Encre's POV hours later

After eating with Jasper, he pulls me away to his large playroom and has me sit beside him. He passes me a canvas and some brushes. I glance at him in surprise. He puts various paints between us.

"Let's have some fun!"He says

He....Is giving me paint? Doing art together...? I haven't touched paint since...

I glance at him and smile, starting to paint.

"You don't really talk, do you?"He asks

I shake my head.

He wouldn't understand me if I tried. Wait...Does he want me to talk? I have to listen to him and the rest now, right? Since I was given to them?

I turn to him curiously, tilting my head.

"What is it?"He asks

I start signing with my hands.

"D-O Y-O-U W-A-N-T M-E T-O T-A-L-K?"I ask

He nods.

He knows sign language. Smart boy...

"Bonjour, Jasper. J'aime votre art jusqu'à présent."I say

(Hello, Jasper. I like your art so far.)

"Wooaah! No clue what you said but I like your voice!"He says

I smile, nod, and return to painting. I try to start with something simple, like the boy sitting beside me. I finish after a few minutes and smile.

"Woah! That looks amazing!"He says

I smile a bit at him. I hide my smile when I hear the door open. I glance over and see Lord Fallacy there. The brazier pillars with fires burning flare up with a loud woooooosh! The size of the fierce flames scares me, making me jolt.

"Father! He is such a skilled artist! We were just painting together!"Jasper says

"Right...Well, Suave will be taking him from here."He says, stepping aside so Suave can enter.

He crosses his arms, looking disinterested in what he was just told. I get up as Suave takes me by the hand, leading me away. Suave smiles at me and it feels more reassuring than anything I've seen today.

"Here is your new room. You'll be staying here until M'Lords learn what to do with you. You're going to be joining me in the garden tomorrow and I'll get you some better clothes once you're settled here."He says, pushing a door open

I glance in, seeing a tidy room with a desk, a few bookshelves, a closet, and a bed. All the usual things in a bedroom. It's so nice though...This can't be real...I haven't been in a bed in years...I glance at Suave to see him smiling back at me.

"Merci.."I say

(Thank you..)

He looks surprised for a moment, then smiles.

"Je vous en prie."He says

(You are welcome.)

He can understand me?

He definitely sees the surprise on my face and smiles wider.

"I've studied a few languages so I'm glad it came to good use."He says

I smile, thinking that I could find a friendship with him...I can certainly trust him. He leaves to find me clothes and I sit on the bed, admiring the space. I notice the large candles with blazing flames and frown. I pinch the flames carefully, putting the candles out.

"You don't like fires, do you?"Suave asks

I glance over, seeing him holding fresh clothes in the doorway.

"I noticed how unsettled you seemed around M'Lord and his use of power."He says

I shake my head.

"J'ai tout perdu dans l'incendie... C'est ce qui m'a fait capturer... Alors oui, ça me rappelle de mauvais souvenirs et je ne me sens plus bien avec eux depuis."I say

(I lost everything to the fire...It's what got me captured...So yes, it brings back bad memories and I've never been okay around them since then.)

"I am so sorry to hear that, Encre. I can understand that you're unsettled especially since M'Lord enjoys those sorts of tricks with fire."He says

I nod, taking the clothes from him. He leaves, shutting the door with a wave and wishing me goodnight.  I lay in bed, dozing off. I wake up the next morning, changing clothes, and head out to find Suave. Suave smiles at me but instead of going outside, he leads me to the kitchen. He gives me a plate of food and smiles at me as he gets his own. 

"I'm going to make sure you get treated better around here."He says

Then we go to the garden after eating and get to work treating flower bushes or plants growing fruits. This became routine over the next few weeks, and I grew closer to Suave. He is the personal butler to the royal family here and is considered their friend or even an advisor for them. We bonded and talked through our work, which was exciting for me since it had been years since I could talk to someone and be understood. It's really comforting to have some company like him, though sometimes it's tough with his questions to learn about me. Still, he is the only company I really have since the other servants avoid me like a plague. Yeah, being brought in by their enemy basically put a target on my back for them to hit with cruel words or whispers that they don't think I hear. 

I don't belong here. That's as clear as day.

Jasper also comes to see me frequently, though it seems to be more out of innocent curiosity. A few painting or art tricks and he leaves me alone. But it seems like the curiosity has spread to his family as a few days later, Lady Felicia finds me in the garden while I am working.

"These are some lovely flowers, aren't they? So delicate and rare."She says, gently feeling a flower I just watered.

I nod a bit, not saying anything. Her gaze seems to scan me carefully and she smiles.

"What's your favorite flower?"She asks

I shrug.

"Don't have one?"She asks

I nod.

"Oh, how unfortunate."She says

Didn't exactly have a chance to smell flowers or enjoy them when surrounded by executions...Does she forget how I got here?

"Well, I'm sure that we could find a flower that you like. Do you like blue ones?"She asks

I shrug.

"Encre! We need you over here!"A voice shouts

I look to Lady Felicia and she nods to allow me to leave. I ran off to help and once I finished, Suave approached me with a look of concern.

"I notice and have heard that you avoid interaction with M'Lords? Lady Felicia and Sir Jasper are really nice and just want to get to know you a bit. Have they gotten too personal? Their curiosity could come off as blunt at times."He asks

"Je ne me sens pas à l'aise avec eux... Je ne veux pas entrer en contact avec eux. Ce ne serait pas bien de le faire puisque je sais pourquoi j'ai été envoyé ici."I tell him

(I don't feel comfortable around them...I don't want to come into contact with them. It wouldn't be right to do so since I know why I was sent here.)

"Because you were a gift from King Asgore? Ignore what Lord Fallacy said, you are not getting burned."He says

I shake my head.

"C'est comme ça qu'il m'a appelé? Est-ce pour ça qu'ils pensent qu'il m'a amené ici?"I ask

(Is that what he called me? Is that why they think he brought me here?)

He nods.

"That's what he said in the letter."

"C'est un mensonge."I say

(That's a lie.)

"What do you mean?"He asks

"J'ai été envoyé ici pour deux raisons. Premièrement, mes précédents propriétaires en avaient assez de moi, ce serait donc une punition pour ne pas les avoir satisfaits selon le roi Asgore. Ils ont fait un... comment tu appelles ça ? Oh oui. Un bet. Ils ont dit que je ne tiendrais pas un mois avec ceux avec qui ils appelaient les animaux et qu'une fois que je mourrais, cela leur donnerait une raison d'attaquer à nouveau. C'est la deuxième raison pour laquelle j'ai été envoyé ici. Être un instrument de trouble... Il ne me semble donc pas juste d'être à proximité de ceux contre qui je suis censé être utilisé."I explain

(I was sent here for two reasons. One, my previous owners got tired of me so this would be punishment for not satisfying them according to King Asgore. They made a...what do you call it? Oh right. A bet. They said that I wouldn't last a month with whom they called animals and once I did die, it would give reason for them to attack again. That's the second reason I was sent here. To be a tool for trouble...So it doesn't seem fair for me to be near those I'm supposed to be used against.)

He pauses, looking shocked at me.

"Je sais qu'ils sont bons. Je peux voir ça. Ils sont bien plus gentils que tous ceux que j'ai côtoyés depuis des années. Je ne pense tout simplement pas que je mérite leur compagnie."I tell him with a sigh.

(I know they are good. I can see that. They are much nicer than anyone I've been around in years. I just don't think I deserve their company.)

"I...I see..."He says

I nod, heading off to my next task.

TBC