A Kingdom of Untold Truths || Dreamnotfound

3

Clay's POV

Clay backed off the man—Prince George— immediately and knelt down on one knee. He returned his dagger to his boot.

He lowered his head and muttered, "My apologies Prince. I didn't know it was you."

The Prince chuckled, "Holding a member of royalty at knifepoint is punishable by death."

"I'm deeply sorry. Forgive me, I did not know you were the Prince."

"I see, Your cat's tail happened to get in the way of my boot. It seems as though it was a mistake on my part," he replied sarcastically.

Clay felt his anger rise. Is this what he would have to deal with? He glared at the floor, his head still lowered.

"My apologies again, Prince. She will not be in your way again," Clay gritted out. Patches will most definitely stay away from the Prince now.

"Hm." Clay heard the Prince walk closer.

He felt fingers grab his chin roughly and pulled his face upwards.

Clay looked at the Prince. He could see the arrogance and mischief in his brown eyes. The Prince was in a dark blue embroidered shirt with black pants and knee high leather boots. A gold crown sat atop Prince George's brown hair.

Clay studied the Prince's observation of himself. He saw a flicker of interest appear in Prince George's eyes as he studied Clay's face. Clay noticed the Prince's gaze fell across his scar.

"Who are you?" The Prince asked, still clutching Clay's chin. He didn't dare move.

"Dream."

"Mhm. And what's your real name?" he asked, arrogance gleaming in his narrowed eyes.

Clay hesitated. The Prince saw this and raised an eyebrow.

"Clay—my name is Clay." Clay frowned.

The Prince's eyes darted to his lips briefly. Clay saw this and said nothing. He was still on one knee before Prince George.

"And where do you serve Clay?"

Clay grimaced. "I am going to be your personal guard." He paused before muttering, "I'd prefer if you'd call me Dream."

The Prince let go off his chin, "You may rise."

Clay stood up. He stood a few inches taller than the Prince. The Prince scoffed at the height difference. He looked at Patches, who was sitting behind Clay's leg.

Clay followed Prince George's gaze. "Her name is Patches."

"I don't care."

Clay stiffened. He did not appreciate the way the Prince said that, but he said nothing.

"Why are you going to be my guard? What makes you qualified?" Prince George asked.

"I served half a year as a soldier and a year and a half as a commander. During that time I received training in undercover work, seduction, parkour, and assassin training," Clay said coldly.

The Prince's eyebrows flicked up and his head tilted at the long list.

"When do you start?" Prince George asked curiously.

"Tomorrow I assume," Clay replied, voice still unwavering.

"Interesting. I'll see you then, Clay."

Clay bristled at his name and the Prince smirked. Prince George turned around and strolled off down the hallway.

Clay glared at his back and reached to pick up Patches. He pet her soothingly and kissed her head. She meowed softly and Clay carried her to his room. He placed her on his bed and she fell asleep within moments. He left quietly and went to find a familiar face.

Clay found Bad in the archery arena. He watched Bad rapidly fire three shots onto three separate targets. He missed the last bullseye by two inches.

"Pull your elbow a little more to the left," Clay called out.

Bad did as he said and fired. He hit the bullseye and whooped.

"Thank you!" Bad exclaimed and turned around to see who helped him.

He saw Clay and smiled wide. Bad walked to Clay and they exchanged a hug.

"Dream! It's been forever since I've seen you! Where have you been?" Bad asked.

"I took a break for a little while. You know, I needed to clear my head."

Bad nodded in understanding. "I miss him too."

Clay didn't reply to the statement, instead he asked, "How are things going with Skeppy?"

Bad grinned, "Great, it was our three year anniversary two weeks ago!"

"Three years?! Already! Damn. I'm glad you two are doing good!" Clay said, happy for his friend.

"It's great, Dream. People are more supportive than what we originally thought."

Clay nodded. Bad and Skeppy were secretly in a relationship before coming out. He had left before they did. He was glad they could see each other.

"Are you reassigned to commander?" Bad asked.

"No, I'm Prince George's personal guard."

"Oh. Wow. Congrats I guess. That'll pay well. Do you think you'll like it?" Bad replied, surprised.

"No. I met him earlier. He's too immature for a prince."

"Oh well. You'll have to teach him then."

"I don't think I will, but we'll see. I'll be spending my next three years with him— Speaking of... you only have one year left of service in the Royal Guard," Clay said, trying to switch the topic.

"Yeah! But I think I'm gonna continue in the guard for a couple more years. Skeppy and I are saving up to move to the countryside and get our own place."

"That's awesome Bad!" Clay exclaimed, to which Bad smiled.

"Hey, Bad! We need you over here!" A deep voice called from behind Clay.

"Sorry Dream. I gotta go. That's my commander. I'll talk to you later!" Bad said.

Clay nodded and watched Bad join his training group. He sighed and started walking back to his room. He thought about Patches. Clay couldn't believe Prince George just stepped on her tail. He scoffed angrily and arrived at his room.

Clay took off his armor and went into bed next to Patches. He wanted to get a good night's rest before tomorrow... before having to deal with the Prince. Clay fell asleep quickly in the large, soft bed.