"Once again I enter the courtyard of Noitaiddar Castle with an air tensed enough that you could weave it into a violin string."

Cter raised her eyes up from the book about snails that she was reading to Sir Gerson sitting with arms crossed and gaze peering out the carriage window, narrowed and unblinking.

"Asgore was but a Monster Prince when he first arrived here. Had just celebrated becoming old enough to be called so proper." The Leader of the Royal Guard motioned with one unfolded hand out the window. "Sat where you sat shaking like an aspen leaf, both his large frame and his large aura. Distant eyes white as his fur which had turned even paler. A different time, back then, when there were no Cooperative Connection nor human magic. Where there were only rumors about it that always came out false."

He let the shake from the carriage bouncing up on the smoother cobble road leading in through the Xoff capital Noitaidarr run through him without any attempt to counter it. Swaying like he did, Sir Gerson still kept his gaze hard out the window. "Where all Prince Asgore had to worry about was not making a good enough impression for the humans to accept his ascension to the Royal Purple."

"King Asgore had to be legitimized?" croaked Cter with an understandable confusion. "King Asgore?" Surely, the turtle was jesting?

The smile Sir Gerson dragged could've meant either way. "I used to reduce him to the brink of tears by threatening to shave the few stubby and golden hairs he had managed to squeeze out of his chin and cheeks if he didn't perform adequately." The memory amused him warmly, relaxing his tensed posture just the slightest. "Once he managed his trident though that was no longer possible. Red like the fiery passion he had for his Monster Princess turned Monster Queen and sharp as the fear he's made manifest as its shape."

A slight respite washed over the Royal Guard, curling down the edges of his smile into a relaxed, neutral one. "Fear?" Cter had to ask though. She had seen King Asgore wield his trident plenty of times, and always he looked so powerful and...well...royal, wielding it. His already-kingly presence which could quiet any conversation in the world raised further when he brandished his weapon for all to see and be awed by. Windows always shook as he planted the handle down into the floor or ground, no matter if the windows were nearby or on the other side of a large plaza. "Fear about what, exactly?"

"Fear about his queen and people, of course," said Sir Gerson as if it was obvious. "The fear of losing her forever and never be allowed to feel her fur or taste her lips again had his soul bursting with fear that only a proper king could feel." Another prideful smile thinned the turtle's lips. "Wa ha ha! It was a spectacle I was not worthy of witnessing, even if I were the one that finally forced him over the edge!" Sir Gerson brimmed for a few seconds before he was brought back from his memories to the carriage heading through Noitaidarr's main street.

Humans stood gathered with bated breath watching the carriage roll through the Xoff capital, yet Cter could not make out a single face among the crowd. There were too many for her to be able to focus on a single one. In a way it made her feel uncomfortable. She had never seen so many humans gathered in...forever. Not even when she was greeted by the entire court at Fenkeep Castle did she see so many humans in one spot.

In Noitaidarr though, for the entirety of the main street passing through buildings of foreign architecture that both reminded and distanced from the houses and buildings in Jarasevo, the same as with Hjearta architecture, the monster carriages passed through like a river in a desert. None dared drink from it though as they had been told that it might be poisonous.

Which Cter had to prove was wrong, and that the water was clearer than it always had been. There had just been a single splotch of ill omen darker than anything in the world that had passed by.

Nothing else…

Sir Gerson nodded Cter's attention above the Noitaiddar rooftops that swept past the carriage window like scenery at a puppet theater. "Do you see?" he asked with anticipation in his voice. "Do you see how the rooftops are built?"

It took a few cobble-induced shakes for Cter to see what Sir Gerson was smiling about while waiting for her to notice. "They're..." She tilted her head to the side and back again. "What the..."

They were not at all the other alike. Like a row of unkempt teeth, sharp for some and blunt for others. Like a child's drawing, if anything.

"Wa ha ha!" guffawed Sir Gerson pleasantly as he had the pleasure of observing Cter's baffled expression and slightly disgusted crane of her neck. "Oh I sure needed that, Monster Mage. Thank you." He wiped away a tear from his eye. "I laugh because I had the exact same expression when I first came to visit here." Before he continued he waited for a particularly harsh bump in the road that had the seat underneath Cter creak. "Fittingly, I shall tell you why the same way I was told the first time I came to visit here."

