You found the flowers on the way home from your school one day. On the way back from the store, you spotted the golden petals peeking out of the bushes. You slowed, curious. After a moment of hesitation, you stepped closer and pushed aside the branches. What greeted you was a wondrous patch of practically shining golden flowers. It was probably only a few feet wide, and all of the flowers were rather small, but you were entranced nonetheless. You had never seen flowers like them before, and you had certainly been around Mt. Ebott often enough.

Just as you reached forward to touch one, you heard a voice behind you. "What'cha doin' there, little bro?" You recognized that jeering tone at once. You flinched, but immediately whipped around, closing the bush behind you.

You couldn't bear to look your older brother in the face. "I, uh, just dropped my pen in the bushes. It was nothing."

There was a pause before you felt a painful slap on your back. You suppressed the whimper. "Alright then. But if you're late to get home, Mom and Dad will be pretty mad, huh?" He wasn't being sincere at all. You knew he just wanted an excuse to see you get in trouble with your parents. You wondered just what the guy had up his sleeve this time.

You were promptly pulled along the dirt path, with only a short look back at the bush you had seen the golden flowers behind. You'd be back tomorrow. Maybe you could move them somewhere else soon. They didn't look too healthy.

When you got home, you immediately detached yourself from your brother's grip and made your way upstairs. Despite his earlier warning, you knew that your parents didn't care if you came home or not as long as it didn't mess with how the rest of the village saw them. You had a feeling the only reason you were still around was because they knew it would make everyone else see them badly if you just disappeared.

Once you reached your room, you sat down on your bed and pulled a book from your bag. You only had a few precious hours before your brother would come in and want to do something. Knowing him, it would probably be wrestling, which usually consisted of him throwing you around like a rag doll. You'd grown used to the bruises it caused, so it didn't bother you as much anymore.

The book you had was a history book. Or at least you thought it was at first. It was about some war between humans and monsters centuries ago. But the premise was ridiculous. Monsters weren't even real. And the book said that they were sealed below ground around Mt. Ebott with a magic spell. You scoffed at that out loud. Like anyone would fall for that.

"Reading some boring history book again?" You flinched. He was standing at the door, that fake smile plastered on his face. Before you could react, he walked up to you and snatched the book from your hands. It looked smaller in his hands. As he started to flip through, his smile faded.

"What is this bull? Monsters? Magic?" He carelessly tossed it on the bed. You were relieved that he had at least not ruined it. You still had to return it to the library later. "You don't honestly believe this stuff, do you?"

You shook your head quickly. He didn't seem convinced. "Then why would you be reading it?" He lowered himself to look you in the eyes. "You know, Mom and Dad don't like it when you start filling your head with this nonsense." He jabbed a finger into your chest sharply. You fell back. Now your chest hurt. "But don't worry, Little Bro." A burst of discomfort shot through you. Why did he have to keep calling you that? It was better than your actual name, but only slightly. You hated being called a boy, even if you weren't sure why, and he never stopped.

"I won't tell them." That smile returned, only now it promised much more than passive jeering and messing with you. You didn't trust him for a second. "You just have to do something for me, you know, 'an eye for an eye'?" You were pretty sure that's not how the saying was supposed to be used, but something told you that he would find a way to make it work. You steeled yourself for what was to come.

The next morning, you got up early, before the sun was up. While everyone was asleep, you crept downstairs and outside, where you entered the shed out back. The door was so creaky, you were sure it would wake everyone inside. However, you managed to avoid getting caught. For now.

You went to a shelf in the back, where you knew the gardening tools were stored. You grabbed whatever you thought would be needed: a spade, gloves, a few small flower pots, and a bit of fertilizer just to be sure. You were sure no one would know it was missing. You were probably the only one who went out to this shed for anything except a shovel for when it snowed.

Now that you had everything, you set out. You had your backpack, because you doubted you'd be able to make it back home before school started that day. Knowing your parents, they would probably forget about you until they next saw you. It was no skin off your back. You had all of the time you needed.

It took you close to twenty minutes of walking to reach the patch of golden flowers again. It was starting to get a bit bright out by that point, and you could actually see the flowers. Just as you thought, they didn't look very healthy. That was an easy fix. You just had to find them somewhere else to grow.

You set to work, gently digging under the closest flower. Eventually, you uprooted it, hopefully only damaging the smallest roots. You placed it in the first of the pots you brought, along with a little extra dirt. You repeated the process with the other pot. Now, all that was left was to find a place to plant them again.

You wandered further into the grove of trees. Gradually, you found that there was actually a path there. It was long since covered in weeds and overtaken by the forest, but still there. Soon enough, you came to a small clearing, practically devoid of trees. This was perfect.

