Prologue
- Say, if you are in a dream, where there will be no repercussions or consequences for anything... What would you do? - Arthur broke the silence of the room by dropping this question in the air... his absent gaze turned to a distant horizon out of the window.
After a moment of hesitation, his faithful omnipresent right-hand man answered: - ... What brought this up, My Liege?-
- You see... I want to be a bit more honest with my feelings. But if I do so and it bothers the other person, it might change our current relationship.-
- ... So even My Liege is afraid of rejection?-
- Now, now. Don’t tease me like that, Lancelot. I’m not that greedy of a person. I’m already pretty content with what we have. Wanting more means risking losing what we already built. That guy can be very troublesome, but he also gets overwhelmed so easily. - said the King, turning his emerald green eyes towards his faithful knight, as if he could pierce with just a glance the steel visor that the black knight always wore on his face, like a shield for his deepest emotions.
- But if it’s just a dream, and I don’t have to hold back and can just be honest. I would like get closer to him, tell him how I feel, and then embrace him in my arms. - while pronouncing these words the King rose from his throne, calmly and confidently approaching Lancelot.
- Since it won’t impact our relationship in real life, I can do anything I want to him. It can stay a secret... - continued Arthur, taking the knight’s chin in his hand to force him to look him directly in the eyes while gently touching his lips with the tip of his gloved thumb and whispering this thought... As if he were speaking only to himself, immersed in his world.
The knight didn’t move, almost unable to breathe due to the tension of the moment. He forced himself to compose himself and replied- I don’t understand... Why do you even have to dream to do that? There is no way someone would refuse Your Majesty in the real world.-
The sentence brought Arthur back to the present, sighing at the thought of the “real world”. He looked at his knight with an annoyed look and said
- Not even you, Lancelot? -
- Yes. If you whish so, I would gladly offer myself to You. -
Arthur’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened, his shaking hand still on the knight’s chin shrank into a fist.
- I won’t do that... That wouldn’t be fair. Both to you and to him -
Lancelot smiled- I know. Your Majesty is just that kind of person. You are excessively kind... and excessively cruel -
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Shadow opened his eyes with difficulty and sighed
- Not this dream again... -
He stayed in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, with a heavy heart that was hard to explain. Then he forced himself to get up. He went to the kitchen for a cup of his favorite coffee: 100% Arabica, black, sugar-free. He sipped it in an attempt to finally wake up, but the dream was haunting him even when he was awake.
It had all started months ago...After the incident with the Prism and his adventure with the blue hedgehog through the various parallel worlds. Something had changed.
They appeared before only as confused fragments and he hadn’t given them any weight. He thought that maybe it was all due to the tiredness accumulated by the continuous battles against Dr. Eggman or the endless missions entrusted to him by G.U.N.
Now, however, the dreams had become more defined, more and more “real”.
But the thing that bothered him the most was the fact that every time he found himself in one of those dreams he couldn’t control himself. He had no control over his body and the words came out on their own. That lack of self-control, so tied to his being, was what unsettled him the most.
He went out for a walk, hoping that some fresh air would help him distract his thoughts.
But his mind kept going back to the images of that night over and over again.
- “Be honest” he said!“There will be no consequences I’m a dream” he said!... And then he had the gall to humiliate me like that.Even in a dream, he’s still annoying.I will beat him up next time we meet. - he kept thinking to himself.
- But... “Wanting to be honest”, huh?I can also only act like that because it’s only a dream... Even though it’s just a meaningless manifestation of my own escapism... Somehow it’s like my mouth gets looser... It’s as if I can’t keep my real thoughts from spilling out...-
-Shadow!!! Look! The kids are throwing a costume party and they gifted this to me! Isn’t it so cool?! -Sonic had appeared out of nowhere as usual and was standing there in front of him... With a long red and gold cape, lined with soft white fur and a golden crown on his head that fit perfectly between his ears.
Shadow was frozen in place, his heart pounding in his ears, his breathing labored... His shaking hand moved on its own towards the figure in front of him and the words came out uncontrollably in a barely audible whisper-My Liege... -In a split second he realized his mistake and composed himself, bringing a hand to his face, red with embarrassment and averting his gaze elsewhere. “Crap, I slipped...” he thought. “He’s never going to let me live this down...”
- Lancelot?! -A shiver ran through Shadow’s body as he looked up to meet Sonic’s wide eyes with a mixture of shock and hope.- Is that really you? Lancelot. -
- How... How did you know that name? That was... supposed to be... only a dream!! -Shadow stammered in a confused manner and suddenly
- CHAOS CONTROL! -
- Wait! -
Sonic tried to hold him back but there was no longer any trace of the black hedgehog. He stood there, in disbelief at the events that had just unfolded. Then suddenly he started laughing to himself
- Ah! Hahahaha I see... Are you also scared of being honest, unless it’s in a dream? You’re so cute... Lancelot... My Shadow -
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Link to the comic that inspired me to write this story: https://x.com/junjousega/status/1907164224964731059?t=eDIt4IvsdYwzdPNmm1lU9g&s=19
Credits to @junjousega on X
