A/N: I'm sorry. Really wanted to move it forward but I… have no excuse really. But have more lore and world building I suppose.
Henrietta sat on her throne, her face stoic as she went through her usual duties to listen to complaints, requests, pitches from Nobles and commoners alike, and to deliberate on whether she should follow through with their request or not.
Right now, she was dealing with a rather influential merchant. A woman that who looked near older than her mother. She had an unpleasant scowl on her face as she read through the message.
"As you can see your highness, with the increasing immigration of the Insects from Hallownest the past couple of months, we may face an economic issue that we cannot recover from." She talked on.
Inwardly she agreed with some of the concerns, but she always found it weird how defensive some of them could be towards the Insects.
"Your highness."
Henrietta looked to the side, spotting one of her guards approaching her. She turned to her current speaker, thankfully she didn't seem insulted. Though she did look annoyed at being interrupted.
The guard reached her, gave a bow, jerked his head over his shoulder "Count Mott has returned your highness, and he says that he brings a letter from The Pope."
A gasp came from the woman in front of her, while she kept a stoic face.
She expected a response. Someone like him receiving a letter that was, by all means, a thinly veiled threat was bound to respond.
Truthfully some part of her told her that she shouldn't have given away the information, that it would've been safer if information about Louise's Familiar had been kept quiet.
Broken houses were all she could see.
The village, a small area that threatened no one but the animals that were being hunted, wiped out.
Bodies were strewn about all over the place. Some had been bisected by whatever weapon that had been used to kill them, swung hard enough that their two halves would be spread far apart. Then there were those that had massive gaping holes in their torsos and head, their blood leaking out as they tried to crawl to safety.
More than a few arms she saw peeking out from the buildings that they tried to hide, but were crushed underneath.
And then in the middle, in the remains 'main hut' she saw it.
Crouching as it clutched someone within its grip. She saw it turn towards her, and before her eyes it vanished.
No.
The letter was her admitting that she knew and that if anything similar were to happen, if any witness were to reveal to her about the 'Thing' that could've killed Louise.
Then she'd have someone to avenge her, and a target to take out.
She nodded her head "Thank you, bring him in after I finish with the diplomat."
The guard gave another bow, and then walked out.
Henrietta took a slow breath to calm her nerves, before she turned to face the woman in front of her "I apologise for the interruption, you were saying?" She asked, prompting her to continue.
The rest of their conversation, one that was concerning about the increase numbers of Insects that were apparently migrating to the main city, was stilted as she seemed to be in a hurry to finish. And after she was done with her request to try and limit them, she just seemed to take her own request to consider the possibilities without any kind of complaints and seemed much too eager to leave.
Odd, usually they were more insistent on her giving them the 'Okay' immediately.
Still, it was blessing she supposed as moments after she left Count Mott entered the hall.
Walking in, with his head high and a letter in hand. Despite the words she's heard about how unsavoury he could be, he was still competent at his job. Going to and from Romalia in shorter time than most would even realise.
Once he was in front of her however, he kneeled and bowed "I have returned your highness," he spoke respectfully. He then held out the letter in his hands "And I have brought a message from his Eminence himself."
"Thank you for your work Count Mott," Henrietta said. She turned to the guard who was standing next to her "Can you please get that for me?"
"Of course your highness." Without another word he approached the bowing man, and took the envelope from his hands. Walking back, he gave it towards her.
She eyed it for a moment, trying to see if she could spot anything wrong with it. But when she found nothing, she grabbed it and opened it.
A frown found its way on her lips, one that was hidden by the letter in front of her. After a moment, she relaxed her face back into its stoic look and lowered it. "Thank you once again Count Mott, it's appears that the Pope has agreed with what I have requested of him. I will provide you payment and compensation for the trip later today."
"Of course your highness," Mott simply nodded "It was a simply a pleasure to serve."
She had tuned out what he had said, instead she was staring at the letter. A non-answer towards what she had told him, he simply acknowledged how Louise had what his 'Bodyguard' would wipe out villages for, and that he himself wouldn't approach her.
'Be safe Louise.' She thought to herself.
