Characters: The Pale King/The White Lady, The Pure Vessel, Grimmchild, Dryya
Word Count: 7.562
Summary: Pendry is forced to take the day off and visits Rydellia in her garden.
(Author's note: After all the angst and events in the last few chapters, Pendry really needed a break so I decided to write (mostly) fluff. Chapters like this basically work like this... opens map and plans path, checks wiki, looks at map again, checks wiki...
Also, I forgot to add the Grimmchild at first. I wrote them back in once I noticed, but I fear it is painfully obvious where I forgot to add them and kinda shoehorned them in. Feel free to tell me when you have found the right spot.)
"Pendry, you are in need of a break."
"What makes you say that, Root?", Pendry tiredly looked up to get a glimpse at her face, snuggling against her stem.
"Because you went through a lot the last few days.", Rydellia replied. "And before that, you have been sick. You should have taken it easy for a few days more, but you decided to visit the Abyss, find another one of our children, then you had to explain it to your knights, then Hollow dragged you down into the Abyss for real and don't think that I didn't notice what you let Herrah do to you."
Rydellia sounded angry. Figured, she never liked it when he got self destructive. Still, he knew that both him and Herrah had needed that interaction.
"But the most glaring sign is, that you came to me to sleep on your own accord on time and that you can barely keep your eyes open when I normally need to use sleeping spores on you!"
"I knew it.", Pendry hissed, but he was too exhausted to actually care about this revelation. Instead, he curled his tail around Rydellia's stem (or tried to, she was too big for it to fit completely) and let his eyes fall shut as his head was supported by one of her branches.
"I am leaving for my garden tomorrow and I expect to see you there for at least a full day.", Rydellia said. It wasn't even a polite request, it was an order. He knew when he wouldn't show up, he would incite his lady's wrath.
"Hmm... but I won't use the stag station to get there... I'll walk.", he said. Rydellia let a vine stroke over his horns and another vine massage right below his wings, making Pendry start to rumble.
"Of course, I know you don't like them. How could I ever forget how much you puked after your first ride on them?", Rydellia chuckled. Pendry, who already had been half on his way to the dream realm, frowned when his stomach painfully clenched.
"Rydellia, please, don't remind me of something so uncomfortable.."
"My apologies.", Rydellia said, "I always forget that it isn't a nice feeling for you. I process food differently."
"Just... be glad that you will never be able to throw up...", Pendry murmured, quickly relaxing under his wife's care and finally entering the world of the dream realm for real, letting his body relax, and even in the dream realm, he felt like he could just let it slide this one day and not be chased by nightmares. Rydellia was there to protect him and she would soon join him once she fell asleep on her own.
When he awoke the next day, Rydellia was already gone. He laid curled in himself on the ground, being covered with various vegetation that grew in the room. He slowly blinked as he got up. He felt much less tired and exhausted today, which probably meant...
He confirmed it by leaving the room and seeing all the castle stuff up and awake and on their duties already. Rydellia had told them to leave him be so that he had slept a lot longer than usual. When he saw how some of the Royal Retainers crossing him gave him kind of a bewildered look, he looked down at him and noticed that his robes were still full of earth and greenery. He hurried to his own personal bathroom to get cleaned up and ready himself for the day.
His next step was looking for Hollow and getting some breakfast. Rydellia had basically only invited him to the gardens, but Hollow would need a break as much as he and they never had been to the garden before. It would be a good experience for them.
He found them sparring with Isma in the courtyard. While their stance had gotten a lot better and their balance issues were barely a problem anymore, they still were no match for the experienced knight. They had to give up when they lost their footing and gave Isma a perfect opportunity to strike them down.
"That's quite enough for this morning, you should now go and get something to eat.", Isma said, then she noticed Pendry. "Oh, your majesty, good morning."
"Good morning, Isma.", Pendry said as Hollow turned around and upon seeing him, waved as greeting. "Good morning to you as well, Hollow.", Pendry said, smiling when he saw them using such a carefree gesture, miles away from the being who had only stood stiff and still as a statue whenever he addressed it. Though, he frowned a bit when something flattered from above and landed on their shoulders. Apparently, they had summoned the Grimmchild again.
Pendry joined the two (or three of them) and noticed Isma staring sternly at him. With a sigh, he brought up the topic that was lingering between them. "How's Ogrim?"
"Still processing.", Isma said. "I am sure he will come along soon. I am spending time with Thorn when I don't have any duties and he seems to enjoy hearing about their progress. Ze'mer also went to talk to him. We... know that you couldn't see another way, your majesty. It's just... hard to accept."
