Encre's POV

"Uum, Encre? Would those happen to be yours?"Suave asks hesitantly.

I shake my head.

"So this wouldn't be your doing?"He asks

I shake my head again.

"Tu peux arrêter de leur faire peur maintenant, Papa."I whisper softly

(You can stop scaring them now, Dad.)

The wings and tail release me, going over to Cipher. He is shakily getting to his feet now and the wings smack him, launching him to the other side of the room. Then they return to me and the whole scene ends. The cosmic display fades away as the candles flicker back on again.

"What...was that?"Jasper asks

"Eh, it got rid of Cipher so it's not that bad."Fallacy says

Felicia roughly elbows him, causing him to yelp in pain and glare at her.

"Does anyone else see that shadow behind Encre?"Jasper asks

"Yes, M'Lord. It seems that we have another guest."Suave says

I hear a voice gasp.

"Mr. Aster!"Azure exclaims, revealing himself beside Poussiere

I glance behind me, seeing a tall shadow lined up with the wings and tail to form the silhouette of a familiar, long-missed person.

"Who?"Fallacy asks

"Guess that ends my search."Poussiere says

Jasper hops over to me, curiously admiring the wings and tail.

"Who is with us? Those wings look as magnificent as Lord Reaper's! Who is Mr. Aster?"He asks curiously

"Mon papa. Eh bien, l'un d'entre eux."I say

(My dad. Well, one of them.)

"Woaaah! It's nice to meet you, Mr. Aster! I'm Jasper!"He says

He gets pat gently on the head by a wing, making him giggle.

"That's a nice necklace."He says

I nod.

"C'était le sien. Il y a même son alliance dessus."I say

(It was his. It even has his wedding ring on it.)

"That's sweet."He says

I feel the tail squeeze my leg a bit tighter, slithering up. I see a pen lift up, writing in one of my sketchbooks. I glance over to read it and smirk.

"Oui, Papa. Il me comprend. Il est intelligent et gentil. Il a appris le français avec sa famille pour ce faire."I sigh

(Yes, Dad. He understands me. He is smart and nice. He learned French along with his family to do so.)

I see another message get written. How did you end up here?

"Par miracle."I say

(By a miracle.)

Both messages are quickly scribbled out.

"What did it say? I couldn't read it since it was in French."Jasper asks

I shrug.

"Soo? Are we going to meet your other dad next?"He asks

"J'espère que non, étant donné les circonstances."I say

(I hope not, given the circumstances.)

"Why not?"He asks

"Il ne fait pas vraiment confiance à la royauté..."I tell him

(He doesn't exactly trust royalty....)

"Does this mean that I could get a story later? I want to know your backstory if that's okay!"He says, his eyes twinkling.

"Bien sûr, peut-être plus tard."I say

(Sure, perhaps later.)

He nods with a smile.

"Wait a minute! Maybe there's more cool stuff and connections! I'm going to check the lines!"He says, running off.

Fallacy walks over after speaking with Poussiere. I see Poussiere and Azure join Jasper in searching the lines of gifts.

"Soo...Aster, huh?"He asks

I nod.

"Your father?"He asks

I nod.

"I see why you liked Reaper's wings..."He says

Then his gaze shifts to the shadow behind me.

"Sir, I'm sorry that you were used like this by Asgore. I cannot imagine the torment he put you through. Oh, wait, I can because he is pure filth. Rest assured that you will not face that around here."He says

The wings pat me gently and I feel two hands on my shoulders despite not seeing any.

"Found something!"Azure exclaims

"Awww! Is this Encre? He's adorable!"Jasper says

I walk over to see what they mean and freeze up. I feel tears fill my eyes at the sight of a long-lost painting. My fists tighten.

Why do these pieces of garbage hold onto my family's belongings? As trophies for the lives they ruined?

"Is that you, Encre?"Jasper asks

I nod.

"You're adorable as a baby! And I'm guessing that this is your other dad?"He asks

I nod.

"He seems nice!"Jasper says

"He is."Azure says

"So? Are you done with my gift yet?"The owner asks

Jasper rips it away from them.

"Nope!"He says, hopping away while carrying the painting.

I follow behind him and we return to my seat as the wings wipe my tears.

"Look! We found a painting! Asgore and his buddies really like your family, Mr. Aster!"He says

Fallacy leans over to it.

"Cute..."I hear him mutter

Jasper turns to me.

"I believe this belongs to you."He says, handing the painting over.

I smile, holding it close. At least it's mine now. I sit down, gazing at the painting. Things soon continued as planned after the mess got cleaned up. Soon the gifts are given and everyone is eating or dancing. I continue painting the scenes while my dad cradles our family picture in his wings. Working helped clear my head and calm down. And it didn't take long for the paintings to finish and have to dry.

"Encre? Are you free now?"Jasper asks

I glance at him and nod.

"Want to go outside with me?"He asks

I nod, following him out of the ballroom. We go to the gardens and sit on a bench.

"I thought you'd like to relax outside after that trouble."He says

I nod, sighing. It does feel more relaxing out here.

"Voulez-vous cette histoire?"I ask

(Do you want that story?)

His eyes twinkle and he nods.

"J'habitais dans un village qui n'appartenait à aucun royaume. C'était un endroit indépendant et le plus diversifié que je n'ai jamais vu depuis. Aucun village n'a été comme chez moi. Loups-garous, sorciers, toutes sortes de gens étaient les bienvenus ici. Poussière fut bien accueilli lorsqu'il commença à y venir. Mon père dans ce tableau était le leader et ne croyait pas aux royaumes car il croyait que la royauté est égoïste pour le pouvoir et ne fera que nous diviser...."I explain

(My home was in a village that didn't belong to any kingdom. It was independent and the most diverse place ever which I have not seen since. Not a single village has been like my home. Werewolves, wizards, all kinds of folks were welcome here. Poussiere was welcomed when he started coming there. My father in that painting was the leader and didn't believe in kingdoms since he believed that royalty is selfish for power and will only divide us...)

He pauses as he processes it.

"Well, there is King Asgore as proof of that."He says

"Mon père... Aster... était un astronome qui enseignait aux enfants les étoiles avec des histoires, leur montrant des constellations et autres. Ils m'aimaient tous les deux et ils ont développé mes capacités artistiques. Mais bien sûr, Asgore est venu détruire le village. Puisque mon père était le chef, il a été le premier à être blessé... Il a épargné mon père mais a brûlé le village et nous a emmenés... Il a fait en sorte de blesser mon père et moi pour blesser encore plus mon père..."I say

(My dad...Aster...was an astronomer who taught the kids the stars with stories, showing them constellations and such. They both loved me and they trained my art abilities. But then of course Asgore came to tear the village apart. Since my father was the leader, he was the first to get hurt..He spared my father but burned the village and took us away...He made sure to hurt my dad and I to hurt my father even more...)

"Wow, just to put salt in the wound for your father? He really is messed up."He says

I nod.

"Well, at least you got away from him! And your dad is here too!"He says

I nod, then hear footsteps coming closer.

"Jasper...? Pourriez-vous m'aider à apprendre à parler anglais?"I ask

(Could you help me learn to speak English?)

"Sure!"He says

Then I see Fallacy walk over with Dad hovering behind him.

"Umm, so what are we doing with him? It's kind of unsettling to be watched by a pair of wings and a tail..."He says

I shrug and so does Jasper.

"I'm sure that we could figure something out..."Jasper says

"Alright..."He sighs

Dad follows him right back out.

TBC