Assassin || Dream x Reader

13. Engagement

Art by @weaskie on Twitter

Dream POV

2 Days Later

"Have a good day!" I smile politely at the merchant who pushes two bright red apples toward me.

"You too!" he calls cheerfully, counting the four gold coins in his hand.

"Got everything?" Sapnap asks. He holds up a loaf of bread in one hand which already has a bite taken out of it.

"Sapnap that bread is for tonight!" I swipe the loaf from his hand, wrapping it in the fabric for later.

"And? I got hungry," he chuckles, his eyes bright and shining. Usually, we wouldn't be able to afford food, but with Y/N's help, we're living comfortably. "Besides," he holds up another, fresh loaf. "I bought two."

"Come on," I scoff and grab his arm, scanning the crowd for George. "Let's see where George ended up."

The two of us push through the crowd, looking for any sign of our friend. As I gaze over the heads around me, I nearly stumble over a small child.

"Oh!" I backpedal in surprise as a small girl, around 4 years old removes her hands from her head and holds them out to me.

"Hungry! Please!"

I scan her face which is bruised and smeared with dirt. Her short brown dress is ripped and filthy. Off to the side, a smaller boy with short black hair watches her. I notice the strong resemble the two of them bear and can't help but feel a twinge of pity.

"Please!" she holds out her hands, tears welling up in her eyes. Both of the children are so thin I can see their bones. Her cheeks are so sunken in that I can see the clearly defined cheekbones.

On any other day, I would have declined, saying we needed the food for ourselves. But today...

I weigh the two apples in my hand.

Surely we can spare...

I kneel down to get onto the child's level and hold out the apple.

"Here."

Her eyes widen as she grabs onto the fruit.

"And your brother too," I hold out the apple to the boy who timidly steps out of the shadows to his sister. He cautiously takes the apple from my hand and I smile, standing up to pat both of them on the head. "Enjoy."

The two children scamper off, already biting into their new food. I glance around and notice some people staring, even smiling at me.

"That was nice of you," Sapnap says, patting my shoulder.

"We can always get more," I search the crowd and notice more hungry kids and even adults begging. Unlike me, the others ignore them, even kick them away. "I just wish we could help all of them."

My hand curls into a fist as I remember the King's treasury.

"Especially with all the gold the royalty has. The nobles control how much food goes to them and the prices they sell them for. They don't see the children starving."

"Hey, guys!" George pushes through the crowd and motions for us. "Something big is happening king over there."

We follow him, fighting through the sea of stinking bodies and sweat.

Wait, we're heading toward the castle.

The three of us finally squeeze through and find a spot in the crowd that is close enough. Right in front of the castle is a large wooden platform, raised several feet above the ground.