"It's hard to accept for us as well.", Pendry said, looking at the floor. It was Hollow who brought the both of them out their somber thoughts.
"I am just glad I am not the only one.", they signed. "That I have siblings... even though Thorn doesn't like me... But! I will make sure to be a good sibling to them!"
"I am sure you will be.", Isma said, laying a hand on Hollow's shoulder, moving the Grimmchild a little bit in the process, which protested with a tiny hiss. "But for now, they are still too upset when you are around, so please don't try anything. It's hard enough to get any information out of them already..."
"Yes, I understand.", Hollow signed and then signed to Pendry, "Father, do you want to get breakfast with me?"
"Yes, that is why I searched for you.", Pendry said, "But I also have something to tell you. We can do this over breakfast though."
Hollow cocked their head, but then followed Pendry. On the way, Pendry brought up the subject currently sitting on their shoulders. "So you equipped the charm again?"
"Yes.", Hollow signed, "I wanted to get to know them a bit better before we go and search for the flames."
"As long as they behave.", Pendry said, locking gazes with the child, already seeing the glint in its still dark black eyes, which certainly would be red soon enough.
"I will take care of that.", Hollow signed and then reached up to pet the Grimmchild, which chirped in content. Their conversation then died down and they entered the room where breakfast would await them.
Pendry was sitting over his breakfast and waited for Hollow to quench their hunger before he talked. When he was alone with them, they stopped being subtle about their method of eating. He knew they couldn't eat through their mask, because it very much lacked a mouth, but he had the feeling he would never get used to the maw on their chest opening and devouring whatever was on their plate. It truly cemented their nature as a being of void. In the meantime, the Grimmchild was sitting under the table, eating from a bowl that Hollow had requested. They had tried to feed it on the table, but it had preferred the darkness apparently.
"Isma must have trained you hard for you to be so hungry.", he said, picking at his own food with much more elegance and leting a bite be crushed by his sharp teeth. Teeth that he normally hid in public.
Hollow swallowed their portion and then got decent again, signing: "I still can't beat them in their dreams. None of them. They are stronger than during sparring there."
"I see you put that dreamnail to good use.", Pendry said, picking and chewing on another bite, "They are certainly more strong in their dreams, they have an ideal version of themselves in it. You don't have to be bothered that they manage to beat you."
"It's still frustrating.", Hollow signed and then devoured their second portion of breakfast.
"I have thought about training you anyway...", Pendry mused, "You will need to fight Grimm for the ritual and he's... he's stronger than my knights. The next time you want to train, come to me when I sleep and enter my dream."
Hollow finished their portion and looked at him. Then, they signed: "We haven't sparred in so long. I look forward to it."
"Me too, actually...", Pendry heard himself say, "Though, that isn't what I wanted to tell you. Rydellia gave me the day off. Or more, she practically told me I have to come to her garden today to relax. I want you to come too."
Hollow stopped eating their third portion and put the bowl down, their interest clearly having switched to going out today. "Mother told me about the garden. I always wanted to see it. Even when I still was..."
They stopped signing. Pendry didn't need to know what the word was they didn't want to sign out.
"It's quite a way to go. We have to go through the City of Tears and use the elevator to the Crossroads, then we have to head to Greenpath. The Queen's Garden lies at the end of it. Normally, the way would be easy, but with the infection.. it could be that we face difficulties."
Hollow simply answered by drawing their nail.
"I am aware that you are my knight, Hollow, but still, please be careful, alright?", Pendry said, a smile on his face as well as a frown.
Hollow nodded and after they had finished with breakfast, the both of them were off.
The trip to the City of Tears was done quickly. Hollow had been there a few times already and knew the way. It was the first time they went to the elevator though. Even though Hollow would have preferred to play in the rain, they still had a long way to go, so Pendry shielded them from the walling water with a barrier, on which the rain rolled off. It also was better for the Grimmchild, who had fire as its element. Hollow found the barrier to be equally fascinating as the rain and stared at it until they were out of the rain.
The bugs around them of course bowed and made room when Pendry arrived. It didn't make him feel as uncomfortable as before anymore. He had gone out a lot more thanks to Hollow and so the direct worship felt a lot more like it should to him, honest, genuine and filling him with energy.
Once they arrived at the elevator, Pendry and Hollow were given a ride on their own. Everyone else in the queue let them step forward and everyone decided that they couldn't share such a close space with their king and the heir. Pendry silently breathed out a sigh of relief, being in an enclosed space with so many bugs would have been hard on him...
