It was a shame to say that Toriel had never been able to master her innate magical ability by the age of 23. Gerson always felt like she was holding back, even when she did manage to hold a flame in her hands. It was then that Gerson was confronted with a realization: fire didn't match the Toriel he knew, and yet it was her magic.
However, she had grown into her own and he couldn't be prouder of the princess. She had started to run the kingdom while her mother was away. Neither the Dreemurrs nor the Mysterias had given up this war. Gerson was sure Toriel would've ended it if she were given control of the war, but she wasn't. Someday, she would be in control, however, and then maybe he could finally rest and be known as someone other than a soldier and warrior.
As of right now, he was with Queen Furiona in her study, preparing for travel to another battle. She was reading a book of ancient spells at her desk while Gerson stood near the fireplace. Furiona often read old tomes in order to get the upper hand.
"Have you ever thought about the monsters who wrote these tomes?" Furiona asked, without looking up from her book.
Gerson walked towards her methodically, thinking as he walked. "I may have given it a thought or two, but that doesn't bring them back from the dead."
Furiona let out a little laugh. "No. That's not what I mean." She stood up from her desk and walked towards him. She held the book in her hands, carefully brushing the dusty cover. "I have read through this book again and again. I have tried to cast every spell within its pages and I have only been able to cast about half of them."
"The Uncastable Spells," Gerson repeated under his breath. "I have only heard rumors."
She handed the book to him, open to a certain page. "Look upon them, Gerson. Flip through them and read them."
As he looked at the pages Furiona had opened the book to, he couldn't help but notice the wording and actions of the spells didn't seem any different from the ones that were castable. They were phrased the same and were written by the same hand. And yet, they were different in some unknown, minuscule way. A way that he didn't know how.
"Do you ever wonder if our ancestors were different from us?" Furiona asked.
"They must have been," Gerson said with a certainty he didn't used to have. "And yet the way to use magic is the same, just like how we look different from each other despite being the same race."
"Which leads to the startling realization that we have been losing our magical abilities over generations," Furiona stated.
Gerson thought for a while. "And possibly gaining new abilities of our very own."
Furiona shook her head. "As optimistic as always, Gerson."
"It's what keeps me fighting."
She sat down in a chair and stared into the fire. Gerson carefully placed the book on her desk before standing beside her. She was rubbing her forehead, full of stress and unease. As ferocious as she was in battle, it didn't make her impervious to nervousness and worries. She often called him up to her study when she needed someone with a level head.
"How is Toriel's magic?" She asked.
"She has been learning," Gerson replied, knowing that if he told the entire truth, Furiona would be disappointed. "And, if I'm honest, she is becoming quite good with it."
Furiona smiled and her eyes gained a twinkle of pride. "What is her magic like?"
"She is able to wield fire," he explained. "Toriel will be a comforting light for her people as she grows."
"And a powerful fighter." Furiona smiled. "I should order workers to make more training dummies. With her magic, I expect that she's burned quite a few in training."
Gerson didn't say anything and just smiled. How misguided his queen was in the ways of magic. He had not used a single training dummy with Toriel. It would've broken her heart to hurt fictional monsters. As she always said, fighting was never the answer.
Furiona sighed. "Thank you, Gerson, for doing this and for coming up here."
"No, thank you, my queen," Gerson replied, bowing before her. "If I may, I shall return to my quarters."
She nodded. "Goodnight, Gerson." She stared into the fire, her eyes already filled with the flames of war.
With that, the tortoise monster left the study, knowing in his gut that something was going to go wrong and change life as he knew it.
