Chapter 3: The Fair Child

David moved around the kitchen before holding spying the flour nearby. "Found the flour," he said. "How many cups, Mom?"

"One and a half," Toriel answered with a smile.

It had been a few months since David had fallen and the boy had surprisingly adapted to living in the Ruins as Toriel had. He had at first been unsure about staying in the Ruins, especially the first night in a new room, but the goat woman had been patient and stayed beside the bed until the boy had fallen asleep.

Now, you couldn't tell that the boy helping her in the kitchen was the same one she had found a few months ago. She had been concerned when they had eaten that first night and he seemed unsure about eating so much, but she assured him he wouldn't go hungry under her roof. That had helped him and she was pleased to see that he had gained a healthy weight and was a bit livelier. He reminded her of Asriel in so many ways and she felt that if the goat boy and Chara had been alive today, they would have loved David as a sibling.

David brought the flour over to his mother and smiled at her. "Can I mix the pie filling, Mom?" He asked, seeing most of the dry ingredients for the pie filling were already in a bowl to be mixed.

She nodded. "Do you remember how much of the rest of the ingredients go in?" She asked.

"Two teaspoons of cinnamon, a tablespoon of vanilla, a cup of milk, on egg, and a whole package of melted butterscotch chips," the boy said with a smile.

"That's right," the goat woman said proudly. "Alright, you get on that while I get the the pie crust ready," she said.

David carefully measured and stirred, being careful none of the mixture got out of the bowl. He remembered when he first tried the butterscotch cinnamon pie and had instantly fallen in love with it and asked Toriel to teach him how to make it. She had agreed and to the boy's surprise, he found he loved baking too and so whenever his mother was baking, he joined her in the kitchen.

That was another thing, calling Toriel 'Mom'. He had been hurt by his parents and his birth mother had refused to let him call her 'Mom', saying it was disrespectful. Toriel had asked him one day about his folks when the boy had been living with her for a few weeks and David had told her the truth about the abuse and how he couldn't call his birth mother 'Mom' or she'd punish him.

"You wouldn't punish me if I called you 'Mom', would you?" He had asked her.

"No," she had replied. "I'd be delighted if you called me 'Mom', but if you're not comfortable calling me that yet, you can still call me Toriel."

The boy had been thoughtful before looking at her again. "But...you'd really be okay with me calling you 'Mom'?"

"I would, yes."

She had been unprepared for the sudden hug and had felt the boy's shoulders heave as he had tried to hold back his tears but couldn't. She had instantly begun rocking him and soothing him and that had sealed the deal. David called her 'Mom' and it stuck.

As he was almost done mixing the pie filling, he thought about Toriel's other children, since she had mentioned she had once been a mother before he fell. He wanted to ask about them, but remembered how sad she had been when mentioning that she had once been a mother. He held in the question for now, not wanting to cause his mother grief. She looked so happy now that she had adopted him and he had to admit that he was happy too. It felt great to have a Mom who really cared, who made sure you had enough to eat, didn't make you sleep on the floor, and didn't hit you. Toriel had sworn to him that she'd never raise her hand to strike him and she had given him one of the best rooms in the Ruins, along with getting him good clothes.

"David? David," a voice called to him.

The boy blinked and shook his head, seeing his mother smiling at him. "Are you alright?" She asked gently. "You looked lost in thought and didn't hear me ask if the mixture was ready."

David looked a bit sheepish, looking at the mixture and seeing it was ready. "Yeah, it is," he said, handing it to her. "Sorry, Mom. I was just deep in thought."

"Oh? About what?" She asked curiously.

"About the past few months," he admitted. "You taking me in, treating me like a son and being there for me. It just feels great to finally have a real Mom."

She smiled and hugged him. "And it feels wonderful to have a son like you," she said honestly before putting the pie mixture into two pie crusts and putting them in the oven to bake. "Alright, why don't you go play outside while those bake?"

That was another thing he loved about his mother. She let him play outside a lot and didn't make him stay inside. Running outside, he stopped and checked on the garden, smiling as he saw some new blooms coming up. "I'll have to tell Mom," he said.

A sound reached him then and he looked around, hearing the sound grow louder as he realized it was someone crying. Moving a bit down the path, he then heard a scream and saw someone start falling from a hole high above, the same hole he had fallen into a few months ago.

Remembering how the fall had hurt a bit outside of the abuse he had endured before running away from his birth parents, David ran as fast as he could, holding out his arms and he just managed to catch the person in his arms before they both tumbled to the ground with him turning so that he hit the ground first. Taking a moment to recover, he looked to see a young girl was looking at him. She couldn't have been more than seven years old and she looked astounded that he was there. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm David," he said. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and they turned at hearing a door open and Toriel came out. "David, what happened? I heard a scream," the goat woman said before stopping in shock at seeing the young girl that her son had rescued.

The little girl looked surprised and unsure, standing up and looking at the ground. The boy stood up. "She fell down, Mom," he said. "I saw her falling and I caught her, but we both fell down again."

Toriel managed to recover from her shock and smiled at her son. "I'm proud of you, sweetie," she said before looking at the little girl. "Are you lost, little one?" She asked gently.

The little girl shook her head. "They pushed me down here," she said, her voice small. "They didn't want me."

The goat woman picked her up, holding her comfortingly. "Shh, shh," she soothed, seeing some bruises on the girl's arms, leading her to believe, along with what the child said, that the little one was another victim of abuse.

David came closer. "Are you okay?" He asked again.

She nodded. "Yeah," she said before looking at Toriel. "Are you...a monster?"

The hesitant question made the goat woman smile. "I am, yes," she said. "But I won't hurt you."

"Mom's a nice monster and the best mom ever," David said before remembering something. "I'm David and Mom's name is Toriel. What's your name?"

The little blonde-haired girl didn't look too certain, her brown eyes cast downward. "Julie," she said after a moment.

Toriel noted that the yellow dress the child had on was dirty and the black shoes looked very scuffed up. "Well, let's get you inside, my dear. Are you hungry?" The goat woman asked.

Julie nodded and Toriel headed inside with her and David followed them. "Mom, is Julie going to be my new sister?" He asked hopefully.

She was pleased her son had asked that. "Yes," she said. "Julie is your new sister."

The little girl looked up at her. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, you're going to live here with me and David," Toriel said gently.

Julie looked uncertain. "But...I'm unwanted," she said softly.

The goat woman shook her head. "That's not true, sweetie," she said. "David wants you as his little sister and I would love to have you as my daughter."

"Really?" The little girl asked.

"Yes," Toriel said as they reached the kitchen and the goat woman cut the butterscotch cinnamon pies, putting two pieces on some plates and giving them to the two children. David eagerly began eating while Julie seemed unsure, which the boy noticed.

"It's okay," he said. "Mom's pies are the best and she won't let you go hungry."

That seemed to help and Julie began eating slowly at first, but then eagerly when she found the pie was delicious. After eating, she hugged David and he hugged her, understanding what she was saying without words.

Toriel held out a hand to secretly check Julie's stats and main trait.

Julie

Age 7

Strongest trait: Justice

Attack: 1

Defense: 2

LV: 1

Doesn't feel so alone now and is happy to have a new brother and mother.

She nodded, vowing that her newest daughter would never feel alone again while her heart filled with joy at having two children to care for. She made up her mind that if any other children fell, she'd take them in at once. The world above might still be cruel, but she would not be.


So a second child has fallen. :) Now, for those of you wondering, each child will have a chapter before they meet the rest of the Underground. So stay tuned! :) Also, I don't know Toriel's exact recipe for her butterscotch cinnamon pie, so I just made it up for the story. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418