The elevator ride was quiet, with Hollow not possessing a voice and Pendry not having anything to say. Once it had arrived and they stepped out on the crossroads, Pendry used the time to tell Hollow a bit about the history of the place and what it stood for. Even the Grimmchild seemed to listen. He wondered if it would make fun of him once it inherited Grimm's memories.
Soon, they set foot in Greenpath and Pendry seamlessly changed his narration: "And here we have Greenpath. This place is under the protection of Unn, another Higher Being. We have to stay on the path, for it was our agreement."
Hollow only half listened. They were too amazed by all the green around them. They turned to Pendry to sign in excitement: "There are so many plants and so much green! I have never seen so much green before! It looks like Mother's room, but in large!"
"If you are already that excited, wait until we reach your mother's garden.", Pendry chuckled, starting to walk again. He could feel it around him, the mosskin started to get infected. He wondered what Unn was doing? These were her subjects, weren't they? ...Maybe she had to wait for his solution. It wasn't like Pendry was any closer to save his subjects.
"Be careful, Hollow, I can sense the infection.", Pendry said instead of lingering on his thoughts. Hollow already had their hand on their nail and nodded at him. They, too, could sense it. Maybe even more than him, because their body was void and the void was the ancient enemy of the light. It was his main reason to have experimented with void...
Thankfully, the few infected in Greenpath weren't fearsome foes like the Nosk in Deepnest had been. A few mosscreeps, some vengeflies... the most fearsome were the Moss Knights and only very few of them had succumbed to the infection. It was also good that the Grimmchild was still so little, or it maybe would have attacked everything that moved. In fact, it seemed to have fallen asleep somewhen during their journey, lying on Hollow's shoulders.
Still, the infected were numerous enough for Hollow to start to get exhausted. "Enough Hollow, leave the fighting to me from now on.", Pendry said.
"But I am your knight.", they signed back, despite their shoulders drooping down and their heavy breathing. Luckily, Pendry spotted a bench nearby. Perfect. They could rest there.
"Come Hollow, let's sit down for a few minutes.", he said, taking his child's hand and leading them over to the bench. "You need a little break before we continue."
Hollow sat down and pretty much folded into themselves, they had pushed themselves too hard. Pendry took their hand and searched for their flow of soul, then donated some of his own to them. He was practically brimming with today after accepting the more open worship and he didn't want it to go to waste. Sharing it with his child was a far better option.
Hollow looked a lot better after he was done and straightened up, sitting on the bench. They didn't get up right away, probably wanting to take it easy. Pendry didn't complain. He needed a little break as well after walking so much.
"Just tell me when you feel better, Hollow.", he said, giving his child the choice for when they would leave, then leaned against the bench and looked to the ceiling. There were some maskflies there, completely harmless small individuals. He didn't even need to watch them...only that they were coming down to their position!
Pendry jumped up, ready to defend his child (and himself) if the maskflies would act on the very foolish decision to fight him, but instead, they simply settled on Hollow's horns. They seemed to like them, chattering to each other while they perched on it.
It looked nothing short but adorable, even when Hollow went rigid, something that they could do far too well, to not disturb the little creatures.
"Maskflies are normally very fearful and will flee at any suspected danger. That they decided to come so close to you is something special.", he said, glad about his whispering voice, so that the maskflies wouldn't be scared away.
Hollow continued to stay as still as they could, letting the maskflies settle onto their horns. It was the Grimmchild who stirred though, awakening when it noticed that they had come to a halt. At the sight of the maskflies, its eyes started to sparkle and soon it was in the air, hunting for the tiny things with equally tiny fireballs, startling Hollow, so that they toppled over and almost fell off the bench, when Pendry hadn't reacted fast and caught them.
"It appears the peace and quiet is over.", Pendry said with a bit of frustration in his voice. He already had been on his feet anyway, if Hollow felt up for it, they could continue their journey to the garden.
"Call the little menace to you and then let's move on, if you feel rested enough.", he said, crossing his two visible arms (and the ones who weren't visible as well), waiting for Hollow's answer.
Hollow nodded and then chased the Grimmchild down, practically catching it from the air, making the little thing screech in annoyance. Once they had brought it back to the bench, they gave some scolding signs to the Grimmchild and it let its head hang low, pitifully chirping.
"You don't need to act all cute and pitiable, I know too perfectly what you are and what you will be in the future.", Pendry said. The Grimmchild gave him a glare in return, which made Pendry shudder. Never in his life had he seen a toddler glaring that intenseley at him. Not even Hornet had managed it and she was a master at voicing and showing her displeasure. She very much had inherited this from Herrah.
