The king's forbidden desire (Part 5)
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Main charaters: Morpheus, Reader, Hades
The Dreaming never rested.
Every night, thousands of dreams were born. Thousands more faded before dawn. New nightmares wandered the realm, lost dreams searched for their dreamers, and endless shelves in Lucienne's library filled with stories yet to be told.
Morpheus buried himself in every one of them.
He attended every petition brought before him. He walked the halls of the Dreaming long after everyone else had retired. He corrected even the smallest imperfections himself, refusing to leave anything unfinished.
Lucienne noticed first. Her lord had always been devoted to his duties.
He was not working because the Dreaming needed him.
He was working because he refused to be alone with his own thoughts.
The raven watched Morpheus from the back of his throne as another dream was judged and another nightmare dismissed.
"You haven't stopped working in days."
Another scroll appeared in Morpheus's hand.
He opened it without hesitation.
Matthew sighed, ruffling his feathers.
"You know… even kings need to rest."
The only sound in the throne room was the quiet scratching of a quill against parchment.
Lucienne stepped forward, placing another stack of books beside the throne.
This time Morpheus raised his eyes.
"There are no further audiences today."
A brief silence followed.
"if you want you may retire for the evening."
Morpheus looked toward the enormous windows overlooking the Dreaming.
The sky never truly changed there.
Lucienne lowered her gaze.
She had served him long enough to know when silence was kinder than advice.
As she and Matthew left the throne room together, the raven glanced back one last time.
He was already reading another report.
Lucienne followed the raven's gaze.
Lucienne remained quiet for a long moment.
She looked toward the lonely figure seated upon the throne.
ife in the Underworld continued exactly as it always had.
Kings and queens from forgotten ages stood before your throne, asking for judgment.
You fulfilled every duty expected of the Queen of the Underworld.
You smiled when you were supposed to.
You stood beside Hades at every council meeting.
You walked the palace gardens with him.
You listened as he spoke of the realm, its borders, and the endless responsibilities that came with ruling it.
Yet you noticed it in the quiet moments.
When you reached for a book, your thoughts drifted elsewhere.
When the servants addressed you, you sometimes needed them to repeat themselves.
Even the white lilies in the palace gardens reminded you of a house that shouldn't have existed.
A house you had not seen since that night.
You told yourself it was for the best.
That whatever had happened between you and the King of Dreams belonged only to a dream.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
So you stopped thinking about it.
Some nights, sleep came easily.
Others, you remained awake for hours, staring at the ceiling of your chambers, almost afraid to close your eyes.
Not because you feared seeing him. Because you feared you wouldn't.
You hated that thought the moment it crossed your mind. Turning onto your side, you closed your eyes once more.
You whispered the words into the darkness.
Whether you believed them…
You weren't entirely sure.
Your breathing gradually slowed.
The sounds of the palace faded.
The familiar darkness behind your closed eyes slowly dissolved.
You frowned in your sleep.
A soft breeze brushed against your face. Your heart leapt. You knew that breeze.
Your eyes opened immediately.
The white house stood before you.
Exactly as you remembered it.
The ivy climbing the walls.
Relief washed over you before you could stop it.
You took a slow step forward.
A small smile found its way onto your lips.
You whispered it without thinking.
Your pace quickened. You climbed the stone steps leading to the front door. Your hand reached for the brass handle.
A little harder this time.
The smile slowly disappeared from your face.
Your fingers curled tighter around the handle.
You pushed against the door.
No fire crackling inside.
You stepped back and looked through one of the tall windows.
The house that had once felt alive now stood completely still.
As though no one had lived there for centuries.
Confusion turned into something heavier.
You rested one hand against the cold white door.
You kept your hand against the door. The cold wood didn't respond. Not even a flicker.
Your voice was barely a whisper.
You tried the handle once more.
You stepped back, your eyes searching every window.
No sign that anyone had ever been there.
You looked toward the garden. The white roses still swayed gently in the breeze. Everything else was exactly as you remembered.
Why wouldn't the door open?
Your thoughts began racing.
Had you done something wrong?
Had you said something you shouldn't have?
Your mind drifted back to the last time you had seen him.
The way you had held him.
The way he had looked at you before you woke.
The question lingered longer than you wanted.
A knot formed in your stomach.
Perhaps he regretted letting you see that side of him. Perhaps he had decided it had been a mistake.
He no longer wanted you here.
The thought hurt far more than you expected.
You rested your forehead against the door and let out a slow, unsteady breath.
"I only wanted to know if you were alright…"
The words disappeared into the silence.
