After the emotional escapade that was their time in the throne room, exploring the castle seemed to come a little bit easier for all of them. Toriel was a little more confident in guiding them through the ancient halls, feeling as though the hardest part of all this was behind them now.

Well… perhaps one of the hardest anyway. She had kept quite vague about some things, but the question of how she was eventually driven from this place, why it was abandoned in the first place, was bound to come up sooner rather than later. And there was no way that story would be in any way easy to share.

For the moment though, she focused on the task directly at hand. Room by room. Many of them she skipped, either because they all proved to be just empty shells, or because there was nothing truly of note to speak of about them. At least, compared to the areas of interest she wanted to see most. After clearing much of the ground floor, the nearest of which proved to be her bedroom, just up the first once grand flight of stairs.

She led them through the arduous upward journey to the second floor, pausing at the top to take in the sight around her. The upper levels were no better off than the ground floor it seemed. The same damage and evidence of the centuries that had passed was apparent all around them. Along with the same lack of the features and decor that had once made this place feel inviting, not just a massive collection of empty marble halls. The occasional holes in the walls of the castle were present here too, revealing the brilliant blue sky beyond them. She could see one was currently housing a bird's nest, and the occupants were watching her curiously from their perch high above.

She sighed quietly, turning away from the sight and taking a step along the same path she must have walked a thousand times over during her childhood. It was the path that led to her old bedroom, the first door on the left. Or rather, first… gaping entryway to the left, for the doors had long since been destroyed, leaving only the twisted, rusted remains of a set of hinges sticking out from the wall like gnarled claws. She eyed them with something of a grimace as she approached the room, hearing the sounds of her family reaching the top of the stairs behind her.

She glanced back for a moment to see they too were briefly caught up in looking around, and Sans was back to panting a little from the bit of exercise he'd just endured. Frisk again looked worried and seemed to move to get down, but he patted their leg again to reassure them to stay where they were, seeming oddly dedicated to the task of carrying them. She left them be for the moment, feeling her gaze and attention drawn almost irresistibly to her old room. The last time she had been here, the door frame had seemed much taller than it did now…

As she stared up at it, suddenly she found Sans and the others had come over to join her while she was lost in thought. She flushed a bit for her spaciness, apologetically, but she was met with nothing but understanding looks. Sans in particular reached out and laid a hand against her arm, and the lights of his eyes told her everything she needed to know. That was enough reassurance to return a small smile to her face, and for her to continue to lead the way inside.

Her old bedroom, like most things they'd encountered, proved to be quite smaller than she remembered. And yet… also larger with how utterly empty it was. Just another empty marble box, filled with nothing but cobwebs, dust, and the memories that dwelled in the deepest parts of her mind. Memories that, with little prompting, began stirring again after being dormant for centuries. They allowed her to paint an internal picture of the place she once knew, and she could almost see it all before her eyes.

The grand white bed frame with the hand carved floral design etched into the wood, the silky purple sheets, the plush gold satin pillows that had been big enough to nearly swallow up her whole head when she had laid against them. That along with fancy rugs, even fancier curtains, a massive wardrobe of obtusely formal clothing and all sorts of beautiful paintings had been what this room had once been proud host to. But now… there was simply… nothing.

"This… was my old room." She said simply to her family, eyes wandering to the hole that had once been her window. "Not much to see nowadays I am afraid, but long ago… it was just as overly decadent as the throne room was."

There was a few moments of continued silence from behind her, until Papyrus broke it with a bit of nervous laugh.

"WOWIE! IT SURE IS UH…" He said, before trailing off, searching for the right words.

"As empty and pointless as the last three rooms?" Flowey cut him off, in an openly bored tone.

She couldn't be sure, but from the pointed silence that followed those words, she got the feeling the flower monster was receiving no end of glares from the others for that comment. It was silly really. He was right of course. Did she really seem so emotionally fragile at the moment that they deemed her in need of protection from Flowey's usual biting comments?

"NO FLOWEY, I WAS GOING TO SAY… ER… " Papyrus quickly cut in again, but still took a second before settling on a word. "SPACIOUS! I COULD FIT FIVE OF MY OLD BEDROOMS IN HERE!"

It was a good "save" she supposed, and Sans and Frisk both were quick to agree and chime in with their own attempts at positivity. It kept the small smile on her face intact, at the very least touched by their efforts, even if it still made her feel a bit patronized perhaps.

