King's Heir (A Dadmare fic)

17

Wind rushed through the courtyard, bringing with it the smell of winter and a chilly breeze. The end of fall for the AU was growing near and at the moment Nightmare had more than enough problems on his plate. In response each one of his sons made themselves useful around the castle, save Horror who was now only six yet still troubled to speak and walk correctly.

The oldest of the bunch, Cross, now fourteen, was handling the disputes amongst the townsfolk along with his younger brother, Killer. Of course they didn't judge court hearings like their father did, they simply ended fights that occured out and about. Error was the one who tailed Nightmare the most, as he is the one to take the throne he must learn everything he can. And Dust, Dust had taken to caring for their youngest brother and doing his best to help the younger learn as much as he can.

The boys were maturing and finally becoming aware of the significance their roles held. Cross, who had been training under the captain of the royal guard finally knew what his duties meant but he was still keen on doing what would be best for his brothers. Error had come to understand the importance of being king after he attended meetings and court hearings with his father. Killer was keen on joining the police regimen, understanding that there was more than just royal guard duty that needed to be done. And Dust, Dust had finally come to the understanding that he should focus on the now instead of the past, Horror helped him figure that special detail out.

Nightmare leaned back in his chair with a sigh as the final bit of paperwork for the year was done, of course there would be more work soon but he took a moment to celebrate internally with a gentle hum in his throat. Error perked at his dad's now relaxed figure before attempting to hide his excitement with a blank expression.

"Are you done today Dad?" The voice was glitcher now, broken into a spill of changing octaves and cracked words.

The king's eyelight moved over to meet his son's and he smiled at the sight of the familiar black scarf wrapped around Error's neck. "Yes, we're done for the day, what do you say we go gather up your brothers and head out to the lake today?"

Error nodded, slipping himself out of the chair before running off towards the living room of the castle. The elder god's smile didn't dare falter as he heaved himself up from his chair to follow his son. He was immediately met with the sight of his youngest stumbling up to him, paper in hands with a bright smile.

"Papa! Lookie!" Nightmare smiled fondly at the coarse voice, gently taking the paper only for his smile to grow. A drawing, one of Dust, of course there was hardly any image of his face, most of it covered by the darkness of the hood he wore. Nightmare couldn't help but be proud of it, it wasn't perfect but Horror was proud of it and that's all that really mattered.

"It's a beautiful Horror, you're such a good little artist. Have you shown Dusty yet?" Horror shook his head before stumbling back to Dust to show his older brother his artwork. Dust only smiled and patted Horror's head who simply giggled a bit. The king chuckled a bit, moving to grab a few things before Cross and Killer poked their heads into the living room, curiosity ripe on their faces. Killer was quick to join Dust and Horror while Cross moved to Error's side.

"Are we going somewhere?" Cross questioned, eyes glancing off to the side slightly as if he was acknowledging something.

Error nodded, rocking back and forth on his heels. "We're going to the lake." A smile edged onto the younger's face. "Can ghosts handle water?"

Cross chuckled as he heard a hiss of disdain from the apparition that had attached itself to him somewhere along the line. "Error, quit it, you know Chara hates being teased." He scolded, however his smile still held.

"Sorry, they're just so easy to piss off." Error grinned, looking at his older brother.

"And you're fun to crash." Chara sneered in response only to get a side glare from Cross that earned the skeleton a glare in return. Error simply snickered at what he could assume was a warning glare from Cross to Chara.