Only the sound of the wind moving through the white roses.
For the first time since you had found this place…
You kept your hand against the door. Your breathing had begun to steady.
The door opened only a few inches.
Morpheus stood on the other side. He looked exactly as you remembered.
His eyes lingered on yours before he slowly stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
The wind carried the scent of the white roses between you.
Morpheus broke the silence first.
You stared at him, unable to understand.
He lowered his gaze for a brief moment.
His voice remained calm, but it carried an unfamiliar weight.
"My brother is your husband."
The words struck harder than you expected.
"I have failed them both simply by allowing this to continue."
You took a hesitant step toward him.
"But you opened the door."
Morpheus closed his eyes.
When he looked at you again, there was sadness in his expression.
"And that moment was a mistake."
"I should never have let you enter this house."
The words were meant to push you away.
His expression faltered for the first time.
You felt your eyes fill with tears.
"I can't stop thinking about you."
The confession escaped before you could stop it.
You laughed bitterly through the tears.
"I told myself it would pass."
"…I find myself thinking of you."
Morpheus didn't move. He couldn't.
The words had shaken even him.
His jaw tightened. His hands slowly curled into fists at his sides.
For the first time in centuries…
The King of Dreams looked as though he had no answer.
He drew a slow, unsteady breath.
"You must not say such things."
His voice was quieter now.
His gaze lingered on you for one aching moment before he looked away, as though meeting your eyes required more strength than he possessed.
anger began to rise through the hurt.
You took another step toward him.
The words echoed through the white garden.
"You tell me this has to end…"
"…you tell me to forget you…"
Your hands trembled at your sides.
"…and then you stand there as if none of this means anything?"
Morpheus finally looked at you.
Pain flickered across his face.
"Why did you build this place?"
You couldn't finish the sentence.
Fresh tears blurred your vision.
The words came out almost as a cry.
"You made me believe I wasn't alone."
Your breathing became uneven.
"And now you tell me to go back?"
You shook your head violently.
"You don't get to do that."
Morpheus stepped toward you.
It was enough to close the distance between you.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
The question hung between you.
Only as a heartbreaking truth.
Because for the first time…
The King of Dreams was afraid of the answer.
The question remained unanswered.
And perhaps that was the cruelest answer of all.
Morpheus stood before you in silence.
The man who had opened the doors of the Dreaming to you, only to now stand there and ask you to leave.
His eyes held the weight of a thousand unspoken words.
One choice could change everything.
One choice could destroy kingdoms.
One choice could betray promises that had existed long before either of you.
A part of him wanted to choose you.
The white garden grew colder around you.
The flowers that once bloomed with impossible beauty seemed to bow beneath the heaviness of the moment.
Morpheus’ voice was barely above a whisper.
He looked away, unable to hold your gaze.
"You should hate me for bringing you here."
"For making you believe there was a place where you belonged."
His expression remained calm, but the sadness behind his eyes betrayed him.
"I knew from the moment I allowed you into my dreams that this could only end in pain."
And somehow, your silence hurt him more.
"Then why didn't you stop?"
Your words echoed through the garden.
Morpheus looked back at you.
For a moment, he had no answer.
Because there was no answer that could make this easier.
The admission seemed almost impossible coming from him.
The Endless who had spent eternity putting duty above everything else.
"I spent so long believing that wanting nothing made me stronger."
The wind passed between you, carrying the quiet whispers of forgotten dreams.
"And suddenly, I remembered what it felt like to want something."
The pain in his voice was impossible to miss.
"Something you cannot have."
The words left you quietly.
Morpheus lowered his gaze.
The honesty was worse than a lie.
"This is why I must end this."
Morpheus watched you carefully, as if trying to memorize every detail before letting you go.
"You are choosing the crown."
Your voice carried the hurt he had caused.
"I am choosing not to destroy you."
Because that was the tragedy of Morpheus.
He was not walking away because he did not love.
He was walking away because he did.
And somewhere beyond the borders of the Dreaming…Another realm stirred.
Another king felt the change.
Because even the strongest walls could not hide a forbidden desire forever
Time moved differently in the Dreaming.
Days could become moments.
Moments could become centuries.
But no matter how much time passed…
He returned to his duties.
He listened to the dreams of mortals.
He walked through the endless halls of his kingdom.
He sat upon his throne as he always had.
But something had changed. The Dreaming remembered you.
A garden would bloom with flowers he had never created. A forgotten dream would carry the feeling of your presence. A melody would appear in the halls, one he had never heard before.
