This man is not her uncle.
His long wiry grey streaks lock of mud stick to his skin with sweat. A wide grin on his face as he stood there. He looks like he just accomplished something grand.
This man is her killer.
A body lays limp on the floor. Red eyes and long curly light brown hair. The color of sparkling sand is how her mother described it. She and brother got her genetics running strong though our veins. Veins she no longer had. Her mother's legacy was stolen from her.
This man has disfigured her.
She held up her hand and curled each ball jointed ceramic digit. There was no longer any pull of skin, only phantom sensations from what her mind knows she should feel. Her hand pressed into the wooden table she was strapped to. She could still feel objects though without nerves, it wasn't as strong of a sense.
This man numbed her.
He leaves the room, a smaller body shoving past and falling to his knees beside the limp corpse. "Gwen! Gwen! Sister please wake up!" The boy is young. He was only thirteen.
"Chara. Please stop crying."
Ruby eyes shot up to see a slender woman with pale skin, long dark lashes, opalescent hair that reached her knees in thick waves, and unnatural mint green eyes. Everything gave her the appearance of a celestial being. He started noticing the joints however. Her arms, legs, and anything that bent was ball jointed. The voice that had spoken was his sister's but this life sized doll looked nothing like her.
He stood and walked up to her looking at her body. "This… He…" She lifted her hand to touch his cheek but hesitated, not wanting her brother to shy away from her in disgust. Chara grabbed her wrist and held her palm against his face. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault."
Gwendolyn shook her head. "Don't you dare. I did this on my own. I couldn't bare it if this happened to you." She would sit up but she didn't trust the magic allowing her movement. Her brother helped her up the best he could. Being made of hollow clay parts increased her weight tenfold. Their uncle, no, Gregory informed her that it will take a few hours for the magic inside this new body to mingle with her soul.
Her eyes looked down at the center of her collarbone. A faded green heart the same color of her eyes was slowly darkening. Assuming it was to tell her when she will be able to move completely, she still had some time.
She hugged the young teen loosely. "Are you disgusted of how I am now?" Chara shook his head rapidly. More feeling went into her limbs and eventually she could stand. Her brother handed her a cloak before she picked up her own body.
A girl with freckles and rosy cheeks. A girl who wasn't skinny or fat. A girl with freckles all over her face. At one time she hated her flaws. Now she will miss them and all the features that made her, her.
She walked up to the room she shared with her brother. A line of dressed mannequins were against the wall. All dressed in dollish dresses reaching just above the knees. She loved the lolita style for casual wear. The short skirts were easy to move in compared to the long dresses most women wore. Those flounced petticoats looked uncomfortable.
Chara leaves to allow her to get dressed. She picked a simple dress with a long sleeved white blouse top and a black skirt. The two parts were fasted together by the corset wide belt attached to the skirt, leading to two straps going over her shoulders and crossing behind her. She buttons up the high collar of the blouse and ties a black ribbon into a bow before folding the collar flaps over the band.
Looking in the mirror, she made a face, well she tried to anyway. Her nose didn't crinkle up like she wanted and only her lips moved. She could no longer form complex expressions. Gwendolyn felt her glass eye tingle and sting with phantom feelings yet no tears spilled.
Can she even be called human at this point?
Days pass and their uncle continues life as if nothing happened. Like the countless experiments never happened. Like she didn't see his many failures rotting in their cells deep within the basement.
The artist, the scientist, was back to painting regular dolls and inventing small devices. He looked content with his success. Chara was getting used to his sister's appearance. She herself was struggling. Things of hard and solid natures slip from her hands easily with her lack of pliant flesh to use as grip.
It was two weeks in or so when she found that gloves helped. Since her body didn't sweat, she wore one dress every week. Only Gregory lived here with them so there were no servants to question the change. She and her brother were isolated.
How did their kind king, their father have such a despicable man for a brother? Sadly this man was the only other living relative left after their last grandparent passed away.
He didn't even live on their island of Gardenia. With that thought, an idea came to her. Gregory was heading out to a nearby town to sell his dolls and inventions tomorrow. The two remaining horses and old wagon will be enough to carry their belongings and themselves into monster territory. The benevolent beings will no doubt offer them citizenship.
