Good Things Never Last

Chapter 23

I stood up and I quickly made my way over to the door and twisted the handle so I could pull it open.

Standing before me was a tall, well-built, blond boy. His tufts of blond hair sat messily on his head as if they had been brushed but just with not much care. He was wearing a dark green suit, so dark it was almost black. It suited him quite well, even though I couldn't see his face from behind that mask of his. He seemed to have cleaned up all the dirt and blood for the special occasion. How nice.

I mentally rolled my eyes at my own thought before I looked back up at him, expecting him to say something. Anything. But nothing came for a while. His mask just seemed to keep staring at me and I could feel his gaze from beneath it as his eyes darted across every part of my body, examining what I was wearing. He just continued to stand there for a while in complete silence, seemingly zoned out.

"Are we going or what?"
My words seemed to snap him out of the trance he was in as he straightened up a bit before he turned and walked back down the corridor without saying a word to me as I trailed along behind him.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I was met with the sight of a pair of very well dressed boys. They were both in dress robes with cheesy grins on their faces, looking quite proud of themselves. I sent both George and Sapnap a smile while I continued to follow Dream across the room and towards the door, barely realising the two boys had followed.

We walked in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence and it certainly wasn't a pleasant one either. Well, it wasn't for me anyway. We were all walking along a wooden path for quite some time, but I was quite content with being able to feel the breeze against my skin once again. Dream then suddenly cut to the left, almost making me walk into his side as he headed down a path I had never seen before.

Looking around at my new surroundings, I found myself making my way further into the grounds of a castle.

The castle stood tall and proud in the midst of the woodland that encircled it. The moon reflected in the icy grey walls. It was the largest structure I'd ever seen. Several brick turrets erupted into the night sky. The flags strung from the sides of the magnificent walls swayed gently in the breeze. Lights seemed to beam out of every window, making the place look very homely and welcoming. The gardens that we walked through were full of greenery and life. Roses sat wherever I looked and birds sleepily chirped from the nearby trees.

I looked up at Dream as he reached the tall wooden doors that allowed access to the castle, and he pushed them open and stepped inside without hesitation. I stood completely still for a moment, calming my surprisingly heavy breathing and smiling at the boys behind me before stepping inside. The first thing I saw was the hallways with a red carpet down the centre of the wooden floor. Each wall was stone, matching the roof, which made the low buzzing of talking from a nearby room so much more difficult to find.

If I had been alone, I would have spent years trying to locate the big hall where the event was being held, but Dream appeared to know what he was doing. I followed him through many corridors as the voices quickly got louder, and before I knew it, I was walking through a set of doors that led into a grand ballroom filled with roughly two hundred people. Each and every one of them were all very well dressed for the occasion.

When me and the three other boys entered the room, the chatter settled down as everyone seemed to become aware of our presence when they turned to look at us. They seemed to be staring at Dream in particular. I couldn't say that I blamed them. Dream had such a wicked aura about him, and information spread quickly, so everyone knew exactly what had happened in L'Manburg. No one wanted to get on his bad side. They were all too scared to even maintain eye contact with the drawn-on eyes of his mask. He seemed unfazed by it all however, walking through the crowd towards a tall, blond man who was wearing a suit like everyone else, but for some reason he had gold chains hung around his neck, which made him stand out from the rest.

I considered following Dream for a second as I turned around to see Sapnap and George talking to a boy with bright red eyes and devil horns on his head I had never seen before. But when I turned back to where Dream had been standing, I saw nothing but an empty space in the crowd.

Sighing, I walked over to the back wall of the room in an attempt to get away from the crowd. I grabbed a drink before slumping against the wall, letting out a long sigh. I sat there for a while, just sipping at the wine in my hand and looking around to see if I could spot a familiar face anywhere. But that failed rather miserably.

Before I knew it, the doors at the front of the room swung open and the new King was announced, but it all passed by in a haze as the alcohol made its way into my system. After that, music started to play and the ballroom began to be used for what it was actually meant for. I wasn't really one to dance, so I stayed in my spot, hidden away in the shadows as I watched from the sidelines. Well, that's what I was planning on doing before I heard the sound of footsteps coming towards my lonely corner. I didn't bother to look to see who it was; instead, I stared blankly at the ground.

"Would you like to dance?"

My head snapped upwards and my eyes met a bright blue pair.