Because for the smallest fraction of a second…
He believed you had returned. Then reality would remind him.
Matthew watched him carefully from above. The raven had seen many versions of his master.
The Endless who believed emotions were weaknesses.
"You know," Matthew said quietly, landing near the throne, "for someone who said this was the right thing to do…"
The raven tilted his head.
"You don't exactly look like someone who feels relieved boss."
Morpheus remained silent.
His gaze moved toward the endless darkness beyond the throne room.
"Relief was never what I sought."
Matthew softened slightly.
"Then what did you seek?"
But even as he spoke the words…
He knew the truth. He had protected your life.
But he had not protected his own heart.
Far beyond the borders of the Dreaming…
Another realm felt the disturbance.
Because even the deepest shadows could sense when something precious was slipping away.
And the balance between kingdoms…
The Dreaming had always obeyed him.
Every whisper of forgotten dreams.
All of it existed because he allowed it to.
Morpheus had spent eternity believing that nothing within his realm could surprise him.
The night was quiet when he returned to the white garden.
He had not intended to come here.
At least, that was what he told himself.
His footsteps carried him across the endless fields before he even realized where he was going.
The flowers moved gently beneath the silver light.
The Dreaming remembered everything.
Every moment that had left a mark.
You had left the deepest one.
Morpheus stood at the edge of the garden, his expression unreadable.
For a long time, he said nothing.
He simply looked at the place where you had once stood. Where you had looked at him with hurt in your eyes.
Where you had asked him why he let you in if he was only going to push you away.
He hated that he remembered every word.
A king should not be haunted by a memory.
An Endless should not ache for something he had chosen to lose.
Matthew's voice broke the silence.
Morpheus did not turn around.
The raven landed on a nearby branch.
Matthew looked around the garden.
"But you also didn't stop yourself."
For a moment, there was almost something different in Morpheus' expression.
Something closer to sadness.
"I made the correct choice."
The single word made Morpheus look at him.
The raven looked toward the flowers.
"Doing the right thing doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."
The words stayed between them.
He knew better than anyone.
Pain did not always mean a mistake.
Pain meant something mattered.
A single flower bloomed in the center.
A flower that had not existed before.
This was not his creation.
The Dreaming had created it on its own.
And for the first time since he had let you go… Morpheus whispered your name.
Almost afraid that saying it aloud would make the truth impossible to ignore.
Far beneath the world of dreams…
Where shadows moved like living things and ancient rivers carried the whispers of forgotten souls…
Another kingdom remained awake.
The throne room was silent.
Hades had ruled over darkness for longer than most beings could remember. He knew the language of death, the weight of secrets, and the smallest changes that disturbed the balance between realms.
And something had changed.
Through the very fabric of existence.
A connection that should not have existed.
A bond that refused to disappear.
Hades stood before the endless flames of his kingdom, his expression unreadable.
The shadows around him shifted.
A voice broke the silence.
One of his servants lowered their head.
"Something troubles the borders between realms."
Hades did not answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the darkness ahead.
Because Hades already knew.
He had always known. There were some things even kings could not hide.
Morpheus sat alone in his throne room.
The endless halls surrounded him.
But they felt more empty than ever.
Matthew watched him from above.
The raven had seen him face armies.
He had seen him face impossible choices.
But never had he seen Morpheus defeated by something he could not fight.
The answer came too quickly.
"Because I know what would happen."
The king of dreams remained silent.
Because the truth was the one thing he did not want to say.
And that terrified him more than losing you.
The Dreaming changed around him. The stars above the realm dimmed slightly.
The shadows whispered. The walls remembered.
And Morpheus finally understood something he had spent centuries refusing to accept.
He had believed love was a weakness.
The cruelest chain was pretending he did not have a heart.
Morpheus remained motionless upon his throne.
The words he had refused to admit for so long still echoed within the halls of the Dreaming.
A dangerous thing for an Endless to possess.
A thing that could be wounded. A thing that could long for something it could never have. The throne beneath him felt colder than it ever had before.
He had sat there for centuries.
He had watched countless dreams rise and disappear. He had witnessed mortals create worlds from nothing but a single thought.
But nothing had prepared him for the emptiness left behind by one person.
Matthew flew down from the shadows, landing near the arm of the throne.
For once, the raven did not make a joke.
Because even Matthew knew.
Something inside his master had changed.
"The Dreaming feels different."
Morpheus did not look at him.
"It is merely responding to change."
"Is that what you tell yourself?"
A faint silence followed.
Morpheus' gaze shifted toward the endless windows of his palace.
Beyond them were countless dreams.
