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Today was the day, today was the day that Frisk had been groomed for since the day of their birth. Ten years of life, being fed just enough to be kept alive, only receiving attention when they had the purpose of their existence beaten into them until their skin was marred black, blue and purple.
When the moon peaked over the first mountain, their fate would be sealed and they’d be free. They would be free from this accursed ‘family’ of theirs and they would get to rest at long last. Free from pain, fear and the punishment of their elders when they made one small mistake in their script.
“I give my life so that my family may stay safe this year. I give my soul so that my family will be fed this year. I give my life so that my family will grow stronger.”
The words brought a bitter taste to their mouth, but if that’s what it took to die then that’s what they’d do. They simply wished that the demon they were summoning would kill them quickly, but with a demon that commonly known as ‘the demon that comes when you call it’s name,’ they could be as cruel as their tormentors.
There was a brief flash of sunlight as the door to their room was opened, in that brief moment Frisk saw their straw nest and a simple doll dressed in black with a piercing red stare. The doll lay on what they called their bed, it’s eyes transfixed on Frisk’s small form huddled in the corner, hugging their knees to their chest with their face buried in the itchy material of what was essentially a sack. It still smelt of rotten cabbages.
“Come my child, it is time to prepare,” the elder said. Frisk couldn’t tell which one it was, they all sounded to them, a raspy voice that made their head throb and caused their legs to sting.
They slowly pushed themselves up, hands on the walls either side of them, collecting several more scratches before they were standing. Once up, they felt a hand grab their wrist tightly, dragging them outside into the harsh light of evening, several of those boxes that could move stood to their right on a wide dirt path.
To their left were several large houses, each one more than twenty times the size of what Frisk called home, the largest of which stood pride of place in the centre. A large bonfire was before it with several rings of red around it. The elder pulled them into the large house, past several white doors, all of which were shut apart from the one on the end which was the one that Frisk found themselves in.
This room alone was so much bigger than Frisk was used to, it was a terrifying amount of space but they wouldn’t show their fear, they mustn’t show any fear. Fear was bad, fear was meant to be pushed down and bottled up to never be felt again just like all other emotions, they were a good child, they would be on their best behaviour to show the demon that they wanted to help their family.
They felt the sack be pulled up and over, leaving them standing bare in the centre of the room. They followed the instruction to stand in the bucket that was pushed into their hands, ignoring the way the hands stayed close for a second longer than was comfortable as they looked around, wondering where they should stand in the bucket?
“Just put it down,” the elder said, muttering something under their breathe as Frisk placed the bucket on the smooth floorboards. Another elder brought a much larger bucket that slooshed with every step, several towels slung over their shoulder. The white material contrasting sharply with the deep red of the robes they wore, this small observation was quickly forgotten as a smaller towel was pushed into the water it carried, twisted then rubbed against Frisk’s arm.
The cold stung as dirt was scraped off the cuts that decorated their body, soon their body was covered in small pains as every wound was cleaned and their skin rubbed raw. Then their hair received the same treatment from the towel, yanking on every knot it found, pulling out small clumps of their brown hair.
But, no matter what their body went through, they didn’t flinch or show any sign of discomfort. They were a good child, this was for the greater good and they would make their family proud. When the rough handling ended, they were given a small white dress, because, and this was important, they had to look pretty for the demon. Pretty sacrifices were always better received, and what was prettier than a little girl in a small white dress?
Never mind that Frisk wasn’t a girl; the elders didn’t care because it didn’t matter what they felt like, they were a little girl to them and that’s all that was important. Surely the demon felt the exact same way about its sacrifices as they did.
As the elders left the room, leaving Frisk alone in the too large room, dressed up in simple white dress that reached their knees. Everything felt so surreal now that it was so close, their moment of truth. It couldn’t be more than an hour away, the only sources if light were several lamps scattered across the room.
Should they move? They weren’t sure, so much time had been spent cleaning them, dressing them and then putting a ribbon in what was left of their hair. It felt wrong, they had never worn so much before, they wanted to see how they looked before they died. But there were no mirrors, they were never any mirrors so they simply had to imagine how they looked.