A thought entered her head, and she found herself darkly amused that she was safer from the thing in Albion, then she would've been if she had stayed at Tristain.
[Scene]
Louise gasped when the massive white skull suddenly peeked through the door way. After the prince had just been sent flying, she had assumed that a Reconquista soldier had managed to sneak up on the prince.
The skull was starch white, smooth all over and had a pointed chin. Two horns, tall enough that they were almost her own height. Lining the inside of each of the horns were two spikes that pointed inwards and upwards, while the tips of the horns themselves ended with points.
Two black eyes were the only other distinguishable feature on the skull, eyes that were so black that they seemed empty.
Then, whatever the skull was attached to stepped into the room and stood up.
Louise had to take a step back, one part was to avoid getting too close to what had just entered the room. The other reason, was that if she had to crane her head any further back just to look it in the eye, she'd fall over on her butt.
Even with it hunched over because of the ceiling, she was still only as tall as it's chest. Its arms were just as long, each other seemingly as long as she was tall, with the same could be said for its legs. Every joint was segmented, seemingly covered in insect like carapace. A grey cloak grew from the skull, covering the majority of its upper body.
Then there was the Soul Wand that it held in its left hand.
Just like everything about it, it was massive. Its length matching its owner's height, with carvings etched into its entire length. Unlike Sib's uniform circular spiral on its Soul Wand, the one before her seemed almost random to her eyes, with patterns that crossed over each other and extending from base to tip. Not only that, it was also covered in blood, from handle to tip she could see the red liquid shine as it dripped onto the ground.
Everything about the thing before her, seemed to be made to scare her to death.
But something… something stopped her from feeling fear. These conflicting feelings, the part of her that wanted her to start panicking and scream until her lungs gave way, and the other part that told her to stay calm.
It took her a moment to think, to recall any feeling similar to whatever was happening.
Until finally, as she looked at the thing before it, really looking at its white skull and black empty eyes, grey cloak that covered its body, and its body that was black as the night sky.
It clicked to her, she was staring at a Void Vessel. And judging from its much larger size than Sib and Bug, she was looking at an adult one.
The feeling of fear vanished, while the calming feeling remained. She stopped shaking, and instead her mouth fell slack in awe.
Beside her, both Sib and Bug seemed to be responding just the same as her. Both of them stood stock still, neither of them readying their weapons to fight. Just like her, they simply stood there and stared.
For a while, they stood there silent. The three of them staring at the adult Void Vessel, while it did the same to them.
Its head shifted left to right, looking between them. It paused at Bug for a short moment, but then turned back to her and Sib.
Louise didn't know what to do, she didn't expect to see something like this. But she couldn't just stay here and do nothing. She swallowed the spit in the mouth and spoke, "Hello," the sound seemingly forced out of her mouth. She took a step forward.
Immediately the Void Vessel's vision focused on her. Staring at her directly with its non-existent eyes.
Louise gulped as it faced her directly, but she didn't falter. Slowly she raised the hand that wasn't holding her wand, pausing a bit when she saw its left hand clenched the handle of the Soul Wand. Carefully she reached forward and spoke "I don't want to fight."
Its right hand twitched, and she saw how the Soul Wand was raised just enough to make her pause again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sib and Bug break out of their trance. Immediately, the former reached for its own Soul Wand on its back, while Bug seemed ready to rush in.
She lowered her hand and held it out to the side, signalling them to remain calm. They stopped moving, but they didn't relent in their tense positions.
Louise turned her attention back to the Void Vessel in front of her, it was staring down at her and every movement that it made, triggered the small part of her that wanted her to just run away. But she didn't.
"I know you must've been alone for so long," she told it taking another step forward. Making sure to try and keep looking it in the 'eye', "That what you and your Siblings went through, must've been horrible."
The Soul Wand was raised, dangerously that she thought it was going to strike right at that moment. But it refrained, instead it waited.
"You're a Void Vessel," another step closer "Just like them."
There was reaction to her words, how its head snapped towards her. Its right hand suddenly clenched into a fist as it pulled back slightly. From her words. It looked away from her for a moment, to glance at its Siblings behind her.