Hollow shook in silent laughter and then invited the Grimmchild to sit on their shoulders again, where it yawned and soon fell back to sleep. Pendry assumed that in a realm like this, which was still under the protection of a Higher Being, there was no chance that a flame would be found, leaving the Grimmchild rather inactive when no threat was perceived.
"We have to be careful from now on, watch your feet, because there will be Fool Eaters strewn into the vegetation from now on.", Pendry said. Hollow glanced at him and then cocked their head for a second before shaking it.
"No, you haven't misheard. They are plants that only wait for an unsuspecting victim to step on it and devour it. While we are too big for their usual diet, they still can cause wounds, so be careful. Oh, and the Grimmchild is certainly small enough to fit as a meal, it's a good thing it's flying mostly. Or lying on your shoulders."
Hollow nodded, giving the Grimmchild a head pat and then had their gaze glued on the ground. Pendry did the same. Higher Being or not, a Fool Eater didn't care, infected or not. They acted on pure instinct. It was true, they were easy to avoid, but only when one knew what to look for.
Pendry kept his eyes on the ground as well, so that nobody of them suddenly got a bite in their ankle. He was a bit interested however how a Fool Eater would handle void, but he wouldn't force his child to get hurt for his curiosity. Never again.
The rest of Greenpath was passed rather smoothly, with only the occasional infected mosskin attacking, some fool eaters dying to Hollow's nail and the Grimmchild slumbering peacefully through the journey. Soon enough, the both of them entered the Queen's garden, a place that was Rydellia's retreat, all designed and sculpted by her, with beautiful flowers blooming equally to dangerous thorns on twisting paths.
She still was the Queen of Hallownest and she wouldn't allow any intruders in her space.
"Here we are, that is the Queen's Garden.", Pendry said, extending his hand and holding it out towards it to underline his words. Hollow looked in all directions and then went exploring what they saw, under Pendry's watchful eyes. Even the Grimmchild woke up and rubbed its eyes with its tiny wing.
"Be careful with the thorns, Hollow.", Pendry said, as Hollow looked closer at them. It was too late though, because they extended their hand and drew it back right away when they got stung, some void blood dripping on the ground.
"I just told you to be careful.", Pendry said, coming over to them, but there was not anger in his voice. It was his fault that Hollow knew so little about the outside world and of course was utterly fascinated by everything new they saw. "Show me your hand."
Hollow showed them their finger, which had a little bleeding wound. Pendry took it in his own hands to examine, but figured that it would heal without trouble on its own. Void healed amazingly quickly. Even though Hollow still wore the bandage from the time they had donated void to Thorn, they didn't have trouble using the arm at all. Pendry should remove the stitches later.
"That should dry up on its own in no time.", he said and let go of Hollow's hand, who now kept a healthy distance to the thorns. The Grimmchild came fluttering towards their hand and licked the finger, making a grimace and spitting the void blood out. Pendry assumed that it tasted rather awful, nothing as satisfying as the soul-blood of Higher Beings or the reddish blood found in mortals.
The Grimmchild settled on Hollow's shoulder again, this time staying awake, taking in the scenery. Hollow and Pendry kept marching on, until they were at their goal, proven by Dryya guarding a certain part of the gardens.
"Good day to you, Dryya.", Pendry said and Dryya gave a nod in return.
"Your majesty, Hollow, the Lady awaits you."
Dryya stepped to the side and let the both of them through, gaze still pierced on them. Pendry knew, even as one of the five great knights, her loyalty was to Rydellia first and foremost and she wouldn't hesitate to cut down even the ones closest to her if they would threaten her.
Rydellia was found farther in, sitting at a table, a pot of tea in the middle of it, three cups were placed around the table and a plate with pastries sat next to the teapot. There was also a vase filled with flowers, carefully picked and arranged by her, which complimented her white glow as well as the greenery around them.
"Ah, my Wyrm, there you are. And you brought Hollow, I see and..." Her gaze darkened a bit. "Oh, well, if you can make sure it can behave."
"At least it isn't Grimm yet.", Pendry said, taking a seat, "I prefer it when it doesn't have all his memories."
"Yes yes, I understand, completely.", Rydellia said, pouring a cup of tea for Pendry. Hollow sat down and she poured them a cup of tea as well. They already were reaching for the pastries, when Pendry stopped them.
"Wash your hands first, Hollow, you have touched all kinds of stuff on the way here."
