there is only us | wilbur soot x reader

Chapter 26 - Wait

(Y/n) POV

This just in: I am a total fucking dumbass. Of course, of course, the moment I return to the Dream SMP, "unharmed" my ass, I'm thrown right back into the middle of one of Clay's master plans. I had this dream, this idea where I returned, dodged all of Clay's webs, cut all of his ties, and ruled the SMP on my own. It was my country anyways, my birthright. It was my duty to protect it, to save it.

I was wrong. Obviously. If anything, Clay dug his hooks even deeper into me, tying me here, to this poisoned palace. I had come home from meeting Wilbur feeling righteous, determined to finally step into the shoes my parents had left behind and lead. Not even a day later, Clay wanted me to marry Sapnap. And he used L'manberg as bait.

And I told him I would do it, sure, but if he can lie, so can I. That night, I laid awake in bed and listed off all of the ways to get out of this. There weren't many. Clay had me trapped. I kept throwing around my title, but it did me no real good. I knew for a fact that the minute I started to exercise my power as queen, Clay would resurface the impeachment form that had started this whole mess. If I fought back, he would bring down his army on me, leave me left for dead, and spin the story to make him look like the hero in the media's eyes. He had never gotten to use the impeachment form the first time, so I was surprised he hadn't immediately used it upon my return, but perhaps he was biding his time. Perhaps there was something about working in the shadows, just outside of the spotlight, that he enjoyed.

I was certainly not a mastermind like my brother. I couldn't manipulate others into doing my bidding like he could, or dig around for blackmail and weaknesses. I didn't have the time to orchestrate some elaborate plan, one to save not only myself but my friends and my people. It was selfish of me, I knew. But I had to do it. I promised, that night in my room, wide awake in my bed, that I would return, once I was ready to rule.

I fell asleep, after hours of turning and tossing, and dreamed of moonlit clearings and tears and laughter. When I woke up, I wrote a letter and sent it out with my fastest messenger. I packed my bags. I waited for nightfall.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

I really, really had to stop sneaking out in the rain. That, or have a seamstress make better running-away-from-evil-tyrant-brother clothes. But as I trudged through the rain and muck, my heavy black skirts soaking up everything in my path, I couldn't help but admire the way the fur-lined dress kept my skin dry and warm against the biting winds of early fall.

September had taken the SMP by surprise; it was warm one day, on the brink of frigid the next. Time had passed so quickly in the months I was away from L'manberg, I still braced for the sticky humidity of midsummer every time I braved the outdoors. I had been so distracted, caught up in my turmoil and desperation. I had sent orders to the regiments patrolling L'manberg, demanding an early warning on any sightings. Every day, I waited anxiously for a messenger to appear with news of their appearance. Every day, I went to bed as alone as before, only now, I knew just exactly what I was missing out on.

It worried me much more than I would ever care to admit. I had only known Wilbur and his friends for a short period of time, yet it felt as if our history stretched on for ages. I knew, deep down, that I had given in too quickly, had allowed myself to be swept away by the rebellious adrenaline that spiked in my veins and the heady rush of being surrounded by people who couldn't care less about my status. It was something new, something foreign to me, something I hadn't known to cherish until it was too late.

Before, when I had first walked this lonely path, deep into the woods, I didn't know where I had been going. Now, each step I took was full of familiarity, the tension in my shoulders fading with the Dream SMP. My destination was clear in my mind. However, what I would find there was not.