pretty boy || dreamnotfound

cloaked figures

his heart thumps heavily as he shuffles through the large amount of people all crowded around the arena. at first, he decided he would travel to the front, as his height would mean anybody in front of him would block his view, however he gives up halfway through the crowd. the many people packed together means it would be impossible to fight to the front, this position would have to do.

george is sure it wasn't this crowded last week, there seems to be hundreds more today.

initially, george hadn't planned to show up at all, but despite his efforts to get out of this, the prince had forced him here anyway. george had argued with the boy the previous day for hours, as he didn't feel like satisfying the prince with his presence for this event after he had forced him into doing pointless tasks all week. he had made dream's bed at least a thousand times, because each time he did it, he would claim it "wasn't good enough" and he would have to re-do it until it was perfect. eventually, the prince was called for a meeting, and so george made his escape, sweating from the chore. this, of course, wasn't a one-off occasion.

it seemed as though dream enjoyed watching his servant suffer, and each time he'd argue back, the prince would threaten him until he did it.

george can feel the body heat from the crowd surrounding him and it causes him to shift uncomfortably, his shirt clings to his body as he waits for the event to begin. perhaps george is feeling a little claustrophobic, or maybe the crowd is duplicating in numbers, but there is undeniably a bigger group of people here than before and for some reason, this stirs nerves in george's chest.

in front of him is a lady he recognises vaguely, he's probably noticed her wandering through the market at some point. she's chattering to a man on her right, who keeps gesturing toward the empty arena as if something incredible had happened, which it hadn't. behind george are small family, who talk among themselves and usher the children to a spot with a better view. to george's left is a tall man with a boy on his shoulders. he watches as the boy tugs excitedly on his father's hair before giggling. the patches on his dirty trousers are enough to tell george he's a little troublemaker.

his eyes scan the people around him, and he spots somebody who didn't seem to fit in. a hooded figure in some kind of dark cloak stood waiting near the front of the crowd. george finds himself growing curious at the figure, but manages to tear his eyes away. the hushed whispering and the impatient murmuring of the crowd put george on edge- he couldn't imagine how the prince would be feeling, though he figures he's probably used to it.

suddenly, everybody is silenced at the presence of somebody who walks to the centre of the arena before clearing his throat. he recognises the man as somebody who works with the prince, as he's seen him wandering around the castle many times before. he gives the usual announcement, and as he drones on, george can't help wondering if he's memorised some kind of script for this speech. after his announcement, a loud bell chimes to signal the beginning of the event. the man abruptly walks off, and is replaced by another.

a knight.

the prince's first fight starts after noon, until then, it's the knights against anybody who challenges them. the crowd begins to clap, showing their respect and faith in the knight.

he is soon joined by a man george hadn't seen before, and the stranger waves to the crowd before setting up for the first battle of the day. he adjusts his armour, and grabs a few weapons from the side, which the knight had already done. after he's ready, a much quieter bell rings, and the fight begins. the stranger immediately raises his sword, and leaps toward the knight who has clearly experienced this before, as he seems more than prepared to dodge the hit.

the man's sword misses the other, and his sword grazes the floor as the knight weaves around him. he manages to catch the man off guard as he swings his own sword into his torso. the man yells out as it hits him, and he spins to try another attack on the knight which fails once again. the knight knocks the man to the floor, his sword falling from his grasp and landing just out of reach. the knight holds his sword to the other's throat, and he surrenders almost immediately. the crows erupts in cheers for the winner, who rises with his hands up. the stranger stands up after, and seems to try and calm himself down before readying himself for the next round.