A Nightmare's Honor

Prove It

Author's ([Sky]'s) Note: This chapter contains implied or direct mentions of death as well as descriptions of monstrous beings. Have fun! QwQ

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{M} Sandstone/Nightmare POV:

The day was already beginning to come to a close. Currently, none of the Yellow Scouts had returned yet. All I could do was hope that the Yellow Scout I had sent to the Green Kingdom had been able to safely evacuate the Green Steves.

There was a knock at my door, which struck me as odd. In the past few days, knocking before entering my room had become scarce. More often than not, Steves simply barged in. Of course, their news was always urgent, so I excused it, but it had slightly irked me. Now that someone was actually respecting my space and privacy, I couldn't help but instantly like whoever was on the other side. I called out for them to enter.

It was a timid and serious Indigo Steve. He looked to be somewhat older than myself, perhaps being one year my senior. Instantly, I knew this was the Indigo Apprentice. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the subtle ways he carried himself convinced me of my beliefs.

He stood awkwardly in the doorway before taking a few steps into the room. It was at this moment that I noticed there was an uncertain Yellow Scout behind him, the very one I had sent to fetch the Indigo Apprentice.

The Indigo Apprentice gave a small respectful bow. "Nightmare King," he addressed me in a timid manner, "I am aware that you requested me to be here. However, I'm not alone."

I raised an eyebrow questioningly. He didn't quite make sense. "You're not... alone," I echoed him, trying to understand what he meant.

"Yes. I..." the Indigo Apprentice trailed off nervously for a moment before steeling himself. He took on an air of confidence he hadn't had moments before. "When the Indigo Leader left on the Leader mission, he told me to do something if he didn't return. When your scout arrived with no news of the Leaders, I decided to follow my Leader's wishes. He told me to bring the Indigo Steves here. All of them."

I examined his expression with my own uncharacteristic nervousness. Judging from how he had worded it, I deduced that he still didn't know about the Indigo Leader. It made sense, of course, as the Yellow Scouts had been sent out long before the Red Apprentice confided in us what happened. How will I tell this poor Apprentice the truth? How can I break the news without breaking him? I worried for the young Indigo Steve's well-being.

The Indigo Apprentice was staring at me for a long moment before I realized that he wanted a reply. That he wanted a response to him bringing the entirety of the Indigo Steves. I had barely registered the fact when he had said it. 'All of them'.

"'All of them'? Here? As in, within the boundaries of the Yellow Castle's outer walls?" I asked him, my mind whirling with calculations, solutions, and plans.

"Yes," he answered with a slight fidget.

It was clear he was wary of overstepping a boundary. It was more than likely that he knew of the Indigo Leader's antics with the spy. I could tell that he was doing his best to remain calm and respectful. After all, it was only natural that he would be nervous of me. Nervous of my character. Nervous of my scars. Nervous of who I might really be. Nervous of what I might do to him if I disapproved of his actions. It hurt me a little, jerked my heart to know that even now, in dire times, I was feared. That others resented my presence. That others thought me to be a monster.

"That's quite alright," I assured the Indigo Apprentice. He seemed to relax a little. I gestured to the Yellow Scout behind him. "You. Go to the builders and architects. They should be congregated in one of the meeting rooms. We need to extend our walls. Perhaps add another wall entirely. We also need tents for now. We'll bother with houses once the walls are complete. Understand?"