, just as confused as everybody was.

"you know, j-just some guy talk! woo, state secrets—"

"yeah!" niki chimed in rather loudly and i instantly got nervous.

"niki, what are you doing?" it was as if i didn't exist to her in the moment.

"confidential info!" dream took the initiative and took a few steps closer to me. he was just as afraid as i was of the lack of thought behind technoblade's actions.

"i don't think we should do that—you know, i'm not really getting a party vibe from you and techno right now," fundy spoke to niki, fully stopping his inane movements.

it seems as though my mouth got the best of me before my mind did when i slung my arm around niki's shoulders and cheered as well. "what ever do you mean, fundy? we're having loads of fun! isn't that right, your majesty?" with my head turned away from fundy, my eyes widened, signaling for technoblade to follow along.

"oh—yeah! i think some small talk wouldn't hurt." fortunately, technoblade played along well as i asked him to, shooting some fireworks into the air to show his enthusiasm. he winked at me, even. my heart jumped, although i wasn't sure if it was all the anxiety this situation was causing me or if it was because technoblade did as i said or if it was something else. i pushed the thought into the back of my head. there was no time for that.

"alright then..." fundy sort of tilted his head to the side before continuing. "everybody please follow me; there's this really cool thing that tubbo has installed." i exhale a little loudly before tugging niki along with me.

"you know, those fireworks cost ten thousand dollars." technoblade leaned closer to whisper to me. i roll my eyes at his antics.

"i do. i actually overheard you earlier," i smiled, "how noble of you to spend that much money to save our behinds from the predicament you caused."

technoblade was about to come up with a retort when dream stepped between the king and i and stretched his arm outwards to me, urging me to take it. "princess, shall we go?" my eyebrows furrow a little in bewilderment of his sudden actions— well, not so sudden considering he did almost press a sword onto technoblade's neck for speaking to me. but at least he didn't react violently this time. an improvement i'm sure we were all thankful for.

i take his arm anyway.

"i'll see you there, then."

---

"we can do matches!" fundy declared once we had all arrived. in front of us was an average sized boxing ring. i sighed fondly. of course tubbo would make one of these.

"woo, violence!" i scoff a little upon hearing technoblade applaud from the back. i was still holding onto dream—rather, he did not really give me a chance to slip away. when i asked, he merely said, "i'm not sure that the things your new friend gets up to is exactly safe. just a precaution, i promise." i didn't fight him on that one. he was right. what the hell was technoblade thinking earlier?

"alright, step up, those of you who want to volunteer themselves for the sake of a honorable match!" fundy shouts to the already excited crowd, "i will be one of the fighters for the first round. are there any of you who would like to battle me?" my eyes instantly go to technoblade and he catches my gaze, but he waits for someone else to respond. i look at dream briefly and he barely budges his hold on me, so i look around at the crowd. silence. after a few moments, technoblade steps forward.

"fine, i guess i'll do it." i smile as technoblade opens the gate to the boxing ring. now, i know this is all fun and games and i'm not all that worried for either of them, but i can't help but feel that a part of me is secretly hoping that fundy goes down. i'm not sure if i'm ready to forgive him for what he's done to his father and his best friend. but then again, who am i to speak when i'm allied with the people who betrayed my friends?

nobody notices the momentary glint of glass hidden inside the king's hand as everyone's scrambling to get the best seats for themselves.

"you can sit here," dream secures a spot for me and i gladly take it, eager to watch the fight. badboyhalo starts to count down rather slowly.

"this is gonna take forever," technoblade remarked. with that, badboyhalo finished counting down as fast as he could, and the bell rang. cheers exploded, and i could only remember clutching onto niki's elbow with excitement.

three punches and fundy was off of his feet.

the cheers halt. i pause and take my time to observe the scene. fundy isn't a terrible fighter, even if it was technoblade that he was going up against. you've sparred with him before—it's inhumanly possible to take someone down in three punches. one punch being non-critical as well.

until i spot the dark liquid at the corner of technoblade's mouth. strength potion. i'm possibly one of the first people to notice, what with the king directing a half-smile in my direction which could easily be mistaken for an expression of smug victory.

"aaaand obliterated!!!"

"who's next? who's next?!" he bellows as he breaks our gaze and the crowd is no longer deafeningly silent. schlatt is the first to break the silence as he cackles loudly, clearly amused by the sheer display of violence

quackity approaches the ring, unsure if he was going to laugh, "technoblade, we're gonna have to conduct a drug test—"

"could we can wait 24, 23, 22 seconds — 21 seconds before we do that test?" technoblade counts out loud, almost laughing as he paced around the ring uneasily.

"i think we should conduct that test right now, quackity, please," fundy, recovering from his daze, remarked.

"i feel like we should—we should wait 16 seconds,"

"no, i don't think we should—" fundy stands up to go after technoblade, who hopped out of the ring with ease and recovered his cape and launches himself up in the air once again in the trident.

"i feel like i'm not here anymore," niki looks at me and we both instantly burst into laughter. quackity and fundy chase after him, but the commotion almost immediately stopped as soon as it started.

it was time. schlatt has called for an audience, tubbo informs us.

i get up from my seat as well and spare a glance to dream. i can observe many things, but dream's emotions are not one of them at all. i couldn't decipher his expression. was it disbelief? disgust? perhaps he knew that it was entirely in technoblade's character to do something like that? or was it something unrelated entirely?

"let's go, they're heading back," niki cuts off my train of thought, as well as dream's. the knight wastes no time with looping his arm through mine and setting off towards the others.

---

niki, dream. and i return to the seating arrangement we originally sat in earlier. but still, i insisted that dream did not need to stay so close. he did not budge as usual. i sighed and turned to the podium where schlatt, tubbo, and quackity currently stood on.

the S seems to mock me and niki more than ever as i am again reminded of our friends. i look at her and she seems... fine? excited, almost? i did not understand. was there good news to be had?

schlatt gets up to the podium with immense difficulty and began his speech. an introductory speech for tubbo, apparently. i hold my breath, confused. what the hell is tubbo thinking, putting himself on the spot like that? he could get discovered if he presented himself as too earnest. i've learned the hard way that overenthusiasm is the easiest way to be revealed.

"when tubbo said, 'schlatt, i'd like to say my piece about how great this country is and how awesome you are,' who am i to say no to that, right?" i exhale a little too loudly, earning a look from technoblade from across the aisle. i think even he'd know that that wasn't in tubbo's character. at least, not the tubbo that stood by tommy's side for as long as i could remember.

'so, without any further ado, i think i'll let big man tubbo, my right hand man, my protégé, up on the mic—and spit some bars." almost everyone cheers, including technoblade, which baffles me. is fervor his thing when it comes to political events? fundy cheers the loudest once again, and i look at niki who didn't seem affected by any of this. her gaze rested upon the high sky instead of the happenings in front of her. well, if this is how niki decides to cope, then who am i to judge, a frequent retreater to the mines to destress?

"a wise man once told me, that l'manburg was like a lettuce." i instantly look up at the mention of l'manburg in defiance. if he's about to speak ill of l'manburg, wilbur's creation, then i don't know if i'll be able to handle it very well.

"and once you wash off all the caterpillars and worms off the surface, it's a pretty goddamn good meal. schlatt has successfully washed all of the insects of our great nation, and with that, he's allowed the goodness and tastiness to shine through." i roll my eyes and feel the heat rise up to my cheeks. niki gives me a knowing look. how i wish she'd tell me what i did not know.

"i'd like you to look around..." i finally allow myself to zone out, my vision slightly blurring. i've decided that this wasn't worth my full attention. my head lolls from the back of my chair as i look around to see fundy on the edge of his seat. technoblade has an indignant look on his face at the metaphor.

"with that in mind, i'd like to thank everyone for coming to this wonderful event," my hands begin to close together for a half-hearted clap, but i stop abruptly as i hear schlatt laugh. the hair on the back of my neck stands up and i start to feel nauseous. something bad's going to happen. dream looks as if he feels it as well.

"i'm just thinking about it tubbo... you know.." schlatt trails off as his gaze turns to the crowd momentarily before he decides to consult tubbo again. "you got anything else in the speech, big guy?"

"yeah, no, i'm done with it let the festival begin!" tubbo smiles back, yet i see anxiety flash through his expression.

"alright, take some of this." schlatt hands yellow blocks to quackity. what does he plan to do, build some sort of monument?

fear slithers down my spine as i realize that they were building around tubbo. oh god. did tubbo do something wrong over the past few days? it can't be... is schlatt going to host a public interrogation?

"dream, he's— what are you doing, schlatt?!" against dream's protests, i decide to yell as loud as i could to make sure the wind carried my voice to the podium.

"let's cut to the chase, it really sucks for me to say this right here in front of everybody."

"schlatt, let him out." niki begs, but i know it's of no use. "you tell him, pres." quackity goads and i can do nothing but watch tubbo back up against the box of concrete he's in.

"tubbo, i know what you've been up to."

"what have i been up to?" my eyes dart everywhere for a solution, something to do. i don't have my bow on me, and even if i did, shooting schlatt right in front of everybody would earn me an automatic exile. for the first time in forever, i don't know what to do.

"'what have i been up to', he says," schlatt manages to get out before he bursts into fits of laughter, wiping a tear off the corner of his eye. "you've conspired, with the idiots! the tyrants, that we kicked out of this server—that we kicked out of this great country."

my hands feel as cold as ice when i wring my fingers together. i know that tubbo's heart will never truly belong with manburg, and i know it wouldn't be out of pogtopia's character to plant a spy into enemy ranks. but tubbo? of all people? i feel sick to my stomach once more.

"i don't know if you know this, but, treason isn't exactly a respectable thing around here. do you know what happens to traitors, tubbo?"

niki chokes out a sob and i hold onto her for support. i don't notice that dream already has a hand wrapped around my other arm.

"nothing good." schlatt slowly turns to the crowd and we make eye contact for a split second. he smiles. he knows what he's doing and i despise it. i hate how he knows he's in control of everything and that we can do nothing about it unless we want to destroy everything i've been doing to keep the peace between our two countries.

"hey technoblade, wanna come up here for a second?" taking a sharp breath after holding your breath for so long feels like a knife to the chest. and yet i still manage to hold niki and myself up.

technoblade slowly ascends the podium. quackity builds an extension of the platform for technoblade to stand on.

"what's going on here?" technoblade inquires, and i see him go rigid, holding himself like the warrior he is.

"tubbo, as the enemy of the state, and as the perpetrator to these awful, awful people—technoblade, if you please. if you would be so kind."

"what are you asking—what do you want out of me, mr. president?"

"technoblade, i only call you in for special favor, and this man, needs a special favor." quackity himself is confused at schlatt's words, and yet i know what comes next when the words "special favor" are spoken.

"techno, i need you to take him out. i need you to kill him, right at this stage, and make this hurt!"

"schlatt, schlatt, are you sure? we have him trapped, he's jailed, i think that's enough," shockingly, quackity reasons against him.

"schlatt, please, don't do this—techno!" niki shouts, and i want to shout too. i want to shout until i pass out and yet my voice seems to have gone missing.

"it's a festival, schlatt!" even fundy, the ever-so enthusiastic one, protests.

"oh god," technoblade mumbles as sweat trickles down the side of his face. trembling so subtly, he loads up his rocket launcher and points it straight at tubbo.

"tubbo, i'm sorry. i'll make it as painless as possible."

red, blue, and white blind me and i see tubbo, schlatt, and quackity gone. i don't even hear my own scream as dream tries to drag me out of the place. he had a vice-like grip on my arm and i didn't have enough strength in me to resist from getting pulled away from the chaos.

the last thing i see is tommy appearing out of thin air to strike against technoblade, more flashes of red, white, and blue, and dream shielding me from the explosion with his own body before i black out.

Chapter Text

"hey," is the first word i hear once i open my eyes. the taste of smoke still lingers inside my mouth and i fight the urge to cough violently. "you okay?" i realize that i'm back in the castle and in my own bedroom.

"i should be asking you that instead, dream." my head feels like it has a heartbeat of its own. i begin to reach for the glass of water perched on my bedside table when dream beats me to it. i gulp it down too quickly and surrender to a coughing fit. dream pats my back when i finally get a good look on him. his mask has a small crack by his forehead, but other than a possible concussion, i think he might be right in asking me about my welfare.

he gives me a look to prove his point and i roll my eyes. to be fair, he did have armor and i did not. "still hate the fact that i trail behind your every step, or?" my eyes close and i scoff quietly. i sit up and glance at the clock. it's been 10 hours since the explosion happened.

"what happened to technoblade?" dream frowns and puts a hand on my forehead. baffled, i gently slap his hand away. "what are you doing?"

"checking if you're sick or something," my confusion only grows when he leans back and makes a sound. "you just watched yourself and your friends withstand multiple explosions and you ask where the guy who almost exploded your face off is."

"did anyone else die? other than tubbo?" he shakes his head and i continue, relieved "besides, he was just pressured into doing so. we all know he's part of pogtopia, so i don't understand why schlatt trusted him to kill tubbo and be quiet about it."

dream pauses, but decides to answer my question anyway, "he got away with wilbur and tommy. they're probably in that ravine convening about their next plan of action."

"and schlatt?"

"preparing for war." my chest grows heavy and i start to cough again. dream pours another glass of water for me, but i don't accept.

"where's my brother?"

---

"i don't understand why you're so intent on holding a meeting with a *terrorist*—"

"i don't think he actually wanted to. if you were actually there you would've seen how much he didn't want to do it, george." i realize that i start to get heated so i take a deep breath to calm myself. for the past 30 minutes, i've been trying to get george to sit down and actually talk to me.

i want the greater dream smp to hold a meeting with manburg and pogtopia, but george keeps saying no. i've been following him around his study since he's too busy to talk to his own sister, even for serious matters, apparently. now, he remains silent and gives me an affronted look. i look at dream for support but he shakes his head instead.

"fine, i know you're busy with important matters which you've refused to tell me about for the past month, but please. we need to meet with the other leaders or else we're going to get tied up with another war."

"y/n, this conflict is for schlatt to handle, not us. i know we've been secretly giving pogtopia some of our resources but that's already going too far." dream steps in. "we shouldn't tie ourselves in it more than we already are."

