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Kris idly nibbled on the end of their pencil, tuning out the background noise of Alphys introducing the lesson. They were more concerned about what they, Susie, and Ralsei would do when they visited Castle Town after school. Maybe more band practice. Susie had been getting better at playing the drums with confidence, while trying and failing to make Ralsei sing more “extreme” lyrics. Kris had to admit, they were having fun on the guitar, too—
“…so, as you might’ve known, since Officer Undyne—”
Alphys’ words snapped Kris out of their reverie. They popped the pencil out of their mouth with a wet noise and looked up.
“—has been, um, absent for the past week, we had to postpone the presentation on safety she was handling,” Alphys went on. Her voice was strained with the effort of not appearing too nervous in front of her students, hands clasped in front of her.
Kris glanced over their shoulder. Susie, reclining in her chair with her arms folded behind her head, met their gaze. She raised an eyebrow at them. Kris could only shrug at her in response. They turned back to look at their workbook, haphazardly splayed across their desk, and gripped their pencil tight between their fingers.
“But, good news! I’ve been able to arrange a substitute speaker for today!” Alphys announced.
Behind Kris, Susie snorted. “What, she talked the ghost into public speaking?” she muttered, leaning forward over her desk and lowering her volume so only Kris would hear her. “Guess that means we can slack off paying attention today, since it’ll take ‘em the whole hour to finish a sentence.”
Kris smiled a little.
“…I want everyone to be on their best behavior,” Alphys was saying, walking out from behind her desk to the classroom door. “It’s not every day we get a visit from the mayor, so let’s make a good impression on her!”
Kris froze. What?
In front of them, Noelle turned to Berdly. “Gosh—I didn’t know Mom had agreed to do a presentation for us,” she murmured from behind a hand. “She definitely didn’t tell me that when she dropped me off at school this morning, faha!”
Berdly was sitting ramrod-straight in his seat, fussing with the collar of his shirt and neatly aligning the pens in his pocket. “Oh, good heavens! If I’d known your mother was visiting today, I would’ve dressed better than this…”
Carol? Kris thought dizzily. Carol is here? But, that wasn’t…she wasn’t supposed to be—they weren’t supposed to—
They shot a helpless look behind them. Susie’s expression mirrored their shock and disbelief. “Hey, Kris,” she began slowly, hands splayed over her desktop. “Maybe we should—”
The brisk clicking of hooves on linoleum cut through the atmosphere like a hot knife through butter, and Kris’ attention snapped to the door in time to see Carol Holiday stride into the room. Any remaining chatter between their classmates died in an instant. Noelle sat up in her seat, her back as straight as Berdly’s.
“Th-thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to visit today, Mayor Holiday,” Alphys greeted, simpering despite her clear nerves.
Carol, arms loosely folded across her middle, didn’t smile back. “No need for that, Ms. Alphys. It’s a good opportunity for me to see how our school is functioning.” She scanned the room with a neutral expression. Her gaze lingered first on Noelle, then Susie…before her sharp, ice-blue eyes met Kris’.
Kris stared back, blanking for an appropriate response. What was she doing here? They couldn’t move past the question. It was like their brain was a broken tape, stuck repeating the same section over and over.
Carol only held their gaze for a second before she passed them over, but that second felt like forever to Kris. Kris gradually became aware of a cold sweat gathering on the back of their neck, the pencil shaking in their white-knuckled grasp. Carol wasn’t smiling. She hadn’t smiled at them. They’d done something wrong, hadn’t they? Kris had done something wrong, and now she was here to—
“Well, then,” Carol began, crossing the floor to pluck the chalk sitting at the foot of the blackboard. She hadn’t even been in the classroom for more than a minute, yet she was already walking around like she’d been teaching for years. “Let’s get straight to business. As your teacher should have informed you, I’m here to talk to you about personal safety measures…”
As she spoke, she wrote on the blackboard with quick, fluid motions of her hand. The same flourish with which she signed papers and scribbled notes, or tapped computer keys at a speed not even Berdly—the fastest at typing in their class—could match. Meanwhile, Alphys had faded into the background. She was wringing her hands, her eyes flicking between watching Carol and surveying her students with an apprehension that matched Kris’.
