Hope…

Yeah, sure, that she could live with.

"Cter."

Embodying hope.

"Cter?"

When she was supposed to take it away from all.

"Cter..."

To be the one that was–

"Hey!"

A loud snap forced away the sunken, introspective expression, replacing it with a widened, surprised one instead.

"I know you'd rather be anywhere else, but you have to be outside your head for this. I also don't want to be here, but we have to. All three of us."

The Third Monster Mage nodded more out of obligation than she did honesty. "I know," she answered Kurant who was stood next to her waiting outside the Jarasevo ball room which hadn't been host to a ball for two, soon three years. Those two uneasy weeks since the humans entered Jarasevo after their victory at the Final Battle had kept the ball room at a constant occupancy which it hadn't seen since the coronation of King Asgore and Queen Toriel.

The festivities had been so celebratory that each feast or commemoration that followed could hear the jubilations of the newly ascended Monster Royals still echoing from the walls. Those voices had not been heard at the Council of Three Countries though, and even less during the first week of the occupation of the Monster Capital by the combined human forces.

And they would never be heard again.

"I'm just...tired, is all," Cter explained with a shrug that she didn't have any energy to put into it. Her shoulders barely moved, and her combined braid did not slide off. "It's gotten to the point where I can swear that the castle is starting to smell human as well." She did not meet the furrowed looks from her colleagues, but she still felt them quite clearly.

"I don't know what that smell actually is or how it's gotten here," Cter answered before either Kry or Kurant could question. "I just know that it's changing." The back of her head touched at the cold marble wall just above her chair's back. "I wonder if the Underground will smell different too."

The Second and First Monster Mage traded perplexed looks over Cter's leaned-back head. "I suppose so," agreed Kry without much conviction. Not in disagreement to Cter's statement, but to her bringing it up at such a strange point in time.

The three had gotten done preparing the griffons before schedule and rather than enter into the ball room where there were yet more negotiations underway about the relocation of monsterkind, they decided unanimously without any words between them to wait outside the large, Delta-Rune-engraved doors instead. "If we can even follow them there to begin with."

Cold spread across the back of Cter's head as she rolled her head over to Kry leaning forward with his nose resting on his balled hands supported by his elbows on his knees. "What with the Underground being inhospitable for humans," found its way through his tightly interwoven fingers. "It's been well-known in Xoff for ages beyond even my youth."

He did not dwell long on that point.

"A part of me is excited about what kind of magical application will be necessary for the humans that want to follow through the Barrier to survive down there." None of which showed in either his voice, expression, or aura. "It's not enough to even come close to break through everything that's been this last year. Singe my soul, even this last month..." A sigh out his nose whistled slightly as the exhale reached between his fingers. "This last week..."

A week that had been only about putting into motion the plans that had been the sole subject of the week prior which had been formulated the week prior to that. What, how, and when.

What to do with the monsters?

Lock them away inside Mt. Ebott so that the threat of the Fusions would no longer be applicable and so that the human soul could not take over.

How to do that?

Call upon an exodus of the monsters to return to Jarasevo by the Royal Decree of both King Asgore and Queen Toriel. With King Asgore having gotten through his demands the words on the decree would be true and would be read as such by any monster who would doubt it. With the message bearers being the Monster Mages extra credence would be added, and if that still was not enough.

Well…

"You are capable of feeling the auras of monsters, are you not?" had Rasliela said as if reminding to Kry who had brought up the point during the beginning of the second week. It was the first and only time Cter had seen and felt Kry on the verge of murderous. Had he still worn King Asgore's influence on his sleeve then he would have engulfed his arm in magical flames hotter than they had been when he burned his sleeve at the Noitaidarr Trials.

Through the barrier magic Cter had forced upon him though the raging emotions came out as jagged scars of harsh-flowing magic in a thick layer around his sleeve. "The same I can feel your soul at this moment," Rasliela had continued with a wry smile on her dry lips. Her wrinkles had deepened with her smile. "Your human soul with its human intent."

There was not much the monsters could do to deny it seeing as how their plan for their troops to have their emotions rallied around Keze had backfired in such a way that Rasliela had easily noticed. The deeper conviction Cter had added to him Rasliela brought up with after an informative hark.

"You have the ability to tune into a monster's soul the same as a musician tunes their instrument to join with a band. In this metaphor you Monster Mages are capable of listening in to which instrument is being played and exactly where it is being played. If the monsters are not heeding the Monster Royals' call for the general rehearsal then you can still find them, wherever they are. It will do you good to find them too, as otherwise they will not be able to join with you in the Underground, you see? I am sure with the help of the sharp eyes and wide wingspan of those griffon monsters you should have no problem with finding the monsters living away from where we can find them."

The salt Rasliela pushed into the open wound was unrelenting. It was as if she had been waiting all her life to do so. Waited all her life to put the monsters down in the Underground. Was it her grandfather's influence that she sourced that anger from or was it her own? Had the Second Fusion infected her arm, replacing her grandfather's voice with its own? Or perhaps it amplified what the old Monster King of Xoff felt in that moment? Fear for his daughter? Fear that a monster would be the death of her?

