In a Kingdom, far to the North. A woman named Nim, who ruled over an entire region to herself. She carried two twin sons in her arms, protecting them inside the castle until they were made Kings of their own when the time came for her to step down. her oldest being Dream and her youngest being Nightmare.

The Queen, Nim, ruled over a whole nation, a whole region named 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮. The region was made up of 3 sections. The first being the rich, wealthy, and strong. The second being the middle class, not too rich, but still able to gain 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗 without a problem. Then the third, the poor, hungry, or the needy who had lost their 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗 for good because of their own feeble actions.

But the one above them all were the Royal family, Nim, and her two sons. The workers in the castle, those who were loyal to the Royal family, were the ones who would receive the utmost special treatment, treated higher than the rest by the Queen herself, and the person of the Kingdom.

The Queen was placed above her own sons until they reached a current age in their lives. But, of course, her sons were to be protected with personal guards just like her. They would be the next Kings one day, after all.

It was unheard of thought, having two kings rule at the same time, never mind that, two 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯 kings at that. No other kingdoms were known for such things, and yet here Queen Nim was already planning for the future for her sons' future.

There were many other regions all around the world. The most troublesome were two kingdoms in the far South that were already on the brink of destruction by their own people. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘩 𝘒𝘪𝘮𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮, taken over by murderous towns folk, and greedy rich who wanted more, and would get more with bloodshed. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮, ruled by one 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺 king, a man who's constantly wanting more and more land land despite such a little army.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 grew in population and in land. Soon, being one of the most powerful kingdoms in the 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. The kingdom grew to gain allies, powerful, loyal allies that occasionally even traded their people to accommodate their rapid growth in the population. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮, two other powerful kingdoms to the East and West.

Nim's kingdom was known for its natural resources, its large army, and its large growth in population and food. There were guards at the docks, making sure shipping wasn't tampered with. There were guards all over the kingdom, in the three sections, the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class.

Although the lower class didn't have much security 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴, the security was tight on the outside, keeping any criminal or others who were in the lower class in their section. That specific section was filled with criminals of all sorts, stuck at the bottom of the food chain with no way out due to their own actions. Awful actions have consequences, after all.

The Royal family had the power to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. The Queen was allowed to change whatever rule she deemed necessary. She had never needed a partner to assist her in ruling over a whole nation. She had even made her own children out of her own magic out of spite.

In the kingdom, there were many towns with different buildings containing various jobs.

Monsters and Humans were all over the place. There weren't any wars that had waged over the time between the two species. They both lived in harmony. Well, at least some did. Occasionally, there would be riots, but as soon as they started, the riots would settle just as quickly by the guards.

The kingdom was well protected and well secure for a nation ruled by one Queen. Who knew she would survive this long.

Currently not the two kingdoms towards the South, the kingdoms that wanted more, more of everything, more power.

Queen Nim was a powerful woman. One that none wished to upset or cross. It was a fairly easy rule to follow. Although, despite being a woman of power, that didn't stop her from being paranoid of the people around her, especially the ones who lived in her castle. There was no telling which of those were out to take her spot on the thrown. I was one again a million after all.

Who could she trust.

Surely, she had no other choice but to put her trust within those she specifically hand-picked to stay by her side and protect her with their very life.

It was reasonably.

It was ethical.

It was easy.

And lastly, it put her mind at ease. At least just enough for her to be comfortable to start her very own family. And of course, she needed no man to accomplish that task. Splitting her magic and creating two souls was an easy and simple task for her to carry. Creating bodies for said souls was another easy and effortless job for her to complete.

What more did she need?

What more could she ask for?

Queen Nim was determined to shape her two twins into the finest boys and then into the finest young men who would soon rule over her kingdom for her. She would teach her boys how to be proper and respectful to those who showed respect back. It was a valuable life lesson she had hoped her own parents had taught her when she was becoming Queen of a whole nation. Luckily, her people were patient with her, giving her respect and teaching her lessons on how to succeed in life while she was still fairly young for an adult.

And now, she was intent on showing her sons the right path. She had only hoped that her paranoia wouldn't get in the way in protecting her sons.

Who would've guessed...

---

"Doctor!" Queen Nim exclaimed, stopping her Royal Scientist, W.D. Gaster, in his tracks. The tall man turned to find his Queen already in his personal space, like usual whenever she needed something. "Good afternoon, my lady." The scientist greeted, bowing his head low to the woman. "Good afternoon, children." W.D. Gaster nodded his head at the two twin boys in the Queen's arms. The man was utterly surprised when his Queen handed the boys to him. He carefully held the two tightly in his own arms, afraid of dropping the toddlers.

