~
"ALREadY? bUt we hAven'T EVEN exEcuTED ThE FirsT PHASe OF tHE plAn."
"Weddings take time to prepare for, your majesty. The sooner we arrange it, the sooner the two of you will be married." Nightmare scribbled onto the pale paper with elegant handwriting. Heavy, rich, black ink spilled from the tip of his fountain pen as it dragged across the thin surface in a series of loops, crosses and dots.
"Now, do you think she'd like a ring with pearls or diamonds?"
Error folded his hands across his chest, leaning back in his chair.
"ThIs Doesn't FEEL RIght. I TooK A rISK AgreEINg To tHe 'foRceD MArriAgE' PLoT, BUt I DON'T wAnT TO do It aLL TOO SOon," he said, stretching in place until he heard a pop! from his back. He sighed in relief, his body limp against the velvet back of the chair.
Rolling his pen between a finger and his thumb, Nightmare propped his elbows onto the table as his brows fell into a flat line above his eyes.
"How odd. I thought you liked this girl."
"aT whaT poINT did I SAy i DIdn'T?"
"If you did, you'd leap at the chance to be with her. Besides, I wouldn't recommend holding it off for long. When her family realizes what's happened to her, they'll be sending people to go out looking for her."
He stopped briefly, examining the expression on Error's face, though the king didn't take notice of this.
"You never know." The corner of his mouth curled upward, eyes piercing into the eyes of the skeleton across the table. "That peasant may want to lead the pack."
He caught the laugh in his throat before it could leave his mouth as he watched Error wriggle in discomfort.
"That being said, if you are legally bound to her before they can arrive, there's not a thing they can do about it. You will reign the victor in this battle."
The blades of the ceiling fan sliced through the umber-tinted air above them, dispersing the scent of burnt firewood throughout the room. Their thoughts yelled at them, loud in their heads' amongst the silence of the room.
Error cleared his throat, sitting straight up in his seat.
"PEaRLs."
Nightmare grinned in return, bending down to write out "pearls" in cursive under some lines he had drawn into a chart.
"Good." He scooted his chair closer, the golden legs screeching against the hardwood floor. "We should probably get to the guest list. Who do you want? Besides Fresh, Horror... your parents?"
"yoU CoUlD, if yOu wAnt To BE THe ONE to dIg tHeM uP."
Nightmare's hand stiffened, the pen slipping from his fingers as it hit the tabletop with a light tap. Error held his side as he laughed at the expense of his advisor, whose face was twisting as it questioned whether it was appropriate to laugh.
"I... am so sorry."
"Don'T wOrRy abOuT it, It HapPENED wHeN I wAs LIttLe. nO Big DEaL," he assured him, wiping at his eye with a finger.
Nightmare chuckled to himself, scratching two lines onto the paper.
"No parents. Got it."
Error nodded, still beaming with pride at the reaction he got from the response.
"aCTUalLY, I wOULD APprEciAte iT IF YoU iNVITeD somE OF HER FaMilY."
"I thought you said they hated you?"
"tHey Do. esPeCIAlLy scI. BUT i WaNT tO aT LEast InVItE TheM AnYwaY, i imAGiNe IT'D crush (Y/n) If theY coUldn'T be There tO witnESS Her GEttING MArRiEd."
"If that's what you want, I'll be sure to send them an invitation when the time comes."
"greAT. thaT's sCI, MuFFeT... HECK, iNVITE THe liTtLe BlUe One, too. They SeeMED ClOsE."
Nightmare wrote their names onto the pages, the sound of the pen's tip rustling against the paper filling the moment of silence.
She would like that, wouldn't she? Error's head dropped, a train of thought taking off into the open air.
(Y/N) had told him all about her relationship with Sci the first day they met. About how he had taken on the role of her father, named her, and raised her with help from the staff of the castle. Over the years, many who had worked under her parents retired, overwhelmed with the grief brought about by the king and queen's deaths.
Muffet, who had been working as the head chef, gladly took on the role as the mother figure in her life, even assuming the roles of those who had left over the years. She was a wonderful caretaker, feeding her, tucking her into bed, and dressing her before she knew how to do so herself.
As wonderful as she was, the influence she had in her life was minimal compared to Sci's. Even as he worked himself to death as the fill-in monarch until she was of age, he never left her side. He was her teacher, showing her how to read, write, and do basic math. He taught her about the world and the science behind it all, and he taught her all she needed to know about ruling a kingdom.
