Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s been a while since the vessel has been chosen to be Hallownest’s savior, about a month or two ago.

The Pure Vessel was being cleansed by their father after training out in the back field with the other knights. They stood in front of their father as he carefully scrubbed the dirt off their shell with a wet rag. The Pale King drew back the rag for a moment to add a little more soap onto the rag, and brought it back to scrub off the remaining stains on the vessel's shell. He placed the rag down and placed a knuckle of his index finger to his chin, pondering. He then lightly dusted dust and dirt off of his vessel’s cloak.

“There,” he spoke, proud of his work so far. “But we should get your cloak in the wash and you into the bath.”

He heard a knock at the door frame. “Your majesty,” a royal retainer spoke, “I apologize for interrupting, but we have a visitor.”

The Pale King let out a huff and glanced back at Pure. “Later,” he said to them before standing and leaving with his retainer. Pure stood there for a bit, wondering if they were supposed to stay where they were or to follow their father. They then just decided to just go ahead and follow.

The Pale King followed his retainer to somewhere close by the entrance to see that they really did have a visitor, the well-known higher being Nightmare King Grimm. Some of the Pale King’s retainers and servants surrounded the hot-pink being, carefully trying to make his way to their own king, since he could see the tips of the Pale King’s crown from afar.

The Pale King’s eyes were half-lit open, and he let out another huff, but a slow one to hint out a sigh. He wasn’t surprised, but he was disappointed. He tried to straighten himself up and took a few steps towards the other king who finally reached to him.

The Nightmare King took a soft bow, “Your majesty,” he spoke. “Nightmare King,” Pale King said back to him.

Grimm hummed a chuckle before standing straight again. “I’ve heard you’ve had a child recently. What lovely news, Wyrm.”

“A vessel, to correct you,” Pale King replied, “I’d prefer you to call it a vessel rather than a child, thank you.”

“Mm, I guess.”

“What is it that you are here for that has to do with my vessel? Are you planning on something?”

Grimm placed his fingertips onto his chest, “Heavens, wyrm, no. I just came here congrat you and to simply meet them, wyrm. No need to be rash.”

“I wasn’t,” the Pale King clarified. Pure managed to find the kings having their conversation and approached behind their father.

Grimm took notice of the vessel just then. “Anyway, your prime.”

“My what?” Pale King asked.

“Your prime,” Grimm repeated, more firmly this time. 

His eyes pointed down to the Pale King’s left hip. Pale King looked over to his sides and lifted his left arm to look under just to now notice his vessel was standing right behind him. He flailed his arms, lifted one of his robotic legs to be revealed as his robe slipped off of it, and made a startled noise.

Grimm started to cackle at him as he tried to regain himself while placing his hand on top of his vessel’s head. But he then stopped cackling at the smaller king to hear a murmur coming from his chest. He opened his cloak up a bit and whispered into it. 

“What are you doing?” the Pale King asked, regaining his breath.

“Oh, did I mention I had one, too?”

Pale King eyes widened, already getting the idea, but unprepared for the response. He then saw a small creature that looked very similar to its father, but had black horns and had six limbs.

“Oh gods,” he said under his breath. Two of them. There were two of them now. Just fantastic, he thought to himself, sarcastically.

“Isn’t my child such a dear?” The Nightmare King cooed as he felt his child coiled the back of his neck, making it look like his child is an open scarf. “It’s gonna help me with my rituals!”

“I bet,” Pale King muttered with annoyance. Pure glanced up to see Grimm approaching them. “I’m sure yours will come in handy, too,” he said as he approached them and knelt down.

“Hello, little one,” he greeted. His name wasn’t a lie. He was nightmarish up close to Pure, but they stood still.

“Aww, a well-made craft you have, Wyrm,” he continued as he lightly stroked Pure’s head. Pure glared straight forward again, but now locked onto the child hanging on the back of Grimm’s neck.

The child stared back at them. The small being in front of him was shaped like a friend to him. They looked friendly. The child smiled and waved at them with one of his flappy limbs. Surprisingly enough, Pure waved back.

“Don’t touch them!” the Pale King commanded. Grimm drew back, “Oh but why not?”

“Did it look like it asked? Also I just washed them.” The Pale King had another major reason, but he didn’t tell him that just yet.

“Well, I never-!” Grimm exclaimed, but felt his child flop off of him and flew towards the ground in front of Pure.

“And get your child away from them!” Pale King commanded again.

Grimm held his hand in front of the Pale King to block him from approaching the kids. “Wyrm, Wyrm, just let it see them! My child doesn’t bite!”

Pure backed up a little, but realized why the smaller Grimm approached them. They let out their small nub of a hand for him to smell. The child sniffed their hand, then pressed his head against it, asking to be petted. Pure obliged and started to pet and rub their hand in between the child’s horns. He purred as Pure petted him.

The Pale King quickly glared back at Grimm.

“See?” Grimm said, “They’re already getting along!”

“That’s not the-” the Pale King got interrupted by seeing their kids leaving the room and more into the White Palace.

He let out a sigh, “You know what? Fine. You and your vessel can stay for the while. But once it becomes close to the evening, I want you both out of my kingdom. ‘Cause, I don’t want my vessel to grow any feelings or get attached to anything.”

Grimm grinned, until the smaller king’s last statement. “Are you saying that you don’t want your vessel to love or care for anything or anyone?”

“It’ll just ruin their emptiness entirely. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I don’t want to take any risks,” 

“Since you’re their caretaker, you just want the vessel to yourself till they’re fully grown and trained and out of your care and kept away? Because that’s all I’m hearing from you-”

“J-Just go watch your child!” the Pale King exclaimed as he shoved the Nightmare King out of the way and proceeded to walk away from him. “You damn devil,” he muttered under his breath.

