Chapter One: Fabled Mountain
Happiness.
Oddly enough, a mountain long since abandoned by anyone sane happened to be a place where Frisk experienced such an emotion.
Just this morning, she had been pushed out of the car door and into the grating dirt as her mother scolded her. She drove away shaking her head and muttering something with a scowl etched into her vain features. Frisk did not think too much of her mother's actions but she certainly was not happy about them.
And now, she was skipping along the trail up Mt. Ebott, humming softly to herself. She lagged behind the other children, not being much for conversation and socialisation. She did however, glance over at her teacher every once in a while, watching her fight to keep things in order.
The overly flustered woman was clearly trying her best to herd together the gaggle of geese that was her class of seven year olds. She tried at first to address them all as one but there were always a few children who talked over and teased the others. Eventually, she called them all to attention by bellowing 'silence' loudly.
She gazed around the brood of rowdy children, her eyes falling final upon Frisk. She had separated herself from the main group, standing beside a sprawling oak tree. She had been listening to her teacher this entire time, unlike her brethren. She happened to be interested in what she had to say; the topic was monsters after all. Ever since Frisk could barely talk, she had been intrigued by them.
Today, the teacher had taken her class on a field trip to Mt. Ebott, a place that, according to legend, imprisons all the monsters of the old world beneath it. Of course, she didn't really believe in such outrageous stories – she had merely orchestrated the trip to keep all the children entertained on the final day of school.
Frisk believed the stories though, to some extent. Childhood optimism, you could say. She had read books in the library about them, having snuck them home just so she could read them after hours. Eerily, she actually felt a sense of familiarity with some of the things she had read. So naturally, she jumped at the chance to explore the infamous mountain.
Frisk listened as the teacher informed everyone that it was time for lunch, instructing the children to sit in an orderly fashion and avoid making too much of a mess. As soon as she had finished speaking, the children broke out in a hush of murmurs and squeals as they got into their little groups and found somewhere nearby to sit.
Since Frisk wasn't all that fond of her classmates (they teased her tirelessly when they were bored), she decided to sneak a little bit further away from the group. She felt so rebellious doing so but at least she got more of a chance to explore the forests that clung to the rocky hills of Mt. Ebott. Maybe she might even encounter a monster? Her heartbeat quickened at the thought.
Whilst the teacher had her back turned to attend to some children who were throwing leaves, she snuck away from the group. She pushed her way through a small bush and into the thick, fir trees beyond. She let out a heavy sigh, smiling as she kicked a few clumps of mushy, slimy dead leaves from her path.
Craning her neck and looking towards the sky, she could see hints of blue through the leaves of the trees. Light filtered down and formed patterns of shifting colours on the undergrowth beneath her boots. The air had a musky, damp feel and smell to it. She could hear an animal of some description jump and weave through the trees, though they were always too fast for her eyes to track.
It felt so calm and peaceful here, yet it had an air of mystery to it that awed young Frisk.
She had just bent down to smell a pretty red flower when her head suddenly felt heavy, as if packed with damp cotton. She swayed to the side, bracing an arm against a nearby to stop herself from falling as an image filled her mind. Was it…herself? She quickly recognised her favourite jumper and pudgy figure. Yet oddly enough, her eyes were set with an edge of maturity that she lacked as she was. As soon as the image had appeared, it disappeared, leaving Frisk dazed and confused.
She stared up at the mountain above through a break in the canopy, waiting for the confusion in her head to clear. Since recalling the image again unnerved her, she decided to let it slip for now as she continued drifting further and further away from her class.
Yet it never occurred to her to turn back. As she climbed up the mountain's steep hills, she was filled with more and more determination. Despite the dropping temperature and the sheer lonely aura the desolate place had begun to emit, she was overcome with a nostalgia that she couldn't explain.
Soon enough, she had become tired (a young girl can only walk so far). She sat on a nearby mossy rock, deciding to calm down for a little to eat her lunch. Shrugging her backpack off her shoulders, it hit the ground with a slump. She had decided that she would re-join with the group soon, since she was becoming concerned about being lost up here. As nice and mysterious as it was, she didn't want to spend the night there.
She remained there for a little while longer as she finished off her sandwich, listening to the sounds of birdsong on the air. She tried to ignore the creeping feeling of anticipation in the back of her mind, like something was about to happen.
Eventually, she got to her feet again, feeling good after her meal. She figured that it was time to head back since her teacher would most likely be upset over her disappearance. She gripped her fingers around the strap of her backpack, about to turn back when she caught something out of the corner of her eyes.
To the left of the trail she was following, was a gaping hole in the earth. A rocky outcrop overhung it partially, a number of tree roots sprawling over the cliff and into the hole. Frisk noticed that the path split off in a tiny, deer track towards it. She stared at the hole for a moment, tense. She felt strange again, a few puffs of cotton clogging her mind. Curiosity burned within her along with a sense of desperation. She let go of her backpack.
Inexplicably, that rupture in the earth was calling for her.
Turning away from the main path, she pushed her way through the narrow trail of downtrodden leaves towards the hole. She was very careful as to assure that she didn't fall head first into it. Once she had gotten a good metre away from it, she dared to peer over the crumbling lip of the hole.
Fear shuddered in her bones, prompted her to hug her arms around her chest. She couldn't see the bottom of the hole - all she could see was inky blackness. She was unsure what to do now that she had sauntered all the way here. It was calling to her louder than ever but she was much too fearful of falling to simply jump in. She had a moment of uncertainty.
Soon, a feeling began to develop within Frisk. That feeling informed her that through some way or another, if she was to jump down there, she would live. Slightly reassured, she inched a little closer to the edge, still staring warily into the darkness below.
What was the point of jumping though? Why do it? She had people that cared for her up here, like my classmates, teacher, parents, so on. They would miss her and grieve over her disappearance intensely. She thought of her parents smiling and embracing her with happy tears in their eyes, whispering in choked sobs about how much they missed her and how worried they were.
Who was she kidding?
The thought of Frisk's parents doing something like that made the poor girl smile wistfully. A single glance at the Band-Aids and bruises covering her skin reminded her of who they really were.
For some time now, Frisk had yearned to disappear. She had dreamed of running away to a place of wonder and excitement in which no one would ever hurt her. But even she, in her young age, knew that was farfetched.
Her mind supplied her with images of everything that had happened to her over the past, well, ever. She should have hope that one day things will get better. But, due to her one-track mind, she doubted there was a chance of that ever happening with the kind of people she was stuck with.
But maybe, just maybe, on this fabled mountain, she could get away from it all?
She took a deep, steady breath.
She held it, reminding herself once again that really no one would miss her anyway.
Then she jumped.