A Hero and a Garden
Once upon a time… there was a princess in a tower.
Every morning, without fail, she would sing.
Her voice carried throughout the kingdom.
Rumors of the princess spread, but nobody dared to save her.
For everyone knew of the witch in the tower, and what happened to all who drew near.
She ruled her realm with dark magics, summoning evil monsters to guard her tower.
Nobody would risk their life, even for the lovely princess.
Until the hero came along.
They defeated the witch's monsters.
They cut through the witch's web of magic.
They fought and they fought and they fought… all the way to the foot of the tower.
When they had made it to their destination, they found that the witch was waiting for them.
For a mysterious, centuries-old witch… she seemed to be no taller than a child.
From within the folds of her thick robes and enormous hat, the witch mocked the hero.
"What can you do with that little sword?"
"I can defeat you!"
The hero leapt forth, inflicting a long cut along the witch's left side and cutting through her robes.
The hat was blown away by the resulting gust of wind.
Upon hearing the witch's cry of pain, the hero stopped, as they had heard their voice before.
The hero carefully turned around.
They finally realized exactly who they had been fighting, and they hesitated.
A bolt of magic came down from the sky, and the earth shook…
From their perch overlooking a humble dirt road, Frisk sighed.
A short while ago, the princess of the human kingdom had vanished.
The king and his subjects searched high and low, but they could not find her no matter how hard they looked.
Seeing that the king had nearly fallen into despair, Frisk had sought an audience with him.
Frisk requested permission to seek out the princess's whereabouts and ensure her safe return.
But the king was skeptical.
If the finest knights in the land couldn't find the princess, what would a mere squire be able to accomplish?
But there was something that the squire knew, a personal secret whispered between two young friends who were seemingly inseparable…
"Ahem." came a voice that was both soft and deep.
Frisk looked down, calmly meeting the gaze of a large goat monster.
"Yes?"
"Err… howdy! Are you… the human that has been tasked with caring for the latest crop of berries?" asked the monster.
Frisk looked around, wondering if the monster was being patronizing just for the heck of it, as there were no other humans in the general vicinity… other than a human who chose not to identify as one.
But then, Frisk observed the goat man's expression.
His mouth was curled up in a smile, yet it was wavering, as if its owner were expecting a harsh reprimand.
Sensing that the monster's intent was sincere, Frisk nodded.
"Yes, that's me."
The monster exhaled with relief.
"Oh, that is certainly good news. I was not sure if I had wrote down the right address, and…"
Frisk's thoughts began to drift off as the large monster began to ramble, but they shook their head and snapped to attention when he had finished monologuing.
"I'm assuming that you're here about the berries, then?" Frisk asked.
"I… yes. Yes indeed, human. I suppose that should have been obvious, since…" the goat waved his hand to the side, but Frisk wasn't sure as to what he was referring to.
"Hm?" Frisk questioned.
The goat monster trailed off, shook his head, and walked around the base of the tower.
Frisk exited the tower through an entrance on the opposite side, and found the goat monster standing in a large patch of dirt.
"Are you a gardener, then?" asked Frisk.
The monster scrunched up his face, then shyly nodded.
Frisk exhaled with relief.
"Then I certainly could use your advice on how to get started, especially since I've never grown anything before."
And so, a quiet afternoon went by as Frisk listened to multiple long-winded explanations of produce selection, site selection, garden size, raised beds, tilling, digging, seasons, seed selection, plant size, water, fertilizer, pest management, weed management, disease management, and crop harvest.
Most of it went over Frisk's head, but they did come to realize that this gardener, Asgore, had quite the passion for the sort of task that Frisk had been saddled with.
And so, Frisk invited Asgore to visit more often… so that he could help them with said task, of course.
"AHEM. EXCUSE ME, HUMAN!?"
Frisk looked down, calmly meeting the gaze of a tall skeleton with a cape.
"Yes?" Frisk grunted.
"I… THE GREAT PAPYRUS… AM HERE… TO PICK UP AN ORDER OF BERRIES." said Papyrus the Skeleton.
