unravel | dream x reader |

[42]

The next day went by rather slowly, once again delivered by Schlatt's demand and wants. Nothing too unordinary.

This day in particular, she was ordered to send out last-minute invitations to anyone and everyone, those who Schlatt believed would bring the most attention to the upcoming occasion. People with power, in other words. Or people who are an apparent threat or bother. Both work. Her, alongside the entirety of the cabinet, were handed a short stack of invitations, most of which were resends to those who hadn't yet accepted or confirmed their arrival. Typical, right? Attending a festival to unite the nation against your own will. Unexpected, but unsurprising, coming from a president like Schlatt.

It was only a small minority who'd denied the invitations, one of which being Dream, 'shockingly' enough. She hadn't heard too much about it, but from what she did know, the guy didn't want to involve himself with the nation itself. She figured it must've had something to do with the small alliance he'd formed with Pogtopia, or maybe just how he no longer agreed with Schlatt's rulership, overall. Either way, she doubted he'd end up attending, even if she convinced him herself. Unfortunately for her, she'd never get to try, as she wasn't given his invitation to hand out in the first place.

Her list only narrowed down to a small minority, including Niki, the last person on her list who had yet to accept. It wasn't exactly a secret that the girl wasn't fond of Schlatt at all. She'd made that quite clear plenty of times during the guy's announcements, where she'd be booing from the first row. Y/N actually kind of admired her for it, not many people had the guts to stand up to a president with as much power as Schlatt, let alone voice their opinions. Schlatt had the whole nation in his vice of fear, but not her. But she had to say, she was also somewhat frightful that acting this recklessly could eventually bite back, especially if she wasn't too careful. Y/N didn't want to have to be the one who'd be having to 'bite back' - by Schlatt's command, of course.

She found herself nearing the small, underground burrow towards the shore of Manburg, a small, cutesy sign reading 'Bakery' sitting just above it's small door. From what Schlatt had told her, this was where the so-called 'crazy bitch' lived. Y/N couldn't lie, she was pretty shocked to hear such names directed to the sweet girl; from what she remembered, the girl seemed to be anything but an apparent problem, a little rebellious at best.

Her eyes briefly flickered down to the envelope in her palm, thumb grazing the crimson seal with a gentle swipe. But what does she know? She was already far too familiar with the idea that people aren't always what they seem.

Raising her free hand, the H/C haired girl twisted the handle belonging to the cosy burrow, the small chime of a bell sounding once she did so. She was quick to take in her surroundings, which consisted of a wooden till, a showcase of many baked goods and a variety of plants and flowers hanging in small baskets from the ceiling. All in all, the bakery was beautiful. The tiny fairy lights hanging around here and there honestly reminded her a little of Pogtopia, with how the lanterns littered the ravine in a similar way.

Hm...

"Just a second!"

Before her thoughts could continue, she heard a soft voice followed by light footsteps approaching from somewhere behind the till, alerting her that Niki was in fact home. The short girl rounded the corner, a few boxes of freshly wrapped desserts occupying her hands as she carried it into the main room. Her eyes were focused solely on where she was heading, in order to not clumsily knock anything over on her way to the front till. It was a sight Y/N couldn't help but smile at, her own hands coming out to help before anything could tumble of the stack. Niki seemed to sigh in relief at the assistance, before finally lowering the boxes and moving them aside.