Grimm watched him stamper away from him as his retainers followed him.

“Odd little worm,” he muttered before heading off to find Pure and his child.

Chapter Text

Pure Vessel sat upon their overly large new bed in their quite large new room, polishing their nail.

They weren’t too big to be in a crib, but their father still considered getting them a bed and room of their own since he believed they were old enough. The White Lady couldn’t give up their crib so easily, though. So now the nursing room is just a room to play in or relax in.

As Pure polished their nail, they heard fluttering noises by their balcony. They looked up, only to see small white butterflies fluttering by. They glanced back down at their nail, then back up again, only to then see a figure holding onto the railing, staring straight right back at them.

Pure jumped and dropped their nail and cloth out of surprise. They scooched away a bit onto their bed, to then realized it was just the Nightmare King’s son.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” the child spoke.

As Pure tried to regain themselves, they carefully tried to get down from their bed to approach him.

The child was thin enough to slide through in between the railings and enter the room. They stood in front of each other, examining each other. They haven’t seen each other in a while. Though Pure was still rather small and hollow, the Nightmare King’s child sure was different. He had two legs rather than a tail and his wings were more of a cape rather than wings. He was about the same height as Pure, but just slightly taller due to his horns.

“Hi…” the child said shyly. “Sorry for scaring you and trespassing into your room. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to be my playmate for today. If you’re available, that is.”

Pure stood there for a bit, then placed their hand against their chin. They then darted off back to the bed and went under it. They came back out pushing a bin full of crafting materials with some papers underneath. 

“I...Is that a yes?” The child questioned. Pure placed the bin and papers out in the wide open space and went back to pick up their nail and cloth to bring with them back to the play space. They sat down and looked at the small Grimm, then waved their hand, indicating the child to come over.

“Yay!” With joy, the small Grimm ran towards Pure’s setup and quickly sat down. Pure opened up the bin, but didn’t take anything out, they just simply sat back down and continued to polish their nail. The child hesitated and then pulled out a black case out of his cape while Pure did their action.

“Does your dad let you do playdates?” the child asked. Pure hesitated, then shook their head. 

“Man, your dad’s no fun! No offense…” Pure didn’t respond, and proceeded with their work.

“My dad’s really cool, though! But he isn’t here anymore.”

Pure quickly gazed up back at him, waiting to see if he was gonna elaborate on that more. 

“He lives inside my head now!” he continued, poking his head while sticking his tongue out. “He said he’d be with me till I’m older. So him being in my head makes sense.”

Pure could only nod to that.

“Um...is it ok if I use your face so I can practice doing make-up? I probably should practice.” the child asked.

Pure hesitated again, then gently placed their nail down and turned their body to face the younger Grimm. He looked at them, but then Pure pointed at their face, telling him to go right ahead.

“Oh tank you!” the young Grimm responded. He adjusted himself to face Pure and slid his case beside him. He pulled out a primer bottle and poured some onto a cotton pad. He scooched up closer to Pure so he could apply it onto their face. Pure stood completely still, still as a statue.

“My dad gave me a name...um...recently. He told me to tell people that my name is Grimm and to call me by that. It’s cool that I’m named after him!” Grimm said, starting a conversation. Pure simply nodded. Grimm placed the primer down and placed a knuckle of his finger onto his chin, wondering what to use next. He then picked up a light pink blush palette, opened it, and grabbed a poofy brush to use to apply the blush onto Pure’s shell. He lightly patted some blush onto Pure’s cheeks as he continued to talk, “Do you go by anything? Or do you just go by what your dad calls you? Vessel?”

Pure shrugged.

“Hm. I’m just gonna call you ‘Vessel’, since that’s what your dad calls you. Hope you don’t mind.” Pure gently shook their head. They were used to not having a proper name, since they wouldn’t have much of an idea of what to be called.

“Anyway,” Grimm continued as he applied more blush powder onto the brush, “My friends would like you. You would like them, maybe! My friend, Brumm, he’s a musician. He plays the accordion. My friend Divine is cool, too. You should meet them.”

Pure nodded.

“We’re planning on forming a troupe. My dad told me it’s the best thing to do. You can join us if you want.”

Pure didn’t respond. Grimm placed the blush and brush back into the case to then grab an eyeliner. He popped the cap off and pulled a blank sheet of paper nearby the bin to test it. 

“Ok, I’m gonna need you to hold very still for me, ok?” Grimm said as he got closer towards Pure. He held the side of Pure’s head with his free hand as he started to slowly draw a line down to Pure’s eye socket. Pure was completely frozen, but Grimm still laid his small fingertips against their head.

Once Grimm finished both sides, he drew himself back, taking a good look at his work. He put the cap back on, and placed it back into the case. He sat back down, directly in front of Pure, eyes wide and head and horn slightly tilted. He was admired by his work, but he had to make sure his playdate liked it, too.

“Hang on, how does it look?” he said as he pulled out a small mirror. He gave to Pure, who then looked at themselves in the mirror. They looked a lot similar to what Grimm had on his face, but just with added blush, and the eyeliner was a little wobbly.

Pure gave him a thumbs-up.

“Oh tank you, Vessel!” Grimm chanted with joy, “I really needed to practice on my make-up skills. My dad had to do mine. He’s better at it than me, but he says I need to practice it on my own if I want to look like him. It’s fun, though.”

Pure nodded. They saw Grimm walk on his knees towards the bin.

“Do you want to do crafts, now?” he asked them.

Pure looked back at their nail, but looked back at Grimm and nodded once more.

Chapter Text

Exhausted and tired, the small vessel entered their room with a towel with them. They started to rub it against their face as they wandered towards the corner of the bed. They then leaned their head against it, not removing the towel from their face nor having the energy to even hop onto the bed. They felt a little overworked today, and them making a ‘hot springs at home’ like bath just made them even sleepier.

