Chapter 3

Charlotte knelt next to Frederick, using a bit of fabric torn from her chemise to stem the bleeding on his forehead. The cut wasn't deep, but it still bled like it was.

"That was a fool thing to do."

Frederick eyed her. "Defending a lady's honor isn't foolish. That undead vermin grabbed your ass. And the only reason you didn't round on him was because you weren't sure where to hit him."

"Not the point." She let her hand drop when his came up to hold the fabric in place. "Where's Nacarat?"

He smirked. "In my shirt and very unhappy about it."

The fae of flame's tiny head of red hair popped out from under his shirt collar, mask off. "It's my job to protect you! I can't do that like this!"

Frederick tapped the top of her head gently with one finger. "You don't need to be exploding into your full form in an engine room filled with people. We can wait this out. It's not the stickiest situation we've ever been in." He looked around the brig of the ghost ship, which, despite its fetid nature, was still very secure. The interior glowed a bit, which kept them from being completely in the dark. He sat up a bit and grimaced at the sound of his jacket coming away from the filthy wall. "Well, physically speaking it is, but still not the worst."

Charlotte sat back on her heels. "And how often are you getting yourself kidnapped?"

Frederick shrugged. "Not often. When I'm out in the middle of nowhere, I'm not often recognized as a prince. I'm just some human, which has its advantages. But now, the advantage is that they won't hurt me too much in order to collect a ransom." He sighed. "At least they're keeping us together."

Charlotte looked around the interior of the brig. "They have too. None of the other cells are containment worthy." She frowned. "So what do we do?"

Frederick's mouth pressed into a thin line. "First, we behave ourselves so they'll keep us together." He smiled wryly for a moment. "If that doesn't work, go full swoon at being separated." He sighed. "We need to wait until we're on the ground again before we attempt anything."

Charlotte sighed. "I don't understand the Dalion is filled with riches. Why go for the engines?"

"These are ghost pirates, not your typical air raiders. They don't need the cash. But your engine is a technological marvel. There will be people who want to steal it, or at least the design. I'm betting that they were hired to take the engine."

She shivered and moved to sit a little closer to him.

Frederick smiled and put an arm around her, pulling her into the warmth of his body. "I know you all of two months and look at the trouble you've gotten me into."

Chara rolled her eyes, shivering. "Oh yes. Two months of hanging out totally leads to kidnapping by ghost pirates. It was destined to happen."

Frisk rubbed her arm a bit, pushing the fabric of her suit jacket around. "You really are cold, you're trembling." He held her hand. "And a little clammy." He touched her face and caught the fear in her eyes. "It's okay to be scared. We're in a scary situation." He lifted Chara into his lap, and moved her so that her head rested on his shoulder.

She shivered in his arms. "I'm not a helpless damsel."

Frisk hugged her tightly. "And yet, you're letting me hold you."

She pressed her face against his chest, eyes squeezed shut. She took a deep, shuddering breath, but couldn't hide the tremble in her voice. "So historians in Agartha are adventurers?"

He gently rocked her side to side. "I'm no Nathan Drake… Wait. Was Uncharted still a thing when you fell?"

Chara shivered. "Yeah. Remember Chloe? She has her own game in the series."

"That's cool. So yeah. I'm no Nathan Drake. He's damn near indestructible and the last time I took a fall like the ones he shrugs off had me laid up for a month. But ancient cities and tombs filled with puzzles, and the occasional bad guy trying to steal artifacts for monetary or magical value is a thing."

"And your mother is worried that you'll just up and leave for the surface for knowing me? I'd be more worried you'd disappear on some half cocked expedition."

Frisk scowled. "None of my expeditions are 'half cocked.' I know damn well what I'm doing."

She let out a breath and clutched at him. "Even now?"

He lowered his face to her hair. "Even now," he whispered. "Try to get some sleep. I know it's not anywhere near night time for us, but you'll feel better if you're rested. I'll be here. I won't leave you."

Charlotte nodded and closed her eyes, eventually falling into a fitful sleep, her hand still trembling where it rested on his chest. When he was sure Charlotte was out, he tapped Nacarat on the head.

"I want you to stay with her."

"Okay." Nacarat crawled out from the collar of his shirt and jumped onto Chara's blue jacket.

He raised an eyebrow. "What? No arguments?"

Nacarat shook her head as she pulled her mask into place. "Of course not." She frowned sadly. "I was afraid that you might stop liking her when she got scared."

Frederick shook his head. "What should she be right now other than scared? This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to her. At least she has us to help her through. I nearly got us both killed the first time I was this frightened."

Nacarat smiled under her mask. "You like her."

"Yes. Yes I do."

