Dagger | DNF

Chapter 5 : The Fall

a/n: strap in bc this is a very long chapter, we've finally hit a plot point oh my god 

trigger warnings are not too bad but i still want to put warnings just in case.

‼️TWs‼️
- slight homophobia (placing heteronormative stereotypes onto gay people, mild)
- nonconsensual sexualization (very mild)
- physical fighting (slightly intense)
- usage of a knife (very mild)

pls be safe and know your limits <3

Once the morning came, Dream had found himself in a better mood. Despite his difficulty sleeping, he felt well-rested after such an emotional night.

Although the moment itself wasn't very emotionally tolling, the few hours that followed suit surely was.

Dream wasn't much of a crier. Sure, he had shed a tear or two at his parents funeral, but he never cried much; not how he had cried last night.

Dream felt such regret, such shame for what he had done. His parents would be so disappointed to learn how he had almost kissed a man— one almost equally masculine at that.

Back home in his small town on the outskirts of Leinhouffen, there had been a few people like Dream; people who felt an attraction to others of the same sex. Of the few 'queer' couples– as their elders had called them– all of them included one who acted as if he was a lady. Dream of course respected this, but he had found it normal for a masculine man as himself to fall in love with a man who was more on his feminine side. It would have been out of the ordinary for Dream to fall in love with someone like the knight with such toned features all over him.

But George— he was just as masculine as Dream. Maybe in certain circumstances, George allowed others to take charge, but most of the time he would be the one at the reins. He was in similar physical shape as the former general as well, disregarding their difference in height. He was a fairly muscular knight, fit to fight off any threat that should come at the Queen.

Yet, despite George's lean yet muscular frame and his usual, natural 'take-charge' charisma, Dream always found himself gravitating towards him.

And yet, he may have possibly ruined all that they had.

But he had more pressing matters to attend to; such as currently entertaining the two younger royals while the king and queen discuss important business with the king of Leinhouffen.

Dream expected to learn diplomacy on his trip— not how to properly court a princess with tea and small talk. It must have been the most awkward moment of his life, having to sit across the table from a young woman he barely knew and her intimidating older brother next to her; all while George, the man who quite recently rejected him, quietly stood behind him while waiting for the Queen to finish the meeting.

All Dream knew about the two people in front of him was that their names were Delilah and Vernon, their older brother was the king and wanted Delilah to be married off soon. Wether or not she would be married off to the new Leiffeson prince depended on how the royals' meeting went.

And Dream hoped it went horribly wrong.

There was nothing wrong with Princess Delilah. Frankly, Delilah was the sweetest girl Dream had ever met. Every sentence that left her lips began and ended with a gentle smile, she thoughtfully listened when Dream replied to her questions about his knighthood, and she seemed like a genuine and kind person. In all honesty, he wouldn't mind it if he was forced to marry someone as kind as her.