The Green Shield of Camelot

[Isabelle]

I tread carefully through the village. It was quite quaint, reminiscent of what I had seen from textbooks and movies on what early America looked like. Toriel had to outsource humans to teach those classes…

I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for my first time entering Snowdin. The thought filled me with determination.

Anyways, stones paved a pathway through a set of traditional looking wood houses, all leading towards a large ornate pink palace in the center of town. Along the way down the rows of houses were a number of merchants that have set up tables, selling various foods, tools, and other daily needs.

The men wore suits and hats, the women wore long lacy dresses and bonnets. Seeing how heavily these people dressed, I felt almost naked in my t-shirts and shorts. Hopefully I wouldn’t get in trouble for my casual wear.

Focusing on the task ahead, I held aloft my soul once more. It was flashing so fast that it was one consistent light now, and it was that way every which way I turned. Whatever it wanted me to find, it was somewhere here. The best I could do now was choose a random direction, or maybe ask around? What would I even ask? “Hey, I don’t know where my soul is leading me, could you point me in the right direction?” That would just sound silly.

I looked up from the heart and realized that the citizens were piercing me with rage filled eyes. I began to fear they maybe reacting to my clothing. Whatever it was, it was some sort of taboo here.

I turn to look for a clothing store or something that’ll make me less conspicuous when suddenly, a pair of gloved hands grabbed me from behind.

I struggle but their grip was too tight. I try to scream for help but a hand covered my mouth. The people around me, they weren’t even paying attention to what was happening, they kept going their merry way as a child got abducted by a stranger. Knowing I was on my own, I continued to kick and wiggle. Suddenly, I felt a hand slip and I plopped hard onto my knees on the ground below.

A split second passed as I realized my opportunity. I quickly climbed to my feet and started running as fast as I could, taking advantage of each parting in a the crowd that comes before me. I heard the heavy footsteps of whoever was chasing slowly disappear into the distance. I didn’t care, I kept on running, uncertain where I was going but I didn’t care, as long as it was away from whoever was trying to kidnap me.

But then suddenly I came to a screeching halt. I had made it out of the crowds and was now standing in a clearing in the village, a place where many of the roads intersected with one another. In front of me, sitting on the dirt, was a large platform, and on the large platform was a hanging stand. Bodies, hanging from nooses up in the air, dangling freely in the wind.

One of them was a old man, greying hair with a visible bald spot. Another was a woman in her twenties, dressed in a long flowing gown, very much like a wilting flower. But what was most shocking was a child. She had green skin, but she was a child none-the-less. I could see the pained expression she made in her final moments.

I was horrified. Frozen at the gruesome visage displayed in front of me. This was the moment I knew I wasn’t safe here, I needed to get out of here but my legs, my legs did not want to follow commands.

In a moment, it struck me, a sharp pain in the back of the neck. In the moments after, everything had faded to black.