Nacarat clapped both hands together softly. "Oh good! Your parents will be so pleased!"

"So my suspicions that she was being thrown at me were correct, huh? And you didn't tell me?" He smiled and tapped her head. "You little traitor."

Nacarat swayed happily from side to side.

Frederick sighed and changed the subject. "I'm betting they'll separate Chara and I. So stay with her, no matter what might happen to me. You and I can always find each other, and if you're with her, I can find the both of you."

Nacarat nodded. She toed open the breast pocket on Charlotte's jacket and slid inside. Frederick leaned forward a little, cuddling Charlotte, and closed his eyes.

An hour later, two of the rotted, undead pirates shambled down to the brig. "Wake up, pretties! We be at our destination."

Charlotte shuddered against him.

"It's all right. Come on." Frederick helped her find her feet before standing himself.

Charlotte gripped his hand tightly as she followed the corpse leading them up and out of the hold. They stepped onto a deck that was surprisingly intact and well maintained. Two of the pirates were in the process of scrubbing it down with sudsy deck brushes. The captain of the ship, a pirate who'd become completely skeletal a long time ago, gestured toward the gangplank. It was connected to a dock on the side of a tall, decrepit tower. Beyond the tower lay a long dead city in ruins.

"Take them both to Madam Glass," he wheezed.

The pirate who'd taken them captive, the captain's first mate, waved at Frederick. "The boy's Prince Frederick. We keep him and the ransom will be pretty heavy."

Charlotte immediately clutched Frederick's arm, holding on tightly.

The skeletal captain turned to his first mate. "Ye should have left him, ya scurvy dog! The Dreemurrs are pooka! And they won't be handing over a ransom for their son. Only a solid helping of magical fire the likes of which would destroy us all! Leave him with Madam Glass. He can be her problem instead of ours."

There was a murmur through the crew, some agreeing with the Captain and some with the first mate.

Frederick put his face in Charlotte's hair. "When I say go, we run for the gangplank."

"Madam Glass ain't payin' us for a prince," the first mate sneered.

The captain pointed at his first mate as the pirates arranged themselves around the man they supported. "She ain't payin' us for a girlie, either, ya pox. She wanted that ship!"

Frederick stepped Charlotte back toward the gangplank.

The first mate gestured in Charlotte's general direction. "That girlie is the one who made the engine! That's Featherstone!"

The captain waved him off dismissively. "Featherstones are skeletal homunculi. That's a flesh and blood human!"

"You cur!" a pirate who looked to be more ghost than skeleton yelled. "You're the one who stuck us with a bad pair! We stormed that ship for nothing!"

Frederick stepped Charlotte back toward the gangplank again, getting them near the ship's rail.

One of the pirates scrubbing the deck, lifted his deck brush, and cracked a shipmate across the back of the skull.

"Go!" Frederick pulled Charlotte along with him, both of them flying down the plank while the pirates slammed into each other, two masses of green glow clashing against each other on the ship. Frederick dashed into the white, stone tower and came to a quick halt to keep from falling down a hole in the wooden floor. Charlotte skidded to a halt behind him, spotted the stairs to the right, and pulled Frederick toward them. They descended quickly and deeply into the tower, the sound of the fight above dissipating. At the bottom of the stairs, they found an open doorway, the wooden door long having disappeared from its hinges.

Going through it put them on a remains of cobbled street shadowed by tall, white buildings on both sides. Windows, long empty of glass, gazed down on them sullenly amid the vines and moss that covered the stonework. Where grass and trees hadn't pushed themselves through the stone, small ponds of rain water rested. Frisk looked up at the tower, the ship still hovered there, but the green clashing appeared to have stopped.

"We're sitting ducks if they come down this way looking for us." He took Charlotte's hand. "We'll go through the buildings."

She nodded and followed him into the first building, the remains of a hotel. The interior was not too shabby in appearance. The lobby, while very dusty and covered with vegetation, appeared to otherwise be in good condition. Faded green chairs and couches were arranged around two fireplaces on either side of the lobby. They ran across a marble tile floor for the front desk and went around it, aiming for the door into a kitchen littered with dishes, pots, and pans that all seemed to have been thrown to the floor by an earthquake.

The back door of the kitchen let out onto a brick laid alley lit by the evening sun. The alley abutted a dried up riverfront. All that remained was a small creek running down the middle of a grassy plain. To the left was a stairway down to what was once the water level. To the right was a stone bridge that went across the dry river bed. Beyond that was a residential district. Frederick walked to the edge of the alley and looked up. He could make out the tower, but not the ship. It'd left the tower.

"Oh hell."

