In hindsight, it seemed like such a small thing. At eight years old, however, it seemed like the end of the world. It wasn't fair, she thought. She had been so excited when her friend she hadn't seen since summer vacation had started called to invite her over to her place for a pool party. She had never been to a pool party before. She had run over to her father, her heart full of excitement and eyes full of hope.
Only to be crushed with a single word.
She had said such cruel things in response. She knew now that her father had only been protecting her. At the time, though it just felt like her parents were being unfair. She never got to go over for sleepovers like the rest of the kids. She was never allowed to play sports. She always had to wear high necked shirts, no matter how hot it was.
Just because of that stupid 'birthmark' on her chest.
She didn't understand at the time. She didn't get why some stupid mark she had been born kept her front being like all the other kids. Some of the other kids had birthmarks. Some had even showed theirs off. They had been sitting under the playground equipment when the topic had come up. Some of them had birthmarks in rather… embarrassing places. She would sometimes still giggle when she remembered how the girls had run screaming when one of the boys decided to drop their pants to show off the oddly shaped birthmark on his behind.
She wasn't giggling now though. Now she was angry. She stood before her mirror in her pajamas. It was pink with little, golden flowers. She had the top three buttons undone. Just enough so that she could see the upside-down heart in the mirror. She hated the stupid thing. Did the heart mean something? Was she some kind of freak? Was that why her parents didn't want anyone- not even the doctors- to know about it?
"Frisk?"
Her father opened the door and stepped in. Frisk didn't respond.
"Frisk, I know you are upset, but-"
"Is there something wrong with me?" Frisk asked.
"No! No," her father said firmly. She crossed the room quickly, scooping his daughter up and carrying her over to the bed. She sat with her in his lap and her head rested against his shoulder.
"Why don't you want anyone to see my birthmark?" Frisk asked.
Her father was silent for a moment. He looked like he was having a hard time coming up with the words he wanted to say.
"Frisk… you are a very, very special girl," he said. "But you are also… different. Different isn't bad. If everyone was the same, well, life would be pretty boring."
"If it isn't bad to be different, than why hide it?" she asked.
"Because you are more different than anyone else," he said. "Different in a very special way. It's because of how different you are that if they found out about it, people may try to hurt you."
"Why? I haven't done anything wrong, have I?" Frisk asked.
"No. Not at all. But people… People can be kind. But they can also be cruel. Especially towards those that don't fit in with their idea of normal. They would hurt you because they wouldn't understand you, and people always fear what they don't understand," her father said.
Frisk nodded. She didn't understand, but she nodded.
"... Have you heard of Mt. Ebott?" her father asked.
Frisk shook her head.
"It's a really pretty mountain. I've always wanted to go there. One day, when you are older, we'll go there together. There's someone there you should meet," he said.
"Who?" Frisk asked.
"Someone special. I've never met them myself, but it's someone that will make you happy," he said.
"Like a fairy tale prince?" Frisk asked. Her father laughed softly.
"Maybe. I don't know. But they will be someone who will protect you when I can't anymore. Someone who will always be there for you, no matter what. Someone you can make your own family with."
"Like you and mommy?"
"Just like me and mommy."
Xxx
If she had to choose the day when her life as she knew it ended, it was the first day of third grade. She had been so excited to be back in school. She loved school. Classes were boring and homework sucked, but she loved her teachers and she loved playing with her friends and making new ones.
That morning had been so much fun. Her teacher was a fun woman who had them playing games in order to help them learn each other's names and her classroom rules. She had already made two new friends by the end of the first hour. The only dapper on her day had been the rain. She dreaded that the rain would keep all of them inside for recess. They didn't like letting them out in the rain. Frisk didn't understand why. She loved playing in the rain.
She sighed in relief when the rain stopped just as they headed single file down to the cafeteria. She was outside as soon as she could. She and her new friends jumped in every puddle they came across. They wanted to see who could make the biggest splash. The deeper the puddle, the better. They eventually got bored with that, however, and they chased each other to the playground in a game of tag.
Tag, however, quickly became "Catch Frisk." Not once had Frisk been 'it.' She was just too fast for them. She easily dodged every attempt to tag her, until finally Nikki managed it. She grabbed Frisk by the bottom of her sweater. Frisk didn't notice and kept running. Nikki didn't let go and Frisk slipped. Her sweater came up over her head.
Frisk sat there in a daze for a few moments. That hurt. She sat up, rubbing her sore head. She noticed Nikki staring at her.
"What?" Frisk asked.
"What's that on your chest?"
Frisk felt her blood run cold.
"Oh, it's just a birthmark," Frisk said, trying to brush it off. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Nikki nodded.