Beyond that, he was the one to keep her company. Reading to her, letting her dress him up in feather boas and plastic high heels. He would drink the tea she pretended to brew, sipping at the air as he drank from her porcelain teacups.
Sci would put on an outlandish accent, over-exaggeratingly crossing his legs.
"Absolutely delicious, my dear! Though, it could use a bit more milk."
The young princess would collapse to the floor, and she would laugh and laugh...
A faint smile found itself on Error's face as he painted the scene for himself in his mind.
The hardwood floor beneath him shook and rumbled, cracking as it revealed the soil beneath. Sprouts of green and yellow erupted from the dirt, growing up into tall plants before Error could process what was happening. The ceiling opened up, the dark walls of the meeting room lined with paintings encased in ancient gold toppled to the ground.
Magically, the long wooden table he and his advisor had been sitting at for what felt like hours shrunk, curling its ends around into a circle. The wood from the table snapped into pieces, presenting its polished, white, marble skeleton.
Grey clouds of rain and lightning melted away. The sun peeked out from behind them, yawning as it awoke from its slumber. Its warmth reached out toward him, delicately cupping its hand on his coal-toned cheekbone.
Error breathed in the spring air, unalarmed. Flowers with silk petals of every color bloomed from the greenery, bidding him a good morning as they came to life.
A soft breeze travelled through the air, taking the leaves of the great weeping willow tree to his right with it. One wall had remained, turning to cobblestone. The paintings which once adorned it were now rainbow-colored glass, casting different colors of light onto the dirt below.
Error turned to Nightmare, hoping to catch a glance at his reaction to the sudden change of scenery. For the first time in the enchanting transition, he felt himself surprised. Sitting at the seat across from him was not his questionable, ill-willed advisor, but her.
(Y/N) was looking back at him, smiling at him politely as she sat with her ankles crossed underneath the table in the garden. Her hands sat gracefully folded in her lap, her head tilted as if she was listening to him with interest.
He felt cold sweat dripping on his face, though he wasn't sure if it was from finding himself back in front of her or from his long sleeves absorbing the golden heat of the sun.
Should he say something? That look on her face... it was almost too nice. Maybe she was waiting for him to say something so she could interrupt him and scold him for his actions.
He should just apologize. No hope for a second chance, no hope for a relationship. No catch. Just a sorry, and maybe she'd be content.
Error tried to open his mouth to speak, but she caught him off guard when her eyebrows fell and her lips parted. Like she was worried, or scared.
Though this face wasn't much better, Error felt himself relax the tiniest bit. He couldn't stomach the thought of her yelling at him, so this would be easier for him.
"Sorry." He jumped, looking back to her. She was sorry?
"That was a lot, I can be a bit of a chatterbox sometimes. I probably sound self-obsessed now."
She let out a short laugh, but she appeared embarrassed with herself.
"No! noT AT ALL. I LikE listEnIng TO yoU." The words spilled out of his mouth before he could feel them coming. He slapped his face in the back of his mind. He wasn't lying about that, but he didn't even know what she was talking about.
Her cheeks blushed pink, a hand curling up towards her face in retaliation, but they didn't cover her lips. It stopped, flattening itself across her chest daintily to mask her reaction.
Error grinned. That moment, her blushing... he knew where he was now. He couldn't forget it if he tried.
"Well, thank you. So what about your family? Do you have anyone close to you like Sci?"
"i GUESs I do. noT liKe a moTheR oR fAtheR FiGURE, BUt a close PerSoN I cOnSIder FAMiLy."
"Tell me! You have to now that I've dumped so much of my history on you."
"My fRiEnd, hOrrOR. hE'S beeN woRKinG FOR Me FoR as LONG aS i CAN rememBER, BUT wE'RE THE sAmE AGe. HiS parEnts aCtuALLY workED fOr uS, so I gREw Up aRoUNd hiM."
She smiled, dropping her hand back into her lap.
"THEy rEtIREd yeArs Ago WHEN tHEY mADE thE mOnEY they neeDed tO LIVe. They PLanned tO tAke hoRROr WitH HIM, BUT hE REFused to GO. i KnEW I HAD to REpay Him foR stICkiNg WITh Me, sO i MaDE him mY RIGhT-hand Guy. hE hAS BeeN sInCE I WAs CORoNaTEd Two yeArs ago."
"I bet your parents are very proud of your generosity," she said. Her eyes had caught a ray from the sun, sparkling in the pale light.