"listen, whether we like it or not, we *will* get involved with the upcoming war. besides, you—" i pause midsentence correcting myself, "the both of you decided that the treaty between the greater dream smp and manburg stays, correct?"

"it's how it works, y/n, how many times do we have to tell you?" george sighs, putting away some scraps of paper in a locked drawer before dropping down into his chair with a thump. i don't know if it's because he got tired of my persistence or because he finally decided that i was worth his precious time.

"i know, and that's not the point." i sit down as well on the chair opposite to him, my hands gripping the edge of his table, my emotions short of incensed. "the point is, we'll be asked to provide manburg with some of our resources for the war, correct? and we're running low on that and on defenses, if i'm not mistaken."

"we could always refuse."

"and if schlatt doesn't like that?"

"what's the worst he could do to us?" dream chimes in, nodding down to his netherite armor. "you might be forgetting the fact that even with us running low on supplies, we still have the best fighters on our side." i want to say that he's right, but with the fact that technoblade is tangling himself into this mess, i'm not so sure that we can overpower everyone anymore.

my body twists so i can look dream straight in the eye. with the way the sun illuminates the room, i can see his green eyes glint. "and yet i know for a fact that you couldn't resist helping schlatt even if you keep telling me that you're ready to fight him."

his eyes narrow at me as he begins to speak. "you don't know the first thing about my motives."

"yeah, so why don't we talk about it?" i rise from my seat and hear the chair creak as i push it back into its original place. i take my position right in front of him and cross my arms.

"is schlatt really the leader you want to support, dream?" he doesn't answer and instead looks at george, who shrugs in reply. "you know, we could always change it. or," i turn back to george, who's currently looking outside, specifically at a piece of land that stood near our own castle.

i sigh. i know george is doing well with the whole mantle of king, but deep down, i know he wants to one day make decisions that won't affect too many people. i do too. my feet bring me close to george and i put a hand on his shoulder.

"if you could just let me hold this meeting for us all. i can fix this. we don't have to fight over choosing a side."

"what do you even plan to do once we get everyone in the same room?"

"ask them what they want. compromise. find a middle ground." i feel the warmth of his hand on mine, and i feel his fear beside my own.

he laughs, but there's no joy. "why do you even want to fix the mess you didn't make in the first place?" he knows i won't take no for an answer, so instead he resorts to asking me why, as he usually does.

in his eyes, i see only the image of myself. he's devoid of most emotion except uncertainty. "because that's the job you gave me. i've got to live up to the name of the king's sister, don't i?"

he shakes his head, looking down. something tells me he wishes he didn't have to be the one to give me the title we both hate. "you know, you could always just sit back and relax. enjoy the privileges of being a princess. dream and i wouldn't mind doing all the work for you." i hear dream laugh in the back.

"he's right, you know. you don't have to do any of this. let george handle it, and in the end i'll be the one handling it as usual."

"oh, shut up, dream."

"i don't want to give dream more work than he has to do, you can sit back and relax instead, george. as you normally do." i nudge him, and he recoils.

"that's not fair, you guys are teaming up on me again!" a gigantic grin spreads across my face and a laugh starts to bubble within me. the three of us haven't bantered like this in a while. it's been too long. i choose to relish this moment. i'm pretty sure it'll be ages before we find a minute to just talk again.

once dream and i start to quiet down, george's voice breaks the once lighthearted atmosphere we had just now.

"fine, i'll let you arrange the meeting."

"yes!" i slightly jump before i engulfed george in a bear hug. he stumbles backward a little, but regains his balance after a few moments. i chuckle at this, and spare dream a smile. once again, i wish i could see his face behind that mask so i can tell what he's feeling. but aside from that, i can tell that he feels a little uneasy, judging from his stance that strays from his usually confident posture.

"but," george doesn't move to hug me back yet. "dream and i will be by your side the whole time. before you make any rash decisions, you have to consult with us first. alright?"

"so, nothing new. i'm okay with that." my voice gets muffled by the material of george's shirt, but i still got my point across. i didn't care about the extra protective measures they wanted to implement during the meeting. what mattered is that i had the chance to stop the war, as i should.

Chapter Text

the rickety chair makes an unsettling sound when i pull it from under the table so i can sit on it. dream quietly shuffles into the seat next to me, and george is already rifling through a some parchment. i give my brother a quick nudge in the rib once schlatt enters the room, quackity closely following his footsteps. the shadows under quackity's eyes are darker than usual, while schlatt seems well-rested as ever.

the smell of alcohol reaches my nose and i fight the urge to recoil. of course, schlatt's been drinking again. that would explain why his head isn't on straight. but then again, when is it not? i wonder why people voted for him once again. and so i contradict myself once more— no one could've seen his plans of exile coming, even if it had a nametag on its chest.

"schlatt," george greets, and schlatt all but falls to his seat, giving us a short wave. he and quackity are seated at our left, the roundtable missing only two more people.

"where are they?" dream asks, "it's one o'clock sharp," he comments, glancing at the clock hanging from the stone brick wall. i note schlatt's displeasure with the white house as it seems as if he wants to get out of it as soon as possible.

initially, when i was deciding on the meeting venue, i wanted to hold it within the walls of our own castle. in the end, dream advised against it, since they could probably use this opportunity to lace the place with bombs. i have to admit, that was a dumb decision on my part. but is it wrong for me to believe in the best of my "enemies" who were once my good friends? so, we settled on the white house, in honor of the fact that this is probably the most neutral ground between the three parties that was within walking distance.

wilbur burst through the door, livid. breaking out of my stupor, i notice that technoblade had his sword unsheathed, and wilbur was quite disheveled. behind them followed fundy and ponk.

"schlatt, we tried to stop—" fundy began, but i cut him off.

"what the hell happened to you?" i direct my question to wilbur mostly.

"oh, i'll tell you what happened," wilbur slammed the door, his anger flaring in the direction of schlatt himself. "your stupid minions decided to hold me up at the border and tell me that we weren't allowed in. didn't you tell them we were having a meeting?" he gestured to technoblade, without whom he probably wouldn't have been able to pass the borders.

"we talked about this." the previous night, i messaged schlatt to let his citizens know that we would be holding a meeting with the leaders of pogtopia so that there wouldn't be any hold-ups. now, it seems as if technoblade forced their way through. i couldn't blame him, there were issues to be settled.

"right, right, whatever, sorry about that," the horned man slurs, "i guess quackity forgot to spread the message. do better next time, flatty." quackity's nostrils flared as he sported a disbelieved look. seems to me that schlatt never told quackity about anything. or, they were busy with something else, which explains the dark circles.

i see wilbur roll his eyes before he pulls out a chair of his own, technoblade following suit, sitting directly across dream.

"right, shall we begin?" my eyes roam around the room to see that no one disproves. i take that as my cue to address the elephant in the room. schlatt orders fundy and ponk to leave. i stand to formally start this meeting, trying my best to hide my hands behind me in case they shake.

"okay. a few days ago, technoblade publicly executed tubbo under president schlatt's instructions, catching both the president himself and vice president quackity. since then, schlatt has expressed his desires to wage war against pogtopia as payment for his... grievances, especially due to the fact that wilbur and tommy showed up uninvited." i trail off a little while giving schlatt a pointed look. nobody interjects, so i continue.

"i've called this meeting so that we could all have a civil discussion before turning most of our territories into a venue for an arms-race. i understand that most of us in this room has experienced the war for l'manburg's independence recently, and that we're all still recovering from it.

"with that, i'd like to call on each and every one of you to state their demands so that we may reach a compromise without running to war headfirst." i sit down and release a shaky breath. george whispers a "well done" to me and dream nods in approval.

"well, the king of pogtopia here, decided to kill manburg's leaders, so i think it's only fair that my demand is for pogtopia to surrender themselves, or suffer the consequences." schlatt does not hesitate to release an ultimatum, and i rush to cut him off before wilbur has a chance to clamor.

"technoblade, did you mean to execute the leaders of manburg alongside tubbo?" i ask technoblade for confirmation. i already knew he didn't mean to, but it'd be fruitful if schlatt heard it for himself.

"no. i hadn't tested my rocket launcher yet. i didn't know that would happen."

"right, so schlatt, listen. there could be another way to solve this. after all, technoblade here didn't mean to kill you or quackity."

"oh yeah? so why'd he fire at the audience then?" schlatt contests and nobody answers for him, not even wilbur. "fine, i'll answer that myself. so that he, wilbur, and that tommy kid could get away because i just know they were planning to do something else that day."

the room turns as silent as it could be, until schlatt chuckled, breaking the silence. i felt my heartbeat in my ears as i began to speak again. this time, i couldn't mask the adrenaline.

"is there anything anyone here can suggest some form of consequence that doesn't involve putting all our citizen's lives at stake? some sort of reassurance that something like this won't happen again?" from across the room, wilbur looks pissed, and seems ready to go to war himself. silence cloaks the room in a thick blanket again. every once in a while, two pairs of eyes meet, but no one answers my question

"i suggest another alliance." i turn to george, who peeks at the parchment he brought. my heart warms. did he actually do a little bit of reading for me? "do you think that's possible? manberg and pogtopia?" in my head, i hope it is. manberg previously granted visas before, so i don't think it's too far fetched.

"george, an alliance means both parties have to pitch in something to make it solid, and in this case, pogtopia has to give up more than we do. although i wouldn't expect you to know too much about it." beside me, george stirs uncomfortably. well, i can't say george wasn't in the wrong for leaving quackity hanging like he did during the elections.

"i'm interested," wilbur declares. "what alliances can your countries offer to our colony?"

schlatt gestures for quackity. the vice president pulls out a brown, worn-down book and sets it on the table. with its weight, it pummels against the table loudly, causing me to flinch. i'm more on edge than usual, but with the word 'war' floating in the air, i'm pretty sure that i'm justified.

the president of manburg stands up and flips the pages of the book. with each page, my heart rate seems to increase bit by bit. leaning over the table, schlatt enumerates the different types of political alliances made centuries ago.

"let's see here. business alliance—" schlatt breaks out into another fit of laughter. "i don't suppose pogtopia has any resources that we don't already have, right?" wilbur leans over to technoblade in a whisper, and technoblade shakes his head as his eyes meet with schlatt, confirming their lack of resources.

"what else?"

"a military alliance, but i'm pretty sure y/n here doesn't want any trading of lives to happen." schlatt rolls his eyes as if to tell me that i'm no fun. i pay no attention to it. trading lives is not something i joke about.

"a political alliance is last on the list, schlatt." quackity finishes for him. "i kind of think we need help on that part, schlatt." schlatt considers it. manburg isn't too strong on the citizens' part, especially since they all used to be good friends with either wilbur or tommy. morale isn't high either, given that they all got blasted in the face.

after a few more beats of quiet wilbur nods at technoblade before he returns to us. "how do we form a political alliance?"

schlatt grins and turns to the next page, sliding the book towards wilbur. "clearly, a coalition government is out of the question, since you and tommy made it clear that we can't trust pogtopia to not stage a revolution right under our noses." i shake my head in disappointment.

"if you would so kindly turn the next page and tell us what the last option is." schlatt's voice resonates across the entire room, and coldness brews in the pit of my stomach.

"marriage of state? that's ridiculous, i don't understand how you think this is going to happen—"

"ah, there are exactly three monarchs that we know of that can make this happen. and they just so happen to be in this very same room." everyone in the room is baffled, even quackity. dream finally speaks up after what seems to be ages.

"are you seriously suggesting that he's going to marry into our monarchy?" dream points a sword at technoblade, who seems unfazed at first, but in reality, his breathing was starting to get erratic.

"come on, dream. you know i wouldn't do that to my good friends, of course not." schlatt laughs as if dream was the one who initiated the thought in the first place, and for a moment the storm in my head calms.

"no, of course not. i can easily grant the status of monarch to any member of my country. isn't that right, quackity?" i feel dream sink into his seat, but i do the opposite.

"that member being?" i question. i don't have a good feeling about this at all. he's schemed this. he knows what he's doing. it was all an act to entrap us all into his disgusting plotting.

"niki."

"NO!" i jump from my seat in defiance. niki is not someone i have to protect as a monarch. she's someone i have to protect for myself. and i won't let schlatt get in the way of that.

"i'll do it. i'll tie the knot."

---

schlatt smiles, for he has successfully gained power over both pogtopia and the greater dream smp. after all this time, he realized that y/n was the one true link between all three parties. and now that he's trapped her into a marriage with one of the most dangerous people known to them, he's sure that both pogtopia and the greater dream smp will get him whatever he wants—anything, to get y/n out of the situation she's got herself into.

Chapter Text

all the strength in my legs leaves and i fall back into my seat. everyone is dumbfounded and with all my might, i do not make eye contact with anyone, especially with the one i've betrothed myself to a few seconds ago. the weight of everyone's eyes on me becomes unbearable by the second and so i try to control my erratic breathing. my head pulses, a headache beginning to form, and the urge to run away far from this building grows stronger with every breath.

"y/n, what did you do?" dream grabs my shoulder to make me face him, and i wrestle out of his grip. i don't need dream to remind me how reckless my actions have been in the last ten minutes. out of the corner of my eye, i spot technoblade swiftly rise from his seat and take wilbur into one corner of the room to speak with him in hushes. dream makes a sudden movement and i instinctively hold a hand out to prevent him from advancing any further.

"you have NO right to give y/n away like this, schlatt." my gaze remains on the table, but i catch wilbur turn from technoblade to watch us. meanwhile, quackity keeps his eyes trained at dream, probaby in case dream tries something.

"dream, stop it." i mumble the same phrase for the who knows how many times at this point.

"listen, dream. i had no intention of involving y/n in this," schlatt says, but his smirk says otherwise. "i was planning to allow one of my citizens to complete the marriage, but it seems that princess y/n here's keen on it! it would be rude to say no to that, wouldn't it, princess?"

i feel bile rise in the back of my throat as schlatt's gaze rests on my face. whatever i do, i can't find a way to think of some sort of a retort. i can't do this, i can't play his game the way he wants me to. i mentally resolve to never act the way anyone expects me to ever again., especially schlatt.

dream goes lax with realization, and i take my arm away from his front. perhaps for once he realizes that this is my chocie, not anyone else's. george huddles closer to me and i look the other way. "y/n, are you sure you know what you're doing?

i very badly want to say that i have no idea what's in store for me, but what other decision do i have? rush into war or allow schlatt to give away niki just like that? she doesn't even have anything to do with this.

