:):
Thank you, undershield and elittesgamer for your reviews! I am very pleased to get some feedback for my story and it makes me happy that you are enjoying it so far.
...
We're finally going to have some plot development in this chapter. So this is probably where it's going to really diverge from the main storyline.
xxx
Snail Casserole
xxx
"Mom!"
Toriel's ears perked slightly at the familiar yet unfamiliar call. "I'm in the kitchen, dear." She called back calmly. The day was winding down now but the child still had so much energy. From the moment the little girl had woken up that morning, she had persistently followed the motherly goat monster wherever she went. Not only that, but she must had actually heard her last night before falling asleep and decided to take her up on the offer of calling her 'Mom'. Overnight, Toriel's quiet house had been filled with youthful energy and playful laughter.
"What are you doing?" The little girl asked as she peeked around the corner like she had done the night before. "Are you making dinner? Can I help?"
Toriel turned to smirk at the hyper child. "Do you like snails?" She teased.
"I don't know." The girl answered honestly as she walked into the kitchen to observe the progress of tonight's dinner. "Do they taste like caterpillars?" She asked, making a face of slight disgust.
"I wouldn't know." Toriel chuckled. She then offered a small plate to the child. On it were already prepared snails that were about to go into a casserole. "Would you like to try one?"
Without even the slightest hint of hesitation, the little girl stuffed one into her mouth and began chewing. They were different, that was for sure, but they weren't bad. The consistency was chewy like a strip of clam and it tasted buttery and salty. A smile appeared on the girl's face as she took another. "Ish yommey." She complimented through a full mouth.
Toriel was slightly takenaback at the child's reaction. She had fully expected her to turn up her nose at the snails. Through experience, she had come to understand that human's don't generally like to eat snails and knowing this, she had already prepared a special alternative meal for the child that consisted of only mushrooms and vegetables. Now, it would seem, she might have to make a larger snail casserole.
After dinner, the empty casserole dish cleared away as well as the half empty bowl of vegetables and mushrooms, Toriel decided to finally ask the small child some questions. It had been nearly two days and she still didn't even know her name. She hoped this wouldn't be considered too intrusive on her privacy. She didn't have to answer anything if she didn't want to. Watching the child contently as she once again rolled her sleeve back - that shirt was far too big - Toriel cleared her voice and asked. "My child," she started, gaining her attention. "As you know, my name is Toriel, if I may ask, what is your name?"
"My name's Fearia!" The little girl replied happily.
"Fearia." Toriel smiled gently. "How did you happen to fall into the underground?"
"Oh!" The child exclaimed going into thought. "I didn't actually mean to fall. It's just that the rope broke halfway down... It was scary!"
Startled, Toriel nearly choked on her after dinner tea. "Y-you were trying to climb down here on purpose? All by yourself? Why?"
"I had to..." Fearia slowly frowned. "If I can pass this test then I can save my sister." Hesitating for only a moment, she continued. "I just needed to come down here all by myself. If I could survive in a place filled with monsters and come back with something to prove my bravery, then I'd pass his test! I thought it would be easy... But I was beaten right away by a mean flower!"
Toriel watched as frustrated tears threatened to fall from the child's eyes. "Fearia..." She began gently. "Don't think of it as a failure, instead, look at what you have achieved all by yourself. You made it through all of the puzzles and traps in the Ruins and you did it all on your own." Even though I told you to wait patiently. Toriel chided silently in her mind. "In my opinion, for such a small child, that is quite an accomplishment and definitely something you should be proud of. If anything, that alone proves your bravery."
"You think so?" Fearia asked, looking hopeful.
"I'm sure of it." Toriel smiled. "Now, what is this about your sister?"
"Frisk." Fearia revealed. "She's the reason why I'm down here. In a month, she is going to be married off to the Fugue village's chief's son, Troven." The small child's nose wrinkled in disgust as she spoke the name. "She hates him! But father's forcing her, to stop the fighting between our villages. It's not fair! She shouldn't have to marry anyone if she doesn't want to. She's not even old enough anyway."