You sat down in the grass and found yourself enjoying the soft breeze. It was very refreshing, and you realized this was probably the most enjoyable thing you'd done in ages. You finally got down on your knees and started digging, making a nice new patch for the flowers.

Over the next month, you returned to your patch of golden flowers every day, before and after school. No one seemed to mind at home, so you stayed as long as you could, just enjoying nature. You eventually found that the flower seeds were rather good at sticking to your clothing, and now you saw more and more of them sprouting around your house. None had managed to bloom yet, though. You couldn't wait to see the day your yard was full of the flowers, all swaying in the breeze. Wouldn't that be a sight? Overall. it was probably the best month of your life so far.

But all good things had to come to an end eventually.

You were sitting in the midst of your flowers, making sure you weren't accidentally crushing any. The patch had grown a bit since you started. These flowers grew very quickly, at least when they were near others. You made a mental note to look these flowers up someday.

"So this is where you got off too!" Your heart stopped right then and there. You turned, and there he was, your older brother, standing in all of his douchey glory. He was sporting a few scraps and a nice cover of leaves, which brought a small smile to your face. But this was no time for smiling.

He stepped forward, smashing a flower beneath his foot. You twinged, wanting to stop him, but it was too late. "Wow, I didn't realize you were this much of a wuss," he said. "I mean, I knew you were practically a little girl, but playing with flowers? This is just ridiculous." He chuckled. "Just wait 'till Mom and Dad hear about this one. The other kids'll want to beat your ass even more." He crushed another group of flowers.

You felt something welling up inside of you. You felt hot all of a sudden, like your blood really was boiling. How dare your brother intrude on the one place you could call yours? How dare he destroy it like this? And how dare he try to say that you were wrong for doing it in the first place?

Before you knew it, you were up on your feet. The only thing you could do was ACT, before it got any worse. No, that wasn't right. You had to FIGHT.

You barreled down at your brother, tackling him to the ground. His head hit the ground with a loud smack. You didn't stop the onslaught. You punched every part of him you could reach; face, chest, groin, nothing was safe. You were done just letting him treat you like garbage. You were done being the punching bag. You were done with him!

Finally, you stopped. Your knuckles were stained with blood. His blood. You stared at them, mind completely blank. Looking down at his bruised and bloody face, you knew that you should have felt something. Regret, more anger, anything! But you couldn't. Just emptiness filled your body.

You sat there, in a numb silence for hours. You occasionally looked at your brother. He was still breathing. Not dead. But once someone found him, you would be. That was right. The minute he woke up, he'd know what you did to him. And unlike you, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you. He could blame it on not knowing his own strength, or as self defense. And no one would care. You would disappear off the face of the earth, and no one would care. Not a single living soul. Then, it finally hit you.

You would disappear. Just not on his terms.

You looked up at Mt. Ebott. The peak loomed high above your head. The sun was just behind it, casting an odd glow. You had made up your mind. It was time you saw if monsters were real.

You woke up in a cold sweat. You had to run, get away before anyone found out what you had done! Why were you in your room? You should have been far out of town by then! Your heart was racing. Did you get brought back here? You were probably about to face a much worse punishment. You had to escape!

You moved your hand to throw off the sheets, but a weight held it down. You slowly became aware of the hand your own was enclosed in. Fluffy, warm, soft. It all came rushing back. You had fallen in the pit. You were with your new family now. Asriel was holding your hand. And in your bed for some reason.

You felt movement. He was waking up. "Chara?"

You shook, unable to answer him. The events you had relived in your nightmare were still haunting you. You weren't going to be able to escape your past. No matter what, you were always going to be the problem child, the one who wasn't wanted. The mistake who did nothing but make them.

"Chara!" Asriel's voice was more urgent now. He was worried. About what? You? Why would he be? You felt his large hands around your shoulders. In the dark, you could just barely see his face. "Chara, it's okay! You were having a nightmare, and I was trying to calm you down. It wasn't happening!"

You looked into his eyes, trying to calm down. He really cared? That didn't make sense! No one did! Not about you. You wanted nothing more than to push him away, before he smashed your trust apart. But looking at his face, it was so sincere. That worry was real.

Finally, it felt as if a dam had broken inside of you. Before you knew it, tears were streaming down your face. You choked back ugly sobs as your fell forward and cried into Asriel's shoulder. If nothing else, Asriel wanted you there. He actually cared about you, and not because he had to.

Nothing was more comforting than having a shoulder to cry on.

Eventually, the tears slowed, and you pulled back from the hug Asriel had embraced you in. Even in the darkness, his warm smile was clear as day. "Are you okay?"

You wiped your eyes with your sleeve. "Heh, yeah. I'm good now. Sorry about your shirt."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Let's go back to sleep." You nodded and lay back down with him. Having someone that close, someone who really cared for you, you had never been happier.

You fell asleep with your hand wrapped firmly around your brother's.