It was a while before she saw him again.

After learning what happened to the Hollow Knight and why, and how the little ghost had escaped the Abyss along with some of their siblings (and the fate those siblings met), he had become reclusive again for several days. Being reminded of and seeing in first person the consequences of his crimes had taken a toll on him, and he had seemed to avoid company as much as he could. She gave him his space, but she couldn't help being worried.

Eventually, though, he appeared in her room when she was about to go to sleep. He caught her by surprise, as she was already in bed and he had made no noise when approaching. They exchanged a long glance. He looked tired.

Without saying a word, he slowly climbed into bed next to her. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her forehead against his. He relaxed in her arms and returned the hug, sighing against her.

They fell asleep like that.

-

She woke up before he did, which seemed to be shaping up to be something normal. He rarely slept, but when he did it was always long and heavy. She didn't mind, however; as weird as it sounded, she liked watching him sleep. He was rarely that relaxed, and seeing how he let himself be that vulnerable around her, especially knowing what he came from, always filled her with a warmth she couldn't find anywhere else.

After a while, he stirred and finally opened his eyes. He sighed again when he recognized her and sleepily buried his face against her neck. She placed a kiss on one of his horns and said, voice hoarse,

"Good morning".

"Hello" he replied, sounding equally tired. "...thank you for letting me sleep here".

"It's your palace, my King. You can sleep wherever you want".

"You know that isn't what I meant".

She chuckled. "Yes, I do. I thought you already knew that you're always welcome around me".

He stayed silent for long enough to make her think he had fallen asleep again, and just when she was about to check, she heard the tiniest "I don't deserve you".

And suddenly she remembered the current situation and his newly-ended reclusion.

It was a merciful thing, that fleeting forgetfulness of having just woken up. She wondered if he even felt it at all that morning, or if his mind wouldn't allow him a single waking moment of rest from his past. Part of her, a small, selfish part of her wished they could just go back to laying together and enjoying each other's presence in silence, without having to worry about the troubles of the past.

But she knew she couldn't in good consciousness leave him to torture himself like that, especially not with such lies.

"What prompts you to say that, my King?" she murmured.

After a few moments of silence, he responded.

"How? I don't... get it. How can you stay here? How can you share a space with me, and then sleep peacefully at night? Isn't your continued permitting and reassuring of my existence the silent condoning of my actions? I noticed the way you looked at the vessels the other day. You care about them, do you not? You're pained by the Pure Vessel's current state. So why are you so fine with coexisting with me? And how do they not hate me? I just legitimately don't understand".

He...did have a couple of good points. She responded, and while she did, she started softly tracing circles on his back.

"Yes, I do care about them, of course. And the little ghost as well. But I also care about you, and they do as well, just like you care for them. And we've all made unforgivable mistakes in our own eyes. When they were rescued, the Pure Vessel was expecting to be... discarded, for having failed their purpose". She felt him stiffen at this. "And they were technically not wrong, when you think about it. But that doesn't mean they deserved to die, and neither do you. Your present repentance means more than your past mistakes".

After a second, he sighed deep and slow and melted further into her.

"...I wish they could have a second chance. I wish I got to see them live. To meet them, know what they liked and they didn't, hear what they'd have to say. I never wanted children, but now, after everything has finally died down... I don't even wish it for me, I just wish they could be".

This... shocked her. She didn't know what to say. She would have never imagined him saying something like that.

"Would... maybe... would seeing them make you feel any better?"

"I doubt it; it's not a pretty sight" his voice sounded bitter. "Besides, the Void would destroy me were I to enter its lair. It almost got to me even here; and diminished as I am I would not stand a chance against it".

She thought for a moment.

"You... I mean, if you wanted to; you wouldn't need to go to the Abyss. There are some vessels outside, scattered around the kingdom. The ones... the ones Hornet got to. There's one pretty close by, actually, here in the Basin".

He stiffened again, and slowly emerged from her grip to properly look at her.

"...is there really?"

"Yes, my King".

He lowered his head, pensive.

"...it's no use either way. The Void's presence is still close, especially with the door open. And I've spent so long in this realm I don't know how I could be affected by leaving it".

