Silent Ruler [DNF]

Chapter 6: Teach me

Dream paced around the room. Thoughts roaming around his head like crazy. He knew that he needed to tell Philza about his suspicion regarding George, but he feared that it would become his responsibility to enlighten George on the truth and they weren't exactly the best of friends.

Sure, Dream had been the one to cause the earth to shatter and thereby saving the brunette, but never could he have imagined that it would be one from the kingdom that he was saving. Even more annoying was the fact that the forcefield that protected the forest didn't do its job of holding people like George on the outside.

When he told Philza the truth, he'd just said that the forest didn't make mistakes and that the brunette must've been perceived as worthy to enter. It was infuriating and Dream had tried not to blame George for what his people had done to his sister, but every time he saw those dark clothes, he couldn't stop the hatred. Although, maybe he hated himself the most. After all, he had been the one who were ordered to retrieve the sacred books from the kingdom. That he'd failed to notice that his sister was following him, was a mistake that forever would haunt him.

However, it felt like a slap in the face when George had made the lights flicker. He was already suspecting that George had a connection to water as Dream spent nearly thirty minutes waiting for the brunette to come up from the lagoon. Meaning he had a connection to two out of three energy sources, which was extremely rare.

Dream and Sapnap had one each; earth and fire, which was rare enough. But two? Practically unheard of. And he dreaded that for George to survive such a high fall and land in the tree that there was a chance that he was linked to earth too.

And if that were the case, then Dream would lose it.

Wilbur, who loved to spend time in the ancient library, once found a similar book to the ones George brought. It was red and had unreadable inscriptions on the front. But one day, Sapnap had gotten a glimpse of the book and claimed that it spelled out his name, his birthname. By then had both Dream and Sapnap discovered their unique abilities and that somehow correlated to the book. Sapnap told him that it contained information that was special to him specifically. It'd improved his friend's powers tremendously. Dream had always wondered if there was a similar book with his name. He recalled talking to Wilbur about it, who was a hundred percent certain that it existed. And as Dream was staring down on the green book with the name 'Clay' written on top of it, he knew that Wilbur had been right.

However, that wasn't the only thing that Wilbur had discovered in the library. He'd also found a leather-bound book with a pattern of three swirls on the cover that together formed a triskele. The book spoke about how a person would be granted access to all three energy sources. This person was portrayed as some form of savior, a person chosen by the Earth itself.

Back then it had mostly been interesting stories that Dream hadn't paid much attention to. Although after his previous encounter, he feared that it wasn't just tales from an old book anymore.

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He tried to sleep for the rest of the night but was unable to. Light slowly seeped through the windows and a new day revealed itself. His mind kept going over his options as he headed to breakfast. It was yet early, but four people had already gathered around the fireplace.

He sat down next to Sapnap who was juggling with flames while Karl laid in his lap. On the opposite bench was Quackity and a sleeping individual. Dream frowned when he saw that it was George, though he had to admit that it was impressive that the brunette still seemed deep asleep despite the noise his friends made.

"Since when are y'all up so early?" Dream questioned.

Sapnap kept twirling the flames over his knuckles, creating an almost hypnotic effect. "Philza sent us three on a mission since my normal quest-guy was nowhere to be found." His friend answered and quirked a brow in Dream's direction.

Dream knew that Sapnap wanted answers regarding his absence, but he had no desire to explain his and George's previous fight right now.

"What was the mission about?" Dream said to redirect the attention.

"Apparently has the eldest son fallen sick just before coronation, so second eldest is up for the throne." Sapnap recited flatly.

"Bad or good news?"

"Bad according to our source."

Dream rubbed his chin. "Well, what do we even know about the princes?"

The flames around Sapnap's knuckles faltered. "Not much, but every time they switch ruler is always slightly terrifying. It's not a hundred percent certain that the new one would leave us alone."

Dream hummed in agreement. The forest was constantly observed, and its secrets made it highly appealing to power-hungry people.

"Guys, we're wasting a golden opportunity here." Quackity chimed in. Before anyone could object had he awoken the sleeping brunette.

George nearly fell off the bench at the inconsiderate awakening, but Quackity took a sturdy hold of his shoulders and helped him up. George's hand rushed to the goggles before he glanced around. Dream fought intensely to suppress a smile at George confused expression in combination with the oversized glasses. Speaking of the goggles, he couldn't help but wonder why the brunette chose to wear them.

"Wh– what's happening?" George muttered, still drowsy from sleep.

"What do you know about the princes?" Quackity quickly asked.

The remains from George's nap seemed to wash away right as the question was asked. The brunette's lazy posture straightened, and a suspicious look appeared on his face. "What about them?" The brunette asked carefully.

"What do you know about them?" Quackity said.

George hesitated slightly. "Not much. They aren't allowed to leave the castle, hence the limited knowledge."

"Why?" Sapnap injected

George shrugged. "You tell me. The reign isn't exactly well-liked, maybe they're afraid that someone will assassinate them." George paused and his gaze fell on his hands. "–Though, I've heard that there's people who doesn't think that the oldest one will be a good heir. But that's about the only thing I know."

The information that George had provided wasn't exactly mind-blowing, but more than any of them knew. The king and queen were known for protecting their children's identities like fragile glass vases.

"Why do you wonder?" George shot back.

"There are rumors circling that the eldest have fallen sick, like deadly sick, right before coronation. These rumors also claim that there's a high chance that the throne will go to the younger one, which is supposedly a worse scenario." Sapnap confessed.

A small indication of surprise was displayed on the brunette's feature. Something about George behavior was off, but Dream couldn't place what exactly.

George rubbed the back of his neck. "That's... bad, I guess. But what does that have to do with us?"

"Because a change in leadership is always unpredictable. That's why I'll be sending three of you on a mission in a few weeks."

Everyone whipped around at the sound of Philza's voice. Dream furrowed his brows. "Which three?" Philza gave him a small smile and pointed at Dream, Sapnap and... George.

"What?!" Dream erupted.

Philza nodded. "It's the perfect opportunity. George has the most experience of the kingdom out of everyone here and I think that will come in handy."

Dream began protesting but Philza rose a hand to silence him. "–And I'm assigning you, Dream, to teach him everything he might need to know before the mission."

"No!" Both Dream and George said simultaneously.

"It's not up for debate and will begin immediately."

Dream couldn't describe how much he dreaded the following weeks. Him and George had so far fought every opportunity given. He made eye contact with the brunette who looked like he wanted to sink through the ground.

Dream sighed in defeat as Philza walked away.