"i'm only doing what i have to do, george." i say with conviction, but there's no point in faking my fear at this time. my eyes meet with technoblade, who looks just as concerned as i do. he shakes his head at me briefly before he turns back to wilbur.

"quackity, hand me the book." george extends his hand, and quackity slides the book to him. with george, i look for any other forms of political alliances, but something tells me there's no hope. i watch george as he frantically cracks through the pages one by one, even after the section of political alliance ends. until finally, with a heavy sigh, he closes it and pushes it away from him in near disgust.

"you don't have to do this. i won't let it happen." dream states with so much determination that it irritates me to no end. when will he stop? when will he stop and realize that i can make my own decisions now?

"and then what will happen?" something inside me snaps and i don't even buckle as i feel all gazes return to me. "tell me, dream. what will happen if this alliance doesn't push through? you want me to what, just sit there and watch as my friends go to war again?"

"y/n, sit down, you're—" george reaches out and tries to calm me down, but i evade his grasp.

"no! because since i can remember, all i've done is sit back and watch as everyone makes a decision for me! for once in my life, i can finally do something for us!" the light catches the green in dream's eyes again, and it pains me that his gaze doesn't waver. i'm not sure if i see anger or fondness in him, or maybe a bit of both. he's speechless, but i feel his hand reach mine—it's warm against my freezing palm—and he pulls me to sit down. it's only now that i realize that i've been shaking this whole time.

dream steadies me and doesn't move to protest against anything i've been saying, but by the way he's breathing way too heavily, i'm sure he won't stand for this.

"you're all being way too serious, calm down." schlatt cuts off the fight dream and i have been silently having for the past few minutes filled with our glares. dream lets go of my hand and sharply turns to schlatt.

"what do you mean, relax?" his voice drips with such venom that even quackity is broken out of his stupefaction of what i just did.

"war is still an option," george shares a look with dream and i can feel them itching to accept the invitation to war, "no marriages will happen unless wilbur and technoblade here agree to your terms, y/n." schlatt nonchalantly reminds us, but with the way he seems so relaxed, i'm not so sure pogtopia's too keen on changing my fate. i'm also not sure how to feel about it. happy, because we won't be going to war like i wished? or should i feel differently because i've basically traded my own life for the others.

i swear to god, the way schlatt is always two steps ahead of us disgusts me. it's brilliant, i have to admit, but i loathe how he acts like everything is the way it should be.

is this how a man acts like when he has nothing to lose?

---

"wilbur, this isn't what i signed up for."

"techno, please. we need time. you know it yourself." wilbur all but pleads to the king. now, wilbur knows that none of what they've planned prior to this meeting went the way it should have, as it always does. however, pogtopia can't simply rush into war when they're this low on resources. it's like asking for death itself.

"i know that, but walking right into the jaws of the enemy? we both know what happened when we did that last time," technoblade recalls the sharp blasts of the fireworks he set off and he shakes the stars starting to form right before his eyes.

"the dream smp isn't our enemy now. y/n especially. she wouldn't hurt a fly, trust me."

"can you say the same for the knight that sits right across from me, wilbur?" technoblade regards the man who once held a sword to his face for standing one foot too close to the princess. "i'd have to watch out for my back even more than usual," he rubs the sore knuckles on the hand he used to knock tommy away from him in the pit.

"listen, techno, we can use this to our advantage. not only do we buy ourselves more time, you can definitely get some information, some resources even, from y/n."

"i think you overestimate her kindness, wilbur,"

"i don't." wilbur shakes his head vigorously. "do you think she wants to do this? to marry herself off like all the other royals did back then?" technoblade recalls the time he joked for her to marry him once in the darkness of the ravines. it seems like eons ago. "no, she's too kind for all of us, techno, i've seen it firsthand. she's doing all this because she cares too much for us all." technoblade pauses, his eyes trailing over to y/n, who's currently arguing with dream at the top of her voice. he's reminded by the fact that out of all the people here, he's the one that knows y/n the least.

"show her an ounce of kindness, and watch as she gives you her entire soul." for the first time, technoblade felt sick. the wilbur he knew would never plan this on most people let alone y/n, his childhood friend. he supposes war took away too much from wilbur.

"don't you understand, techno? we're getting more than we bargained for. time, and a solid chance to overthrow not only manburg, but the greater dream smp as well." desolate, technoblade sighs heavily. if this brings pogtopia the revolution he was promised, then so be it. wilbur may be slowly descending into the cruelty of war, but at least his head is still on right for the fight.

with a heavy heart and the slightest tinge of pity for the girl he met in the ravines, he stands up for pogtopia.

"we'll do it."

y/n looks up from her chair at technoblade with an indiscernible expression. gratitude? betrayal? who knows.

technoblade would have all the remaining days he wanted to find out what y/n was thinking this whole time. at least before the war she desperately wanted to stop, inevitably comes.

Chapter Text

"what happened to you?!" niki's voice was only short of a shrill. perhaps she was worried about how dark the shadows underneath my eyes have gotten and how my lips were cracking from me pulling on it frequently. i walk past her waiting figure and whisk away the vines covering the doorway.

a dull pain runs through the back of my leg as i reach down to pick up the hefty bag of flour. i do not answer, because i'm pretty sure i spoke as clear as i could. slightly limping with the imbalance of weight, i hobble over to the kitchen counter and throw the bag onto it. the clanking of the various measuring devices that niki used to bake was the only noise in the cave-made-bakery as i continue to ignore the issue floating around in the air.

as i rip open the bag of flour and scoop out a cup, niki leans against the wall, her hand methodically rubbing her temples. "what made you think that this was a good idea—"

"pass me that sift, would you?" without looking up from the flour, i hold out my hand, and moments after the cold metal meets my palm. i know that eventually, i have to talk about this with niki, but i don't think that topic overrides my sudden, irrational need to bake some cookies. i need to relax. i need to get away for a while. but i know niki won't stop asking questions, so i let her.

luckily enough, she gently nudges me with her side to make some space for herself. she reaches over from my right to grab the measuring cup so she can make her own batch of cookies.

for a while, we work in silence. occasionally, we ask each other to pass this and that, and we were almost finished with mixing the wet ingredients when niki suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"y/n, where's dream?"

i sigh, and the whisk in my hand makes a loud 'clunk' when i drop it inside a used bowl. "let's just say he didn't like what i did yesterday."

"does he know that you're here?"

"no."

niki slaps a hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. "don't tell me you sneaked out," and when i do answer, she makes a noise of happiness. "no way," she breathes, and the corners of her mouth begin to tilt upwards. "i'm not sure if i should be shocked or impressed."

"i'd prefer the latter," i grin, and i carry on with the whisking. "it wasn't easy."

"i bet. how did you do it?" she hoists herself up onto the counter and leans backward, watching me work.

"i told dream that i would be with george. i told george that i would be with dream. i'd say i still have a few more hours with you before dream turns this city upside down looking for me." i try not to giggle whilst telling her about my greatest feat yet—escaping the most feared knight in existence. it's not that i wasn't allowed to leave the castle, it's just that i didn't want to talk to dream just yet, although that much was unavoidable.

"wow, that must have been extremely hard," niki laughs, and for once after the last 36 hours, i find it within myself to genuinely laugh. once our laughter died down, niki jumps off the counter and takes the whisk off my hand. i notice that she'd already taken off her apron, signalling that no more work was to be done for the day. she wraps the unfinished ingredients and tucks it away in a chest before she gestures for me to sit on the counter. i oblige.

"are you ready to talk to me about what happened?" i see niki's eyes go soft as she jumps back onto the counter next to me, taking my hand in hers and placing it on her lap like i did for her during the festival.

"i'm to marry technoblade in a few days, niki."

"what?!" she flinches too hardly that even i am taken aback. "he's dangerous! he's a murderer—he killed tubbo right in front of our eyes, y/n!" her grip on my hand tightens, and i can already feel her urge to panic and hide me away, far away from whatever the hell this place is.

"i know, and that's why i held the meeting in the first place, to stop the war before any of us even begins to plan anything." niki shakes her head at me in disbelief. "i had to do this niki, or else i'm going to be left to watch all of you fight another war."

"and what did that cost?! you! how could you do this to yourself, y/n? there must have been another way—"

"believe me when i say there wasn't one, niki. at least not one that involved you getting hurt in one way or another."

"i can protect myself, actually!" niki retorts, and i let out a huff, "i've been protecting myself long before you and wilbur came into the picture, so what makes you think you need to give yourself up like that to protect me—"

"schlatt was going to make you marry technoblade, niki!" niki halts, and suddenly she realizes what kind of position i was in yesterday. any other fighting statement she had within her burned to ash right in front of my eyes.

"look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn't have done the same for me." she doesn't make a move. instead, she remains staring at our interlocked hands.

"listen, niki, this might have been for the best, you know? if this works out, then you might be able to meet with wilbur and tommy without having to hide. i'll find some sort of deal i can work out with schlatt and pogtopia might claim some form of access to l'manburg again!" with that, it seems like niki regains some form of hope. her eyes flicker between me and the wall for a few moments before she calms down.

i'm starting to think that this was all going to work out until i find tears brimming her eyes. "i'm not sure if i want any of those if it means knowing that you're in danger every single day."

"i want this for all of us, niki. i don't care if i have to ship myself to a different universe if it meant that you guys are going to be okay."

"i don't know, y/n... he's nicknamed the blood god for a reason." i recall thinking the same thing when i first met him. and yet somehow, he scares me less than schlatt does nowadays. the ones who don't have a clear motive scare me the most. for technoblade, we know that all he wants is to overthrow schlatt in one way or another. with schlatt, i'm not so sure what exactly he aims to get with doing all of this to us—hell, i still don't know how none of us saw schlatt2020 coming. he's just that unpredictable. at least we know that technoblade plans to make the revolution happen for all of us. just not right now when they're low on resources.

"i know, i've heard the legends about him. i'm not even sure where he came from, actually. has wilbur told you anything about him?" dolefully, niki shakes her head no. i've spent the entirety of last night trying to research about the man i was supposed to marry, and yet no book in our vast library mentions his origins or lineage. to be quite honest, the only basis of my plan of safety is the fact that he didn't decide to cut off my head right then and there when i previously entered pogtopia. not sure if that's something to be proud of.

"y/n?" niki calls me out of my stupor. "yeah?"

"i trust your decisions and i know that you're doing this because for now, you think this is the right thing to do," i beckon for her to continue. "i just hope you aren't doing any of this to prove a point." i stop dead in my train of thought. actually, she's right. who knows if i was really doing this for myself? to prove the point that i can hold my own—

"no, i'm not," i cut my own thoughts off before the doubting brews inside of me and makes me want to run from this mess. it's seems that by saying that, i was reassuring myself more than i was niki, and niki didn't seem to believe me at all, so i decide to comfort her as best as i can for now. even if i'm doubting myself.

"i'll be okay, i'll fight technoblade myself if he ever tries anything. i think i can protect myself now, niki. way better than i used to." i nodded to the bow that rested against one of the corners of the bakery. "i learned from the best." as much as i hated being coddled by dream and george and all the others, i can't deny that they taught me to protect myself if ever the situation came that they couldn't protect me anymore. it feels like that moment's coming very soon.

"i'm glad you're more confident in your fighting, y/n, but i'm still really nervous. they say he has a higher kill count, even higher than—"

"dream." i finish for her, as the netherite-covered figure shadows the lights coming from the outside of the bakery.

Chapter Text

i always knew to never fear authority. not when i'm in the lands that my brother and i share. not when i'm faced with the knight who's been by my side since forever. and yet when dream steps from the light something in me turns rigid. my posture straightens as my muscles shape my form into one that is too familiar. not exactly a fighting stance, no. but one worn into a battle that is fought inside one's head.

"dream," niki attempts to beam, hurrying to the counter as she usually does when a customer comes by. but now it almost feels like she wants to shield me from his piercing gaze. for a moment, it works. "can i interest you in any of these?" she gestures to batches of her baking that were supposed to be replaced by fresh ones, had i not rudely intruded today.

"these are only a day old, but they're as good as new! i'm sure you've heard of their quality already, but maybe you'd like to try?"

bless niki for trying to impede my inevitable doom. it seems as if dream slackened the slightest bit, allowing himself to look over the goods before shaking his head no. "you already know what i'm here for, niki."

defiant, i huff out a breath of frustration before untying my apron and throwing it onto the counter. "niki, if you ever need any more help, you know where to find me." to be honest, i know niki doesn't need any sort of help. she's been managing this bakery on her own from day one. but between niki and i, we both knew that statement truly meant, 'come check on me with an excuse every now and then.' it was a habit that we formed between the two of us, whenever either of us got ourselves into an uncomfortable social situation. of course, the one that needed out the most was me. and so when she started this bakery, it was a relief to have so many excuses to get out of the castle.

"oh—um, okay. you'll come back tomorrow, won't you?"

"i don't know." i slammed the counter's trapdoor open to pass through, finally coming face-to-face with dream. "but i'm sure my knight would know." it was as if i was challenging him to go ahead and make a scene right in front of niki. niki has never seen us fight like my brother has witnessed. i'm sure dream would like to keep it that way. after all, who wouldn't want to remain in good graces with the friends of the person you are tasked to guard at all times?

