The Lost Prince || Dreamnotfound

four

The enemy's retreat follows within days, as Punz had said.

The entire camp is overjoyed. Every soldier has a smile, injured or not, and they're all somewhat drunk. Dream drinks his fill of alcohol, cheering and laughing with his men.

The party lasts all night, but Dream strays away after a few hours. He's not hammered, but he's getting there. His steps are occasionally interrupted by a stumble. He still has control of his words, but his vision sways.

The past few nights George has been sleeping in Dream's tent. Dream wants to make sure himself that George would make no more attempts at an escape.

The thought of the prince makes Dream want to drink more. He hasn't seen George since the announcement of the retreat, but the hours leading up to it, he had been silent. His face wore a display of sadness, and he looked so... human.

Dream hates him for that.

Why should a demon wear the mask of a beautiful human? Dream supposes it makes sense. The devil is a creature of temptation.

Dream drinks some more, stumbling through camp. He's vaguely aware of the two guards that follow him, ensuring his safety. He wants to return to his tent, but he fears the face he'll see.

But Dream sees George before he enters his tent. George is limping by the fences where several animals are kept, like the pigs that had been slaughtered for tonight's feast.

Dream approaches George, mind muddled. George is splattered with mud and his face is adorned with fresh red marks.

"What happened to you?" Dream slurs, laughing.

George's jaw tightens. Dream shrugs and drags George into his tent. He falls onto his bed, letting his glass fall to the carpet. Wine oozes onto the decorative patterns. Dream is fascinated for a long moment before remembering that George is there.

George stands wearily in the center of the tent, unsure of what to do. Dream sighs and gets up. He pulls a chair out for George to sit on. George sits.

Dream decides he wants to be somewhat sober for the following conversation, so he drinks some water. George remains sitting in silence. He stares at his wrists.

"Cheer up," Dream mutters. "You're killing the mood."

George says nothing. Mud drips off his tunic. It lands on Dream's carpet, and a small puddle forms.

"What happened to you?" Dream asks, repeating his question from earlier.

George swallows. His eyes dart around the tent, trying to avoid conversation. "I went outside to look at the stars. My mistake."

Dream's vision stops swaying. "Did you trip?"

The laugh that wracks George's chest is bitter, quiet. "I wish."

Dream takes another drink of water. He walks up to George, who continues to stare at his wrists. His hands shake.

"Your guards," George says, clenching his fists, "well, they decided that the pig pen was a fitting place for me to be."

Dream blinks. He can't help his responding laugh.

"Maybe if you had stayed inside here, you wouldn't have gotten beaten," Dream says with a sneer. "Who even looks at the stars anyways?"

"I guess I was asking for it then?" George snaps. His eyes lift.

Dream shrugs. As he drinks more water, he watches the bruises darken on George's face. "You deserve it."

Dream's head clears. He stares at George. The creature looks so... human. Again, the first word that pops into Dream's head is human. And, again, he hates it.

Mildly in control of his actions, he taps George's nose condescendingly. The only way he knows how to take out his frustrations or confusion is violence. So, he walks to his dresser, where he pulls out a dagger.

He turns around. George looks at the dagger, then Dream's face, then back to the dagger. His shoulders slump. He's accepted it.

Dream taps the blade on George's chest. "Your army has run for the hills," Dream croons. "All that's left is you, demon."

George mocks Dream, "Ah, yes, look at me. Look at how evil I am." George stares into Dream's eyes. He tries to appeal to Dream's nice side, "You can't tell me I am a demon. I'm onbviously not."

Dream frowns, drawn in by the depths of George's eyes. He blinks and steps back as if he's been burned. "You're obviously sent here by the devil to tempt me."

George scoffs. "Do you know how insane that is? I'm not here to 'tempt you,' as you put it. I'm a prisoner." He glares at Dream. "But look at you," George sneers, "you call me evil, yet here you are. You're with me, a 'demon' when you could be partying with your friends."

Dream is frozen, stuck in George's eyes. "You're drawn to the darkness," George mutters, "clearly."

Dream walks forward, placing the blade of his dagger on George's collarbone. "I'm only here with you," Dream says angrily, "to see your reaction when I tell you that my army is going to follow yours into the Enchanted Forest. We're going to hunt down the demons and wipe them all out. You're going to be the last alive, and then I'll kill you myself."

That's what strikes a nerve in George. The prince jumps up, letting the dagger tear at the skin of his collarbone. He throws the chain of his imprisonment around Dream's neck. The dagger falls from Dream's hands as he looks wide-eyed into George's eyes.

George's face is cold, eyes cruel as he tightens the chain. Dream chokes, falling to his knees. George leans forward to whisper in his ear, "See you in hell."

Dream's vision starts to swim when suddenly his throat is free of constriction. He gasps for air, looking around wildly to see George unconscious on the carpet. He looks up, finding Punz glaring at George with hatred, in his hand a spear, of which he used the dull end to strike down the prince.

Dream sits back, chest heaving as air floods his lungs. Tentatively, he touches his neck, wincing.

"Would you rather me fight?" George had said. "Because I can fight."

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a/n - assassination attempt, ooooh, drama

was going to publish every saturday, but I'm bored rn, so here you go <3