"Of course, good sir. Here you are." Frisk nodded, handing over a small bag full of pink berries.
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH, HUMAN! I MUST SAY, THESE BERRIES CERTAINLY LOOK… BERRY FRESH AND CRISP! NYEH HEH HEH!"
Frisk said nothing, as they were not very fond of puns.
"HEH…"
Papyrus hesitated, and then briskly walked away.
"You know, I was actually expecting him to be rather angry, now that I think about it." Frisk muttered.
Exiting the tower through an entrance on the opposite side, Frisk looked down at the large berry bushes that were neatly lined up in rows along the dirt in from of them.
The terms were simple.
The hero had intruded upon the kingdom of monsters because they had sought to rescue someone who didn't need to be rescued.
They had killed innocent monsters who had done nothing wrong… allegedly.
To repay this offense, the hero was tasked with growing berries that were renowned for their magical properties.
The hero would not be allowed to leave the garden until their debt was repaid.
Frisk could have protested or complained… but they could tell that the witch wasn't going to take no for an answer.
They had always had a talent for magical curses, and even if Frisk had still had their sword… it wouldn't have solved the quandary before them.
And so, Frisk took a deep breath, and got to work.
"U-um… u-mm… excuse me?" came a small squeak.
Looking down, Frisk met the gaze of a small lizard monster with a lab coat, glasses, and feminine eyelashes.
"Yes?" Frisk sighed.
"I… u-um… I'm… h-here… about…. u-um…"
"Here are your berries, miss." Frisk nodded, holding out a bag full of berries that were as blue as the ocean.
The lizard woman quickly snatched the bag and scurried away.
"Yo! Can you hook me up with some berries!?" came the voice of a small monster child with a striped shirt.
Frisk nodded and handed over the bag of lime-green berries without a second word.
The monster child went on their merry way.
"I hate my life." Frisk sighed.
The would-be hero sensed that someone was watching them.
It was the witch, who was back to wearing their thick robe.
The witch used two fingers to point to their eyes, and then pointed the same fingers at Frisk.
"Message received, your highness." Frisk scoffed, rolling their eyes with annoyance.
Of course, it didn't stop the witch from making a berry request of their own.
Frisk considered dropping the bag of blood-red berries on the ground out of spite, but decided against it.
The witch was the sort of person who would take offense to that, after all.
"So… Frisk. Would you like to… talk? About anything in particular? asked Asgore.
"Not particularly." Frisk shook their head. "I'm here to do a job, and there's not much else I can do until that job is done. No sense complaining about it. I'll take care of the berry requests, and then I'll leave."
"Hm." Asgore hummed.
The two gardeners worked in silence for a while.
"Um… Frisk?"
"Yes, Asgore?"
"What do you think about m… our kingdom?"
"Hm?"
"About the pe…scenery, I mean to say."
"It's nice, I suppose. Lots of beautiful trees, and the houses all look cozy as well."
"Are you… interested? In any of those houses?"
"Why? That would imply that I'm looking for a place to stay."
"…"
"I'm not looking for a place to stay, Asgore. This isn't my kingdom… and this isn't my home."
"… I see. My apologies."
"HELLO, HUMAN!"
"Hello, Papyrus. Here are your berries."
"THANK YOU, HUMAN! I MUST SAY, YOU CERTAINLY HAVE A KNACK FOR CULTIVATING SUCH WONDERFUL BERRIES! NYEH HEH HEH!"
"…"
"…HEH."
"Was there something you needed?"
"UM… NO. NOT EXACTLY. IT'S JUST THAT…"
Papyrus hesitated, then shook his head before departing.
"If he's that angry about what I did, then what's stopping him from saying it out loud?"
When the time came for Frisk to present the next order of berries to the young lizard monster, Frisk realized that she wasn't standing along the roadside.
Instead, they found a hastily-written note, asking if the human could leave the berries on her front doorstep.
"Looks like someone forgot to tell her that I'm not allowed to leave the tower and the garden area. Oh, well…" Frisk grunted.