"Yes… It was certainly quite excessive for a small child to say the least." She agreed in a quiet tone, eyes continuing to wander the room and remembering what once was.

Something caught her eye then, prompting a small surge of excitement to reignite in her soul. A sweeping sense of nostalgia filled her as she spotted the tall support beam in the back corner of the room. Unlike everything else, it had remained, and even that small victory brought warmth to Toriel's soul. She walked over to it, feeling emotion clench at her soul as her eyes traveled over its worn, cracked surface. Etched into the marble along the beam's height were small, deliberate nicks, perfectly carved out by flame coated claws with the intent of being noticeable. Beside them, just barely visible in a select few spots, was ancient style writing.

Even after all this time, and the destruction wrought on this place, those marks had still survived. Most of the writing done by her father's paw was long gone, but remnants still lingered where the fire magic used had burnt particularly strong. They had been put there to indicate her height as she grew, a new one added every birthday or during some other significant event in her life. She could make out the markers for her fourth birthday, her eleventh birthday, her eighteenth birthday and her… wedding day. That last one was the final mark that was ever etched into the marble. The last event that she spent here considered worthy of marking her height for... before everything to fell to pieces.

She ran a paw over the marks, expression softening to something of a nostalgic smile, but one that didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Take a look here everyone." She said after a moment once she remembered herself again. "The place my father used to mark my height during milestones of my life, it has managed to survive all this time."

She stepped back then to allow the others to gather close for a look of their own, finally getting to see something more interesting than empty rooms. Because of how starved they were for that, they all gazed at the marks on the pillar with wide eyes, making it out to be far more interesting that it really was it seemed.

Sans too reached out to touch the pillar as well for a moment, resting his bony hand against marble that was marked centuries before he had ever even existed. Frisk followed suit a moment after, reaching up and running their fingers over the notch for her ninth birthday. At the time, she had been nearly their exact same height, save for the small nubs of her horns giving her the edge.

"that's real cool t." Sans said, slipping his hands back into his pockets. "hard to believe you were ever so tiny."

She smiled at that, though it remained somewhat weak. Her eyes wandered down to that first mark on the pillar. The writing was long gone, but she imagined it must have been from her first birthday, judging by how many marks were present overall. It was so low on the pillar, she wouldn't have even come up to her own knee at the time.

Funny to think… if she'd somehow kept making marks for every year she lived, that final mark in the stone that indicated her wedding day would have been added too, marked deeper again and again every year until it carved its way clean through the pillar and into the wall behind it. Hundreds upon hundreds of notches, but not one inch of change.

"Yes…" She agreed quietly. "Hard to believe indeed…"

Once the words left her, she realized that they would bring about yet another awkward silence with everyone pinning her with those pitying eyes, save Flowey of course. She really didn't want that, not now when her mind was threatening to fail her from the myriad of strained thoughts that bore down on it. Though she knew she would not have been able to resist coming here regardless, she wished at that moment that she hadn't added all these sweeping thoughts on the nature of her past on top of everything else she had to worry about. She had meant this as a distraction, but it was quickly becoming far more than that.

Resolved to keep moving in order to not let her thoughts stew further, she turned then and began to head for the room's opening.

"Well, that is all there is to see here I am afraid." She said, in a slighter stronger voice. "Let us move on… I think that next we shou-"

Her words were interrupted then by a loud, irritated groan from Flowey. The sound made her stop in her tracks and look back at him over her shoulder. He was giving her a truly irritated look, petals stiff and flared out. The others looked at him too, but more with a mix of concern and anger on her behalf.

"Seriously? How much longer are we going to do this?!" He complained with quite the dramatics, flopping over in his pot. "Mom, you've taken us to the throne room, the kitchen, the royal bedroom, the secret room under the stairs, even the dumb, bookless library!"

The flower monster perked himself back up again, making a sweeping gesture with his leaves.

"And guess what they all had in common? They were all totally empty . Besides two thrones and that one chunk of a statue we found, there is nothing left in this place!"

The words hung for a moment, bringing an odd sort of sting to her soul that didn't seem to know whether it wanted to inspire anger or tears. In the end, after being forced down like everything else, it only manifested in something of a stern, disappointed frown on her face. She kept her gaze on Flowey and avoided looking at the others, suddenly worried what sort of expressions they'd be wearing.

