Emeralds For Trade // DNF Royalty AU

Chapter 7.1: Oh, Demigod, Your Beauty Transcends This World

"I'm gonna be king one day, I should be able to make decisions for myself!"

The 17-year-old ripped the mask from his face, glaring at the man who used to call himself a father. The clatter of its buckles sounded faintly at his ferocity.

The man before him rubbed his eyes, brows furrowed, and hand clenched into a fist.

"You are the farthest thing from a king where you stand now! What kind of prince would cover his face? A coward!"

"I'm not a coward! It's not hurting anybody. My face is my own, not anybody else's," Dream insisted, pressing down onto the desk with a glare.

"You are a prince of Emerald before you are a free man!" The king slammed his fist on the desk, to which Dream barely flinched. "Everything you do or say reflects on your kingdom, reflects on me!"

"That's all you care about? Your reputation?" Dream scoffed, pushing off of the desk and taking a few steps back. His arms waved in sarcastic gestures as he spoke. "Let's see what that comprises of, shall we? The king with more enemies than he can count? The king who works suspiciously close with nations of the Nether? Remind me again how a man wearing a mask is going to change a damn thing!"

"Clayton-"

Dream flung the mask against the wall as rage flared up in his chest. It hit harshly with a satisfying thump.

"Don't call me that! Stop fucking calling me that!"

The king ignored his interruption, not acknowledging the name he wanted to distance himself from, nor the burst of profanity. He had his own point to further.

"You don't have a clue how difficult it was to build relations with the countries I do, nor do you know why I choose to do so. You know, if you weren't so young and naive, you might be able to begin to understand-"

"Try me!"

"That's beside the point!" The teacup rattled as the table was slammed again. "I'm not going to sit here and let you derail the topic of conversation here, what we're talking about is your unwillingness to dress and behave as a man of royal blood! What would the people think, that the prince was so ashamed of his features that he hid them? Who are they supposed to look to if all they see is a stupid piece of bone?"

"I'm not ashamed!"

"I am! "

The silence that overtook the situation was almost more painful than the yelling. The king didn't look at all remorseful of his words, glaring at his son with more hatred than a father should ever harbour. Dream let his resolve crack, turning his back to his father and picking his mask off the floor. He put on his mask before his father could see the tears brimming his eyes. He made his way towards the door, nails digging into his palms as he contained his anger.

"I don't see how mom could have ever loved a man like you."

"I don't need you to understand," the man said coldly before Dream left the room, "I need you to grow up."

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Dream stared at himself in the mirror, his dull green eyes void of emotion as he recalled those words. His hand brushed across his cheek absentmindedly, his gaze trailing the large, horrid scar across the bridge of his nose that wasn't there just a few years ago. It extended from under his right eye to his left cheekbone, taking on a whiter colour as what was once skin was replaced with scar tissue. The freckles dotting his face were faint, since they were usually hidden from the sun. Closer to his eye, another cut had left an irreparable line on his left eyebrow, the scar tissue cutting across it and leaving behind a light, jagged line.