"i'll see if your highness has a bit of spare time for tomorrow, niki." dream, once again, fails to address me directly and nods at niki. "after all, she does have to prepare for the wedding she's staged."

well. i did say niki had never seen us fight. but taking digs at each other that were uncalled for? she sees those every single time dream came to fetch me after spending an afternoon with her. only this time i knew it was on a different level. i did run away, after all.

rolling my eyes at dream, i mouth a 'bye' to niki before brushing past dream and outside of the bakery. dream doesn't miss a beat and parts the decorative vines before i could. my blood only boils hotter. i walk as fast as i can. maybe if i pretend he didn't exist, or if i never gave him a chance to talk to me, i could survive without having to speak until i get to my personal archery range. maybe then i could let my actions speak for itself.

i all but ran straight for the horse that i used to escape to niki's bakery. i couldn't use my usual one without risking detection. this one did not have the most reliable temperament, but it had to do for today. i didn't even wait for dream to get on his horse, spirit, before i allowed my horse to gallop away onto the wooden pathways of manburg, which slowly turned into stone once we neared the territory of the greater dream smp. dream caught up in no time, having the more reliable steed in his disposal. the night came rather quickly and i tried not to shiver. i didn't put the correct amount of layers on me today. if i had shuffled too much within my room on my own, they'd have known.

running my horse directly into the stables, dream gets off of spirit before i get off my borrowed horse. we were both very used to dream assisting me down the horse, and so he held out his hand for me to take. i did not accept.

i hopped off with ease, which was something he didn't get to see everyday. with no hesitation, he drops his hand and opts to securely tie the borrowed horse's leash onto the stable.

i did not even bother to change once i passed my room. all i needed was my bow, my quiver, and my archery spot, and all would be right. i had hoped that dream would retreat back to my brother's side, but that was only wishful thinking. i was sure to get a handful from him tonight.

---

i had no trouble getting my arrow nocked. but i hesitated on loose when dream cast aside his netherite armor. that meant he was supposed to retire for the night, but he wasn't. he was going to train alongside me.

i watched him as he took out his own crossbow. i knew crossbows did much more damage than a bow, but i always found myself to be more agile and more lethally accurate with how light the bow was.

i realized that i was staring as he took out his quiver. i shook myself out of my stupor and finally shot my first target. as always, it was within red. i was taking grabbing my next arrow when dream took his place next to me.

"do you know," dream spoke for the first time in hours as he strained to nock his first arrow, "how worried your brother was?" his aim wasn't as accurate as mine, but it was deadly nonetheless. he shot center as well, on a target adjacent to mine.

"oh, was he? i haven't the faintest idea that he knew i existed." frustrated, i shot at his target as well, my arrow settling in nicely next to his own. dream gives me a scrutinizing look.

"he's still your brother, no matter how much you think he neglects you. he's doing all of his duties to keep you safe. that's how much he cares about you—"

"don't you mean that's how much you care about the land that my brother and i own?"

i knew that from that accusation, i struck a chord within him. i avoid his gaze and walked towards the targets to retrieve the arrows.

"what the hell is that supposed to mean, y/n?" releasing my fury by pulling out the last arrow from the woolen targets, i whip around to see dream's fists curled.

"you know exactly what i mean, dream. you say you want to keep me and my brother safe and then you rush headfirst into war to protect your precious land."

"we were happy. we and our kingdom were one big family with all this land, and suddenly tommy and wilbur come in, claiming that they owned part of the kingdom. what was i supposed to do, let them take what's rightfully yours and your brother's?" i shake my head at his reasoning. how deluded he must have been to fool everyone, including himself, that he cared about us, and us alone.

"you should have! it was just a chunk of our land, and you blew completely it out of proportion! it's not like they were going to storm the castle walls—" not caring at how he still had an arrow nocked, i walked towards him despite walking dangerously in his shooting range.

dream did not waver and kept his arrow locked on his target. "do not talk to me about blowing things out of proportion. you know damn well that with the ridiculous stunt you pulled yesterday, i can't even guard anymore. it's the one task george gave me, and i can't even do it anymore."

"i needed to do that for everyone's sake, dream! if i hadn't done that, niki would have been the one to—"

"and would that have been so bad?" stunned at his response, i watched him finally shoot his target. he turns to me. i saw the corner of his jaw waver a bit under the mask. even he knows he crossed a line.

"how heartless can you get, dream?! she's our friend!"

"you just care SO much don't you? you desperately want to play the role of the sacrificial lamb, the hero who'll save everyone's days but doesn't care what happens to herself." dream snapped.

i scoff and nock my own arrow. i am not what he says i am. he doesn't know me. neither of us have any idea what i'm capable of when i'm alone, and that's a risk i'm willing to take if that meant he'd stop treating me like i'm helpless.

"don't forget that all the mess between pogtopia and manberg started all because you couldn't stand the fact that someone had more power than you did. i'm simply trying to do my part to fix what you started." i hear a sigh from his end, and i watch his shoulders slump. was he finally done with me?

"why do you think i wanted that power in the first place?"

"probably because you're the same power hungry boy i've known since forever." silently, he moves to place a hand on my shoulder. that awful feeling of smothering and restraint from the constant safeguarding returned. and yet somehow it made me feel safe. overwhelmed with confusion, i exhale in an attempt to keep the dam of emotions from overflowing.

"to protect you, the only thing i care about." his voice sounded like honey, and for a moment i had considered believing him. for a moment i wanted to let him fix all the mess that i've gotten myself into and just take me away and keep me somewhere safe.

the night breeze brought me back to my wits and reminded me that this wasn't all for a meaningless sacrifice. i wanted to prove to myself that for once, i had a hand in preventing history from repeating itself.

"i don't need you."

i left dream there once i shot my arrow, effectively shrugging off his hold on me. had i stayed for a minute more, i'd have seen the unbeatable knight finally crumble in defeat.

Chapter Text

it has been about a week since i've spoken to dream after our row in the shooting range. which is preferable. i'm quite used to the silence he emanates, but i'm not at all used to how weary he looks nowadays. surely, i was the reason behind his downtrodden disposition. and i don't want to hear from him any more than i have on that night. i don't regret anything i've said, no matter how far he and i grow apart. for measure, he acts more like an equerry more than a knight who's tasked to tail behind my every step.

i'm enjoying the freedom i've been experiencing. despite the number of times i turn around to look behind me for dream's approval whenever i make a decision, i smile. it's safe to say that he's given up on me, after so long. perhaps he realized that he can no longer dictate what i'm to do. it was only a matter of time before he and my brother come to terms with that.

speaking of my brother, he's been spending more time with me than usual. whether it's us sitting down to have dinner together or him helping me pick out the colors for decoration. although time with my busy brother was what i've been longing for, i can't stand it. he looks at me like i'm about to disappear into thin air. he tries to hide it with a smile, but george has never been good at hiding his emotions, which is why he always wore those glasses.

i understand that i've made myself a life-changing, and should it be so, irreversible decision that was against advice. i know that another war could have easily solved it, but maybe this time around, history wouldn't reach the same conclusion: lives lost, friendships severed, hearts impaled, and whatnot.

and so whenever my brother's jaw clenches at the mention of the wedding during dinner, i change the subject. he always thought that our family's rule of keeping business away from the dining table was wise. ironically, it's one of the only rules that i follow religiously, and is simultaneously broken by staff who come with red letters.

but outside the safe haven of our meals together is the inevitability of discussions between us. too many decisions have to be made. its not everyday that alliances form through matrimony.

these are the only times that dream and i speak, albeit indirectly and through george.

"what land does technoblade even own?" george asks, shuffling through rolls of parchment that are filled with forgotten laws.

"well, for starters, whatever land pogtopia owns is technically his by association," i reply, glancing at the large map situated on the office wall.

george writes down pogtopia on a scroll, "no, of course i know that, but wilbur didn't grant him the status of king, did he?" i shake my head, and so my brother and i ponder the same question.

"right, wilbur is president and technoblade is more of just a figurehead king. it's basically a parliament at this point, save for the anarchist ideologies," i continue for george, who nods and looks at dream for assistance. i trace the shared borders of the greater dream smp and manburg with my finger on the map.

"technoblade is merely a monarch associated with pogtopia, but he's still king of his own land, or wherever the hell he came from. i know wilbur. he wouldn't crown anyone but himself." for the first time since last week, i look at dream eye-to-eye. i know he's right, but he does not have to speak ill of my friend like that. come to think of it, dream does have a habit of looking down on all of my friends.

george senses the tension between us and cuts off my chance to retort. some part of me just knows that he's heard all about the fight we had. it wasn't exactly the most private place to argue anyway.

"so all we have to do is have him renounce all foreign titles excluding his association to pogtopia—" my brother pauses and slams the book he had in his right hand shut. "that damned schlatt. he knew."

"knew what?" it had me turning away from the map i'd been scrutinizing in the vain attempt to pretend that dream didn't exist.

"he knew," he shared a glance with dream to confirm his newly realized knowledge that i still didn't know about. dream nodded, looking away from the both of us.

impatient, i ask once again. "what is it?"

"he knew, that even though technoblade and a new kingdom would be under your jurisdiction, pogtopia would never be your land to rule as a monarch because he's only associated with them. he doesn't rule them. it's not a parliament." i was in a state of shock and confusion, but i was already piecing it together. i rush over to george's side to pry open the book filled with his notes in the margins. ice runs through my veins as i realize what he was talking about

"your sovereignty and new kingdom is going to be allied to pogtopia to keep a truce in effect, but pogtopia would remain open as an independent community for anyone to annex or reclaim as their own. which means—"

"—that i can't fully protect them." i finish for george, sinking into his seat. george sighs and buries his face in his hands.

"you're going to have to make them cooperate with you, y/n. you have to make sure they won't fall into the wrong hands." once again, dream puts weight onto my shoulders. only this time, it's not the weight of his protection, it's the weight of my vulnerability to war to prevent many of my friends from falling into tyrannical hands.

he didn't have to say it out loud, i thought as i burst from my seat to sign the draft for the ceremony. the essential ceremony that will take place tomorrow to ensure that technoblade's loyalties lie with me, and me alone. so that together we'd keep pogtopia, manburg, and the greater dream smp united. united in name and truce, but never in rule.

i'm just a head of state. not head of government.

merely a symbol.

---

i locked myself into one of the drawing rooms next to where my brother and his private secretaries are preparing for the ceremony. i'm supposed to help and make sure that everything goes smoothly. all the important people are here; the knights (of course), the duch and duchess, and the squire. technoblade has yet to come, and i'm sure he'll be coming with his own entourage.

over the past hour, george has been checking on me periodically to update me on who was already there. he also asks me if i'm ready to go outside, and i don't think i'll ever be ready. but still, i'd prefer to go out right now before the soon-to-be-former-king comes.

last night, we sent him a letter filled with the details of the ceremony as soon as i finished signing it, hoping that he'd fill in the blanks of what titles he has. he responded that he'd state his titles once the ceremony ensues. i still have yet to understand how hard it must be for him to agree with renouncing all of his titles in order to pledge his allegiance to me. i was so afraid that he wouldn't cooperate, especially since i had no idea what form of monarchy he had followed before he came here, but it seems that he fully knows what he's agreed to. which terrifies me to a greater degree.

i know that he's completely allied to pogtopia for now, but i don't exactly know why. were technoblade and wilbur friends before this whole fiasco with l'manburg started? if so, how come i've never heard of him before? i like to think wilbur and i used to be close enough, but i'm starting to think that i don't know wilbur at all. either way, it's a big step down from being referred to as "his majesty, the king" into simply "his grace".

but i do recall that during the first time we met, he expressed his disdain for his title as king. so maybe this was how he could find his way out of his responsibility as king without having to formally abdicate his throne, wherever it is. god knows how badly abdications go, no matter where you come from.

"y/n," dream's voice snaps me out from my train of thought, and i readjust the sash that we're required to wear on ceremonies like this. making sure everything's aligned, i finally grab the tiara which i discarded earlier on the table . taking a deep breath, i take my steps towards the door and put the tiara on my head. instantly i feel a rush of adrenaline surge over me.

"i'm ready," i reply to him, and he opens the door for me wordlessly.

Chapter Text

everyone was already in position. george was seated on his throne, with the knights punz and sapnap flanking his right. below the dais was eret, duch of the pride palace, and alyssa, duchess of the house of commune. eret was holding the papers for the renunciation, which she would be facilitating for today. alyssa held a new sash, and the sword that george uses to grant titles to his cabinet and its nobles: the barons and the earls.

directly in front of the throne and in dead center of the room was a kneeler. behind that was another crowd of nobles to facilitate this ceremony.

it's really going to happen.

immediately after i entered, a hush fell over the room. despite the royal crown being settled on my brother's head, i was, of course, the talk of the town. i'm sure the whole kingdom knows that i offered to take part in this alliance, but none of them know why i did it. no one would ever know that the only other option was war. i was fine with it. to be known as the princess who dug her own grave. but the tremble in my hands said otherwise. i resorted to holding my hands taut in front of me so no one would see them shake.

attempting to ignore the scrutiny, i faintly smile at eret and alyssa as i take my seat beside george. dream moves over to where the knights were. punz and sapnap adjusted, so that dream would be standing closest to the thrones in case everything went south. i shook my head at dream's direction, thinking of how ridiculous he was to have his hand firmly wrapped around his sword.

george was adjusting his own sash when the doors opened once more. technoblade has arrived just on time, accompanied only by himself. my heart races for him.

"that arrogant son of a bitch," i hear one noble's voice rise over the many whispers of the crowd.

"silence," i instinctively demand in his defense, and everyone quiets down. technoblade pretends not to hear the rude comment. however, some part of me agrees with that one noble's accusation. is this man out of his mind? was he that confident in his skills that he felt that he didn't need a companion when my brother would literally be holding a sword against his neck later?

even so, he's the man i'm supposed to marry in a few days. i've seen his capabilities in public, but i don't know how he is in private. except for the few moments of interaction we had in the dark of the caves. but that was nothing compared to the perpetual union we were heading into, with no brakes in sight.

i almost jump when he makes direct eye contact with me for a few moments, but i suppose it's only normal after i tell everyone to be silent.

"thank you, y/n." george acknowledges, and he stands up. i stand up as well, and everyone else follows suit. "shall we begin?"

technoblade's crown shone brightly on his head as the sun hit the gold just right. he would have to take that off very soon. he walked, his footsteps echoing through the noiseless room. with every step he took, my insides seemed to run colder. i can't run away now. i can't cancel this ceremony—he's there.

he curtly nods as he placed one hand on the kneeler, his posture never wavering. george calls for eret, who seemed to remain stunned at the absurdity of technoblade's loneness. a solitary king. i don't think anyone here has ever seen a king like him walk alone, save for myself.