"Now Flowey, it is not polite to shout. Nor to be needlessly rude. You know that." She said, in just enough of an authoritative tone to make Flowey deflate from his moment of anger a bit.

He huffed, but mumbled out something that might have been an apology… maybe. It was good enough for her at the moment, and in a way she had to thank him. His words just then had been something of a wake up call, pulling her from the haze of her troubled, aimless thoughts. Only then did she realize what an equally aimless journey she'd been taking them all one, through this maze of empty, ancient rooms.

"But… you are right, you all have been quite patient with a silly old lady's reminiscing today." She said, expression softening as she addressed the whole group. "And you all must be getting quite hungry…."

Flowey nodded with an expression that made it seem like that fact should have been blatantly obvious. The others looked at each other, shared a moment of hesitance, then agreed as well. Toriel smiled apologetically, truly feeling rather badly for not noticing how long she'd been guiding them around this place. And they hadn't even really scratched the surface… She had forgotten through the passing centuries just how large this place really was, especially emptied of all their possessions.

"There is... one more place I would like to see on this floor if that is alright." She said after a moment, keeping that apologetic smile on her face. "Then we can go out the back through the gardens to go have that lunch that Dr. Burgundy offered."

At that moment though, she glanced out through one of the holes in the castle's crumbling walls and realized just how long they had been in here. It had all passed in a blur for her, but the sun didn't lie as it hung far lower in the sky than she expected.

"Or… perhaps it is closer to dinner now." She amended, with a bit more embarrassment.

Thankfully, Sans was there to offer a lighthearted quip as usual, walking over to her once Frisk had safely climbed up onto his back again. It seemed by now, the child was appreciating being carried more and more, but that made her worry about how tired Sans must be as well. If he was particularly strained though, he didn't show it, smiling up at her in his usual goofy fashion.

"how bout we call it... linner?" He suggested with a wink. "though so long as there's grub, the name isn't important to me."

That summoned out a soft giggle from her, helping her soul feel a little lighter in the process. Papyrus and Flowey once again groaned in unison as the younger skeleton also walked over to join them. Frisk's face crinkled with amusement and gave Sans a light, playful swat atop the skull as though admonishing him. Just like that, he had managed to chase away the tension in the air.

"Fair enough, but I do like the name regardless." She said with a restored smile. "I will have to remember that."

She began to head for the exit then, the others trailing behind and beside her. After a few steps though, they all stopped in surprise when a terribly weak, raspy, but familiar voice spoke up. All eyes and eye sockets went to Frisk, rightly surprised to hear them speak aloud all of a sudden.

"L-linner is…" They had to pause a moment to swallow and focus their speech. "a w-winner."

The joke, simple as it was, took a good deal of strength for Frisk to get out. Doing so aloud for them was no small feat, and that was not lost on anyone present. Flowey just stared, looking confused and surprised, but everyone else, even Papyrus, did the only thing one should do in reaction to a joke like that. They all laughed, some harder than others, and Toriel could see Frisk smiling brightly.

Their laughter echoed through the empty, ancient halls of the castle, and it suddenly felt just a little less lonely, a little bit more like the home it once was.

The final room in the castle she led them to was a small one just a little further down the hallway. This one had also had its door removed, and had been totally emptied, long long ago. Even so, she knew she couldn't leave without seeing it. This room held far too many dear memories for her.

She cast her gaze around it, ignoring Flowey's groan, no doubt at being led into yet another barren room of cracked, aged marble that smelled faintly of dust and moss. Her eyes could see the evidence of what once was though. The hole in the roof where a lighting fixture once hung, the ever so faint marks on the walls where supports for large potted plants once hung, and the small room that jutted off from the main room, one carved far more crudely into the marble.

Sans walked up to her side, setting Frisk down for the moment. His brother wandered into the room behind them and Sans took a long look around. She couldn't be sure if that was simply for her sake or not. Nonetheless, she appreciated it, especially considering he must be equally if not more worn out from all this than the rest of them.

"what's this one tori?" He asked, grinning up at her. "some kind of… clinic?"

Toriel's eyes lit up at that, surprised that he had indeed guessed correctly.

"Yes, it was." She confirmed, bringing her paws together. "What gave it away?"