"There is a little bathroom in the dwelling over there, you can wash your hands there.", Rydellia said. Hollow looked at their hands, which, of course, were so pitch black that no dirt could be seen, but shrugged and got up to get cleaned up. The Grimmchild fluttered away from them when they entered the dwelling, settling on their chair.
"I don't think I should give it tea.", Rydellia said, sighing. "Dryya, could you get some aphid milk? Please?"
She didn't even raise her voice, but Dryya was at her sight in an instant. "Of course, my lady.", she said and was off, returning even before Hollow had finished washing their hands with a bowl of aphid milk, setting it on the ground.
The Grimmchild was far too eager to lap up the milk, leaving some peace and quiet once Hollow returned with hopefully far cleaner hands. They eagerly reached for a pastry and started to eat it.
"How has your trip been?", Rydellia asked, sitting down. Not on a chair, Pendry noticed. She was so big, she normally always just sat on the ground when Pendry visited. He knew that she preferred just the nature around her, the chair and table was to make him feel more comfortable.
"There didn't happen much.", Pendry said, "Not much infected around, though far too many to be concerned still. The city was rather lively. We got a ride with the elevator without anyone else, which is good, because they would all have worshipped me during the ride anyway and that would have looked a bit awkward. In Greenpath Hollow bonded with some maskflies before the little menace scared them away."
Said little menace gave out a little chirp and then settled in Hollow's lap, looking up when it noticed Hollow's pastry. Hollow removed a crumb and fed it to the Grimmchild.
"Good, that is good to hear.", Rydellia said, downing her teacup in one go, then pouring herself another right away, "You two had far too much excitement over the last few days. I still haven't heard the whole story about what happened in Herrah's den. How about you tell me about, hmm, Pendry?"
Pendry knew that Rydellia wanted him to admit to his self-destructive behaviour, but he was prepared this time. He knew he had to talk to Rydellia about it eventually, but for the moment, he could easily distract her.
"Oh, I haven't done that much down there actually, it was all Hollow. Hollow, how about you tell your mother about how you played with your three siblings down there?"
Pendry could see the displeasure on Rydellia's face as well as feel it in his half of the Kingssoul. Regardless, Hollow was more than eager to tell her about their experience and started signing with excitement, telling Rydellia about all the games they had played with little Hornet, as well as the twins Nox and Lux. It must have happened when Pendry had been banned from inside, because he didn't remember any of the stuff that Hollow was telling Rydellia.
Rydellia occasionally nodded and smiled at Hollow, sipping at her cup once in a while. Pendry did the same, mostly focused on Hollow's sign. It was wholesome to see how much fun they seemed to have. If they were so happy spending time with their siblings, Pendry should let them vist Deepnest a bit more often.
He doubted that Herrah would allow the twins to come to the palace... but Hornet she had to bring along. She was the gift for her duties and while these duties never took place, Pendry still had a right (and a want) to be included in the little spiderling's life.
"You seemed to have a lot of fun yesterday.", Rydellia said once Hollow's sign ebbed out, them not being able to find anything to tell anymore. They nodded their head and stayed silent, then stroking the Grimmchild on their lap, getting another pastry to nibble on.
"Well, I am glad you and your siblings get along so well.", Rydellia said, her voice a bit distant. She probably felt the same as Pendry. Guilt and regret over the vessels and sadness because she wasn't allowed to be part of their lives anymore.
"Herrah likes you a lot more than me, she might let you interact with them...", Pendry said, in an attempt to cheer her up. He knew he failed when Rydellia locked her eyes on him, her mouth a thin line, teacup in her branches starting to crack.
"Oh, you are one to talk, Pendry. You know exactly how it feels. The ones we left behind. The ones we never raised as their own, having been left to rot, seeing as nothing more but emotionless machines, machines for our goal. I, just as you, can not show my face around there and act like nothing has ever happened. I...", Rydellia trailed off and averted her gaze, but when it came back, it was firmer than ever, "I actually almost succeeded in detaching myself! But then you came with Hollow and told me that we finally are allowed to be their parents now. Back then... back then I was so relieved that I didn't have to, but the fact that I was about to succeed... it scares me, Wyrm."
"You... did?!", Pendry cocked his head, nearly not able to grasp what Rydellia had just said to him. At the same time, he saw Hollow shivering next to him. Torn between giving his wife a hug or calming Hollow down, he laid a hand on their shoulder and rubbed some circles into their back, then he spoke.