“We’ll start with something basic—and, hopefully, something your parents have already drilled into you.” Carol wrote out “STRANGER DANGER” on the board, then underlined it. “Pay close attention, because I won’t be repeating myself.”
The next hour of class was probably one of the worst Kris had ever endured.
They tried their best to pay attention, knowing it was what Carol would’ve wanted from them, what she’d expect of them; but their body was suddenly uncooperative. Their hand wouldn’t stop shaking, and their handwriting—already chicken scratch—was downright illegible. It made Susie’s look professional. Only half of Carol’s words seemed to register at once, like Kris was tuning into a radio feed cutting in and out. She kept looking at them, too, flicking them pointed glances, and it threw Kris off every time. They couldn’t tell what she was thinking under her cool, professional mask.
Carol didn’t pick them out for questions, at least; rather, Noelle was her preferred target. Berdly, who would normally intervene on many of her answers, stayed glued to his seat and didn’t interrupt while Noelle stammered out the response Carol wanted. Carol went after Susie, too, and Kris knew from her tone the questions she threw at her were deliberate. Accusing, even. Susie made no secret of her own contempt as she growled answers, arms tightly crossed and eyes narrowed in a laser glare with murderous intent. Kris feared the moment one of them would go for the throat. If a fight did break out, who would Kris side with? Who should they side with?
It felt like another eternity passed before the bell rang to signal it was break. Usually, everyone would jump up from their seats to rush out the door, heedless of Alphys’ attempts to wrap up the lesson and remind everyone to do their homework. This time, nobody moved an inch. Not even Alphys. Carol smoothly took her place and dismissed the class.
Kris remained in their seat, still dazed, while everyone around them except for Susie stood to leave; even Alphys was quick to flee for the staff room. Kris kept their head down, hands clasped in their lap beneath the desk, muscles wound too tightly for them to pack away their things or retrieve their lunch box.
Hooves approached their desk, and blue filled the gaps between Kris’ bangs. They raised their head. Carol was standing in front of their desk, smiling down at them like she usually did. “Kris,” she greeted, in the warmer familial tone she reserved for them. “Would you mind staying behind for five minutes or so? I’d like to catch up with you about a few things.” She tilted her head, aiming a cold look behind them. “Privately, of course.”
Susie’s chair legs scraped the floor loudly enough to make Kris flinch. They dropped their gaze back to their desktop, not wanting to see Susie and Carol glaring at each other with open animosity.
Please don’t do anything, Kris begged silently, not sure who they were beaming the thought towards. Maybe both of them. Please. Please don’t…
“I’ll wait for you outside, Kris,” Susie said, still in a growl.
Kris glanced over at her, and they watched as Susie—not taking her eyes off Carol for a second, lips curled back enough to show her fangs—shoved her hands into her coat pockets and stalked from the room. She didn’t push her chair back in under her desk, nor did she shut the door behind her.
With a sigh, Carol crossed the floor to close the door herself. “Such dreadful company you’re forced to keep,” she commented, not bothering to hide her disdain. “Isn’t that right, Kris?”
Kris stared at their workbook without seeing their own scrawled, messy handwriting. They wanted to defend Susie, but they knew Carol wouldn’t accept it. Their mouth remained frozen shut.
The hooves approached again. Each crystal-clear clack of them against the floor was like a nail being hammered into Kris’ skull. “I can only hope it’s not affecting your performance, Kris.” As she spoke, Carol rested a hand on their shoulder. Their clothes did nothing to shield them from her icy touch.
“No,” Kris mumbled, as small and pathetic as they felt. “It’s—I’m fine. Susie’s…not so bad, really…”
“Perhaps not. Still, Kris, you must remember you can’t trust delinquent girls like her.” Carol’s lips curled upward into an almost sly smile. “But I’m sure you were paying attention to the lesson, weren’t you?”
“Y-yes.” In any other situation, maybe it would’ve been funny, when most of Alphys’ lessons bored Kris to sleep…
Carol nodded approval. “Good. It’s necessary knowledge for keeping yourself safe—which someone like you is well in need of.” She lowered her voice a fraction as she continued, “I do worry about you, Kris, you know.”