"eret," alyssa calls, and eret swiftly walks towards the kneeler, visibly tense. i don't blame him. a duch standing over a king? unheard of.

and yet, technoblade seemed to find no problem with having a king like himself stand before a lower rank. in fact, he looked as if he were... serene? there was no better word for it. he was the calmest one in the room, despite being outrageously outnumbered. i mentally scoff, wondering what's going through his head right now.

"here, your majesty," eret mechanically places the papers for technoblade to sign on the kneeler. he turns to george to confirm if everything was ready to go.

my brother sneakily gives me a smile that was both parts encouraging and unsure. i could only look back but not move. i was frozen in my stance. no matter how many times i've had dozens of people stare at me, i still have yet to get used to this sort of judgement from my own subjects. and i don't even have to utter one word.

george gives eret the go-ahead, and eret officially begins the ceremony.

"we are gathered here today to witness the nationalization of his majesty, king technoblade, to the kingdom of the greater dream smp. as we all know, an alliance between the three states of this realm." i sneakily tug on george's cloak, something i always when i was nervous did even back when we were children. i was never allowed to hold his hand, or anyone else's, and this was the closest i will ever get to it. as princess royal, i am not allowed to show weakness or fear. not when i shoulder the responsibility of running this kingdom should george fail to do so.

and now i'm fated to run another. away from my brother's side, and with a man i barely know.

i should really be careful of what i wish for from now on.

"the members of the kingdom of the greater dream smp, along with manburg, wish to solidify this alliance with the representation of her royal highness, the princess y/n as future head of state, alongside king technoblade, who shall represent pogtopia via association." i hear george sigh quietly. beside him, dream spares me a glance. i immediately look away and return to watch eret.

"both shall represent the unity, and will, in the near future, become a symbol of peace for years to come." or so i hope, unless schlatt has other plans.

eret finishes the first page, which contains only the introduction to emphasize the significance of today. the second page contains the renunciation rites. i fight the strongest urge to pick at my hands, recalling the decorum training from my ladies-in-waiting.

turning the page, eret looks up to technoblade, signaling him that the official ceremony was about to begin. technoblade remains statuesque, not moving an inch.

gods, i really hope this all goes well, and that technoblade cooperates with how this renunciation is about to go.

"in seeking his nationalization in the kingdom of the greater dream smp, his majesty, king technoblade of..." eret trails off, not knowing what territories technoblade is currently in rule.

silence takes over once again. heads start to turn, theories run left and right. i hear murmurs of how technoblade is a king of nothing, or how he simply took the crown of the king he once slayed and began to call himself king from then on. this time, george calls for the crowd's silence, and i sigh in relief.

i look back at technoblade, who seemed fairly agitated at the speculation. he decided to end it once and for all. his booming voice resonates throughout the room, and finally, all is clear as to where he came from.

"...of the nether, protector of the realm."

gasps erupt from everyone, even from myself. george had his mouth agape, his eyes never leaving technoblade.

meanwhile, technoblade had an unwavering stare at me. it was as if he was telling me, this is who i am. this is who you're going to spend your days with. are you afraid of me yet? and strangely enough, i was not. knowing that he came from a completely different realm suddenly made complete sense to me.

i should have known all along. i should have known that the reason why he engages in the petty affairs of our states was because anything was better than the realm he was meant to rule. this was why he greeted blood, war, and death like an old friend, because it was all that he knew.

this was why he moved with the deadliness of someone who had nothing to lose. because he's lost everything.

"silence!" george calls for the third time. the protests of the nobles had died down, and eret was unsure if they should proceed or not. i gave eret permission to continue, and i see technoblade smile ever so slightly.

"his majesty, king technoblade of the nether, protector of the realm..." it was probably good on him that this was a renunciation ceremony. i don't think eret could ever get used to pronouncing a title that equaled that of my brother's. let alone a title that literally came from another world.

"renounces his nationality of the nether, and all foreign titles. and, from henceforth shall be known as general technoblade of pogtopia." technoblade accepts the pen that eret has handed him, putting down his signature on the renunciation certificates. afterwards, he takes off his crown and sets it on the kneeler.

"thank you. your majesty?" eret takes the signed papers and retreats from the kneeler, leaving technoblade standing alone, directly in front of george.

and with that, george advances, with alyssa trailing behind his steps. technoblade finally kneels.

"i, king george, by the grace of the gods, of the kingdom of the greater dream smp and its territories..." george pauses and hesitantly grabs the ceremonial sword from alyssa. he gently secures it in his hold, carefully keeping it steady on his left side.

"grant you, and the—the heirs of your body," technoblade purses his lips at this part. i hold back a scoff, as i find the concept of heirs revolting as well, so we may as well share a laugh about it later.

"...the dignities of baron of the court, knight companion," george places the flat edge of the ceremonial sword on technoblade's left shoulder.

"... and duke of the holy lands."

that's it.

the titles in order for technoblade and i to attempt the unification of three states, granted.

Chapter Text

more than half of the armory in our kingdom is built from the diamonds that i find whenever i go into the mineshaft located just below the castle. both george and dream (especially dream), harangue me endlessly about how unnecessary it is for me to continue providing minerals and resources to our knights, especially now that all of our knights have full enchanted armor and weapons already. but what they don't know is that everything i've given so far were simply jewels that i wouldn't really miss.

i had my own personal treasury hidden at the depths of my favorite lake, one that dream and i frequented whenever i wanted to go outside for fresh air. and ever since i found the little divot that i hid one of my first few emeralds in, i expanded it little by little, using only a dagger that i used as a makeshift pickaxe. it was the only thing i could bring that wouldn't make dream suspicious of the fact that i always had to go under that one tree by the lake. it always seemed like i was only sitting under the shade, but whenever his back was turned, i'd stash my latest collections under that tree just in case.

i'd give them to wilbur, but that man has always been too proud to wear actual armor. he used to, at least. but i don't know why he stopped wearing them, even during his exile. niki on the other hand, would not accept anything i ever gave her. i remember having to hide diamonds behind a bag of flour and pretending i had nothing to do with her shiny new armor. she'd always smile frequently throughout the day each time i give her these little surprises anyway, so it was worth it in the end.

and now i'm back under the mineshaft, mining for resources, and not a single god knows why. i have enough resources to craft myself about four sets of armor already. perhaps my subconscious knew that if i were to run a "kingdom" soon, i'd need more than four sets of armor. i'm not even sure who my citizens are, to be honest.

when i asked my brother who my citizens were, he told me that technically all members of the greater dream smp would be mine to rule, as it is with george. what's left of the citizens of manburg would be mine to rule as well, save for its officials. however, george clarified that i'm simply head of state for pogtopia, which is why i say "kingdom". i only rule them in name, but wilbur will have to get over himself one day and accept my help as their queen when schlatt and his army come knocking at their door.

if that should happen, i'd be more than happy to provide my kingdom the resources to protect themselves in war. i've never been in war before, but i've definitely seen the one my brother and his knights fought against wilbur. aside from seeing our knights and soldiers heavily injured firsthand in our castle, it literally felt as if i was being torn in two pieces, seeing my family fight with my friends.

i place all of my anger into the last piece of obsidian that i was mining, before deciding to call it a day. looking at the clock, i winced, seeing that it was nearly midnight. i gathered all of my resources neatly and hid my pickaxe. i also did my best to wipe off the soot and grime from my face so that no one from the castle would find out what i've been up to today. i carefully opened the trapdoor from inside the stone staircase that i climbed from the castle. fortunately, all of the torches had been snuffed out, meaning that most people have gone to bed.

i was ready to have a good night's rest when i realized that the resources i've gathered cannot fit under my bed. my trunk and other chests were already full, and so i realized that i had to get these to the storage near the lake before any of the staff rats me out to my brother in the morning. i let a quiet string of curses flow out from my mouth as i gently step out of my window and tiptoe to the stables. unluckily, making my way to the stables means that i had to pass through my brother's window. and in even worse luck, i saw light emanating from inside it.

damn it all, i thought. i was doing this to prevent getting caught but here i am, about to be caught. but i already had my heart set out on doing this today anyway, so i bent down and pressed myself against the wall and under the window ledge to make sure the top of my head wouldn't be seen. i dragged the bag of gems along with me slowly, just to make sure that they wouldn't make a sound—clunk.

i slapped my palm against my mouth to keep myself from cursing out loud in shock. i was frozen in my tracks when i realized that the sound didn't come from me. it came from inside the room.

clunk.

there it went again. and suddenly, i hear sounds of breaking glass.

"dream, calm down!" my brother screams.

"how the hell do you expect me to calm down when your sister is about to marry the only person that terrifies me?!"

i was petrified. i've never heard dream yell like that. it was loud enough that i'm sure almost everyone in the castle heard it.

"stop it, dream. you're.. you're going to wake the entire kingdom." george reprimands him, but he pauses in his tracks every now and then. i hear sniffles and coughs. is.. is dream crying?

"she's—i can't protect her if she's going to run off with that murderer that she's so intent on defending." i think dream forgets that he's a murderer too sometimes. i don't know how, when i can still remember the day they told me dream won the final duel for independence against tommy.

"we trained her ourselves, dream. i know he's terrifying, but both you and i know that she's more than capable of handling herself!" my heart warms for the first time in a while. while i know that george trusts me enough with diplomatic matters, it's still something for him to trust me to take care of myself.

"damn it, george. do you honestly think she can take him on alone? a man who has a kill count so high that they call him the blood god? even i don't think that i can take him on my own."

"what even makes you think that technoblade's going to lay a hand on her? you told me yourself that he didn't hurt her when they were alone in pogtopia—"

"—i don't know! i don't trust him. but if i see her with so much as a hair out of place..." footsteps recede, presumably dream's. george seems to scurry after him.

i hear the door slam, and relief floods over me. thank the gods i wasn't caught. they're probably going to check if i was already asleep. it's a good thing no one saw me sneak to the mines. i'll try to return to my room before sunrise, and i'll deal with whatever dream has to say in the morning.

i wipe away the sweat beading on my forehead before i stand up and lug the bag of gems over my shoulder.

---

the rush of the cold wind feels amazing on my face. my favorite horse gallops through familiar grassy meadows, so i take this chance to gaze at the stars in the sky. i lean against my horse, letting it take me to the lake. under different circumstances, it would be a wonderful night. except i know that i have a pissed knight waiting for me when i return home and a wedding to look forward to.

still, i breathe out a long sigh in contentment. it's been a while since i wasn't on edge, so i savor the moment.

i see the bank of my treasured lake and i give my horse a few gentle kicks to speed up. once i got close enough, i hopped down and tied its leash to a... fence? i don't remember putting down a fence here—

my own horse shrieks in terror as another horse appears from the darkness and rears. i take a few steps back, but this new horse seems to not like me. it rears once again, attempting to force me to leave with a few kicks. it was a larger horse than mine, so i had every reason to be terrified of it.

"whoa, easy—hey! easy, carl!" a familiar voice calls out from behind me. i didn't have any time to react aside from grabbing my horse's leash and pulling it away from the agitated one.

"thank you, i didn't mean to—technoblade?" i spot the unmistakable pink hair and red robes. however i notice that the crown was... gone. neither of us really take off our crowns for the sake of our own protection, especially when we're outside. but i'm guessing he wasn't expecting to run into anyone at this late hour. "what are you doing here?"

"i should be asking you that instead, princess." i turned to look at the surroundings of the lake. i hadn't been here in a while, and i didn't expect to see a makeshift horse stable and a wheat farm next to where i stash all my stuff. there were a few beats of silence, as i was trying to see if technoblade found out about my treasury. but seeing as some grass has grown over the little hole, it doesn't seem like it. i feel his gaze on me, so i turn to him and his horse, trying to not pay any attention to the sack of resources tied to my horse's saddle.

"i see you've met carl." he follows my gaze to carl, whose nostrils remain flared.

"he doesn't have the best temperament, does he?" i ask technoblade, since i almost got kicked in the face earlier.

"oh he does, just not to strangers at the moment. sorry about that."

"it's fine," i laugh it off.

"but then again, i didn't warn him that we were goin' to meet people today. which brings me back to my question. what are you doin' here?" i look at everywhere but his face, knowing that he was scrutinizing whatever expression i had on right now.

"i wanted to visit my favorite lake. i haven't been here in a while, so i don't really know who decided to plant their wheat right next to it."

"you'd be looking at him directly in the face right now, if you weren't so intent on lying to him." thank god it was dark out, or else he'd have seen how red my ears were. i sigh, finally meeting his gaze with an annoyed expression.

"it's none of your business, really."

"it may not be any of my business now, but it will be once we make our vows. so i don't see any point in lyin' to me when i'm gonna find out tomorrow."

"what makes you think you need to know everything about me by tomorrow?"

"i don't know about you, princess. but i don't think marriages are supposed to be built on lies." he crosses his arms, towering over me. i take another step back, slightly intimidated.

"except this one is going to be built on one." i break his gaze and brush my fingers through the mane of my horse. "a marriage to bring peace," i chuckle, but there was no joy in my voice, "what a joke."

"well, i think you did the right thing." surprised, i stare at him to see if he was being sarcastic. he sees my confused look in the corner of his eye and laughs.

"i'm serious."

"you're no longer king, you're stripped of your rights to whatever land you used to own in the nether, and schlatt could come knocking at pogtopia's doors—or walls, whatever—at any given point after the wedding! how are you still seeing the bright side of this?"

"for starters, you took niki's place. i'm sure she'd have to thank you for that—"

"—and walked right into schlatt's trap," i picked up a rock and threw it across the lake. the both of us watched it skip across the water before it sank. he's quiet while he allows me to calm down.

"hey," he calls for my attention. "if you hadn't done that, we'd have lost the few soldiers that we had on our side." i cross my arms and look down. he was right, but i don't know. i felt awful for dragging him into this mess. technoblade sighed and planted himself in front of me.

