Chapter 11: Can You Really Call This A Hotel, I Didn't Receive A Mint On My Pillow Or Anything
Sans wasn't exactly Chara's favorite monster in the world. But they were never happier to see him than now. Mainly because the child knew that the skeleton had a strict policy against dressing up. So seeing him standing there, as their chariot rolled back down a ramp into the big hall it had started from, it could only mean that they were getting out of that coal outfit soon. And Chara was more than ready for that.
"heya, kiddos. had fun?"
"Not at all" answered Chara with a frustrated scowl as they finally hopped off the carriage. Their skin felt weird from all the make-up and sweat. Frisk jumped down beside them, sending up a small tuft of fake coal dust from their clothing. Chara barely registered their escort standing next to Sans. Her bright dress blended well into the mass of stupid outfits and over the top transportation vehicles.
"heh, no kidding. but show time's over now."
They set out away from the carriage and towards the entrance of an elevator at the back of the hall. "So does that mean we can wear our normal clothes now?" the child asked hopefully.
Linda gave a high pitched laugh. "Oh, no, you won't wear those old clothes anywhere where paparazzi could see you. Even though that might make you more pitiful for the fans…" The woman drifted off into thoughtful silence.
"That's my favorite sweater you're talking about! My mom gave it to me on my birthday" Chara responded with a murderous glint in their eyes. The child was too exhausted to put up a real fight, but they sure as heck wouldn't go down that easily.
Sans swayed a bit to the side to give them a light pat on the shoulder. "No worries, kiddo. I'll hang onto your things for now."
The child pouted, evading a girl their age dressed like a tree, who glanced at them curiously. Chara ignored her. "But you lose stuff all the time."
Sans winked conspiratorially. "and they always show up again."
Chara send him an odd look. "In a tornado in your room, maybe. How does that even happen?"
"with magic and a sprinkle of ketchup"
Chara rolled their eyes at that. Sans: King of non-answers.
"I saw Papyrus spaghetti getting snatched away by a dog once" Frisk threw in. Only a quick grasp by Linda saved them from getting run over by a pair of carriage horses that were a bit too happy to finally be freed from their reigns.
"yeah, whatever, that dog rarely comes back. he'll just run off into our garden, dig a plot hole and drop it right in."
"You have a garden?" Chara wondered aloud.
"anyways, i'll hide it from the dog too. you can bet your bones on it."
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for the elevator that long. A small group piled up beside them while they waited. A lean boy with perfectly trimmed, blonde hair looked at them with wide, blue eyes. Next to him, a smaller girl that still towered a bit over Chara jumped up and down on the heels of her feet, as if on a sugar rush. Her long hair bounced slightly with the movement, in tune with her expensive, glimmering dress and her partner's glistering cape that she bumped into from time to time. Chara could barely contain their disdain for both of them. Gems and fabrics more expensive than anything in district 12 were casually draped around the tributes. So that was what people from district 1 looked like. The boy deflated a bit as he caught Chara's burning gaze, but the girl just bounced on undisturbed. Weirdo.
They had to share the elevator for a few, very awkward floors. The child form district 12 let out a deep breath as the foreign tributes plus mentor and escort finally left as they reached their floor and the elevator's doors closed again.
"They smelled weird," Frisk commented.
Sans chuckled. "that's perfume for ya. makes you reek of money around the wealthy districts."
Chara crinkled their nose. "I don't like it."
The elevator resonated with a soft ding. Its doors slid open, to reveal a now cleaned up suite. Chara let out a long gasp of breath, as they took it all in. Without the racks full of costumes and invasive stylist, the room was impossibly big. Uselessly formed furniture created a dining area and what loosely resembled a living room with a television. Doors to further rooms made the child itch to explore.
"good thing you're not from district 7. otherwise i'd be worried that you'll take roots." Sans winked at them as he passed by and stepped into the large room.
Chara rolled their eyes. "Do I look like a tree to you?" But they stepped out of the elevator anyways. Their shoes made small noises on the dark, wooden floor.
"eh, I dunno. this topic is branching way too far out of my expertise."
Years of dealing with the skeleton had taught Chara to just ignore the puns. Instead, they moved on to the large windows making up the wall opposite to the elevator. It was strange seeing the wide sky again after all of this time. So many hours were spend trying to explain to Asriel of it looked. Chara just wished they could show him now.
"Thank goodness they've cleaned the place up." They heard Linda commenting somewhere behind them.
Chara tentatively stepped closer to the window, taking in the sunlight that reflected off the tall buildings left and right of their own. New Home had skyscrapers like that, only that the buildings stopped where they touched the top of the caves. Here they just kept going.
"I've told Edna to just pick an outfit and bring it here. But does she ever listen? I'm not even sure if her assistant relayed my message. She just wouldn't answer my calls. How rude."
