"You see this one, Cter? The one with the light-red berries? You might recognize the shapes of the berries, but with a deeper-red color to it."

Queen Toriel angled the end of the thorny branch she held in her hand towards the Monster Mage nodding with her mouth full of biscuit.

"The reason the berries have a lighter-red color to them here in Monster Country is because the soil here is less dark than in Hjearta where it's native. I wouldn't say that the soil here is light, Xoff clearly has the prize for that, but its lighter than in Hjearta."

It had been a very strange couple of minutes of Cter's life.

"The sourer taste because of that make for a tangier marmalade which goes well with the Golden Flower tea we export," Queen Toriel continued while plucking one of the berries she found to be ripe enough. "I don't suppose you knew about this while you lived in Hjearta?"

The curious look from Queen Toriel had to wait a bit for Cter to finish chewing. "No, I didn't, Queen Toriel," she answered with a gentle bow. "I'm used to those berries being sweeter. My grandma did make marmalade out of them too."

The gorgeous and intricate dress worn by Queen Toriel brought with it no wrinkles to its expensive fabric as she stood up with the plucked berry rolling to a stop in her hand. "If she still does, would you kindly ask her if you couldn't bring back a jar as a favor to me?" The request was said with a surprising amount of eagerness behind it. Even King Asgore, who'd taken to reading the daily paper, folded down its top half to peek a furrowed stare over to his wife and queen. "What?" his queen replied with a shrug. "I'm sure the Village Elder Romrom can part with a jar to the court of Jarasevo even if we're asking her to lodge a Monster Mage on her way to Hjearta court."

"It was more that you were the one that insisted that we keep the sour taste as it would come across as more healthy," King Asgore explained with a tilt of his head for emphasis. "I was just curious as to why you've changed your mind, seemingly."

With a confident flick, Queen Toriel sent the berry in her hand flying over the shrubbery she was crouching behind. It bounced against King Asgore's crown with a quiet clonk and then fell among the many roots of the tree behind the Monster King. "Just because I am curious as to how marmalade of the native taste of the berry goes with Golden Flower tea does not meanthat I have completely changed my mind on the subject, my dear King." Her eyes narrowed like darts. "Don't go and put your mouth before your feet know lest you trip on your own tongue."

King Asgore looked to Cter with a chuckle and shake to his head before he flipped the paper back up again.

The situation wasn't really what Cter had in mind when she asked for some respite after Queen Toriel jumped down from the second floor balcony to challenge King Asgore to a magical duel so that he might once again prove why he was worthy the title he had been bestowed upon. It was just too much for Cter, and while she couldn't really speak out about it, the implosion her aura had was enough for both the eager queen and eager king to halt their eager duel to ask Cter if it was bothering her. After quickly explaining that she had learned of Kry's past just before King Asgore's evaluation the realization was quick and understanding from the Royal Couple, who both agreed to give Cter some rest. Some time to just organize her last hour and put it in archive.

With Queen Toriel and King Asgore acting like a married couple rather than a Royal Couple though, archiving was slow for Cter's mind as it was ever-so curious to seeing such a homestead angle to the Monster Royals. It was the first time Cter had been with the two together, and seeing such a casual side to their relationship was a bit jarring compared to their regal clothing and even more regal auras. The auras transcended magic to such a degree that the trees seemed to bow as Queen Toriel walked on the gravel path back towards the flower-patterned table.

"Before I forget," said Toriel suddenly with a snap of her white fingers, "I had something I wanted to ask you, Cter." The Monster Mage conjured up a chair for the queen to sit and join with at the garden table. She made its form as close as she could to the chair King Asgore was sitting on, but the exact pattern of the cast-iron swirls she didn't manage to make in time. Still, Queen Toriel accepted it with a thankful nod. "It is about Idyll Fech."

"Wasn't it about Cter's travel to Hjearta?" wondered King Asgore from behind his newspaper. Instinctively he folded it to the side to dodge it away from a quick fireball tossed by Toriel that singed between his dodging head and inertia-lagged ear. "Guess both then," he concluded with the side of his sideburn burning briefly as he whipped the newspaper open again. Cter could see a couple of articles about the epidemic in Xoff on the front page telling of it slowing down thanks to the three countries working together. Hjearta for sending their new Royal Mage prospect, Monster Country for evaluating said prospect, and Xoff for the quick diligence of the County Generals to contain further infection.

"Anyways," continued Queen Toriel after her rude interruption, "about Idyll Fech." She leaned forwards a bit which forced Cter to divert a bit more magic to her conjured chair so that it wouldn't collapse. "I trust she's told you about the pie her and I baked together, yes?" Both her queenly eyebrows raised in anticipation for the answer.