Charlotte looked up. "The ship is gone. How likely do you think it is that it's looking for us?"

He glanced at her and back up at the sky. "Always assume very. We need to get away from here, but in a way that we won't be seen by the ship." He sighed. "Unfortunately, we have the distinct disadvantage of being alive, and undead can spot that miles away."

Charlotte pointed down the way. "See the stone bridge? It's naturally cool. It will mask us if we make for it on the level of the riverbed."

Frederick nodded. "Let's go."

They went down the stairs to the dry river bed and ran for the bridge while staying close to the wall. They got to bridge and hid under it just as the ship crested the buildings behind them and flew overhead. Getting a real look at it for the first time, the ship didn't look anything like intact. The entire bottom of the haul had been ripped out and pieces of it hung by the sheer willpower of the wood to stay together alone. Tattered green sails fluttered uselessly as the ship flew past. Members of the crew lined either side of the ship, looking over the side to spot their missing captives. The ship turned in the air, a long and wide half circle, before disappearing again behind the tall buildings. Frederick and Charlotte made another dash for it, sticking close to the bridge's foundations.

Chara glanced back for a moment and then pushed Frisk around the side of the nearest tower foundation. Breathing heavily, she snuck a glance back, the ship was coming around again, but that wasn't what forced her to hide.

"There's a green glow in the buildings behind us! Some of the pirates are on the ground!"

Frederick snuck a peek and spotted a walking corpse, sword in hand, walking by a window. He looked to the sun as it turned, the moon beginning to come into view.

"Oh hell. We're running out of time." He looked up and smiled. "Look!"

Charlotte followed his gaze and saw an opening high above them. A door in the wall of the bridge foundation. "How do we get up there?" She looked around. "There has to be a way."

Frisk took her hand. "Trust me?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He spun her around and hefted her so that she was on his back. "Hold tight and try not to choke me." He reached for the cracks in the stone of the foundation and climbed.

Charlotte hid her face against his back. Holding onto his vest so as not to wrap her arms around his neck, she let her legs dangle to keep them out of the way. A rock crumbled under his foot, causing a slip. Charlotte pressed her mouth against the back of his neck to keep from screaming. Finding his footing, Frederick continued, reaching the doorway as the sun turned away and the moon shone brightly.

Crawling inside, he lay on the floor for a moment while Chara rolled off of him.

"What was that... about you... not being... Nathan Drake?" Charlotte managed between gasps.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position, chuckling a little as he shook his head. Charlotte sat up and pulled up her skirt, revealing her pants and her leather equipment pouch. Pulling out a flashlight, she clicked it on and looked around. The room appeared to be an empty nothing of peeling paint and a stone floor, with a door in the back. Chara's stomach growled loudly and she blushed a bright red.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Sorry."

Frisk stood, brushing himself off. "There's nothing to apologize for. The last we ate was breakfast." He pointed to the door. "We need to keep moving. Let's check out where that goes."

Chara nodded and handed him the flashlight. Frisk tried the door and it let into a dark stairway, clicking off the light for a moment, he checked for the tell tale green glow. Not seeing it, he turned the light back on and proceeded down the stairs. The stairs seemed to go on and on, and Frisk was sure that he was further down than he'd climbed up. Chara held his hand, careful to be quiet as they descended and kept looking back up, eyes watching the top of the stairs for a green glow. When they reached the last step, there wasn't a landing, just another door.

Frisk looked the door over for a moment before carefully opening it. It opened onto a platform in a huge cavern. Four of the bridge's foundations extended down into the cavern, massive towers of stone with an entire town attached to them. Houses and shops wrapped around the pillars with stairs leading up and down between different levels. Bridges hung between the pillars, connecting the town on its level rather than forcing everyone up to a stone walkway above them. All of the buildings were lit, glowing a happy yellow and lighting the cavern.

Finding a set of stairs, Frisk and Chara descended from the platform and down to the buildings below them. Humans, chimera, and various fae types moved about and around them as if they weren't strange in the least. Looking down to the cavern floor revealed more houses, these ones made of wood with steel roofs.

"Where are we?" Chara whispered.

Frisk looked around. "I think we're in a mining town." He handed her the flashlight back and nodded for her to follow him into a shop. The chubby, lavender furred, rabbit woman behind the counter gave him a smile. "Haven't seen you around before. Are you from Waterfall?"

Frederick shook his head. "New Home."

Her smile widened. "Well, I'll be! We don't often get you fancy folk here in Snowdin. How'd you end up here?"

Charlotte sighed. "It's a long story. Where can we find a place to stay and some food to eat?"

The rabbit woman gestured to the left. "If you head out the door and go left around the corner you'll be at my sister's inn. If you go down one flight, there's a bar with a decent grill. The food isn't fancy, but it's good, home cooking."

