Who Lies in the End?

Ch 37: 7 "I hope this will do, though."

art by: unknown

The pair sat perched on a tree branch. It swayed in the rain, but their eyes were focused on the expanse of green before them. Creepers, zombies, and skeletons meandered through the grass, unbothered by the downpour. Their shadows stretched across the tall blades as lightning beamed through the clouds only to shake the ground a second later with a roar of thunder.

Dream and Sam had fallen silent for the past half hour. The patter of rain on the vine-laden trees was a gentle wash of noise, only occasionally disrupted by the caw of a phantom; however, a swift bolt and arrow sent the bat into silence.

Grey eyes skimmed the treeline in case any skeleton horses were seeking shelter under the swamp canopy, but he had no luck so far. With a sigh, Dream leaned against the tree trunk, preparing for this to be an all-nighter.

"Tired already?"

Dream scoffed at the question, "Nah, just getting comfy."

Sam settled into a comfortable position beside him, "Even though I like to fight, I do enjoy stake out missions as well."

"Don't get to do it often, huh?" Dream dug into his bag and pulled out two red apples before tossing one to Sam.

He caught the fruit with one hand before returning his gaze onto the small meadow, "Not as much as I would like. It's mostly general surveillance. Then again, I would just be a regular guard if not for George."

Dream tilted his head as he turned fully to Sam, "You said he was the one to knight you, right?"

Sam nodded, "He was, and I'm certain he would have been the only one, too. Everyone else thought I was too scary to be a knight."

"They're not wrong: you're absolutely terrifying."

"Gee thanks," Sam rolled his eyes, "I just hope he knows how much I appreciate him, and what he's done for me. I went from feeling estranged in this village to being able to call it home," his hollow eyes flickered to Dream and held his gaze, "I'm sure he could do the same for you, if you want."

Dream waved away the notion and fixed his crossbow at an emerging phantom, "I couldn't do that to him. There are too many people that want to see me dead."

"You think he hasn't had to deal with tough situations?" when Dream stayed silent, he elaborated, "Everyone that George calls friend has some sort of past shadows. We all wound up here thinking that we wouldn't ever be accepted or be able to live happily, but George made room for us. He gave us all a second chance and a fresh start."

"You're such a liar," Dream's tone was light, but his knuckles turned white as he gripped the crossbow.

There was a moment of silence before Sam continued, "BadBoyHalo came from a few villages over from a merchant family. He had a lot of siblings and they really spoke over him and shoved him to the side. No one really acknowledged what he had to say: not even his mother. Apparently, they all came here when the late Duke was looking for a new advisor. Bad's mother had them all apply, but she refused to let Bad join: apparently, she thought he was too naive to be a proper advisor. Imagine her surprise when George had actually approached Bad specifically and overruled his father's choice," dark eyes light up with past memories, "I can't even imagine this village without Bad."

Sam looked at Dream, but the other remained silent, "Then there's Fundy. He's a piece of work by himself. He arrived in at village similar to you: being chased by capital guards. He was caught though, and as he was being dragged away, George stepped in. He told the guards that because Fundy was on his property, he would be tried and tested on his soil. There was a lot of argument, but they eventually relented, and it was a good thing too. Had Fundy been taken back to the capital, he would have been hung; however, George only gave him a year of community service, and during that time, he had to stay in the village. Over the year, the villagers became accustomed to Fundy's antics, and when his year of service was done, he decided to stay."