Masked (A Hat In Time)

Tension

Wow, it's already arc 4? I hope I can extend this one...I'm not ready for a short hiatus to plan my Hollow Knight fic :(

Anyway. This'll be fun.

---

It was silent.

And dark.

It had been for as long as they remembered, which was back thousands of years.

But now there was a light in the distance.

They opened their yellow eyes slowly, cautiously, and blinked. Once, twice.

Why was there light? What dared to wake them up from the darkness?

The light was blue.

And afraid.

So, so afraid.

Afraid of itself. Afraid for the ones they loved.

Love was an interesting concept to the one with yellow eyes. What did it feel like?

They had to know.

They reached out toward the blue light, a smile growing on their face.

Maybe it was time...to finally reach the physical world.

Images rushed past them. Of ice, of heartbreak, of demons, of children, and of love.

They closed their eyes. All the sensations and images were overwhelming enough to satisfy their hunger.

They wanted more.

When they opened their eyes again, they could see through the veil of blue.

Despite the pain it put them through, they grinned.

Finally.

---

Bow Kid woke up to find that she had fallen asleep with Hattie and the prince on his pillow pile. The prince's arms were wrapped around both of them, and he had a sleepy smile on his face. Hat Kid wasn't awake yet.

"Sorry," Bow whispered, then started to pull away so she could get ready for the day.

The prince mumbled in his sleep and just hugged her tighter. Even in his sleep, his smile faded, and his face creased with worry.

She sighed. I'm not going to be able to escape, am I? Bow Kid wondered. She settled back in with Hattie and the prince with a sigh. She hugged the prince, and the smile was back on his face.

---

About ten minutes later, the prince woke up. The moment his eyes were open, he released Hattie (still half-asleep) and Bow and apologized profusely.

"It's okay," Hat Kid said with a yawn. "You shouldn't apologize just because you wanted some affection."

"We're happy to give you all the affection you want and need," Bow chimed in with a soft smile.

"S-still," the prince said, running a hand through his hair anxiously. "I...I kept you from getting ready-"

"Which isn't that big of a deal," Bow pointed out. "So we're ready ten minutes later than when we're normally ready. So what? It's not like we have anything planned for the day."

The prince couldn't come up with an argument for that. They laughed, gave him another quick hug, and got ready.

Then they came back and took his hand. They peered through the telescope and appeared back in Subcon.