"But you didn't, Root, and that is the important part. You decided to let Hollow into your life. And you also let Thorn into your life. And I am sure you would be able to let every child of ours that we find, if there are even more, back into your life with ease. Because deep down, you always cared, very deeply about them. You just tried to convince yourself that you weren't allowed to."
He let out a sigh while Hollow started to relax under his care.
"I was the same. I didn't allow them to touch my heart, but it happened anyway... I failed. The plan would always have failed, because of my actions and my attachment. No, even when we both would have gotten detached..."
He looked at Hollow. "Because you never were without feelings to begin with."
Hollow simply nodded, their hands resting on the table, the Grimmchild looking up from their lap and chirping, clearly displeased with the lack of pets.
"None of us could have prevented it, Rydellia."
"I suppose you are right.", Rydellia said, opening her branch, a bunch of shards falling on the ground alongside the leftover tea and some amber coloured soul. Pendry already was standing up when Rydellia focused and healed the wound on her own.
"This was not on purpose, by the way.", she said. "Unless someone else here in this room, I don't get hurt on my own volition."
Both Hollow and Pendry winced at her changing the subject so masterfully into what she had wanted to talk about in the first place. Her sharp gaze lingered on Hollow for a second before she spoke again: "No, not you, Hollow, though I see where you get your self destructive desires from. I am talking about your father."
Hollow looked at Pendry and then started to sign, with Pendry dreading more and more what they had to say.
"He hurt himself with his claws when we were in the Abyss, I could see the soul dripping on the floor. And in Deepnest, the first time, he was ready to get impaled by the Nosk. And yesterday, I found him really hurt and bleeding quite a bit when I came inside when Hornet got fuzzy."
"The infection won't go away by your desire to hurt yourself.", Rydellia said, looming over him, making Pendry realize just how big his wife was, "All that you accomplish is making yourself feel better about your guilt. Because you think you deserve to be punished, right, Wyrm? And when the ones you wronged won't do it, you do it yourself. There is only one way to counter this..."
Pendry squeaked when she enclosed him and he was trapped in a dark prison of branches and roots. Wasn't Rydellia just talking about that he should stop hurting himself and now she was threatening him?
His worries went away though when Rydellia simply picked him up and said: "With care and love. You are taking a self-care day, Wyrm."
"Oh.", was all that Pendry said, "You were... rather convincing when you threatened me..."
"Because I was dead serious about threatening you with lover tending care.", Rydellia said, smiling, "That is why you could feel it in your kingsoul also."
Rydellia turned to Hollow. "We are going to bathe in a hot spring. Do you want to come too, Hollow?"
Hollow nodded and jumped from their chair, the Grimmchild chirping in annoyance, as it started to flutter behind them. Rydellia simply picked Hollow up and carried both them and Pendry to the nearest hot spring. Dryya followed them in silence.
At the hot spring, Rydellia lowered Pendry and Hollow to the ground and then got rid of her robe, she practically just let it fall down on the ground, showing her, at least for Pendry, beautiful body, before she lowered herself into the hot spring.
"Come, you two, get in as well.", she called over to Hollow and Pendry. When Pendry noticed that Rydellia was mostly covered by the water, he assumed that this hot spring was rather deep.
"Be a bit careful when you get in, Hollow.", he said, removing his own robe and folding it neatly, "It could be deeper than you think."
Hollow nodded and removed their own robe and then the bandages around their arm. Pendry noticed the stitches on their left arm. While the wound was healing just fine, it was a reminder of all the events that had happened just two days ago.
"Is your arm fine?", Pendry asked, his now visible tail snaking around his leg as his thoughts were forced back to them finding and treating Thorn.
"I am fine, Father.", Hollow signed and then folded their robe just as neatly as him before the both of them joined Rydella in the hot spring. It was, like predicted, pretty deep, but it wasn't a problem, because Rydellia picked them up right away and let them sit on their roots.
The Grimmchild didn't join them. It sat outside the hot spring and stared at the water. Then it touched the water with one of its wings and upon the sensation, hissed and hid behind some bushes. It looked rather adorable and both Pendry and Rydellia chuckled.
"It won't be too easy to give the little one a bath.", she said.
"With all the fire spells, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Grimm incarnations doesn't like water at all.", Pendry joked.
"Well, you were together with him once, how was he around water?", Rydellia asked and let some vines snake around Pendry's body, to secure him more safely on her roots.
"I... I don't want to talk about this...", Pendry's gaze got darker and Hollow looked at them, kind of in an expectant way. As if they wanted to hear more stories.