They lifted their face from the towel, however, hearing sniffling coming from a far distance. They glanced at their balcony, seeing Grimm sitting by it, the evening sundown gleaming on him and the room.

They threw the towel to the ground and rushed towards him. Grimm perked up to see it was only them tapping towards him. Pure realized he was crying, seeing him hiccup and wipe his eye with his wrist.

“Oh, h-hi,” Grimm hiccuped, but tried to clear his voice up, “Sorry for being h-here. I just...needed a place to cry.”

Pure laid a hand on Grimm’s shoulder. Grimm looked up at them, sniffling. They were facing him, tilting their head as if they were wondering what was the matter or what happened that caused him to cry, which was the case. Grimm stood up, though his legs were wobbling.

“I...had a nightmare,” he started, “My dad, he…”

Pure waited patiently as Grimm continuously kept wiping his tears with his hands and cloak and sniffling.

“I don’t know what I did wrong. But he’s mad at me. I tried t-to ask him why he was so angry, but all he did was throw flames at me and yelled at me about...uh...I don’t know, but it was s-something that he didn’t like. I can’t remember because I woke up mid-way as he was yelling about to throw another flame at me. I didn’t want to wake my troupe up, so I ran here.”

Pure tilted their head down, trying to process what Grimm just told them. They rarely see anyone with this sort of emotion. The last time they saw this sort of emotion was when they heard soft, stressed weeps of their father echo through his workshop. They weren’t sure if this emotion was a good one or not, but it didn’t feel like it was, but it was still one that was ok to have.

They jerked their head as they heard Grimm continue, “I didn’t mean to wake up, I was so scared...and now he might even be more angry that I woke up. I don’t know what will happen when I go back to sleep. Vessel, I’m scared.”

Grimm’s voice started to drown into another wave of tears. He looked down at his arms, now covered in wet make-up, and his cloak was now stained with eyeliner. Pure could see the smudges all over his drenched face, some still running down. It wasn’t bad, it still looked like most of it was still intact, but the smudges were still made. Grimm slowly started to wail as he noticed the mess he just made.

“Oh nooo, I didn’t mean to! Now my dad’s really gonna kill me! I don’t know how to fix this...I don’t know what to do!”

Grimm’s cries then grew louder. Lost little child who was in need of aid was all Pure could see. They couldn’t just stand there and watch their friend feel miserable about himself. They couldn’t just let Grimm feel scared and in fear of what was to come as an aftermath for the actions he didn’t know he committed. They remembered that moment again with their father and how it ended up. They see this a lot with other bugs in any emotion, so why not start with that solution?

Grimm gasped, startled, as he felt Pure wrapped their itty bitty arms around him, trying to form an embrace. It was something they knew that a lot of bugs seem to enjoy, including their father whenever their mother held him in an embrace. Their mother was the best at it to them and the king.

Pure squeezed a little tighter, but a soft squeeze so they weren’t hurting Grimm. Grimm’s eyes were wide, still spilling tears. The vessel’s embrace was warm, and he could smell the sweet scent of vanilla come off of them. He squinted, then shut his tight as he nuzzled his face into Pure’s shoulder to cry in. He hugged Pure tightly and slowly started to purr, which were louder than his usual purrs.

They stayed like this for some time. Pure gently stroke him to ease Grimm a little more. Pure waited until Grimm’s whimpers and cries transitioned to soft purrs. They parted away, gazed at each other, then Grimm rubbed his eyes once more. He recognized the marks of eyeliner he left on Pure’s shoulder.

“Oh, oh I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to mess up your cloak!”

Pure looked at their make-up covered shoulder. They didn’t even notice the stain was even there. They held their hand up, and shook their head. They paused a bit, but then held up their hand again and darted towards their closet. 

Grimm watched Pure as they ran for their closet. He couldn’t see them due to their large bed, but he did see the closet doors open and heard the ruffling of clothes, drawers, and hangers. 

Pure came back around the bed, now wearing a white, silk sleeping gown, about to give Grimm one as well.

“Oh um...n-no thank you, Vessel. I should probably keep this on,” Grimm told them. Pure wasn’t all that convinced, and shook the gown lightly. Grimm glared at the gown and thought to himself for a bit. He didn’t want to leave his troupe in question as to where he is nor did he want to go to sleep. Yet, he didn’t want to go back to sleep at home either.

“Mmm...Ok then, if you say so.”

He took the gown away from Pure to change into it. Pure waited until Grimm’s cloak was fully off, then took it from him so they could put it in the hamper. Grimm slipped on the gown, a perfect fit. He then saw Pure hop onto the bed and crawled towards the pillows. They peered at Grimm from afar, then patted the bed to call him up to sit with them.

“Oh um…” Grimm decided that he would attempt to teleport up there instead of jumping. Good practice nonetheless. He teleported up onto the edge of the bed, thankfully grabbed it before he could fall off. He hoisted himself up, crawled towards Pure, then laid beside them. He looked up at the ceiling, noticing how far up it was.

“Definitely not sleeping up there,” Grimm said softly to himself. Pure glanced at him.

“Oh sorry, I usually sleep upside down. Sleeping up there is a little too high.”

Pure nodded. They crawled over to their side of the bed and reached over to grab a book for them to look at. They pointed at the book’s title. All Grimm could really do was stare at it.

“I...I can’t read, what does that say?” he stated.

Oh. Grimm was only a small child, so it wasn’t all that surprising that he couldn’t read well. But the thing was Pure couldn’t read either, not even verbally. So they just shrugged.

They both took a good look at the cover of the book: It had an illustration of a simple bug sleeping on a mossy hill under the moon, stars shining bright.

