Two Worlds, Two Souls
Chapter 30: Disappointment
Angel's Point of View:
So, it had finally come, the festival.
Long weeks of preparations had gone into the four days long event leading up to Christmas that was put on by the people of the snowy region. I could tell when I looked out my window just how much busier the roads looked and the bright glittering lights that reflected off the snow. There had been no rush to wake up any of our mornings prior other than the excitement of the younger ones as we prepared for Christmas.
With only a few days remaining to the special day, we had finally finished all wrapping, decorating and most major preparations for the party. All that was left was preparing food and to actually wait for the day itself. Thankfully, that gave us about three days to relax until the day of the party, which I would start preparation for that morning unless something else came up.
You never knew sometimes in this town…
As I stretched in bed and prepared to get up, I was a tad surprised to see that I was without my sister. Though I was actually able to sleep. She must have been with me until recently which forced me to wake. A yawn escaped me, and until I had a morning cup of tea, I wasn't going to think about it too intently.
Quickly grabbing my night coat and slippers, I opened my door and instantly was met with giggling from the first floor. It was quiet enough that I wouldn't have heard it from my room, but now that I was in the common area of the house, it was clear to pick up on. I could see that Papyrus and Frisk were laying out beneath the Christmas tree we had cut to place in our home, their heads stuck under the thick branches and seemingly looking between the needles to the Christmas lights that glittered through them. The entire world seemed almost nonexistent to them as they whispered and pointed out at the colors.
Quietly stepping down the stairs as to not disturb their fun, I saw Sans was laid out on the couch, snoring away. I couldn't remember if he had actually gone to bed at some point in the night or if he had just remained downstairs all night. Glancing to the clock on the wall, I saw it was nine in the morning. It was probably time for him to have a cup of coffee.
I slipped into the kitchen then and swiftly made a half pot of water for a mug of tea for myself before setting up the coffee grinds I'd prepared the night prior to soak. Creating the brew I knew Sans needed to actually wake up. Just as the brew's scent hit the air, a flash of blue glowed behind me and I felt a weight on my shoulder. I tried to hold back the blush as Sans laid his head on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my waist to keep himself from falling. I had to use a bit of magic to keep myself upright…
I always managed to get into these positions when it was just me and Sans, and especially if sleep was involved. He certainly wasn't fully awake in those moments…
"Coffee…"
"I was going to bring a cup to you, you know."
"Mmm…"
Sans shifted as he held onto me to keep upright in his half-asleep state of mind. I felt him moving his head on my shoulder, quickly turning into the warmth of my skin and surprisingly holding me tighter. I felt him breath in deeply where my hair hung against his skull.
God, this skeleton was out to make me blush to death!
"…smells nice… like echo flowers…"
My heart beat into a frenzy as he said those words, my hand held over the top of his cup with coffee pot in the other hand. I stilled as he shifted closer, if that was even possible. The redness in my face was probably the ugliest hue I could ever imagine.
And he was about to be the death of me!
"Alright, enough of that, Darling." Releasing the cup I was holding, I patted his skull. "Back to the couch with you. I'll bring you your coffee in just a moment."
"…mmm…" For a few moments, I wasn't sure that he'd heard me. However, I was mistaken when I felt his arms slowly pull back and a blue flash had Sans out of the kitchen. With a moment to breath. I swiftly made his cup of coffee, grabbed my previously made tea, and walked back out to the living room.
"Oh! Brother! You're up!" Papyrus' loud comment seemed to jostle Sans from the slumber he'd just sunken into when he teleported back to the couch. I saw that Sans's eye lights were just starting to form as I approached. "Miss Angel! You are too!"
He truly wasn't awake when he was with me… I didn't know if I should be relieved or disappointed…
"Good morning, everyone." I quickly approached Sans and set down the cup before him. "And coffee for you, Darling."
"Heh," Sans reached forward to grab the cup before sinking back into the couch cushions. "Thanks, Precious…"
Frisk sat up from her spot with Papyrus to question me. "Are we going to the fair today, Angel?"
Papyrus seemed to turn giddy at her side. "Oh, yes! Can we, Miss Angel?"