And yet his mind returned to only one.
A moment in a white garden.
"But you don't sound like someone who made peace with it."
Morpheus stood from his throne.
The shadows moved with him.
The Dreaming itself seemed to follow his every step.
"I cannot allow my feelings to change what must be done."
Matthew watched him carefully.
"And if what must be done destroys you?"
Because that was the question he had been avoiding.
Not whether he could lose you.
The question was whether he could continue existing as if losing you had not changed him.
Morpheus walked through the quieter corners of his realm.
Places even dreams forgot.
He found himself standing before a small lake, its surface reflecting endless stars.
Only a reflection created by his own longing.
A sadness almost impossible to notice.
His voice disappeared into the darkness.
The Dreaming remained silent.
But somewhere deep within its endless halls…
A forgotten dream began to awaken.
A dream that had formed the moment you left.
A dream Morpheus had never created.
A dream that belonged to neither him…
But to the bond between two worlds that refused to disappear.
Far away from the Dreaming…
The Underworld remained as it had always been.
That was what everyone believed.
You stood within the halls of your kingdom, surrounded by the darkness and the endless beauty of a realm that had once felt like home.
Your crown was still upon your head.
Your place beside Hades remained.
Nothing had been taken from you.
Something you refused to name.
You had tried to convince yourself that Morpheus was only a dream.
A moment that had existed somewhere between reality and imagination.
Something that should have been left behind.
But memories did not disappear simply because they were forbidden.
A garden filled with white flowers.
The way he looked at you when he thought no one was watching. The way he let you see the part of himself that he hid from the rest of the universe. The King of Dreams had shown you something no one else had ever seen.
And you learned to smile again.
You walked through the halls as a queen should.
You answered your people.
You carried your responsibilities.
You stood beside Hades with the same grace as before.
But when the night came…When the kingdom grew quiet…
Your thoughts betrayed you. They always returned to the same place.
One night, you found yourself standing near the balcony overlooking the endless darkness of the Underworld.
The shadows moved softly around you.
But enough to remind you.
Behind you, footsteps echoed.
The sound pulled you back to reality.
Leaving only silence behind.
A silence that felt strangely familiar.
Like the silence of a king who was trying desperately not to miss you.
Somewhere beyond the borders of your world…
And even though you did not answer… Your heart already knew the name.
Hades noticed everything.
At first, he said nothing.
He watched the way your eyes drifted away during conversations. The way you became quieter in moments where you once would have spoken.
The way you stood beneath the dark skies of the Underworld, lost in thoughts that no one else could reach.
You were still his queen.
But something had changed.
Something he could not name.
One evening, Hades found you alone in the palace gardens.
The flames surrounding the realm burned softly, casting shadows across the ancient stones.
You did not hear him approach.
Not because you were careless. Because your mind was somewhere else. Somewhere far away.
Hades stopped a few steps behind you. For a long moment, he simply looked at you.
The woman who had stood beside him through endless years.
Tonight, he felt as if a part of you was somewhere he could not reach.
His voice broke the silence.
Hades' expression remained calm. But his eyes were searching.
"The Underworld notices many things."
"But I notice you first."
The words carried no anger. Only concern.
Because Hades knew you. He knew every change in your voice.
"You smile when others look at you."
His gaze softened slightly.
"But when you think no one is watching…"
Because even saying it aloud felt like crossing a line.
"You look as though you are mourning something."
The shadows moved gently around you.
Hades looked away for a moment.
Because even kings struggled with the things they feared.
"I do not know what has taken your thoughts from me."
"But I know something has."
Hades remained silent for a moment.
The flames around the garden moved softly, their light reflecting in his eyes.
He had seen you fight. He had seen you endure losses.
He had seen you carry the weight of a crown without ever allowing the world to see your pain.
This was not the silence of a queen. This was the silence of someone carrying a secret.
"At first, I thought it was simply the burden of your crown."
"Or perhaps the endless years we have carried together."
His expression changed slightly.
"Since the day you saw my half-brother…"
The words lingered in the air.
Hades watched your reaction carefully.
"As though something changed after that moment."
"You returned from that meeting different."
The shadows around the garden seemed to grow quieter.
"You were still yourself."
"But something in you was no longer completely here."
Hades looked away toward the dark skies above the Underworld.
"I know my brother's presence can bring memories that are difficult to carry."
"Things that even time cannot completely erase."
Then his eyes returned to you.
He shook his head slightly.
"I have ruled this realm for countless ages."
"I have watched souls hide their truths behind their eyes."