The skeleton shrugged then relaxed again, absently scuffing his dingy slipper against the floor.

"eh, you've seen one doc's space, you've seen em all." He mused, turning to stare somewhat blankly at the far wall. "course, they are typically more medi- full then this."

She giggled at the pun, but it didn't reach its full strength due to a small twinge of concern that gripped her soul. She understood of course what he must be referring to, but couldn't exactly express any sympathy in front of the others without potentially prompting undue questions. Thankfully, he moved on quickly, breaking from that topic.

"so what did you want to tell us about this room?" He asked, looking back up at her. "did you used to prank your doctor too?"

That drew another soft laugh out of her, and she nodded.

"Yes, sometimes." She admitted with a grin, though it softened into something more wistful as the memories slowly flowed back to her. "The doctor here was someone very dear to me."

"Her name was Nadia, she was our family's personal doctor, and something of a... nanny to me." Her smile grew warm from nostalgic memories. "Though if I am to be honest, she was more of a second mother to me. She was kind, smart, warm hearted and always knew how to stand up for herself and others. Not to mention she was incredibly skilled in healing all types of ailments, with and without magic. That was most impressive for a human."

"A HUMAN?!" Flowey burst out, sounding shocked. "You guys had a human doctor working for you?!"

Everyone else seemed to share in that reaction, and Frisk's expression in particular drew her gaze, seeing the realization of all the implications of what she'd said work their way through their expression. Sans was the one to continue the train of thought though, sounding more curious than shocked when compared to the children.

"even with… everything going on?" He asked, a touch hesitantly.

Toriel smiled down at him and the others in a hopefully reassuring manner and nodded.

"Why yes, we did." She confirmed. "My father was someone who believed greatly in peace, and had many human friends before things really got bad, including her. He did not let the changing times ruin that, and hired her on despite a good deal of objections from my mother and the other castle staff."

Her eyes grew soft with fondness and appreciation, laying a paw over her chest above her soul.

"It was Nadia and…" She began, but trailed off.

She had almost said their name… Their name. The one she had possibly hallucinated seeing in the throne room earlier. She had never mentioned them to anyone before, not even Sans. And for good reason. She went on quickly, trying to not think about them, and not wanting the others to take too much notice of her brief falter.

"Well... she was the one who showed me just how foolish all the fighting and hatred on both sides was, that peace between humans and monsters was indeed possible. Her dedication to and care for me and my family was all the proof of that I needed."

It was a partial lie, since the one who she had omitted had also been a human responsible for helping shape her view of humans back then. A view that had persisted all throughout her life and drove so many of the massive decisions that would come to define it.

Her child's weak, raspy voice broke her from her musing, demanding her immediate attention. That was twice in one day they had chosen to speak aloud. Such a thing could not be ignored. She gave them her full attention.

"Wh-what.. d-did she…" They croaked out before stopping as everyone's gazes centered on them.

Toriel knew not what had happened in their previous life before the mountain that had instilled in them this terrible reluctance to speak. But whatever it had been… she was certain it was nothing good. There had been a brief flash of fear in their eyes just then when they'd all looked at them. And though it faded fast, that did not stop her soul from continuing to burn hot with pain and anger on their behalf. If she ever found out what had happened to them, or especially who had caused her child to be so afraid of using their voice… those responsible would be facing far more than some choice words from her. One could be sure of that.

Thankfully they were in a much happier, safer place now, surrounded by those who loved them. They were all aware of Frisk's hesitations over speaking aloud, and were more than happy to be patient if they wanted to try. In front of her, her child swallowed hard, looking down as they tried to force themself to continue. She and Papyrus gave them encouraging looks, and Sans stepped over to them and laid a kind hand on their back.

"take your time kiddo." He assured, gently patting them and shooting them a warm grin.

Frisk smiled weakly in embarassed appreciation, before taking in a deep breath and seemingly filling themself with their signature Determination.

"Wh-what did sh-she look like?" They managed at last, looking relieved to have gotten the words out.

It was a little concerning, as it had been in the past, to see how much just asking one question had been for them. But she answered promptly, not finding it was the right time to dwell on all that, and wanting to encourage Frisk's attempts more than anything else.