The human flicked the bag into the open air, and it landed on the dirt.
If the socially-awkward recluse needed the berries for her endeavors that badly, she could always just grow the berries herself.
"Yo! How's it going, dude!?"
"Monster Kid."
"Thanks for the berries!"
"Hold on…"
"Huh, what is it, dude?"
"Hm… this might be rude of me to ask… but is your name really… Monster Kid?"
"Yep!"
"I see. That's… interesting."
The witch impatiently tapped their foot, as Frisk was deliberately being slow with their order.
In response, Frisk withdrew their arm, dangling the bag a few inches out of reach.
"For goodness sake, Fr…" the witch trailed off.
Frisk smiled.
The witch began to mutter a chant under her breath… but was interrupted by a paper bag to the face.
Two seconds later, Frisk was inflicted with a bad skin rash that covered their face and neck.
"Worth it."
As Frisk and Asgore toiled in the dirt, the young human came to an epiphany.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"You really miss her, don't you?"
Asgore stiffened.
"I asked around, since I had plenty of free time between shifts."
Frisk took a deep breath.
"The people here really care for you, don't they. It's been over a decade since she passed away, and you've been mourning her ever since. That's why you adopted my old friend without any reservations."
Frisk carefully put down their watering can.
"I know you want me to stay… but I can't. There are things I need to take care of, and now that the berry orders are almost done, I need to settle something.
Frisk stood up and began to walk away.
"F…Frisk… I…"
Frisk turned around and gave the Boss Monster a calm smile.
"I hope you can find a way to forgive yourself, Asgore. If you can do that, then there's hope for everyone in this funny world we call our own."
"HELLO, HUMAN!"
"Papyrus. How are you doing?"
"I AM DOING VERY WELL TODAY! JUST A LITTLE WHILE AGO, I WAS TELLING MY…"
Papyrus went stiff, and Frisk came to a decision.
"You don't have to keep up the oblivious act, Papyrus. It's not as subtle as you think it is."
"W-WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN, HUMAN? I'M JUST A HUMBLE SKELETON WHO HAS RECENTLY BEGUN-"
"To visit the grave of his elder brother, who was a sentry in the employ of the Royal Guard."
"…"
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"…"
"Honestly, it would have been less of a hassle if you had just yelled at me during our first meeting. It would have sucked, but at least the matter would have been settled up front. Now? I'm not even sure if you're angry or not, even though you have a perfectly good reason to be angry."
"…"
"Papyrus?"
"I… I SUPPOSE IT WAS A BLUNDER ON MY PART, GIVEN THE… UNFORTUNATE EVENTS THAT HAVE TRANSPIRED."
"So, you're not angry, then."
"NO… I AM NOT ANGRY… EVEN THOUGH I LOGICALLY KNOW THAT I SHOULD BE ANGRY. DOES THAT MEAN THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME?"
"I can't give you a definite answer to that. I'm pretty sure that everybody has a few screws loose on the inside."
"…"
"Are you disappointed with me, for what I did?"
"I… DON'T… THINK… SO. AT LEAST, I DON'T FEEL DISAPPOINTED."
"Why? I'm the reason why your brother is gone."
"YES… BUT… THAT WASN'T YOUR INTENTION WHEN YOU CAME TO OUR KINGDOM. YOU WEREN'T TRYING TO HURT ANYONE. YOU WERE SIMPLY SEEKING TO RESCUE YOUR FRIEND, BECAUSE YOU CARE ABOUT H… THEM."
"…"
"HUMAN?"
"…"
"FRISK?"
"It was a moot point, in hindsight. They didn't need to be rescued because they were truly happier here than they were at the castle. If I had known that, I would have stayed away, we never would have met, and none of this would have happened. It's a bit late for me to be asking forgiveness for a mistake of this magnitude."
"DO… DO YOU WANT TO BE FORGIVEN?"
"...!?"
"…"
"I… yes. I… do want to be forgiven."
"THEN I FORGIVE YOU, FRISK."
"Thank you… Papyrus."