"You have never been good at hiding from me."
The words were not an accusation.
A reminder that he knew you.
That something between you had shifted, and he was trying to understand why.
"Is it because of what you saw?"
"Or because of someone you found there?"
The question hung between you.
Not because you did not understand it.
But because, deep inside…
You already knew the answer.
For a moment, the garden became completely silent.
Then Hades spoke the name.
And something inside you stopped.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
A small change in your expression.
The way your breath caught before you could control it.
A name you had tried so desperately to bury had found its way back into the light.
Not because you wanted to hide from Hades. But because you were trying to hide from yourself.
The memories returned without permission.
The endless skies of the Dreaming.
The moment he stepped away even though every part of him wanted to stay.
Hades watched quietly. He did not interrupt. He did not need to.
Your silence had already answered more than words could.
His voice was softer now.
Not accusing. Simply certain.
The shadows around the garden moved gently.
And for the first time, Hades saw something he had never expected to see.
Far away, beyond the borders of the Underworld…
Morpheus paused in the middle of an empty hall.
A strange feeling crossed through him.
A reminder of a bond he had tried to deny.
He looked toward the endless darkness.
Back in the garden, Hades lowered his gaze.
Because now he understood one thing.
Whatever had changed you…
It was not a passing thought.
It was something that had reached a place even a king could not easily touch.
The silence had become something Morpheus could no longer ignore.
The halls were the same. The endless books remained untouched. The whispers of forgotten dreams continued to fill the air.
Something within his kingdom had changed.
Something within him had.
The library of the Dreaming stood quiet beneath the endless skies.
Thousands upon thousands of books rested on the shelves, each one holding a story, a memory, a dream that had once existed.
Lucienne moved between the shelves, carefully arranging a collection of ancient texts.
She had always known her king.
She had seen him return from battles.
She had seen him carry losses without allowing anyone to see the weight upon his shoulders.
But this time was different.
This time, he was not carrying a kingdom.
He was carrying a memory.
Morpheus entered the library silently.
Lucienne did not turn immediately.
She already knew it was him.
He stopped near the shelves.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The librarian glanced at him.
"You have visited the library more often lately."
Morpheus' expression remained unreadable.
"I am the ruler of the Dreaming. I may walk wherever I choose."
Lucienne allowed a small pause.
A faint silence followed.
"But you usually come here when you are searching for answers."
Morpheus looked toward the endless rows of books.
Lucienne closed the book in her hands.
Her eyes studied him carefully.
"Then perhaps you are avoiding."
The words hung in the air.
Lucienne had always been one of the few who dared to speak honestly to him.
Not because she forgot who he was.
Because she understood him.
"The Dreaming has changed with you."
"The gardens remember her."
"The halls remember her."
"You are trying very hard not to."
For the first time, Morpheus' expression shifted.
She looked back at the shelves.
"But making the right choice does not mean it will not hurt."
Silence filled the library.
The kind of silence that only existed between people who already knew the truth.
Lucienne lowered her voice.
"May I ask you something?"
"Did you send her away because it was impossible…"
"Or because you were afraid?"
The question remained unanswered.
The King of Dreams did not have a response.
Lucienne gently placed the book back onto the shelf.
"Things we fear losing are the things we never allow ourselves to truly have."
Morpheus looked toward the window overlooking the Dreaming.
The stars above his kingdom burned quietly.
And somewhere beyond them…
One he no longer wished to.
Morpheus remained in the library long after Lucienne had left. The candles slowly burned lower. The endless shelves stood silent around him.
Usually, the library gave him peace.
Every book felt like a question.
Every shadow felt like a memory.
He walked toward the window overlooking the Dreaming.
The realm stretched endlessly before him.
For the first time in eternity, it felt incomplete.
Morpheus placed a hand against the cold stone.
He had spent centuries believing that loneliness was a choice.
A burden he willingly carried.
A price of being Endless.
But now he understood something far more painful.
Loneliness was not the absence of others.
It was the absence of the one person who made the silence bearable.
Behind him, the library remained quiet.
But one book on the highest shelf moved on its own.
Lucienne had seen it happen.
The Dreaming was remembering.
A story that had not ended.
A bond that had not faded.
A dream that refused to disappear.
Far away, in another kingdom…
You stood beneath the dark skies of the Underworld.
Looking toward a place you could not see.
Feeling something you could not explain.
Two worlds remained apart.
Two hearts remained silent.
But the Dreaming knew the truth.
Some dreams were not meant to be forgotten.
Some connections were not meant to be broken.
Would always find their way back.