"She was an older human woman, bald, with a similar skin tone to yours." She said, tapping a claw against her cheek as she thought back. "She had soft green eyes and wore a scarf around her head most of the time, and a long white robe. Oh, and she often carried a snake shaped staff with her that she used to channel her magic."

That last part caught Sans attention again, making him perk up a little with further interest.

"so she was a… wizard?" He asked, and his tone gave away his uncertainty regarding how to feel about that.

"Yes, but… not one of the ones responsible for sealing us all." She clarified quickly, before her eyes grew a bit hazier. "She died long before that ever came to pass."

There was a few moments of silence after that, where it seemed no one knew what to say. Even the usually ever mouthy Flowey was silent, looking to be in deep thought. He was distracted from those thoughts though as the also oddly quiet Papyrus seemed to have noticed something and stepped away from the rest of the group. Toriel watched as he went over to the smaller room jutting out from the main one, the space that had once been Nadia's storage area. He went inside and she saw him head straight for the back of that room, the part that was mostly in shadow.

"TORIEL, THERE IS SOMETHING SOMEWHAT PECULIAR IN HERE." He said, now grabbing everyone's attention.

She blinked and shared a look with Sans and Frisk before heading over to Papyrus. She stepped into the small room after him, noticing then that a few of the marble shelf structures were still intact. They were made from similar material as the floor and walls, but were indeed separate pieces of furniture. Despite that, a few of them had been spared from being stolen or destroyed. Most were missing and all were moderately damaged, but there being here meant there was some small element of Nadia's original clinic left from all those centuries ago… That was more than enough for Toriel to celebrate. It was such a small thing to be happy about really, but it made her feel that way regardless.

The shelves all had small sticky notes on them as markers, just as Burgundy had indicated there would be. There had been the same ones on a select few items found in the other rooms that had somehow endured all the passing centuries. It depicted a crudely drawn version of the logo that had been on Burgundy's uniform, and a note saying. "May require some sort of machine or monster assistance to move." Much to her amusement. But it seemed the shelves were not what Papyrus had been talking about when he'd called her over.

"LOOK HERE." He said, pointing to a particular shelf in the back. "THERE IS A SPACE ON THIS SHELF HERE WITH NO DUST."

Indeed, there was a perfect rectangular section on the shelf that had far less dust than its surroundings, making the shape stick out starkly. The shape and location suggested it may have been caused by a book lying there, but that idea seemed ridiculous. Surely a book would be among the last things to survive the passing centuries. And even if it had, why would it have not been stolen, burned or destroyed along with everything else?

"Hmm… it looks like this is one of the spots that Burgundy and her team removed something from." She observed after a moment. "I suppose we will have to ask her what it was when we head back."

Flowey groaned from his place within Papyrus' scarf, dramatically flopping over the edge of his pot while drawing out the sound.

"Can we please just go back already?" He all but begged, but still with his usual biting tone. "If I get any more bored and hungry I'm going to lose my mind."

She did not appreciate his overly exaggerated choice of words, especially considering his past. And given the way Sans visibly stiffened from his place lingering in the doorway, he appreciated it even less. A fact that couldn't be helped by the idea that Flowey was currently attached to his little brother…

Thankfully it seemed the look he got from the both of them made him get that he had spoken irresponsibly, and retreated with a huff deeper into his pot. Papyrus just looked between Sans and Toriel in confusion, clearly not understanding why both of them were so tense. Before he or Frisk could question it, she decided to quickly reply to Flowey's question.

"Yes… we can head back now." She relented, willing up a small smile. "I think we have seen enough for one visit."

There was a weariness to her words, as all the exertion on her mind and body began to catch up with her. The haze and shock of being in this place again was fading, pulling her more so into reality and reminding her of that one pressing matter she had continued to ignore since her arrival. It had to be spoken of before they left, there was no getting around it. With all the small hints within what she'd said and the ancient damage visible all over the castle, she knew it must be stewing in their minds. She'd just have to tell them in the garden… well... what remained of what used to be the garden.

Sans gave her a look then, trying to read her it seemed, silently asking her if she was really okay with this, or was simply being pressured into it. It worried her that she wasn't all that sure of the answer herself. Regardless though, the wellbeing of her family was far more important than her aimless reminiscing. It was best they left now, before anything more drew her back into rambling about the inconsequential moments in her past.

She returned Sans' look with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, and then headed for the door.

