Official blog for the Horrorfell AU

Due to the way my writing style works, if I uploaded each chapter upon completion then I could write myself into a corner where the story doesn't make sense. I tend to retcon stuff and add new lines and change things around to better create atmosphere, so nothing is set in stone until the story is completely finished.

You may notice that the prologue and the first chapter are already uploaded, but there are several changes that I've made to both of them already.

Chapter 1: Ruins

Pain.

That was the first thing she felt when she regained consciousness.

Her entire body hurt.

Like she had fallen a thousand feet.

She was in so much pain. It was hard to think.

She laid there for a while, her eyes closed. She must’ve laid there for more than an hour, before trying to do anything. 

Deciding to get her mind away from the pain, she tried to concentrate on who she was and what she felt.

She remembered she had long brown hair.

She was wearing socks, but not shoes. 

How old was she again?

13. Probably.  

Her wrists and ankles felt cold and sore. 

She remembered that she was wearing a dress.

Her eyes were gray, right? Yeah.

The floor beneath her was bumpy and hard.

She lay for a few minutes, trying to convince herself to open her eyes.

When she finally managed to force them open, she was greeted by faint light from above. The ceiling didn’t look familiar. Where was she?

Then she remembered.

The ritual.

The deliverance.

The sacrifice.

Is this what’s at the bottom of that dark pit?

She could see the giant sinkhole right above her. The sun faintly shone down on her like a spotlight with low batteries.

She needed to move, if only to escape the memory of her brother.

Slowly she moved her arms and pushed against the hard, uneven floor. She struggled into a sitting position despite the pain she was in. Blood pounded in her head. Her vision swam. 

She shut her eyes tight and steadied herself. 

She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. There were shackles on her wrists. They must be on her ankles too. That’s probably the cold sensation she was feeling. She steadied herself, and looked around. It took her a moment to process what she was seeing, before the horror set in.

She was sitting on top of a massive pile of bones.

The reality of her surroundings hit her like a baseball bat. She scrambled to her feet, which turned out to be a bad idea. 

Immediately, pain shot up her leg, sending her writhing to the floor. She fell tumbling down the pile of bones, various sharp ribs and teeth piercing at her skin. She hit a wall, which sent harsh throbbing pain through her head.

To her right, there was a corridor. A way out? She began crawling over the pile of bones, desperately trying to reach the exit to this terrifying room.

Her leg screamed in protest and her head was pounding, but she didn't stop until she made it all the way to that corridor. Her hands grasped at dirt and rocks as she pulled herself across the ground.

She hardly registered the red gateway that she crawled through at the end of that hallway. She just wanted out of there.

The next room had a floor that seemed to have, at some point, been cobblestone. The ground was, by now, thick with weeds. 

The girl stopped when she made it through the doorway, resting on the soft green plants.

“H-hey. Are you alright?" A voice echoed through the room. With some effort, the girl looked up and saw a flower across the room staring at her.

A yellow flower. Staring at her. With eyes. And speaking. With a mouth.

She would have screamed if she hadn't been so tired. Instead, she just stared in shock.

“Hello?” The flower spoke in a concerned voice.

“H…hi…” the girl managed a weak greeting, still confused and disoriented.

The flower dove into the ground and reappeared right in front of her. It startled her a little.

“Uh… my name's Flowey. Flowey the flower." The flower said. The girl would've probably questioned the creativity of such a name if she wasn't in so much pain. 

“What's your name?” The flower asked her.

“Ale-” She almost answered 'Alex' on instinct before she stopped herself.

She thought for a moment.

“A-Aliza.” She told the flower.

"It's nice to meet you Aliza!" The flower said with a smile. 

Hearing the name made her feel kind of happy inside.

Flowey looked at her, and a surprised expression washed over his face. “Wait your soul…”

Suddenly, Flowey's expression turned to fear. He looked towards the other end of the room. 

"Someone's coming." He said ominously.

Aliza tried to speak but nothing came out.

"Listen to me." Flowey whipped his head back around to look at her. "This place is dangerous. Very dangerous. Don't trust anyone you meet. Especially not her."

Aliza didn't know who "her" was, but the flower didn’t seem to know this.

"Stay safe." he said to her. Before Aliza could say anything to him, Flowey dove into the ground. This time he didn't come back out. 