"look, i don't care about my titles. in fact, i was glad you helped me get rid of them. you know how much i didn't like them." i watch his hand rise. initially, i think he had been going for my hand. but he hesitated and settled to place it on my shoulder instead. "plus, you gave us a direct connection to dream, and now we can work together to prepare for it instead of rushing into it immediately. you bought us time to look for resources."

at the mention of resources, i gaze at the sack of gems i brought.

"you know, that's what i was here for." i nodded for him to open the sack of gems. he pulls the ribbon apart and lets out a laugh of confusion.

"this is—you? you went mining?" i've never heard him laugh like this before, and it engulfs me in a warm feeling. it's so contagious, i thought, joining his laughter.

"there's nothing like mining when you're stressed, you know?" his laughter fades into a smile, and i admire how it looks under diminished lighting. when i realize that he was looking at me longer than usual as well, i wring my hands, nervous of the sudden attention. technoblade realizes the awkward situation we're in and clears his throat.

"uh—so why bring them to a walk by your favorite lake?" i smile at his question, walking near the largest tree. i removed the bits of grass that has grown over my stash and reveal numerous double chests underneath. technoblade kneels down beside me, taking a minute to check what resources i had for myself. stacks upon stacks of iron, gold, redstone, lapis, and diamond were messily stored inside them in a hurry, leaving it more unorganized than i wanted it to be. after a while, technoblade stands up and offers his hand to me.

"it seems like we have more than a couple things in common, princess." i hesitate, but i take hold of his hand anyway. his palm was fascinatingly warm, as if he'd been holding it next to a fireplace all along. he leads me to the lake, his boots disappearing under the water. my hold on his hand loosens in hesitation. "it's alright, trust me."

holding my breath to brace for the cold, i take the first few steps into the lake. technoblade lets go of my hand, takes a few steps forward, and i yell his name as he's engulfed by the water. i run towards where he disappeared and found a hole with orange light at the bottom. a magma block.

"we don't have all night, princess," i see his arm outstretched at the bottom to ensure me that he was safe, and i finally jump down the hole, exhilarated. darkness swallows my surroundings until i reach the bottom, feeling technoblade's hands on my forearms to help me off the magma block. feeling a little disoriented after my first experience with a water elevator, i stumble a little, glad to hold on to his hands.

"...'you alright?" i nod, and despite the cold that we both went into, he remains warm. i guess it's a king of the nether thing.

he leads me to a rather small room filled with chests and a single bed. he gives me the go-ahead to look around his chests, and i see that they're all mundane items, not unlike the items i keep under my own trunk back home.

"is this really where you live?" i ask him, taking a last look around the house. i wait for a while, but he doesn't respond. instead, he walks over to me and reaches for the wall behind me.

"excuse me." i roll my eyes. he says 'excuse me' when he's only inches apart. "sorry," he senses my annoyance and we both chuckle. i didn't bother moving as he pulls something down.

suddenly, the floor between the chests disappears, and below it is a ladder, and more darkness. or so i thought.

what i thought to be darkness was actually a different type of stone—blackstone. i've only seen them in bastions from afar, but seeing as he once ruled the nether, it was no longer shocking. i climb down the ladder after him carefully. it wasn't a long climb, assuming we were already by bedrock level based on how far we went down the elevator.

once i got down, i held in a gasp. the chests on one side of the wall were filled with bright jewels and tons of weapons and enchantments to choose from. however, on the other side were another set of chests waiting to be filled with resources.. technoblade smiles at me, leaning against the wall behind me in satisfaction.

"so, do you still want to store your stuff out there?" i turn around to face him, still in shock at the brilliance of one man.

"...or would you like to share this vault with me?"

Chapter Text

the skies were already beginning to color itself yellow when technoblade and i finished transferring all my resources into his vault. at first, he offered that i have a separate section for the resources that i've gathered. however, i decided against it and pooled all of my resources next to his, organizing it per item. all of these would probably be used up once the war came anyway, so there was no point in sectioning it off based on who gathered what. i still had some resources stashed away under my bed at home anyway, so i could always go back to that if i wanted my personal storage.

i have to say, sharing my tendencies to stress-mine without being made to feel guilty about it feels... freeing. especially with someone who probably had a similar habit, albeit not as terrible as mine. still, it was something. i had noticed the difference between how he reacted compared to how my brother and dream would. he had a smile on, and it actually seemed like he was... proud of me? compared to how i would get told that it wasn't needed because our kingdom had a lot to spare.

sure, it was a bad thing that my resources were now needed because of war, but it was nice to feel like i actually did something useful for once without heavy repercussions.

and now, permanently etched to my mind, was his expression as i placed my jewels next to his. perhaps we could remain friends despite the situation we were stuck in.

i shake the thought away from my head as soon as i climb through my window. perhaps the lack of sleep had dulled my senses, because i didn't notice dream and two other staff holding a fresh set of towels and a blinding dress of white. my heart sank. i was going to have to wear what my mother wore when she got married to my father. only, she loved the man she was going to marry.

dream wordlessly left the room at the sight of the dress, as if the only reason he came here was to confirm that i did not run away. as if i wasn't the one who orchestrated this in the first place. the staff looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed when dream was usually the one to tell them what to do. i glance at a nearby clock and find that it was only an hour before the coronation was supposed to happen. i sigh, expecting that i had time to rest before it all happened.

i slap a hand to my face to forcefully wake myself up, feeling the heat of the sun on the back of my neck for a few moments.

"alright. do your worst."

they wasted no time in scrubbing away layers of dirt from my arms.

---

"are you ready, your highness?" my heart begins to race. they were holding the dress up, waiting for me to step into it. it distinctly smelled of my mother, and it surprises me how strong the memory of scent is, despite it being more than a decade since we lost her. for a while, i bask in the memory of my mother. i remember her being the one to set the rule that dinner was not a place for any type of business at all. i remember her convincing george to let me be friends with dream. i remember her telling me to be patient with my brother, because everything that he was going to do in the future was to protect me. i remember her telling me that despite what tradition says, that i should marry someone i love. just like she did with my father.

and somehow, everything she made me promise her that i'd do, my brother and i broke. dinner was always full of red letters. i could probably no longer call dream a friend. i'm constantly consumed by the resentment i hold for my brother and dream. and today, i'm marrying someone i barely even know.

i feel like i've disappointed her, but i wear the dress anyway. despite the ghosts of her voice telling that it was okay, that i was doing what i thought best, the guilt eats at my heart.

i let them secure the dress with lacings at the back. the kind of lacing that i know i'd need help undoing later. i let them weave my mother's favorite flowers into my hair; dandelions. but what i don't let them do is to allow them escort me to pride palace, where the coronation would take place. i had to do something before i went there, and i absolutely cannot let anyone else see me.

last night, technoblade told me to meet him in the small clearing by pride palace, about 45 minutes before anything else happened. and so i hurriedly ran to the stables and found my favorite horse, the both of us tired from last night's adventure. nonetheless, i still chose to ride on it towards my destination. it was an odd sight, a bride and future queen arriving at her destination with no carriage in sight. but it didn't matter, because who would go looking for me right by the place i wouldn't want to be?

it was forbidden too, for the bride and the groom to meet right before the wedding. something about bad luck or something. but i rarely believed in those kinds of superstitions. and besides, i don't expect this marriage to actually succeed in any aspect other than trying to help pogtopia away from tyranny.

i carefully climb down from the horse, afraid to soil my mother's dress. i'm glad that eret keeps the castle's surroundings wonderfully kept, stepping onto freshly trimmed grass with trees giving off a nice shade for to cool off under.

it wasn't until a minute later that technoblade came. he was wearing his usual white dress shirt, complete with his black boots and grey pants. underneath his infamous red robe was a stripe of blue, presumably to show his loyalty to the greater dream smp. just like last night, his crown was missing. "hello, technoblade." i notice that technoblade's hair was braided back and away from his face.

"right on time," he remarks as he descends from carl, holding onto the leash. he's silent, taken aback by my appearance. i did appear in a dress before, during the festival. but he's seen me more wearing my usual battle wear. and even during his renunciation, i didn't wear anything as grand as this dress, and nor did i have my hair done just as intricately. so his reaction was a little understandable.

"of course." i respond, drawing near to carl to caress his muzzle. it seems that i'm not a stranger in his eyes anymore. his nostrils were no longer flared, and he pushes against my hand in approval. "so, what did you need me here for?" i try not to feel uncomfortable with technoblade's unusually long gaze.

he hesitates for a few beats, before he rummages in the bag latched onto carl's saddle. "i don't know if this is allowed, so i don't even know if i should give it to you anyway." curious, i try to steal a look into his bag.

"hey, no peeking." he lightheartedly reprimands me. i chuckle and take a few steps back, patiently waiting with my hands locked behind me. i'm still glad that he holds little to no resentment for me, despite expecting the complete opposite. i just hope that this lasts.

he finally stops rummaging and pulls it out swiftly. i barely caught a glimpse of it. whatever it was, it had a shine to it, and it wasn't too small. he hid it behind his back at first and looked around to see if there was anyone else watching.

"so, i don't know if this breaks tradition or whatever, but i've seen this done before—at least back in my kingdom when my mother told me to hang onto it, and you can just keep it, you don't have to wear it or anything—" the more he rambled, the more i found it endearing. whatever it was, it surely made him nervous. that made my curiosity burn even brighter. and maybe if i were braver, i'd have acknowledged that he was even flustered.

"technoblade?"

"yeah?" his voice immediately came to a halt.

"whatever it is, you can tell me. i'll find a workaround," i tried to be as convincing as possible, because the longer i waited, the more it made me nervous. "plus, the coronation is in a few minutes," i pointed out, biting back a smile to keep him from embarrassment.

"i—yeah, you're right. here."

he proceeds to pull out one of the most enchanting pieces of jewelry i've ever seen. he was holding it as if it was about to break in his hands. however, it radiated formidability, as if it was forged by the strongest blacksmith that ever walked this world. or the nether realm. i suspect he got it from there.

"technoblade, that's, that's a—"

"a crown." in comparison to his own, it was much more compact, clearly made for a smaller head. except when he tenderly placed it onto the palms of my hand, i felt the groundbreaking rush of the enchantments placed onto it. given that it was forged out of gold, i expected it to be heavy, but it felt like it weighed next to nothing. my usual crown definitely glowed the same purple, filled with as many enchantments as my father could have placed on it. but this crown had an otherworldly glow, and when i took a closer look to it, the inside was rimmed with something else.

technoblade seemed to know what i was thinking about and answered my question before i even had the chance to ask. "that's netherite." my eyes widened. we only ever use netherite specifically for armor, since it was difficult to find. let alone waste on jewelry. seeing as he used to live there, they must have had all the time in the world to look for it.

and maybe i should have let him finish his rambling, because i absolutely could not fathom the fact that he wants me to be crowned with it.

"i can't wear this," i exclaimed in shock. this was too valuable and i simply couldn't let him give that to me. not when i roped him into this.

"i understand, there's probably rules against it or somethin', and you probably already have one ready for you."

"no! i mean, there is—there are rules, and we—they already have it ready, but that's not what i meant!" i was about to continue explaining until i saw his amused expression. to add salt to the wound, he was holding back a laugh too. i shot him an indignant look, and he gave into a chuckle.

i collected myself before continuing, "it's really beautiful, and i'd love to wear it later."

"so wear it," he quickly retorted.

"but it's too.. i can't accept this from you, i already feel bad enough to agreeing to this marriage and dragging you along."

"i seem to recall that we've had this conversation last night, y/n." my shoulders slump. he was right, i already know that he's fine about it. but the guilt continues to nag within me. i remain staring at the crown in conflict, wondering if i should accept his offer and let them crown me with it later.

out of the blue, technoblade takes it from my hands and reaches over to try and place it on my head. i freeze at the sudden proximity, and i don't know where to stare as he tries to center it without it ruining or pulling at my hair.

"there," he finishes, taking a few steps backward to take it all in.

"does it.. how do i look?" his gaze turns fond, and for the third time in the span of 12 hours, i manage to make him smile again.

"like a queen."

Chapter Text

the staff try not to reprimand me for almost soiling my own mother's wedding dress by riding a horse without assistance. after all, it is both my wedding and my coronation day, and people try to be nice and cheerful on prospect. i appreciate the sentiments, but i don't know if they would act the same way had they known the real conditions of this marriage. either way, i could go a day without getting told off by staff because 'i'm going against protocol'.

some parts of my hair have been disheveled, since i hurriedly took off the crown that technoblade gave me. i did not realize that i still had it on me, because it was practically weightless and it seems to have its own way of securing itself onto whoever wears it. i recall how technoblade mentioned his mother—this crown must have been hers. i wonder where she is until i remember the fact that the nether realm is in complete ruins and overrun by wither skeletons. i shudder to think about how technoblade managed to escape.

and yet, the fact that i was holding one of the last few relics that technoblade had of his home seemed to linger in my head.

perhaps he found me respectable enough to wear what was once his mother's, or he was simply looking for an excuse to rid himself of everything that had to do with the nether. i hope it was the former, because i didn't want to wear that kind of resentment on my head for days to come. and some part of me hopes that this wasn't what made him into the blood god that he is.

i put a discarded piece of cloth over the crown and set it down somewhere i could easily access it. after that, i went straight to one of the salons that were set up for today, and one of the equerries immediately pulled me over to the one that was assigned to me. they were very careful that i did not run into the groom in hopes to ward off any bad luck. once i was in the room, i got a glance of what i actually looked like after more than half an hour in the wilderness.

despite the combined efforts of technoblade and i to keep myself looking presentable enough, it wasn't enough. a marriage doesn't happen every day, and even more so with a coronation. the staff wasted no time and did a wonderful job of fixing me up, good as new. as soon as they were done with me, i instruct one of them to carefully take the cloth-covered crown and give it to my brother so that he'd be able to crown me with it later instead of the one that he had made for me, in the hopes that he’d understand the reasoning behind it. i'd give it to him myself, but i wasn't allowed to leave this room until the ceremonies started.

when the equerry almost unwrapped the cloth, i immediately told them not to and keep it hidden from anyone's eyes, including their own. they fervently nodded and opened the door, only to be met with the very person i needed to meet.

"george," i smile, comforted by his presence. "you look good," i lie, spotting the darkness underneath his eyes, which was mildly concealed by a thin layer of powder, akin to mine.