“Maybe we can guess on what the story’s about. So far it’s like it’s about sleeping.”

Pure opened the book and flipped to where the story started and they started to investigate the illustrations in the book. They sat there and chuckled sometimes whenever Grimm came up with something funny. But them reading this book did eventually make them sleepy.

The outdoors were now deep blue and the room was a little darker. The White Lady entered the room to then see the two children dead asleep on the bed. Grimm was flopped over while Pure had their face implanted into the book. She quietly chuckled, and came over towards them.

She lifted Pure’s head up and carefully laid it against the pillow. She placed the book back to where it originally was, then tucked her child in.

She glared at Grimm, however, unease. She didn’t know how or why he was here, but she was unsettled by his presence, but she could digress. She tried to tuck him in, but only placed a little bit of the blanket onto him. 

She backed away slowly and headed back to the door, to then slowly close the door as the small children rested.

Chapter Text

“Get ‘em, Ogrim!” Isma cheered on.

Ogrim and Pure Vessel fought against one another out in the back-field as the rest of the Five Great Knights watched and sometimes cheered.

Grimm came in behind the railing which Dryya was leaning against. He was in the form of a small, black figure of a Grimmchild, which Dryya took a glance at for a second until Grimm transformed back into his tall, formal self. 

Dryya flinched, but she wasn’t totally startled. “Hello there!” Grimm spoke in enlightenment.

“Oh hey,” Dryya replied.

“What are you all doing out here? Another training session, I presume?”

Dryya shrugged, “Mm nah, we’re just out here having a little bit of fun.”

“Ah. Is the king anywhere around here or anything?” Grimm asked, looking from side-to-side.

“No. Say, aren’t you banned from here?” Dryya said as she pointed at him with her ever so sharp finger.

Grimm shifted his eyes, “Precisely,” he answered as he lowered Dryya’s hand with his fingertips, “But on some terms I can visit!”

Of course he was lying, and Dryya knew it, but she’d even want to bother. The Pale King never really told them on what to do if he somehow showed up. All the king would really do was tell Grimm to leave because he was being a nuisance from what she remembered.

She popped open a flask she had in hand and took a sip out of it, “Did you need anything from him?”

“No, I was just wondering,” Grimm responded. “Anyway, what’s happening over here?”

“Ogrim and the vessel are challenging each other.”

Grimm glanced at the fight happening a few feet from them. He saw Ogrim perform a spike slam, which Pure dodges. Pure slashed their nail at him, but he also dodged their attack by coming around them. But when Ogrim looked back at them, Pure was already coming back at him with a lunge. Ogrim did get hit by this, but managed to roll under Pure as they leaped into the air to then stab the ground, awaking soul pillars to pop out of the ground, which Ogrim still got hit by.

Grimm was impressed. He was amazed, to be exact. Though Ogrim’s performance was rather astonishing, Grimm was mostly locked onto Pure’s. Grimm swooned to them as they battled.

Pure then pinned Ogrim to the ground, nail implanted into the dirt above Ogrim’s head and their foot on his chestplate. Pure quickly got off of him though. Ogrim got up as he laughed and chuckled, and both he and Pure bowed while everyone else applauded.

Grimm was still staring and fawning for Pure. He couldn’t look away from the ever so tall vessel: Their sharp long horns, the shiny new armor, the gleaming cape they wore, their firm body, all of them left Grimm with a red face.

Grimm snapped out of his trance as he felt Dryya’s elbow bump him. “Ey, you there?” 

“Oh, y-y-yes!” Grimm stuttered, “Did you say something?”

“No, you just looked like you zoned out for a moment,” Dryya replied. She then took a good closer look at his face, “And your face is a little red. Are you sure you’re good?”

Grimm’s face lit up red a bit more, but he shielded it with his arm and cape, “Yes! Yes! I’m quite alright, thank you!”

Dryya didn’t believe him. She raised her brow, “Well, if you’re in the need of aid, I can go and fetch the vessel over there-”

“No, I’ll get their attention myself, thank you,” Grimm said with confidence. Already relaxed from his little moment, he was confident enough to gain Pure’s attention towards him.

“Oh Vessel! Oh dear Vessel!” he called out.

Pure turned to see Grimm and Dryya by the railing. Grimm waved at them from afar as Dryya was about to take another drink from her flask. Pure looked back at the other knights, who were distracted by Ogrim and Isma trying to offer him a towel and water. As soon as Pure noticed all of the knights were distracted, Pure waved back with glee.

Grimm found this little response adorable, though it was just something normal, and his face lit up a bit again as he placed his fingertips over his mouth. He hoisted himself over the railing to then went off to go see Pure. Dryya watched him go, and decided to take off to see the other knights as well.

Pure went over to the bench Isma and Ze’mer sat at and rested on it. Grimm followed suit, and leaned against the edge of the bench.

“You were magnificent out there, Vessel,” Grimm told them. Pure bowed a bit as their way to say ‘thank you.’

Grimm let out a humph, and started to trace circles on the surface of a fountain right next to him with his finger, a tiny flame following suit.

“Just seeing your performance, I wonder if we could battle like that some time? Won’t that be fun, hm?”

Pure hesitated, but then stood back up and grabbed their nail. They glanced back at Grimm, then nodded their head towards the field.

“Wh-...You wanna do it right now?!” Grimm said in surprise. Pure nodded and waved their arm.

“D-Don’t you need to be with your friends?” Grimm looked at the other knights leaving, but then saw Dryya turn her head back at him and gestured her arm and face, which Grimm read “Go get ‘em.”

Grimm turned back to Pure, who was already in position to fight. With excitement, his smile grew wide and flames came seeping through his mouth and grew in between his hands.

Chapter Text

Grimm and Pure Vessel had a lot in common, at least to Grimm himself.

