Pain. All I could think of was the pain.

I wanted to scream so bad, but all I could do was gurgle and strain a whine, my face twisted into pure agony. I couldn't do anything. Nothing at all to stop him.

He was having the time of his life, digging the knife around my eye and experimenting with the content he pulled out. The sadistic laughter echoed off of the caverns walls.

Once he scooped everything he could that was left of my right eye, my father kicked me off the edge of the hole and watched me fall, my vision in my left eye blurred by tears watching him get smaller and smaller until he was only a shadow. His crooked smile was ever present.

The second I hit something, everything went black.

...
....
......
....
...

I sat in an empty room with a mirror facing me.

When I looked at myself, I saw my face. It was before everything went to shit on me. My right eye was there, I looked like I just left the house for school, nothing damaged. My heart lept at the sight. I was so happy. Maybe it was all a dream? Mom's death, father chasing me, everything?

Then I felt something drip slowly down my face. I brought a hand to my face and touched where I felt it, feeling liquid. I bring my hand up to look at it. It was blood.

I looked back up and in the mirror, my dad replaced my reflection, the knife in his hand, cackling. It echoed around the room. Scrambling back, the reflection of dad faded, and it was replaced with myself, only this time it was after what happened.

There was emptyness in my right eye, blood spilling from it like a red river. My eye was still bruised, which added to the injury even more.

My felt my face twist in shock and I grasped my hair, pushing myself away from the mirror. I saw a knife fly at my past my vision and into the darkness again, stopping me in my tracks. Another flew across my leg, creating yet another injury. The last one slammed blade down right in front of me, blood coating the blade along with...my eyes remains...

I curled up and opened my mouth in a silent scream.

"---ild?"

There where whispers beginning around me, and I couldn't handle what they were saying. Some of it was father, some of it was people from school. Everything burned.

"--ou hear me?"

Tears were streaming down my face at this point, my breathing gone wild. The floor broke under me and I found myself falling into an abyss, seeing my father's smile and hearing his laughter ring in my ears.

Pain was all I felt. I fell and fell...

"Please, wake up!"

I snapped my eye open and shot into a sitting position, tears streaming, and sat in shock. Once I realized I sat in a pile of golden flowers and feeling the waves of pain in my eye was telling me that I was not dreaming anymore, I grabbed my sleeves and sobbed, bringing my face to my pulled up knees. My mom was dead, my dad went nuts, I lost my eye, I don't think I can---

"My child...are you alright?"

I wiped my tears and turned to the voice. It sounded so uh, motherly? Yeah, that's the word.

I found myself face to face with a...goat woman? She had short horns, the light shining from the top of the cave down the hole shining on her pure white fur, gentle eyes, and a longish facial structure that was painted into a concerned frown. She wore a dress that had multiple purple colors, with a symbol on the front. It looked like a Snitch from Harry Potter and three triangles under it. What a strange looking woman...

"Do not be afraid, my child, my name is Toriel. I am caretaker of the Ruins. I come here every day to see if anyone has fallen down."

I stared at the goat, now dubbed Toriel, and did not relax. What the hell is going on here?

"I found you here and you have seemed to have a lot of injuries, so I took it upon myself to heal you a bit with some healing magic. Your minor scratches were easy to take care of, along with the scratch along your throat and broken leg," She frowned in curiosity, but continued, "but I cannot seem to fix your eye...what happened?"

....I'm assuming I'm dead or at least hallucinating.

I raised my hands shakily and quickly signed, 'what is this place?', avoiding her question completely. My heart was still pounding in my chest, clawing at my ribcage desperate to get out.

Toriel looked confused at my sudden motion, but then a look of understanding crossed her features.

"Are---are you speaking in hands? Can you not talk?"

That's a weird way to put it...but I nodded anyway. I was glad she could understand me. It would've been awkward if she couldn't.

Toriel continued to talk, "Oh, it has been so long since I have seen it. Since...hmm. Can you say that again, my child?" Toriel encouraged me with a hand...claw...gesture.

I signed the question again, slower this time. She followed my hand movements with her eyes, as if calculating.

"...what is this place? Is that what you are asking?"

I nodded. She looked proud that she got it right.

"Well...you are in the Underground. Where us monsters have been sealed away...surely the humans still talk about it."

I nodded, and Toriel sighed in relief.

"Well, at least we haven't been forgotten...but nevermind that. There are other important matters. We need to dress your eye...I do not like to see a child in pain, and you could get an infection. Please, my child, come with me through the Ruins. I will guide you so we can go to my abode and fix you up."

I hesitated, staring at the golden flowers beneath me, thinking. Should I go with Toriel? I mean, I just met her...but she's my only chance of living. I could die of infection if I don't get my eye fixed soon.

After a short moment, I got up and started toward her, but my leg that I assumed was broken because of the dull pain locked under me in a painful way and I found myself falling face first to the flowers. I gave a gasp of surprise, but gentle arms quickly caught me, stopping my momentum.

"Ah, my mistake! You should not be walking in your state. Let me carry you, my child." Toriel offered.

I signed with, "You don't have to-"

She huffed, "I cannot have you walking like that. You are in no condition, young man! You almost fell within three steps."

I gave in and let her carry me. She carried me like a mother would a toddler, on her hip with one arm under me for support.

When she started walking while carrying me I felt...young again. With a sense of safety, I finally relaxed a bit, the tension in my muscles fading. I had to trust her.

I watched carefully as she explained the purple themed Ruins to me, asking how I would solve the puzzles that sealed the rest of the place. When she asked I pointed to a certain switch, or a certain way we should've gone to pass safely. She praised me everytime like a mother would, and guided me when I got it wrong.

I even got candy at one point. Toriel called it 'Monster Candy'. The one I picked up out of the multi colroed candies tasted like strawberry and banana.

She asked me while going down a long hallway if I liked butterscotch or cinnamon. I told her that I didn't try either of those, and she looked shocked.

"You have never had butterscotch or cinnamon?" Toriel looked flabbergasted.

I shook my head, signing slowly that since I had some...'complications' at home, I couldn't afford it.

"I see." When she saw my expression upon the subject and detected my careful wording, she decided to drop it. I was glad she did, but I dreaded the thought of her asking later.

Feeling someone watching me, I take a quick glance over Toriel's shoulder, seeing a flash of yellow quickly dissapearing. Hm...

"Is something wrong, my child?"

I looked back to Toriel, signing I must've been seeing things.

--------

I was about to fall asleep on her shoulder after riding so long, but she stopped walking suddenly. I raised my head, groggy and confused. Her chocolate brown eyes met my steel grey, and she smiled warmly at me.

"We have arrived. Now, let us fix your eye."