this me fr^

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"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

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—•—

"You're... resigning?" George blinked up at Dream, who averted his eyes.

"Yes, domine." Dream mumbled.

George took a step back, dropping his hand and forcing Dream to let go of his wrist. He then crossed his arms over his chest, defiant.

"No."

Dream spluttered. "No? What do you mean no?"

"No. You're not resigning," George said bluntly. "End of story."

"But... but I have to, domine. I'll... I'll be killed if I don't."

"By who?" George remarked. "I'm the emperor. No one is going to kill you if I have anything to say about it."

Dream swallowed, body tense with nervousness. "Emperor, please, you don't understand. I need to resign and complete a task otherwise I'll be killed."

"By who?"

"I told you; someone I know."

"You better be more specific."

"George—?"

"Don't." George's tone was venomous, causing Dream to recoil, drawing his eyebrows together and forcing him to take a cautious step back.

Despite this, Dream shook his head. George looked visibly surprised; eyes wide, mouth agape. He quickly composed himself.

"Fine. Then tell me, what is this task that you need to so desperately complete, hmm?"

"I..." Dream trailed off, playing with the hem of his shirt. He rubbed the fabric between his thumb and forefinger as he stared out of the window, eyes following where a monarch butterfly trailed over the shrubbery outside.

George sighed. "Dream?"

"I've never seen one of those before."

"Don't change the subject."

"I like them. They're pretty. They remind me of you."

"Don't..." George fought a blush away from his face. "Don't change the subject, Dream."

When the butterfly had fluttered away, Dream turned back to look down at George. The emperor noticed how tired he looked through the slits in his mask. His eyes were dull with exhaustion, and above all, he looked worried.

"What is the task you have to complete?" George repeated, voice quieter.

Dream didn't respond.

"Dream?"

"I have to fight in the next games."

"What?" George exclaimed. "You're joking."

Dream shook his head solemnly. He pointed towards the direction of the villas golden front gates, pointing also to the rest of the city of Rome.

"I have to fight for my ludus in the next games, meaning I have to quit. If I don't fight, I get killed, easy as that."

George gaped at Dream in disbelief, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth as he spoke. "If you fight, you could get killed. If you don't fight, you could get killed. I won't allow it. Tell me the name of the person that was here, and I'll have them exec—"

"I'm going to fight."

George stopped talking out of disbelief, before continuing. "No you are not."

"I have too!" Dream raised his voice. "I've worked too fucking hard to just give up on life and have my head chopped off!"

"You don't have to do anything! I am George, the emperor of the Roman Empire, and I can do whatever I want, meaning that I can forbid you to fight."

"You can't. I'm quitting, whether you like it or not." Dream spat, taking another step back.

"I own you," George hissed. "You said it yourself. You can't quit, because I literally own you."

Dream went deathly silent, fists bunching the fabric of his tunic.

George immediately regretted his words. "Dream—"

"No," Dream shrugged. "You're right. You're completely right. You own me, I'm not a free man, and I never will be, will I?"

George bristled. "Dream—?"

"It's an hour after noon, and you have a meeting set with a senator from Sicily," Dream bowed. "Let us proceed to your dining room."

George bit his tongue and nodded, brushing past the gladiator and whisking away down the hall. He could feel Dream's eyes burning into his back, but he ignored it, readying himself for what was to come.

—•—

Three seperate meetings later, night had fallen across the Roman Empire. The sky was littered with shining stars, and the moons brilliant glowing face lit up George's bathroom, along with several scattered candles.

The emperor lifted himself from the bathtub, drying himself and wiping away the remaining lavender-scented bubbles. Once dressed into his sleeping attire, he turned to stare pensively at the moon through the window.

His injuries were slowly healing, and as the emperor looked to the moon, he was glad to be alive.

George rolled his shoulders, throwing his toga and towel into an adjacent basket to be washed, before stepping out into the semi-darkness of his bed chambers.

Torches and candles along the walls and near the marble pillars lit the room in almost mobile light; the walls flickered and danced with the movement of the flames, and the room pulsed a faint yellow.

George looked around the room as he walked up to his bed, calling: "Dream?"

He heard footsteps outside of his bed chamber door, realising that Dream had stubbornly placed himself outside of the room again.