He exhaled, drawing swirling patterns onto the table.
"MayBE ThEY Would Be. THey paSSEd when I wAS A CHIlD."
He watched her smile drop, her brows curling up in pity.
"It's OKay! I dOn'T MIss thEM mUCh."
"So who took care of you when they passed away?"
"EH, mYsElF. The pALaCe sTaFf HeLPEd, BuT i Had litTLE a cHIlDHoOD EVEN whEN THey WeRe StILl aLive, so i mANAgeD."
She nodded with understanding, letting her eyebrows fall back into place.
"I get it."
(Y/N) turned her head to the ground. Error looked down at her, watching as she concealed her still-standing frown. His chest fluttered, his breath shaky. Did he do something wrong?
"WhAt'S Wrong?"
"I feel guilty. I've always thought my childhood was bad, but yours sounds so much harder," she said. "I never knew my parents, and I still managed to talk about them for twenty minutes!"
Error crossed his arms on the tabletop, leaning toward her.
"hAviNg DEaD pARentS iS Hard ON aNYONE, whetHer OR not yOU'VE met THeM. jUst BECAuSe YoU EvEr KNEw THeM DOesN'T MEAn YOU arEN't AFfeCteD bY it. ThAt'S A ToUgH ThiNG to GrOw up WITh."
"But you had it worse, didn't you?"
"I'd SAY wE hAd It thE SaME amOuNT, eveN IF It ISN't ObvIoUS."
He stretched his arm onto the table, opening his palm up for her to take it. (Y/N) cautiously lowered her hand into his.
His fingers abruptly closed around her hand, earning a squeak of surprise from her. Error's face burned, the glow of his yellow blush in his peripheral vision.
"THAT'S WHY people Like Us sHouLD sTiCk tOgether. I GET you; You GeT ME... I'D saY tHIS PAST HoUR wiTH yoU haS BEEN ONe Of thE BEST IN MY lIfe."
The king stood from his chair, kneeling to the ground in front of (Y/N), his hand never letting go of hers.
His dazed smile contrasted his thoughts, which were swirling around his head like litter in a tornado. Not long ago had he mentally picked up on where this was going. He wanted to stop, wake himself, or do anything to keep from reliving this moment. But his physical body had grown a mind of its own, forcing him to say and do things he wished he never had to do again.
"prInCesS?...(y/n). pLeaSE, i HuMBLy Ask FOr your HAnD. wE wOULD MAkE sUcH a gReaT TeAM, YOU anD i. We CoUld JOiN OUR KiNgdOmS TogETHeR and BEcoMe MOrE powerfuL ThAN Any OtHER EmPIRe tHAt cHAllENges uS. PLEaSE, MArRY me."
(Y/N) was as red as scarlet rose, her eyes wide and sparkling like a clear summer twilight. She was shaking, her lips quivering as she searched for the words to say.
"Error... I don't know what to say," she said, eyes never leaving him.
He chuckled at her flustered response, confident she would accept his spontaneous proposal. Girls like (Y/N) liked the adventurous type, right?
"Maybe I could have some time to think about it?"
Had he not caught the out-of-place twitch her head did, he wouldn't have assumed what he did.
"I mean... I just don't know. I-"
"If YOu'rE Going to saY no JuSt dO iT."
His tone was dim and cold, spitting out of his mouth like venom. Error's mind cried and begged, desperately forcing himself to wake up.
(Y/N) smiled weakly, cupping her other hand around Error's.
"For now, I can't say yes. I'm so sorry, really, I am."
"No, yoU'Re Not."
A beat.
"...Yes, I am."
"NO, yOU'Re nOt!"
He stood to his feet, yanking her from her chair. She crashed into his chest, her head aching from hitting the bones of his ribcage so hard. Error placed his hand on her waist, still clenching her forearm with the other. His fear of touch was the least of his concern at the moment, anyway.
"WHaT dId i Ever Do tO You? wherE diD i GO wroNg?" He was shouting, both in his head and out loud. In his thoughts, he was begging her to forgive him for being so cruel.
"Y-you did nothing wrong, Error! Really, I promise- ow!"
He gritted his teeth, a red, passionate fire burning in his chest, a feeling like sandpaper scratching into his sides.
"TheN Why do YoU HaTe me SO mUCH?"
"I don't, please, calm down so I can explain! Please, you're hurting me!" A tear rolled down her cheek. She thrashed in his grip, trying to escape.
