Sans could have been something great. His father was the head scientist. His mother had been the Judge. He could've been a high ranking Skeleton. But he didn't want that. He wanted a position where he could hang out with his friend who was a few years younger. She'd been a sweet young Skeleton, played with Sans a lot when they were kids. But when Sans turned fifteen, the age a male Skeleton started to work for the clan and gain their rank in society, he chose to be a low ranking sentry, so that they could still hang out while he was at work. Now here's the kicker. She stopped playing with Sans. Stopped visiting. Sans would never admit how much that hurt him, broke his soul. His father and brother knew it though, Sans was pretty obvious. He simply... stopped trying anything. He grew lazy and apathetic. He was happy when Papyrus became a member of the Skeleton Guard, but didn't do much but sleep at the celebration party. Gaster had tried many times to get his oldest to snap out of his funk, but if soulmates existed, his friend had been his and now he was waiting. Not that they knew that.

115

"Happy eighteenth birthday, mistress Zilla." Zilla looked up from the passage she was writing and gave a small smile to her nanny. "Thank you Meriwether." She greeted back. "I hope you're prepared for tonight's conversation, now that you are of age." Zilla nearly flinched. Right. She was of age now, which meant her father would be preparing the estate for many guests. Many males, trying out to be her suitor would come from their clan and others to win her soul over for marriage. He sisters had chosen high ranking males from other clans to increase the power and status of their clan, the Serif clan. She was naturally going to do the same. It was the least she could do for the good life she'd been given with her parents. Zilla only wished that Sans would've been one of them. He'd been her best friend and crush as kids, but she'd been pulled away by her mother so that she could learn how to be a proper high class Skeleton female. Eventually she convinced herself that she and Sans could never be. Not with his low status and not with her goal in mind.

115

"Well, I guess she came of age." Gaster muttered as he read the morning paper despite it being evening. Sans was trying to fall asleep on the couch. Typically not a hard thing to do, but something was nagging at him to stay awake. "WHO?" Papyrus asked from the other side of the couch. "Zilla, one of Noto's daughters. She's come of age to be married." Sans was wide awake now. He lifted his skull from the back of couch. "hm? she is..?" Gaster quirked a brow. "Nice of you to join the conversation, Sans. To answer you question, she is. It's here in the paper... Zilla was your friend, no?" Sans closed his sockets, the two thought he was going to fall asleep again. "ANNND WE LOST HIM.." Papyrus sighed. "nope, still here." Sans replied, standing and stretching a bit, letting his joints pop. "not for long though." This is what Sans had been waiting for. He would go to the estate, if not to win her heart, than at least to learn why she didn't return. It had been pestering him for the last eight or so years. "You're actually going?" Gaster sounded surprised. "yup." Sans went to pack for his stay.