there is only us | wilbur soot x reader

Chapter 22 - Stay

(Y/n) POV

I gripped the letter so tightly I was scared I would rip it.

My jaw ticked as I stared at the words, reading and re-reading. 98 days. 98 days I had spent, miserable and hopeless. He told me they were dead.

I had been shameless and desperate. I had been pleading with Dream for any news of L'manberg. I couldn't bring myself to care about dignity or pride or anything else. But he looked down on me and lied to my face.

They're gone, he told me, we found them in the hospital. I am sorry.

He wasn't sorry. I didn't believe that for a minute, and in retrospect, I shouldn't have believed anything he said. But there were rumors and whispers, and hearing them said to my face confirmed my worst fears and I lost all rational thought. My hands had shaken and I had waited until I was alone to cry.

I was crying now, again, but this time in relief and anger. This time, I knew my friends were alive, somewhere out there, waiting for me. I sank into my chair and fought the urge to run to L'manberg immediately. The letter had been waiting neglected within my stack, but after a day the mail started to pile up at an alarming rate and I spent the morning sorting through it all. My heart had skipped a beat when I noticed the L'manberg seal, and I thought I might have stopped breathing when I read it.

The next few hours crept by.

The sun had reached its peak and was beginning its descent downwards, but I was already dressed in a simple black smock, pacing anxiously back and forth in my room. I twisted and pulled at the gloves in my hands, pausing every now and then to check the time. I had been peeking out the window, practically tearing apart my gloves, when I heard a voice at my door.

"What are you waiting for?" Sapnap asked, leaning against the doorframe. He was always leaning on something - the wall, the table, somebody else - as if he was too tired to stand on his own.

"Carriages have been streaming in since 11:00," I stated, which was true.

All different colors of carriages, signifying all kinds of different patrons, had been inspected at the gates and poured in by the hundreds. They weren't the formal ones you would find dukes and other lords in, but the standard regional carriage used for transporting the commoners long distances. One thing they had in common though, was that they all bore the mark of a Royal Guard. A simple black smile was painted on each of the doors, and the windows were tinted to an almost pitch black.

Sapnap frowned. "You didn't hear?"

"Obviously not."

"There was a revolt in the border cities of L'manberg, near the North Road," he explained. "It was disorganized and messy and pure chaos. The L'manbergians claimed they saw the president's son. Gave them hope, or something. Word spread. They attacked. Those are all injured soldiers from the front lines. The Northern crew is on orders to put out the fires, make a couple examples, and then scram. A replacement regiment is preparing to fill their spots immediately."

For some reason, that last sentence seemed to bother Sapnap, sending a dark blur of defeat across his face. I took that expression and ran with it. "Is there a problem?"

"What?" Sapnap blinked, off-guard.

"You looked so frustrated when you mentioned the replacement regiment. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just..." Sapnap trailed off, searching for the right words. "Somebody I know is in that unit. I worry for them, if there is to be another attack."

That... Well, it wasn't what I had been expecting. I furrowed my brow. "Would you like me to reassign them? Send them home?" I offered.

Sapnap let out a shaky laugh. "No," he insisted. "He would kill me."