"you don't look so bad yourself," my brother jokes, even though his face was frozen in a mix of emotions. remembering the crown, i begin to approach george before he held up a hand to stop me. i realize that there were too many people in this room for the two of us to have a proper conversation like we should before the ceremony.

"a moment alone, please." george signals to everyone else in the room, and in a flash, it was like they were never there.

george was wearing his ceremonial uniform, complete with all the flags and little badges signifying all the countries we were allied with. "you look exactly like dad did when he acceded the throne."

"and you look exactly like mom." i smile. before becoming emotional, i turn away from him and from every mirror in the room. which was hard, seeing as this was literally a salon.

there really was a reason that george and i stopped hanging out as much after a certain age. it wasn't only because of his work, but it was because we reminded each other of our parents too much for our own good. and it was hard to lose both my parents and my brother all at once, but i managed.

"are you going to be okay?" he strides close to me and adjusts the veil behind my head. he rests his hand on my shoulder

"of course i will," i assured him, covering his hand with mine. "you can't get rid of me that easily, george. you know that."

“how could i forget, you remind me of it every time i try to get rid of you when there’s serious business. you’re always there, boding like some guard dog or something.” i hit his shoulder with some force at the comment and he pretends like i punched him in the training grounds.

“you’re so dramatic,” i scold him, and we laugh for what feels like days. after a while, the laughter dies down and he leans against one of the tables, relaxing all of his joints. he ever so slightly folds in on himself and i can’t help but to come close and sit beside him. my chin rests against the soft but gilded fabric of his ceremonial tunic. i rest for a bit, ignoring all the noise outside.

“you know that if anything happens to you, you’re coming home, right?” he looks at me in the mirror and i close my eyes momentarily.

“i know.”

“and you do know that if that ends up happening, i can’t stop dream from going to war?”

“i do”

“because i’m going to be in the frontlines with him,” he says with so much fervor, contrasting how he looks like right now with his arm around my shoulder.

“i know.”

“good.”

“i doubt that will happen, though,” i smile, remembering all the times i’ve been with technoblade alone, and that somehow i always end up happier than when i wasn’t with him.

“why’s that?”

“have a look over there,” i nodded at the cloth covering the relic that was quite out of this world.

george lets go of me and walks toward it. he gives me one more look, as if to ask for permission to pull the cloth away, and i nod. carefully, he unwraps it, and gives out a nearly audible gasp.

“is this—” he laughs indignantly, “he gave this to you?” i nodded, smiling. “well, that’s not fair,” he remarks, holding the glowing crown against the light, inspecting its materials like i did. “it’s way fancier than the crown i had made for you.” he sets in down in front of me, whining.

“it was his mother’s, i think,” i gaze fondly at the crown, thinking about just how careful he was with putting it on my head. “and he wants me to be crowned with it in a few minutes.” that makes my brother look up, his eyebrows knitting. “will you allow it?”

“but what would everyone else think?”

“george, you know i’m way past caring about that ever since i brought this upon myself,” i almost pick at my own nails, but i remember that the staff had just decorated them with art. i bite the inside of my cheek instead.

“i know that, but people would think that you belong to—”

“to who? the mighty technoblade? because you damn well know that this isn’t what this marriage is about” anger bubbles within me. how dare my own brother imply that i belong to anyone but myself?

“that is not what i meant.” then what? “i meant that people would think that you’re the queen of the nether or something!” george’s knuckles go white and i deflate a little bit.

“that doesn’t matter, george. none of it does.” that doesn’t convince either of us, so i continue. “because what matters is that you and i know that wherever this marriage gets me, i’ll always be there looking out for you. to take over for you when you need to rest. to wait for you at night until your business is done.” he exhales, trying not to let the tears fall.

“besides, it’s a nice sentiment, isn’t it? it’s assuring.” he slowly raises his eyebrows teasingly. “at least to me!” a little smile breaks out and he shakes his head. “it’s like he respects me enough to trust me with it, or something.”

“why?”

“well, you and i know that whatever happened to the nether wasn’t good. and the fact that he’s giving this to me, which is possibly one of the last few relics that he has of his home. it’s something, right?”

“you’re right. maybe it’s not going to be so bad.”

“i’m always right, you just don’t believe me.” he rolls his eyes, but then he gets lost in thought for a second.

“wait a minute, you were planning to just have one of the equerries to give this to me, weren’t you? and you thought i’d just go with it?” he laughs in disbelief.

i shift uneasily, my hands going behind my back awkwardly. “...yes.”

“you’re such an idiot.”

“i get it from you, you know.” i realize that since george acceded to the throne, this has probably been one of the longest conversations that him and i have ever had alone. i probably won’t see him as much anymore now that i’m going to be running a kingdom on my own now, so i relish the moment. but i know i’ll live. i’ve lived with my brother my entire life and it’s safe to say that not much will change in terms of my contact with him.

my train of thought gets interrupted. someone was knocking on the door too quickly for comfort, and i could only assume that the ceremony was about to start.

“guess that’s my cue to leave, then,” george grabs the crown and gets up from his spot, going in for a hug. one that he reconsiders as to not mess up my getup. he goes for a side hug instead. “i’ll see you later, okay?” he smiles, waving the crown by my face to assure me that he didn’t forget about it.

the knocking gets louder and george calls it out, annoyed. “alright, i’m leaving! gods.” once george got out and slammed the door shut, someone came in practically breaking the next door down.

his unmistakable mask was pushed to the side, revealing sad eyes and a frown.

---

for the first time in weeks, dream speaks directly to me of his own accord. no orders, no guarding, nothing to do with official business. just him. deciding to talk to me because he needs it for himself, and not because he's obligated to do so. he had no armor on, just a plain black suit with a blue tie.

i don’t speak at all, reveling at the shock of his state right now. it’s not like this is the first time he’s been around me without a mask on. it’s just that it’s been so long. he must have realized how he looked like right now, because his frown runs deeper and he shuts the door. his back is facing me and i don’t know what to do. he’s just standing there. possibly gathering himself together before having a conversation with me.

was it really that hard for him to talk to me?

“dream, what is this about? the ceremony’s going to start in a few minutes.”

“i know, i know. just—” he sighs in frustration, his hand gripping the doorknob so tightly that you’d think there was someone on the other side threatening to burst through.

“dream?”

he breathes in deeply before he steels himself, and the posture that he always had when he was there to protect me comes back. he locks that door. “sorry, there’s too many people outside.” his mask still wasn’t on properly, and i badly wanted to go and fix it up for him. the last time his mask was off for this long was when he was unconscious for three days after a fight he almost lost his life in. he still won, but he only collapsed until he made sure his enemy wasn’t able to move a finger anymore.

“that’s—that’s fine.” instead of picking at my nails, i picked at the skin of my palm, careful not to be too rough. “what do you want?” a hint of tension was evident in my voice, because the last time we spoke fully was when i left him in the archery range after a fight.

“i want to apologize.”

i was shocked. i knew neither of us were in the complete right or wrong in this situation, but i knew that dream only wanted me to be safe. so, ever since that fight, i was nothing but angry and guilty. guilty for being too afraid to face him because i knew i was being rash and immature. he was right, i did want to prove myself. but that was only because i wanted him to stop smothering me. he was probably more right than i was. “well that’s new,”

“i’m serious.”

“apologize for what? for trying to protect me? you were only doing your job. i just wish you’d stop doing it too well because i feel like i’m drowning.”

“i don’t know. everything.” flashbacks of the disc war and how so many of my friends lost their lives over it came through, and i knew he was probably apologizing for that.

“well, i..” my voice quivered. i didn’t know why he decided to act like this so suddenly when he’s spent everyday trying to tell me that what i did was wrong. i couldn’t bring myself to look in his eyes at all, not when they were so... bare. “i don’t understand. what’s the point of this? the damage has been done. it’s about to start any moment now.”

“no, you don’t get it, that’s what i’m trying to tell you.” a pit of fear grows in my stomach.

“dream, what did you do?” i was about to shove past him and check on what was happening outside. he grabs my arm and stops my movement so fiercely.

“nothing yet.” i was so confused and i wanted to run away and get this ceremony over and done with.

“i’m done with you playing these games with me. just let me go.”

“y/n,” his eyes bore into mine. “run away with me.”

i freeze and uncontrollably give out a laugh, my anxiety getting the best of me.

“dream, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“run away with me. let me protect you. let me continue to take care of you like i have all these years, and i’ll happily do it forever. i’ll take care of everything. i’ll fix this, and you won’t have to worry about a thing”

it was all getting very tempting. i wanted to run away from the mess i made. i wanted to hide and let dream handle the things i thought i could. i wanted everything to go back to how it was before this all started.

“i’ll even bring george and sapnap. you love sapnap too, right? and niki, too. we can start a new life somewhere else. somewhere far away from all of this. somewhere only we know. just please, run away with me.”

i shudder from the ache growing in my throat and look upwards, trying not to cry. dream pulls me towards him and engulfs me in a hug. “we can go back to normal, back when we were happy,” i consider saying yes, but then i remember all the people i want to protect. all my friends that i’d be leaving here to deal with the mess dream and i made. all the people that i’d be leaving to go to war with each other until everyone i know and love is dead.

“i can’t, dream.” i push him away, but he holds onto me tight. “dream, please. you know i can’t do that.” i grabbed at his elbows to push it away from my waist and he finally lets go.

“you only want to protect me for yourself, dream. but i can’t stay under your protection forever. you know that.” i gently cup his scarred face in mine and he leans into it, his face more desolate than ever. “besides, you taught me well. i will be okay.” he holds my hand for a moment before he slides his mask back into place and walks out of the room as if nothing had happened.

Chapter Text

“are you ready, ma’am?”

it is by the grace of the gods that i haven’t ruined my appearance for the second time today. my legs felt like they were devoid of all the support it was born with. i’m starting to feel like an empty shell of whatever i used to be before this very day. i’m not sure if nerves are supposed to do that normally, or today is just an exception. my hands tremble as i slip into terribly uncomfortable shoes and readjust my veil in front of the mirror.

“i want to say no, but i don’t think that’s allowed,” the good thing about me is that even with my nerves i manage to pump out a joke or two. i don’t just freeze to death. but maybe that would be preferable to walking out of this room.

“no, ma’am.” the equerry smiles at me in pity. there is no time to think about not wanting pity because this is all my fault. i let the staff escort me out of my room and outside two large doors made of heavy spruce gilded with black-coated metal. they walk me beside dream, who was assigned to be the one to walk me down the aisle. i would have preferred george. tradition would, too. but alas, my brother is to preside the coronation and crown me, so he can’t ‘give me away’ as much as he wanted to.

have i ever talked about how much i hated marriage? the whole concept of giving your daughter, sister, or whatever to someone else as if she was an object really wasn’t appealing to me. but i know for a fact that in every girl there is a notion engraved that a wedding is going to be one of the biggest, best days of your life when she was a child by a guardian. for most, it was their mother or sister. for me, it was a random staff that told me that i was going to have a huge wedding with my mother’s beautiful dress and i was to be married to a handsome or beautiful noble i was in love with and start my own empire with them.

it’s not like they were wrong. in fact, they were mostly correct except for the fact that i wasn’t in love with technoblade. and i wasn’t going to start an empire, really. this was mainly going to symbolize the union of three groups. nothing more.

either way, it was going to happen.

dream holds out his arm and i take it. he’s rigid, unmoving. he doesn’t even spare me a glance. a pang of remorse passes through me like a wave, until it is completely stilled by my anger. being beside dream sends me into arrays of emotions and i can’t name them all. but i’m glad that behind all of that is a sense of comfort. i’m less anxious, at least.

in front of us are two kids, one with beautiful brown ringlets in his hair and another with shiny, cropped blonde hair. the one with shorter hair sneaks a few peeks at me before her partner decided to elbow her. she winces silently in pain, and i assumed she wanted to elbow him back until the doors in front of us opened and they were suddenly covered in light. dream and i remained in the shadows for now. because of the way the castle was built i couldn’t really look at the altar yet, but i could see the people. hundreds of heads turn to look at the kids and smile at them and some start clapping.

i could see purpled, quackity, ponk, fundy, and niki sitting by the front pews at the left. the rest of the manburg citizens were right behind them. at the very back sat tommy and tubbo as representatives of pogtopia. at this point i was very out of loop with who was sided with who, but at least i knew that everyone on the right was allied with the greater dream smp. bad, punz, sapnap, callahan, alyssa, puffy, sam were there too, and behind them were all the citizens of the greater dream smp. everyone was in complete attendance, except for schlatt. i notice he never really goes near any sort of structure resembling a church, but i don’t mind. i don’t want him near the holy lands, and i most certainly don’t want his drunk self in this ceremony.

“you may walk now, your highness,” said the planner i’ve been coordinating with— rather, the one that’s been coordinating with me since i wanted to have little to nothing to do with wedding planning. mostly all this planner has been asking me which satin i preferred, what color i wanted on the walls, but i honestly played heads or tails with those decisions. dream looks at me for the first time in a while to see when i would take my first step, so he’d follow.

i nod, and he pulls me a little bit closer to him, sensing my shaky limbs. i bitterly thank him for that and take a step forward. and another. and then another, until i was slowly walking and in full sight for everyone to see the bride. i first lock eyes with sapnap, who gives me a subtle thumbs up, and i give him a wavering smile. i catch tommy in the crowd and he raises his eyebrows at me, an expression of pride for me, but some disdain reserved for technoblade. and then came niki, who i was sure was about to break down in tears right in front of everyone. sure, she had a smile on, and she looked extremely honored to see me in this state. however, her eyes asked a question of “do you really want to do this?” and i respond with a tilt of my head. i would shake my head yes, but we both knew that if the circumstances were the slightest bit different, i probably would have said yes to dream when he asked me to run away with him earlier.

in front of me, growing closer with each clack of my shoes, was technoblade, who had his back facing me. it starkly mirrored the state dream was in earlier, but i push that thought away. technoblade looked the same as earlier, except it seems that he redid his braid to be looser and that his dress shirt had gold paddings. beside him was wilbur, who surprisingly cleaned up after himself and was wearing a decent black suit which seemed to have not a single wrinkle in it. i try not to giggle at how odd this sight was and instead focus on trying not to trip over my mother’s ridiculously long dress.

at the side was george who was now wearing his royal crown. he was gazing at particularly nothing, now, avoiding anyone’s gaze to keep himself together. standing next to my brother was eret, who was holding two purple robes, one larger than the other. it was for the coronation ceremony to take place after the wedding. at the raised platform constructed for the altar was the cleric that oversaw george’s coronation. donning the same blue robes, they were leaning on an ornate lectern. it held the book that contained the vows and oaths to be read today.

wilbur discreetly looked over his shoulder and gave me a polite albeit cold smile. technoblade sees his reaction and finally turned to look at me. no hint of surprise at all, as he’d seen me earlier this morning. he only smiles as he had uncharacteristically done so many times in a span of 24 hours. suddenly, dream pauses and my stomach drops. for a moment, i think he was going to pull some stunt and cause another scene, but i was dead wrong.

dream lets go of my arm and instead holds my hand to guide me to the altar. he lingers for a bit, noticing the lack of surprise from technoblade, then gives me an indecipherable look. but, he lets go eventually and lets me plant myself next to the former king without making a sound. he takes his place to my left, mirroring wilbur.

