The Mountain East (An Undertale Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

A single lamp illuminated the deserted hallway. At the end of it, a shadow could be seen entering the door at the end of the corridor, stacks of books in his hand. He shuffled awkwardly under the weight of the papers and managed, with a little help from its inhabitant, to duck into the chamber, trying his hardest to not cause a ruckus.

As Asriel stepped into the dimly light room, he threw all his reading material onto his bed and collapsed on top of his sheets. Chara was sitting on her bed, constructing what it seemed like miniature origami pieces out of the used papers Asgore kept in his bedroom.

"How's the studying going?" Chara asked, not looking up from her project. She was folding a little paper hat.

Asriel watched her frolic around with her pieces of paper and sighed. "I hate being the prince."

Chara laughed softly. "Relax, Azzy. Worry about that when you start growing your vestigial horns. Take your time."

Asriel shook his head in denial. His left ear smacked him on the side of the cheek as he did so. "I need to make mum and dad proud! I'll be the best prince and the best king!"

Chara chuckled. "You look less credible with that ear in your face."

Asriel pouted and removed his ear from obscuring his vision. The girl sighed.

"You don't need to memorize every fact about the underground to be a good ruler, Azzy. Honestly, if you were crowned king right now, I'm sure the people will rejoice. The nickname 'King Fluffybuns' might actually make sense, for one. Take it from me. You'll make a great king."

Asriel blinked. "Y - You really think so?"

"Of course! You'll already be better than all those corrupt, selfish human aristocrats without trying."

They both fell into silence in unison. Chara tried to take her mind off the topic by continuing to decorate the hat.

Asriel cautiously stepped across the room to place a paw on her shoulder. She flinched at the sudden contact, but welcomed it anyways. "Do you -"

"No. At least... not now." Her response was curt and crude. She felt bad for being so direct with him, but her memories needn't be provoked, especially after the previous fiasco.

Asriel nodded in understandingly. He peered over Chara's shoulders to watch her put the finishing touches on the hat. Several other weirdly shaped pieces were neatly aligned on the desk. "What are you making?"

"Ah, just a little throwback. It's a game I used to play when I was... avoiding my parents. My only escape in a harsh world." Her eyes flashed of recollection, but this time of nostalgia. The past is a flickering candle, she thought. Too far to snuff out, yet too close to leave one's side.

"Cool! What's it called?" Asriel picked up one of the pieces. They were much sturdier than he thought, as they were made of paper. Perhaps mom and dad assisted her by applying purple magic to it. The piece he picked up was a simple illustration of a horse. The mane was carefully trimmed and snout waning at an uncomfortable angle.

"Chess."

She put the black hat on one of the last remaining unfinished pieces. It fit perfectly atop its head. "Voila."

Asriel frowned at the name. It didn't seem to ring any bells. "C - can you teach -"

Chara interrupted him before he got to finish the question. Her response was enthusiastic and she was in dire need of a welcome distraction. "Sure! Gimme a sec – let me get the board Tori gave me -" She pulled out a checkered board, the likes of which Asriel had not seen before.

Chara rearranged the black and white pieces to their respective positions. The small, elementary pieces were placed haphazardly in the front, supported by an array of unique ones, including the horse Asriel had somehow gotten attached to (was it the snout?). She turned the board around and tried her best to explain the game.

"The goal of chess is to checkmate the enemy king. That's the one with the pointy hat. No, not that one, the other one with a pointy hat. Yes, the one in the middle. You have to trap them in a position so they cannot escape. If a piece is attacking the king, it is in check and the threat must be dealt with immediately. For example -"

Asriel stared into Chara's eyes. She herself was concentrated on the game, occasionally making snide remarks and glancing upwards, but this was the first time Asriel had seen her look so... enthusiastic, and sad at the same time. There was some kind of rekindling that sparked her soul. He could see that through the windows that were her eyes. An old tradition, picked up once again. A painful nostalgic feeling.

And so, he listened. Was he interested in the game himself? Not really. The pieces looked unappealing and gameplay plain. But if he could imitate only a fraction of what used to make her happy... perhaps eternal friendship would sound like less of a curse. He had seen her joy before, but not in such a raw, untampered form. It was like reliving a childhood, one that he could participate in.

" - and I think you're ready to play! Do you wanna try a game with me?" Chara looked up from her monologue.

"Uh - wha – yeah, sure, sure! Uh... can you, uh, repeat that, uh, once more?" Asriel stuttered, having been broken from his daydream.

Chara laughed. "How does my hair smell like?"

Asriel had unknowingly burrowed his snout into her hair. He quickly withdrew, fur hot with embarrassment.

Chara smirked at him. "Come on. You're a fast learner. I refuse to believe that you heard nothing."

"A - alright, then." He took the black pieces into his custody. Chara smiled and pushed the middle-right pawn forward two spaces. Immediately, Asriel looked stumped. He hastily copied her move, which surprisingly surprised her. Perhaps she had not anticipated such a captivating move. Or, more likely, she expected him to do something stupid, in which he would deliver.

As Chara made her next move, Asriel tried to break the 'intense' silence. "Hey... about what you said earlier. Are... are all human kings that bad?"

She moved her other other hat piece (that was not the king, as he learned) diagonally across the board. It took two to three seconds for her to speak up. "... Yes. In fact, disregard the entire human race if kindness and justice is what you're asking about."

Asriel nodded. By now, the old Asriel would have just let her be. But there are no breakthroughs without a sacrifice. "Chara... there's always kindness in people. It – it could just be harder to find, sometimes." He faintly remembered Chara explaining the horse piece. He moved it in the L shape she had instructed him to do so.

Chara's hand trembled when she grasped ahold of the tallest piece. Lip quivering, she also moved it diagonally across the board, in the other direction. "Humans are naturally... selfish. They kill without remorse. They – they abandon you in your time of need. They... they harm those who you love. Cast you away for material gain. They know nothing of love. All they want is power and gold. Useless iterations of influence just to be 'superior'. Freedom is dead. Equality is dreaded. I... as much as I try to hide it, am not an exception."

Asriel's eyes widened, whilst Chara's filled with bitterness and sorrow. Asriel quickly moved the other knight, wanting to focus more on the conversation. "Chara... you are different. You aren't cruel, or - or selfish. Is... is that why you jumped down here? They... mistreated you?" His timid voice cracked.

There was a brief transpose of tranquility. Chara did not look up from the table. She swiftly grabbed the long piece once again, and roughly placed it in front of Asriel's king. The pawn protecting the spot was removed with force. When she spoke, her voice was silky soft, but carried a connotation, a bitter remembrance, that struck Asriel with lightning.

"You see good in everyone. That is your fatal flaw. Sometimes, you have to accept... that gods, too, can fall."

Chara knocked down Asriel's king. It rolled, lifeless, another puppet without a puppeteer, another marionette with its wires severed. Its small crown crumpled to the ground.

"Checkmate, Asriel."