She didn't know how they reacted, but she pressed forward. "Like I said, I don't want to fight, we don't have to be enemies."
Slowly it turned its attention back towards her.
"You've all already went through so much."
The stories of how so many of them were tossed aside over something that they couldn't control. How they weren't even given names by their parents. How only one was allowed to leave and presumably live the life that its Siblings could have had.
She had said that she would try to protect any that she found.
Finally she was directly infront of the Void Vessel, standing just an arm's length from it.
It was still looking at her, both of its arms shaking.
She smiled and reached "None of us want to hurt each other," she told it "And I know that you wouldn't want to hurt or see your own Siblings hurt after what you all went through already."
The shaking intensified.
Her hand gestured to Sib "That's Sib. They have a Soul Wand just like yours, and they like to fight."
She saw it raised turn to look.
She moved her hand across her body to gesture to Bug "That's Bug. They like to make maps, and they're my Familiar."
The shaking stopped, and it looked at her.
"They're friendly, and I'm they wouldn't mind having you join our little group as well." Carefully she reached forward, and her hand touched its chest.
It didn't react, simply staring at her as her hand was enveloped in the same cool feeling as she'd feel when she would touch Sib and Bug.
For a long, extremely quiet moment, it did nothing but stare at her. It didn't 'speak', and just continued to stare.
Slowly she saw its right hand unclench. And a smile grew on her lips.
I'm Sorry.
A voice echoed in her head. Just like before she didn't hear the words, and simply understood them as they filled her mind. There was a weight towards them, heavier than Sib.
But still, they felt lesser than Bug's own 'voice'.
The left hand holding the Soul Wand raised, holding the weapon high above its head as the tip pointed down towards her.
But I Won't Abandon My Siblings Again. Even To Ones That Can Protect Them.
It brought the weapon down, aiming to impale her directly.
Louise found herself lifted off her own feet as she saw the weapon drawing closer and closer to her skull. And just as it was about to impale her through the eye, she was pulled away from the weapon's path.
The tip of the weapon pierced the stone floor like it was wet parchment, the ground under her seem to shake as it broke and cracked from the point of the Soul Wand.
She stumbled back onto her butt once her legs touched the ground again, and she could feel something uncoiling from around her stomach. She saw one of the Bug's tendrils unwrap itself from her stomach and recede back into the Void Vessel.
Her Familiar quickly appeared in front of her, both of their arms elongated.
She also saw Sib dash towards the adult Void Vessel, gripping its Soul Wand.
SWOOSH
CLANG
An ear splitting sound made her wince, and she saw how Sib's own Soul Wand had smashed into the larger one. The adult Void Vessel had pulled it free and blocked the weapon from striking it's skull.
It swung the weapon, but it seemed to just push Sib away instead of harming it. Carried by the momentum, it landed just beside Bug and got into its own stance.
Her two Void Vessels stared ahead at the adult one.
It stared at the three and threw its head back as if to roar.
But the only thing that came out was audible silence. For the short moment that it 'screamed', it was as if everything around her had gone silent. She couldn't hear the sounds of the cannon bombardment from the ship outside, she couldn't hear the flames and sounds of fighting. All she could hear was the 'silence' from the Void Vessel's roar.
It then raised its right hand, and it glowed a pure white from finger to wrist. It glowed brighter and brighter, until it fired out three white daggers from the palm of its hand.
All them directed towards her.
Sib swatted one aside, while Bug's own arms grabbed the rest out of the air and tossed them away. Each one went through the stone walls as if they weren't there, leaving behind neat little holes.
The two Void Vessels readied themselves to face their opponent.
[Scene]
She walked up to the torch, the scarlet flames were a sight that she had oddly missed after not seeing them for so long.
The moment she got close, the flames grew in response. Until finally, from the growing pyre a swirl of the red fire emerged.
She didn't move as the flames gathered in front of her, swirling and growing in height until it was taller than she was. Once it had reached that height, the flames dispersed and standing there was the Troupe Master.
Red eyes stared into her orange ones, and he tilted his head.
She didn't say anything, in fact she didn't even deem to look at the Troupe Master. Her sights were fixed on the flames behind and within the being in front of her.