“..’you alright?” technoblade asks me and i nod a quick yes before subtly gesturing to the cleric so he’d stay quiet after this. he lets out a breath of amusement and turns to the cleric himself, placing a hand on the hilt of the sword hanging on his hip.

“friends, family, and beloved citizens,” the cleric addresses everyone in the room, sending a bolt of shock through my body. technoblade clears his throat and adjusts one of his cufflinks. meanwhile, both wilbur and dream were unmoving, as if they were playing an intense game of chess instead of presiding over a ceremony.

“we are gathered here today in the site of this palace to unite these two people in holy matrimony.” my heart starts to pound uncomfortably hard against my chest and i push away the urge to throw up in front of everybody. again, i bite the inside of my cheek.

“their decision to wed was born out of their dedication to not only each other, but to the unification of three kingdoms that they hold close to their hearts. today, we shall witness them declare their devotion to each other and the roles that they are about to take on in the name of peace.” glad that the cleric reminded me that what we were doing had a semblance of duty in it, i received some peace of mind.

“who guides this person to be wed to the other?” they ask, and i look to george, who nods at dream. dream numbly takes hold of my hand once again and places it onto technoblade’s, warm as ever. we finally turn to each other and i steel myself for what’s about to come.

“i, y/n,” the cleric states for me to repeat, and i do.

“take thee, technoblade, general of pogtopia, baron of the court, knight companion, and duke of the holy lands,”

i accidentally look at the crowd watching our every movement. technoblade squeezes my hand to make me look at him instead. it takes me a while, but i do, and for a while i forget that it isn’t just us three at the altar.

“to be my wedded husband,” the words sound funny coming from me and my voice quivers like it has never done before. it takes more than a few seconds for me to stop going back and forth from the floor and his eyes.

“to have and to hold,” in this moment, i really do pause and look at technoblade, seeking his assurance that i could repeat the cleric’s words and he wouldn’t oppose to it.

he does not.

“from this day forward, for better and for worse,” he makes a face at that, as if to say that that part of the vows would be negotiable, and i laugh ever so slightly. who knows what worse is?

“for richer, and for poorer,” i highly doubt that, and so does he, what with our shared habits of mining.

“in sickness and in health,”

“to love and to cherish, till death do us part,” and there i stop for a while because i hear my mother’s voice reminding me again and again to marry for love. i recall that from time and time again, she’d remind me how much she loved my father, george, and me. wishful thinking leads me to think that someday in the future, i might grow to love technoblade. maybe not as much as my mother loved my father, but that would have to suffice.

and so i say it. i say it all, and so does technoblade.

“i, technoblade, take thee, y/n, princess of the greater dream smp, baroness of the court, knight companion, and duchess of the holy lands... till death do us part.”

“is there anyone present in this palace currently that has any reason to object the union of these two people?”

a harsh silence takes over everyone, tense and waiting. i can feel dream’s stare burning holes through me. technoblade feels it too and looks over my shoulder with a blank expression. as if he was challenging him to say anything. with the way wilbur was standing warily and how technoblade’s mouth twitched into a frown, it was almost as if dream was about to say something.

but before he could, the cleric continues, and the silent duel between the two ends.

“by the power invested in me by this greater dream smp and the states to be united, i pronounce these two, partners in marriage.”

technoblade’s gaze goes back to mine and he takes a second to breathe as if he’s forgotten to do so for the past few minutes. he shifts his balance from one foot to another as he did in anticipation that one time i asked him to do a trick for me. a distant but vivid memory. and i wonder why he was so nervous until i realized what was going on.

the cleric is staring at us, waiting for either of us to make a movement. i always knew this was coming, but no one ever actually talked to me about what was going to happen at all. no one told me this part of the ceremony was necessary or optional. and i wish i wasn’t too caught up with myself or too busy nursing my own pride (and possibly dream’s, in the crossfire) to forget to ask about this.

so i look into technoblade’s eyes, internally screaming for help, asking him what to do in this situation because i was more lost than ever. he seemed to be the same too, because he tightens his hold on my hands. ‘what do we do?’ he mouths to me, and i shake my head as tenuously as i can so that no one would notice that we were panicking.

we took one last look at the cleric who simply raised their eyebrows at us, signaling that everyone’s patience was wearing thin.

technoblade turned back to me, his eyes fleeting from my own, to the people behind me, to my lips, to my eyes again, and lastly, my lips again. i could feel his worrying grow stronger and merge with my own, so he does the only thing he could think of to do in that moment.

without wasting a few more seconds to anxiety, he places his right hand on my cheek, his aim true.

and he pulls me towards him.

Chapter Text

it is a fact known to very few that technoblade can be susceptible to peer pressure if present in formidable amounts. it is a surprise that i was able to catch onto that quite clearly. first, the day when i challenged him to make that one maneuver with his trident. on that same day, he found himself within the rings of performative violence to cover up his true intentions for pogtopia. later on, he ends up murdering someone with pyrotechnics. so if you looked carefully, you’d be able to make him do the most ridiculous things if you pressured him enough.

none of those instances, however, made me think that he would be able to do what he just did. and neither did anyone else in this vast room.

looking at it from an objective perspective, it wasn’t too bad. nor did the kiss last as long as my brain made me think it did. my subjective senses would beg to differ. the eternally-warm palm of his hand burned as if someone was holding a bucket of lava against my skin. his nose almost bumped against mine before he tilted his head further to the right so as to not hit me. and once his lips landed, he made sure to aim so carefully so that he’d only hit the very corner of my mouth that it was almost as if he was kissing my cheek instead.

and i’m grateful, i really am. that he saved us both from the painful load of expectations that the entire palace was gradually placing on our shoulders as the seconds ticked by. that he was so careful with how he went about it out of respect for the ceremony, the things that it represented, and perhaps most importantly, me. and that he took it upon himself to not completely take my first kiss for false pretenses such as this one.

what i couldn’t be thankful about was that i could not, for the life of me, understand why it made my head spin but at the same time, make the world stop for a few seconds. i could not control the instinctive way my eyes closed and how everything else sound muffled. i didn’t understand why as he leaned in, my hand clutched his sleeve so tightly that i was sure he felt it. i couldn’t understand why it affected me so much that he made sure to steady me after letting go of my cheek.

but what i couldn’t understand the most was why he was still looking at my lips long after he let go of me and took a few steps back.

the world around us decided to start moving again and suddenly i hear clapping from behind me. eret was the first to put her hands together and little by little, people followed suit. and soon, almost everyone in the chapel was clapping, save for my brother, dream, and to my lack of knowledge, niki, who held on to the pew and left scratches on it. i smile a little out of politeness and try to calm down, remnants of the pent-up anxiety still rushing through my blood.

i watch wilbur, who had his hands in his pockets and wasn’t clapping either. to avoid technoblade’s gaze, i notice that he was looking at me with a smile too. if it were many years ago i’d have found comfort in his smile, as that smile would have probably been the result of him outrunning me in a game of tag with those long limbs of his. but he’s lost almost all of the qualities that made him feel like family to me. if you asked me to point out what aspects of him changed, i wouldn’t be able to tell you even with a sword aimed at my throat. the best way i can put it is that.. i know war changes a man, but i feel like war took in wilbur and treated him like its own child.

‘thank you,’ wilbur mouths, and i do not respond. because deep down, i understand that i am but a miniscule assistant to whatever he’s been planning for a while now, with the strategist that he is.

out of the corner of my eye, george gestures for eret to begin the coronation as the clapping began to die down. eret then signals to the staff, and they bring in two thrones, both bearing the same gold and lapis detailing, but one was significantly larger than the other.

i’ve rehearsed this before. only once, rather than two times, to the dismay of the portion of staff that was indefinitely assigned to me and this new office that we were supposed to uphold. once was all that it took before i came into a heated disagreement with two of the leads in charge with this coronation. i inquired—rather, disputed the differences in sizes of the thrones, telling them that such symbolism wasn’t necessary for this ceremony. but they insisted, saying that it needed to be clear who truly was the leader of the chamber. when i wasn’t convinced by that, they say that the thrones have already been made and there was not enough to make a new, equally sized set for my demands. they knew that if they used the ‘lack of resources’ excuse, i’d have gladly handed the gold and lapis to them, straight from my personal collection. so i let them finish telling me what to do before i took off, telling them there need not be a second time for me to catch onto things.

afterwards, the same children from earlier came, now holding two sets of ceremonial rings and sashes on one hand, and ceremonial swords on the other. an equerry sets down a kneeler right in front of us, directly to the right side of the lectern, and another comes, balancing two cloth-covered crowns of nearly equal size, both clearly made in mind of the heads of those who will wear it, instead for symbolism’s sake.

my brother finally approaches the lectern, flipping through the pages of the book until he finds the section for coronation oaths. his mind was probably running a mile a minute, and he takes a second to adjust the sash across his uniform and runs a hand across his forehead. as soon as he settles down, dream immediately leaves my side and goes to stand next to eret at the left. wilbur takes this as a hint to leave as well, opting to sit at the empty front pew on the left, right in front of quackity. quackity glares at his back, but wilbur didn’t seem to have a care in the world other than for the event that was about to take place.

george makes eye contact with me and i ask for confirmation from eret, who urges me to move forward. i spare technoblade the first look i gave him ever since.. the incident. he curtly nods, breaking eye contact immediately. i shake the funny feeling off again before a new, unfamiliar atmosphere covers the entirety of the palace.

i step forward and plant my knee onto the soft cushion, and eret comes to remove the veil from my hair with utmost care to not ruin my hair. i was going to thank them for that, but he immediately left, the kid with blonde hair taking her place. with shaking hands, she haphazardly places a purple sash across my body, and i help her adjust it, and she grows a deep shade of red while waiting for me to finish. once i do, i smile at her, and she wastes no time putting a silver ring on my finger. it was adorned with a beautiful rounded amethyst surrounded by a rim of obsidian. i admire it a bit before taking the gargantuan enchanted netherite sword that was probably three-fourths of her size in my hands. she leaves, and i use the sword to prop myself up higher in my kneeling position, keeping my eyes on the floor.

“is your majesty willing to take the oath?” my brother’s voice is coated with all the layers of regality he’s been imposed with since childhood. if he was at all doubting himself, then he was doing a damn fine job of hiding it.

on the other hand, i felt very uncomfortable upon hearing your majesty being used to address me. but then again, now that i am to be head of state, then perhaps it’s only appropriate.

“i-i am,” and i curse myself for how shaky my voice was, because george gives me a look of assurance and comfort before bowing his head as eret returned. she places the purple robe on my shoulders, securing it by tying the ribbons at the front. it effectively obscured my wedding dress in full, signifying that the coronation has begun.

“will you swear, as head of state, to maintain and preserve the existing harmony between the kingdom of the greater dream smp, the manburg empire, and the independent organization of pogtopia?”

“i will.”

“and will you, to the strongest of your abilities, fight to keep the citizens of these three states, safe, and should the time of war come, assist only the states that hold peace in their best interests?”

the room was silent, the air thick with tension rising from the citizens of each state. i could feel so many of its leading members just itching to tear into each other and claim power over the other. but in the midst of it all, i can feel the fear of the children and the veterans that barely made it out alive at the notion of another war brewing. i can only hope that the role i am about to take on will bring them comfort that no war is to commence as long as i fight hard for it. and so despite the overwhelming yearning for violence within the ranks of the three states i am meant to overlook, i take on the oath.

“i will.”

“then i, by the mutual agreement of several leaders and by the grace of gods, king george of the greater dream smp and its territories...” george unsheathes the ceremonial sword from the gilded scabbard on his side and taps my left shoulder with it.. and the right.

“...declare that you, and the heirs of your body,” and with a hurry so as to not acknowledge what he just said about ‘heirs’, he sheaths back his sword and uncovers the crown that technoblade gave me. the crowd gapes at the ethereal glow of it, having never seen such a relic of the other world. but they didn’t need to know that it was from the nether that technoblade used to rule.

“shall henceforth be addressed as her majesty, y/n, queen of armistitium and of her other regions and territories, head of the three states, defender of the peace.”

george then places the crown on my head, the jewel perfectly centered as my veil was earlier. the crown seems to secure itself without any assistance, once again weightless on my head. but that did nothing to offset the amount of weight i felt on my chest as i am told to stand up. and george, my brother, the king i’ve been second to my entire life, bows to me.

i watch the people of the greater dream smp bow their heads, and the citizens of manburg follow suit. however, unlike everyone else, the members of pogtopia salute proudly, including technoblade. the rest of the people who were standing up, mainly dream, eret, and the staff surrounding us, kneels.

a shaky breath leaves me, and i clutch the sword to my body, determined to take up less space. since everyone was either bowed or kneeling, it is in technoblade’s general direction that i found respite in. for a short moment, all the juvenile jitters were gone from earlier. in its place, was the uncertainty we shared for what was to happen in the next few months we will be spending together while i am his queen, and he is my king.