Sighing, George slipped quietly across the room. "Dream, you don't have to guard outside my door. You can go to sleep...?"

Upon opening the door, George almost walked right into a broad chest, donned in leather armour. Looking up, George met the face of another gruff man, whom he recognised as one of the usual guards that was posted outside the gates.

"Oh, hello." George took a step back.

The man bowed. "Good evening, domine. Apologies if I woke you."

"Oh, no, you didn't," George said, standing on his toes to peer over the mans shoulder. "Ah, what are you doing here instead of at the front gates?"

"I have been stationed here."

"What? Then who's at the gate?"

"Don't fear, domine, security is still extremely tight."

George shook his head, confused. "That's good. But, what happened to Dre— Nightmare?"

The guard at the door cleared his throat, thinking for a moment, stroking his chin. "He just told me that him and I were to swap posts."

A small glimmer of hope appeared in George's eyes. "So... he's been stationed at the gate?"

The man nodded. "I presume so. But—!"

George pushed past the man, skidding down the hallway as he headed for the front door.

The man chased after him. "Your highness, wait for me! I must accompany you everywhere!"

But George was already flying out of the front door, sprinting down the long, winding path that led to the golden gates. His ivory nightdress flailed as his legs moved, the light of the moon illuminating his figure in a way that made him look like a ghost.

Almost completely out of breath, the emperor skidded to a halt before the large golden gates, where two shadowed men stood on either side, clutching spears, with swords hanging from their hips.

George puffed as the two men stepped out of the shadows. One was a kind looking man, who approached the emperor after bowing politely.

"Your highness?" He called out. "Are you alright?"

The other man was not Dream. He did not have unkempt hair, nor was he covered in scars, or had the physique of an experienced fighter. He didn't even have a mask on.

"Where is Nightmare?" George asked, suddenly aware that he was standing in his nightdress, but he didn't care. He couldn't get embarrassed, he didn't have time for that.

He needed to find Dream.

"Nightmare? The masked dude, right?" The kind gladiator queried, and George nodded a little too enthusiastically.

The kind guard looked to the other, and they exchanged a knowing look. The kind guard then faced George again, flicking his thumb over his shoulder. At this, George felt his entire being begin to wilt and wither.

"He headed out a while ago," the kind guard said. "He didn't say much, just thanked me for opening the gate. I was definitely going to open it for him, considering what happened last time someone didn't want to open the gate for him."

The kind guard looked pointedly at the one from George's door, who had only just caught up to the emperor.

"How long ago did he leave?"

"A while... maybe an hour ago?" The kind guard made an estimate.

George cursed himself for taking such long baths, before drawing back to his senses, looking up to the moon.

"What time is it?" George asked, squinting, trying to read the moons positioning.

"Hmm... about half past eleven. Why?"

George heart almost dropped out of him. He ran up to the kind guard, gripping the front of his tunic in a frantic display of pleading.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Ponk!"

"Ponk, I need you to take me somewhere."

Ponk nodded, and immediately opened the gate. "Yes, domine."

The other guard raised his hand. "I'll come too!"

Ponk clapped. "Yay Punz!"

The guard behind George spluttered. "What? We can't just—!"

"You, stay here and guard the gates," George ordered, letting both Punz and Ponk flank him obediently. "And stay put."

The golden gates were slammed shut, locking the other guard behind them. With one final, almost mocking wave, Ponk turned to the emperor with apt excitement.

"Where are we going?" He asked, bouncing as he walked.

"I need you two to take me to Schlatt's Ludus. Do you know where that is?" George hugged his arms around himself as the trio walked down the road.

Punz and Ponk both nodded.

"I used to have a buddy there. Ponk still does." Punz told George, before noticing the emperors chilled state, and glancing over to Ponk.

"Here, take this." Ponk lifted his leather armour off of himself, before forcing it over George's head.

George giggled as he was wrapped in the leather armour, and he immediately felt warmer. Ponk smiled, pointing to his tunic, a silent gesture to the emperor that he was okay wearing just that.

"Thank you, Ponk," George said. "Now, we need to hurry. I don't have much time."

Come on Dream, George thought. Don't do this.

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Hey homies, this is an authors note!

Ponk and Punz <3

This chapters question/statement: do you prefer watching the dsmp youtube vids or the streams?

Until next time,

Blue :)