They were really close friends. They understood each other. They were both vessels to two of Hallownest’s kings. It was certainly a pleasure to meet the Pale King and his prime, especially his prime. How could he repay the Pale King for creating such a magnificent, warm-hearted, strong, just the most perfect vessel…

“Child!”

Grimm fell out of his little daydream and was startled by his father’s voice. He realized he was in the Nightmare’s Heart again and saw his father right by the heart. Grimm was w-sitting on the ground and he sighed to himself. Was he in trouble again? Was he gonna have another discussion on how slow his life and performance are going? Either way or another, he was prepared for it.

“Focus, please,” the Nightmare King spoke.

Oh yeah. Right. Grimm remembered that his father could see his dreams. He forgot about that. His father was the God of Nightmares, how could he forget that?

“Sorry…” Grimm said ever so quietly.

The god far from him slowly started to approach him, “You still haven’t gotten anywhere yet.”

Grimm tugged his cloak closer to him, already feeling guilt and shame’s warmth build up in his body. He kept staring at his leg and the ground, trying not to make eye contact.

“We’re still in Hallownest. You still haven’t formed an official, successful troupe. What is the hold up?” his father questioned.

“I’m trying, father,” Grimm answered.

“Not hard enough.” The Nightmare King took a pause for a bit to analyze his son. He let out an exhaled sigh, “I don’t even feel you baring a child.”

He put his hand underneath his son’s chin, then forced him to look into his eyes, “What is wrong with you?”

Grimm’s heart started to race a bit, which affected the heart behind them. “I just...I’m just not ready yet, father-”

“You say that a lot. But I haven’t seen any improvement nor action being taken over the past few years, child.” the Nightmare King argued.

“That’s because I was young, father! And I’m still young! But I’m not a child! So quit calling me a child!” Grimm hissed at him.

“Well you act like one! You’re still my offspring, you are considered my child. Even if you considered yourself young.”

“I’m a young adult.”

“And a young adult would've done something with their life and please their parents by now!”

“It’s not always like that! A lot of bugs start off at different times. Please just let me take my time! It wouldn’t make much of a difference and you’ll still get what you want regardless!”

“The thing is that I’m tired of waiting, Grimm. It’s been more than a decade. Your troupe should have been at least known by now!”

“I’m working on that! But I don’t think I’m ready to bear a child in my womb yet! I rather live out some things in life before I do so!”

“Like what?”

Grimm fell silent for a moment. He really didn’t know how to respond to this. He really did want to explore himself and the world around him, but this ritual was really pushing it. As much as he wanted to continue the whole thing, but it really was trying to make him grow up too fast. Yes he did want their legacy to live on, yes he did have an idea of having a child at some point, but just not now. But if he were to state that again, him and his father would just be going in circles.

“...I know you like the vessel, Grimm.”

Grimm’s heart skipped a beat. “Wh...What do you mean?”

“The vessel, Grimm!” his father hissed, “I know you like it deep within you, but I believe it’s not best to do so.”

“Excuse me…?”

“The king made that vessel as empty as possible. It can’t feel such emotions or any for that matter. It can’t even think, it doesn’t have a mind. It’s made up of void, Grimm, nothing.”

Grimm stood up, “Are you saying I can’t...be with them?”

“I understand as to why you do. I don’t mind the vessel at all, trust me, but the thing is that I believe it can’t do anything to help you. To help us!”

“...You don’t know that...you don’t know that!”

“Oh but I do.”

“How do you know that the vessel doesn’t care if they don’t have a mind? You can’t access their mind if they don’t have one!”

“That’s the thing. You just answered your own question.”

Grimm sighed harshly, “Hollow or not, I KNOW they’re not like that entirely. I know them more than you do! I’ve known them more than you, and I know they have some feelings and emotions deep within them!”

“Delusional,” the Nightmare King rolled his eyes, “You really do love it, don’t you? I can’t control that, but the vessel is useless to us, it won’t do anything for our ritual. Just understand that-”

“Stop trying to rush me with this goddamn ritual!” Grimm snapped, “I don’t care if the vessel doesn’t make a dent in this, they mean a lot to me! What even is the rush for?! Hasn’t your father rushed your life like this as well?!”

“That shouldn’t matter to you, boy. But you hurrying this whole thing up would be much more of a pleasure than being stuck with you till you die!”

Grimm seriously wanted to smack him so badly, but if he did, the whole situation would’ve gotten way worse. His entire body filled with rage and his hand started to catch on fire.

“H-How dare you! I’m trying my damndest for you all, especially you! I’m not a damn tool to keep your legacy and godliness in shape! You don’t give a shit about me, you never did! All you care about is yourself!” Grimm started to shriek.

“Child-”

“STOP CALLING ME A CHILD!” 

Grimm roared at the god that stood before him as his entire body blew up in raging flames. The Nightmare King was quite surprised for a bit, but his expression changed to disappointment real quick. As the flames died down, Grimm panted as smoke seeped through the corners of his mouth. It didn’t really help, though, as tears started to build up in his eyes. He tried to pull himself together, but it didn’t help either. He didn’t want to cry in forward of his father, or else he really would’ve been considered a child to his father.

Grimm hid his face with his cloaked arms and fell back onto the floor. His body shook, waiting for his father to make his move. The older Grimm shook his head, then squatted low in front of his son.

“I must admit, you’re not wrong. I don’t give a damn about you.”

He snuck his hand in between Grimm’s arms, trying to pull out his face. Grimm tried to fight back, but his father won against him, smudging his make-up and making him look directly at him once more.

The Nightmare King then pulled his face a little closer to his, small flames burning through his fingertips and onto Grimm’s chin.