"Come along then, we will go out through the back stairwell… if it is still intact." She said, hoping to move things along now as much as possible.

It took them a few moments, and she caught sight of Frisk and Sans in particular share a concerned look. But once Frisk was invited back up on Sans' back, they all followed after her.

"IF YOU SAY SO!" Papyrus said, clearly trying to put some positivity back into the overall tone of the moment. "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TOUR OF YOUR OLD HOME TORIEL! EVEN IF WE DIDN'T GET TO SEE THE ROOMS BELOW WITH THE ANCIENT MONSTER PUZZLES, I SUPPOSE THAT IS ALL THE MORE REASON TO STOP BY AGAIN ANOTHER TIME!"

A bit of guilt rose up in her, remembering how she had promised him they would do that. It had become completely lost from her mind in all her wanderings through this place. She looked at him over her shoulder with yet another smile made weak with apology, a look that was beginning to feel all too common on her face.

"You are welcome… I thank you all for coming with me today, and for your patience." She said, before turning back to face ahead. "And yes… I suppose we should come back another time, perhaps when the restoration efforts have begun. Maybe by then they will have restored those old puzzles to working order."

She heard some soft affirmations from the others behind her, as well as Papyrus assuring her that her idea was great. But in truth, she felt a bit distant again, her thoughts consumed by the idea of what was to come for this place. It was empty and falling to pieces now, but this was also the last glimpse of the reality of what it once was. No matter what efforts these humans put forth on being loyal to the past of this place, it would never truly match it. This was the truth of her old home, in all its crumbling, barren, ravaged glory. She wasn't sure at that point what to make of that.

Thankfully, they found that the back stairwell was in fact, still mostly intact. A few chunks had been taken out of it either by time or intention, but enough of it remained for them to safely traverse it and exit the castle into the back gardens. As with everything else however, the place was practically little more than an overgrown mess of trees, erratic shrubbery and grass that was tall enough to reach Sans' middle. It was hard even for her to imagine that this was once one of, if not the most beautiful garden monsterkind had ever created, with flora and fauna from all across the world.

The others all paused for a moment upon reaching it, and she stopped to give them a chance to take it in. That same uncertainty on how to feel at the sight was evident on their faces as they stood there partially consumed by the grass. All except Flowey of course, who seemed much more interested in just enjoying the sun on his petals, lightly twitching them towards the sky with a content look on his face.

The others looked to her for guidance, and as though they expected her to say something about this area. She knew that now was the time to tell them, and it made her feel as though cold claws were running over the surface of her soul. Still, she managed to maintain a smile and gave a small nod as she gestured for them to keep following her.

Seeing as they still had a bit of a walk through the area to get back to Burgundy and the others, she figured walking and talking was the best course of action… for as long as they could anyway. She had no doubt that what she was about to talk about would freeze them in their tracks at some point.

"This is where I spent most of my free time as a child." She began, digging into her old royal training to find the proper strength and tone for the topic at hand. "Hunting bugs, pestering guards, playing with the animals our family kept. In short, things most would consider quite unbecoming of a young princess."

All their varying gaits filled the air with the sound of the grass swishing and being pressed flat underfoot. It seemed none saw fit to interrupt her or chime in at this point, other than a soft chuckle from Sans. Though it did sound a little more hesitant than usual. She savored the sound before she went on, knowing she would not be hearing it again for a little while.

"This… is also where I was married." She said, turning her gaze in the direction of where the alter for said ceremony had once been, right beneath an archway that only existed as a jagged marble stump now. "Of course, this area was far more tended too and… well... elegant, at that time."

As expected, she heard the others slow to a stop behind her, and even what might have been a quiet gasp of sorts from Frisk. Oh her dear child… she feared if she should continue, knowing that the final point would hit far worse than that one had. But now that she had begun with it, the words seemed to flow from her like water from a newly flooded stream. She stopped walking as well, but did not promptly turn to face them.

"There is not much to be said for that day now." She said, definitively. "I suppose all you need to know is… at the time… It was a day that brought hope to many. We savored that while we could, until we found that… the war had reached our doorstep."

