Something felt wrong when she had finally awakened. The buzzing feeling in the back of her head was gone and she no longer felt the slight, but refreshing feeling of enlightenment that the pale light brought with it. Even so, her head still pulsed slightly from the sudden movement of her brash awakening and was met with blurred vision.

As if she needed more things to worry about, more things seem to just appear and disappear without a chance for her to figure how or why, and the princess was having enough of it.

Speaking of things disappearing…

The minute her head stopped spinning she got up and looked for her needle, disregarding the old cot and scratchy blanket she was just under.

She didn't get far without a scruffy voice interrupting her. "I take it you're looking for this?"

She turned her head to see the former blacksmith holding up the needle gently with both claws. She hesitated before she awkwardly walked up to the old man, her face a mix of irritation and embarrassment before she promptly yanked her deadly instrument out of his hands.

"Yes. Thank you." She forced, not trying to look at the old bug in the eyes. She was overwhelmed enough about the fact that the two older bugs basically tried to force her to rest, however, the fiasco with Sheo stealing her needle…

She never liked the feeling of being messed with, even if it's with good intentions.

"I'm sorry if Sheo made you mad." He continued, eyeing the now poorly-fixed ogrim figure on the table. "He can be rather...forceful when he's around people that are in pain."

Hornet huffed and made her towards the door. "That so? Tell him he has skill and that I am thankful for his concern." She paused to open the door only to finally look at the bug out of the corner of her eye. "But I don't like being treated like a child."

The former blacksmith smiled and chuckled. "I will. Good luck in your travels."

Hornet walked out and shut the door behind her. How long was she out? Hours? Days? She didn't know, it's hard to tell time when you grew up in a kingdom that seemed to be frozen in time. Although, from the odd earthquakes and the instance of her fath- the pale king's presence she knew something was going on. Luckily, after having such a long rest her head and shoulders feel much lighter and less…crowded? She couldn't explain it, but she felt lighter than air. It was as if she was cleansed.

She guessed the painter was right, she needed to rest and she wasn't given herself as much care as she should have.

She was burned out. From everything. And when she thought it was over a whole other set of problems suddenly appeared and she went into overload. She couldn't take it anymore.

She spared a glance at her needle and stared at her reflection it gave. If her mother was here she probably would've scolded her for not taking proper care of herself. It didn't matter if she had the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders, even protectors needed to stop and rest before they could continue their duty.

She wants to kick herself for not doing the most basic thing to do in survival, but she knew it wouldn't solve anything. She needed to go back to watching over the kingdom; something is going and she needs to find out what!

She threw her needle in the direction of the main road in Greenpath and leapt off. Throwing her needle continuously, she maneuvered around the pillars of moss and rock as she moved room to room, cavern to cavern until she finally made her way to the entrance of Greenpath. When she reached the landing however, a familiar figure stood before her, leaning against the side of the entrance with a satchel of berries and seeds in his hand.

Before she could say anything he tossed the bag to her and, though caught off guard, she caught it with ease. The paintmaster walked up to her with his claws up in mock surrender, a gentle smile on his face. She returned with an annoyed grimace before pocketing the satchel.

"I take it you're still mad?" He asked.

She did not answer him.

He chuckled. "Sometimes even the greatest warriors need to be reminded to do what's best for themselves and not for just the best of others."

She sighed. "You're right. Though I wish you had chosen a better method to remind me."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It was in the moment."

She scoffed and walked up to him until they were a few feet apart. "I suppose…that's a fair answer."

She walked past him as she readied her thread and needle for another jump, bidding a silent goodbye to the odd paintmaster.

"Have you had a disagreement with one of your close friends?"

Hornet froze, causing the thread she made to miss the loophole in her needle entirely. She slowly turned her head to him. "What?"

"I know what's it like." He continued, turning around to face her fully. His face suddenly sulken and void of his regular cheer. "When you're through something like that it's easy to see the signs in others." He took a few steps forward to close the gap. "And I saw it in you when we first met."

The Hollow Knight immediately entered her mind, recalling the very few times she met them and the emotional connection they made at the hot springs. She felt betrayed when they were still loyal to the king after everything he did, but she never hated them. In fact, she missed them dearly.

She turned to face the paintmaster. "I have, but it's not something that you can help with."

"Not necessarily." He said. "As I had said, I've been through that pain before and I was able to make amends, but…" He paused and looked away. "I was able to reconnect with one of my brothers but my other has yet to forgive himself and remains in isolation from either of us." He looked back up at Hornet. "It's easy to place blame on them or yourself but you must understand that no matter what you or they think, believe, or feel, it's a natural part of a relationship. You are supposed to butt heads with some things, even with the extremities; there is no such thing as a perfect relationship, and that's okay. You need to find your ground, their ground, and the middle ground."

He walked before her and placed a comforting claw on her shoulder. "It's okay to disagree on something but still be there to support them; you and whoever the bug you're having a disagreement with, it's okay to not believe in the same thing but still share the same love and support for each other."

He moved his claw away and took a few steps back to give her some space. Hornet was at a loss for words, trying to take in all the sudden advice from the same paintmaster that played 'keep away' with her needle. However, even with such good advice something like this will take time to think over and come to her own conclusion on what she should do.

"Me and my partner will always be here." He said. "Our home is open to you."

Hornet slowly nodded as she was still absorbed in her own thoughts. "T-thank you."

She turned and jumped off the platform and headed towards the city above ground.