Toriel was at a loss for words as she continued to listen to the child's story. These problems were far too heavy for someone so young. There was simply no easy solution to such a dilemma.
"So that's why I have to pass this test. If I can bring something back to Father, then he promised he'd reconsider." Fearia explained hotly as she stood from her chair, amber eyes filled with Determination. "He'll have to call off the dumb wedding and Frisk won't have to marry that big jerk."
Listening patiently, Toriel couldn't help but wonder why a child this young had been given such a dangerous test to begin with. Was this a human custom or was it perhaps a misjudgment on her father's part. Either way, Toriel could feel the little girl's conviction and she couldn't help but sympathize with the her. These were adult issues that couldn't be easily solved by a child. But then, Frisk was still a child too and the poor dear was stuck in a horrible situation.
"If I can't pass this test..." Fearia started, perhaps secretly understanding the improbability. "Then, I want to at least take Frisk away. Maybe I can bring her here."
"I wouldn't be oppose to the idea..." Toriel started cautiously. "But getting out of the underground isn't something easily done. A barrier was put in place a long time ago to prevent any monsters from escaping. A human such as yourself might be able to leave but you won't be able to climb back up from where you fell."
"How do I get out then?"
A haunted look flashed across Toriel's face. This was a bad idea. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. She didn't want to lose yet another child. None of them. Not a single one had gotten out of the Underground alive. Because of him, Toriel thought bitterly. This sweet child would be no different. It didn't matter how determined she was, she would sill die. There were never any survivors...
"Let's get ready for bed, my child." Toriel said, a strained smile on her face. "We can talk more about this tomorrow."
"Okay." Fearia accepted. There was a hint of slight disappointment but she didn't argue. "I still have a month left..."
...
Two more days had past without the subject of leaving being brought back up. In that time, Toriel had taken the child back into the Ruins to show her the best places to hunt snails as well as how to properly communicate with the monsters there. The Vegetoid no longer threw vegetables at the little girl and instead graciously offered them. The Loox, finally accepting that the small human wasn't going to pick on him, completely lost interest. Maybe he wanted to be picked on?
Sugar Tongue, the unfortunate name given to the large Froggit she had met in the puzzle room a few days ago, had become strangely attached to the little girl. That is, as long as she had monster candy in her pocket. Which she did. Always.
Learning the body language of the Moldsmal had been a delight for both the slime monsters and Fearia. In fact, given enough time, the little girl had somehow made a fun dance out of it that consisted of various wiggling movements that the Moldsmal couldn't resist reciprocating.
Migosp, of course, was still Migosp. It was best to avoid him if at all possible... Unless you liked being a captive audience.
A day later, Toriel was confident that the child wasn't going to get lost or hurt and had allowed her to wander around in the Ruins on her own. For a little while at least.
Finding her way back to the golden flowers and the hole she had fallen from, Fearia had come to the awful conclusion that she, in fact, could not climb back up. Reaching the end of the hanging rope was impossible. It was just too high. Also, something strange had happened when she had tossed a rock towards the hole. It had completely disappeared! Seriously. It never came back down. Plus, there was a weird rippling or shimmering in the air halfway to the surface. Was this the barrier she had been told about?
This really put her situation into perspective. If she couldn't go back the way she had entered then the only other option was to find a different way out. That was the problem though. Fearia had spent enough time in the Ruins to know where almost everything was by now and she was certain that there were no other exits. The only place she hadn't explored was down the stairs in the kind goat lady's house. Toriel had asked her not to go down there and she had politely respected her caretaker's wishes. But really, that only made a small child more curious.
xxx
About the name...
"Fear-ria"
It's unpleasant for a reason but that will be explained much later.
xxx
Thank you for reading!
If you like this story, why not leave me a friendly review?
More's on the way!
Sheii Bae
