Good Things Never Last

Chapter 18

I rolled over on my side, slowly opening my eyes. I was sitting face to face with an apple that had a slight golden tinge to it. As a growling noise came from the pit of my stomach, I realised that I was starving. I hadn't eaten since I was at L'Manburg and I had no idea how long it had been.

I slowly sat up before I turned around so my legs could dangle off of the side of the bed. Reaching over, I grabbed the peculiar-looking apple while eyeing up the slice of bread that still sat beside it. I gently ran my finger over the apple's glistening skin before I sank my teeth into it. It tasted sweet. It was sweeter than any other apple I had ever eaten before.

"The apple is really good, isn't it?"
My gaze moved to the room's far corner, where I assumed the voice was coming from. And I was right. Sat backwards upon a wooden chair was none other than the masked man himself. His head sat on top of his arms that were resting on the back of the oak chair. His mask gleamed in the sunshine streaming in through the window, making it look as sinister as ever. He was wearing his normal green hoodie, but for some reason, he didn't have his hood up, revealing fluffy dirty blond locks of hair sitting upon his head.

"What? Got nothing to say? Has a cat caught your tongue or something princess?"
I could hear the grin without needing to see it behind the mask. I felt my face flush slightly at the nickname, and a feeling of embarrassment washed over me, so I retreated to my bed, making sure to stare at the ceiling so I could avoid eye contact.

"What do you want Dream?"
I tried to keep my voice as monotone as possible in an attempt to mask the anxiety I felt about the whole situation.
"Oh, so you can talk. George thought you had lost your voice or something after yesterday's little encounter with you"
"You didn't answer my question"
My tone had shifted without my knowledge into something that could be mistaken for annoyance, which seemed to amuse the man across from me.

"I've come to inform you that tomorrow night at 6 pm a coronation will be held for the new king and you are expected to attend. You will be under surveillance at all times and if you decide to do any funny business, consider everyone in L'manburg as good as dead"
He sat up in his chair after he'd finished speaking, propping his head on his hands while his elbows stayed resting on the back of the chair, waiting to see what sort of reaction he would earn.

"Wait, what do you mean king? I thought you were the ruler in these parts?"
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as I began to fidget with my fingers, all while keeping my eyes locked on the ceiling.

"I will still be in full control, but due to Eret's services for our nation, they are being crowned king of our land"
I slowly turned my head so I could lock eyes with the painted ones on his mask. I was speechless. I couldn't comprehend why someone would give a person so much authority when they could stab them in the back at any given moment.

"Eret. Out of all people, you make fucking Eret your king. You give the sneaky bitch a crown to reward him for betraying his closest friends for arseholes such as yourself. What the fuck?"
He responded with a chuckle, tilting his head slightly.
"Eret help with a lot during our conflict with L'Manburg and helped weaken the side massively, she deserves it"
I rolled my eyes as it became clear how large the masked man's ego was.

"But why the fuck do I need to go to the stupid coronation?"
"Well we're not stupid enough to leave you here unattended, so we're taking you with us and you don't have a choice. You're coming whether you like it or not. An outfit will be selected for you to wear and I will come to pick you up twenty minutes before the coronation is due to begin, understood?"

"I don't understand"
"What do you not understand? It's not that difficult to comprehend"
I gently pushed myself up to a sitting position on the bed, confusion taking over my features.
"No, not that. Why did you choose to take me out of everything we had? Why me?"
As he cracked his knuckles, the male chuckled once more.

"Well you and your little friends seem pretty adamant about the fact that you're not going to give up your fight for your independence. Your stubbornness is actually quite impressive, although it's starting to become rather annoying. We, as a nation, will not stop until you surrender and we are willing to kill you all as a last resort. However, if we have something, or in this case, someone, as leverage, a little bit of persuasion could do the trick because it's obvious how much they care about you Y/N and I'm sure they would all be devastated if someone accidentally slit your throat"

"They wouldn't care though Dream. The nation's independence means more than a single life, especially mine. We all agreed that we'd sacrifice ourselves for the nation, and I'd happily do that"
I made sure to stare straight into the painted eyes as I spoke in an attempt to appear unfazed by the power I knew he had over me.

"So theatrically speaking, if I tried to kill you now, you wouldn't struggle or anything?"
I rolled my eyes at his statement, slightly taken aback at his lack of common sense.
"No, of course I'd struggle and try to save myself, it's human instinct. But if it came down to it and it benefited my home, then yes, I'd let you slit my throat right now"
The green man paused for a moment as he went over my words in his head.

"But what if it was Tommy? What if I did it to him instead of you?"
"Then I'd make sure I'd be the last face you ever saw green boy"
"I'll keep that in mind then princess"
He then abruptly stood up and walked over to the door.
"If you behave and do as you're told, nothing bad will happen to you or them, okay? And I'm sure they care about you a lot more than you realise"

Without waiting for a response, he left, leaving me alone yet again in my room.