He said it lowly, though. Perhaps trying to convince himself; an excuse?

"It's only your choice. I won't press the issue, of course, but, is your intention to spend the rest of your life here? Because if it isn't, you'll have to leave eventually anyway. And I doubt there will ever be a better reason to do so".

He averted her eyes, but started lightly caressing her back.

"...I'll think about it. Thank you for staying, and for talking about this with me, regardless. ...it's not an easy subject; as I'm sure you have noticed".

"Always, my King. I'm glad that you're comfortable discussing it with me".

"How could I not, my lady". She felt him pressing his face to the side of her mouth, in his own mockery of a kiss. Her heart sped up and she smiled against him. "If you haven't earned my trust, no one has".

She smiled wider and pressed a kiss between his eyes, before settling down again and basking in his gentle light and embrace.

---

"I want to go. I've decided, I want to see the vessel".

This caught her by surprise; and she carefully put down the bush trimmer she was using and turned to look at him.

"W-which one, my King?"

"...the one you mentioned, here in the Royal Basin".

"Oh". She hesitated for a second. "Are you sure? Didn't you say it was dangerous for you?".

"Yes, it is. But if we're back before the Void notices my presence we should be alright. We only have to be quick. ...it's been a difficult decision to make, but I know I won't be able to live with myself until I've confronted them. I want to go" he repeated.

"...okay. I understand. I'll go with you, of course".

"Then let's go".

"Wait, right now?"

"Yes. ...unless it is a bad time?"

"No, it's fine. But I have to get changed; it'd be impossible to walk in this dress outside of the palace".

"Oh. Alright".

---

Crossing the dream gate was stressful for him, to say the least. They agreed she would go first, in order to intercept him if anything were to happen, but she was worried about the fact that she wouldn't be able to go back inside on her own, if for any reason he didn't make it outside.

It didn't take long for him to follow her, though, and when he did it wasn't as graceful as she was sure he would've liked.

He stumbled out of the gate and would have fallen face first into the floor if it weren't because she was there waiting, and fell into her arms instead. But instead of standing up, he pressed his face against her chest and held onto her shoulders for dear life, and she could swear he was putting most of his weight on her, instead of on his feet.

"My King?! Are you okay?"

"Wait, don't shout, please. My head..."

She held him close as she lowered the both of them to the floor, kneeling so he could rest comfortably on her.

"Sorry" she whispered.

It took a while, she didn't know how long, until his senses adapted to the physical world. It probably helped how dark and silent the Basin was. To which, when he could process, he looked shocked, and then sad. She wondered what the grounds used to look like during the kingdom's prime.

When he could finally walk it only took a couple of minutes until they reached the room that, as she just learnt, used to be a place of worship. Before they entered, though, she stopped him.

"My King, wait. I want to warn you again; it's not... easy on the eyes".

"I don't expect it to, but surely you know I won't turn around now".

"No, just... keep it in mind".

Because the vessel's anatomy was so alien to her, the caved-in mess that was their head only hurt in a distant way. But the King, who's very child lied with their insides all over the floor, did not have such a luxury.

When she looked at him he was frozen in place, staring intently at the dead vessel. The shock was clear in his face, and if she didn't know any better, she would have said he looked almost sick.

She decided not to intervene.

He stared at them for what felt like an eternity, before slowly closing the distance that separated him from the corpse. He kneeled at its side and lightly caressed its longest horn, his hand shaking.

He lingered a bit when he reached its end. She had no idea what he could be thinking, and she couldn't even see his face from where she was. He stood up abruptly and turned around, walking hastily towards her.

"I'm done. Let's go back. I'm done now" he murmured, not even stopping his pace away from the vessel. She had to jog to catch up to him, but still decided not to say anything. She couldn't help thinking that the trip had been quite short, but then again, she didn't know why she would have expected anything different.

They made their way back to the palace without a problem, and immediately upon arrival he took off towards the upper floors, where she knew his quarters were. And where he knew she couldn't follow.

She sighed as she watched him go, wondering how long it would be this time until she saw him again.