The whistle blew, calling the kids back to class. The playground was filled with the sound of children moaning in disappointment. They reluctantly climbed down and made their way to the back doors to their classrooms.
Frisk didn't think about the incident with Nikki again until the next morning.
Xxx
Frisk knew something was wrong when she walked into class. Everyone was staring at her. The teacher wasn't even there. She walked awkwardly to her desk with every eye in the room on her.
She froze when she saw the word scratched into her deak.
FREAK.
Then the whispers began.
"My mom says she's not really human. That she's part monster. She doesn't even want me in the same school as her."
"Mom's going to transfer me to another school if they don't kick her out."
"Better be careful."
"She'll put a spell on us!"
"My dad says they should throw her down Mt. Ebott with the rest of the monsters where she belongs."
Now Frisk understood.
Xxx
By the time Saturday rolled around, Frisk was ready to throw in the towel. She had insisted on going to class. She was determined not to let them get to her. But by the end of the week, it had become too much. She stormed in through the front door Friday and ran to her room. She slammed the door shut behind her and flung herself onto her bed. She cried. She cried and she cried. It wasn't fair. Daddy said she wasn't a freak, but they said she was. She wanted to believe her dad. She wanted to so bad. Daddy wouldn't lie to her.
Right?
Xxx
Gunshots don't sound like they do in the movies. That was probably why she didn't recognize the sound when it woke her up. She stood up and looked around blearily. Her door opened quickly and quietly. Her mother walked in. She closed the door and shoved her dresser in front of it.
"M-mommy? What's going on?" Frisk asked.
There were tears staining her mother's face when she turned to her. She raced across the room and wrapped her up in a tight hug. She could feel her mother shaking.
"I love you. No matter what," she whispered.
Her mother let her go. She turned and bent down to lift up the rug in the center of the room. There was a hatch under the rug. Her dad had made it the moment they moved in. Her mother opened it and turned back to her.
"Come on, Frisk."
"M-mommy? What's going on?" Frisk asked.
"Keep your voice down," her mother warned. "Come on sweety. I need you to listen to me. You are going to hide down here until the police come, okay? You can't come out before then. You have to stay quiet, no matter what. Do you understand?"
"Mom-mommy what's-"
There was angry yelling front the other side of the door, followed by banging on the door. Her mother didn't say anything. She just ushered Frisk into the hatch and shut it behind her. Inside the hatch was a small crawl space made of wood. It didn't lead anywhere and was just big enough for one person. Frisk curled up into herself and forced herself not to scream when she heard the men burst into her room.
Gun shots sounded nothing like in the movies.
Xxx
Her blood dripped through the floorboards.
Xxx
The police eventually found her. She had been under there for several days by then. She didn't remember much beyond the sight of her mother's dried blood. It was a sight that would forever haunt and no matter what anyone said she knew it was all her fault. Those men had come for her.
Because she was a freak.
A week later, she had arrived in a city far from home. It was where her father's brother had moved for work. He lived there with his wife and three children, and it was where Frisk would be living as well.
Ebott City.
The name had pulled the first reaction out of her since the… incident. Sure enough, the city was built near Mt. Ebott, the mountain her father had told her about. Was this the city where she was supposed to meet the person he had told her about as well?
Part of her hoped she wouldn't. She didn't want to put anyone else in danger. The other part longed for it. To have someone there for her and to protect her like her father had protected her mother.
But what if they died like daddy, too?
Her uncle lived in a two-story house in the suburbs. It was a pretty house. Not overly large or fancy, bu big enough for the people who lived there. Frisk jumped a little when she saw her uncle for the first. She had known that he and her father had been twins, but she had never seen the pictures. They weren't identical twins, but the resemblance was so strong, it would easy to mistake one for the other. Her aunt was pretty, but not as pretty as her mother had been. She also seemed harder than her mother. It was the look in her eye that told her that.
Frisk didn't like two of her cousins. They were loud and were screaming at each other when Frisk arrived. They used language that would have gotten Frisk grounded for a lifetime if her parents had caught her using it. She didn't know what to think about the third. His name was Danny, and he was the same age as her. He was quiet and Frisk wondered if there was something wrong. He didn't look very happy.
Her uncle had seemed friendly enough when he greeted her. He welcomed her with open arms and scooped her into a hug that reminded her too much of the hugs her father used to give her. She almost started to cry again. He led her inside and showed her around their simple but beautiful home. Her aunt was an interior decorated and had spared no expense when decorating her own home. For a moment, Frisk had allowed herself to hope that maybe, she had a chance at being happy again. Not now, but maybe in the future.
"This is your room."
Frisk yelped as she was shoved into the basement. She fell down half the stairs before she stopped. She was lucky she didn't break anything. She stumbled back up the stairs to the door, only to have it locked.