That night she waited at her seat beside the window, overlooking the stable and fields. Gregory left sometime in the middle of the night. She shook her brother awake in his bed. The only one left. Their uncle said dolls do not need sleep. He was right.
"Chara. Quickly. Pack what clothes you need. One for each purpose. Anything personal as well as long as you have the room for it can go too. Hurry. We don't want him to return and find us." He has done it before after forgetting a few packages.
She touched the gold locket on her neck and took it off. She placed it in a box for safe keeping. She gathered her books, a picture frame of her family, a second dress, nightgown despite not needing it, and her underclothes. She made sure to pack long and short gloves and stockings. Her joints need to be hidden if she was to pass as human.
Gwendolyn latched her suitcase closed and takes Chara's hand. Down the mansion's halls they ran. They grabbed some pillows and blankets for bedding. She went to the kitchen and gathered fruit, bread, and crackers. Dry foods were good for the long trip. Since she didn't need to eat, there was plenty for her brother to survive on.
When she got to the wagon, she draped a cloak over him, pulling up his hood before doing the same for herself. Chara had harnessed the horses to the wagon so they were able to leave immediately.
Things will get better now.
Four days later….
"Get back!" She shouts, swinging a burning stick. A large man stood before her. Her brother grips the back of her undershirt. This man was sneaking up while she pretended to sleep. Her cloak was the only thing hiding the truth and her keeping her modest. Seeing a woman in her bloomers is inappropriate after all.
The man was large and stocky.
"Come now little miss. I was only wanting to see why such a beautiful lady and her child are all alone."
"We are travelling, now begone with you." She asserts as gently as possible. The man wasn't leaving. She grips the stick harder and waved it at him, making him step back. "Go!"
The man growls and leaves at last. They were lucky. Suspicious characters were a problem on the long roads between villages, farms, and towns. Bandits are common. Gwendolyn hugged Chara throughout the night until he fell asleep.
The next morning, they rolled up their blankets and continued down the main road. More hoofbeats behind them turned her head. It was that man. He wasn't alone. She reached back into the wagon and grabbed their luggage. "I'll lose them. We need to jump and run into the woods. Do not look back. Do you understand?" Her brother nods hesitantly.
She spurred the horses to go faster around the next turn. Taking a look back, she shoved Chara off the wagon with their things. The boy ran into the brush quickly despite his burden. Now it was her turn. She made sure they followed her and not the boy.
The sunlight reflected off her silken locks of faded rainbows as the clouds moved away from the sun. It's so noticeable. Many times she has tried cutting it short but the next morning it always returns to its 'perfect' mint condition form.
"There she is!"
An arrow flies past her head.
"Imbecile! You aren't trying to kill her!"
As if they could. The wagon is weighing her down and they are catching up. Gwendolyn jumped onto the back of the pinto mustang and unlatched his harness, allowing the other to drive the wagon the opposite way, towards her pursuers. Hopefully the painted mare will be unharmed.
She spurred the sides of her steed with the heel of her boots to run faster down the road. The border is up ahead. They were almost in the territory. She can hear them catching up again. She closed her eyes, praying that she will escape somehow.
….
…
…
A static buzz fills the air and sparking electricity brushed right past. One of the men yells in pain as something stops her horse. A low comforting voice was speaking. She lifted her head, brushing some hair from her face.
Before her was a monster. A very large one at that. He was covered in white fur and dressed in gold and purple robes. He even had a cape, making his broad form even more intimidating.
Behind her was a young woman with red hair and blue scaled skin fighting off the men who decided it was wise to start bringing out some swords. Did she pass the border without realizing.
"Are you alright madam? You were riding at such speeds, I was sure you did not hear us call out due to the wind in your ears." The monster resembling a goat but had a lion's tail spoke with concern and not reprimanding.
"I apologize. Excuse me, I need to find my brother."
"Where did you see him last?"
"The forest. To keep him safe I told him to run."
She felt a wave weakness in her legs. The magic stretches thin. It was similar to exhaustion. Never had she pushed to find her body's limits before and now it was giving out. Strong arms catch her when she started falling. Looking up, she saw the face of the armoured fish woman.
The woman grins and sets her down easy. "Watch it there miss. I will search for your brother. What does he look like?"