"Thank you," Charlotte breathed.

Frederick frowned for a moment. "Why is the town called Snowdin if there isn't any snow here?"

The rabbit shrugged. "Beats me. It's always been called that. Maybe it's the original founder's name, or something similar."

He shrugged with her. "Works for me. Thank you very much." He took Charlotte's hand and they went back out of the shop. "Food first?"

"Yes. Please." She paused. "Do you have money on you, because I don't."

Frederick smiled. "We're good."

"You were carrying money around with you on the ship."

He shrugged. "I carry anything I might need at a moment's notice on me."

"You have a magic bag of some sort, don't you?"

Frisk smiled and took her arm, hooking it over his to escort her along. They found the bar, an old school tavern with booths lining the wall opposite the bar. The only person to notice them come in was the waitress, a strange looking, yellow bird woman wearing a white apron with the words 'Let's Eat!' embroidered in pink on it. She gestured for them to find a booth and came over just after they sat down.

"Tonight's special is meatloaf. We also have cubed steak in gravy. Both come with big helpings of mashed potatoes and green beans, and both cost two gold apiece. The water here is terrible, so you should drink from the bar."

Charlotte chuckled and the waitress winked at her.

"What'll it be, darlin'?"

"I'll have the cubed steak." Chara looked toward the bar. "If you have a fizzy pop, I'd really like one."

The waitress nodded. "Cherry, orange, or grape?"

Charlotte smiled brightly. "Orange."

"Spiked?"

Charlotte shook her head. "No, thank you."

The waitress looked to Frederick. "And you, honey?"

He sat back, relaxing in the booth. "I'll have two plates of the cubed steak and one mug of whatever beer is on the tap."

The waitress blinked at him. "Two? You that hungry?"

"Me? No." He tapped the table. "Nacarat. Come on out."

The fae of flame climbed out of her hiding place in Charlotte's jacket to fly up and land on the table, her bat wings drooping over her shoulders.

Frederick reached over and gently poked the fairy's stomach, earning a giggle. "The second plate's for her."

The waitress nodded. "Well aren't you a little cutie! I'll be back with your food."

Charlotte stared at the fairy. "You were in my pocket?!"

Nacarat sat on the table. "Frederick asked me to stay with you in case we were separated. He and I can always find each other."

She looked between the two. "How does that work?"

"Nacarat imprinted on me when she hatched." He smiled apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck, and looked surprisingly genuine. "Sorry. I'm not sure how it works. I just always know where she is and can home in on her location to get to her and she can do the same for me."

The fae shrugged. "It's a magical bond."

They both fell silent for a moment, before Chara leaned forward. "Is it just me, or is it weird that we're in a cavern in an even bigger cavern?"

Frisk nodded. "Yeah. That hit me too." He frowned, reaching across the table to take her hand. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, smiling a little. "Yes. Thank you."

He sighed, relieved. "We should be safe and since New Home isn't unheard of here, we should be able to get back pretty quickly."

Chara looked around the bar. "You don't want to stay here for a while? I mean, you didn't even know this place existed. I bet they have lots of stories to collect."

Frisk smiled warmly and squeezed her hand once before letting go so there was room on the table for their arriving food. The waitress set down their plates before handing them silverware wrapped in paper napkins, including a small set for Nacarat.

She frowned at him. "What?"

He looked up at the waitress. "Thank you." He waited until the bird woman walked away. "Here we are, in what could still possibly be mortal danger, and you're remembering my profession."

Chara shrugged as she picked up her orange soda. "It's what you do." She took a long sip and sighed gratefully. "Oh yeah. That's the stuff. Almost as good as chocolate."

Frisk smiled as he dug into his potatoes. "I wonder who this 'Madam Glass' is. Does the name ring a bell?"

Chara shook her head. "No. The name doesn't sound familiar at all. But we'll need to find out who she is if we want to know why she's so keen on my engine."

Frisk sighed. "Let's do something incredibly ill advised."

Chara frowned as he waved down the waitress.

"Whatcha need, honey?"

"Have you ever heard of someone with the last name Glass? Would be a woman."

The bird woman thought about it for a moment, tapping the tip of her beak with one, feathery finger. "I can't say that I have. But I know who you can ask. Papyrus Featherstone. That's if he's here. He's usually in New Home. Just take the lift on the other side of this pillar down to the ground level and walk the main street. You'll see a cabin decorated in colored lights on the left, just past the library. He knows everyone in Snowdin."

'Papyrus?' Chara mouthed. She and Frisk both stared at each other from across the table.

