A young boy stood on the edge of the gaping hole, stretched open like a mouth ready to swallow him. He stared down into the nothingness, gray eyes unfocused and wide with pain. Tears streamed down his cheeks and fell into the darkness below, each catching one last ray of light before disappearing forever. A cold mountain breeze ruffled his dark hair but he didn't so much as shiver, far too focused on the abyss spread before him.
It was his fault. He had been the one who'd dared Dane to go up on the cursed mountain. Of course he'd known that Dane would never back down to a challenge. But he had never believed in curses or monsters himself, so he hadn't known that his friend would never come back down at all. Maybe this hole right here was how he had died. Dane wasn't the most graceful person, so perhaps he had tripped and fell, like the boy's tears, out of existence.
The child let out a loud sob, his entire body shaking from the force of it. He could barely breath, his throat was so swollen. It felt like it would explode from the pressure. But the pain in his neck couldn't compare to the pain that had claimed every ounce of his being. His stomach was filled with solid lead, his ribs were cracking, his head was split open, and his legs felt as though they couldn't support the weight of all this for another second. It was his fault! He had killed his friend, his only friend. The only person who'd ever cared about him was gone and it was all his fault. His heart shriveled up inside of him, contracting more and more each second with ever increasing agony.
He couldn't withstand the pain, the guilt, the loneliness. With shaking hands he opened his notebook and ripped out a carefully written page. Old tears had already blotted the ink, and fresh ones smudged it further. Hastily, the boy placed the page on a flat bit of ground, putting a rock on top to keep it from blowing away. A small, miserable smile curled around his lips as he thought of how no one would probably ever find it. No one would care enough to go searching for him.
He let out a choking laugh, turning back to the void. It looked peaceful, welcoming even. A promise of release from his misery. And maybe even a chance to be with Dane once more, if there was some sort of afterlife. But the boy didn't believe in fairy tales, so all he sought to find was that sweet, blissful nothing.
He didn't raise his eyes for one final look at the sky. He didn't utter meaningless last words to be heard by no one. Instead, his gaze never wavering from the darkness below, he took a single step, almost as if he had expected to find solid ground beneath it. For a moment time stopped as he teetered on the edge, but then gravity took its inevitable toll and the boy plunged into the depths below.
He was surprised at the sensation of falling. That step off the cliff had felt so final that he'd almost expected to die the moment his feet left steady ground. His stomach felt as though it was trying to force its way out through his throat and his heart had stopped completely. Pure, electric terror filled his veins as his survival instincts kicked in. An unnatural screeching sliced into his eardrums alongside the sound of rushing air. His mind didn't spare the effort in realizing the screeching was coming from his own throat. He couldn't even feel regret at his choice. All that the boy could think of was survival. Even though at this point it was far too late, his blood pumped adrenaline through him and his head repeated the same instinct over and over: survive.
Suddenly, in his blind panic, the boy saw something far below him. With each second it was growing bigger and bigger, rushing up to meet him at terrifying speed. He only had time for one thought before his body hit the ground with a snap and everything went dark.
"Gold."
"Oh dear," a voice cut into the shadows. "Are you hurt, Mar?" Something white and large began to form before the boy. He blinked slowly, slightly aware of a numbing pain in his back. The thing almost appeared to be glowing in the relative darkness. Was this the afterlife? Dread coursed through his body and he slumped back down, shutting his eyes to the wave of pain that washed through his head. He clutched at his temples, gritting his teeth. All he had wanted to do was to stop existing.
"Mar? Can you hear me?" the voice sounded concerned.
The boy slowly opened his eyes once more, waiting for his vision to adjust in the dim light. The figure swam in front of him before finally settling into place. He jumped at the sight, half expecting it to have been an angel. Instead, the thing peering down at him wasn't even human. It had big eyes, long ears, and was covered all over in white fur. The boy recoiled, inching backwards.
"It's okay," the thing smiled reassuringly. "I won't hurt you. My name is Toriel. May I ask what yours is?"
He studied her closely, narrowing his eyes. She was very tall, at least three times his height, but she seemed friendly enough. Making up his mind, the boy answered. "I'm Mar." He looked around him, trying to see in the poor light. They appeared to be in a cave of some sorts. "Where am I?"
"This is the underground. I'm sure you must have heard about this place in your history books," Toriel beamed down at him. "The other children have told me that the humans tell stories of the war."
History? Underground? War? What was she-
Suddenly it all connected in Mar's mind. The old legends of the war with monsters. But those had been myths... hadn't they?
"So are you a-?" Mar didn't finish his sentence, feeling it would be rude to call someone a monster.
"A monster?" Toriel finished for him, not seeming to hold any offense in the title. "Of course!" She spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Baffled by all this, Mar attempted to get to his feet. He'd barely risen halfway when his numbness seemed to shatter like ice and the pain from his fall came pouring over him. His head throbbed with a vicious migraine simultaneously, and he collapsed onto his hands and knees, panting.
"Are you alright?" Toriel gasped, reaching out to help steady him.
