Chapter Text
It had been a long time since the last sorcerer gave his final breath. With them gone, magic vanished from the human world. It was considered impossible for their unique connection to remerge, and so humans learned to live without it. After all, no one even remembered where they learned such things in the first place.
Some humans tried to gain popularity by pretending to have such a connection, but in the end they were all posers. That is, until you came along. It was unexpected, the first time you showed signs of having a connection with magic. Your family didn't know how to respond at first. Then, they were convinced that it was a sign. Certainly this meant you were destined for greatness, having such a rare thing as magic. They piled expectations onto you until, finally, you couldn't keep up anymore. Then, when you disappointed them, they would punish you severely.
You, of course, tried not to fail. However, this turned out to be a very tall order. Failing could be anything from not doing chores, to things out of your control, such as accidentally tripping or losing control of your 'powers.' It became such a fear to fail that you couldn't take it anymore. You fled without thinking, running to the one place you knew no one would come looking: Mt. Ebbot.
There, you found yourself unable to stop crying as you trudged along, letting your short legs carry you along. You knew it was wrong. You knew You'd be punished. You didn't want this to happen anymore. All you wanted a normal life; one with a loving family and no high expectations. You were just a child, after all. Weren't those things that children usually had, or at least deserved? Eyes blurred with tears, you didn't see the large chasm until you were falling into it.
By the time you realized what was happening, you only had a split second to scream out in fear before hitting the ground. You must have hit your head, because the next thing you knew, you were waking up in a bed, covered by a thick quilt. Your head stung painfully, and you took a moment to get used to it before looking around. Though the bed reminded you of the one you had at home, the room itself was certainly not the same. A pleasant smell filled the air, but you almost didn't notice it as fear and worry overcame you. Where were you? As you tried to sit up, the pain in your head worsened, and a quiet whine escaped you. The last thing you could remember was running away to the mountain, followed by the feeling of rushing wind.
"Ah, you're awake," a soft voice called.
You turned your head to the now-open door to see.. a goat? A talking goat.. on two legs. It wore light purple robes with a strange symbol on the front, and was holding a clear glass of what seemed to be water. It moved closer, stepping to one side of the bed as it spoke again.
"You were asleep for quite some time. I was getting worried," It.. she? The creature had a pleasant voice, one which sounded distinctly feminine. You found herself unable to reply as you simply stared dumbfoundedly, blinking your eyes as you tried to process what was happening.
"My apologies. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Toriel," she said, a smile on her face. That was a smile, wasn't it..? It seemed friendly enough. Slowly, ever so slowly, you opened your mouth, but found your throat dry and too hoarse to even speak. You choked a little, and again Toriel spoke, "Oh dear. Here, drink this."
She held out the glass of water, and you didn't hesitate to take it. It didn't cross your mind that this creature could be malicious, so you didn't question her motives. After taking a few large gulps from the glass, you gently lowered it and took a deep breath. The cold water soothed your throat, and as the creature-- Toriel, she'd called herself-- took it back from you to place it on the nightstand next to the bed, you found yourself mumbling a quiet, "Thank you."
Toriel's smile seemed to grow just a little bit at the weak words. "You're very welcome, my child," she chimed.
You didn't know what to do. You was lost, confused, and all you could do was think about those stories you'd read about the mountain. The mountain of monsters. The mountain you had been climbing before everything went dark. Had those stories really been true? Could you..? Were you.. in the mountain? Was this a monster?
Almost as if reading your mind, Toriel spoke, "You look confused. I suppose I should explain some things." She moved to sit at the bottom of the bed before inquiring softly, "Do you remember anything before you woke up here, my child?"
You hesitated before answering with a small nod. "I.. I was climbing the mountain, and.. I fell," you answered, recalling what you could from the moments before you woke up here.
"That's right. You fell into the mountain and hit your head. I found you and brought you home," Toriel explained.
So you were right after all. This is the inside of the mountain. You were in the mountain of monsters. You fell quiet for a moment, but Toriel seemed to notice that you wanted to ask something and questioned gently, "Is something bothering you, my child?"
You were nervous. Would the goat-like lady get mad if you asked..? Deciding to take the chance, you took a breath and whispered the question on your mind, "Are.. you a monster?"
There was a moment, and then Toriel gave a soft giggle. "Yes, but do not worry, I will not harm you. I will keep you safe," she said.
The way she spoke made you want to believe her, and you found herself slowly doing just that. It seemed this monster had no intentions of ill will, and that alone was enough to make you feel at ease. Slowly, a small, genuine smile made it's way across your face for the first time in a long while.
Seeing this, Toriel took the opportunity to ask, "What is your name, my child?"
"Um.. My name is ________."