yoo, thank you for 1k reads! anyways, just wanted to say this is the last update in a while, because i've run out of pre-written chapters due to assignments and i also have to plan the fic further again ??? but tbh, think of it as like . . . a break before a different act because we're moving into season 2 of the dream smp haha

I'm leaving the kingdom.

I wanted to tell you personally, unfortunately, I couldn't find you anywhere. I've been to the spot where we used to meet nearly everyday, but you haven't been there for the past three days that I've tried coming there. I suppose you're busy planning to overthrow the king, which I fully support, but I wish you had stopped by.

So, I figured the next best way to tell you is to leave this letter at our spot.

By now, you're probably wondering why I'm leaving the kingdom. It's quite a funny story, actually. Because, you see, I know it's the worst way possible to inform you of this, but my real name is Queenie.

I'm the princess of the kingdom you want to destroy.

I won't make excuses for why I didn't tell you. I would say that I never found the right time to tell you, but that would be bullshit. I could've told you at any time. I was just scared that it would change the way you view me, which to this day, I hope is positive.

Because, frankly, I care about you, Technoblade. I wish you knew how much. I wish I could tell you personally how much you mean to me, in fact. I never got to tell you before, and now I regret it, because I have to leave.

I am leaving tomorrow. That is the day of my wedding.

Believe it or not, my father has arranged for me to marry a king I have never met in my life. Which, to be fair, is what usually happens to royalty, isn't it? And I think that before I met you, I would've simply taken the loss and done whatever my father asked of me.

But the problem is, I met you. And you taught me that nobody should have that kind of power over us. Or any power, really. We should be the constructors of our own fate. My father shouldn't have the ability to tell me who to love and who to marry. For political reasons, of all things. Almost like I'm a mere object to be given away in exchange for land and more power.

I'm pretty sure that's what my father sees me as anyway.

I can't marry someone I don't love, however. Not when I know that there is someone else out there; someone that I do love.

That someone is you, Techno. I love you.

Of course, I can't do anything about it if you don't feel the same way. But that doesn't mean I will mindlessly agree to a marriage with a man I've never met. Never would I have been able to spend the rest of my life by that man's side, whoever he is.

You have become my friend, Techno. It means more to me than you could ever imagine.

I originally planned to ask you whether I can leave the kingdom with you. I know you've been planning to leave after the monarchy falls, and I would've gladly helped you. But I can't find you, and therefore, all I can ask of you is to find me.

I cannot leave traces behind whilst I flee, for my father will surely send many trackers after me once I don't show up at the altar. But I will head south, I think. I've heard there is a new community forming for people who just want to get away. Which sounds nice to me.

I'm sorry we didn't have more time.

Yours truly,

Nia

Technoblade stares at the letter, his eyebrow arched and his lips parted. He doesn't know how to react to it at first. He didn't know that Nia had written a letter to him in the first place, but he understands why she wouldn't leave it for him.

He's always cared for Nia. But the admission in the letter leaves him utterly speechless, and confused.

Technoblade still remembers the day when he found out the truth about Nia. About who she is, and her title. He'd been looking for her then. He wanted to tell her that he would be leaving the kingdom soon, as he planned to dethrone the king with Phil's help.

It's quite ironic, really. He wanted Nia to help him, and he wanted to ask her whether she'd leave with him afterwards . . . she wanted the exact same thing. He almost wants to laugh hysterically.

When he first realized Nia was gone, it was when he had come by their spot the fourteenth day in a row, and she didn't appear. He didn't want to give up yet, hoping that she would come by, but he had finally made the decision to go into town and make it a reconnaissance mission.

All he found, however, was chaos and posters of Nia's face within the castle walls and nearby villages with the title of WANTED ALIVE and the reward being around thousands of golden coins.

PRINCESS QUEENIE OF VALKAN, missing.

He will never forget the feeling of betrayal that went through him, seeing those posters. To be honest, he wasn't sure whether it was the fact she was a princess, or the fact she was gone that hurt him more.

Nia was his friend. They'd only known each other for a few months then, but that didn't stop him from caring about the girl profoundly. She made him laugh, and everything they ever did together felt much better because he knew Nia was by his side.

And whenever he made her laugh? That felt so much better than winning a thousand battles. The euphoria of defeating a tyrant could never compare to the sparkles in Nia's eye and the warmth of her laugh whenever she listened to Techno explaining Greek mythology to her — inaccurately. Which she probably knew.

With his jaw clenched, his fingers tightly gripping the thin paper worn out by its age, Technoblade takes a deep breath.

She loved him.

