Chapter Text
Papyrus was not immune to nerves, and he had to constantly remind himself to not fidget as he stood for the ceremony. It wasn’t necessarily a long one, but it did have a lot of talking and formality and Papyrus was bursting with so much excitement without a single good outlet for any of it.
King Asgore was going through the history of the Guard, its purpose and how it has kept the kingdom safe for years. Papyrus stood among a ring of Guards, already seamless within their ranks. Across from him was the King, the Royal Scientist, and the Captain respectively, along with a couple of other important figures. It wasn’t a large gathering, but almost the entirety of the Guard was there, which did nothing to help Papyrus' nerves. He was surrounded by the people he would be working with for hopefully most of his life.
“With the successful completion of the Guard Test, administered by the Captain herself, I welcome Papyrus Gaster to my Royal Guard,” Asgore said. “Papyrus, you may step forward.”
Papyrus stepped into the center of the ring, legs a little wobbly. He immediately slid into a kneeling bow in front of the King, keeping his head low. His heart echoed in his ears. He couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Do you, Papyrus Gaster, swear nothing less than your heart, your strength, and your life to the Crown and the serving of its kingdom? Do you promise to do everything in your power to protect the peace and welfare of this kingdom, no matter the cost?”
“I do, my King,” he said, unable to process anything but the words being said to him. He wasn’t even sure if he saw the dirt in front of him. “I am ready to give my life and soul for this kingdom, and I swear to serve it until my final breath.”
“Then rise not as yourself, but as a Royal Guardsman.”
Papyrus rose, and the first thing he noticed was how warm Asgore’s smile was. And then, Undyne was approaching him with something in her hands.
“I, Captain Undyne of the Royal Guard, present you with this sword and helmet. May you use them to help instill peace and justice across the Kingdom.” The words were rehearsed, and spoken as such, but there was something behind them that Papyrus picked up on. Pride, maybe. Or just the joy of seeing a friend get closer.
Papyrus took them with trembling hands. They felt heavy, but as he adjusted his grip, he knew they had been weighted just for him. Goosebumps formed on the back of his neck.
Undyne stepped back and his father stepped forward. He held a pin in his scarred hands. “And I, Doctor W. D. Gaster, present you with your Royal Badge, so that your status may be visible to all who lay eyes on you.”
Gaster was a man of subtle emotions, almost overwhelmingly so, but right now, Papyrus could see he was brimming with pride. Enough that he almost started crying from seeing his father like this. The badge was pinned to his chest, and when Papyrus looked down at it, he noticed the metal was worn, with his last name on it. The design was slightly different from the ones he had seen on other guards as well. After a moment, he realized it was his mother’s old badge, from before she became Captain, and then he did start to cry a little. Undyne seemed to notice it as well.
Papyrus didn’t really hear what Asgore said after that, but then the ceremony was over and he was surrounded by friends congratulating him and hugging him and Guards around him were asking him questions and he was overwhelmed by a sudden realization that all of this was for him. His heart swelled with sudden pride and he was definitely crying and being awkward and bouncing around between people like a pinball, but none of that mattered because he had finally done it and was actually a royal guard.
He had done it.