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Zero was standing in the Great Hall, alone. The Hall was lined with banners and alcoves, with each alcove filled with a statue of one of his ancestors. Though they had all died long before he was born, there was one exception - his mother, who had died before he hatched.
He stepped close to her statue, looking up at her face. Her eyes were closed, namesake wings fanned out behind her, and her head bowed. Zero had heard so much about her growing up.
Sometimes he wondered if she'd be proud of him, if she had survived her poisoning.
i doubt it, child
". . . Who said that?" He turned around with a start, realizing the other statues had turned their heads to stare at him.
you failed to protect both the princess and the kingdom she loved
Zero felt like someone was squeezing his soulstone as they pinned him under their combined gazes, voices filled with derision.
THE KINGDOM WE LIVED AND DIED FOR!
"I. . . I'm sorry! The Princess sent me away to get help! I wanted to stay!"
you bring shame to this family
Tears sprang to his eyes, shaking his head in denial as his breathing hitched in panic. The hallway seemed to be pressing in around him. He stepped back, bumping into his mother's statue.
and you are the egg that survived? the one i entrusted to my sister's husband to raise in my stead?
He spun to face the new voice coming from behind him. The eyes of Wing's statue had opened, locking gazes with him.
no child of mine would abandon their fellow knights. nor would they abandon their family!
"They told me they would be fine!" Zero protested, hysteria entering his voice. "Uncle told me to go! Please, mother, you swore the same oaths as I! If the King orders us to do something, we-"
you are no son of mine
Zero abruptly sank to the floor, his legs unable to keep him standing anymore, as he stared at her in numb disbelief. He choked back a sob.
leave my sight, child, and do not return
In one smooth movement, Wing raised her sword over her head, then swung it down towards Zero's head. He raised his hands in a futile attempt to protect himself.
Zero woke with a shout, flailing as he tried to disentangle himself from his blankets.
He was still struggling when the door to his room slid open, revealing Bakunetsumaru, who looked at his panicking friend and quickly put away his swords to help untangle him. The door slid shut behind him, sending them into darkness.
"What happened?" Baku asked, when Zero was freed and had calmed down a little, and he'd turned on the bedside light so they could see. "I thought you were attacked or something!"
"M-my apologies for worrying you," Zero said. The adrenaline had worn off and he trembled as he held the blanket tightly. "It was simply a dream."
"Must have been a bad one for you to be like this," Baku concluded. He sat down beside Zero, watching him with warm brown eyes. "Could it have been a vision? What was it about?"
Zero turned his head away from his friend, staring at his hands, and was silent for a moment before he spoke. "If it was a vision. . ." He squeezed his eyes shut as he trailed off, feeling tears begin to slip down his face.
Baku wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close. Under any other circumstance, Zero would have protested the closeness, but he let his head rest on Baku's shoulder without a word.
Zero trembled, doing his best to not simply burst into tears as Baku quietly held him. He focused on the feeling of the warm, living body so close to his, Baku's head resting against his own, and the blanket he still grasped tightly.
He didn't know how long they stayed like that.
Baku managed to pry the blanket free of Zero's grip, and shuffled both of them around so he could gently push Zero into laying down. The Arkian joined him, laid the blanket across them, and pulled Zero to his chest.
The fully awake part of Zero's mind protested that this wasn't proper behaviour for a Royal Knight, but he shoved it down and accepted his friend's kindness and support.
"Thank you," Zero said softly, after Baku turned off the light and the room was blanketed in darkness once again. "You didn't have to do this."
"And leave you alone?" An arm was was slung over his back, and his friend's voice was warm. "I'd be a bad friend, if I did that."
Zero smiled behind his mask. "Yes, but now I have to try and fall asleep before you do. Otherwise you'll keep me awake with your snoring."
"I'll make sure to snore louder tonight, just for that!" The musha huffed. "Call it motivation. You need it - don't think I haven't noticed you being so tired lately."
"And here I thought I was hiding it," Zero sighed. "I'm sorry. . ."
"Don't apologize! You're always blaming yourself for things out of your control, Zero."
They settled into a comfortable silence, Zero starting to feel drowsy as his adrenaline had now worn off. He hadn't realized just how much he missed having someone else next to him while sleeping.
When was the last time he'd done that? Before the invasion had reached the castle, when Nataku had had a bad health day and both Zero and Deed had kept him company.
"What did I ever do to deserve you two boys?" Nataku had sighed, voice tired from pain but warm with affection, looping his arms around the younger knights curled up with him like when they were little.
As Zero finally drifted off to sleep, a rumble began to grow in his chest.
"You silly knight," he heard his friend say softly above the purring, readjusting the blanket. "I thought you knew you could trust us with these kinds of things."