Whichever case it was it expressed itself in Rasliela talking almost as much as the Xoff king did for the second week of the negotiations. Her voice was that of making a case for it being the Monster Mages' duty to bring together monsterkind to either Jarasevo or Mt. Ebott for the relocation to be as smooth as possible.

"They are supposed to be half human as well, so it stands to reason that they should be the ones to bring the monsters home, either their new one or their old one. Them being the ones to spread the Royal Decree to all of monsterkind would also be a show of humanity's victory. Not only displaying the Royal Decree, but projecting the might of humanity as well."

The reason for her speaking almost as much as the Xoff king was primarily because she was speaking to him to discuss and to convince him of her ideas to help with the monsterkind relocation. Even suggesting that Mt. Ymmet be used for half of monsterkind and the other half be housed Mt. Ebott. It was mostly a proposal that she could easily concede on to show that she was willing to do so should her ideas not be welcome. Those that she did believe in though she did not concede on, obviously. Those she called upon her grandfather's presence in her sleeve for to help her find the right words to say.

That she was arguing for the relocation to be done as soon as possible meant that she would lose her connection to her grandfather as soon as possible as she was one of the seven mages that the Royal Mage of Ice had proposed. For why, Cter did not know. Maybe she had accepted it quickly and argued as much as she could so that she could spend as much time with her grandfather's presence in her sleeve as much as possible before she would have to part with him.

What Cter did know for certain was that the fear of the Fusion sat deep with the Royal Mage of Noitaidarr.

It glowed brighter in her eyes than anything else from her soul. The killing intent she harbored was the same as with the other humans. The same glint in her eyes was there as with the Xoff king she so frequently conferred with during the long, gray days both due to the weather and the soul-sucking meetings that dragged on for days on end.

The smell that Cter had started to notice throughout the castle was the strongest in the ball room. A musk of dry. An odor of parchment and ink that permeated with the discussions going on from early morning to late evening.

She did not know exactly when, but sometime during the second week the anxiety and dread for the future began to mold itself into something emotionally dull instead. Something she could think about, but not feel about. Barely think about it either. It was like a constant hum in her soul, nodding along without really listening or considering. She became numb to what was being said.

"Those of the monsters that still refuse to join back at the Monster Capital you will have to inform the closest contingency of the human army about, Monster Mages. They will be given a choice, and should they choose poorly then we will have to be human with them."

Sure…

Cter would have to be pushy about the monsters returning back to Jarasevo out of their own free will lest the humans made a calculated smaller risk by bringing the monsters back via violence compared to letting them still roam free outside of the Underground. If that meant that Cter would have to overly convince via her aura then so be it.

Could she please leave the dry, dense air which permeated within the ball room, please? Was that all that was needed from her for that day?

"I'm afraid there's more to it than that, Monster Mages."

Of course there was…

Not only about how to bring in the monsters that were far outside the Monster Capital, but also to keep the monsters that were already in the Monster Capital in order while the outside ones were returning back to within its gates that were for containment rather than protection. For that, the Royal Mage of Noitaidarr proposed that more Royal Guards be given the heightened sense of the monsters around them, same as Keze, in order to be aware of any and all discontent that risked boiling over.

Those of high rank in the Royal Guard that survived the battle would be overseeing and making sure that there weren't any risk of the monsters being unruly. For their sake, naturally. If anything the human guards that had returned from the Final Battle would have been eager to put down a monster resistance flaring up.

An eagerness that flashed a bit too brightly in Rasliela's eyes when she proposed it.

Instead of sharing in the glory of battle they all had only felt more of the deaths around them during the Final Battle. Each monster that became dust in the wind they could sense disappearing. It amplified the loss, and while Keze might have returned with his life intact, those monsters that he had rallied around him he had lost to the humans.

The weapons of his and his brother's he had struggled to carry with him. "My brother… He's..." His muzzle had contorted painfully and his grip on the heavy weapons had slipped even looser. "I can't feel him no more. There are too many else. Too many that are there. They're loud. Please… I don't..." His tears had become like balls of dough rolling down his dust-splattered face. "I just want him back..."

Keze wasn't chosen to help overview the feelings of the monster populace, obviously. He was relieved of his duty as a Royal Guard officially due to his sacrifice at the Final Battle, but truly because he would not have been able to stand in any form of guard had even Sir Gerson ordered it directly to his face. His soul had been shattered in a way that cut deeper than the sword of a human.

Cter only heard it from Kry the day afterwards as he had managed to convince the humans that Keze would be to no harm with his family heirlooms still with him. There was no fight at all within Keze, and if anything relieving him of his duties as a Royal Guard meant that Rasliela could not find him and point to him as an example of the docile nature she wanted the monsters to be. Cter chose not to meet him.

She couldn't.

For how could she?

Cter had made a conscious effort to try and distance herself from the goings-on in Jarasevo Castle during the three weeks. She did not want for anything that was being discussed, and even less to be the one the majority of fingers were pointed at. Her magic to be used. Her magic to be shared. Her magic to be the foundation which all was based on. It gave the monsters some bargaining power, but it wasn't from Cter that bargaining came from. Even from her side the fingers were pointed towards her the most.