"The first thing we're all going to do is give Sans and I a chance to wake up and have a full cup, or two, of coffee." Sans threw me an appreciative glance from his spot. I sat down next to him as he sipped his brew. "Then we will all get dressed, you and I especially Frisk since we need to wear those special cloaks so that no one will be able to tell we're human. After that, then yes, we can go to the fair. We'll probably see what the fair has to offer for breakfast food or snacks until Grillby and Sara open up their stand."
"Awe…" Frisk pouted at me. "We have to wait that long?"
"You're not changing my mind, little sister." After setting down my mug of tea did I cross my arms. "There are too many people that we don't know and that most likely don't like humans. We also don't know if the king may even show up and that's something we're not taking a risk with."
Frisk sulked at me, but she knew I wouldn't bend on the subject. "Fine…"
"Don't worry, Kiddo." Sans reached over to ruffle her messy locks. "We'll get some good ol' fair food into ya soon enough. Just… be patient a bit longer, okay? Angel and I just woke up."
"Oh Frisk!" Papyrus yanked her to her feet with an idea on the end of his magical tongue. "Let's get dressed and then we could start putting out some of our gifts under the tree!"
"But I don't want the people at the party to touch them!" Frisk huffed, turning away. "They're for you, Sans and Angel!"
Papyrus tilted his head in confusion. "But don't you have something for MK and Milly?"
That seemed to make a lightbulb appear over my sister's head.
"Oh! Those presents!" Frisk quickly jumped to her feet before pulling at her best friend. "Let's go then!"
The two youngest ones dragged each other to the second level of the house, I could hear clothes flying in each other's rooms as they prepared to get dressed and washed up.
If Sans and I were lucky, they would both take showers to kill some more time…
Both of us older siblings collectively sighed. Simultaneously we sipped our brews and took whatever time we could before we'd be running to the races with Papyrus and Frisk nipping at our heels.
Later That Morning:
An hour and a half later, I was locking the door behind us as Papyrus and Frisk nearly dragged us from our home. Once everyone had woken some more and were properly dressed (my sister and I in special robes that Sans had ordered for us that would keep us safe from on lookers who didn't know about us) we left both eager and a tad worried as we approached the fair.
It was only a short walk from the house. We could actually see some of the festive from the house itself, some of the decorative lights and banners I could see from my window when I'd woken.
The fair was bustling. Games were around, many wears to buy, and food to divulge in. I'd never seen the streets so lively, not in all the months we'd been here. As we approached, I could see Grillby and his family hard at work serving guests inside their large tent that took up nearly all of the fair, besides the stage that Scarlet had set up for different free gigs going on at the fair to raise money for other locations in need besides the orphanage. A band was currently playing today while I heard an entertainer was coming tomorrow. The talent show was coming on the last day of the fair while the act for the twenty-third... I honestly couldn't remember what was planned for that day.
"Can we go get something to eat Sis? I'm hungry!"
I was hardly surprised by my sister's request.
"Sure, why don't you and Papyrus go off and get something for all of us. We'll meet you over at one of the tables once we look around a bit more. Okay?"
"Come Little Sitka!" Papyrus quickly reached over for his "cousin" and pulled her up on his shoulders. "Let us get some food from Grillby's greasy establishment."
"It's not greasy, Papy! Its yummy!"
And with that the two took off, Papyrus walking away while he and Frisk argued the entire way over. We watched them duck under the tent and approach the small line that was standing before Fuku who took orders while her parents ran the exposed kitchen in the back. I saw the little girl wave to us while Sans and I continued to move about the stalls looking over what others had to present.
Sans and I strolled down the snow-covered road and carefully looked about the booths. I could feel the intense gaze of my companion as we walked so I looked up at him to see him watching with a more critical eye.
"Sans, what is it?" It took me a moment to focus on his gaze to notice that Sans wasn't looking at me. He was looking through me to whatever was off in the distance. His eye lights thinned out, nearly fading from the inside of his skull to show me just how... upset he was with whatever he was looking at.
I turned around to see what held his gaze and was quickly met with the enraged eyes of Robert who seemed to glare from where he stood at a booth well at the back of the fair, surrounded by his family. I saw the younger children hovered closer to their mother to avoid the seething bear while their eldest child seemed to be nowhere to be found. It didn't surprise me.
I'm sure all the kids would have been anywhere else if they could have.