Aliza was terrified. The telltale vibrations in the ground heralded someone -or something, walking towards the room.

As much as she wanted to run, Aliza couldn't even stand. She strained to keep her head up, watching the doorway across the room with sinking terror.

Emerging from the shadows of the door, a giant furry goat stepped into the room. Aliza stared up at it, unable to move.

It wore a dark red robe with a strange symbol on the front. Its eyes bore into her, their blood red color a heavy contrast with the matted white fur. It had several scars on its face, with a few others noticeable on its hands and legs. Legs which it only walked on two of.

It was a towering creature, with a strange expression on its face. 

The creature slowly walked towards Aliza and crouched in front of her.

"Hello there," It said in a calming voice. "My name is Toriel."

Aliza was frozen with fear as the monster smiled down at her. 

"Are you hurt?" The creature reached down and picked Aliza up. 

She was lifted into the air by the goat, who was definitely more than twice her height.

Toriel cradled the girl in her (at least, Aliza was pretty sure Toriel was a her) arms, as though Aliza were a baby, or a cat.

"I'll take you to my home, and we'll heal you up. Okay?" Toriel spoke in a soft, soothing tone. 

Aliza should've been scared out of her mind, but something about Toriel just made her feel so safe. Was this the 'her' that Flowey was talking about? It couldn't be. Right?

As Toriel carried Aliza out through the doorway, Aliza could feel herself dozing off in Toriel's arms. 

Barely fighting it, she just fell asleep and let Toriel take her wherever they were going.

When Aliza opened her eyes again, she was in a cozy chair with her leg wrapped in bandages and propped up on a footrest. She was sitting near a warm fire. 

She looked around, taking in the sights of the dusty living room.

"I think she's awake!" She heard a boy's voice say.

The room vibrated a little bit as Toriel walked out of the kitchen.

"I think you're right." Toriel stopped in front of the chair and smiled warmly at Aliza. "How are you feeling?"

"U-uh… I…" Aliza stared up at Toriel, trying to think of something to say.

"I guess you're feeling alright then." Toriel said with a giggle.

A young boy suddenly appeared next to Toriel. He looked to be about Aliza's age. This must be the boy whose voice she heard.

"Hi! My name's Erin! What's your name?" He spoke with a southern accent, and his skin was very tanned.

"A- uh… A-Aliza." She stammered, a bit startled by the sudden question.

“Where did you come from? Do you have a favorite food?” Erin continued asking questions.

"Don't overload her with too many questions, dear. You might scare her off." The goat lady teased the boy.

"Alright…" the boy grinned and leaned in closer. He smelled like oranges. "It's nice to meet you!"

Toriel laughed a bit as the boy stepped away and wandered off to somewhere else in the house. 

"I just finished making some pie. Do you want me to bring you some?" Toriel asked Aliza.

Aliza nodded, and Toriel walked into the kitchen again. She came back with a slice of pie and a fork.

"It's cinnamon and butterscotch." Toriel said as she handed the plate to Aliza. "I hope you like it."

 Aliza took the plate, and hesitantly scooped some pie onto the fork. She slowly lifted it to her mouth.

It was good. Really good. Aliza had eaten the rest before she knew it.. She hadn’t realized that she was starving.

Aliza looked towards Toriel, who giggled a bit. 

“I guess you were hungry.” She laughed good naturedly, a sparkle in her tired eyes.

After the pie, Aliza’s leg felt better. A lot better. She spent the next few hours with Toriel, listening as she told jokes. It was comforting. Aliza hadn’t felt this safe in a long time.

After a while, Aliza began to feel tired. Toriel helped her limp past a stairway to the bedroom, and she laid down on the bed. Toriel pulled the covers over Aliza, and turned out the lights as she left the room. Aliza stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, trying to process everything that had happened. Erin came into the bedroom and lied on the bed on the other side of the room.

“Goodnight Aliza. Goodnight Erin.” Toriel leaned her head into the room.

“Goodnight mom.” Erin said back. Toriel smiled, and closed the door.

Aliza slowly dozed off.

Into 

a deep,

deep,

dreamless 

sleep.

