Chapter 2: Gold eyes and blue sky.
Everything after meeting with the enigmatic god was a blur for Frisk.
Then, suddenly everything is clear.
Feeling a slight shake, Frisk opened her eyes slowly...
A woman was holding her, smiling gently—beautiful golden hair, eyes akin to rubies.
"Ah...congratulation, my Lady. She is beautiful, just like you." She heard a dignified female voice and turned to see another woman in a typical maid outfit. She has a black hair bun, and silver eyes that soften when met with her gaze.
She looked like a badass maid in one of Alphys's anime!
"She's my little angel, after all." The woman said, grinning. "She is...much more brilliant than me."
'Is she my mother?' She might be, considering that she has been reincarnated and all.
"I'm sure you're right, mistress." The maid nodded in response, lips barely curving up.
Her mother's eyes met hers, tired but full of joy. Her hold on Frisk is delicate, filled with such indescribable warmth.
"You should get some rest, mistress." The woman advised, "You must be exhausted."
"I'm fine…a little sleepy, but I can stay awake." Her mother said "John. Where's he?"
"The boss has shown up at the hospital. Master John is currently talking with him."
"His father? Why is he here?" Her mother looked surprised
"He said that congratulation is in order. Though, I suppose Master John didn't take his presence well." The maid shook her head
A conflicted look appeared on her mother's face.
It seemed that her new family has some sort of issues, understandably.
Her new family must be filthy rich, judging by the fact that they have a personal maid. Their words and mannerism are also indicators.
However, it seemed that her father wasn't fond of her grandfather. Oh, Frisk has watched some drama about similar situations like this! Was it from that Korean movie that Undyne begged Frisk to watch with her?
When you have a lot of money, problems start to pop up left and right. Frisk thought it was quite exaggerated, but she didn't know for sure.
Frisk has never been rich before, so she didn't understand rich people's thinking.
"I guess there's nothing we can do." Her mother sighed, her eyes catching Frisk's unnatural expression "Oh. Did we make you nervous, Freya?"
"It's said that children are more attuned at sensing others' emotions." The maid suggested, and Frisk supposed that's kind of true.
'You have a sensitive soul, Frisk.' A distant voice echoed back "Don't be ashamed of that, precious. To show kindness and sympathy is your nature."
"In that case, I should probably try to smile more around her, right Hikyou?"
"Certainly, my Lady."
The door suddenly clicked, and a man walked in. He has black, clear blue eyes akin to the sky, yet his expression was troubled.
"Master."
"John…"
"Ah, don't worry about it, Sonya. My father is just being a nuisance…as always." He sighed, sitting next to the bed.
"Shouldn't you give your him a chance? I don't think he means anything malicious."
'It must be something personal.'
"It's more complicated than that." John sighed "You know that, don't you Sonya? I don't want Freya to grow up around someone like him."
She felt like there was a story here, some reasons for their falling out. But she was not one to pry, or even capable of anyway.
"…still-"
"Please, Sonya. Can we leave this talk for another time?"
There was that uneasy look on her mother's face again, but eventually, she relented.
"…ok. I get it."
On the other hand, John's expression softens immediately, and he cast his blue eyes upon Frisk.
He gave her a slight smile.
"Can I hold her for a bit?"
"Of course, John, but be gentle okay?"
"Pft…who do you think I am?" Her father chuckled, lifting her to meet his eyes "…her eyes…remind me of mother's."
"She's your daughter, after all."
"Yes, I just…seeing her in my arm like this-" He smiled widely, and Frisk swore she could see his eyes glisten a bit "I'm just feeling very happy."
Sonya looked stunned, but she soon giggled at his antics.
"Hey, what's so funny?" He raised his brows in response "Can't I be proud? She's my precious daughter!"
"You two are so adorable...ah, I wanna cry!" Sonya said dramatically
"…Hikyou, how long until we can get home?" John rolled his eyes, gesturing at the maid.
"The doctor said that tomorrow is reasonable." She said, "Seems like everything went well, Master."
"Good to hear…" John sighed in relief "Oh, is there anything to be purchased? Uh…are we missing anything?."