Maria was also under that same tent and she was quick to hiss something at Robert that made him turn away from us. As soon as his gaze was gone, Maria flew from her spot to greet us. A bright warm smile covered over the barring teeth she'd just shown her husband. I was thankful that she'd never allowed the feud between myself, Sans and her husband to affect our relationship, even if things were a bit harder now for her.
"Oh Ravie! Sans! It's so lovely to see you!" When she was within a couple feet, she pulled me tightly into her arms, hugging me desperately. "I wasn't sure if you'd be joining us."
"The little ones wouldn't let us do anything else." I held her back just as tightly in the midst of the street. "We had to come see how things were doing."
"Oh, the fair is just as lively as ever!" Her sunny disposition faded slightly as she turned to look at the stalls behind her where she'd been. "With the exception of the baked goods, other vendors, especially Grillby and his family, are doing incredibly well. Folks can't seem to get enough of his style of cooking."
"Yes, we saw." I tried to keep the peace. The men of our groups certainly weren't happy with one another and I was surprised that Sans hadn't said anything yet then. "Papyrus and Sitka have gone to get us something to eat."
"Oh, how wonderful." Maria pulled me over to a few stands down from where she was set up to show an empty stall. All that appeared to be there was an empty register and some tags to write prices on. "Say now Ravie, have you thought of selling your art work at all? We have this stall here for you to expose yourself a bit more."
Maria had asked me a while ago about that. Originally, she had asked me if I wanted to sell my work at the fair to begin making communications between those of the underground who would like my work and help get me into other areas. However, after the promise I made to Sans and Robert, I decided it wouldn't be wise, not until Robert apologized. I decided against it, even if it would perhaps help me. I would hope that my friends could help me with that, much like Sans promised after the season was over.
"I'm not sure just yet, we'll see." I did have plenty to sell that was stored away, paintings of Snowdin and memories of when I was on the surface. I had made plenty for the fair, but after our argument that led to the promise, I didn't want to take any risk in breaking that promise to Sans. "Well, we just wanted to stop by and check out the stalls. We're going back with the little ones for a bit in order to eat."
"Oh, couldn't I join you?" Maria turned long enough to face her husband. "Robert, I'll be taking a short lunch break. I'll be back within half an hour, alright?"
Though the older male grumbled, he didn't say much as he proceeded to take care of a few things while the children seemed to be selling a few things on the other side of their booth.
"Perfect! This is the first chance I've had to be with you in quite a while!" Maria easily grabbed a small wallet from behind the stand before she stood with Sans and I. "I hope that's alright?"
"Of course." Though I was a bit hesitant, I saw Sans shrug out of the corner of my vision, showing he didn't mind. Our feud was with Robert, not his wife who had never been cruel to us. She was still a valuable friend from inside this town. She knew many others and was spreading around good word about me and my sister to those she knew, so it was helpful.
Walking together, we all made our way over to Grillby's large tent that seemed to hold a few dozen worth of tables for people to eat at. Frisk and Papyrus were already seated with our meals all laid out at a table for four. On our walk up, I snagged another lose chair from another table to place for Maria to sit at.
"Oh, good morning, Maria!" Papyrus greeted her warmly when the bear sat with us.
"Good morning to you too, Papyrus." With the bear seated comfortably (or as well as anyone could on fair provided chairs) she began to paw at her food, seemingly struggling to decide what to eat first. "How have you been?"
"Well, Little F-Sitka and I have finished decorate our glorious home for the party in three days' time! We are ever so excited for it! It will also be the first time that Miss A-Ravie will meet Undyne!"
"Yes, that is quite exciting. I know my little ones are vastly looking forward to it."
And that's where Maria sighed, her disposition changed and seemed to have a much darker look about her. Sans and I watched her carefully while the younger ones actually stopped eating their food to see what was the matter.
I tilted my head at her. "Maria?"
The older woman shook her head. "I'm so sorry, for all that's happened. My Robert should have never done anything like what he had done to you all, and because of that his beloved fair is going to suffer for it."
"Wait a minute. His beloved fair?" I couldn't stop myself from blinking, turning to face an astonished Sans, and then turning back to the bear. "I don't understand."
"Technically it was his mother who started up the fairs about fifty or so years ago, back when his parents were young and first married, back before the raging illness that took the lives of many nearly twenty years go. She was the one to first start up the fair with her friends, and it was so small that the town never thought she'd get it to be where it sits today."