“But don’t yell at me, again. ”

Grimm woke up to him falling on the floor and hitting his leg against the corner of the step close to him. He yelped and grunted to the pain he received. He curled up, then realized he was in his tent. He placed his wrist onto his face, but then looked at it to then see wet make-up smeared on his cloak and wrist.

“Ah hell,” he whispered to himself. He even still felt the burns left under his chin and the tears still built up in his eyes.

“Master?” A small, familiar voice entered the room, which made Grimm perk his head up. “Master, are you alright?”

It was Divine, thankfully, but Grimm didn’t want her to see him in this mess. “What was that thud?”

“Nothing! Nothing! I’m alright!” he responded as he stood up, “I just fell.”

“I see. What happened that made you fall? Did you have another nightmare?”

“I just...I’m sorry, I need a bit,” Grimm stormed out of the tent and went outdoors. Divine watched him as he left and stood far from the tents. Grimm picked up a stone, glared at it, then threw it as hard as he could, eventually hitting a vengefly in the process. He then sat down and buried his face into his arms and legs.

Divine, as much as she wanted to intervene and comfort him, decided to just leave him be as she didn’t want to upset him even more. She took one good last glance at him before heading back into her tent.

Chapter Text

The night was awake, and everybody decided to come together for a gathering at the palace for once to have at least a little bit of fun.

The Pale King turned off his obnoxious buzzsaws, according to most of his residents and acquaintances, and his retainers swept up any other obstacle out of the way for visitors who were to come over and join. They set out lots of refreshments and some snacks for all of them to enjoy.

There were a lot of people there, of course. Any citizen would take an advantage of anything the king had to offer. They were higher beings, they’d do anything for them. The majority of Hallownest’s citizens fawned over the king, queen, and their prime, especially their prime. Though the whole family were all royal and handsome, they knew the king and queen were taken by each other. But they knew the prime wasn’t. Lurien would send the Pale King the constant letters from other citizens asking if his prime was single and open for marriage. He always declined. He never wanted his vessel to be in a relationship by any means.

The pop of champagne filled the rest of the room’s silence as everyone cheered and talked over one another. The king and queen sat upon their secondary thrones and watched as their visitors, retainers, and knights enjoying their night. The White Lady was rather enjoying all of this, since this was her idea, as she looked over at everyone. The Pale King had his hand against his head while his other tapped its fingers against the opposite arm rest out of sheer boredom.

Grimm teleported behind the king’s throne and crept around it, “Hello, dear king!”

The small king didn’t budge, only looked towards the taller king. Grimm wore a fancier looking cloak, though it was very similar to the one he usually wears except it gleamed and the edges of the top and bottom were faded red, and he wore make-up that made his face and his cloak shimmer faintly.

“...You’re lucky we allowed you in here for once,” the Pale King said in a mutter.

“Oh yes! This gathering you set up is marvelous!” Grimm said with glee as he wandered over to see the guests from below.

“Yeah, enjoy it while you can. ‘Cause once this is over, you’re getting out of here and I’m placing our new equipment up.”

“Hmhm, unlikely. Also, is said ‘new equipment’ of yours happen to be more buzzsaws? Maybe even some more vines and spikes with that?”

The Pale King sighed and glanced away from Grimm.

Grimm giggled, “I’d thought so. Goodness, your majesty, don’t you have enough as it is?”

“Precisely,” the Pale King muttered unhonest.

Grimm then took notice of Pure Vessel from below. A lot of the guests were trying to engage with them and surround them. Pure could barely walk, even to where they have to pick up their new cape because people were stepping on it.

“Um, your majesty, your vessel…”

The king got up from his throne and went over to see what Grimm was talking about. “Oh god,” he said softly, “I’ll handle this.”

He began to raise his voice, but it wasn’t aggressive, “Citizens! Step away from the vessel! Leave the vessel alone! The vessel is not yours to keep or to interact with!”

Some of them did obey, some didn’t, but it was enough for Pure to escape the crowd. Some of the citizens tried to engage with Pure again, but Pure backed away and darted away from them. Some tried to follow them, but stopped right in their tracks by kingsmoulds. Grimm continued to watch Pure as they darted their way to the elevator.

“Vessel, are you alright?” the White Lady asked in a tired tone, but Pure was already going up the elevator.

“Just let the vessel be, hon, it’ll be fine,” the king said as he sat back down.

Grimm looked back at the both of them and the crowd, then back at the elevator. “I’ll...be going now.”

“Please,” the Pale King right before Grimm teleported away.

“More champagne, your grace?” Lurien asked the king, showing up out of nowhere.

Grimm managed to teleport in front of Pure’s bedroom. He went over to knock on the door, but he noticed the door was slightly open. He took a peek at the room and saw Pure over by the balcony, staring at the night sky.

Grimm knocked on the door frame, “Vessel?”

He saw Pure’s head turn to his direction. He gave a gentle smile, “Do you mind if I come in?”

Pure nodded their head towards the balcony, telling Grimm to come in. Grimm entered in and gently closed the door behind him. He went over to the balcony to gaze at the night sky with Pure.

The sky was dark blue and elegant. The holes of the dirt that laid above their world formed stars, and the mist and atmosphere that surrounded the palace formed the sleeping sky. The air was cool, and Pure took as much of it as they could. They closed their eye sockets and lifted their chin up to then enjoy the small breeze they get every once in a while.

“The night is gorgeous tonight,” Grimm finally spoke. He glanced over at Pure, who was still enjoying the soft breeze, “Never seen one like it.”

They let the silence take over for a short moment as the leaves from the plants took off into the air.

“I was just...coming to ask if you were alright. You looked a little scared or upset back there.”

Pure reopened their eyes to look at Grimm for a second, then nodded.

Grimm took a breath, “Do you usually go through something like that? Getting surrounded by your citizens who want your attention or anything from you? Of some sort?”

