Author's Note: For some commentary on this story and other notes, continue reading after the end. Enjoy!
On one cold winter night, a fire cracked and sizzled in one house in New Home, faithfully keeping warm the house's sleeping inhabitants. But beside the hearth sat one inhabitant still awake. Toriel, Queen of the Underground, hummed quietly to herself as she jotted her thoughts down in a journal. She was not normally up at this late hour, but her excitement over opening her own school gave her ample energy.
"Mmm… there. Yes, I think that will do," she whispered. "English should work well first thing in the morning, then their history lesson, followed by… recess… arithmetic… and everything else seems to be good. The details can be worked out later, but at least the schedule can be set. One step closer now. Oh, this is very exciting! Hehe-!" Toriel covered her mouth quick and cleared her throat. "Do not get too excited. Professionalism, Tori. Professionalism." But she still could not help but smile contently.
She tapped her pen against her muzzle and looked towards the kitchen. "Hmm… I wonder if the water has finished boiling yet." She gave a sly grin. "What do you think, Chara?" A gasp came from the hallway entrance. Toriel chuckled. "It is all right. You are not in trouble. Come over here," she coaxed. Unsure footsteps shuffled through the dark hallway at her prodding. In a few seconds, a hand emerged from the shadows and brushed the wall barely lit by the fire. A few more seconds and auburn hair peeked into the light, underneath it a child's face with a very sheepish grin.
"H-how did…?" they tried to ask, but Toriel already knew their question.
"A mother always knows when her children's eyes are on her."
"Really?"
"Yes. I can even tell how many times you blink." Toriel turned herself away from Chara and closed her eyes. "Go ahead, test me!"
"Okay!"
"… … … … … … … Chara, do you have your eyes covered?"
Chara gawked in amazement through the spaces in their fingers. Toriel turned back towards her child, her shoulders bobbing up and down as she tried to keep herself from bursting into loud laughter. "See? A mother always knows! And I know how smart you are." She affectionately poked Chara on their nose, causing them to giggle, but it faded as they looked down at the floor.
Toriel set her journal aside on the end table next to her chair and knelt next to Chara. She gently placed a paw against their face and parted their bangs with her thumb. "What troubles you, Chara?" she softly inquired.
Chara's brown eyes looked up at their mother. Chara was hesitant, but finally, they spoke. "I… I had a nightmare. I couldn't sleep after that." They sniffed and looked back at the floor.
Toriel kissed the top of their head and nuzzled her child. "Oh Chara. You do not need to be embarrassed." Chara remained quiet.
As she embraced them, Toriel looked into the distance in thought. When a minute passed, she let go of Chara and nudged them near the fire. "Wait here. I will be right back." Toriel stood up and strode to the kitchen. A whistle was heard soon after, but it was quickly cut off with a click of the stove. Dishware clinked and a cupboard creaked. Soon Toriel came back with a tray carrying two teacups on saucers. On one of the saucers was an immaculate row of butter crackers.
Toriel set the tray on her chair and removed a blanket that was on top of the armrest. She unfurled it and laid it out near the fireplace. "Sit sit sit," she motioned to Chara. "We do not want your toes to freeze."
Chara did as they were told and were handed the saucer with tea and crackers. Chara raised the cup to their lips. "Oo, be careful! It is very hot," Toriel warned. The child blew off some of the steam from their drink and took a sip. They let out a long sigh, their body relaxing, then looked up at their mother with grateful eyes.
"Thank you."
"You are very welcome," she replied as she took a seat next to them, crossing her legs. Chara held up a cracker to Toriel. "Oh no, those are for you dear. I am fine, but thank you." Chara looked at the cracker in their hand, then took a bite as they gazed into the fire.
Toriel took a sip of her own tea and relaxed herself. "A perfect drink for a cold night, is it not?" Chara nodded, but their gaze remained on the fireplace. The two remained silent for a time until Toriel spoke again. "You know, I never really liked tea much when I was younger. That is until sometime after I was married to your father. I often had nightmares myself."
Those words caught Chara's attention. "You had nightmares?"
"Yes. Some were so fierce that they drove me to walk in my sleep." She blushed a little. "Oh, your father was so worried. One night I had even left the house. After scrambling around for nearly an hour, he finally found me in our front yard hugging that old tree. I still found splinters in my fur a week afterward!"
Chara covered their mouth, but a few stifled giggles made their way through. "Sorry *snrk*."
"Oh, do not apologize. It was very funny. But yet, it was very puzzling. I was unsure of how to solve the problem. That is until your father sat down with me at the dining table one night before bed and we simply chatted over tea. And do you know what I found?" Chara shook their head. "I found that I still did not like tea, but I so appreciated your father taking the time to ease my mind. Simply talking to him, about anything, gave me that peace I needed to sleep. To know that I was not alone, I would have any tea with him anytime." She raised her cup to her lips. "Though this one is an excellent blend, I must admit. Mmm."
Chara smiled at Toriel, but they dropped their grin as they thought more about their mother's words. "Were your nightmares… about the War?"
Toriel sighed and nodded solemnly. "…Sometimes. Sometimes they were."
Chara stared into the fire and shook their head. "I… I just don't understand. How can humans see monsters as a threat? How could they not see your compassion? If they saw only a fraction of the kindness you've shown me, things…" they began to tremble, the cup and saucer rattling in their hands, "…things… would have been… you… wouldn't be…"
Their plate was taken and set on the floor and a paw caressed their back. "Chara," Toriel began in a low voice, "is this what your nightmare was about?"
Chara wringed their hands and looked away. "… Somewhat…" They scooched closer to Toriel and rested their head on her thigh, gripping her night gown. "… I just don't understand..."
Toriel ran her fingers through their hair, trying to think of the right words to say.
"… War… is a complicated affair, but… it can often stem from noticing the differences between people rather than our commonalities. On both sides, we had lives, families…" She paused. "… our fear of each other, our mistakes that we made against one another. No side was perfect. But… even if you cannot prevent it, war itself is often not the danger. It is the aftermath, what you do to pick up the pieces." Chara looked up at their mother, their brow furrowed.
Toriel continued, her voice still soft and low. "It is true that we are here in a less-than-ideal home, but we can call home because we are together. And together, we must hold on to hope. Resentment is a heavy burden to carry that only hinders you, but love is lighter than air that can only help you.
Chara stayed silent a few more moments, then asked, "Do you… really believe everything can change just by showing love?"
Toriel gently rubbed her child's head, nodding. "Yes, I do."
Chara looked once more at the fire, its embers lazily drifting up through the chimney. Their eyelids were getting heavy. They shifted their position slightly to get more comfortable. Fighting back a yawn, they replied, "This love you, father, and Asriel have shown… I can only hope to repay you for it some day."
Then they drifted to sleep. Toriel took the sleeping child in her lap and cuddled them. "Letting us love you… is all that we need, sweet one."
Author's Note: Hey there! Hope you enjoyed this story. This took me a long while to write (but what's new, right? ;) ), mainly because I kept scrapping the beginning. At one point, I even scrapped the whole concept I had in mind! That was frustrating, but at least I got another work done that I'm pretty happy with. This actually wasn't the one shot I was planning to release, but oh well! I'll have to release the other one some other time.
In a few minutes or so, I'm gonna put an update on my profile of a future work, so keep an eye out for that.
Until next time!