The King's Dream

Chapter 2: This Side of Paradise

George raised an eyebrow slightly, "What kind of name is that?"

"Mine."

The room seemed to close in around them. The longer they stared, the louder the silence got. Eventually, the young prince rolled his eyes; it was unambiguous the two felt the same way about one another.

"Anyway, you're not needed right now. I'm perfectly safe here in my bedroom. You can go." George ordered, breaking the silence.

Dream glanced around at the skyscraping walls and king-size canopy bed before leaving, heaving the giant doors shut behind him. What an arrogant son of a bitch.

Footsteps echoing on the smooth stone floor, he walked swiftly down towards the guards' quarters. Even after other jobs protecting other people, this was the first night in a while he wouldn't be returning home to his mother. 

The castle was so cold and unfamiliar. It was full of people, yet it seemed so lifeless. Still, anything was better than back in the village. As the war went on, the darkness seemed to slowly be seeping into the soil of his hometown. It was nice to be able to go to bed with a full belly every night and not fear whether your family would be able to find any food the next morning.

Inside the guard living quarters, Dream searched for where the other knights had put his belongings.

An older knight turned to look at him. "Oh, are you His Highness's new personal guard?"

Dream cringed at the use of the formal title, replying reluctantly with a simple "Yes, sir."

"What are you doing down here? You've got your own quarters upstairs!"

Dream's eyes widened. He had never gotten special treatment before, let alone his own room. Back home, he had shared his room with his younger siblings. He slept every day of his life in the bed that was once his older sister's.

"Alright, thank you, sir."

He turned and made his way up the long winding staircase. On the top floor, the doors to his living quarters were flanked by old suits of armour. Dream slowly opened the creaky doors to find himself standing in paradise.

While not as grand as George's, the room itself was almost bigger than the entirety of Dream's childhood home. The wooden furniture was intricately carved, and the large fireplace gave a cozy ambience to the otherwise lonely room. Tapestries covered the walls with scenes from lost cities and old legends. Sinking into the large bed with his armour still on, Dream stared up at the painted ceiling, which depicted naked figures frolicking in a meadow.

At least it won't be difficult to get comfortable.

Meanwhile, George skimmed over the poems assigned by his tutor, trying to block out thoughts of the questionable encounter, but his mind kept wandering back to the masked guard. At first, George was worried he would fall for another one of his knights, but now upon actually meeting him, it would be unlikely he would lose his heart to the morose man. What kind of a guard comes in and blatantly disrespects me like that. Jesus, what's wrong with him?  Unable to focus, George slammed the paper down on his desk.

It wasn't long until there was another knock on his door.

"Come in." Letting out an exhausted exhale, George propped himself up, straightening his posture as his father walked in.

"Father? What are you doing here?"

The King had armour covering his body and his crown was replaced with a helmet. "I have to go to battle again, today."

George looked away, trying to conceal his feelings of concern for the man he usually resented.

"As always, if I don't make it back, whatever you do, do not make a mockery of our name."