A short cough changed the tone of his voice to be more human.

"I see your expression and am humbled by the sheer emotion in your reaction, Master Monster. Welcome to Noitaidarr, the capital of Xoff, where wherever and whenever you stand, you will always be in view of Mt. Ebott and Mt. Ymmet. Whether through the window in the throne room or in the alley after a long night of social lubrication, you may always be blessed by the presence of the mountains stood proud and secure like the country they so humbly share and keep safe for its people."

A long sigh changed the tone of his voice back to monster.

"It was between those two rooftops," Sir Gerson said wistfully while pointing between a long, church-like roof and a flat, helmet-like roof. "Between those rooftops I saw Mt. Ebott when King Asgore and Queen Toriel stood together on its top, promising together to reign with kindness and wisdom and to protect the monsters in all three countries that they could see from its top."

He smiled at the memory.

"And what if you're stood right up next to a building with your face pressed against the wall?"

"Then you're making the same remark that I did when I had it described to me," answered Sir Gerson with a bounce of his brow to the bad faith in Cter's question, same as he once had. "As I'm sure everyone has made when hearing it." He swept his hand slowly in a wide arc in front of him. "It is more the soul of the concept and the poetry of the tone it wants to set, I've come to understand. Partly to have it be truly true too, don't doubt that, but not to the letter. To the sentence or word, maybe, but not to the letter."

Fair enough. "Like how it should actually be Duchess Toriel rather than Queen Toriel since that's the title she gained first which wasn't superseded by her being crowned queen but only added to her title?" Cter shrugged. "Don't actually answer that. Not really a good time for it."

She appreciated the turtle monster's sentiment though of trying to give some colors to Noitaidarr that she could appreciate. Had she visited in a more pleasant manner as was the plan before the plague resurfaced in Xoff Cter would have had a bit more to lean on when it came to keeping a clear mind about things. As it stood, she was heading to an unknown human capital as a monster to defend monsterkind against the humans. Had it been Fenkeep where she had already been she might have felt a bit more calm and not had to resort to reading to not look and worry at the human capital closing in on the horizon.

"Thank you," she said to the turtle monster. "It helped."

He nodded. "We need you alert and on your toes. Both you and your soul, Cter. Same with all of us too. As soon as we step out of the carriage this trial will begin. As soon as they see us it will all begin. Back straight and shoulders rolled is what they need to see. Not enough to be a threat, but enough to impart respect. A first impression that they will base everything else on." Sir Gerson looked out the carriage window. "Like a beautiful view which is visible throughout a city seen before a trial to decide the outcome of a tragic event with no equal."

Cter followed Sir Gerson's eyes out the carriage window again. The humans which had been packed so tightly had thinned out as the road below had become smoother and easier to roll across. They were nearing the castle.

The castle where they would have to defend for all of monsterkind.

Coming up into view it did rather quickly, not giving Cter a lot of time to study it and let its presence wash over her slowly. She was being thrown into the lake rather than being able to dip her toes and walk in at her own pace. The icy water during Hjearta winters she sure preferred over the cold shiver up her spine that the looming Noitaidarr Castle poured over her.

Its white walls had a different nuance of white compared to that which made up Jarasevo Castle. While Jarasevo Castle reflected light to illuminate and to bring splendor, Noitaidarr Castle also reflected the heavy heat which the Xoff sun gladly kept adding without any notion of when to stop. Even with the cool breeze Cter had let whirl quietly inside of the carriage to cool off the Xoff sun peeking in through the carriage windows like an eager child trying to climb in and steal slices of pie it was still warmer than Cter was used to.

Maybe it was because Noitaidarr Castle was reflecting the heat like a magnifying glass?

Cter couldn't really look at the castle for long until her eyes became awash with purple dots that stung like needles. She tried, and gave it earnest efforts to boot, but still nothing but purple. As she retreated from the window for the third time rubbing her eyes Sir Gerson decided that it was better if he explained.

"It's a different type of marble than back home with Jarasevo Castle," he began after clearing his throat. "It is actually more insulated than Jarasevo Castle, believe it or not. Keeps the heat out at day and the heat in at night. During the day as the sun moves over the different parts of the castle different windows are opened, depending. You might be able to– aargfh!"

