:):

It seems that a lot of people liked the last chapter. That makes me happy! :)

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About the questions regarding the Kingdom of Magic and the coins - only the coins from that kingdom contain spells, all of the other coins are mundane. Many of the questions relating to the Kingdom of Magic, its inhabitants, and its political standings will be revealed in upcoming chapters. Since this place is so important to the story, there will be plenty of opportunities to explore more about it later.

The Librarby probably doesn't have any record of the Kingdom of Magic since it depicts humans in a way that directly contradicts how monster children are being taught in school nowadays... But perhaps an avid book collector or a hoarder of antiquities might have something of interest! :)

xxx

Glowbug

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Growling, the hollow pit inside Fearia's stomach threatened to start consuming her if she didn't feed it. Releasing an unhappy whimper, the little girl opened a groggy eye. She was met with a thick heavy darkness that seemed to cling to the walls and press up against her at the same time. Where was she?!

Hunger was replaced by panic as the tiny child tried to take in her surroundings. She couldn't see anything so she had to rely on her other senses. There was nothing to be heard except for a strange whistling sound from somewhere close by. Feeling around, Fearia grabbed a handful of soft sheets. She was in a bed, and from the railing she found on either side, she came to the conclusion that this was Papyrus' bed. That meant she was still inside the Skeleton brother's house.

Slowly letting out the breath she'd been holding, Fearia allowed herself to relax. At least she knew where she was now. But why was it so dark? Drawing her knees to her chest, the little girl squeezed her eyes shut. This was something she'd always been teased about, but she just couldn't seem to get over it. The darkness terrified her!

Unable to hold back another whimper, the little girl shakily clambered over the railing. After making her way to where she knew the door was, she stood on her tippy toes and reached for the doorknob. It took her a few tries but just like last time, she got it open.

The darkness she had hoped to escape from followed her out into the hallway. Where was the big floating ball of fire that lit up the house? It was gone! Instead of the soft crackling of magical embers, the nearly inaudible sound of something humming had replaced it. She couldn't tell from where it was coming.

Feeling the darkness press in around her, Fearia felt her skin break out in a cold sweat. There had to be light somewhere around here! Just when she felt like the inky blackness would swallow her whole, she noticed the magical flames flickering out from under the nearby door.

"...Sans." Fearia whispered as she pitter pattered over to the lazy skeleton's door. Ignoring the fact that she had no idea what time it was, the little girl knocked urgently. "Sans!" Trying to be as quiet as she could, she attempted to get her friend's attention. "Are you in there? Can I come in? ...Please? It's really really dark out here..."

For all of her pleading, she was still met with silence. If Sans was in there, he was either asleep or ignoring her. Sliding down next to the magical flames, Fearia once again drew her knees to her chest and this time hid her face. Maybe if she hid from the darkness, she wouldn't feel so scared.

It wasn't working...

Popping her head up, Fearia let out a small gasp as she remembered something. The Sunstone! It was still downstairs. If she could brave the darkness and get downstairs, she could use the runestone to light up the house.

Forcing herself to her feet, Fearia used the wall to guide her to the stairs. Carefully, she made her way down, one step at a time. Descending into the pitch blackness of the living room was nearly more than she could handle. The darkness felt like it was seeping right into her bones. Arms outstretched, the small child blindly made her way across the living room and to the small table near the door.

After a few seconds of fumbling around, her fingertips glided across the smooth engraved stone. Quickly snatching it up, Fearia held it to her chest for a few seconds until she felt it begin to radiant a gentle warmth. From within her small hands, light poured through the cracks. Relief washed over the child as she held the stone out and let it bathe the living room in a delicate white light.

As much as she would love to keep the darkness at bay like this, she couldn't help but feel paranoid. What if she got caught using this runestone? Would they be mad? The last thing she wanted to do was make them mad. But... she also didn't want to stay in the dark.

Deciding not to risk it, she reluctantly returned the stone to the table. Its light faded slowly, but eventually she was left in the all consuming darkness once more. She just really didn't want to make them angry with her. After all, she was starting to like them a whole lot. Papyrus was so much fun to play with and Sans, even though he was obnoxious sometimes, was a patient listener and his calm temperament could usually put her at ease. She didn't want to lose that by foolishly taking something without asking first.

Putting on a brave face, Fearia stepped away from the table. She could do this. It was just a little darkness, it couldn't harm her. All she had to do was wait until it went away.

As if to test her resolve, the wind outside the window picked up, and with it, an eerie howling could be heard from just on the other side of the panel of glass. A cold chill ran down the child's spine as she once again felt the black nothingness press up against her. Balling up her fists, she squeezed her eyes shut. She could do this!

...

Locking the door to his secret workshop, Sans tucked the key away as he walked around the house. Sure it was late but he got all of his best ideas at night. This was also partly the reason why he was always so tired.

Not even bothering to hold back an unexplainable yawn, the lazy skeleton popped out of sight in a pulse of blue energy. Reappearing inside the kitchen, he went straight for the fridge. He closed the door after choosing a can of soda found on his side. If Papyrus knew he was sneaking a sugary drink in the middle of the night, he'd get a good scolding for sure.

Heh. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. The lazy skeleton grinned as he cracked open the can and took a sip. This was just one of the many perks of being a night owl.