Maria paused for a moment. I could see the memories passing behind her eyes. I saw them dull and brighten, depending on what she was seeing.
We all waited on baited breath for her to tell us more…
"However, King Goretin, King Asgore's father and the previous king, applauded her for her attempts at making the underground a bit more pleasant and cheerful around that time of year and with him came others from the neighboring cities, towns or villages. They saw the hard worked on crafts and instruments, as well as homemade food that seemed to draw everyone together. It was the first ever Snowdin Fair, which Melody, my mother-in-law, was in charge of."
"So, Robert took it over after his mother passed?" Papyrus questioned.
"Yes. When his mother died, Robert took over with my help. We split up into two teams. Robert planned out who would do what and set up the crews to prepare everything while I would rally everyone's spirits, be the kind face that Melody was in tough times. Robert was always too much like his father, and couldn't be as happy as he used to after his mother's death."
"…Why are ya tellin' us this?" Sans scowled as he watched our friend. I could feel the irritation from his soul.
"Well… I suppose that I was hoping that after hearing that story that you might change your mind…" Maria let out a shaky sigh. Tears actually welled up in her eyes and she struggled to wipe them away. "I know that it's selfish to ask, but the fair means so much to us after all these years…"
"If it really means that much to him, then Robert will come around." I didn't dare face my friend, no longer felling hungry as my emotions filled the pit of my stomach. "I don't like that I can't help out. I want to, really, but I'm not breaking my promise."
"I had a feeling you'd say that." I didn't dare to look at the face of disappointment that would be ready for me to receive should I lift my head. "It looks like I can't help my husband out of this one… I can't tell if I want to be mad at you… or proud of you for being so strong…"
The hesitance was mutual…
"I'll take my leave now. I can't level Robert for too long or things won't go as he'd planned." I felt the shift of the table as Maria moved away, standing up. "It was still wonderful to talk to all of you. Perhaps things will be different after the fair is over, and feelings have simmered? I'd like to be able to talk to you much like we did before these events."
The crunching of snow was the indication I needed to know that she'd left. I then carefully lifted my head see the vacant spot where Maria had sat. I sighed, pushed back the food I'd been given, and laid my head in my arms.
"Sis?" Frisk hesitantly questioned from the other side of the table.
I knew Maria was counting on me. Something that stung no matter how I thought about it. No matter how I tried to justify my answer, it hurt. Perhaps I was being selfish, prideful, or unwilling? At least one or two of those fit.
And yet… even though it hurt, I knew I couldn't stop…
A gentle hand laid on my shoulder then, carefully gripping the flesh that covered muscle and bone. I glanced up thought my arms to see Sans with a much more understanding expression then before.
"Ya wanna head back, Rav?"
"Yeah." I punished my food toward my sister. "You can have mine, Sitka."
Frisk hesitated that. In any other situation, she would have wolfed it down in seconds. It was so rare for her to be controlling herself. "You sure, Ravie?"
"I'm not hungry anymore." Sans never let go of my shoulder, even as I stood by his side. "You're in charge while we're gone, Papy. Try not to stay out too late."
I could see the nervous look on the older of the youngest two's faces. "M-miss Ravie?"
"She'll be alright Pap." Sans pulled on my shoulder so he could wrap an arm around me. "We'll see ya at home."
And just like that, we were surrounded by a flash of blue that left us back in our kitchen.
As soon as we were in the safe confines of our home, I landed back on the dining room chair. The guilt that settled just seemed to ache and ache, not matter what I thought of to rid myself of those feelings. It was difficult to surprise, and made me think of things I could do. My first thought was to bake…
Perhaps Bernie wouldn't mind some more sweets…
Another flash of blue left me entirely alone while Sans was gone, no longer beside me. I sighed. My friend probably went back to Papyrus and Frisk to check on them and make sure they were okay while I hid away in the kitchen to sulk.
Or sort myself out, I wasn't sure what I was doing then.
The only thing I knew was that I was away from others. If anything bad happened, it would happen in private, something that was quite rare these days for me…
Another flash of blue made me blink, and before I knew it, a bottle had been set roughly before me. Glancing up at it, I saw it a large bottle filled about two thirds full with a softly glowing liquid. It was an aqua color and the bottle read "Echo Flower Essence."