Frisk shook himself. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." The waitress wandered off.

Frisk leaned toward Chara. "Are you sure you've never been here before?"

"Yes." She pursed her lips for a moment thinking. "I mean, Sans and Papyrus have always kept me in New Home, but Paps would leave on occasion and be gone for days or weeks at a shot. Maybe he came here?"

"Let's check the place out before going to the inn."

Chara nodded. They finished their meals and paid while Nacarat flew up to sit on Charlotte's shoulder. Heading around the pillar, they found the lift, a crystal and ironwork elevator that was attached to the side of the bridge's massive, tower foundation. Taking it down to ground level, they found that, despite it getting late, Snowdin was still busy. Humans, monsters, chimera hybrids, and fae of all sorts wandered the streets. Here, the homes were made of wood and built like cabins in a forest, though no trees grew in this massive place. Walking down the main street, they found the library easily enough. Next to it stood a two story cabin with twinkling, colored lights. The windows were dark, but were frosted a little, meaning that the interior was warm.

They both stood in front of it for a moment, staring.

"Chara?"

"Yes, Frisk?"

"That looks like your house. I mean, exactly like your house. And we aren't in New Home."

Chara nodded. She walked up the steps, reaching out for the door and stopped. She turned, looking to Frisk. "Try the door."

"Okay." He stepped up to the porch. "Why?"

"Because the house in New Home doesn't require me to have a key. I can enter at will. For anyone else, it's just locked."

Frisk shrugged and reached out, trying the door. The knob turned halfway and stopped, locked. He stepped back and gestured for her to try. Chara grasped the knob. It turned all the way in her hand and the door clicked open. Pushing the door, she stepped inside, reaching over out of habit to flip the switch and turned on the lights.

What greeted her was a replica of the house in New Home. The wooden floor of the cabin was covered with a large, brown patterned rug. An overstuffed, caramel colored couch and cherry wood coffee table rested on the rug in between two leather chairs. Hanging over the coffee table was an electric chandelier made of shed deer antlers. All of that faced a large, stone, fire place.

To the right of the fireplace was an entrance into a white painted kitchen with a small, white painted, dining table made for four. To the left was a set of stairs, leading to the second floor. Frisk headed up the stairs and found a long hallway with three doors.

Chara followed him, opening the first door to reveal a plain room with exposed wood beams, a simple metal desk, simple wood chest of drawers, and bed that was little more than a mattress on the floor. Chara cringed a little at the dusty interior and the mass of unmade sheets on the bed. "This is definitely Papyrus' room."

She tried the next door and found a room painted blue and a bed with a frame carved like a red dragon in flight. A book shelf filled with all sorts of fantasy novels stood next to a desk covered in pewter miniatures, some painted and some in the process of being painted. The open closet door revealed lots of clothing, neatly hung. "This is Sans' room for sure."

Chara looked around, and noticed that Frisk wasn't with her. Heading back into the hall, she saw the last door open. She looked inside and blushed brightly. Frisk stood in the middle of a room with thick, cream carpeting, a large area rug in a complicated pattern of flowers over it. A crystal chandelier hung over a four poster bed, heavily carved with roses and vines, the vines painted green and the roses painted every color of the rainbow. The bed itself was covered by a luxurious quilt of golden silks and a silk pillows. White, night stands with gold accents flanked the bed. A wardrobe, dresser with a mirror, and desk matched the night stands. Thick, floral curtains draped over the windows. The room was easily twice the size of the other two put together.

"This is your room," Frisk said.

Chara nodded.

"When you said that your brothers demanded you have the best of everything, you meant it. There isn't a bedroom in the palace this nice." He turned and noticed her blush. "Are you all right?"

She looked away. "You're in my room."

Frisk rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. "Oh." He stepped up to her, invading her personal space. "Look at you, going all native. Since when did an American girl care about a male friend being in her room?"

She continued to look away. "It's not like my brothers are here to chaperone."

"I suppose not." He stepped away. "Again. I don't know that I like you enough to impinge on your honor." He turned a slow circle, taking in the room. "This is obviously a replica of your home and one that at least Papyrus uses. Though by the looks of the miniatures in Sans' room, he comes here too." He sighed. "Let's take the opportunity to get cleaned up and rested while we're relatively safe. If I know your brothers, the house likely has other protections."

Frisk reached out and took her hand. "Do you want the bathroom first?"

Chara blinked and then shook her head. "There are two baths. The one down stairs and the one attached to this room."

He smirked. "With your brothers spoiling you so much, your future husband is going to have a hard time keeping up."

She continued to blush, not looking at him, and Frisk sighed.

He headed for the door. "I'll see you in a little bit."