the hunt (dreamnotfound)

Chapter 5

The ride to the palace was uneventful. They arrived in record time, only needing to stop once when Bad nearly fell off the horse after falling asleep. They decided to take a small 30-minute break at that point so Bad and George could both sleep for a little, and the other two ate while they slept. Other than that, though, there was nothing. Once they arrived at the palace, they dismounted the horses. George immediately latched himself onto Dream as they approached the gates. The guards stopped them, saying, "halt! Who goes there?"

Dream answered, saying, "My name is Sir Dream Anderson. This is my boyfriend, George Davidson," Dream motioned to George, who gave a slight bow, "and these two are Sir Skeppy Diamond and mage Badboyhalo Diamond." they both shared a slight bow. Dream continued, "We received a summons to the palace yesterday. Unfortunately, we had a small delay, so we sent the captain Sir Quackity ahead of us to explain the situation. We've come to see the king."

The guards nodded, opening the door as they said, "his majesty awaits you in the throne room straight down the hall through the biggest door. Can't miss it."

Dream nodded at the guards, thanking them. As the group made their way down the hallway, George could not take his eyes off the walls around him. The walls had swirling patterns of gold integrated into marble. Complete with large lavish paintings. George was so caught up with the decoration that he nearly ran into Dream when he stopped at a giant set of golden doors. He knocked on them three times before they opened, revealing a large room with a throne at the front above a small stair set. On the throne sat a figure with short brown hair sat on the throne, two goat horns curled down over his ears. He wore a crown on top of his head balanced precariously as his fingers tapped impatiently on the armrest. In the center of the room stood a mage with fluffy brown hair and a dark brown beanie on his head with large round glasses. He was glaring at the ground. When the figure on the throne spotted the group of four, a broad smile spread across his face as he said, "Ahh, gentlemen! You've arrived at last!"

Dream said, "our apologies, your majesty. We had a small issue that needed to be dealt with before coming here."

"oh? and what was more important than answering a summons from your king?" The king sneered down at them, anger apparent on his face.

Dream answered, keeping his head low, "unfortunately, my partner had a broken rib that needed healing, and the magic used to heal him caused both him and the mage Badboyhalo to faint. They were unable to be woken again until the morning."

"I assume you are the mage Badboyhalo?" The king said, gesturing toward Bad, the only other mage in the room.

Bad nodded, bowing to the king, "yes, sir, but please call me Bad."

The King sighed, saying, "you must be exhausted."

"I will manage, sir," Bad said, straightening up slightly.

The King hummed in agreement, saying, "Enough about that. Allow me to introduce Wilbur,"

The older mage with the glasses looked up at his name briefly before returning his gaze to the ground as Dream said, "We've met many times before. We live right across from each other and have become friends. At least I consider him a friend." Wilbur glanced at Dream, subtly nodding his head in agreement with Dream's words.

The king, though, ignored his comment, saying, "Yes, yes. He will be joining you on your journey. Now I have called you all down for a reason. I need you to hunt down an extremely dangerous criminal for me." He paused before saying, "He goes by many names, but the one that is most well-known is Technoblade."

"Technoblade? But sir, didn't he swear off violence years ago, and hasn't he been peaceful ever since?" Bad said, stepping forward.

"That he may have," the king said, nodding slowly, "but he still must pay for his crimes against this great nation."

"But sir-"

"SILENCE!" The king roared, causing Bad to jump back to Skeppy, who gripped onto him the moment he was close enough. Bad whispered something to him, rubbing small circles into his hand in an attempt to calm him, but he didn't relax. George grabbed Dream's arm tighter, shrinking behind him. The king continued to yell, "I am the king! you will do as I say!" he took several deep breaths to calm himself. Before saying calmer this time, "now Technoblade has been spotted several times near the SMP Kingdom border. I want you to go there and bring him to me alive, understood?"

"What if I refuse?" Dream said, stepping forward to stand in front of the group. "If what Bad says is true, then Technoblade has reformed himself already and doesn't deserve to be punished."

The King grew a wicked smile on his face before snapping his fingers. Causing guards to flood into the room, two guards grabbed George prying him away from Dream, who desperately tried to keep them away, but several other guards quickly restrained him. They disarmed him before leveling their weapons at his throat, preventing him from moving. They dragged George to the front of the room, making him kneel beside the throne. The king stood leveling his sword at George's throat, saying, "then your little lover boy dies."

"Get away from him!" Dream yelled, struggling against the guards but unable to do anything.

"Oh, are you giving me orders now? Tsk tsk, Dreamy, you know I don't tolerate such blatant disrespect." He nodded, and one of the guards drove their first into Dream's stomach, causing him to fall to the ground as the guard holding him released him, George attempted to go to him, but the guard holding him kept him back. as the king examined him curiously before pressing his sword into his neck, stopping all movement from George as he said, "What's your rank, lover boy?" George looked up at him in confusion, his mind unable to understand what the king wanted. The king huffed in annoyance before saying, "Your rank lover boy, what is it? Are you a knight or a mage?!"

"N-neither, I'm a normie, sir," George said nervously.

King Schlatt raised an eyebrow in surprise, saying, "A normie? In L'manburg? How did I not know about you before?" George opened his mouth to say something, but The king cut him off, saying, "Normies are rare enough nowadays, let alone in my kingdom. I thought for sure they had been wiped out centuries ago. Obviously not, though," George swallowed nervously as the king narrowed his eyes at him. Silence rang through the room, the tension thick in the air as the entire room waited for the king's next move. He paused for a few minutes before a wide smile spread across his face as he removed the sword from George's neck, saying, "Well, that swell, isn't it? maybe you can help with repopulation even!" Then a thought crossed his mind, and his face fell with disappointment as he said, "Wait, wait. no, you can't help with that. You're obviously in love already." He rolled his eyes, saying, "Oh well, can't do much about that now. Though I'm sure you'll make a lovely prisoner." George gave him a fearful look as the king whispered the last part.

Skeppy took a step forward at the look on George's face with the intent to get him away from the king but was quickly stopped by a sword at his throat as the king said, "as for you two, you've been rebellious from the beginning," he nodded. Two guards took Bad up to kneel beside George, now crying silently. "ENOUGH!" the king yelled, causing Bad and George to jump in fear as the king continued, "now, the two of you." He pointed to Dream and Skeppy, who were now glaring at the king. Then to Wilbur, who only glared up at him in response, seeming to have gone through this before, "will head out along with Wilbur, and you will bring Technoblade back to this castle alive or so help me, I'll kill your loved ones and make you watch am I understood?"

Dream spoke through gritted teeth, "yes, sir." Before grabbing his sword and sheathing it, Skeppy sheathed his sword as well.

The King gave them a smug grin saying, "good, then get going."

"what about them?" Dream said, gesturing toward George and Bad, who the guards at the front still held.

The King glanced back at them, saying, "They'll be staying with me in the dungeons while you're away. Just as a precaution. I don't want you trying any funny business. Don't worry; they won't be hurt, though, as long as you're obedient." He waved his hand. The guards, holding Bad and George, forced them to their feet out of the room. The king smirked, saying, "I expect you back by the end of the month. Am I clear?" Dream, Skeppy, and Wilbur all nodded before they turned on their heels and left the room.