"I need you to watch them for me while I go into town." Queen Nim announced to the other, a smile spreading across her lips.

"And why not take Nightmare and Dream with you? Wouldn't it be good for them to go out of the castle and see the town?" Gaster questioned his Queen.

Nim clicked her tongue, tsking at the man for suggesting such things to her. "How do you expect me to defent my children if my hands are full? They could easily get snatched away, right out of my arms." The Queen protested, her paranoia getting the best of her. "My Queen, that is very unlikely if you simply bring your guards with you." Gaster suggested, trying to find a plausible way for the Queen to spend time with her children outside of the castle.

"That won't do, my good sir." The Queen gave Nightmare and Dream a peck on the heads before turning around and walking further out the halls to the stares.

There Gaster was, having to look after two 4-year-olds, him, a great scientist who worked under the Queen, W.D. Gaster. He already had his 10-year-old son, Sans, to look after on top of that.

What a workout.

-

In a little laboratory, underneath the castle, Gaster placed Nightmare and Dream down, letting the twins walk around the space. "Now young princes, don't touch any equipment." The man crouched down and patted the two toddlers on their heads before standing up and walking off to do work.

Dream giggled as he took Nightmare by the hand and ran around the room, observing every trinket, bottle, and object on the high tables, climbing up on chairs to take a peek at verious unfinished projects that contained opened books with notes and drawing.

Nightmare, without complaint, followed his brother's lead, being led around tables, on top of chairs, and even under tables.

The two boys were very careful when climbing on top of the high chairs, making sure to take turns. One of the ground, holding the chair steady, and the other on top of the chair, looking at all the various things they didn't understand. Nightmare found everything fascinating, but Dream more or less found the drawing far more interesting to look at.

To Dream, drawing and painting were somewhat much easier to understand.

But what would he know?

He couldn't read.

"What is that?" Nightmare asked, pointing at a current test tube with black liquid contained inside. Dream held onto the chair, steadying it while his younger twin asked his question to Dr.Gaster. The doctor turned around towards Nightmare, raising a brow at Nightmare's question.

"Oh, now that is an interesting one. I collected it from the Heavy Elm Forest, the woods to the south of our kingdom." W.D. Gaster exclaimed, explaining where he had found the substance. The man turned towards the two kids, giving them a look that told them to listen. His voice turned to one that showed he was serious. "You should never touch things in the wild that you are not familiar with, okay?" Nightmare and Dream nodded in unison, engraving the scientist's words in their skulls. Niether of them wanted to find out what would happen if they did come across any strange wildlife outside of the castle. But then again, the twins weren't allowed out of the castle. Their mother fearing they would get kidnapped or killed.

"What does it do?" Dream asked, helping Nightmare climb off of the high chair. "Well, I don't know yet, but with due time, I'll tell you." Dr. Gaster said, his voice no longer sounding serious like before as he turned back to his work. "Why don't you ask me that question again when you're older, okay?

Dream gladly nodded his head, agreeing to ask the man the same question in the future. Although it was very predictable that Dream would quickly forget about the little deal in less than a day. He was only four after all.

Nightmare and Dream walked another lap around the many tables before they both stopped in front of a closed door.

"My son, Sans, is sleeping inside. Why don't the two of you go in and wake him up for me." W.D. Gaster soulded as if he were telling them instead of asking them.

Dream, being the oldest, held Nightmare's hand and reached for the door handle, slowly twisting the handle and opening the door with a creek, entering in first with Nightmare following closely behind. "Hello?" Dream called out. Nightmare hid behind Dream. The room was dark and quiet. Only the light from outside the room illuminated a small portion of the room, the outline of their figures being visible to them on the floor. Nightmare hated the dark. Maybe that was why him and Dream shared a bed. So, the "monsters" wouldn't get him. Not a sound except Dream's voice echoed throughout the seemingly empty room until the creek of a bed was heard, and two white eyelights appeared in the darkened room.

"Hi!" Dream called out excitedly. A magic oil lamp was turned on, illuminating the face of the figure that was lying in bed. It was a skeleton. One that was laying on his stomach with a hand dangling off the bed and his head resting on his bent arm. The skeleton boy still looked somewhat asleep, though. Nightmare quickly apologized for waking up the boy's sleep. The boy on the bed bowed his head, accepting the apology. "Are you Sans?" Dream asked. He tugged Nightmare along with him, walking closer towards the bed that held the sleepy Sans.

"Are you the Princes?" Sans questioned back with a slightly smile that looked playful enough even in his sleepy state. Drean and Nightmare both nodded to Sans' question. "Then yes, I am Sans."

