Toriel sighed as she relaxed into her chair. What a day this had been. She had been doing her rounds in the Ruins, ending with an inspection of the flowers, when she had found someone on them. It wasn't unusual to find humans in that part of the Ruins. What was unusual was that she had been injured by the fall, wasn't a child, and to her surprise, pregnant.

Toriel had rushed the woman home to try and heal her, but her injuries were quite severe. She had managed to keep her calm, but a short while later, she had gone into labor. Toriel had tried to assist her, but she had fought her. Toriel wasn't sure if it was because she was a Monster, or if she was delirious. In either case, Toriel did her best to assist the woman. It took several hours, but eventually, she had her baby. However, the woman didn't get the chance to see her infant. She died mere moments afterward.

Toriel never had a chance to learn who the woman had been. She buried her in the Ruins, making sure no one saw the Soul, disposing of it. After that, she had wrapped the infant human in a blanket, bringing them with her as she sat down.

Now she was alone with a baby, sitting by the fireplace. A baby that was not her own, and a different species to boot.

"What am I to do with you?" she muttered to herself. "I cannot abandon you. You would die. But I am not certain I can properly care for you, either." She looked down at the sleeping babe. Their brown hair gently shone in the firelight. Some birthing fluid was still on their face, despite her best efforts to clean it off.

Using her thumb, she gently rubbed their cheek, wiping it off. That was enough to stir them awake. They opened their eyes, which were a beautiful brown. They looked around for a moment before locking on her. For a moment, they looked confused. But then they smiled up at her, reaching out with their stubby hands.

Toriel recognized this behavior. They wanted her to hold them closer. She felt her heart melt as they kept reaching for her, stubby fingers opening and closing. She extended a single digit, and they earnestly started nibbling on her finger. She leaned her head a little closer, and they surprised her by grabbing her ear and nibbling on it instead.

"Ow!" she shouted after they gave a particularly hard yank. Gently, she made them let go. They cooed and babbled at her, playing with her hands. The kept looking up at her with their bright eyes. She could see it in them; they weren't looking at her as a stranger, they were looking at her as their mother. They had only been with her for a few hours, and already they had accepted her as family.

Like that, her fears of being potentially inadequate disappeared. She would be the mother of this child, and she would take care of them, no matter if they were a different species. "That is right, my child. It does not matter what you are. I am your mother, and this is your home now." She nuzzled their nose with her own, producing a small giggle. It occurred to her that she had to name them, as the woman had never said anything. After a brief internal debate, she settled on one.

"I am Toriel, and you, my child, are Frisk," she said to them.

End of Prologue


A/N I know I said I'd wait till The Last Hope was finished before posting this, but that series has been under performing. So I've decided to go ahead with this next one. It's not quite finished, but all that's left is proofing the final ten chapters and epilogue. This is one story I had a lot of fun doing, and it turned out longer than I thought. New chapter post on Friday.

Also, anyone find it odd that my chapter counts keep coming out in multiples of five? Not counting the prologues and epilogues. Even my next chapter-ed story has ten chapters. It's weird.