Chapter 3: A Surprise

Rebecca was showing the royal children how she used her magic to make the buttercups grow. "You can't rhyme because it's bad, right?" David asked, recalling when they first met their aunt.

"That's right, David," the mage said with a smile, pleased that he remembered. "Now, can one of you children think of a saying I can use to make these flowers grow?"

Julie perked up. "A flower's bloom is pretty," she said. "So grow up and big."

"That's a good one, Julie," Carmen said. "But we don't want them to reach the ceiling now, do we?"

"Oh," the little one said a bit sheepishly.

"Still, a very good first try," Rebecca said. "I do like the first part, so we can use that."

"Can we add words to it?" Chara asked.

"Go ahead."

Nathan looked thoughtful. "Healthy," he said. "We should add that word at the end."

"That's a good one," Thomas said. "And the word 'strong' too."

"How about the word 'nice'?" Asriel asked. "A flower's bloom is pretty and nice."

"Yeah!" Frisk said with a nod.

"So grow up healthy and strong," Sarah said, smiling.

Carmen grinned as she put the words altogether and turned to Rebecca, handing her the piece of paper, to which the mage took it and smiled. "Well done," she said.

Andromeda and Capricorn, Sky and Harmony, and Ida and Hope were all on a blanket nearby, looking curious, but when they saw their the mage's hand begin to glow that soft green color, they clapped their hands and cooed happily, knowing it meant she was about to use her magic. Ida and Hope squealed happily as they loved their mother's magic.

Smiling at them, she then looked up at the others. "Ready?" She asked.

They nodded and Rebecca took a deep breath. "A flower's bloom is pretty and nice, so grow up healthy and strong."

The green glow from her hands settled into the ground and made the buttercups grow splendidly, making them all awed at the sight and to the children's surprise, flower crowns appeared on their heads, making them gasp in surprise. Rebecca smiled at seeing this before looking up to see River Person was coming up to them with a young woman beside him. The woman looked a bit scared of the monsters, but looked to be amazed that the children were there. The mage pointed her staff at the woman, her face serious as she stepped forward.

Toriel gasped as she turned and saw the new human, standing at once to be ready to protect her children. Asgore did the same, his trident in his hands.

Sierra flinched at seeing this, holding both hands up to show she was unarmed. River Person wrapped an arm around her. "Be calm," he said. "She means no harm to us."

Gaster came closer, his eyes glowing purple as he looked at the woman's traits, shocked by what he saw. "Rebecca," he said, to which she went up to him. "I...I think something is wrong."

Thanks to her brother-in-laws showing her how, the mage did a CHECK on the woman and gasped as she recognized her. "Sierra?" She asked. "Oh, my goodness. I thought it was only rumor."

"What was only rumor, dearie?" Muffet asked, holding her daughters close as the royal children got behind their parents and the Royal Guard dogs took their positions nearby.

Rebecca took a deep breath. "There is a prominent family of mages that live in a city a good few hours from Mt. Ebbot," she said. "They are not good mages and what's worse is that their ancestors not only captured monsters and killed them, but took many samples of their DNA, injecting that DNA into the women that were pregnant in hopes that the babies would be half human and half monster."

Asgore gasped and his trident glowed. Sierra flinched from that, feeling River Person gently tighten his hold on her. "Shh," he said. "He is simply angry at what they did, not at you."

She looked away in shame though, to which the mage continued. "Sierra must be one of the few still left in the family that have monster DNA in them," she said.

The young woman nodded. "Yes," she said. "Over time, the injections stopped working and many mothers lost babies," she said. "I'm the last one as far as I know."

Undyne came closer. "So you came here to fight us?" She asked, her spear in her hand.

"No," Sierra said, holding up her hands to show that she didn't want to attack. "I brought my niece with me to escape her parents."

River Person remembered something. "The child has all seven traits," he said.

A shocked silence filled them all. "What?" Papyrus asked. "Is...Is that even possible?"

"Where is this child now?" Gaster asked.

Sierra fell to her knees. "Please, don't hurt her!" She said, clasping her hands together. "She's just a child and doesn't have any magic, though her parents have been forcing her to try and use magic to break the barrier so that they can storm the mountain and attack."

"How do we know this isn't some clever ruse?" Muffet asked a bit warily.

The woman bit her lip before looking up. "I'll...I'll let you take me hostage," she said. "Just please...don't harm my niece."

Toriel looked at her husband, who nodded gently. "Is the child in the mountain?" He asked.

