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"Cornelius Terrence. You, an orphan born of the Devil, are accused of practicing witchcraft. Do you have anything to say in your defense? Anything to confess?" The priest's eyes were bloodshot as he recited the dreadful accusation.
The child stared directly at the priest. "I cannot say that I have ever participated in witchcraft. But considering the fact that I am standing here with a rock tied to my leg, I highly doubt there would be anything I could say that could sway your jury," the child sneered.
The priest gazed at the child with sadness. "Cornelius... my son. You were always a model student. Please. We can work something out..."
"No, we cannot," the child said. "Your... 'jury' made your choice for you. If I am to die a witch..." the child's eyes glazed over, black liquid leaking from the corners. "Then SO BE IT."
The priest sighed. "Then... may God have mercy on your soul."
With those words, the priest cast the child into the lake, tears streaming down his face.
==========
Chara jumped out of bed, breathing heavily, eyes darting around the room.
"You good?"
Chara whipped their head towards the voice. A young child stared at Chara from their bed. They weren't concerned. They weren't scared. They were just observing.
"I'm fine."
"The dream again?"
Chara cringed. Frisk was always good at getting straight to the point.
"Yes."
Frisk hummed to themselves. "Y'know... you don't have to come with us."
"No!" Chara said, a little too quickly. "I said I would be there, and I will. I cannot go and disappoint Clover after all the effort they went through to get me to join you lot. I will join you. And that is final."
Frisk smiled slightly before checking their watch. "Well, you still have time to think about it. We weren't supposed to wake up for another five hours. Get some more sleep, okay?" Chara sighed, before slipping themselves back under the covers. "Oh, and Chara? I never said anything about Clover..."
Frisk then proceeded to get smacked in the face by a plushie.
"...okay that's fair."
. . . . . . . . . .
It all started a couple of weeks prior. Summer was on the horizon, and Frisk was scheduling what they called "the greatest beach party ever." With how the planning was going, Chara would have been surprised to see it in the top fifty.
Their initial plan was to bring every citizen in Ebott down to the beach. But apparently "the beach isn't big enough for that many people," and "you can't just herd an entire city to one location," and "these food stands combined cost more than building an entire restuarant, how did you think this would work?"
Frisk still had not forgiven Mayor Grant for that last one.
In the span of twenty revisions, the citywide beach party became a general hangout between friends with city-provided snacks.
"What is the final headcount then?" Chara asked.
"Sixteen. M.K., Snowdrake, the Feisty Five, Undyne and Alphys, and me. Sans and Mr. Nice Cream are handling food, Ceroba, Papyrus, and Toriel are the resident adults keeping an eye on the whole thing. Grant might be there too, but I'm not sure." Frisk said. Chara hummed. "You should come with us!"
"No. I am too sophisticated to involve myself in such revelry," Chara said.
"Translation: you're too introverted," Frisk giggled. Chara stiffened.
"That is not... whatever. I am not going. And that is final."
Frisk nodded, before their eyes widened. "Actually, I miscounted. There are actually gonna be seventeen people... Clover will be there too!" They stared at Chara with a wide grin.
Chara stood silent for a minute. Then they shrugged.
"Good for them. Still not going."
. . . . . . . . .
Chara was perfectly content to let the whole matter drop. (Un)fortunately for them, the world had other plans.
"Howdy Chara!"
"Clover."
Chara was sitting underneath a tree, book in their lap, trying to avoid people. Clover had no such weaknesses, however, and promptly sought out their company.
"How's the schoolwork been for you?" Clover asked.
"Doable. Although, Undyne has been killing me every class," Chara replied.
"Hear that. My arms have been in a constant state of numbness since we started this semester..." Clover sighed. Chara "laughed." It was more of a loud exhale, but Clover took it as a win.
"Sooooo... whaddya think about that beach party Frisk is planning?" Clover said.
"Smooth topic change," Chara snarked. "I do not have much of an opinion on it. It has been quite entertaining to see Grant attempt to reign in the child, though," Chara said with a grin. Clover giggled.
"How well has that been going for him?"
