Masked Emotions // Dream6d

Chapter 15

Warning: Strong language, mention of death, mention of abuse

     Vincent snuggled up under the covers next to Clay, who was already on the brink of sleep. The servant guessed he hadn't gotten much the previous night, with all the stress. The brunette, however, was struggling a little bit. He'd just found out his friend was the second prince of Trimid, which was shocking.

     Though, it made sense why he would keep it a secret. With the new King on the throne, it was a fight to stay alive even as an invisible servant. Imagine what he would do if he heard the head chef was the brother of the man he'd just killed. Now, the tyrant king was dead, and there was no one to take the throne.

     A thought came to mind and he whispered, " Clay?" The blonde hummed in response, letting Vincent know he was still awake. " If you killed the King, doesn't that technically make you the new King?"

" Oh, that's a tricky topic," Dream answered, his voice raspy from sleep. He yawned before continuing, " The reason King Dave became king was because he challenged the old king to a duel, which is a fair fight, to the death in this case, and both sides have to rely on their personally strengths to win."

     The hitman pulled Vincent to his chest. " I didn't give him the chance for a fair fight, so I'm just viewed as a murderer rather than the next in line. But because King Dave had no living relatives, the throne will ultimately end up going to Darryl."

     " King Darryl," Vincent repeated softly. " That's so weird to think about."

     When no response came from Clay, the servant looked up to see he was very much asleep. Vincent thought about it a little more, soaking in the new information. It was strange to think that the tyrant King Dave had gotten his title through a fair fight. It made sense that he won, though. Vincent had heard rumors that he was once a prodigy in the military, and almost completely undefeated in every way. Now that the brunette thought about it, that was probably why Dream used the element of surprise to kill the King; he would have had a hard time killing him otherwise.

     Vincent listened intently to Clay's heartbeat, his eyes getting heavier, until eventually he drifted into a sweet dream. Where there was no violence, no murderers or thieves, and where there was endless happiness for everyone. Such a shame, then, that it was nothing more than a dream.

~~~~

     A few days went by, and the old queen seemed to get more impatient by the minute. Finally, a knock came at her door and she had to restrain herself from throwing it open. A horse-drawn carriage waited for them outside. Vincent watched, amused, as she excitedly shoved all her luggage inside. For the few days he'd know her, old Queen Elizabeth had been nothing but polite, but she was obviously itching to return to her kingdom.

     Darryl told me that he'd paid someone to snuggle her to this little town after King Dave took power, assuming he might want to kill the old queen as well. It turned out to be a smart move, because the tyrant began killing off anyone who might've opposed him, which would've included the prince's mother.

     Zak had handled the news about Darryl's royal title fairly well, though Vincent supposed the late-night chat the two had was a big help. It wasn't much of a surprise when the apprentice emerged in the morning with a really big smile on his face, and Darryl following close behind.

     As for the group's injuries, they'd healed for the most part over the few days of rest they were granted. Vincent's arm still stung if someone touched it, or if he moved too fast. Zak had a bit of an uneven stride, and Darryl had a minor burn on his lower back.

     Clay, however, kept the extents of his injuries to himself, probably not wanting to worry the others, which of course worried Vincent more. He'd walked in on him once while he was changing his bandages. The brunette had gotten a peak of his torso, wrapped almost everywhere on his chest.

     Vincent wondered aloud if any of those wounds were painful, and Dream had quickly slipped his shirt back on and smiled. For some reason, it hurt a little, not knowing how much he was hurting. It drew his mind back to the night not-so-long-ago when Dream had slept in Vincent's quarters.

     That night, he'd been shirtless, but Vincent had been too preoccupied laughing to notice that there were scars everywhere on his skin. Looking back, the brunette really hoped those were from previous missions and not some type of torture, or abuse.

     Now, Vincent watched Clay lift heavy baggage onto the back of the carriage. When he bent over to pick one up, the blonde visibly winced. That was enough for Vincent, he didn't need to see anymore to know it hurt him. Despite it all, Clay mustered through and moved to grab another heavy case.

     The brunette snatched it away from Dream could continue to hurt himself. Clay sighed, " I'm fine, Vincent." He tried to take the suitcase from the servant, but moving his arms to take it caused him to flinch once again. " Ah shit, I think I reopened one of them."

Vincent set the last of the luggage in the carriage and escorted Dream inside. When they got to the spare room, Clay cleared his voice, waiting for the brunette to leave. The servant rolled his eyes, closing the door and showing he was not leaving. " Strip, already."

Clay blushed a little and pulled his shirt off. Vincent gasped at the sight of fresh blood welling up behind some bandages on his side. " Oh my god! It was this bad and you didn't tell anyone?!"

" I didn't want to-"

" To worry us, yeah I figured," Vincent finished. He grabbed more bandages and slowly unraveled the blonde. He sucked in a breath at the sight of the gash in his skin, most likely from an axe. It wasn't a stab, thankfully, but it was deep and horrible-looking. " I can't believe you weren't showing any signs before now!"

     " I told you, it just reopened, it's been fine until now," Clay muttered in response, obviously a little embarrassed. He yelped out when Vincent suddenly pulled the bandages tightly around him. " Ow, careful!"

     " You didn't tighten them enough, it's no wonder it opened so easily," the brunette retorted.

     Clay grumbled a little, " You try doing it with one hand." Vincent smirked a placed a small kiss on his forehead. " If you were my doctor, I'd get hurt every day."

     The servant raised an eyebrow and a cheeky smile grew on the hitman's face. Vincent shook his head and grinned. " Boys," the old queen called. " We're leaving now! The first carriage is full so you'll have your own following behind us!"

     Clay slipped his shirt back on and sighed. He looked over at the smaller male and held out a hand.

     " Shall we go?"