Dream giggled at the other's playfulness.

Sans looked and sounded older then the two toddlers. Which was true. He was older them the twins. Ten years older, to be exact. Sans was fourteen while Dream and Nightmare were only four. What a large age gap between them. But that didn't bother any of them. The three were the only children in the whole castle.

Dream eagerly climbed on top of the bed with the help of Sans pulling him up. The teen then sat at the edge of his bed and picked up Nightmare, placing the little one next to his twin. It was noticeable evident that Nightmare was not a talkative child like Dream, who seemed to be telling story after story, but the more Nightmare listened to Dream talk, the more he grew comfortable. He, too, soon began talking. Sans also didn't come off as a talkative type since he had only spoken when he felt the need to, but he sure did listen intently to whatever the twins had to say, making the little boys feel heard.

---

"Alright boys, eat your cake!" The Queen announced, clapping her hands at the two.

It was the twins' 6th birthday, a slice of cake in front of both of them. They both should've been happy, except, only Nightmare looked excited to be turning 6. Dream on the other hand had a long face that said he wasn't enjoying their little celebration. Nightmare took a bite out of his cake slice, enjoying the flavor, but Dream only stayed seated on his chair, staring at his piece. It was only their other in the room celebrating their birthday. Nobody else was allowed to give them gifts. The Queen was too paranoid, thinking any presents that were given to her sons could or would contain a trap that would potentially harm them.

"Mama..." Dream whined, expressing his distress with his mother. The push of his plate away from his body made Nim and Nightmare look at Dream. The yellow eyed boy rested his chin on the table. "I want friends! Why is it always only you!?" Dream questioned his mother before tears began streaming down his face, and little whimpers spilled out from his throat.

Out of the whole castle, Sans was the twins' only friend. He was also the only other kid, or teen in this matter, that lived in the castle. It didn't matter to them that Sans was now 16. It mattered because the twins were also Sans' only friends. There were no other children in the castle. No one else for the twins to talk to. Not the staff nor the guards had children living in the castle. It was only the twins and Sans.

Dream was upset with his mother. Not being able to go outside of the castle walls and play around like every normal kid had left him only wanting to go out more of time. He felt left out. They all felt left out. Nightmare had no issue with staying inside. Their mother had told them too many stories that ended up giving him nightmares and eventually took away the need and want of every going out of the castle walls. But even Nightmare had grown attached to Sans like Dream had.

Nightmare was fine with just Sans and his brother.

At least, that's what his mother had made him think. "All you need is your brother and Dr. Gaster's son", is what his mother always said.

And he believes her.

It was obvious that the Queen didn't really know Sans' name, but that didn't matter.

What more could Nightmare want? He had everything in the castle. He got anything he asked for... well, almost anything. And Dream also got almost anything he wanted. All except for the request of venturing out of the castle.

"Oh, my poor baby." Queen Nim said, lowering her voice and sounding apologetic. It was a shame. The twins' only friend was Sans, but even the boy wasn't allowed to celebrate their birthday with them. What a true curse.

To have a paranoid mother.

To have a paranoid Queen.

Nim stood up from her chair and walts over to Dream, picking him up and holding him in her arms, but Dream didn't want to be carried. He didn't want his mother, and he kept crying because of it. Because he didn't want his mother. He wanted more. He wanted to go out to the towns in the different regions. He wanted to travel like everyone else. Even the maids and cooks got to leave the castle. Even the guards that protected the castle day and night. Even the mice got to leave the castle.

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair.

"I don't want-!" Dream couldn't even finish his sentence before he began bawling his eyes out, crying loudly, trying to get out of his mother's grasp.

Nightmare sat quietly in his seat, no longer eating his cake. This was supposed to be another enjoyable birthday, but the joy was now gone. He knew why his twin was crying. He knew and felt the same, but he didn't want to sound selfish. Their mother told them that selfish children were bad and were liked by nobody but their own mothers. It was always something about mothers.

The only father figure in their life was the scientist, W.D. Gaster. But even he had gotten busy throughout the past few months. And even he wasn't allowed to gift or celebrate their birthday.

Not even if he was a loyal subject under the Queen.

It was a shame, really. Making a promise never to let your own paranoia get in the way of raising your children. Not even a promise could be saved. Not even a promise that was meant to protect and let your children live a normal life.

The life of Royal was different, but surely not this different.

---

Nightmare peeked his head in the empty ballroom that held 3 young boys, all looking to be all different ages. One looked to be closer to Sans' age while the other two seemed to be closer to Nightmare and Dream's ago range. Nightmare had no idea who the boys were or what they were doing in the castle.

