the hunt (dreamnotfound)

Chapter 15

Dream paced around his room, thinking and muttering to himself. It had been three days since Karl first appeared, and they had been making steady progress in the plan to rescue George. Dream's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and Phil calling a meeting, which meant that Karl had come back. Dream rushed down the stairs taking them two at a time and hopping down the last few stairs to hear the news that Karl had brought. Karl sat in his usual spot in the center of the living room floor, the blindfold firmly in place. Despite trusting the young knight, no one wanted to risk the King gaining any information on their whereabouts, so he remained blindfolded, though he seemed antsy today. Dream took his seat in a kitchen chair closest to Karl, eager to get the information as Phil said, "Ok, Karl, everyone's here. What's new?"

Karl fidgeted in his seat, twisting his fingers together nervously before taking a deep breath steadying his nerves before muttering something so quietly that no one could hear, so Phil asked him to repeat what he had said. He took a deep breath, still nervous as he said, "The king has found a suitable female for George-"

immediately the room erupted into sounds of anger. Karl shrunk into himself before Dream yelled loudly, "SHUT UP!" causing the room to fall into silence as Dream said, "We can deal with this news once Karl has finished giving us the rest of his news," he paused briefly before saying "Karl," causing the said knight to flinch as Dream said, "continue."

Karl took another deep breath before saying, "Well, the King has found a suitable female for George. The female is in another kingdom and refuses to come to L'manburg. so King Schlatt has made arrangements for George to go over there," Karl took a deep breath raising his head from its previously lowered state as though trying to make eye contact with one of them as he said, "they leave in three days."

Dream said, "Is that all?" Karl nodded, and Dream continued, "Well then, it seems as though we'll have to readjust our plan."

George sat on his bed with his knees pulled up to his chest, quietly crying as Quackity sat next to him, rubbing calming circles into his back. Karl had just left to inform Dream of the King's decision, and George quickly lost hope that he was ever going to get out. George said, "Quackity?" Quackity hummed in response as George said, "What do you think will happen to me after the King's done with me? Do you think he'll kill me?"

Quackity gave George a sympathetic look before saying, "Honestly, George, I don't know. More than likely, he won't kill you. After all, he seems pretty set on repopulation. He'll probably breed you with other normies."

George burst into tears once more as Quackity frantically tried to calm him down. Though it seemed as though nothing could calm him this time as he wailed, then suddenly, as though a switch was turned in his brain, the tears stopped, replaced by rage as he pushed Quackity away, saying, "He can't do that! He can't breed me like some prized bull! I'm a normie, not an animal!" after saying that the fight drained out of him. He collapsed into a tight ball, whimpering out, "I just want to go home." before burying his head between his knees. 

Quackity was taken aback by the sudden mood swings and struggled to come up with a way to calm George. Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing Sapnap, who took in the scene with some confusion but quickly shook it off, saying, "Quackity, the King wants to speak with you."

"Tell him I'll be right there," Quackity said as Sapnap nodded quickly, leaving the room. Quackity stood, turning to George as he said, "Will you be alright on your own for a moment?"

George raised his head, looking at Quackity with puffy eyes as he forced a smile, saying, "I'll be fine, don't worry about me, Quackity."

Quackity knew George forced a smile but let it slide, saying, "Alright, I'll be back as soon as possible."

"No," George said, untangling himself from the tight ball. "Take your time, big Q. You need to rest anyway. I'll be fine till you get back,"

"Are you sure, George?" Quackity said, giving him a tired but concerned look.

"Yes, not like I'm going anywhere anyway," George said, raising the arm with the chain on it, causing the chain to rattle.

Quackity nodded before leaving the room.

George, now left alone with his thoughts, crawled under the covers on his bed, curling up tightly as he thought about what would've happened had they never accepted the invitation to the castle. He and Dream could be cuddling on the couch with no worries other than what to eat for dinner. Dream would want apple pie afterward just as he always did, and George would laugh and make him a small apple pie just for him since George wasn't a big fan of the dish. Then they'd curl up together in bed and whisper sweet things to one another until one of them fell asleep. George smiled at the thought. He quickly fell asleep, thoughts of Dream being the last coherent thought he had.