"Genuinely, quite well. Frisk respects Grant's authority... well, maybe respect is not quite the right word..." Chara trailed off in thought. "They... acknowledge his authority. Whether they respect it depends on how much sugar they had prior to seeking his favor." Clover attempted to stay serious, but they started giggling even more. Chara's Soul felt lighter when they heard that sound. They tried not to think too hard about it.
"Alright, well," Clover said once they regained composure. "I was wondering... are you gonna be there? For the beach party?"
Chara looked up at Clover, trying to read their expression. Clover tried not to squirm under their sharp gaze.
"I was not planning on going. Why do you ask?"
"Well..." Clover looked remarkably unsure of themselves. "I just... I like hanging out with you, and this party sounds like fun!" Chara remained silent. "Please?"
Clover then proceeded to use their most powerful weapon. You see, Clover has this uncanny ability to widen their eyes, and make them glisten with tears on command. If you look close enough, you could also see stars. Chara had yet to figure out how to combat those eyes. Clover just... looked so hopeful, they wanted to be with Chara, they wanted to stay close to Chara, they wanted to be Chara's friend. Could they really bring themselves to deny Clover their hopes and dreams?
If it were anyone else, they could.
Chara groaned.
"Fine. I will partake in the frivolous beach party, as long as you stop doing that!" Chara pointed at Clover's eyes, a light blush on their face. Clover cackled like a gremlin.
"Sounds good! See you then, Chara!" With that, Clover ran off.
Chara watched them for a minute. They sighed.
"Damn it."
. . . . . . . . . .
"And you're absolutely sure you'll be ok?"
"No. But does that matter?"
"Little bit, yeah."
The morning of the beach party arrived. Papyrus had been the one to pick up Chara and Frisk, and they were at that point in time about five minutes away from the beach.
"DO NOT WORRY, SMILEY HUMAN, I HAVE BROUGHT A MULTITUDE OF FLOATATIONAL DEVICES FOR EVERYONE TO SHARE!" Papyrus said. Chara ignored him. That was not their issue, so they did not feel the need to dignify him with a response.
"Thanks Papyrus!" Frisk said for Chara. Chara glared at them.
Papyrus parked the car, and the two humans disembarked.
The Feisty Five had set up a volleyball court, with the posse on one side and Undyne on the other. Toriel and Ceroba were off to the side, having a drink (and making sure neither team killed anyone). The Nice Cream Guy somehow got his stand taken over by Sans, so instead he was giving out umbrellas, towels, and flotation devices (once Papyrus gave them to him).
Frisk immediately ran off, leaving Chara alone on the beach. Taking a few deep breaths, they moved to the Nice Cream Guy's stand.
. . .
Chara set up their umbrella before laying down a towel. As they were sitting down, Frisk and M.K. ran past, Clover close behind. They paused once they saw Chara.
"Care to join us?" Clover asked, pointing towards the water. Chara shook their head.
"Go ahead," they said. "I... do not swim."
"Why not?" Clover asked, eyes wide with curiosity, innocence, and concern. Although Chara was about 78% sure they were making that last one up.
"I just... don't," they responded. Understanding that they weren't getting any more answers from them, Clover hopped into the water.
Chara sighed, stretched out their legs, and opened up a book, hoping to distract themselves. They couldn't help but steal a few distrustful glances towards the water, though.
===========
Their lungs were on fire. That was the first thing that Chara noticed. The second thing was the fact that water was shooting out of their mouth. The third, and most important thing, was that there was a teenaged male standing in front of their prone form. He seemed more interested in the bent knife he was holding than the coughing wreck at his feet.
"Damn. I quite liked this one. Had a nice shine to it. Oh well, what's done is done." The boy chucked the knife into the forest behind Chara. He finally took the time to look over the drenched child. As soon as Chara stopped coughing, the boy lifted them up onto their legs. They immediately collapsed. The boy stared at Chara. "You do know how to walk, right?" Chara punched his foot. The boy merely rolled his eyes, before gazing at the child with interest. "You must have done a hell of a thing to warrant that whole kangaroo court. Even the mayor got in on the action!" The boy chuckled, before walking towards the woods. "I trust you know your way home from here?"
"H...home?" Chara croaked. The boy paused, before turning around.