"That might be too much for Cter alone to handle. Wouldn't it be better if all three Monster Mages were to be used for that task?" Speaking for her. "You can not possibly ask that much more out of Cter. Her magic is still limited. Kry's or my magic will be plenty enough for to enable these monster conduits. We can utilize the barrier magic Cter gave us for that task. It reacts to magic, and by making it in an inverted manner it should be able to be used to feel for monster emotions."

And on and on and on.

It was as if what was needed at the large table wasn't Cter herself but a dummy with her name written on the face. Could have had Fang Shuey possess it and make it move around a bit if needed. Just not…

"Just not one more of these blasted meetings, singe my soul..."

Kry and Kurant joined in with Cter's guttural sigh, leaning their heads back onto the cold marble wall the same as she did. "I'm starting to sense that same smell as you do, Cter," said Kurant after inhaling. "It smells of good faith only being upheld by courtesy rather than any real effort to it. If the humans would have just asked to round up all the monsters with those exact words then we would have been done by it now."

She shook her head.

"But no, they have to keep this veneer of honesty and knighthood about locking away the monsters from their home and country for all future." She stopped just short of spitting onto the floor only due to it still technically being the Monster Castle. A very, very thin technicality. "Painting themselves as the benevolent side in this..."

"Painting themselves as the voice of reason as well," added Kry with a scratch between his eyes. There was a subtle pulse to the white glow on his arm. "The voice of reason which sees beyond the killing intent and understands that there should be a world after this war as well. They speak of the killing intent not ruling them as if it was greed or some other sin, yet it is not something they can think around and take a logical stance against."

Kry pushed up his glasses.

"They pretend to have control where they have none. They talk mighty and high about it being the best for both races, but they do so while fully knowing that it is not a decision that is made out of mutual agreement, but instead of one-sided fear overwhelming. Worse part of it is that we have to play along with it. We have to nod along and stand abreast with the Xoff king saying that it is for the best for both races."

"It is though, isn't it?" shot Kurant across to Kry past Cter with a raised eyebrow. "With the bent, soiled, and torn cards we have been dealt, that is."

Kry nodded. "Yeah, it is." He folded his arms and crossed his right leg over his left. "And that's the worst of the worst part." He didn't elaborate further on his choice of words.

"Had it been us monsters seeking the shelter of the Underground as a last resort against the dust-hungry humans with the Xoff king being the last defense against them then I would have respected his attention to making sure that what was said to the humans kept them as calm as possible, same with the monsterkind. However, while he might be doing so in the large scheme of things, sitting across from him and the others of his human council only has the uneven balance of power making his assurances about the Underground being to protect monsterkind ring hollow to my ears. Maybe before I could have given them the benefit of my doubt."

With a calm pull he covered his magical sleeve with that of his purple robe. "Now it's only King Asgore and Queen Toriel that can hold onto that benefit."

Cter caught in the corner of her eye that Kurant also covered her glowing, white lines with that of the purple fabric. "Not going to argue with you there," she said with a dramatic exhale out her nose. Through her narrowed eyes there was the glimmer of disappointment and a similar dullness to Cter's. "Especially since I don't want to part ways with any bad blood between us."

Her huffed chuckle was devoid of any laughter. "Singe my soul..." Pain and hurt filled her aura. "How long are we going to have to travel with this? Calling any and all monsters back to the Monster Capital. Even if we're able to sense the monsters we can't do it by just looking at a map. We'll have to… I don't know…"

Pain and hurt followed her exhale. "There will be monsters in hiding already due to the war so right there we're looking at around..." Kurant's demonstrative sweep of her ring-adorned hand stopped halfway through its arc. "I have no idea how much longer that means."

None of the three Monster Mages had any idea how long it would take. Neither had any of the Monster Royals, and neither had the humans any clue as to how long it would take. The griffons were fast and had good eyes, but how many monsters were there out there? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands?

And how would they know that they were done? Would they have to sweep through it all again to verify? Would the humans have to sweep through it all to verify as well? How many times were enough? How much time was enough? How many monsters were enough?

"I'm afraid they won't be able to figure that out either," said Kry with his head rolled over towards the large double doors that lead into the ball room.

"This might be where the Xoff king's rope ends and he has to finally concede on the point that he does not have any real control in the matter. Us three being ordered to take the time that we need will only sow distrust with the humans. Each day that pass they will think more and more that we are stalling for time and that the congregating of an entire race should have been done yesterday and not in some undecided-upon time in the future."

A deep breath and slow shake later Kry closed his eyes and shuffled himself into a more relaxed, casual slouch in his chair. His legs he stretched out before him, his shoes reaching into the middle of the hallway carpet with his heels resting on either side of the wings of a Delta Rune that adorned the carpet periodically. "I'm gonna get some rest while I can." One eye he peeked open. "I'm suggesting you–"

But his colleagues were already heading his unsaid suggestion.

"Wake me when all of this is over," wished Cter.

"When this damn smell is gone from this castle."