The Mushroom Prince // DNF

5/Sweet Dreams

As soon as dinner was over, George pushed his chair back from the table. The loud scraping of the wood against the stone floor filled the silent room, his father's eyes flashing with annoyance and anger as he watched George quickly exit the room.

The hallway outside of the dining hall was empty, with all of the knights eating dinner in their own living quarters. George took the opportunity to escape to his room, finally alone for at least a moment.

As soon as he shut his bedroom door, he leaned back against the rough oak wood, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh of relief. He remained there, letting the comforting silence envelop him.

The feeling was short lived though, as a knock sounded on his door, causing him to snap his eyes open and run a hand over his face in frustration. He exhaled loudly before pulling away from the door, opening it just slightly to see who was there.

He felt himself warm slightly as Lilyana smiled up at him, the familiar face sending waves of happiness crashing over him. He pulled the door open and she slid inside, pushing it closed behind her.

George followed her across the room, both of them dropping down on the edge of his bed as Lilyana asked, "are you okay, George?"

George flashed her a small smile of appreciation before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "I'm fine. It's just...he makes me so..."

His voice faltered as he tried to find the right words for the frustration and anger he felt whenever he was forced to interact with their father. It seemed like his father never had a kind word to say, and at this point, George's feelings towards the man were bordering on hatred.

He sighed rather than voice his true feelings, shaking his head slightly and dropping his eyes down.

Lilyana reached a hand out and gently placed it on George's shoulder as she said, "I know, George. He can be difficult, but I know that deep down he truly does care about us."

George's eyes flickered up to search his sister's face. He noticed that she had hesitated on the last part of the sentence, "he truly does care about us", the words laced with doubt. Sadness washed over him as he looked over at her, knowing that she never truly had a parent who loved her in the way a child should be loved. He had at least grown up with their mother, who had loved him without a shadow of a doubt.

He tried to think of a way to comfort Lilyana, but his thoughts were interrupted by another knock against his door. He smiled softly at his sister before pushing up from the bed and making his way over to the door, pulling it open just enough to see out in the hallway.

Clay stood on the other side of the door, and he flashed George a smile through the small opening.

"Can I come in?" Clay asked as he placed a hand against the door, waiting for George's response.

George shook his head and stepped outside of his room and into the hallway, Clay furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Lilyana is in there right now. What do you need, Clay?"

Clay nodded his head in understanding then dropped his gaze down to the floor as he said, "I just wanted to apologize. You seemed upset before, and I hope I didn't overstep."

George felt his face soften, a small smile forming as he responded, "it's okay, you didn't overstep. I should be thanking you, actually. I probably would have said something stupid to my father if you hadn't interrupted."

Clay's eyes flickered back up to meet George's gaze and he flashed him a grin as he asked, "so, does that mean we're on for tomorrow then? We can go back out to that clearing and start our lessons."