"You needn't worry, Master. I have accounted for everything." She then started to list quote-on-quote 'everything' "Toys, foods, clothes, and even the previously vacant room had been furnished to a style that fits the young miss. I can contact the department to make arrangements at a later date, should it not be to the young miss's liking."
"Thanks. You have been working hard, Hikyou."
"Certainly. Shall I keep an eye on the young miss while you and mistress rest?"
"Don't worry about it. I can manage by myself." The maid perked an eyebrow at that "You know, responsibilities and all?"
"Guess who is eager to be a father?" Sonya poked at his cheek, and Frisk felt uneasy at the overboard cheesiness.
"Hey! Stop that!"
"If that's all, please excuse me. Master. Mistress." The maid said, not bothering to hide the exhaustion in her voice.
It wasn't until they heard a click of the door did they started speaking again.
"…we should probably raise her salary," Sonya suggested with a frown
"Duly noted."
She is living in a mansion now!
Yeah, hard to believe, Frisk would know that.
To Frisk, or Freya now, such things used to be so surreal. It was so different from the lab where she spent her childhood being sheltered from the danger of the Underground. Or the rundown house contained her childhood horror on the Surface.
After a short drive to the center of the city, which was named Musutafu, in her mother's arms she saw a gorgeous mansion.
Granted, it wasn't gigantic like the one in Undyne's movies, but she was in awe nonetheless.
The mansion wasn't anything too fancy, but it gave off a feeling of home.
Of safety. A familiar and precious thing.
Freya felt the warmth from her mother and looked up to meet her eyes. Sonya gave her a gentle smile in return.
"This is our house, little angel. We're home."
Freya wanted to believe it, truly.
As she was drunk on the familiar warm feeling, memories from long before started flowing back subconsciously.
"Please…don't ever leave me!"
Another nightmare, as Frisk couldn't help but grabbed into the doctor, her body shaking like a leaf as terrific memories kept flooding her mind. She felt as if she couldn't breathe.
"I won't, Frisk. Don't worry about that, ok?" He said, his hand patting her head lightly "You're alright now. I will always be here with you."
"I don't want…p-please, I-I…"
"I'm right here, okay? I won't go anywhere." He assured her, and she could feel the sadness leaking from him.
But not pity, but silent anger that threatened to spill over. Because of her.
Because he cared, a simple fact that Frisk has been trying to deny this whole time.
Yes…
He has promised, after all.
A warm feeling spread through her body. Hesitantly, Frisk wrapped her arm around his neck, as tears won't stop leaking from her face. Despite hugging a literal skeleton, Frisk felt strangely warm, and relief spread over her body.
For the first time in a while, Frisk was content.
"Dad…" An unfamiliar word unknowingly entered her mouth
"Yeah…it's me." He gave her a soft smile "Thank you…"
She looked up to see his usual stoic expression crumbled, and he looked…so happy. Despite tears flowing, he gave her a smile.
Frisk, at that moment, couldn't but feel happy, too.
"…for finally trusting me."
A heavy burden has been lifted off both of them.
She ignored the distrusting voice in her head, and her emotions melt down.
For once, Frisk was full of hopes.
Freya has missed the part about having caring parental figures.
Well, caring was an understatement. They spoiled her rotten!
Their look of adoration, their gifts, their whisper of love. Cheesy, Freya knew that, but she felt no deceit hidden within.
Sure, they were awkward at times, unsure of how to interact with her. They're a young couple after all, and she was their first child.
Taking care of a child can be a lot. Moreso without experience, Frisk would know that.
His clothes were messed up, and he was glaring at him, eyes blazing red. It was her brother she has left behind.
Luckily, the family maid Hikyou always knows what to do.
"Master, it's the young miss's feeding time."
"Already? Uh…just give me that."
"Certainly not. The young miss barely eats when Master feeds her. And Master tends to leave a mess, for me to clean up afterward."
"Blame these trembling hands!" He protested, holding out his hands.
"Nevertheless." Hikyou asserted firmly "It was the will of the mistress. I'm deeply sorry, Master."
"No, you're not!" John rolled his eyes, but it didn't mask his frustration "Fine, I got some paperwork to do anyway…be good, little angel, I will see you around."
