The King's Obligation

Then Lets Make a Deal

Morning comes, George stands outside of the inn, leaning against the building. He rubs his back, he got little to no sleep. George might just submit to Quackity's demands if it means that nobody ever has to sleep on such horrendous mattresses again. He looks around. The city is just beginning to wake up. Birds chip in the air, acting as alarm clocks. The sun rises, the orange and pink hues from sunrise melting in the crisp blueness of the day. "Morning, your highness."

George turns his head to the side. There stands his knight in shining armour. He smiles. "Good morning."

"How'd you sleep?" Dream asks.

George goes back to rubbing his stiff lower back. He groans. "Terribly."

"Yeah, so did I." Dream sighs.

The two men look out at the city in silence, taking in the sights of El Rapids. It's peaceful and offers a nice distraction from the pressure the king is under. However, he knows he can't ignore it. "You wanna walk around town and discuss stuff?" George asks.

Dream looks down at the king. "Sure, if it'll help you think better."

George moves away from the wall, Dream coming up to his side. The two take to the broken cobblestone streets. They pass many buildings, roofs made of straw and walls made of spare wood, it's rather sad to see. George frowns, biting his lip. "You ever been to El Rapids before?" Dream asks.

"Yeah, once when I was a kid but I seriously don't remember it being in this bad a shape."

People pass by, children at their sides, others sweeping their front steps. The two get passing glances and whispers, many scowl and scoff at the sight of the king. George begins to feel a tad bit uneasy, he grips his cape tighter to himself. Dream tilts his head in response, concerned. "Cold, Sire?"

George shakes his head, locking his eyes to the ground. The stares are unbearable, they pierce him, looking straight through him, ready to devour him, but he can't lose composure. "No, I'm not cold just a little..."

He diverts his eyes from the ground to look at the people passing by. He locks eyes with an older woman for a minute. She scowls, looking at George like he was the scum of the Earth. George swallows hard. "Off put..."

"Did you wanna go back to the inn?" Dream asks.

George nods his head slightly. The two men turn around, walking back the way they came. Only within a couple of minutes of making their way back to the inn, a voice interrupts them. "Oi! You're the new king aight ya?"

Both Dream and George turn around to see who's speaking. The men are met with a young man. He's fairly tall. His hair is blonde and matted. He wears a weather-worn red tunic with equally torn up brown pants. The kid looks like a rat. Both men recognize this boy right away, Dream scowls. "Hey, you're that brat, Tommy!"

The boy smiles devilishly at being recognized. He dusts his shoulders off a bit as he speaks. "Well, indeed I am. Am I a celebrity now or something?"

Dream grinds his teeth, taking a heavy step forward. "No, you're just a thief, a gold looting, apple stealing thief!"

Dream's words don't seem to have the effect he wants on the boy, in fact, they do quite the opposite. Tommy seems to get a kick out of Dream's insults. "Oh, is that my legacy?"

Dream sputters, irked at the smart-ass' remarks. "Yes, it's your legacy! It's all you're known for around L'manburg!"

Tommy grins. "So, that does make me famous?"

Dream throws his head back angrily, if he wasn't in someone else's country, he'd beat the boy to a palp. "Dream." George tries to calm the man but his words don't hit him.