Existing the kitchen, the skeleton's pace slowed as he heard something strange coming from directly above him. It sounded like... humming? Tilting his skull, Sans looked up towards the overhead balcony. A faint light was glowing near where he knew his room was. Was that the kid?

If it was, he didn't want to startled her by just appearing in front of her all of the sudden. Instead, he forced himself to make the arduous grueling trip up the stairs. How people got around all the time without teleporting was beyond him. The very thought made him exhausted.

As quietly as he could, Sans walked over to the tiny human curled up in a tight ball beside his door. She was so close to the flames that, if they had been real, she would have been on fire. The child was still humming what sounded to be bits and pieces of a lullaby, kind of like she had forgotten some of the words here and there. What Sans found most strange, however, was the dim pulse of light that she was emitting every few seconds. Was this kid bioluminescent or something?

"to what do i owe the pleasure of your visit, little glowbug?" Sans asked calmly as he stuffed his bony hands into his pockets. The humming stopped in an instant as the child cautiously lifted her head. Her cheeks were tear stained and she looked like she had been through some kind of harrowing experience, but when she spotted him, the expression of relief on her face was unmistakable.

"Sans!" Fearia nearly cried as she quickly uncurled herself from her tight protective ball. A glowing object clattered to the hardwood floor in her haste to stand but she paid it no mind. Rushing over, she wrapped her small arms around a femur and hid her face in the worn fabric of his baggy shorts. "Where were you?"

The lazy skeleton was momentarily lost for words as he stared down at the tiny quivering creature attached to his leg. What had happened? Why was she so upset? A swell of parental worry surged through his bones as he leaned over and placed a hand gently onto her head. "hey now, what's wrong, buddy? why were you crying?"

"I wasn't crying!" She sobbed as she pressed her face into his baggy shorts, slowly dampening them.

With a sigh, Sans reached down and carefully disentangled the child's small arms from around his femur. He then easily lifted her up and brought her to his sternum where she reattached her arms around his cervical spine. Rubbing her back in small comforting circles, he patently waited for her to calm down.

Clinging to her skeletal savior, Fearia finally felt the tension subside from her body and her trembling eventually stopped. She was okay now. She was safe. It was still dark but she wasn't alone anymore.

Once the small child had calmed down enough, Sans reached out with his free hand and unlocked the door. Opening it, he carried her inside his room without a word. He still didn't understand what had frightened the kid so badly, but just knowing that she had come to him for help and he hadn't been there for her, stung a little. He felt guilty. Hours had slipped away while he tinkered around in his workshop, who knows how long she had been sitting beside his door curled up and shaking.

Flicking on the lights, Sans revealed his messy bachelor pad in all of its glory. Bed sheets were balled up on an unmade mattress, the carpet was unvacuumed and there was a mysterious collection of dirty socks pushed behind the door. To top it off, a self-sustaining cyclone of garbage swirled lazily in the far corner of his room. It occasionally shed a paper ball or two only to recollect them a moment later. In all honesty, this place was a complete sty.

Laying on a messy pile of dirty clothes, a small white dog perked its furry ears when it spotted the skeleton. Tongue lolling out of its mouth, the fluffy creature had a quick stretch before bouncing over to him excitedly. Curious, it began sniffing the air as it made a circle around its friend. Strange smell. What did he have? Coming to a stop in front of the skeleton, the dog sat down and looked up at him expectantly.

Sans stared at the dog for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle. The timing couldn't get more perfect than this, could it? Knowing the kid, she wouldn't be able to resist this little guy. He just hoped that this meet and greet wouldn't go badly. This wasn't exactly how he had it planned, but ...oh well.

"hey, kid." Sans said as he tried to get her attention with a gentle pat on the back. She, of course, stubbornly ignored him as she continued to hide her face in the fluffy collar of his warm winter coat. Grin softening, Sans rubbed her back once more in understanding before carefully kneeling down to the carpet.

The small dog panted happily as it proceeded to curiously sniff the strange being clinging to the skeleton. Using a patella, the fluffy monster stretched up to snuffle the mop of messy auburn hair. The creature flinched at the unexpected intrusion before turning their head to find the cause.

A warm tongue slid across the tiny human's face, startling her, before amber eyes widened almost comically and a quick gasp was heard. "A puppy!" She squirmed in her excitement and was easily released from the skeleton's bony grasp.

Grin widening, Sans watched as the little girl dropped to her knees and attempted to scoop the monster up. The small white dog wiggled madly as it continued to lick her face making her giggle uncontrollably. And, just like that, whatever had been upsetting the kid seemed to have been magically forgotten for the time being.

"Sans, I didn't know you had a puppy." Fearia said through giggles as the overexcited dog clambered around in her grasp until accidentally toppling the child over. "What's his name?"

Getting back to his feet, Sans shrugged nonchalantly. "dunno, i never asked."

"He doesn't have a name?"

"that's not what i sa-"

"Can I name him?"

Sans hesitated for a moment until a humored grin appeared on his skull. With another lazy shrug, he shoved his hands back into his pockets and just went with it. "sure, kid. knock yourself out."

Whatever makes you happy...

xxx

Thus a new character enters the stage.

...

In the next chapter, Sans rediscovers the joys of storytelling.

xxx

Thanks for reading!

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Sheii Bae~