"WHy CaN't yOU loVE mE? sO hELp me, I wIlL FOrCe you to iF i havE tO!"
It was like the Earth had stopped spinning. (Y/N) had stopped thrashing, but she was far from being unafraid. Error's scowl faltered as he studied her face. She was petrified.
"It's you."
The short and sweet statement had come out as a whisper so soft he wouldn't have heard her had he not been so close to her face.
He raised an eyebrow at her. She didn't give him a second more to ask her what she had meant.
(Y/N)'s pleas for help for her steward were like white noise in his state of blackout.
Error's subconscious had abandoned hope of waking up from his nightmare. His vision was blurry, the sight of Sci sprinting to pull him away from her was as hazy as a dream. His body was weightless, being dragged out of the castle by two guardsmen.
When he snapped out of his trance, he found himself back at the front of the castle, looking up towards the tallest tower of the cream-colored building of bricks and golden ornaments. Its peak was reaching up to touch a cloud soaring overhead.
Error shrugged, pulling the hood of some cloak over his head.
It didn't feel like his head was in a rush to pull itself back into the meeting room with Nightmare, so he continued on with his recollection of the day's events.
He took in the village's scenery, carts of flowers and fruits dragged by horses of no impressive stature or appearance. Monsters and humans of every kind basked in the rare sunny day.
A group of small children kicked around a blue rubber ball, shouting and giggling in delight at the cheap thrill. Older civilians who appeared to be of Error's age were out shopping for groceries and other trivial novelties, like handcrafted jewelry and rugs woven of every color.
Error came to a stop in his path, admiring the architecture of the village. Moss traveled through the cracks of the stone buildings, wiry cases of steel holding flowers that had been planted under the buildings' windows.
He was entranced in the peasant's beautiful hub they called home. In fact, he had become so lost in his moment of awe, the people of the village disappeared, leaving him alone to himself.
Well, almost.
Another shorter figure collided with Error, having run into him when he was vulnerable. He snapped his head in the figure's direction with disgust.
"wAtcH WHerE YOU'rE gOing, ShOr-"
The wretched peasant who had caused all of his pain up to this point looked back at him, a basket on his arm and a thin slip of paper in his hand.
He smiled, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going-"
"yOU."
The sight of this fiend was enough for him to regain control over his body. He had broken the cycle, now that he had the power to bend his lucid dream to his will.
Error grabbed the shorter skeleton by the collar of his shirt, dangling him above the ground.
"yoU... yOu cOcky littLe bAsTaRD! do yOu HaVE ANy IDeA of all the ThingS I WAnT tO dO To yoU?"
The peasant skeleton snorted, laughing at him with his shrill, mocking little voice.
"At least take me out to dinner first."
Error growled, grasping his other hand around his neck. The peasant gagged and gasped for air, now struggling in his hold.
"If you're really gonna do this, could you maybe not choke me? I'm not into that kinda stuff, and to be completely honest I can really breathe- ack!"
His hand tightened around his neck, strong enough to put him in pain but not enough to kill him. He wasn't gonna let him go so quick.
"YOU've TAKEn EvErythiNg FrOm me. (Y/n) IS MinE, Do YoU heaR Me? she BElONGS tO me! AND You Took heR AWaY FRoM mE!"
The skeleton winced, a frown settling on his face.
"(Y/N)? What do you mean?" He stopped wriggling, squinting to look at Error's face from under the hood. His blue tear-like lines glowed softly under the shadow of his hood, giving him away.
"You've got to be kidding me. Look, buddy, this is my dream, so I should be the one strangling you for doing all of this to her!"
Error paused.
"youR dream? This is my dReam!"
"Nuh uh!"
"YUh Huh!"
"Nuh uh!"
"daMMIt! wHy am i EvEN WASTING MY TiMe wItH YoU?"
He dropped the peasant to his feet, letting him gasp for air.
"Because I'm a threat to you, right?" The peasant smirked, taunting Error more. "I get it. You're jealous of me, aren't you? Because she's not scared of me?"
"ShE's Not sCaRED of me Either!"
"Oh yeah, keep lying to yourself, pal. It'll make you look so much better."
Error huffed. As much as he hated admitting it, the little gremlin was right. He knew (Y/N) was scared of him, and it was all his fault.
"i dOn'T cArE, SHE'S mInE!"
"She's not an object, Error! You can say that all you want, it doesn't change the fact that she likes me, not you."
