The wind was howling. Step by excrutiating step, Chara clambered up the mountain, the bitter wind batting against her face. The rocks' sharp edges cut into her open palms. Her limbs felt heavy, sluggish. Breathing was quickly becoming more difficult.
But it didn't matter.
Soon, it would all be over.
Soon, she'll be freed from the pain, the torment.
Soon, she'll never have to see her family again.
The reassurance of this fact filled Chara with determination.
The pain was irrelevant. All that mattered now was the task at hand. Chara grimly set her jaw, scaling the mountain faster.
Peering upwards and wincing, she finally made out what seemed to be a strange hole in the mountain. Curious, Chara used the last of her strength to clamber up the ledge, sights set on the vast blackness below.
Looking down, the void of nothingness swallowed her vision. Chara swallowed nervously - the mountain almost seeming like a living predator at that moment, with the hole and jagged rocks making up the mouth and teeth. It was almost enough to convince her to turn back and return to that wretched village.
Instead, she stepped closer to the ledge, heart pounding in her ears.
A vine caught on her boot. She barely had time to process her mistake.
Chara tripped, her small body thrown over the edge. A silent scream ripped through her throat as she fell through the darkness, vision growing blurrier and blurrier.
She was alive. Nothing else mattered, nothing else seemed real. Pain engulfed her head, chest, her entire body.
For a while, Chara simply laid there, as still as a corpse. The pounding in her head refused to cease.
Eventually, painfully, Chara creaked her eyes open. Flowers was the first thing she noticed. A bed of golden flowers sat beneath her. Grimacing, Chara slowly turned her head. Her arm was stretched out below her and appeared twisted. Blood oozed from an open wound, staining the brightly coloured plants.
Panic welled up within the girl. Without thinking, she tried to move her arm.
The white hot pain exploded in her shoulder. The girl's vision turned white. Chara sobbed, clutching at the bloodied flowers with her one working arm. But the agony refused to die down.
For a few minutes, it seemed utterly impossible to move, regret overwhelming her. Her plan to escape the misery of her home life had failed. All she had accomplished was causing herself more pain. The tears trickled down her bloodless cheeks one after the other.
Unbeknownest to the girl, a small figure hidden from stood watching her.
"Mum," an impatient voice called, voice echoing through the hallway, "Mum!"
There was no answer. Asriel sighed. Mother must be in another meeting. He knew his parents were busy people - running a kingdom couldn't be easy after all, but it still hurt to be ignored. It was times like this when the loneliness he did his best to hide really creeped in.
What he wouldn't give for a friend, someone to joke and play games with. His mum and dad did the best they could to play with him with the spare time they had, but there hardly ever seemed to be enough hours in the day.
Besides, playing games with his parents was fun, but it wasn't exactly the same as playing with kids his own age. Not that the latter seemed even possible...
He tried to make friends with the other school kids, he really did. But it just seemed impossible. Being the prince of all monsters made him very famous, in fact he'd never met a monster that hadn't recognised him straight away! Unfortunately, his high status seemed to scare the other kids off. It had even taken him a few months just to convince his classmates to stop calling him Prince!
Asriel didn't want to be seen as 'special' or 'different' - he just wanted to be normal. On days like this, when his parents were busy, he'd come to hate being born a royal.
The tears dripping down his fur-covered cheeks broke him out of his thoughts. With an embarrassed sniffle he wiped the tears away, clutching the sleave of his green striped sweater. What a crybaby he was, sniffling over something that, in comparison, was trivial to the problems other kids had. No wonder nobody wanted to play with him...
With a downcast look the boy turned away, not wanting to be seen so upset. All interest he had in playing games with his parents was lost.
But, Asriel realised, staring out at the garden, it was a nice day. Surely it would be a waste to spend the whole day moping. A sudden spark of rebellion rose within him, the urge to leave his safe home almost irresistable. Mum wouldn't be that mad, would she? After all, she wasn't hear to say no. He wouldn't be gone for too long anyway...
After one last paranoia-fuelled look around the house, it was decided.
Asriel carefully unlocked the front door, swiftly closing it behind him and stepped out into the wildnerness.
Somehow, Asriel had found himself wondering through the abandoned ruins. Golly, a few hours must have passed atleast! He should head home. What if he got lost? How angry would Mum and Dad be?
However the child walked onwards, ignoring the worry.
Eventually while walking deeper and deeper into the abandoned ruins, a cry rang out, startling him. Who was that? Dread swam throuh him, the urge to turn and run almost overwhelming.
Instead, Asriel crept forward. He took refuge behind a large pillar. Swallowing his nerve, Asriel peeked out from behind his hiding place.
A strange looking body was sprawled out over a bed of golden flowers.
Suddenly, another cry rang out, louder and anguished. Whoever it was, they looked upset and in a lot of pain. It would be unthinkable to leave now, wouldn't it?
As he continued to stare at the body, his fear died down, pity replacing it. He had to help, but how? He had no medical training and he, stupidly in hindsight, left his phone in his bedroom. What if the creature couldn't be healed? What if they died?
"Hey," Asriel's tremoring voice called, "h-hello? Are you okay? You - you look hurt."
While there no audible response, the strange creature turned it's head toward him. A mop of brown hair concealed it's face.
Well a visual response was better than no response. In a second, Asriel had rushed to the poor creature's side, hands shaking above the form. A worrying amount of blood was rushing from a wound on its' arm. Should he attempt to move it?
"My name's Asriel. I'm the, er, king and queen's son. C-can you move?"
As if answering, a furless arm weakly grasped his wrist. With a whimper, the creature nodded.
Asriel smiled nervously. "Okay, that's great! You can lean on me if you need to."
The creature leant on him. Struggling to its' feet, the creature panted, out of breath. Standing seemed to have taken a lot of effort.
From this position, the hair fell to the side, revealing a furless pale face. A pair of eyes widened, staring at him.
Asriel uneasily looked away. He'd never seen a monster that looked quite like this.
"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what species are you? You look, um, unusual."
A quiet, high-pitched voice replied, scared."... W-what are you? Where am I?"
Asriel's brow furrowed, confused. "I'm a monster, silly! Did you hit your head? We're in the ruins. I'm, um, not supposed to be here - mum and dad will be worried sick - but I couldn't just leave you here while you're hurt!"
"A monster?" Suddenly the creature lurched back, struggling out of his grip. Despite being hurt, the creature was surprisingly strong, pushing him away with ease.
Asriel carefully rose his paws. "Hey, it's okay! You're just confused. As soon as we get you to a doctor, you'll be feeling right as rain, I promise!"
"You. You can't be a monster. Everyone knows they went extinct over a thousand years ago," Accusatory eyes glared at him, "this is a trick, it has to be."
Asriel opened his mouth to retort, but the words wouldn't come. He had no idea what to say to that.
Looking upwards, Asriel noticed a strange shape in the mountain. Upon closer inspection, he could just make out a light source at the top. Slowly the puzzle pieces clicked together in Asriel's mind.
The - the creature wasn't some strange injured monster.
It was human.