Rivalry Misconduct (Silksong Fanfiction)

Perception

A clean, white scene lay before Lace. White roses drifted around her, the sight of a castle in front of her. A kingdom of great renowned, a place reeking of pale. Lace carefully rose, standing up in the unfamiliar palace.
"Will my mother come back?" A innocent voice echoed in a nearby room. Lace turned her attention to the room, quietly sneaking over into the intricately designed door way. Before her, a large being sat. The being appeared to resemble that of a tree, its' head looking that of roots. Its' body bared a blue wrap. On its' lap, did Lace notice someone familiar. A child that wore a red dress. Her face; pale like everything else around her accompanied by two juvenile horns.
Hornet?
"I cannot say." The being lied, "Did you ever make any promises to your mother?" The small child searched for words at the question. Her eyes then lit up.
"I promised my mother I would be the greatest Princess knight!" She proudly declared.
"That you will be." The being assured the child.
"Princess?" Lace spoke aloud in astonishment, suddenly the world became silent. The two beings noticed her, staring at her. Lace was caught in their gaze, she could not look away. Specifically from young Hornet's. She did not realize that everything around her had become black, the being was gone. Two large pale hands came down from the darkness, encircling the small Hornet. The symbol of a Weaver dangled in one of the hands, then in the other a piece of the highly rare ore, Pale ore.
"To protect the world, our fallen land..." a voice with no direct indication spoke. It repeated, Hornet and the hands becoming more distorted as the voice began to go over itself. Lace tried to reach out to the child, but the hands clasped her out of her reach.
"For her."

Lace woke with a start, her chest heaving in a panic. Sweat dripped off of her face, except she felt cold more than anything. She regained herself, breathing more easily. She did not quite understand the dream. Was it true? Maybe she read too far into those texts, maybe her mind just made it.
"The Princess... of Hallownest?" She held a hand to her forehead, she carefully stood up from her slumber. Her legs felt weak, but then strong again. She knew the only way she'd get direct answers is from Hornet herself, and she was unsure if she'd even want to look for the perplexing Weaver. Let alone, asking her questions after their previous meetups would be seen as very out of place.
Why am I scared? Lace realized. Lace rarely ever felt fear. Though she is known to be slightly flirtatious with her enemies it was something she was always criticized for, as those higher than her thought it made her look weak and careless. She still proved to be formidable and able to make others fear her, there have been few times she's been fearful. She pushed back the feeling, twirling her pin around her glove she looked upwards across the plains that lay in front of her. An unknown anxiety was still picking at her, she had continued to suppress it all this time but it would not dissipate. She wanted to find Hornet, if all these misplaced thoughts had to do with her the only way to stop them was to find her and get answers.
Where could she be? She pondered. She had stalked Hornet before in the underbrush of Moss Grotto. Hornet appeared to retrace her steps many times, maybe retrieving items for others, something of the sort. She recalled seeing Hornet simply staring across the green plains, there was a sense of sentiment every time she stared off. Lace took a deep breath, hoping for the best that she'd find the spider amidst the lush jungle of the Grotto, she charged off into the familiar plain.