Guiltale

Guiltale Chapter Twenty: Boneless Wings

A trickle of dust fell onto my face, disturbing my sleep. I tried to turn over, but I realized that what I was lying on wasn't a bed – it had plush walls for some reason, so moving wouldn't work in my position. Groaning, I attempted to lie in a fetal position, reaching for a blanket –

...that wasn't there.

Confused, I lifted my head, realizing that all I felt was my cold jeans through my mittens. I rolled my eyes, covering my face with my beanie as I recognized my situation.

"You awake now?" Chara was hovering over me in a way not unlike how I first met her. I glared up at her from behind my arm.

"Ughgh... I really suck at this, don't I... how could I lose like that...?"

The ghost princess shrugged. "I think you did okay, considering – you made it almost 10 turns," Chara went upside down, shuddering. "But that... was pretty brutal. I know he healed you, but is your leg okay?"

I quickly grabbed my shin, then my thigh. It didn't look like it bled, which was a relief for my clothes and seeing the rabbits again. But, in spite of Papyrus' healing, my femur ached in a concerning way – it had broken during the FIGHT. Healing helps a lot, but it can't truly replace bedrest and gentle care.

"I think I'm okay..." I twitched my head, thinking about what had happened. "It actually... still hurts, though. It doesn't look like I bled, right?" I got up, pushing off of my left (unhurt) leg to get out of the too-little dog bed.

"No, you won't have to face mademoiselle Tenshu's colère this time." As Chara spoke, I began walking to the new letter. "Though I do wish we had better options of protection... just some armure de cuir, some garde-bras- arm guards, or something..."

I nodded gravely, picking up the paper. "Well, eventually we'll make it to the castle, right? So there should be some armor there..." I trailed off, reading the note:

please ask before you escape!!! When you went missing I got worried sick!!! Slightly bonetrousled, papyrus.

I held my hand to my mouth, feeling my eyes begin to sting. Papyrus was trying his best to be everything for everyone, and failing at both. It wasn't fair. I had no way of getting past him in the state I was, but was I justified in even doing that if I could? He's been struggling his whole life to be good enough at this, and I was ruining it by just being here and not wanting to quit. I tried to breathe, attempting to quell any water forming in my eyes.

No. I couldn't give up. I may not be here for... a person, anymore, but I had to try and find them. Harlow deserves better than that – she deserved to be honored. Besides, Papyrus wasn't told what would happen to a human should they be found, it seems... if he knew, he might have been trying harder to convince his higher-ups that I'm arguably a skeleton, so I can't be harvested.

"...harvested...?" I muttered out loud, thinking it over.

"What?" Chara said, coming over to read the letter. "This doesn't say anything about- oh, you mean... you can't be considering it, can you?"

"No, no. At one point, maybe, but... I've been thinking about it, and I don't want that. I'm too curious about my possibilities as a wizard. Will I be able to do magic like Papyrus does? Who was my skeletal ancestor? How did he or she make it out of the underground, or escape being trapped there altogether? What weapon will I have? It's all so interesting, and I have to find out. I want to see the rest of this place, meet different people, and learn what I can – though, I am worried about one tiny little thing..."

"And what's that?"

"Will I run into more challenges with my fear of heights?"

Chara flinched. "Right... that's what's getting you here, right? ...there MAY be some, er, quelques problèmes in the future with that. Waterfall and Hotland both..."