The turtle gambled as he saw shadows passing by the carriage window, but wrongly assumed that it was due to a cloud. "Anyways," he continued with a small cough from the thick smoke he's put his nose right into, "the windows are sectioned and can be opened more or less depending on the weather outside. Right now I think that the position of Royal Regulator is worn by a ghost monster akin to how Fang Shuey is at Jarasevo Castle. Since Royal Regulator needs to both be able to accurately observe the weather and regulate the castle temperature accordingly the position was given to the second in line right after Fang Shuey was hired." Sir Gerson paused for an animated thought. "Conve Shion I think his name is?"

"Hmm..." replied Cter. "How will the monsters that work at the castle be treated during this trail?" She managed to fight the urge to look at the castle thoughtfully. "Since I'm guessing some suspicion is abound already due to the fusion." However, she did look over her shoulder behind her through the back of the carriage. "Didn't see or sense any monsters throughout the journey through this capital. Not an aura outside yours and the driver's."

Sir Gerson too managed to fight the urge to look out the window and be blinded once more. "I have not yet formulated an opinion on that." He wasn't the most pleased about it. "On the one hand Noitaidarr hasn't had a large monster population compared to Fenkeep. The monsters who do live here are more out in the country. It's only quite recently when a monster was married into royalty, giving them some quote unquote legitimacy. Same happened when a Xoffian married into Hjearta's throne. Humans have a lot of innate belief in their kings and queens, almost rivaling the monsters. It's same same, but different though when it comes to how humans and monsters look up to their respective purple."

Cter blinked out the last of said color from her vision as Sir Gerson inhaled anew.

"Their respective royal lineage, and lineage in general, humans put more weight on due to their shorter lifespan. When their said short lifespan passes them by before they know it, they can still be safe and content with that the lineage they were a part of will continue on. Similar to how their life will continue on as fallen down to give back to the earth that had supported them, their memories and blood will continue on through their lineage."

With a point towards Cter, Sir Gerson leaned forwards in his carriage seat. "If we managed through this trial to decide whether or not humans and magic have gone too far then I predict that humans will come to regard their soul as another part of their lineage. Depending on how long it is possible for a human's soul to exist outside of its vessel it will either be one last chance for the human's family to say goodbye in a way they know in their own soul that the deceased will hear..."

His pause and long breathe in through his nostrils had Cter preparing herself.

"However," Sir Gerson said predictably in a long exhale with a high bounce of his brow. "If a human soul can survive for enough time outside its vessel there will inevitably be some...uncomfortable propositions that'll follow. The warmth and comfort the late Monster Royals who's dust are weaved into Jarasevo Castle might bring some inspiration that I hesitate to paint as positive. It is going to be a discussion for the future though."

A future that hopefully would arrive.

"Anyways," Sir Gerson had to as he caught himself drifting away from the topic at hand. "Humans value their kings and queens due to their lineage. It is something that lives longer than a single human's lifespan. Something that in a way extends that lifespan over multiple generations. If one father were like his father before him then his son will be as if his father continued to live. Continued to love, and more importantly, to be loved."

He pointed back at him, "Monsters," then back and forth between him and Cter, "us monsters, don't put as much weight on lineages as humans do. Sure, King Asgore's family has ruled one way or another for hundreds of years and can be traced through marriages and adoptions back to when records began, but more often than not, a monster who was born the same day as a future king or queen will outlive said king or queen due to how Boss Monsters age after siring children."

While breathing in Sir Gerson waved in the air as if attacked by a pesky mosquito. "There are the times when the Monster King and Monster Queen weren't both Boss Monsters, but you get my point." Which he hadn't stated yet. "More often than not a monster will live longer than a Monster Royal which puts them at a different position than the humans even if the roots are one and the same."

Cter hadn't paid too much attention at Soul's School about that part of history as it ran parallel to the class about conjuration magic.