Pure hesitated, then nodded slowly.

Grimm gazed back up at the sky, “I know that your father isn’t too fond of you having a partner, but I don’t know how you feel about that,” Grimm hesitated a bit, thinking about if he should say what he thought or not, “My father said that I really should find someone, or at least a way to grant a child. Maybe not so much of a child at the moment, but having someone by my side sounds like a delight. Have you ever thought of something like that, if you even can? Or just feel like having someone to stick by you? I would like to hear from you personally, not from you father. I want to hear what you think about this.”

Pure just stood there with a blank expression. They really didn’t know how to answer that. Usually the king would answer for them, but it was never anything they had in mind. They tapped their fingers against the railing, then shrugged. That’s all they could really do.

Grimm hummed, “I know a lot of people would like you as their lifetime partner. I will admit: You are very lucky to have such an audience. So much affection. You have so many options, if you choose to have any. So many people love you. Yet, your father disagrees with that. I understand why, but I don't know I-”

He saw Pure close by their bed, to then turn and sit down upon it. Grimm stood there a bit, but then decided to sit beside Pure. They were both again silent for a moment.

“I don’t know, it’s just...that...you never get to have a say in anything. You never really had a choice in anything. I wanna know how you feel, if you even do. Everyone just seems to fall for you. I mean, it’s understandable because you’re so-...”

Angelic. That was the word Grimm was looking for. There were so many other terms he thought of for Pure. There was beautiful, strong, kind, sweet, and many other terms. But Pure was angelic. They were an angel in Grimm’s eyes. But Grimm caught himself from saying so as he was staring at Pure, who then looked back at him, concerned about what he was about to say.

Grimm cleared his throat, “I mean, I don’t know if you get any suitors or whatever. But what do you think about them? What do you think about everyone else? What do you think about me ? Because I know your citizens love you, your friends love you, your parents love you, hell I love you-!”

Grimm went wide-eyed and immediately covered his mouth with his hand. Pure quickly looked back at him as well.

“I-shit! I mean, not in- I- AGH!” Grimm stuttered in embarrassment, then hiding his face with his hands. He felt his face warming up as he thought, “Why did I say that?” Pure tilted their head slightly, wondering if Grimm was ok. Of course he wasn’t, but they were still curious.

“I...I’m sorry. I...I don’t know what got over me. I just...it’s just that...we’ve been friends for so long I just...you’ve been so kind to me to where I’ve never had such kindness from anyone before. I…” Grimm spoke as he slowly placed one hand back down onto the bed as he stared down at the other one. This allowed Pure to lay their cold hand on top of Grimm’s, making Grimm flinch a bit.

Grimm gazed up at Pure, who leaned a bit closer to him. The light that came from outside beamed on Pure, making them shimmer under it. Grimm could somewhat read Pure’s expression, his closest read was, and he hoped was “Do you really mean that?”

Pure reached their free hand over to Grimm’s cheek to make Grimm look into their empty eyes. Pure scooched over and leaned closer to him to then give him a gentle kiss as if they were to have lips underneath their eyes. Grimm, knowing he was being kissed, went completely red in the face way more than earlier, and his eyes were shot open.

Once Pure pulled away, a flame ran up Grimm’s entire body for a sec, leaving Grimm’s eyes shut tight and face red as blood. Grimm slowly reopened his eyes and looked at Pure to see if they had anything to add.

All Pure did was sign with a smile, “Me too.”

Grimm’s heart raced. He couldn’t believe it. They actually did have something in mind. They did have feelings in some way. But how? Weren’t they supposed to be hollow? Empty?

He then noticed some small void tendrils appearing underneath Pure’s shell. His face reddened a bit more, then he waved his fingers towards himself, telling Pure to come closer to him again. Pure obliged to his request by leaning in again. They stared into each other’s eyes as Grimm wrapped his arms around Pure’s neck.

“Is it a proper kiss you want?” Grimm asked them. Pure nodded.

“I’ll take it then.”

Grimm closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Pure’s lower shell, but as well as letting the tendrils in. Pure lured their hands to Grimm’s back, feeling his overheating body. Their kiss was tender and passionate. They took some second breaks to get some air from time to time, then went back to it.

Pure pulled back for their final break for air. They both gazed into each other's eyes once more, and Pure noticed how red Grimm's face was. It was something Pure never really saw from him: He was extremely shy and flustered by all this, which Pure believed was really out of character for him, but they didn’t seem to mind it at all. They thought it was rather sweet than anything. 

Grimm then nuzzled into them as Pure wrapped their arms around him to give him a hug. Pure's entire body was rather cold, but it was a relief and an amazing feeling since he was incredibly warm. They kept themselves in this embrace for a while as the room filled itself with silence, hinted with small clatters from Pure’s armor and chattering from the guests from the gathering still going on outside.

Grimm poked his head out from Pure’s body and laid his chin against their shoulder, “I never really thought you had feelings. I’m impressed...and happy in a way.” Pure gently nuzzled Grimm’s head as a response. Though Grimm wasn’t too sure with his statement, he still accepted Pure’s response.

They fell out of their embrace and took a minute for themselves. Grimm glanced over at the balcony for a second but then to immediately turn back around. “Dear, could you close the blinds? I think I would like to sleep here tonight.”

Pure nodded and stood up to then approach the balcony. Grimm proceeded to settle himself into bed as Pure then closed the blinds.

Chapter Text

Time has gone by, which meant Pure and Grimm’s relationship grew immensely, but the day it would have to break got closer.

But today was rather joyful, at least to Pure. They had to stay within the palace for the day as they had to watch over their new baby sister. They watched the majority of the palace’s residents leave from the front gates to head over to the city from their balcony. They saw Herrah look back at them, who then gestured “Good luck!” with one of her arms. They gestured back and watched Herrah catch up with the other dreamers.