"Okay…time to eat, young miss." Hikyou sit down on the chair next to the crib
Hikyou was gentle when needed, and her occasional smile always makes Freya feel at ease. Unlike John and Sonya, with their incessant dotting, Hikyou always leaves her space.
Her mother has tried to feed her before, the traditional way, but Freya just felt weird doing that. And perhaps embarrassment was a factor, too.
Freya cast her blue eyes at the sight of rain pouring outside the window.
She wondered where Subaru and Peter are now…
Learning to walk again sure was a pain, so Freya intended to stick to crawling this time around.
The mansion has only three floors. Her room was next to her parents on the second floor, while Hikyou's room was on the third floor, along with the dining room. Guest rooms are on the first floor, and so is the library.
Hikyou kept a close eye on her, so Freya wouldn't move around and endanger herself. Most of the time she spent inside her room, but occasionally her parents took her around the house (and Hikyou was still keeping an eye on her, talk about commitment).
As she was reaching her first birthday in this world, Freya started to wonder about the real implications of reincarnation.
Is her soul still the same? She didn't feel anything changing besides the fact that she looked different. If that's true, can she still use magic?
So Freya decided to focus on her soul…
A glimmer of yellow appeared, for a tiny second before it fizzle out of existence…
So magic does exist…but without the ambiance mana of the Underground, it was hard to sustain itself.
But magic relies on the soul, so Freya expected it will get better with age. Hopefully.
On the topic of magic, however…
It seems that this world has something special called 'quirk', a unique ability that one can possess. She just saw her mother summoning a golden illusion the other day.
"Is that good? I haven't used it for a long time." Sonya created an illusion of a castle, though it looked off in several places, most notably the bright golden color covering it "This is the castle in one of the movies I used to watch as a kid. Isn't it beautiful?"
"You know, the Ivory family has a particular hereditary trait. Our golden hair, and our golden quirk." She said "Supposedly, the first Ivory has manifested a quirk that turned everything he touched into gold. It was a dark era for quirked individuals at that time, so he met an unfortunate end."
"But that golden trait persists with every Ivory generation. Your grandfather has the power to sense gold, and he ran a mining company. Needless to say, he got rich quite quickly, but he went missing after having me and my mister. Your aunt was a chemist with the ability to transmute gold into other matters, and me with my ability to create a golden illusion." She seemed thoughtful for a second "Though, my illusion is not perfect. It has this…uncanny feature."
"Hey, telling stories for our daughter again?" John crossed his arm, giving her mother a questioning look "Does she even understand what you're saying?"
"Well, at least she looks interested…" Sonya shrugged "Done with your work? Already?"
"I always make time for our little angel!" He said, lifting Freya "Are we talking about quirks?"
"Freya seems quite interested, I think? She kept looking at me with those round doe eyes, and you just interrupted us."
"Come on, I tell way better stories than you." He rolled his eyes in response "I have a very awesome quirk! Here, look."
John took a rock out of his pocket and closed his eyes. After a moment, the rock shifted and turned into the figure of an angel. It was so detailed to every feather that Freya widened her eyes in awe.
"See? I'm a very awesome dad!"
"Your father was a con artist when he was young. With his silver tongue and fancy quirk, he managed to fool many people."
"Does that include you?" He teased
"In your dream…" Sonya pouted in response, looking away.
"Someone is being dishonest~"
Her mother just sighed while Freya giggled in response. Terrible jokes aside, John's light-hearted attitude always amuse her.
Sonya is always being sarcastic and jabs at John. She was strict, but she had her childish side when interacting with her father.
Hikyou is always the dutiful maid on the outside but secretly sneaks her sweet every time she cries.
Freya is content having such a caring, albeit quirky family.
She imagined as if Gaster and Sans were at her side again. Gaster with his lab coat and glasses, reading newspapers while Sans was thinking of every possible way to annoy him, creating mess everywhere he went. Frisk, no slouch herself, was cracking jokes as both skeletons groaned in response.
Despite finding new happiness, old memories kept crawling in the back of his mind.
'I want to live.'
Yet she felt…strangely discontent.