He watched the three boys play around, pretending the sticks in their hands to be swords. The two younger boys teaming up on the older and tallest one. There was laughter and shouts, something Nightmare too wanted to experience with the mysterious three. But being too scared to go out into the ballroom, Nightmare stayed at the entrance, behind the large door, peeking through the slightly opened crack that he had created. Just enough for Nightmare to watch but not be seen.

There was no way he was going out there. He had never interacted with anyone outside of the castle.

What was he supposed to say?

What if he said the wrong thing?

What if the boys were actually intruders?!

What was he supposed to do?

So many questions raced through his little head until he turned around to find Sans standing behind him, startling him. Sans was also looking through the crack of the slightly opened doors, observing the three boys. "Why don't you go say hi?" Sans whispered, looking down at Nightmare with a slight smile.

Nightmare looked through the crack, back at the boys in the ballroom then back up at Sans with wide, terrified eyes and shook his head wildly, whining at just imagining having to talk to the unknown children.

He was too scared, too nervous.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Sans said in a hushed voice, as it his words were a secret. Nightmare would have felt better if Sans AND Dream went with him. But his older twin was taking classes for his archery at the moment, so Sans alone would have to do. He nodded to the other's request. In a swoop, Sans picked Nightmare up in his arms, both arms tucked underneath the boy's bottom. Nightmare, in an almost sitting position, hid his head under Sans' chin as he wrapped his arms around the other's neck.

Maybe it would be weird seeing a 6-year-old being carried out like a baby...

The more Nightmare thought about it, the more he felt like backing out on meeting the new kids all together.

But it was already too late.

Sans pushed the door fullly open with his shoulder before strolling over to the three boys who looked younger than him. All eyes were on the two. Nightmare glanced ou at the boys before quickly hiding away his face and squeezing his eyes closed, holding onto Sans tightly as if Sans would throw him at the boys and run away and leave Nightmare out there to defend himself.

"Hey." Sans greeted the others, nodding his head at the three, standing in front of them with Nightmare in his arms.

The youngest of the three waved ecstatically at Sans and Nightmare... even though Nightmare seemed to be trying to hide. "Hi!" The middle one said, smiling widely at Sans. The oldest of the little group simply smiled and bowed his head. The three looked to be between Sans and the twins' ages, between the age of 6 and 16.

The youngest, a boy named Swap who was the closest to the twins' age, age 7. His eyes were big and blue. His neck was accessorized with a blue bandana. The boy wore a simple black turtleneck and shorts with little dark red boots and blue gloves. He had the brightest smile of the three and was the shortest, probably even shorter than the twins despite being a year older.

The second youngest was a boy named Killer, who was a year older than Swap, age 8. He was the most unusual looking skeleton of them all. Nothing like Sans had ever seen, but to be fair, he wasn't allowed to go out of the castle either. He had void-like sockets with a target shaped soul floating out of his ribcage, which raised an eyebrow from Sans. The boys wore dark brown pants and a simple t-shirt with blue shoes on his feet.

The oldest was Horror, a 14 year old boy. Older than the others, but still younger than Sans by a bit. This boy also looked unusual to Sans. He had two big red eyes that nearly took over the space in his sockets. He looked just like any other skeleton except for the eyes and strangely sharp teeth. The boy wore a coat tied around his waist with an off-white, long sleeve turtleneck and black pants that were paired with brown boots.

Sans looked over each of their appearances, shifting his eyelights up and down, trying to see if they were carrying any weapons. He didn't know how kids outside of the castle acted, and he sure as hell wasn't going to risk letting the Prince in his arms get hurt.

"Are you three supposed to be in here?" Sans asked with a friendly smile and a brow raised.

This time, Nightmare had the courage to peek from his little hiding spot, grazing his eyes along the three in front of him, looking them all up and down.

They didn't seem harmful.

No. Not at all.

They looked kind and sweet, like Dream and Sans.

The oldest of the three, Horror, nodded his head. They were supposed to be here. He knew because his mother and the other two's mothers had all received a letter from the Queen.

Soon after, the Queen entered the ball room with Dream following closely behind with his usual attire. His eyes went wide as he glanced over at the random three.

"Dream, Nightmare, these three boys will be your personal Royal Guards from now on, okay?" Queen Nim said, squatting down to the children's level. She pointed at each one and announced their names to the twins and Sans. "This is Swap," She said, pointing at the smaller, then moving her finger to the next one. "This one is Killer," She moved her finger to the last boy. "And this is Horror." The boys each waved at the other three.

"They'll be taking care of your every need instead of Sans now that Gaster will be needing him more often."