"oh, realLy? Did SHE tElL yOu thAt?"
"Well- uh, no..."
"so SHE DOEsn't LiKE yOu."
"Yes, she does!"
"AnD How Do yoU KNow THAt, bub?"
"I just do, okay! Give it a fucking rest. I'm done arguing with you about this."
Error sighed, putting a hand to his chest.
"you'Re rIght. aRguinG ovEr thIS iSN'T gETting Us anywhERe."
His clearly faked sympathetic tone wasn't as apparent to his rival. He nodded, looking to the side and letting his guard down. When he wasn't paying attention, Error winded back his fist, punching the skeleton in the eye with as much force as he could muster.
The peasant went soaring back, hand over his eye socket as he stumbled to keep himself on his feet.
His back was to Error now, his body hunched over as he sniffed away a tear. The king had his hands on his hips, chuckling with malice.
Without warning, the peasant threw himself toward Error, hoping to knock out a tooth or two in return for his blackened eye.
The glitch stepped to the side, dodging the incoming blow. In a flash, he summoned his neon blue strings, flinging them toward the sniveling pest. They wrapped themselves around his arms and legs.
Error threw him up into the air, yanking him down to the ground. He crashed into the dirt road, dust flying into the air from the sudden impact.
Retracting his strings, he watched the peasant try and use what strength he had left in his body to get up and attempt a strike on him yet again.
"Ink!"
"Error!"
The two skeletons halted, turning their heads in the voices that had called out to them in unison. Looking back at each other, they watched as their physical bodies began to fade away.
"I...it..." Error looked to his rival, who was using his remaining consciousness to speak. "It looks... like we're waking... u-up."
"sO It DoEs," he replied, stalking toward the skeleton on the ground. Standing in front of his face.
"Ink, wake up!"
It was the foreign voice again. The other he had recognized as Nightmare, but this one was new to him. It knew this 'Ink', likely the same way Error knew Nightmare.
"INk, iS it?" he urged, looking down at his head.
He nodded weakly, eyelids slowly drifting shut as he became a translucent figure of himself.
With a snarl on his face, Error stomped on his back with his heavy, black boot. Ink sucked in a breath through his teeth, crying helplessly in pain.
The king bent over, applying pressure onto his back until he heard a light snap!
He let out a guttural laugh at his pain.
"wEll, INK."
Error looked crossed his arms, leaning onto his bent knee.
"lEt'S Just BE sAFe aNd SaY I win THIs rOunD."
~
"Come on Ink! Wake up!"
One of his eyes shot open, head looking around for any danger. As quick as he sat up, he let out a gasp of pain, a searing pain in his back. Not to mention, his right eye was swollen shut.
Laying back down, he struggled to keep his eye open as he looked back up to his brother, who was standing above him with a confused look on his face.
"What happened to you? You've been asleep for hours!"
Ink groaned, observing the room around him. Plants, a glass ceiling and big glass walls... he never left the conservatory.
"W... what happened?" he asked, trying once again to sit up. He let out a shout of pain, falling back onto the couch.
"You and the princess were hugging each other and you fell asleep in her arms. We tried to wake you for dinner but you wouldn't get up! Ink, I was starting to get worried."
The elder brother nodded the best he could, rolling his head over to look back to the ceiling.
He really had been asleep forever. The stars were out, twinkling in the sky like dust from a shattered diamond.
"Dream, I have a question."
"Yes, brother?"
Ink took in a breath, still collecting his thoughts on everything that had just happened.
"Can two people share a dream with each other?"
~
I am posting this with little to no edits because I need to stop.
This was the easiest chapter for me to write. I was wondering how I was gonna get the two title characters to interact more often and when I came up with this by the seat of my pants I was proud.
It's an interesting idea, it fits the plot outline I have for the story, I have ways to tie it together... wow, I am really admitting to you guys how much of a pantser I am.
This is why I think it'd be useful for me to have a "final draft" edition of this when I'm done, but considering it's just fanfic I'd only do it if people wanted me to.
Like I'm kinda loving it, this was just supposed to be a bunch of villain-plot filler with the henchmen and paperjam and fresh, but I *personally* think this is so much more interesting. I've had ideas for filler, but I was stagnant because all I could think of was filler>filler>filler>act 2 climax. But this is a much smoother, and it opens doors for paths I could take to get the end of this act.
So huzzah!
My next move is to do some serious edits, so I'll be starting on that later tonight before I write chapter ten.
Later!