Ascendance // a DreamNotFound fanfiction WITH AN UNSATISFYING ENDING

Chapter 12: Merciful Traitor

[4423 words]

**Content warning: discussions of death and murder**

~ Dream, Heir Guard of the Florean Kingdom ~

Before dawn, I visited the prince's bedroom. Easing open the heavy spruce door, I peeked into the stuffy darkness. An unmoving lump rested beneath a mound of thick woolen blankets. Slow, soft breaths indicated George slept peacefully. Closing the door again, I returned to the dungeon.

Except for a pair of iron boots upon my feet, I left all of my armor behind. Preparing for my first three-day break from shift, I placed a water canteen and a small dagger into my leather satchel, then slipped out a side exit into the crisp morning air. From the darkness, rustling leaves and birdsong broke the silence. Approaching the castle gates, I prepared for a morning of travel before a voice distracted my attention.

"Dream! Heir Guard!"

Surprised to hear another person awake so early, I flinched, then stared over one shoulder.

Through the same doors from which I emerged, a familiar figure hurried toward me. The castle's Staff Guard Quackity raced across the flat cobblestone path; I paused, allowing him to catch up with me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked hesitantly, hoping that he would not try to convince me to postpone my break. I was already antsy to see my family again after a month of no communication, but apparently Quackity held the opposite motive.

"I heard you were leaving for your three-day break." Catching his breath, he asked, "Can I join you?"

Despite my surprise, I agreed immediately. "Of course!" Did Quackity possess the same break schedule as me?

Answering my question, the Staff Guard gestured toward the closed iron gates, indicating for us to walk together. "I've been here for a long time, so they won't wonder where I've gone. Sometimes I accompany staff outside the castle for a few days at a time so employees can travel safely. I know you can take care of yourself, but I have a different plan for you."

"You're coming all the way to Orlan with me?"

"I have family there, too," Quackity shrugged.

As we advanced, stoic Gate Guards looked at both of us, nodded, then parted one of the gates aside so we could slip through. A metallic clatter rippled through the air as iron bars closed behind us. Leaving the castle's territory, Quackity and I ventured into the sleeping kingdom together. Navigating through the lamp-lit streets of Mingham and Hassee, we travelled in the direction of Orlan.

Once cobblestone streets became dirt roads and city squares became agricultural fields, Quackity whispered, "I lied. I'm not travelling to visit my family, but I didn't want the Gate Guards to overhear the real reason I'm going with you."

"What's the real reason?"

Despite our isolation beneath skies that were barely growing pink with dawn, Quackity still observed our surroundings warily. Returning his serious gaze to me, he urged, "Dream, what I tell you now stays between you and me. You don't tell anyone else from the castle. I'm telling you because I know your motives. You don't really want to work for the royal family forever, do you?"

Blinking with confusion, I considered his question. I enjoyed my job as the Heir Guard and I valued my unexpected friendship with the prince, but my family and community were more important. I answered, "No, I won't stay at the castle forever. I'll work there only until the barley fields grow back in another three months."

"Three months is a long time," Quackity warned. "The locust swarm happened only one month ago, but thousands of people are already starving across the kingdom. You visited Orlan last week; the poor souls who you saw were only a small portion of the people who need urgent help."