What in the world was-
"Here." Sans sat with me at the table. He screwed off the bottle and passed it quickly over to me. "Have some, it'll take the edge off of those feelin's of yers."
I raised an eye brow. "Are you trying to get me drunk?"
"Nah, too lazy ta deal with the aftermath." Sans shrugged, leaving the bottle with me while he leaned his head into his hands. "When I feel like that, like ya do, a swig or two of that's all I need ta numb it and get on with everythin'. I don't do it often, Pap notices. But ya seemed like ya could use it."
I contemplated as I stared back at the bottle. I'd never had a lick of alcohol since before my parents passed. My mother would pass me her wine, let me sip on it. I liked it, she only had the fruity ones that reminded me of juice or soda. Mom didn't like strong drinks like Dad did. He let me try some too, most of which I hated. But I didn't mind the rum when he gave me some of that on occasion. Or a mixed drink he'd sometimes make for my mother.
I could smell the scent of it on the air. Faintly floral, but a sweet scent hung in the air that made me blink. My hand slowly made its way to the bottle and I lifted the long neck to my lips.
My first taste of the liquor was that it was surprisingly sweet. I wasn't expecting it to be as sweet as it was as well as have the strong burning taste that human liquor had. I could feel the magic in it as well, almost instantly numbing my senses and making me feel more… normal? Was that the right word?
My guilt just seemed to fade away in those moments after a single sip. I carefully looked over the bottle to see if anything labeled was listed to tell these types of symptoms, but besides the name and the owner of the store it was bought from, no such information was there.
"Heh, feel better, Precious?" After I had carefully set down the bottle, Sans quickly picked it up and took a swig himself. I blushed quickly and I couldn't suppress the thought of being indirectly kissed when Sans did such a thing.
His mouth has been on the bottle's lips before…
"Yes…" More alert to the situation after seeing him take a drink, the fuzzy feeling that numbed my darker feelings felt stronger as the moments passed by. "Why do I feel so… happy?"
Sans paused for a moment with his drink, setting down the bottle as I saw the brew affected him as well. He chuckled, a dazed look coming to his sockets and a happier expression, which I felt coming from his soul as well. "It's the echo flower essence. It numbs all bad feelings and helps to release a chemical in your body to make you happier. I use it when I have some tough days. Pap don't like it when I use it too often, so I hide it in my room or spike my ketchup with it."
"Did you… use it often in the past?"
He shrugged. "A few times, now I barely touch the stuff since ya and Frisk came inta our lives. But… I'll still have a sip just take the edge off here and there. Or for happier days to celebrate." A blue hue then appeared on his cheekbones as he presented the bottle to me once more. "Wanna have another?"
I rolled my eyes, but took the bottle. I wasn't ready to feel the guilt or disappointment again. "Now I know you're trying to make me drunk."
"Heh." Sans smirked and leaned his skull into his hand. "Who knows? Maybe I am."
Witch's Note:
Oh, doesn't this feel so painfully righteous? Angel is following every little promise to the letter even as she wants so badly to help out. Robert has dug himself a hole he can't pull himself out of without wounding that terrible pride of his!
I'm sure there's plenty of you who were I bet a little mad at Maria for her poking her nose into something that she shouldn't have. Just like she said, she can't save her husband this time from the hole he dug himself into. Hopefully he makes up his mind soon on what to do or else his fair will suffer for it. No worse than his marriage…
And before I forget, anyone want to comment on how Sans was in-directly kissing Angel while they were sipping on that bottle of liquor?
Now on to the Reviews!
ShunGod: THE BEAR SHOULD DIE! (The woman has taken control of my station and I'm struggling to pull her off.)
Mystic Girl! You get away from my keyboard! Didn't you hear me? I said- (a loud beeping went off from the screen.
I HAVE HIS LOCATION!
Mystic Girl! (She runs off toward the coordinates she recovered.) Damn it! Stop giving her encouragement ShunGod! I'm trying to corral her! Oh my god, you guys actually will be able to find that bear at this rate!
RoseCentury: We're so sorry for your loss. You poor thing. Here's to hoping that things turn out a bit better for you in the future. You're loved ones are still with you.
Love you all and see you next week! Don't forget to review and send in comments!
Halloween Witch