She did turn to face them then, still feeling that small, painful smile upon her face, as though it had been carved into her. Her family stared back at her, even Flowey now was alert and paying attention. All of their expressions carried levels of dread for what she was to say next, and her own hesitation caused the silence to hang for a few moments more. A gust of wind blew through the area before she spoke again, tossing her dress and her long ears in its wake. It smelled vaguely of golden flowers.

"Things got bad." She went on simply. "This place was invaded by numbers we could not possibly have hoped to counter, led by a human who we... had once considered a dear friend."

The pain of that statement briefly stole her voice away and made her eyes grow a bit hazy, but she couldn't allow it to succeed in overpowering her. She just had to say it, so they all could perhaps finally understand her distant, warring feelings towards this place. As she spoke again, her paw slid up into her sleeve a bit, and she grasped the golden petal she'd picked up earlier between her fingers.

"In the end a decision was made by my parents. Me and Asgore, along with our escort, Gerson, were to flee the castle before the brunt of the invading forces arrived. We fought them on the matter, but were eventually all but forced to go."

She paused to draw in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out. She felt her soul grow colder in the process, chilled by a truly ancient sense of despair lingering below the surface. A sorrow that had remained buried for centuries. She could be blunt now. It was likely the only way the point would sink in.

"The three of us… were the only ones who escaped with our lives that day." She said at last, voice dull, yet somehow still piercing.

The silence that followed those words was even more heavy and palpable than the last, charged with a tension nearly enough to make her fur stand on end. And the roaring that her words left in her ears made it all the worse. She couldn't bear to look at their faces then, to see that shock and terrible sadness for her that she knew all of this would inevitably lead up to. Instead she gazed back up at the remains of the castle, wondering how exactly she should feel about it now.

She wasn't consumed with the desire to destroy it as Sans was with his old lab, she certainly wouldn't have agreed to allow these humans to restore it if had that been the case. No… this was different. This place was once the site of many horrific events, some that changed the course of monster history for the worst, and stole from her so many that she had loved.

But… that didn't take away from the fact that it had also once been her home, the place where she had become close with all those people in the first place. If the castle could be made to be a positive place again, something beyond a crumbling tomb lost to time… She was sure that is what her father and Nadia would have wanted.

Perhaps she had even more in common with Sans than she had considered… as thoughts regarding his old lab bled into thoughts about how he'd lost all of his first friends in the accident at the Core. It hadn't really occurred to her when he'd been speaking about it… but the similarities were certainly there. And even he had held on to the few good things that remained from all that past anguish with her encouragement, had he not?

Still… she wasn't sure what emotions to feel at that moment. Sans had been weeping… overcome with all his repressed despair and frustration back then. Should she be feeling the same faced with all this?

It was hard to explain to those who were mortal, but for her, those events of the past, including the loss of her family, almost felt like they had happened in another lifetime… even a dream, with how far detached they were from her current life. At least… that had been how it was until recently. With all this talk between her and Sans, bringing up their pasts and how they affected their current lives, reliving sections of her unremembered past through dreams, those memories of her parents and early life felt far closer and more tangible than they had in centuries. And as much as that did reawaken the pain of it all… she was grateful for it.

No matter how long she lived, she should never forget her roots, nor the first people she'd ever loved and lost. They were just as much a part of her as everything else, as were the times they'd shared, the good... and the bad. They always would be.

She was so adrift in those swirling thoughts that she didn't notice that Sans had come up to her and taken her paw in his small hand. When her hazy eyes dropped down to him, she found herself looking into the faces of her beloved and of her child beside him, both so very full of concern and sadness. He must have set them down in order to attempt to comfort her properly.

There was no avoiding the pain that had been summoned in them, but she still wished she could have spared them from those feelings nonetheless. Leaving here without telling them the truth of the matter would have been far more damaging in the end though, especially in regards to Sans, who had been so very honest with her. She felt that she owed him the same, and owed it to herself too.

"tori... i…" Sans said, voice weak and small.

He ran his free hand anxiously over the curve of his skull, eyelights wavering from troubled thoughts.

"geez… i mean… i do kind of remember reading they died in the war against the humans... but i didn't think…" He trailed off for a moment, squeezing her paw tighter. "i'm so sorry tori…"

Frisk nodded their agreement from beside him, looking like they were near tears. She gave them both a sad, but still warm smile, reaching over to give Frisk's head a consoling stroke.

"No need to apologize, my dear." She said, addressing them both. "It happened a very... very long time ago. Such things have little reason to burden me now. I just thought… it was important for you all to know."