"Ah, apologies, my child, but it appears your Father won't talk about it.", Rydellia said and then her gaze fell on Dryya. "Dryya, my knight, you don't have to stand outside, you can join us."
Dryya didn't even turn around as she replied: "I am here to stand guard, my lady. I can't join you."
"She knows she is my chosen mortal beloved.", Rydellia sighed. "She could get a bit out of her shell when we aren't alone... Oh, speaking of, Pendry, did you finally get around with Lurien?"
Pendry, who had already relaxed in her embrace and had been close to falling asleep, suddenly was wide awake and gasped, swallowing water in the process. After he coughed and sputtered it up, with a worried Hollow at his side, he turned to Rydellia and said: "Why are you asking that?! Lurien and me, we... we don't have that kind of..."
"Oh Pendry, are you still that oblivious?", Rydellia said, a branch in front of her mouth as she chuckled. "He's all over for you. And you are the same, didn't you think I noticed it? It's about time you chose a beloved among the mortals, right?"
"I... I don't do that...", Pendry just weakly said, feeling as if he was fighting a losing battle. Rydellia got Hollow's attention and from the corner of his eyes, he could see them signing, but he was still too perplexed to read them.
"Higher Beings enter relationships differently than mortals.", Rydellia said. "It's not like in your books. This... love triangle thing you just described won't happen with us. Pendry shared his soul with me, he is my one and only true mate, the only other Higher Being I accept in my realm and the same is true for him. We forged a bond so strong that it linked our very souls together."
She looked down at him and then stroked his horns. "I know when he's getting tired or upset or gets hungry for example. As long as he doesn't close down the connection. The same is true for him, he can feel my feelings as well. We can even talk through the bond."
"And I would cherish it when you don't suddenly talk about the newest high society rumours while I am handling buzz saws...", Pendry said.
"Oh yes, I startled him and he cut himself. We needed a while to reattach his claw, but it turned out all fine.", Rydellia very casually said, making Hollow scoot away a bit, splashing water everywhere. "Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, it is common for a Higher Being to take a mortal beloved. I think we might have talked about this already... but it can't hurt to go through it another time. Dryya is my mortal beloved. She warms my bed when Pendry isn't there... or I simply need a change of pace."
"Rydellia, please, don't go into more details.", Pendry said, now at high alert. She was known to be very very open about certain stuff and there were children around.
"Oh don't worry, I am done.", she said, stroking both Pendry's and Hollow's horns. "Now let us all relax, we surely need it after the last few days."
Rydellia's stroking worked like a charm and Pendry felt himself going out like a light, peacefully slumbering in his Root's presence. He didn't know if Hollow stayed awake, but he occasionally heard her voice and sometimes the chirping of the Grimmchild when he was in the in-between of sleep and waking up, so he assumed they had stayed awake.
After he was completely awake, Rydellia smiled at him. "It's good to see you finally get the sleep you deserve.", she said. Some time must have passed, because Hollow was out of the spring already and sparred with Dryya, with the Grimmchild fluttering around their heads and chirping in excitement and Rydellia's bark looked rather soaked. He himself also felt rather soaked with water, and clearly overflowing with soul.
"I slept fantastic.", he said and then started to wiggle out of Rydellia's hold. "Root, I think I need to get rid of some soul, I might join Hollow's sparring session."
"Oh? I haven't seen you spar in forever.", Rydellia said and put Pendry on the ground outside of the spring, drying him off before she herself got out of it too. After they were dressed, Pendry walked over to Hollow.
"Hollow, it's time to change sparring partners.", he said.
Hollow looked around a bit, and then shrugged their shoulders when they didn't see another one of the knights.
"No, I am not talking about the other knights.", he said. "I am talking about me."
"It has been some time since I have last seen his Majesty fight.", Dryya murmured and stepped to the side.
"I know, isn't it exciting.", Rydellia added, snatching the Grimmchild out of the air and forcing it to settle on her shoulders instead, where it stayed after some tiny protest that was snuffed in an instant.
Hollow made themselves ready, though they looked a bit unsure, because Pendry was unarmed. He simply flashed his claws instead, where soul already gathered. "I will attack you with spells.", he said, "And you will try to get a single hit at me. Don't worry, I can heal myself just fine, you don't have to spare me."
He waited until Hollow took a stance that was much more confident and nodded to him. "Alright then, let us begin."
Their sparring session was short, but intense. Pendry used all of the soul and weaved them into intricate spells, hard but fair bullet patterns, all while he made sure to not accidentally hurt Hollow, by changing the bullet's path when they would get hit. They were not in the dream realm at the moment, he couldn't risk hurting them.