When she woke up again, she had no idea how much time had passed. She sat up in bed and looked around the dim room. Erin was no longer in his bed, the covers hung off the side. Aliza guessed it was probably morning. Or whatever the equivalent was here.

She pushed herself off of the bed and hobbled to the door. Her leg still hurt, but it was a lot better. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

Aliza hadn’t noticed before, but the hallway outside the room was very dusty. Toriel must not clean very often.

Aliza limped out into the room with a staircase. The one she had gone past on the way to the bedroom. She hadn’t asked Toriel what was down those stairs. Aliza’s ears picked up faint echoing voices somewhere at the bottom.

Considering that nobody except the three of them were in the house, Aliza’s curiosity got the better of her. She hung onto the railing and carefully crept down the stairs.

The stairs definitely creaked, but it was barely audible considering how little Aliza weighed. As she got closer to the bottom, the voices got clearer and clearer. By the time she was at the bottom, the voices echoing down the cracked red hallway were recognizable. It was Erin and Toriel, but Aliza couldn’t quite make out everything they were saying. She tiptoed slowly down the dark hallway, leaning on the wall for support as she headed for the light that seemed to be shining at the end.

“My child. You can’t.” Toriel said in a firm voice. She was standing at the end of the hallway, blocking Erin from going any further. The light Aliza had seen seemed to be coming from her.

“Miss Toriel. Please.” Erin begged her. “I… I wish I could stay here. But I can’t. They need me at the farm.”

“It is too dangerous out there. You will never make it to the surface.” Toriel stayed firm.

“Y-you could come with me though!” Erin pleaded. “You could keep me safe! Please…” 

“I’m sorry, my child. I am not welcome past these doors.” Toriel spoke sadly. “There is nothing awaiting you but death.”

Erin stood silently for a second, considering her words.

“Okay…” Erin sighed. “Okay. I’ll stay here. I’ll keep living with you.”

“Thank you, my child, but I’m sorry.” Toriel smiled. “I cannot take any chances. This is the only option.”

Erin started to say something, but his body was thrown backwards towards Aliza, light emanating from him.

He landed in front of her with a sickening thud. She stared down at him. His eyes were wide open with surprise. They weren’t blinking. The light Aliza had seen was coming from a gaping hole in his chest. Blood poured out of his body, puddling on the floor. 

The smoking hole in his chest was wide. Directly in the middle, with only about an inch from either side. 

He was dead. 

Killed.

Aliza’s stomach turned. Her vision swam and she stumbled. She braced herself on the wall and vomited. The taste of butterscotch and cinnamon stung her throat.

“Aliza.” Toriel had suddenly appeared about ten feet in front of her. Aliza was paralyzed with fear. Toriel’s calm, gentle voice had undertones of disappointment, as if she had witnessed Aliza taking a cookie without permission. “You should be in bed. I’m very sorry about this.”

Aliza stared up at Toriel as she began to glow brighter. Fire seemed to glisten from her fur. 

“I wish I could’ve learned more about you, Aliza.” Toriel still spoke like she had just read Aliza’s report card, and had been expecting better. “Goodbye, my child.”

A sharp pain shot through Aliza’s chest.

But it didn’t burn.

Aliza stared into Toriel’s eyes as they widened, betraying surprise. She watched as the goat monster’s expression melted into rage.

“Sorry if this hurts…” A familiar voice behind her spoke. “But it’s now or never.”

Aliza’s eyes moved down to stare at her chest. A green tendril, covered with spikes and dripping with blood, had pierced through her sternum. It gripped a gray heart-shaped object at the end of its length. Strangely, Aliza could feel the grip of the vine-like tentacle on the heart. 

She vomited a second time. This time it tasted like copper. 

“You.” Toriel’s voice dripped with absolute fury. The air around her grew to blistering heat.

Aliza felt several syringe-like piercings, as the tendril stabbed into the heart. Red seemed to flow in from the spikes, mixing with the gray. Her vision swam. She kept her eyes open, despite the pain.

Toriel said something else, but Aliza couldn’t really hear her. The hallway grew brighter and brighter as the spikes pulled out of the heart. The tendril gripped tightly around the heart. Aliza felt her skin burning, as the tendril squeezed tighter and tighter.

The crushing force of the vine was immense. Aliza felt it crack, and then watched as the heart shattered like glass, into a million red and gray pieces.