"Red eyes and light brown hair grown out to his chin."
She nods and rushed off into the shadowy forest. The other monster sits down beside her, a concerned expression on his face. "I hate to pry but, what are you doing on the border?" He had this look in his green eyes. Kindness and worry. It compelled her to not lie to him. It would be bad to lie to this man regardless. She knew who he was.
Gwendolyn recounted the past, starting from their father's death. It felt like so long ago. She and Chara lost track of time in that mansion. She spoke of how kind and generous Gregory was at first before he became obsessed with his work. Eventually he convinced himself that he had the perfect test subjects right in his grasp. Thinking it best, she left out what he did to her.
The monster beside her seemed to notice that she wasn't saying everything but left her be. She was giving him a generous amount of information already. It didn't take much longer for fast footsteps to be heard as the ruby eyes thirteen year old bursts from the trees. He dropped the suitcase he was carrying before tackling her to the ground.
"Idiot! How could you be so brave! Is it not a man's job to protect the girl?!" Angry or happy tears rolled down his cheeks like furious streams. Her thin arm circle his waist while the other strokes his head. He cried into her ceramic hardened chest. It is a shame her embraces are no longer considered comfortable.
Chara didn't seem to care. He never did. For that she was grateful. When he stopped crying, she wiped away the drops clinging to his bottom lashes. She smiled and kissed his forehead.
The fish woman grins. "I like this kid's spirit Asgore! I can totally recruit him."
"He is far too young for that Undyne. That aside, allow us to take you to the city. I doubt you can ride in that condition."
Undyne lifted her up bridal style and carried her to a carriage. She sets her down and tossed a suitcase she had been carrying inside. Chara, holding the other suitcase, was helped up by Asgore. Her brother has not yet reached his growth spurt so he was rather short for his age. This carriage was also larger than human made ones.
Gwendolyn pondered if all monsters were big in size. The carriage ride was quiet while her brother sleep, hands clinging to her. Her gaze stared out the window, seeing the normal but odd houses. Houses that had different sized doors and heights. A quaint village for monsters of all kinds. She reached out and touched the glass with a gloved hand.
"Do you like what you see?" Asgore asks.
A small smile tugged at her lips. "Yes."
"What is your names girl?"
"I am….Gwendolyn Fairchild, ad he is Chara Fairchild."
The dark green eyes widened in recognition. "What are the princess and prince of Gardenia doing all the way out here?!" She covers Chara's ears to block out the loud voice. "Apologies. I was surprised."
She nods and leans back in her cushioned seat. "We are running. Father died and we can not take the throne. Chara is too young. It didn't matter at first. None of us wanted it. Advisor Ian has that role now. Our uncle took us in but it turned out he was a madman."
Asgore shook his head. "I can not have you living like commoners. You deserve the life you are meant to live."
"Pardon?"
"You can live me and my family within the castle." He smiled brightly at her.
"No, we couldn't possibly-"
"Nonsense. As a fellow noble, I want to assist you. Gardenia has always been an ally to us."
"If… you insist."
The ride fell into silence once more until they reached the city. Brick houses lined the cobblestone streets. Monsters bustled about but so did some humans. All of them looked happy. She watched the faces of the humans change with their expressions. Her eyes sting with phantom tears as she thought of how she will no longer make such expressions herself. This calm mask won't even allow her to yell.
Her voice was the only thing she can use to express herself.
The castle was high in the alps. She saw it as they took a bridge over a river. The trail followed the river until it merged with a wider road. She listened as the scratch of dirt gave way to rumbling cobblestone and concrete. As the carriage got higher, she saw red brick houses and mansions. Asgore tells her that this is the wing district. Named for being closer to the sky.
It was where the higher ranking monsters lived. People who worked under the royal family took up the majority of the residents while at the base of the mountain range was the city for middle class that eventually fades out into town and farmland that she had seen before. It was a beautiful country. Monsters do not tear apart the land and they keep the wilderness and green hills pure of any construction. She respected that.
The road winds up the side of a tall hill. She takes in the beautiful castle as he pass through the red brick gatehouse. This was the first of six levels of the castle. From what it looked like, the castle shrinks the taller it goes.