Mar wasn't paying attention though. He was too busy staring at the ground underneath him. Below him was a bed of golden flowers, the same shade as the color he had seen the last moment before hitting the ground. This phenomena drove the point home. Flowers didn't grow underground. Monster's didn't exist. And people didn't just survive with a few bruises from leaping off a cliff. Or at least, that's what he had thought.
Mar was silent for a moment with astonishment, Toriel watching worriedly. Then, suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed. Toriel's eyes widened in surprise but Mar didn't let up, gasping for breath and grimacing as his skull throbbed with every sound. Finally, when the pain in his head became too much to bare, Mar stopped, sucking in air like he had been drowning the moment before. He pushed himself up and met Toriel's gaze, his own eyes sparkling. "This is wonderful!" Mar grinned.
A new world, far away from the lonely one he had left above. A world of myths and fairytales. But even more importantly, a world that Dane might be in.
Toriel smiled back at him, looking relieved, but before she could say anything Mar spoke up again, unable to keep his hopes concealed for another second. "You mentioned other children," Mar said eagerly. "Is there a boy named Dane here?" Toriel's eyes lit up in recognition and Mar almost collapsed again at the overwhelming happiness blossoming inside his chest. He felt tears begin to roll down his cheeks.
"Mar?" Toriel asked, alarmed. "What's wrong? Are you badly hurt?"
"No," Mar laughed, ignoring his vengeful migraine and aching back. "No, I'm fine. Where is Dane?"
At this Toriel's eyes suddenly grew dark and Mar froze in horror, unable to breath. He couldn't stand the thought of having his friend ripped from his grasp once more now that Mar had found hope of actually seeing him again.
Toriel noticed the fear in his eyes and quickly spoke up. "Don't worry," she smiled, patting his shoulder to comfort him. "Your friend was here only a few days ago and he was safe."
Mar was overtaken by a flood of relief, but a moment later doubt found its way in once more. "Was safe?" Mar repeated fearfully. "Where is he now?"
Toriel averted her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to hide the sadness that resided there. "I tried to convince him to stay with me, so that I could take care of him." She sounded like a mother who had lost her child. "But your friend is a young man of action." Toriel smiled remorsefully. "He never would have been happy stuck in the ruins with me. So I had to let him go."
"Let him go?" Mar asked, eager to know where Dane had gone to.
"It's dangerous outside the ruins for humans," Toriel said sadly. "I tried to warn him, but like I said, he couldn't have been happy here anyway. So I showed him the door to the rest of the underground and said goodbye. I baked him a pie before he left." She smiled at the memory.
"I need to follow him," Mar lept to his feet. The sudden action only encouraged his migraine and he clutched at his skull, wincing.
"Please don't!" Toriel pleaded. "You'll be safe in here, and I'll look after you! I can-"
She trailed off as she saw the desperate look on Mar's face. Her own face drooped as if her heart was breaking, but she put on a brave smile and spoke up a moment later. "No," she sighed. "I'm sorry. Of course you're worried about your friend." Toriel got to her feet and extended a hand to Mar. He took it, pleased by how soft her fur was. "I'll show you where the door is," Toriel sighed sadly. "Just allow me to pack you a lunch before you leave. I won't have time to bake a pie, but I should be able to put something together."
"Thank you, ma'am," Mar smiled gratefully up at her, allowing Toriel to lead him through the ruins. Toriel didn't answer, lost in thought.
The rest of the journey passed in silence. Finally they arrived at a small, cozy looking house. Toriel brought him inside to a living room and had him sit in a large padded armchair by the fireplace. "I'll only be moment," she said, passing through a doorway. Mar could hear her in the other room rummaging around. He leaned his sore back against the armchair and let out a content sigh. It wasn't until now that he'd realized how tired he was, and the heat from the fire felt nice on his skin. A small pang of regret passed through him that he couldn't stay here with Toriel. This place felt more like a home than any other he'd ever been. But still, staying was not an option. He had to find Dane, and if it was as dangerous in the underground as Toriel said it was, he had to do so quickly.
"Here," Toriel reappeared, holding out a paper sack. A delicious aroma was wafting from it. "Perhaps you should stay just for tonight," she made one last effort, a hopeful look in her eyes. "That way you'll be well rested, and you can set out first thing tomorrow morning. I'll bake you a nice pie."
Mar smiled up at her. "Thank you so much, but I can't rest until I know Dane is safe."
"Of course," Toriel's face fell. "I'm sorry. I'll show you the way." She took Mar's hand once more and led him out into the entry hall and down a flight of stairs. They passed through a long corridor and around a corner until finally they reached a door. "This is it." Toriel sounded remorseful. "Please do be careful, Mar." She reached down and gave him a warm hug before turning to go. She had only taken a few steps before turning back. "When you find Dane, if you'd like, then you both are more than welcome to come back and stay with me." Toriel smiled one last time, then, without waiting for an answer, hurried off.
Mar watched her go before facing the door. He paused a moment, sucking in a deep breath, then slowly pushed it open.