"She has, Queen Toriel," responded Cter while at the same time planning how to slip into the conversation what she promised Idyll she'd do. Try and find an angle to ask Queen Toriel for a second session so that Idyll could talk about Krygino's tavern with Queen Toriel. "She was humbled by the request and thankful for the opportunity. So am I, if I might add."

Toriel's ear slipped off her shoulders as she looked down onto her lap covered in the intricate purple textile of her dress. "Seeing her sleeping so soundly to the outside world on that faithful day yet inside her soul had turmoil rivaling that of a hurricane..." She grabbed the large and comforting hand of her king which he so graciously offered across the table. King Asgore did his best to fold his newspaper with only one hand at his disposal, but it wasn't a formal sight. "In a way I felt like she was my child and that I had a responsibility for her as I had her head on my lap. I sang songs for her. Lullabies to keep her brave. That she was the same age as I was when I first met Asgore did not matter to me. She needed a mother to care for her in that moment. I'd not felt such motherly instincts since I sat with Prince Soulay on my knees and promised the stars. I..."

Had Sir Gerson been there he'd told Cter to avert her eyes as Queen Toriel dried her own with a slow finger.

"Golly," Queen Toriel chuckled, "I'm just like my own mother." She exhaled her emotion and breathed in anew to continue. "Idyll felt like my own child in that moment, and teaching her my own snail pie recipe has only furthered that feeling."

Was Queen Toriel gonna adopt Idyll? That's how it sounded to Cter's ears. Was that even possible? To be adopted into the Royal Family just like that? Was there any talk about Prince Soulay being adopted when he was a child? He did spend quite a few years at the Jarasevo court as part of his magica training, so maybe it was a part-time adoption?

A monster being adopted into the Royal Family was possible in Cter's mind, even if it was unlikely. However, a human? A human in the Royal Family? Even with everything Cter had seen about bridging between monsters and humans that was still a snippet too unorthodox for her. With how delicate the political balance was with human magic and the secret of the Cooperative Connection, having a human as an heir to the monster throne would make it all come crashing down.

"You may be wondering why I am telling you this, Cter."

She was still struggling to archive everything, but sure. Go ahead.

"The fact of the matter is that she might not be able to cook personally for you going forward." There was genuine apology in Queen Toriel's words which only exasperated Cter's internal screaming. Idyll's lies to skip work had officially reached way too far! Far enough that it caused the Queen of the Monsters grief to have to tell Cter that Idyll wouldn't be able to continue with something she never had on a regular basis!

Oh God…

What if Kry had found out that Idyll had been lying?

And then told Sir Gerson about it?

And then Sir Gerson had informed Queen Toriel?

Cter was forced to put her sleeved hand up to her head to keep it from floating off from her neck, it became so light. Her breathing turned into short gasps as the wave of imagined panic washed over her coldly.

"If this is causing you grief, Cter, I can–"

"No!" the Monster Mage shouted a bit too loud. That Queen Toriel continued to be so torn up about it just made Cter's imagined panic worse and worse! She had to get it over with as quickly as possible. "It's fine, my Queen," Cter said after inhaling deeply through her nose to calm herself down. "Idyll did it to further improve her cooking and magic, and if she's reached a point where you thinking of offering her a better position then that's exactly what she set out to achieve." Why Cter thought to right a lie with another lie she couldn't explain. "I'm grateful that you're giving her the chance, my Queen." She finished with a bit too eager of a nod, but she managed to get her message across, at least.

Idyll owed Cter a semla after that.

"She'd also like to talk with you about your time at Krygino's tavern," added Cter after soothing the moment with some tea. "You two did not really get to talking about that, Idyll said. If you're looking to find more common ground perhaps that would be a good idea to talk about?"

The Monster Queen nodded at the proposed idea. "Yes, I'll make an effort to remember that for the next time." Her following nod was towards Asgore to let him know that he could return to his newspaper. He did so with a pleased hum not unlike how Cter's father did when he finally managed to get some time alone from Romrom's raven eyes. "Now, about your travel to Hjearta."

"I don't know a lot about it, I'm afraid to say."

"Oh don't be," Queen Toriel dismissed with a wave of her hand. "It's just that I make it a point to talk to my Monster Mages the first time they travel to the court of Hjearta. For the court of Xoff you will be speaking to Gorey instead." The levity-filled motion of her wave slowed down into a gently balled fist that the queen placed on the tip on her chin. "Although..." She glanced down towards Cter's arm before opening her fist again to squint into her palm. "While I can tell you..."