Kris didn’t say anything. They didn’t know what to say. This was uncharted territory. What was Carol’s goal? What was she intending to do? Surely she wouldn’t—not here, at school, where anyone could walk through the door at any moment and…or maybe she would. She could. She was the town mayor; the most powerful person in this whole building. She could get away with whatever she wanted. Who was going to tell her no? Certainly not Kris. Susie, though…brave, rebellious, stupid Susie—
“I know how difficult things are for you, right now.” Carol rubbed at Kris’ shoulder in slow, soothing strokes. Kris’ skin felt like it was going numb underneath. “You’re taking on a lot more than a child your age should…and at my behest, too. That’s why I need to be certain if there’s a problem, you’ll come to me for help.”
Kris bit the inside of their cheek. But I already do, they thought silently. Wasn’t that enough for her?
“We’re family, aren’t we, Kris?”
“Yes…Auntie,” Kris mumbled, knowing it was what she wanted to hear.
“Then you’ll know, as I said in my presentation, you can trust me—your family—more than anyone else. After all, that girl and the prince haven’t known you for even a fraction as long as I have.”
“No.” Kris couldn’t deny it. It was a plain, irrefutable fact.
Carol leaned in, looming over them and their desk. Her grip on their shoulder tightened. “I’m sure you understand what I’m getting at, Kris,” she said, dropping her voice to just above a whisper. “You’re an intelligent child, after all…and principled, too. There’s nobody else I can trust this responsibility with.”
“I know,” Kris murmured, glancing up to meet her eyes and then away again. Carol’s eyes were such a deep, vivid blue; Kris knew all too well they could drown in them. “I haven’t forgotten…”
“Of course you haven’t. So, Kris, you’ll understand why I’m concerned for you…especially in light of what happened this Saturday past.”
Kris clenched their fists in their lap, digging their nails into their palms until it hurt. Right; of course. That was what Carol was here about, wasn’t it? Dess’ guitar, Susie’s defiance, Noelle…
Carol tapped under Kris’ chin with a long-nailed finger, silently instructing them to look up at her. She wasn’t smiling any more. “Remember, Kris, I’m trusting you to take care of what I can’t do. If you can’t keep that girl in line…I may be forced to intervene.”
Kris swallowed. “I know,” they repeated, through gritted teeth. “I’m—I’m trying.”
They were trying so hard. Carol spoke as if it were so easy, but how much could she truly understand? She wasn’t the one putting herself in danger every time a new dark world opened. She wasn’t the one breaking sweats to keep everyone safe. She wasn’t the one who’d been forced to watch, shaking hands gripped around the hilt of their sword, as their allies—their friends—had been so cruelly struck down by the same person she wanted to—and she hadn’t been there to see Ralsei crying, or the blood dripping from Susie’s wounded hand after she’d—
“Then you know what I want from you, Kris,” Carol warned, tone hard. Her volume belied the snowstorm brewing around them both. “Results. And if you won’t give me the results I desire—”
The classroom door creaked open.
Carol stood up straight, though her hand remained clamped down on Kris’ shoulder, and she turned her head to look. Kris looked, too. Standing on the threshold of the classroom was…Noelle? Oh, no. Why was she here? Why was she here? She wasn’t—she shouldn’t—Kris needed to—
“S-sorry, Mom,” Noelle greeted nervously, forcing a smile. Her big brown eyes darted restlessly between her mother and Kris. “Um, I don’t mean to interrupt, but—”
Carol sighed and set her free hand on her hip. “If it isn’t urgent, Noelle, then it can wait,” she said, back to curt and business-like. “Kris and I are discussing something important right now.”
“It—it kind of is urgent, actually!” Noelle stammered out, waving her hands. “See, uh…we’d arranged to use this break to study on our group project, so…”
Kris blinked. Had they? They—they couldn’t remember—
Carol narrowed her eyes. “I thought your partner for the group project was that bird boy. What was his name, again?” She glanced aside, her fingernails tapping Kris’ shoulder in thought. “Burghley?”