"For us monsters, the Monster Royals are about making sure that the monster born in the poorest of conditions can outlive them. One could say that the Monster Royals' goal in life is to make theirs as short as possible, but that would be missing the point." Sir Gerson put weight onto his last-spatted syllable. He was arguing against someone who wasn't in the carriage. "The point is that human royalty is about preserving and elongating their own lineage and life so that their subjects can have a sturdy maypole around which to dance their life's dance whereas monster royalty is about widening the gap between their life and their subject's so that young hope is ever-flowing."

A cloud finally passed by, allowing Sir Gerson to look thoughtfully at Noitaidarr Castle without blinding himself.

"Legacy and lineage means making old out of young, whereas for monsters it means making young out of old."

Before Cter could follow his gaze the cloud disappeared and Noitaidarr Castle shone up brightly and blindingly once more.

"There were a lot of talk when Queen Laimutifah died and King Kheydan was left as a monster alone on the human throne of Xoff. Not new talk since it had been talked about before when they both were alive, but when Queen Laimutifah sadly passed away before her time it was all thrown into the middle of the theater without any prepared lines about how it would all change with the end of the human dynasty and the prospect of a monster still on the throne. He could not remarry, naturally, so would it then be the beginning of something similar to Monster Country? Would it be a human country with monster as its royalty, with the different perspectives of lineage mixed together?" Sir Gerson shrugged hard. "Had he not abdicated on his own and gone into exile to allow the country he ruled to still be human we might have had something to study going into this trial."

His lean lifted from his knees and up against the backrest of the carriage seat as it slowed down, pushing his sturdy shell deep into the cushion. Outside the carriage window the blinding white of Noitaidarr Castle was replaced by arranged palm trees and greenery unmatched by the landscape out the carriage window on the other side slowing down. The many irregularly shaped rooftops of Noitaidarr rose and ravined like a wall to prevent the yellow-brushed landscape from being seen from the castle grounds.

Only Mt. Ebott and Mt. Ymmet.

"Seems like we're here," said Sir Gerson in a sigh. He observed out the window facing the castle without any change to his neutrally dragged smile. "And we're being welcomed too." That had his brow bouncing up though. "Quite welcomed as well." He blinked in thought. "So they did tell the truth that they wanted to solve the situation rather than escalate it. Had that been the case they would not have bothered to raise the flags as they've done. We were even asked to take the less-glamorous route through the main street rather than the scenic route, so it's doubly a surprise."

Cter peeked out the window too to observe. "It's less a welcome than I got at Fenkeep Castle," she commented after seeing her fill of humans stood waiting being mostly soldiers. Not a lot of powdered wigs worn, although the Xoff heat might be explanation for that. "Maybe it's more out of obligation than anything? They've invited the upper echelon of the Royal Guard of Jarasevo, after all. Not giving a welcome would be like spitting in our faces politically, wouldn't it?"

"Well," murmured Gerson as he stood up, "let us hope that it is only spit that we have to worry about whilst we are here." He extended his hand to Cter, who already had stood up. "Back straight, shoulders rolled, and chest pouted."

She raised a brow at his choice of words.

"Brace your chest to show your monster pride and rigidity, but not enough to accentuate your human form," he rephrased.

But it didn't really sound better…

The early evening heat washed into the magically cooled carriage like water through a crumbled dam or pleasantries from a Vulkin. It surrounded Cter, sneaking in through her robe's neck and pushing her mantle almost vertical. She felt her face turn flush, and her nostril tingle from the sudden warmth. As she followed Sir Gerson into the sparse brass orchestra that heralded their arrival, welcoming them to Noitaidarr Castle, Cter looked to her left down the carriages to see Kry, Kurant, Sarbor, and Priestess Frioke exit along with some Royal Guard dogs, panting deeply.

"Noitaidarr Castle welcomes the Royal Guards of the Monster Royals!" a white-dressed man hollered loudly with a sweeping bow before Sir Gerson. Sir Gerson bowed back, prompting the man to stand up again. "Come, follow me to the Royal Roomeries!"

Royal…

What?

Cter couldn't help but freeze in confusion despite the gushing heat.

Only for a second though, as she received a swift, yet subtle, green elbow into her side which woke her up. "It sounds better when not translated for us," he assured while collecting his hands behind his shell. With a small tilt of his head he motioned for Cter to follow him.

"Let us hope that we can translate ours better, no?"