Hollow managed to dodge quite a majority of his bullets though, managing to easily adjust when he changed spells. They were quick, nimble and balance problems were pretty much not seen anymore.
They managed to come close to hit him a few times, but then had to dodge out of the way of a stray bullet (that may or may not have been not as stray as it seemed), having to collect themselves and try again. It didn't take long for them though to find a path through the repeating patterns and tipped Pendry with their nail, still holding themselves back, even though he wouldn't have minded if they had stabbed him. With both him, Rydellia and the hot spring there, it would have been an easy to heal wound.
Both Dryya and Rydellia clapped when Hollow succeeded, standing there, heavily panting. Pendry also congratulated them, by patting their horns and saying: "Good job, Hollow."
The sparring session had been a full success. All the soul overflowing in him was now out and he didn't feel brimming with power anymore. Hollow on the other hand, looked pretty exhausted.
"Oh, how about you go sit down inside a bit?", Rydellia said. "And me and your father go for a walk while Dryya prepares our dinner."
Hollow looked at Dryya and then signed: "You can cook?"
"There is more to being a knight than just being able to fight.", Dryya said. "Please, go relax, Hollow Knight, I'll take care of everything in the kitchen. The king and queen can easily handle themselves when they are together."
It was unspoken in the air that she only stood guard when Rydellia let her own guard down, knowing that she far surpassed any mortal in power. It was double true for when the both of them were together.
"I enjoy letting my guard down.", Rydellia said in response to Dryya and then she and Pendry were already gone, walking along the lush green gardens. It always was a sight to behold. Pendry saw a few creatures, a few mosskins who probably got lost in the garden, but other than that the garden was quiet. It was truly a place for his Root and his Root alone. Sometimes, she even shared it with him.
At this moment, he felt a deep love for her blooming inside his soul and she took his claws into her branch when she noticed, squeezing his hand.
When they returned, a delicious smell came from the kitchen. As they looked inside, Hollow was running around, helping Dryya with cooking, while Dryya was busy preventing the Grimmchild from sneaking ingredients. "You need to feed this thing more.", she snarled, "Or train it better."
Hollow came running back and snatched the Grimmchild, holding a finger up, scolding it silently. The Grimmchild drooped and then got back to its place on their shoulder. Then, Hollow turned around and noticed their parents watching them. They waved to them and then signed: "I am helping."
"What happened to relaxing, hmm?", Rydellia asked. It was Dryya who answered for them.
"They told me they didn't want to sit around anymore, it made them feel bad and made the bad thoughts return, so I allowed them to help me instead so that they would get distracted."
Both Rydellia and Pendry only shared a look. Of course, telling Hollow to sit around and do nothing... didn't sit well with them. "We are sorry, Hollow...", Pendry said and Rydellia nodded.
"I am learning cooking.", they signed instead, as if they didn't want to talk about it or maybe they were too excited about picking up a new skill.
"That you are.", Dryya said, who had watched them, "And now come over, so that we can finish the sauce."
Hollow did as told and Pendry and Rydellia sat down outside, waiting for the food to be finished.
"It's nice... to see them act like a child.", Rydellia started.
"I know.", Pendry replied.
"After... all we've done..."
"I know.", Pendry repeated, voice toneless.
"I always want to see them that happy..."
"I know...", Pendry looked at the table, then he looked into his Root's eyes, "We will make it though. I know we can fight the infection away. And then Hollow can act like a normal child everyday."
Rydellia opened her mouth to reply something, but closed it when Dryya and Hollow brought the now finished food.
"It appears we can eat now.", she said and this time, when Rydellia prompted Dryya to sit down and join them in their meal, she obliged.
As Pendry was eating the food, listening to the conversation between his Root and Dryya and seeing Hollow feeding the Grimmchild, he was more than happy that he had agreed to take this break.
(Author's note:
Yeah, I decided to make WL/Dryya a thing in here and I think the Pale Watcher is heavily hinted at, but not really flying yet.
Why do they have a bathroom and a hot spring? Easy, the bathroom has a sink and a toilet, the hot spring is for bathing or healing wounds, filling up soul.
Dryya can cook? That was a spontaneous headcanon, but I very much like it. I also like the idea of Hollow picking up cooking and getting really really good at it. Baby deserves a creative hobby.
Also, Grimmchild is cat. It's just a tiny little kitten. I don't know what happened.
This was fun to write. As always, leave your thoughts in the comments. I hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it ^^)