The thoughtful tone had King Asgore folding his newspaper again. Despite how his ears hung like thick, wet socks over his shoulders, they were sharper than any sword had ever been. His deep eyes shifted over to Cter's arm after a contemplative stare at his queen looking hard into her palm. The claw of his thumb that tapped against the newspaper almost punctured its inked paper. "Would you even be comfortable using your magic on a Boss Monster, Cter? To delve into Toriel's memories?"

Cter met the queen's eyes. They were as gentle as could be, telling Cter that there would be nothing for her to worry about on the queen's part. That's what the queen thought though. Cter didn't know. If it took her over a full day to wake up from Bonny Sallus' memories how long would it take for her to wake up from Queen Toriel's? Granted, for Bonny it was because Cter had taken in his magic to be permanent on her arm. With Priestess Frioke it had gone much better since she didn't mean to give Cter her magic, only lend it.

"I don't want to encroach on Kurant," Cter answered first and foremost after scouring her head's thesaurus for a few long seconds. Queen Toriel's magic was represented with Kurant, and Cter did not want to take that away from her. It was the only thing that kept Kurant able to cast any of her magic. If she would have learned that Cter had taken Queen Toriel's magic to soul, as was necessary to experience her memories, that might've been the straw that broke her soul. "I am not comfortable with experiencing Queen Toriel's memories, my King. Even outside of my respect to Kurant it would be me experiencing memories from the Monster Queen. That's...faux pas. Plain and simple."

"Sir Gerson would certainly have some well-chosen words for you, I'd imagine," agreed King Asgore before turning his head towards Queen Toriel. "Sorry, Tori," he apologized with a shrug. "You'll have to tell it like the rest of us."

"You make a good point about Kurant, Cter," said Toriel while returning her hand to join her other on her lap. "Perhaps I'm a bit too eager about your new magic. Asgore and I created the Monster Mages to bring humans and monster closer, and for that we gave humans memories of the monsters of the highest rank to make them monsters themselves, and to make them understand and be capable of bridging the gap between the two races. Now that you have the ability to experience the memories directly as the monster in question, Cter..."

Cter understood what Queen Toriel meant by that. "I will do my best to learn everything I can about my ability. Perhaps even to the level to which I am able to teach it to my fellow Monster Mages. That I will strive for in your name, my Queen."

Said queen was pleased with that. "Then I wish you all the luck my soul can muster, Monster Mage." With that out of the way she poured herself some tea to settle in for her story. "You've heard of Prince Soulay, Cter. You grew up in the country he would come to rule over." She blew away some of the heat from her tea with a quiet whistle. Cter lifted her sleeved hand to offer some ice magic, but Toriel denied it with her thanks.

"You were taught in the school that carries his name. Even the potential for magic carries his name. Before him there was no need for a descriptor for the potential for magic. It was only present in monsters, and only monsters could feel it. It was just magical potential. With the discovery of it existing within humans as well it was a good enough a reason as any to give it a proper name. A blind king that came to rule as well as Soulay did because of his magical sense can't be beaten when it comes to being an interesting read in the history books, which is why we call it the soul."

"Granted, a few generations before Prince Soulay was born there were reports of monster sensing a magical presence within humans," commented King Asgore through the pags of his newspaper. His voice made a dent in the middle of an article describing crop yield. "Due to my training with Sir Gerson and Priestess Frioke I was frozen to my very soul by it during my first mission as the Monster Prince. That which I told you I gave to Kry, remember?"

Cter did.

"And also his undying love for me," Toriel slipped in quick with her hand on her cheek. "Although that Asgore didn't give to Kry. Only the shock instilled in his soul by the magic humans seemed to be able to possess."

Cter figured as much.

"In any case, you know the story about the blanket I sewed for him when I promised him the stars. To give the blind prince the gift of sight, if only for a brief, wishful moment. You even know what Priestess Frioke and Sir Gerson concluded through the celebrations at the court of Hjearta, Cter." Queen Toriel looked to her hand again as if debating one more time if she should just let Cter experience rather than being told. It had Cter bracing for what was about to come.

A furrowed look of utter disgust she did not manage to brace for though.

