Unmasked || Dreamwastaken (On Hold)

XIV • Bloodthirsty

When I woke up, I found that I was alone in a bed that wasn't my own. I automatically sat up and scanned my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't truly by myself in the room.

Dream turned at the noise and offered me a smile. Suddenly, everything came flooding back to me with that single look from him. I could feel myself shaking and quickly tore my eyes away from his to look at the floor. I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and lifted them up to unwrap the bandages.

  Silence sat between us as I unwrapped my feet to see the damage done. Luckily, I didn't think I had frostbite. When I unwrapped what was keeping my ankle stable, I was met with swollen and bruised skin. I'd need to keep it braced with bandages if I wanted it to heal quickly.

I sighed and let the bandages fall to the floor before touching the tender skin. Even just touching it caused enough pain to wince. I held my arms out in front of me and looked at the fresh wraps around my arms. Dream had done a much better job than I had.

I looked back over at his desk to find him still looking at me silently. We held eye contact for an excessive amount of time before one of us spoke.

Dream sighed and looked back at his desk. "The warrant for your arrest has gone public, but they've still given no reason. There's a hefty bounty on your head."

I nodded solemnly and looked out of the windows lining his wall. It was a lot to process. "I need to leave now. George won't hesitate to turn me in. You know that."

"He won't turn you in." He shook his head. "I've spoken to him. He knows the risk it puts the kingdom at if they were to find out that the king was harboring a criminal. We have about two days I'd say before suspicion arises, so we'll use those two days to our advantage before we leave."

I looked over at him and slowly got up to stand, trying not to put pressure on my ankle. I huffed when I took a quick step toward him and the pain flared once again.

He turned around at the sound and got up. "Hey, sit down. Please." He put an arm around me and steered me right back to the bed. I couldn't bring myself to care as long as I could reach him.

I sat back down and took his hands before he could walk away again. "Dream, I need to leave and I can't take you with me. As long as you're by my side, I'm wrapping you into this mess. You'll be a criminal."

His eyes darted around my face in confusion before he sat down beside me and made sure that I was looking at him. "Aly, listen to me. I know the consequences. I've known what I was signing up for since we started planning our life down South. I'd leave with you this moment if I could, but I'm using these two days to keep us safe."

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "What are you doing?"

His eyes left mine and he looked out at the gardens outside of his window. "I didn't want anyone going after us and I'm trying to straighten out the path the crown will take after I leave. I'm afraid that if I let George take power, he'll make a brash decision. He hasn't been himself lately. I'm afraid he may blame Gione and trying to get Wilbur to take kingship is much more difficult than I had anticipated. Many wouldn't even trust him because of his family, but I know he's the best choice until Drista is of age. Then, she can take it if she wants it."

I couldn't help but be confused by his concerns. "You've always said George would be a good king. Why the change of heart?"

I could see his mood shift in the way that he clenched his jaw before looking at me. "The way he treats you. He's too traditional. I can't trust him to not make a poor decision that sets us back decades in terms of advancement. That's why I'm trying to get Wilbur to take the crown. He's a forward thinker and he's dedicated to his kingdom. The only thing holding him back is his family. I'm trying to get rid of his guilt for something that he didn't even do."