~𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬~

~𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞~

~

"ALREadY? bUt we hAven'T EVEN exEcuTED ThE FirsT PHASe OF tHE plAn."

"Weddings take time to prepare for, your majesty. The sooner we arrange it, the sooner the two of you will be married." Nightmare scribbled onto the pale paper with elegant handwriting. Heavy, rich, black ink spilled from the tip of his fountain pen as it dragged across the thin surface in a series of loops, crosses and dots.

"Now, do you think she'd like a ring with pearls or diamonds?"

Error folded his hands across his chest, leaning back in his chair.

"ThIs Doesn't FEEL RIght. I TooK A rISK AgreEINg To tHe 'foRceD MArriAgE' PLoT, BUt I DON'T wAnT TO do It aLL TOO SOon," he said, stretching in place until he heard a pop! from his back. He sighed in relief, his body limp against the velvet back of the chair.

Rolling his pen between a finger and his thumb, Nightmare propped his elbows onto the table as his brows fell into a flat line above his eyes.

"How odd. I thought you liked this girl."

"aT whaT poINT did I SAy i DIdn'T?"

"If you did, you'd leap at the chance to be with her. Besides, I wouldn't recommend holding it off for long. When her family realizes what's happened to her, they'll be sending people to go out looking for her."

He stopped briefly, examining the expression on Error's face, though the king didn't take notice of this.

"You never know." The corner of his mouth curled upward, eyes piercing into the eyes of the skeleton across the table. "That peasant may want to lead the pack."

He caught the laugh in his throat before it could leave his mouth as he watched Error wriggle in discomfort.

"That being said, if you are legally bound to her before they can arrive, there's not a thing they can do about it. You will reign the victor in this battle."

The blades of the ceiling fan sliced through the umber-tinted air above them, dispersing the scent of burnt firewood throughout the room. Their thoughts yelled at them, loud in their heads' amongst the silence of the room.

Error cleared his throat, sitting straight up in his seat.

"PEaRLs."

Nightmare grinned in return, bending down to write out "pearls" in cursive under some lines he had drawn into a chart.

"Good." He scooted his chair closer, the golden legs screeching against the hardwood floor. "We should probably get to the guest list. Who do you want? Besides Fresh, Horror... your parents?"

"yoU CoUlD, if yOu wAnt To BE THe ONE to dIg tHeM uP."

Nightmare's hand stiffened, the pen slipping from his fingers as it hit the tabletop with a light tap. Error held his side as he laughed at the expense of his advisor, whose face was twisting as it questioned whether it was appropriate to laugh.

"I... am so sorry."

"Don'T wOrRy abOuT it, It HapPENED wHeN I wAs LIttLe. nO Big DEaL," he assured him, wiping at his eye with a finger.

Nightmare chuckled to himself, scratching two lines onto the paper.

"No parents. Got it."

Error nodded, still beaming with pride at the reaction he got from the response.

"aCTUalLY, I wOULD APprEciAte iT IF YoU iNVITeD somE OF HER FaMilY."