“Berdly,” Noelle corrected. “And, well, we decided to all work together, because—Kris and Susie really need the help! They’re, um, kind of struggling to figure out how to approach the topic—and it’ll count towards their final grade this year…”
The words drifted into Kris’ ear and promptly vacated out the other. What was Noelle even doing? She should know Carol wouldn’t budge or compromise on anything. Why was she standing up to her mother for them? She wasn’t supposed to—Kris was supposed to be the one protecting her, keeping her safe, not—hadn’t she said their friendship had been forced, so why was she bothering to—
“—and I promised Kris I’d help them!” Noelle was saying, hands clasped tight over her chest. “Uh…I also said if they did good, I’d—I’d treat them as an incentive, because—I mean, you keep telling me I should spend more time with them again, so…!”
Carol nodded, her brow furrowed in thought. “I have been telling you that.” She looked down at Kris for a moment, then finally removed her hand from their shoulder. Kris remained stiff in their seat, tense like a bowstring drawn taut. “Well, then. Don’t let me get in your way.” Carol offered her daughter a small smile. “It makes me happy to know you two are getting along again, after everything that’s happened.”
Noelle beamed, though Kris knew she was forcing it. “Th-thank you, Mom! I—I knew you’d understand…” She quickly trotted across the classroom to hook an arm around Kris’, tugging them up onto their feet. Kris obeyed, more on reflex than anything else. “Come on, Kris! We have to get to the library before Berdly gets mad at us for ditching, faha…”
“Let’s continue this discussion later, Kris,” Carol said coolly, smiling as if everything was fine. “After all, I’ll see you again this Sunday, won’t I?”
“Y-yeah,” Kris mumbled, mouth dry. Like they could say anything else.
She waved her hand dismissively. “Then get to work, you two.”
Kris couldn’t believe she was just letting them go, but they had no time nor ability to question her; especially not when Noelle was hurriedly dragging them from the classroom. They were barely able to keep up as Noelle led them down the school corridors. She turned a corner, and then another; guiding Kris not in the direction of the library, but taking them elsewhere.
“N-Noelle,” Kris stammered, heart pounding fast and hard in their chest. “W-why…”
She slowed to a stop at the doors outside, looking around to check nobody would overhear before she leaned closer to Kris. “Susie asked me to get you out of there,” Noelle told them in a hushed voice, gripping both their hands in her own. Hers were trembling. “And Berdly agreed to cover for us, too. You—you should’ve seen yourself, Kris…you looked terrified all throughout class! I couldn’t—” She looked away, nibbling on her lower lip. “I couldn’t just leave you alone with Mom like that…”
Kris’ head was spinning. Susie? Berdly? Susie told Noelle? Kris had been terrified? “I…I don’t—”
Noelle smiled at them reassuringly and patted their hand. “Come on, Kris—Susie’s waiting for you.”
Kris didn’t fight her. They had no fight in them to call up. It’d run away and hid the moment Carol had first stepped into the classroom. Somewhere Kris wasn’t supposed to worry about her…
Noelle led them outside, into the noon autumn sunlight, and across the grass. She traced a familiar path to a corner of the school courtyard behind the bike shed, where Susie was squatting and chewing on a lit cigarette between clenched teeth. “Susie!” Noelle greeted. “I brought Kris.”
Susie leaped to her feet, ripping the cigarette out of her mouth and tucking it between two fingers. That was all the warning Kris received before she was on them, her large and warm hands gripping their shoulders tight. “Kris! You okay? That woman didn’t do anything to you, did she?”
“N-no,” Kris mumbled, glancing between the two girls. “Why—why are you…?”
Susie lifted one hand from Kris to nurse her cigarette, making sure not to breathe smoke in their face. Her other hand remained in place, incidentally over the same shoulder Carol had touched them. Susie’s draconic heat seemed to melt away the ice and numbness that’d gathered there. “What do you think, dumbass?” she scoffed. “We’re making sure you’re safe.”
Noelle offered Kris another smile—a more melancholy one, this time—as she laced her hands in front of her skirt. “Susie didn’t want to leave you alone, Kris,” she explained, “but she didn’t trust herself in front of Mom, after what happened last Saturday, so…she asked me to help you, instead. It—it was scary, facing Mom like that, but…I’m glad I did it.”
“And I’m glad I asked,” Susie added, clapping Noelle on the shoulder with her other hand. Noelle squeaked a little in surprise. “Thanks, Noelle. Knew I could rely on you,” she said, offering a pleased, toothy grin.