"The legacy which has been weaved into history with needles of deceit and yarn spun of lies. Lies perpetrated through means unacceptable and inexcusable. By mere politics with no real regards to the people it was supposed to protect. Supposed to make prosper and to lead into a future made glorious and prosperous. To build trust and to build companionship. Sins that have been haunting my shoulders and conscience for nights unending, and that will continue forever more. Embraced like nettles told to be roses. It will come back to possible uproot everything we've built in its name. A secret kept dark for fear of immolating everything in its wake should the slightest light lap at its disgusting visage."

King Asgore heaved a heavy exhale from behind his newspaper in response.

Before Cter's eyes could be beckoned by the lure of the flapping newspaper, Queen Toriel's rapid lurch forward had her facing the Monster Queen's eyes apologizing to one of the children nurtured by her lies and deceits. Her betrayal of the role which she'd accepted in good faith, but squandered by her own volition and hubris.

"I didn't sew the blanket I gave Prince Soulay. It was one that I had already which I gave him."

And as the wretched lie was brought into the judgmental sunlight blazing with all its vengeance against the Monster Queen who dared to alter history to her own whims and pride…

"It's the weaving of your magic into the fabric that is what's emphasized, my Queen. The sewing is really just being thought of as a metaphor."

It petered out like a clenched fart in a sauna.

"It...it has?" The Monster Queen's face underwent a myriad of fluid expression that never solidified into something tangible and readable. Her aura too traveled a vast and turbulent spectra that made Cter a bit seasick trying to keep track of them all in her aura. Toriel sank back down into her magical chair with shoulders more floating next to her neck rather than being attached to them. "I...see."

Another lie, she told.

Hopefully that one wouldn't be as blown out of proportions as her previous one were.

"You still weaved your magic into it, right?" Cter pried. Any resemblance of the difference in their status was wiped away. Cter was speaking to Queen Toriel as she did her best friend over a mug of ale. With an elbow planted onto the table along with her weight and her opened hand pointing across towards the Monster Queen blinking rapidly with confusion. "Otherwise it wouldn't have been discovered that he had magic, right? I remember that Frioke touched it at last once when she was in Hjearta. She felt your magic when she did."

"I...I never really learned how to sew," Toriel defended like she was a tavern maiden found to have copied her recipe. Her shoulders clicked together into their sockets again as she withdrew them into her neck and showed her innocent palms. "I was a cook before I became the Monster Queen. I've no idea about needle and yarn. The court of Hjearta just assumed that I'd made the blanket too when I said that I put my soul into it. I should've anticipated that humans would've understood its meaning differently, but I didn't want to chase away the moment." The innocent palms moved to press against the innocent collar, but even that was not enough to summon any or all wrinkles on the Queen's robe. "How was I to predict that the moment would become the foundation for the erosion of the barrier between human and monster?"

It took a few seconds for Toriel's ears to slap back onto her shoulders after being thrown in the air by her dramatic shrug.

"I mean," said Cter with a slight tilt of her head down on her sleeve. "At the end of the day it all came out fine, didn't it?" To be perfectly honest Cter had no idea as to why Queen Toriel was making such a mountain out of a mere blanket. "Human magic exists." Cter was comforting the Monster Queen, it seemed. "How did the other Monster Mages react when you told them this?"

"Exactly the same."

King Asgore's remark earned him another fireball which charred on the insides of his horns.

Unfazed, he continued reading.

"He's right," Queen Toriel sighed with her innocent hands rubbing her forehead. "It was early in my reign and I was still more tavern maiden than I was queen. While I understand that it doesn't mean anything in the long run, it is still something that sits deep with me. To me it felt like my first blunder. A blunder that meant more since I was a queen compared to when I was just a mere tavern maiden. It's a reminder to me that even though I've done my best to treat humans and monsters equal there are still differences that will forever be exclusive." She collected the last of queenly self with a final sigh, and straightened her back to its full regal length. "Please take away from this that you have to be careful with your actions and speech when crossing that barrier, Cter. You're meant to stand in the middle of it, so that goes double for you. Goes double for all you Monster Mages."

Even after all of that, Cter was grateful for the Queen's advice. It was refreshing, in the strangest of ways, to see that even the Monster Queen struggled with being thrust into a position that she felt was above her. Cter could sympathize with that, and so could the Monster Queen back at Cter.

It was nice.

Cter felt calm. She felt like things had been archived. It was good. Again, it was nice. She picked up her tea without it weighing anything to her. She drank it with every nuance of its taste dancing on her tongue.

A good time as any to let the thought everyone in both the monster and human countries had burning deep down be let free and be answered once and for all.

"So what was this about a duel between you two?" Cter sent casually over the lip of her flower-patterned cup.

Only to immediately be smothered underneath the two auras of the Monster Royals.