In the back of their mind, Chara registered Frisk stepping up beside them, letting a hand rest on the cool glass.
"But that's not important now," the escort rambled on. "What's important is to get you two into normal clothes before you flake off any more of that fake coal dust of yours. The floor's already a mess."
"What's out there?" Frisks monotone was nearly too low to pick up, but Chara answered anyways. "It's a bunch of skyscrapers and the clear sky. The streets seem busy."
"Are you even listening?"
"relax linda. the kids seem to be busy playing astronauts. you know since they're spacing out." Ba dum tss.
Linda gave off a low growl. "Sans, that doesn't even work on the children. They don't know what space is."
"I know what space is," Chara butted in, turning to face Linda.
The escort raised an eyebrow. "Really? So now you're listening."
"It's what's beyond the clouds and the sky, isn't it? I've read about it."
Linda gave a thin smile. "Yes, it is. And it's absolutely useless knowledge to you. His great majesty does not allow any exploration off this world. It is for our own good. So why don't you read up on survival tactics or something useful like that? And for the love of our king, change into something less," she made a confused wiggle with her hands, "dusty."
Chara rolled their eyes but complied, heading towards the doors that the escort had dubbed their rooms. The child opened the right one, tentatively stepping in. After navigating through the Underground for most of their life, a space that they knew like the back of their hand, new places felt strange. The room was stupidly big like everything else, with a giant, too fluffy bed taking up a good part of it. A wall of sliding doors hinted at a closet, if the colorful fabric peeking out was anything to go by.
A muffled voice sounded through the wall from the next room over. Their escort's voice answered more clearly. "They should all be more or less your size. Just pick one you like. Oh, I bet purple would suit you really well."
Chara couldn't believe the capitol just wasted that much space on some tribute. The child had been a part of the royal family of monsters for quite some time. Even then they had shared a small bedroom with a monster brother and two to three other humans at one time or another. It was tight and everyone got onto each other's nerves every now and then, but it was still nice. At times, they'd build those giant pillow forts in the middle of the night and Azzie would end up crawled up halfway under the bed in the morning. More out of habit, Chara peeked under the gigantic furniture in their room. Sadly, there were no monsters hiding under their bed today, just empty space.
"i dunno, kid." Chara barely made out Sans' voice through the thin wall and open doors. "you can pick whatever. i like it comfy but you're always free to conTribute your opinion."
The closet proved just as monster free. Instead, they found an array of all kinds of unpractical clothing. Yuck. Chara wasn't even sure how to put on that long, frilly dress, or whatever it was supposed to be. It was like one of Asgore's old robes, just way more complicated.
"Pick something that suits you well." Linda's shrill voice send ice down Chara's back, even from a distance. "Paparazzi tend to at times find their way past security so you have to always look representable."
Chara still remembered how they would raid those old boxes of clothing mom had lying around in the house. Most of the clothes were worn down things from mom and dad. Even later on, mom still preferred to keep the reaped human's clothes in the children's dresser. Asriel and Chara never touched them again though. Instead, they had fun with their parents' old stuff. A soft smile tugged at the edge of the child's lips. And fun they had. So many great afternoons were spend drowning in too large robes, pretending to hold a royal speech. The local froggits loved it.
Linda's chiding went on. "You need to show that you are an honorary tribute to the capitol and holy empire of Britannia."
The adopted royal child looked at the puffy, textile mess in front of them, suddenly knowing exactly how to pick their attire for the rest of the day. Chara let go of the edge of their closet, turning to their room's open door. "Hey, Frisk! Can't decide on an outfit? I'll help!"
About an hour later, a very irritated escort dragged a manicured hand across her face. "Forget what I've said. Frisk, pick the green one on the right with the laces on the back. You two are embarrassing the holy empire."
Frisk glanced over to Chara, who gave the escort a pout, twirling on the spot. "Why? We're just picking clothes." They fanned out the fabric of their current dress with a flourish. There actually were holes to put their arms through. Many holes. Maybe they wore it right, maybe not. It looked silly anyways as they looked at themselves in a lone living room mirror. "It's really hard to decide."
The escort's face grew a shade darker. Sans had already fallen asleep again next to her. "The capitol's wardrobe is not for playing around!"
Chara grinned, mimicking an over the top Britannian, leaning back so far that they nearly lost their balance. "Oh, sorry dear. Of course we're not playing. Oh it's just so hard to decide what to wear when you have tons and tons of clothing made by bloody, happy, district hands."
Dress up may have been more fun at home with an audience of froggits, but seeing their escort getting more and more irritated by the second was the best afternoon game Chara could ever imagine. They twirled around another time in the frilly mass of clothing. Maybe useless dresses had their perks after all.