And so, the human decided that they would fix their mistake and set things right.
"You can come out now, Alphys. I know you're hiding in that bush."
The lizard slowly emerged and marched over to the balcony.
She held out her hand for her last order, and Frisk contemplated her expression.
"You know… if there's something you want to say, you're not going to get another chance to say it."
Alphys began to shiver.
"Because I've already figured out that you're not much of a fighter, to be honest. That's why people are going to keep walking all over-"
"Why did you kill her?"
"Because she accosted me, screamed at me and attacked me before I could say anything in my defense."
"I can't forgive you for what you've done."
"I didn't ask you to."
"I want you to leave and never return."
"Wish granted."
As Alphys turned to leave, Frisk had one more thing to say.
"If you had the power to undo all of your mistakes, would you use it even if the very nature of that power was incredibly dubious in nature?"
Alphys almost turned around to reply… but then she walked away with saying anything.
"That's what I thought."
"Hiya, Frisk!"
"Hello, Monster Kid. Here for your berries?"
"Yup!"
"…"
"Hey, what's that funny look on your face?"
"I have a question… were you ever bothered by the fact that I killed several of your neighbors?"
"…"
"Monster Kid?"
"Wait, that was you?"
"…Yes. Did your parents… not mention that?"
"Not really, no."
"I see. Perhaps I've said too much."
After finishing their tasks and packing their meager belongings, it was time for Frisk to depart.
But first, they sought out the witch who had imprisoned them in the tower.
"Hello, Chara. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Frisk. It is hard to believe that you have the nerve to stand in my presence. You are a murd-"
"Get off your high horse, Chara. It's not you've got much of a moral high ground to stand on."
"Excuse me!? I have trouble believe that from a filthy huma-"
"You're a human as well. You just spent so much time trying to not be human that you became something worse."
"…"
"None of this needed to happen, Chara. If you had told me the truth when I had asked you all those years ago, I wouldn't have stopped you from leaving. I could have helped you. I could have distracted your father and all the royal knights and guards so that you could get away cleanly."
"…"
"Why did you lie to me?"
"I do not have to answer that. I do not owe you anything, Frisk."
"And I don't owe you anything either. Goodbye, Chara."
FILE DELETED
Once upon a time… there was a princess who lived in a tower.
Of course, they didn't like to be called a princess because they weren't one.
They demanded that everyone refer to them as an heir.
But since this tale took place in an era that wasn't politically correct, nobody listened to them.
Their father chuckled, spanked them and told them off for being unladylike when the heir pushed the matter.
And so, the heir's hatred of humanity intensified.
Nobody understood them, aside from a nameless squire.
The squire was non-binary like the heir, but they never raised a fuss when the castle servants misgendered them.
The heir repeatedly attempted to pry into the squire's take on the matter, but the squire kept rebuffing them until they were completely fed up with the questioning.
"We're not all as irreplaceable as you are, your majesty."
Eventually, the heir made plans to run away to live with the monsters, who were objectively superior to humans because they were politically correct… despite their hatred of humanity.
Because humans are acceptable targets.
But when the heir attempted to escape the castle, the guards successfully captured them.
The heir was forced to spend the rest of their days in a lonely tower from which there was no escape.
And yet, they could not figure out how their father had learned the truth, since they had never revealed their plans to anyone else…
"Are you certain of this, young lad?"
"Yes, sir."
"Preposterous. My daughter would never do such as thing as audacious as this."
"Well, remember when she got all huffy when you insisted on calling her a princess?"
"…"
"She hates humans, and she loves monsters because they hate humans as well. She's going to run away tonight, and if you let her get away, you will regret it for the rest of my life."
"Even if what you are saying is true… why should I take your word for it? For what reason have you chosen this path?"
"Don't mind me, my liege. As your humble servant, I merely want what is best for your daughter."
The next morning, the squire went to the courtyards, took a deep breath, and gazed up into the clear blue sky.
Endless horizons awaited, for those with the courage to seek out the truth of their existence.
And thus, all was well in the world.