Noelle lifted a hand to her mouth, cheeks coloring red underneath her fur. “I’m—I’m happy to help!” she stammered. “I’ve been worried about Kris, too, so…”
She trailed off. Kris stared at her. She’d been worried? How much did she know, then? How much did she—did she know what, exactly, her mother and Kris had been doing? “I…I don’t understand,” they murmured. “I’m not—she wasn’t—I shouldn’t have been—”
“Hey,” Susie cut in gently, rubbing their shoulder. “It’s okay, Kris. You’re safe now, alright? I’m not gonna let her lay another finger on you for as long as I can help it.”
Safe. Had Kris been feeling unsafe? Maybe they had been. School…school was a place Carol wasn’t supposed to be, after all. And then she’d shown up, without any prior warning…but it still didn’t make any sense. Wasn’t Kris supposed to trust her? She was trusting them. Kris didn’t know why—couldn’t understand it—they shouldn’t have been afraid of her, so why were they…
Because you’re a bad person, their mind answered. Because you’re a liar and a traitor who attacked the Knight. Who’s second-guessing your promise.
Of course. It was all their fault, like always. Kris couldn’t do anything right; that was why they needed Carol to guide them. And yet, Susie and Noelle had still come after them. Why? Kris didn’t understand. They couldn’t understand.
“Hey, Kris,” Susie murmured, inclining her head toward the bike shed. “Wanna sit down with me?”
Kris nodded. They couldn’t tell her no, either. They didn’t have the heart to. They didn’t want to.
Coward.
Susie settled on the ground, her back against the wall of the bike shed, her arm slung around Kris’ shoulders to keep them tucked into her side. After a moment’s hesitation, Noelle sat on Kris’ other side and rested a warm, sleek-furred hand atop theirs. They glanced at her in confusion. She smiled back, gentle like the sunlight. Kris wanted to ask her what she knew. They needed to ask. After all, if she knew the truth, then how could she possibly smile at them like that? How could she bear to look at them at all? But Kris couldn’t find the words. Their mouth and throat would no longer work.
“Ah—here, Kris.” Noelle dug into her skirt pocket and pulled out a folded handkerchief; green, tile-patterned with Christmas lights and reindeer. She turned their hand over and dropped it into their palm. “You look like you might need it…”
Kris, gingerly holding the handkerchief against their palm, lifted their hand to swipe at their eyes. They were surprised to feel moisture on their fingertips. When had they started crying? They didn’t know. Everything was a blur now. Their body, disconnected and acting against their will. The way it always did around Carol…
Susie’s hand lifted from their shoulder to ruffle their hair. It was a comfortable weight that kept them from drifting off like a balloon. “C’mon, man, it’s okay,” she told Kris, through the cigarette in her mouth. “If you gotta cry, just let it all out, yeah?”
Noelle tittered. “I won’t mind, either. You know me, Kris…I cry all the time, faha.”
Kris didn’t remember the last time she had cried. Noelle had grown a lot over the years, and she wasn’t the crybaby she used to be as a kid. Kris, on the other hand, felt like all they did these days was cry, and for no good reason. They didn’t have any reason to cry, especially not when everything was their fault…
They dabbed at their wet eyes with the handkerchief, but instead of helping, all it did was make the tears return with a vengeance. Kris gritted their teeth and tried choking back the sobs, but as usual, their body betrayed their wishes. Before long, they were crying outright, crumpling and twisting the handkerchief between their trembling hands.
With a sigh, Susie tugged the cigarette out of her mouth, holding it away from Kris while she guided them to tuck their head against her neck. “S’alright, Kris,” she murmured to them, running her claws through the hair on their nape. “Gonna be alright…”
Noelle took Kris’ hand again, lacing her fingers between theirs, and she tenderly stroked the back of it, over their knuckles, with her free hand. “We’re here for you, okay?” she whispered.
Kris squeezed at her like an anchor, their other hand gripping the lapel of Susie’s jacket. They didn’t know what they’d done to deserve this—to have Susie as a friend, to have Noelle’s kindness—but right now, Kris didn’t want to question it. The warmth and solidity of their presences, the security they both offered, was already more than they could ever ask for.