They heard their door open, which made them quickly turn around. It was only Grimm peeking through the door. “Hi, dear,” he said softly, “May I come in?” Pure nodded.

Grimm proceeded to enter, “I heard the king and queen were heading out, so I thought it would be a good time to see yo-”

Pure turned around and Grimm noticed they were cradling something wrapped in a red blanket. Grimm let out a light gasp, “Is that Herrah’s child?” Pure nodded as they smiled.

Grimm smiled back and slowly approached the two, “Can I see her?”

Pure nodded and gently waved their hand to direct Grimm towards them. Grimm approached them and Pure lowered their arms so Grimm could see. Grimm scoffed as he saw Hornet.

She was napping in Pure’s hold. She’s so small, Grimm thought. Pure tugged a bit of the blanket off of her face to reveal her face a bit more. They both saw Hornet’s tiny paws pop out to then lay upon the blanket.

“Aww, She’s a dear,” Grimm awed softly. Pure nodded as a response. “Wait, she actually looks a little bit like us! She’s got my horns, and she’s got your shell. You sure this isn’t our child?” Grimm added.

Pure gave him a confused look. “I’m kidding!” Grimm giggled as he placed his hand on Pure’s head. He took another glimpse at Hornet and cleared his throat, “Can I hold her?”

Pure once again nodded and handed Hornet over. Grimm carefully took her from them, then gently tugged the blanket a bit to reveal a bit more of her face. Grimm scoffed in delight and softly spoke, “Look at her. Beautiful.”

Hornet then started to slowly open her eyes and stare back at the unfamiliar face. Grimm smiled at her, “Hi there!”

Hornet unexpectedly screamed at the top of her tiny little lungs, frightened, which made Grimm panic as well. “Oh goodness!” Grimm said, “Annnnd you can have her back!”

Grimm handed Hornet back to Pure, who then tried to calm her down. Hornet looked up at them through her now teared-up eyes, noticing she was in the arms of Pure again. She grabbed their chestplate and nuzzled her face into it as she continued to sob.

“Oh dear, I must’ve really scared her, I apologize!” Grimm said as Pure looked up at him as a response. Grimm brushed his fingertips against the side of his face as if he had hair, “Being a god dedicated to nightmares is kind of rough sometimes.”

Pure understood, but simply just nodded. As Pure continued to calm their baby sister down, both them and Grimm let silence in for a moment. Grimm walked towards the balcony and glared down from it. As he heard Hornet quiet down more, he finally decided to ask what he originally came to ask for.

“How much time do you have left?”

Pure quickly glanced at Grimm, who glared back with a gloomy look. They knew exactly what he was talking about. They counted with their fingers, then held up all five of their fingers with their open hand.

“Five?” Grimm said, “Five...months? Years?”

Pure nodded at the word ‘years.’ “Years,” Grimm repeated, but was sure he was correct with that answer. Pure nodded again, confirming it. “Ok.”

Grimm took his attention back down from the balcony as Pure decided to join in beside him, still holding the now cooing Hornet. Pure stared and tilted their head a bit at Grimm, wondering if he had anything to add to that. They wondered why he even asked.

Five years. It was a good chunk of time, Grimm guessed. But was it really? What could they really do with that time? He knew the king would hog his vessel throughout most of it. And the king was so close to banning him and his troupe from the kingdom entirely if he kept trying to interfere with Pure. But what worried him more was what he himself would do after the time flies and Pure is sealed away. He knew he had to deal with the troupe and the ritual, but the ritual required him to have a child. He had to ask them.

“Dearest, I...I know I have my own purpose to take care of, but...I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you,” Grimm started. Pure smiled with their eye sockets, but that smile faded as they decided to continue listening.

“You don’t really want kids, do you? Nor can you actually have the ability to have or make any?” Pure shook their head to both questions.

“Right,” Grimm nodded, “It’s just...Ack, it’s just the ritual again. I really don’t know how I’m gonna do this…”

He looked up at his partner, who was waiting for him to continue. He was actually scared to say his next response. But it was important. He had to get it off his chest.

“Vessel, if I were to have another partner or have a child on my own while you are sealed away, would you care?”

Pure stood there, not too sure on how to answer that. They were about to ponder about it, but then heard their partner continue.

“Would you be upset about that or anything? Because…” he paused, “I really love you. I do. It’s just that...it’s because I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again afterwards. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind about the child thing, but...if I fell for someone else, would you be angry about that? Because there’s a slight chance of that happening when you’re gone, and I don’t want you to think as if I’m cheating on you or being disloyal or anything in that matter.”

Angry? Upset? What were those to Pure? Were those feelings that they haven’t felt before? Or maybe they have, they just never knew what they were. Have they seen those emotions before? They weren’t so sure.

They looked down at Hornet, who looked up and cooed at them, then slowly back at Grimm. They knew where he was going with this, however. They understood. Regardless of the fact that Pure barely knew what “angry” or “upset” were or not, they shook their head.

Grimm’s eyes widened a bit, “You wouldn’t?...A-Are you sure? I mean this is really something I don’t wanna do but…”

He heard Pure try to free one hand while adjusting their other arm so they wouldn’t drop their sister. They tried their best to sign with one hand and their body, “If it’s what’s best for you, it’s best for me.”

Grimm gave a small, soft sigh of relief along with a small, soft smile. “I-...thank you, dear vessel. I’ll try my best to be with you these last few years”

He took his attention to Hornet, who gave him a death-like stare as she grabbed Pure’s chestplate again. He chuckled, “Looks like she doesn’t like me very much.”

Pure looked down at her too, then gave a silent chuckle as they all looked over at the dim yellow sky.