At her other side, she felt Papyrus set a hand on her shoulder, and she could feel his concern for her through that touch as well. She turned to face him, finding that he was poorly attempting to mask the fact he was tearing up. Flowey looked somewhat distant, his earlier boredom and irritation seemingly traded for deep thought. Papyrus speaking up then kept her attention on him though.

"IT IS TERRIBLY S-SAD TO HEAR THAT THAT HAPPENED TO YOU." He agreed, through a sniffle. "B-BUT I AM GLAD YOU TOLD US OF THIS TORIEL. I DO FEEL I UNDERST-STAND BETTER NOW."

His response surprised her some. Given that Sans had taken such efforts to shelter Papyrus from such things in the past, she had expected him not to know what to say in response to all that. But… beneath all the tears, he really did seem to understand. That shouldn't have surprised her though, given their talks in the past. The skeleton clearly knew a lot more than he let on to his brother. Perhaps Sans underestimated his little brother's ability to handle these heavier topics. Though, if he was ready to hear the truth about the past he no longer remembered, that was difficult to say.

"MAY I… GIVE YOU A H-HUG?" The skeleton asked, holding his arms out to her and trying to further compose himself.

Sans and Frisk looked up at her at the same time, and she could see hints of the same question in their eyes. It warmed her soul deeply, managing to work away some of the guilt that had been summoned in her. Her smile grew stronger, and and the haziness in her eyes faded.

"Yes you may." She said warmly, drawing them all into a hug. "Thank you..."

The hug lingered for a short while and during that time the emotions shared were heavy and mixed. But somehow, the negative and the positive feelings didn't feel at war then, instead coming together in a way that didn't give way to either extreme. All their souls communicated in that moment in an effort to soothe, to reassure, to share love in the face of this revelation.

It was a wonderful feeling, making her remember just how lucky she was to have them all. Even with all her past loss, she still had people she loved, and loved her in return. That was what she would choose to focus on while she had them all here in her arms. Not the past, but the potential, far brighter, future.

Even Flowey didn't complain as he usually would, just stayed quiet there in Papyrus' scarf, still apparently thinking. About what… she could only guess for now, and hope he would share it with her soon enough.

She knew they must have questions too, especially in regards to how she had continued to be so firm in her beliefs that human and monsters were of equal worth in this world, when they had taken so much from her… and betrayed her in the worst possible way. But she got the feeling they would be saving those questions for the moment, out of sympathy and respect. When they did ask though, she'd be happy to tell them. Of her father's words and wisdom that he'd instilled in her, and how for every Adean… there was also a Nadia.

Once she felt it was appropriate, she smiled down at them all thankfully before stepping back and nodding in the direction of the bright white human tents.

"Come now everyone, let us go eat. I think I have kept you long enough. No reason to end this outing on such a sour note after all." She said, looking back up at the ruined castle with a brighter smile. "There was far more good that happened here than bad, in the end. That is what history will forget, and what I would like to remember."

Even with all the centuries that had passed, there was no softening or sugar coating the events of that day. Like any hard truth, it had to be said for any full understanding to be achieved. All she had done earlier since they had arrived there was tell them of the once happy life she'd lived within those now crumbling castle walls. Not a perfect life by any means, but a happy one nonetheless.

But she had only run away from the truth of what had happened there in the process. Both to further distract herself from her current issues surrounding her children, and for a want for this outing to be more than a tour of one of the worst days of her life.

The last time she'd laid eyes on this castle, she'd been watching from a distance while fleeing with Gerson and Asgore, and it had been consumed by flames that seemed to reach up into the sky like great hellish claws. All she could do at that point, was run. Run away to save the future of monsterkind, run away to become their new Queen as the previous one met her end within the castle walls, run away, in the end, only to postpone monsterkind's inevitable fate.

But her life had always been defined by running away… had it not?

They were all silent during their long walk back to the tents set up by the humans. But everyone did stay close to her, and Sans remained at her side, holding her paw close to him. That was all that was needed. All of their actions helped ease some of the turbulent emotions swirling about in her soul, like a special form of healing magic. She slowed her gait to match Sans' as they walked away from the remains of the castle together at a steady, relaxed pace.

Unlike the last time she was here, there was no reason to run.