Guiltale

Guiltale Chapter Eighteen: Bath Bombshell

Grace was focused on a light decorating the town's Christmas – sorry, Giftmas – tree. It wasn't broken, she could tell, but it was an old-fashioned bulb that needed to be twisted more. As it flickered from death, to life, and then death again, Grace scowled.

"Kind of like me, huh?"

"Huh?"

I caught Chara's gaze, then looked away so I'd stay as inconspicuous as a half breed human could. A child dashed to the tree, telling anyone who would listen that his sister had wrapped one for him this year.

"What did Grillby mean by 'stand your ground?' It's not like I wasn't desperately trying. I thought I was dying, and I... I lost, fair and square." I mused, not really looking for a response. I itched my arm where the drying blood was still chilling me in the crisp air.

Charalotte didn't answer me, but instead scratched her jaw (does she even feel that?), closing her eyes.

"How in the world could docteur Wingdings Gaster have created the barrier, gone back through it, and then still be friends with the king and queen? I knew him, he was very polite." She finally looked at me, a small sadness in her eyes. "I wish I could have said goodbye. I'm so glad he had children, and that we get to know them – but I miss him. How in the world could even monsters forgive him for creating the barrier this way? I... I'm not making much sense, I know."

I pursed my lips before suddenly having a realization.

"Maybe he created it to protect monsters? What if it's like this; mr. Gaster creates the barrier while inside the cave with the rest of monsterkind while humans charge from the outside, and he's able to keep them out that way but mistakenly traps monsters inside?"

"That can't be right, docteur Gaster was not very good at big magic and the barrier only keeps things in, not out. How do you think you entered so easily?" She rolled her eyes. "They say anything can enter, but only a certain amount of SOUL power can exit."

"Really...? Just who was-"

Kidron ran up to me then, bobbing up and down. "Did you know that my-"

As he continued his long explanation, Chara leaned over and said "We should go somewhere more private..."

Once Kidron had been satisfied with his explanation (and gone off to some other poor shmuck to do it all over again), I breathed a sigh of relief and entered the inn. I was about to go up to my room when Okami entered, holding a dishrag.

"Hm hm hm..." she was humming until she saw me.

"Holy sh- hon, you nee- need a shower. I-I-I can't... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, YOUNG LADY?!" She ran to me, horrified at first but eventually deciding to be angry, and put her hands on my shoulders.

"I-"

She began pushing me to the back room, helping me out of my clothes and cursing under her breath while I was still trying to figure out what the heck was happening. I only got it when I heard "...all that blood..." as she tore my snow coat off of me. I couldn't meet her gaze after that, but eventually she got to my shirt and I drew the line there.