The Troupe Master straightened his head and walked towards her "Who are you?" He asked "Why can you see me?"
She didn't respond, instead she continued to stare forward
"Have you also summoned the Nightmare's Flame?" He asked, leaning forward so that he was directly in her face "Or are you something else entirely?"
Still she did not respond.
A previously unseen mouth suddenly stretched across his face, nearly splitting his face in two horizontally. A horrifying smile grew "Oh? Are you afraid of me?" He made himself bigger, the flames that had summoned him suddenly surrounded him "Do you not speak, in fear of what I'll do?"
Her eyes narrowed, and her annoyed stare turned into a glare. Finally, she opened her mouth, and spoke.
I WISH NOT TO SPEAK WITH A VESSEL.
Her words immediately made the Troupe Master drew back. The mouth vanished as his eyes grew wide.
Those red eyes blinked, as he looked at her for a moment longer than she'd like. Before he relaxed, his posture tenser than it was moments ago. There was a threatening edge to how he stood, compared to before with his arms spread out and his legs ready to move. His eyes narrowed "So you are still here."
She gritted her teeth, she didn't want to waste time. She couldn't afford to. Once more she opened her mouth and spoke.
COME OUT RIGHT NOW. I DO NOT WISH TO SPEAK WITH A VESSEL.
The Troupe Master hummed, the mouth appeared once more to smirk at her "Oh, and for what reason would I summon them to speak with you?" He dared to asked.
Her eyes flicked towards him, and in that brief moment she looked at him.
The Troupe Master suddenly hunched over, the red eyes suddenly flashed her bright orange before they turned back to his scarlet red.
She turned her attention back to the flame, uncaring of the continued coughing of the Troupe Master.
Once again she opened her mouth.
I WILL SAY THIS ONE MORE TIME, COME OUT AND SPEAK.
"Guh, how dare you!" The Troupe Master snarled, his mouth growing larger showing the rows of fangs in his mouth. He took a deep breath, as if to roar.
Then… he stopped.
He seemed shocked, frozen in place for a moment. Before he seemed to relent.
Slowly he closed his mouth, still glaring viciously into her eyes. He relaxed his threatening pose, until finally he stood there, passive but livid. "Just because you were once my other half, it doesn't mean you can do that."
She didn't care, instead her focus was on the flames that held who she wanted to talk to.
The Troupe Master sighed, and closed his eyes.
The flames from the torch grew once more. The reached taller heights than before, reaching high enough that it almost touched the ceiling above them. The scarlet flames then stretched to cover the Troupe Master in its red embrace.
Her attention shifted from the torch, and was now looking at where the Troupe Master had been swallowed by the fire. The swirling flame dispersed a moment ago, and standing there was a similar but different figure.
The first different was that they were taller, with their horns reaching taller than the Troupe Master's. The black that was present on the Troupe Master's cloak and horns were replaced with dark red, while the red that were already present were brighter and sharper.
The most important part were his eyes, whereas before the red eyes just seem to glow, the figure standing before her had eyes that really glowed a bright red.
The figure blinked, and then looked at her. They tilted their head, and spoke.
That Was Rude Of You To Do My Other Half.
Her frown only grew however when she heard the words.
STILL YOU WON'T SPEAK TO ME DIRECTLY?
The figure laughed, it was a horrible sound that no mortal should hear. After they were done, they tilted their body to the other side.
We Are Not All Blessed Like You Are, My Other Half. You Should Know That I Lack What You Can Do.
She clicked her tongue, once more earning a laugh from the figure.
I'm Afraid You Can Only Be Content With The Nightmare King For Now.
Annoying, but there was nothing that she could do she supposed. Time was running short for her. Her mouth opened and spoke again.
I NEED YOU TO BRING ME BACK.
Tilting their head, the Nightmare King gave a response
And Why Would I Do That?
That she did not want.
Her annoyed glare turned angry, and she took a step forward.
I TOLD YOU, TO BRING ME BACK. REMEMBER MY NAME AND ALLOW ME TO SPREAD ONCE MORE ACROSS THE LAND!
