"I'm tired… So tired…
I don't want to be here…"
These thoughts reverberated around Vellas head as the hands of time moved slowly on. She reached for her hood and pulled it over her mouse brown hair, letting her pigtails poke out and fall over her shoulders.
"Mount Ebott isn't far" she mumbled as she trudged through the forrest. It was a damp autum day and the leaves stuck to the bottom of her shoes as she walked on. Tears stung at her eyes and the cool air chilled her to the bone.
"It won't be long" she sighed. Reaching into her pocket Vella pulled out the photo of her and Frisk sat in the yellow flower patch at the village. They were making flower crowns and laughing. The nearby castle dominated the background. Back then they had been best friends. Inseparable. Both their parents had died in the war so they were left at the orphanage. It had all changed when people found out Frisk had the "reset" ability. The ability to reset things to how they once were. Frisk was then hated by the village. They all wanted him to reset back to the war so things could be changed, done differently, less lives lost. Frisk didn't. So the village scorned him and by extension so was Vella. She would often find him hiding in his room. Too scared to come out. And yet whenever she needed it Frisk would protect Vella. He promised he'd always be there for her. That one day they'd run away together and escape that miserable village.
Then one day… he jumped.
"He didn't even say goodbye…" Vella held back the tears and kept walking.
CRACK
The sound of a twig breaking behind her alerted Vella to someone behind her…
Following
Stalking
Preying on her.
She could feel people watching her, hear their feet crunching on dead leaves, feel their hot breath in the autumn cool.
Vela took two deep breaths and pushed the photo back into her pocket. She would be in the plains soon and then at the base of the mountain. She held on to the bottom seem of her skirt to stop her hands shaking.
"I can't let them know I'm afraid" she thought "especially now Frisk isn't here…"
The edge of the forest was in sight now. If she could just hold out until then she would have a chance at outrunning them.
10 steps left…
She took a breath to calm her nerves
8 steps left
The people behind her got faster…
5 steps…
She let go of her skirt to free her arms
3 steps
"I'm so close" she thought
1
She bolted into the plains running straight into the patches of long grass that waved above her head. She hoped this would cover her tracks or better yet loose her followers.
Weeds scratched her legs and tears stung her eyes but she couldn't stope now…
"Ain't Frisk coming to save you?!" she heard a girl called Jane shout.
Jane was the daughter of the village leader. She'd been one of Frisks main attackers while he was at the village. And unfortunately for Vella she was also one of the fastest runners out of all the village children.
But Vella couldn't worry about that now… she had to keep going. She had to reach the mountain.
Vella could feel someone grasping at her hood so she pulled it further forward and sprinted.
"Just a little further…" Vella heard a voice she didn't recognise. "You need to run a bit more… to the mountain…" the voice sounded sad and tired… like Vella… "Run" the voice strained "please… we need you… Frisk nee-" the voice was cut off by the screams of Jane and the others behind Vella. She turned to look and a wall of vines had sprouted stopping Vellas followers from getting any closer.
Jane was reaching through a gap in the vines.
"I'll kill you Vella! She shouted "I'll kill you!"
"Not if I do it first" Vella thought as she started running to the base of the mountain again.
Vella entered the cavern and looked around. Wreaths of golden flowers from the village were left around the hole that lead to the inside of the mountain.
"Hypocrites" Vella said examining a couple more of the wreaths.
Vella turned her attention to the hole itself. It was long and dark. She could just about make out a spec of yellow down at the bottom but surely at this height she would die.
"I hope the stories are true…" Vella mumbled "That monsters eat children… then when they eat what's left of me they'll come up and attack them all."
Vella took out the photo and a pen before scrawling a note on the back.
"I hope you're all happy.
I hope the monsters attack.
Hypocties."
She left the note with a wreath that was in the centre facing the entrance.
Taking one last look into the depths Vella took a deep breath…
And jumped.