The twins were surprised to hear about Sans now being around as much. Even Sans was surprised. He had heard such things from his father.

"Why don't you three go out into the garden and get to know each other, hm?" Nim said, urging the 6 out of the ballroom to play in the garden and get to know each other better.

Dream grabbed onto Sans' sleeve as the eldest guided the way to the garden, Horror, Killer, and Swap following behind, looking at all of the paintings and decorations that littered the walls on the castle.

----

Out in the garden, where the sun shined the brightest through a large glass dome above the whole plant filled ground. It was an inside garden that held verious different flowers and plants and one big tree in the center of the garden.

A tree that carried gold apples on one side and black apples on the other side.

Many persons would ear the apples that grew on the tree, making them into pies and many other tasty desserts.

Dream, Killer, and Swap played in the garden, using sticks as swords in their imaginary game. Their little game also gave Killer and Swap a chance to practice and improve their skills in combat, even if right now it was only imaginary fighting. Horror, Nightmare, and Sans sat in a flower bed, Horror sitting across from the other two.

Sans had a pile of hand-picked flowers in his lap, making a flower crown and showing step by step to Horror as the other tried copying his techniques. Nightmare laid on his stomach with his head resting on Sans' knee cap. The little one was wary of the three new boys and stuck to Sans' side like strong tree sap. He didn't like how his twin brother was already getting along with the three without any questions asked.

Their mother, the Queen, had told them that Horror, Killer, and Swap were their new personal Royal Guards. They were supposed to be around the twins' age to be able to bond with one another easily. They were also meant to keep the twins more company and watch over them. The Queen had felt bad for depriving them of interacting with others their age.

They were supposed to be doing what Sans had been doing since the time he met the two Princes. But Sans couldn't take care of Dream and Nightmare forever. He would have to help his father, Dr. W.D. Gaster now that he was almost 17 years of age. Sans would have to help his father with projects and whatnot.

Nightmare kept his distance from Horror by laying close to Sans. It didn't bother Horror as much as it should have that Nightmare was uncomfortable around him. He thought it was normal, considering Nightmare was indeed a 6-year-old who hadn't actually communicated with anyone else but Sans and his twin.

"I cut your arm off!" Dream yelled excitedly, jumping in place and pointing at Killer's left arm. Killer smiled widely and tucked his left arm behind his back. Dream had managed to "cut off" Killer's arm at the joint, leaving him no other choice but to switch arms and fight with his right. He wasn't the best with his right like the others, but that didn't stop him from continuing to have fun.

It was good practice to fight with your non-dominant hand anyway, so who was Killer to complain.

Swap was sat on the ground, a little bit away from the two, so he wouldn't accidentally get smacked with a stick or two. He had been slain by the little hands of Dream in their little imaginary game.

"Aren't guards supposed to be older... and taller?" Nightmare mumbled to Sans.

Being a few inches from the other three, Swap heard Nightmare and flopped backward, instantly becoming part of their small circle in the flower bed. Nightmare was started by Swap's sudden intrusion and quickly sat up to hide behind Sans.

The younger prince leaned his face against the back of Sans' shoulder, his eyelights peeking out from above the older.

Swap giggled and pointed at Nightmare. "You're like Horror! He's also shy!" He said to Nightmare.

Horror grew embarrassed for being exposed by someone he considered a friend despite their age gap of 7 years. Sans chuckled and lightly shook his head.

"You and the Prince could become great friends if Nightmare wasn't such a shy boy." Sans commented, speaking to Horror. The other nervously laughed.

He was kinda glad that Nightmare wasn't comfortable talking or being around him. Horror had no idea how to act around Royalty, yet Killer and Swap made it seem so easy with how freely they were rough housing with Dream, acting like the older twin was made of solid rock with how they were swinging around their sticks.

He was almost scared for Killer and Swap. They were supposed to protect the two Princes with their life now, not bruse one of them, and treat the other like glass that could shatter at any moment.

"Don't worry. Some enough, Night will be talking your skull off just like Dream." Sans reassured Horror. He was confident in his prediction because it had happened to him.

After a week of knowing Nightmare, he too was talking nonstop along with Dream about anything and everything.

Sans thought it was funny how the princes were alike in many ways, yet so very different in many other ways at the same time.

-----------------------
Note:

Sorry for any misspellings or bad explanations. I'm trying to get better at putting in details!

Alsooooo! I'll be posting drawing at the end (whenever I have time) of some scenes to better picture the situations and positions they were in!
Writing this story is actually so exciting! Next chapter will take place many years later. Nightmare and Dream will be in their 20's!

Read you later!! <3