"Home. Y'know, the place you go back to when you want to eat? Or sleep?" Chara stared blankly. His eyes widened. "Oh. Oh shit. That was your home. Okay. Uh..." the boy turned back towards the forest, head down in thought. He pointed at Chara. "Stay there for a sec?" The boy ran into the forest. A few minutes later, he came back, hauling a bag across the floor.
After digging around in the bag, taking out guns, rope, and rat poison(?), he eventually found whatever it was he was looking for. "There we are..." it was a slip of paper that looked a little crumpled. He attempted to straighten it out a bit before handing it to Chara. "This boat leaves in a few hours. You get on there, you can go wherever the hell you want. Make your own home. If the guard gives you any trouble, just say that Val Russell sent ya."
Chara took the ticket with shaking hands. "Thank you," they whispered. The boy merely saluted before walking off, leaving the bag behind (but not before taking a knife out of it).
Chara turned around and walked in the opposite direction, making their way to the port of Oneside.
==========
"Chara? Are you alright?"
Chara jumped a mile, too engrossed in their own thoughts to hear anyone approaching.
"Ah. Greetings, Clover. I apologize for not joining you. I am... not fond of large bodies of water."
Clover nodded. "I figured. But... you didn't seem like this when we went through Waterfall?"
"I was also a ghost, Clover. And besides, Waterfall is not very noticeable. The water there is more of a water feature than a place to play. I pity any idiotic creature who tries to swim in Waterfall. Or, heaven forbid, tries to ride a boat down it."
"Heh heh heh... yeeaaaaaah," Clover suddenly had a very sheepish look on their face. They shook their head. "So... why don't you enjoy the water?"
Chara stiffened. "Bad experiences."
"Okay... how about making some good experiences?"
"It's not that simple," Chara said.
"Of course not. But... wouldn't it be nice to try?"
Chara glared at Clover. But there wasn't any bite to it, and Clover knew it. They were thinking. Clover could almost see the gears turning in their head.
They looked scared.
They looked serious.
They went back to fear.
Before suddenly steeling themselves.
"Fine. But when this goes pear-shaped, it's on your hat."
. . . . . . . . . .
Chara sat at the edge of the beach. Clover flitted about in the water in front of them.
Chara took a step. It was too violent, and water splashed everywhere. Chara jumped backwards onto the safety of dry land.
They tried again. They were able to stay there for around three seconds before jumping back.
"I can't do this."
"Yes, you can."
"No, Clover, I can't," Chara snapped. "You might think I can just waltz on into the water using the power of friendship, but that is not how this works. That is not how any of this works. I was a fool for believing that this could change anything." They began walking away.
Clover sat in silence. "And do you think I'm a fool?"
Chara paused. Their instinct was to say "yes," because that was what they did whenever Clover anything along those lines. But Clover was not joking. So neither would Chara.
"No."
Clover took a deep breath, and marched towards Chara. They took their hand. Chara turned pink.
"Clover, what are you-"
"Can you give me your other hand?"
Chara hesitated, before giving their other hand to Clover. The two humans stood facing each other, hand in hand. Chara swallowed.
They tried to ignore the water droplets falling from Clover to themselves. They tried to ignore how soft Clover's hands felt. They tried to ignore how their pulse quickened when Clover held them.
They tried to ignore.
Chara failed.
"I'm... gonna start walking now. You ready?" Clover asked. Chara was silent. "Hey..." their voice quieted. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to," they said. Chara steeled themselves.
"Just... go."
Clover nodded, and began slowly walking backwards, never letting go of Chara.
When the water first touched Chara, they completely froze. Clover stopped walking. Chara's entire body was littered with goosebumps. Their eyes were squeezed shut.
"You're okay, Chara. I've got you. I'm not letting go."
Chara took a deep breath. They opened their eyes, only to pause.
Their vision narrowed. They had eyes only for Clover. The sun was setting behind them, causing them to positively glow. Water droplets on their face glistened, and their smile was practically flying off their face. Clover stared at Chara with nothing but pride in their eyes.
"You've got this."
"I... I've got this."
Chara took another step. Then another. Then another.
The humans went about shin deep in the water before Chara stopped.
"Do you want to keep going?" Clover asked.
Chara sat in thought for a moment.
"No. No thank you. I'm... I'm good right here."
Clover nodded. The two humans stood in the water, watching the other children play in the water.
. . .
Chara never let go of Clover's hand.