When the door opened again, letting in an elder who carried Frisk’s only possession, the doll that had been with them for as long as they could remember. It’s red eyes staring at Frisk as intently as ever as it was handed back to them. It was almost a comfort to have such a familiar object close during their last hour, because they knew it was about to begin, they were going to walk of their own free will to the bonfire outside, they were going to kneel in the innermost ring and then after the demon was summoned, they would recite their script.
The elder offered their hand to Frisk, but the offer was ignored as Frisk stood as tall as they could, looking straight ahead with as much confidence as they could muster. They had to be the very image of willingness, of determination if they were to do their ‘family’ proud. They refused to accept death screaming or crying, they would take it like they had been taught to. They felt the smile that the elder cast their way, they were doing good, they would surely fulfil the destiny chosen for them at birth. Even if they didn’t want to they had to.
Walking back through the house, candles running along either side of the corridor at eye level felt soothing; they could feel their muscles relaxing with every step. Knowing that they were almost free of their responsibility, that they would never have to pretend again, filled them with hope.
As they stepped outside, the elder that went to join the ring of elders that surrounded the roaring bonfire with only a small gap to allow the child a path to their place. The silence that hung over the group wrapped itself around Frisk’s shoulders with a reassuring weight. There would be no threats here, no degradation, this was Frisk’s hour and nobody would dare ruin the ritual.
With practised ease, Frisk slipped between the two elders and knelt in the centre ring. The heat from the fire warmed Frisk then became an uncomfortable stuffiness, but that had to be ignored because Frisk had to perform perfectly.
As they bowed their head, they heard a single word echo through the group before the fire leapt towards the sky with a loud fwoosh and a cascade of burning energy. This time, the silence that pervaded through the group felt reverent.
“Greetings, I am Chara,” a new voice said in a cold, hard tone that sent shivers down Frisk’s spine. “I am the demon that comes when you call it’s…” There were more shivers as Frisk’s back went cold, the demon was examining them, sizing them up as a suitable sacrifice.
They took shakey breathe, “I give my life so that my family may stay safe this year. I give my soul so that my family will be fed this year. I give my life so that my family will grow stronger,” they recited. Not a single stutter or crack of fear in their voice, that had to please the demon.
“A child? You offer me a child to protect yourselves?” Chara snarled, the fire roaring with every word. “Child, did you choose to be a sacrifice?” Frisk’s muttered reply seemed to placate the demon slightly, that meant they were doing better than was expected of them.
Black robes stepped into Frisk’s view, despite seeming to stand in the fire they hadn’t been set alight; the soft patterns stitched into the robes seemed to dance with the dancing light. Something gently placed a hand on their shoulder and gave a soft squeeze.
“Child, it will be okay. These people won’t torment you anymore,” the demon whispered into their ear. When Chara let Frisk’s shoulder go, they slumped over and fell onto their side.
“Excellent, we will accept out bless-“
“Silence,” Chara roared, their hooded figure seeming to fluctuate with every burst from the fire, “You dare sacrifice a child? Do you cretins have no spine?” Beneath the hood, the hint of a too wide grin with too big teeth could be seen before a black ooze began to drip from their sleeves and mouth.
Several of the ‘elders’ backed away from the hooded figure, their expressions quickly shifting from delight to abject horror at the creature they had summoned, which let out an echo’ing laugh.
“Greetings, I am Chara,” had to follow the script at least. These affairs were very formal with a very strict script that had to be followed. “I am the demon that comes when people call it’s name. It doesn’t matter when. It doesn’t matter where,” several people tried to run, but their retreat was quickly cut off when Chara lazily lifted up a hand, snapped their fingers and the humans fell flat on their face with several cracks of bone, letting out ear splitting screams as they did so.
“Time after time, I will appear. And your sacrifice has been accepted…” Red eyes glinted as they floated over Frisk’s body. Those who hadn’t tried to run looked up hopefully, “the child will be kept safe.”
The air was filled with more cracks as Chara turned their back on the humans, kneeling down to pick up Frisk and holding the small body to their chest as they disappeared into the fire.
“You won’t ever hurt again, Frisk.”