She and her brother are helped out off the carriage and are lead through the courtyard. There stairs on the left and right. Asgore begins talking about the castle lay out. Steps on the right lead into a hall going along the right side of the castle. They go up the left stairs and walk down the longer upper courtyard. It stood high over the first.
Two separate buildings lined the solid path. The right was the knights building and the left was the recreational area. Undyne was special and managed to land being a captain as a strong woman. The library must be quite large to take up all of the building's space.
The kitchens and coiling stairs going up towers helped the servant move between floors were located in the main building that was connected to the knights building.
Undyne leaves to her building. That was the only way to enter the first floor at this level. They walk up another set of stairs going straight up to amber wooden doors under a pale red arch. The main entrance leads to the servant rooms but they are lead up the stair case to the right. They go up another floor to the guest rooms.
"Feel free to pick a room. My son has the larger one at the end of the hall." He stands against the wall to wait. She carries her things to the first door on the left. The colors of the rooms were all of some sort of violet hues. She liked it. It matched her new color scheme.
She opens her suitcase and hangs up her spare dress and puts away her under clothes and nightgown. There was a queen sized bed with the headboard against the back wall between two windows. The duvet and pillows were blue and white. A bookcase was on the right and her wardrobe on the left. Curiously there was no furniture or decoration on the south wall. Only the door.
Gwendolyn leaves to check on Chara's room. His room was completely bathed in red hues and his bed was smaller in size. Once again there was nothing on the door side wall. "Ready to join the King? He still has another two floors if I counted correctly."
"Of course!"
She held her brother's hand as they follow Asgore to the next floor. There was much more here. The color of this floor was marble white in contrast to the gold she has seen in the others. He shows them the living room, dressing room, and sun room to the left of the stairwell. Across was his and the queen's bedroom. He walked them over to a hall leading towards a large room at the end. A long dining room was on the left now and a study to the right. A second room was followed but all he said was that it was off limits.
The large room she saw was in fact a two story throne room. Above the two large thrones and one slightly smaller pushed to the back until needed. The balconey was small and seemed to be more of a storage space than anything. She looked around at the space in front of the thrones. "I assume balls and parties are hosted on this floor?"
"You will be correct. My wife and son must be in the gardens behind the castle. I would like to introduce you too them. Follow me." And so they followed the king of monsters down the steps again and outside to an archway with a path leading down the hill. The garden was a large space surrounded by walls only slightly shorter than Asgore himself.
A pavilion of marble stone was in the right corner closest to them. Past that were many types of colorful flowers proceeded by a hedge mage. Asgore takes them to the pavilion where she can hear the laughing of a female.
"Asgore? Why are you so late?"
"Father!" She looked out from behind his back. "Who's that?"
She steps forward with her brother. There was a woman and young boy a little shorter than Chara at a table. A silver tea set was sitting out along with some pie. "These two will be staying with us. Something unfortunate has occurred in their life and are unable to return. You know of the Fairchild family that rules the island off the coast correct? As an alley, I could not just sit idly by."
Gwendolyn curtsied and Chara bows at the waist. "We promise not to be a burden." The siblings recite. To her surprise, the small goat monster rushed her brother and hugged him.
"Does that mean I have a brother and sister now?!"
She knelt and smiled faintly though she wish she could make it look as genuine as she felt. "You may view us how ever you please little prince."
"I'm Asriel. What are your names?"
"Gwendolyn"
"Chara"
Toriel was very kind and sympathetic to their situation. She offered pie that she made herself and it did something she couldn't quite understand. She could taste the cinnamon butterscotch flavor but not only that. Magic. It intertwined with hers and her soul absorbed it. She felt full instead of empty. Perhaps it was just because of it being monster food.
She spent the rest of the day talking and getting to know the Dreemurr family more. Night eventually arrived and thus her new life begins in a unfamiliar place. She will need to be careful as to not arouse suspicion. An abomination like her would surely be thrown out immediately.
She will endure.
For her brother she will do anything.
A/N So I was reading a story on Archive of Our own and got inspired to write something. I am a sucker for fairytale romances. This is basically medieval times but slightly Victorian in fashion and what not. The king's children and the manga named Antique Romance are my muses. Hope you enjoy this!