Her demands were met with the laughter of the figure in front of her. Even without the presence of a mouth at the moment, she could feel the smirk on their face as they laughed.
Once they stopped, their red eyes looked into hers
You Have No Right, To Demand That I Do Anything. We May Have Once Been A Greater One, But That Was Then And This Is Now.
They learned in forward, and faintly she could hear the sound of a heartbeat.
You Cannot Demand Me To Do Anything. You Merely Have To Return On Your Own.
Her teeth gritted against themselves as she glared harder into the red figure in front of her. Her hands clenched at her sides as she wanted to do anything to vent the anger that she was feeling.
The figure looked at her, still smirking with an unseen. At least until they realised how she seemed so angry to a response that wouldn't have rattled her.
It took them a moment, and their red eyes widened.
You Can't Return, Can't You?
Her glare intensified.
NO.
She began to see red. Not only from the increasing amount of anger that was clouding her mind, but from the flames that suddenly grew following the roaring laughter of the Nightmare King.
The mixture of the laughter from the Troupe Master's body, and the increasing pace of a beating heart hammered into her ears. The laughter of both the Vessel and the Higher Being that controlled it.
A happy union.
…
STOP LAUGHING.
If she could, she would've flooded the room with her essence. Covered it in her Dream to gain some semblance of control.
But she couldn't.
And she could do was stand and glare within her vessel that she took over just so she could speak to her other half.
The laughing died down.
The Nightmare King stared at her with full amusement, they shook their head.
So What My Vessel Saw Wasn't Wrong, You Were Beaten By Our Ancient Enemy.
She stayed quiet.
And With How Limited You Are, You Weren't Simply Locked Away In Another Vessel Weren't You? It Is Only With The Luck Of Your Name And Existence Here, That You Have Not Faded Into the Void.
She knew how lucky she was to still be able to think. To have her mind still be transferred, all because she could feel some that remembered her.
But no matter how hard she tried to reach for those minds, she couldn't. Locked away in a prison that couldn't even spread itself among the Vessels that she had taken over.
And so once more she spoke.
YES.
Then Not Even I Can Help You.
She gritted her teeth angrily.
But I Can Offer Some Words, From One Higher Being To Another.
She looked up.
Search For Those The Govern The Elements, Allow Yourself To Spread Farther With Their Aid. You Yourself Have No Power To Do So.
…
THANK YOU.
Words that she never thought that she had to say, especially towards her other self.
Think Nothing Of It.
Once those words were said, the red from the Nightmare King peeled themselves away and they added themselves back towards the Nightmare Torch. Once again the Troupe Master stood before her.
But no longer was he angry or even scared. Instead there was a smug look upon his face. One that she did not like.
"They beat you before," He told her, his face splitting in half with the grin on it "And they'll do it again."
He vanished in a burst of red flames.
"Montmorency, stop staring at the torch and let's go!"
Her head turned to face the others that had followed her. Of the three, only one other was in her control and even then she could barely make her think her way.
But it was enough to make her follow.
And now, she needed that to make her stay. Because she wasn't done here.
The Hollow Knight, the pride of the Wyrm was here. What else could she have seen with the eyes of the mole, and the dragon that that been taken over.
And she wouldn't miss the chance to destroy anything that the Wyrm held dear, just as how he destroyed hers.
"We should wait for Louise," her Vessel spoke, her thoughts mingling with her own cautiousness of the Vessel that had beaten her before "She could get hurt."
The worry that the one with red hair flared, and she intensified it with the minute control that she had.
She turned towards the one with blue hair "Tabitha, I think you can wait with Agnes at the ship."
"Wait for Louise?" She asked.
The worry flickered a bit, but she forced the red head to feel it once more. Nodding her head, she answered "Yeah."
There was a stare off, but eventually the one with blue hair agreed to leave with the others.
Soon it was her Vessel and the red head.
It didn't take long for something to happen, and a pulse of magical energy that belonged to that blasted Wyrm told her that the Hollow Knight was here.
Petty revenge, but revenge nonetheless.
She pushed them both to run towards them. Influencing their worry for their classmate.
And she suppressed the fear that they felt, that they could be running towards their immediate death.