That sentence echoes in his head, his mind imagining what it would sound like if she were standing before him, saying those words to him personally. The sentence tears through his mind and heart. Not because he never thought of Nia that way. But because he never thought there was a chance of her reciprocating his feelings. In fact, he'd always thought he was a hard person to love with so much blood on his hands, and the voices in his head.

Besides, Technoblade has never been the person to communicate how he feels, suppressing those emotions rather than letting people know that he genuinely cares about them. The voices would call him weak if he did.

And the voices are always there. So, he chooses to hide how he feels rather than be perceived as weak and foolish. Not just by the voices, but also his enemies. What would it sound like, if people knew that the legendary, unbeatable Technoblade — the Blood God — fell in love? Love is trivial when it comes to war. And caring about someone can make things difficult in battle.

A good example of that would be Nia. She is an exceptional fighter. Yet she couldn't beat Dream. But it wasn't because she was a worse fighter than him. Merely because she wasn't even trying to defeat him. She didn't want to hurt him.

That is the main issue of loving, or even just caring.

One can't be strong and invincible as long as there is something or someone that they care about profoundly, and would sacrifice their life for. The voices would call it lame.

Techno puts the letter back in its blood red envelope, biting the inside of his cheek. He looks around his base, unsure of what he's searching for. Perhaps a last trace of Nia. But there is none.

Despite the note Nia left along with the letter, he goes to Pogtopia in hopes that maybe Nia hasn't left yet. Though all he finds there is a desolate ravine.

At least until Niki appears in the cave, approaching a small fox. She puts it on a leash, hugging it close to her body. It takes her a while to notice Technoblade's presence in Pogtopia.

She startles, staring at Techno in surprise and confusion.

"Techno?" she asks timidly. "You're still here?"

He rubs the back of his neck, discomfited. Niki doesn't seem angry with him for destroying the country she considered her home. He also notes that she's wearing Wilbur's cape.

Niki notices Technoblade staring at the brown piece of cloth, smiling ruefully. "Sara took his beanie," she says. "Phil— he let us take it."

At the mention of his longtime friend, Techno is brought back to reality.

"Why aren't you— aren't you mad at me?" he asks, shifting his weight on his feet. Niki shakes her head in response, watching Techno and his stiff posture.

"No," she says. "You— you did what you believed in."

Licking his lips, Techno nods.

"What are you doing here anyway, Techno? I would've thought you'd have left by now."

"I, uh, I'm looking for Nia," Technoblade answers.

Niki arches an eyebrow at the man. "She's gone, Techno," she says. "She left with Sara and Stela this morning."

"Oh, of course. Yeah. That makes sense."

"They said they're going north, if that helps?"

"I don't think it does. But thank you anyway."

Niki smiles at Technoblade, nodding. She hugs the small fox closer to her body, a deep breath escaping her lips. She also notices the red envelope in his hand. She wants to ask him about it, but chooses not to.

Techno notices Niki's eyes on the letter, hiding it in the pockets of his robes. 'I love you' in Nia's voice echoing in his head, still. It overpowers the bloodthirsty voices, gradually becoming louder than everything else.

Niki continues standing in place, her eyes darting from one place to another, while Technoblade seems like he's having an inner battle of sorts. She purses her lips, the corners of her mouth lifting in a smile.

"If you're looking for her . . . maybe she'll come back one day."

The girl's voice is quiet yet hopeful. It would almost make Techno think that Nia will come back. But he knows better than to hopelessly believe in something so painfully improbable. Though some might argue improbable is still better than impossible.

Techno smiles thinly. "I don't think I'll be here for that day," he says.

He's been thinking of leaving the Dream SMP once the war is over for a while. He likes the idea of retirement; away from the drama and battles that weren't even his to fight in the first place. He arrived simply because Wilbur and Tommy asked him to, and because he wanted to take down a tyrant.

"Oh," is all Niki has to say. "Maybe it's better that way," she says.

"How so?"

"You and Wilbur destroyed our country, Techno. You're not exactly perceived as a hero in the eyes of L'Manburg," she says plainly.

"Understandable." Technoblade nods.

"For all it's worth, I understand why you did it," Niki smiles. "I just still believe that L'Manburg can be good."

"Is that why you're still here, talking to me?"

"Yeah, I guess." Niki shrugs, putting her fox back on the ground, her eyes fixated on the animal for a bit. "Her name's Mushroom," she tells the piglin.

"That's . . . an adorable name."

"I didn't name it." Niki shakes her head. "I think Wil did."

"Oh."

"Anyways, I hope you have a good day, Techno. And if you go looking for Nia, I hope you find her. You two, I know you two didn't really talk before, but — I could see that you two care about each other."

"Uh, thank you?"

"Of course."

If only Nia hadn't left him the worst fucking goodbye in history.

That someone is you, Techno. I love you.