"This isn't funny!" Frisk yelled. "Let me out!"
"I'm sorry, but this is for your own good. You have a spell cast on you. But don't worry, I'll break it for you. Just like dad broke the spell on our sister."
"What are you talking about? Let me out! Please!"
"...please…"
Xxx
She lost track of how long she had been in that basement.
There was no light in the basement. No way to tell the time. They kept her well fed and gave her plenty of water. She had a bed, but it was small and uncomfortable, at least compared to her own bed. But that was all the care she got. There was even a small bathroom, that was always supplied with everything she needed to keep herself clean.
Beyond her uncle's attempts to purify her.
He had to break the spell, and the only way to do that was to beat it out of her. Speaking was not allowed. Speaking led to punishments that did not deserve to be repeated. She had stopped taking care of herself at one point. The punishment for that was even worse than the punishments for speaking. She was not some rabid Monster. She was a human girl, and human girls showered and brushed their teeth daily. Pain had become her life now
The only bright spot was Danny.
He was the one who brought her food and new clothes. He was always so nice to her. He would talk to her, despite the fact that she wasn't allowed to speak back. He would even sneak her something sweet sometimes. Sometimes he would sneak in and read to her.
She liked Danny.
She didn't like the skeleton in the mirror.
There was a single mirror in the bathroom. She had broken the original. She had panicked the first time she saw him. He loomed over her, grinning with spiked death and watching her with a single, glowing red eye. She had broken the mirror with her fist. It had been replaced, and the shards of the broken mirror used to carve hideous patterns into her back.
It wasn't the last time she broke the mirror.
The second time was deliberate. She stared into the eyes of the skeleton as she once again shattered the mirror. The glass fell into the sink. Even in shards, she could still see him in the reflection of the glass. She picked up the largest, sharpest shard and ignored the feeling of it cutting into her hand.
"I know what you are thinking."
Frisk jumped at the sound of the voice. She spun around and came face to face with another girl, around her age. Where had she come from? She looked a bit like Frisk, but her skin was paler and her hair lighter. She had wide, gentle red eyes. She was wearing a black sweater with a single red stripe across the front.
"Don't be afraid. My name is Chara."
Frisk looked at her, dumbfounded.
"I've come to stop you. I know things seem bleak right now, but they will get better. I promise."
Frisk shook her head. She must have been crazy.
"Can I show you something?"
The girl reached for the bottom of her sweater and lifted it up. Frisk gasped when she saw a familiar, upside down heart on the girls chest.
"That's right. I'm like you. But it isn't a spell, and we aren't freaks."
"Than…" Frisk croaked out. It was hard. She hadn't spoken in years. "What…"
"It's a soul mark," Chara said. "It's a special mark that marks us as having a soul mate. Not all humans have soul mates. Usually, it is a regular heart in the color of what that person's soul it. Monster souls are a bit different though which is why it's upside down and white."
Frisk blinked.
"That's right. This heart represents a monster's soul. It means that your soul mate isn't human, but a monster. I bet you've already begun to see him in the mirror."
Frisk's brow furrowed.
The… skeleton…?
Chara smiled.
"Do you know why I'm telling you all this?"
Frisk shook her head.
"You can't give up hope. You have to get out. Your soul mate is waiting for you, even if he doesn't know it. Monsters don't get soul marks after all. They never know until they actually meet their soul mates. Even then, they don't always realize what it is. But he is out there. You have to stay DETERMINED."
Tears began to fall down her face.
"... Have you heard of Mt. Ebott?" her father asked.
Frisk shook her head.
"It's a really pretty mountain. I've always wanted to go there. One day, when you are older, we'll go there together. There's someone there you should meet," he said.
"Who?" Frisk asked.
"Someone special. I've never met them myself, but it's someone that will make you happy," he said.
"Like a fairy tale prince?" Frisk asked. Her father laughed softly.
"Maybe. I don't know. But they will be someone who will protect you when I can't anymore. Someone who will always be there for you, no matter what. Someone you can make your own family with."
"Like you and mommy?"
"Just like me and mommy."
Xxx
She'd made it.
She stood upon Mt. Ebott, staring down at the entrance that led to the Underground. She wasn't alone, either. She could feel someone beside her, even if she couldn't see her.
Her escape had been short notice.
Danny had come to her in the middle of the day while everyone was out at either work or school. Danny had skipped. He had come for her and together the two of them had ran. He had his own car and was going to take her to the police, but she shook her head and ran away. She felt bad. Danny had helped her, but she had ran away.
But she had to do this.
Her soul mate was down there. Somewhere.
"It'll be okay Frisk. I won't always be able to help or talk to you, but I'll be watching."
Frisk closed her eyes and jumped.