"Yes," Sierra said. "She slipped and fell into the river, but we can't find her."

Rebecca noticed Sans and Grillby weren't with them. "Perhaps Sans found the child," she said. "He would have taken her to Grillby if the child had fallen in the cold river."

"We'll go at once," Gaster said before approaching the young woman by River Person. She flinched in fear, but he called forth his magic hands, two of them gripping her wrists in a secure hold and two others resting on her shoulders. "Make any move to harm any of us and we will do what we must to protect ourselves and the children," he warned her.

She nodded meekly. "I understand," she said softly.

They all headed to the fire monster's restaurant, finding Sans there with Grillby and the fire elemental was holding a child that was wearing the skeleton's hoodie. The child was snuggled close to him as if trying to get warm again. They looked up at seeing the others and the newcomer. The child gasped in relief.

"Auntie!" She cried out.

"Esther," the woman said, tears of joy and relief running down her face. "Are you alright, honey?"

The child nodded, not leaving Grillby's arms. "A bit cold, but Mr. Fire Monster is helping me stay warm," she said.

They had to smile at the child's cuteness and Grillby didn't take offense at the child calling him that. Rebecca then did a CHECK on the child and nodded. "Sierra is telling the truth," she said. "Little Esther does have all seven traits."

"Th-That's un-unusual," Alphys stammered out.

"Yeah," Undyne nodded.

Asgore nodded gently. "Gaster, old friend, release the woman from your magic," he said. "If she was planning an ambush, it would have already happened."

Nodding, the scientist waved a hand and the magical hands let go of Sierra, who looked like she wanted to rush forward and hug her niece, but she held back as she didn't want to make any sudden moves. Grillby stood up and walked up to her, gently handing her the child. She accepted her and looked up at him, nodding. "Thank you for helping her," she said. "We...We had heard stories of the monsters in the mountain and of the battle that happened a few years ago. A mage joining you all to prove that none of you were evil as we had been led to believe."

"Where did you hear these stories?" Carmen asked. "I thought the evil mages couldn't remember after their minds were wiped."

"No doubt the story spread from the good mages that guard the mountain," Rebecca said.

Sierra nodded. "Yes," she said. "I wanted to join them, but my brother and sister-in-law held me hostage and they were forcing Esther to use magic."

"But I don't have magic, Auntie," the child said, looking down. "I can't do magic."

Sans used his judge sight and hummed. "Hmm. She hasn't used any magic, but I don't see any indication that she does have magic," he said.

"A child born without magic while their parents are mages is rare," Grillby said. "But little Esther might be a special case."

"Or because she has all seven traits, she may not need magic," Toriel said. "After all, the barrier can only be broken by all seven traits all at once."

Sierra held Esther protectively, but River Person placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he soothed. "Neither of you will be harmed here."

Esther looked at them before taking a deep breath. "I don't want to use magic," she said, making them look at her. "Because Mommy and Daddy us their magic to hurt others." She rubbed her arm, remembering when her father's magic had burned her.

Noticing this, Rebecca came forward and gently took the child's arm, moving up the shirt sleep and gasping at the scar there. "A magic burn," she said softly. "Grillby? Handsome? Can you heal this mark on her?"

Papyrus and Grillby came forward, each placing a hand on the girl's arm and their hands glowed green with their magic. Toriel came over and she nodded as she saw the burn mark was gone. "Did you come here to the mountain to seek refuge?" She asked gently.

"Yes," Sierra said.

"Please," Esther said, her eyes sad and pleading.

"I think it might be wise to have them stay here," River Person said. "They've proven that they mean no harm." He then looked at Esther. "And don't worry, child. Not all magic is bad."

His hand glowed again, but this time, it was a gentle golden color, meaning he was using protective magic. Sierra and Esther both felt it settle on them and they felt safe, to which the young woman nodded. "It's different compared to what my relatives use," she said.

Sans nodded. "Looks like you're both going to stay here, but don't think this means we automatically trust you," he said.

"I understand," she said. "To be honest, I'm a bit wary of trusting someone I don't fully know."

Her honest answer made them all nod before Asgore cleared his throat and looked at Grillby. "Grillby, are you open for lunch?" He asked. "And then the council must speak on the matter at hand."

The fire elemental quickly whipped up lunch before joining Asgore, Rebecca, and Sans at a table to not only eat, but discuss what to do with Sierra and Esther.

Hmm. What are they going to decide? Stay tuned to find out. :)

And please leave a review, but no flames. :)

GoldGuardian2418