A Kingdom of Hidden Betrayals || Dreamnotfound

12

a/n - sad/angst warning for the next couple chapters :(

Clay's POV

Clay sat with George again the next morning and the next day. And the day after that. And so on.

Days later, after Clay had lost track, he still hadn't given up his vigil by George's side. Alyssa said it wasn't healthy, but Clay didn't care. He ditched his duties as fill-in king to stay with George. Wilbur had taken over for now.

Clay was getting increasingly worried as days passed and George didn't wake up. Alyssa had said that he was in a self-induced coma. She said his body was conserving his energy so he could heal.

Patches used to sit with him every day, but Clay would always push her away. Now, he waited alone. Patches had stopped visiting when Clay completely ignored her.

He was a little hurt, but he knew he deserved it. Clay was too busy waiting for George to think about anything else.

Clay absentmindedly stroked George's cheek, waiting for him to wake up.

His thoughts drifted and he remembered what happened all those days ago. He squeezed his eyes shut and shoved the thought away.

Clay hadn't visited Nihachu since he almost killed her. He had hardly spoken to anyone other than Alyssa and occasionally Wilbur. But those conversations were mostly one-sided.

He hardly spoke to anyone. His brain was constantly thinking about George. Is he okay? When would he wake up? Why did it have to be George and not him?

Clay didn't look up when the door to the infirmary opened. A pair of boots walked over to him quietly. He heard a chair scrape against the floor, stopping a few feet away from him. There was a heavy sigh and the person plopped their weight into the chair.

Clay glanced over. "Punz?"

Punz nodded. His hair and clothes were disheveled and his eyes were swollen. He looked at Clay with a blank look, not saying anything.

"What are you doing here?" Clay asked as he looked back at George.

"I thought I'd stop by for a minute and check up on you," Punz replied, his voice hoarse.

"...Thanks," Clay muttered after a moment.

Punz huffed, "You should go outside and get some fresh air. I can look after George."

Clay shook his head. "No, I need to be here when he wakes up."

"It's been a week. What are the chances he'll wake up when you go out?"

Clay blinked, had it already been a week?

"The recruits are making loads of progress," Punz said when Clay didn't reply, "You have a connection with Purpled, right? Well his shoulder is almost fully healed. You should join me in training the group sometime. It'll be a good change for you."

"I'm not leaving George."

Punz sighed. They descended into silence. It was awkward, but Clay didn't care. He rubbed his thumb against George's palm gently. It was a long while before Punz spoke up.

"It was me," Punz said, his voice barely above a whisper, "I took the shot."

"What?" Clay asked as he turned his head slightly to look at Punz.

Punz took a shaky breath, "It was me... I shot him." The guard's voice wavered, "I killed Bad."

Clay turned back to George and didn't reply. He waited for Punz to continue.

"Why do I feel so horrible?" Punz asked quietly. "He was a traitor and tried to assassinate the king... but he was one of my soldiers. One of my closest friends."

"Well you saved George," Clay replied grimly.

"Did I really save him? I mean, look at him. He's basically dead."

Clay's head whipped towards Punz and he growled, "Don't you ever say that again."

Punz winced and nodded. "Sorry. It's just... I― I don't know..." Punz sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know who we can trust anymore."

Punz paused and then continued, "Bad― Bad was good, he was a good person, wasn't he? Before Nihachu, everyone liked him. And now... He ripped a hole through everything. No one knows who to trust... it's like...

"We're getting torn apart from the inside."

Clay's lips thinned. He couldn't disagree with Punz. Everything he said was true. Except for his comment about George.

George was not basically dead. Punz must be hallucinating. George was breathing, sure it was hardly noticeable, but it was there. And every so often, Clay would feel a finger twitch in his hand.

When that would happen, Clay would grin in excitement and he would rub his fingers over George's hands, urging him to wake up.

His spirits would fall when George didn't, but he never gave up. George would wake up. It was only a matter of time.

Punz sighed from beside Clay, dragging him out of his thoughts.

"Tubbo is okay, in case you were wondering. He's a little shaken up, but his friends in the guard are really helping him."

Clay didn't respond. He knew he was being rude, but he needed to focus on George. He needed to be fully present when he woke up. Punz got up from his chair and placed a hand on Clay's shoulder. Clay stiffened and Punz squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.

"Go for a walk one of these days and get some fresh air," Punz said, his voice edging on concern, "You need to care for yourself as well."

"I will when he wakes up."

Clay could sense Punz's frown as he replied, "...Okay, but maybe do something other than just sitting here all day every day."

"I can do what I want."

"I know, but..." Punz sighed, "Clay, you― what you're doing is not healthy. Maybe you just need to accept the fact that Geo―"

"Shut up," Clay snapped, "He's going to wake up."

Punz quieted, "... okay Clay. He will wake up, but please eat some food and go for a walk or something."

When Clay didn't respond, Punz said, "I'll see you later Clay. Take care of yourself."

Punz left the room a moment later and Clay sighed. He ran a tired hand through his hair.

He knew Punz cared about him and Clay appreciated that, but he didn't need to be told what to. Clay could take care of himself just fine.

He needed to take care of George right now.

George. His lover. His fiancé. His king. His partner. His soulmate. His world.

Clay wouldn't leave him to wake up alone.

George was going to wake up. He had to.

——————

a/n - :(

How are you all feeling? I hope you're doing okay.

I'm sad, but the next chapter will probably be the worse. It'll be better after that, I promise.

Thank you all for reading. I appreciate you :)

Hang in there. I love you guys <3