Broken Timelines ✔️

Mufell - A Tale of Orchid

I trudge through the grey buildings that make up the downtown district of the city my family lives in. It's called Ebott City. A long time ago there was a kingdom with a castle here, and three young children who disappeared from the village when they went up the mountain. Of course, this means there are plenty of rumours about the looming chunk of rock, but nothing scares children away like the trio of crosses atop the peak, one with a cyan ribbon, one with an amber ribbon, and one with a cobalt ribbon. According to historical records they mark the loss of Sara; a wealthy child from upperclass Ebott Kingdom, Papatt; a poor farmer's son with high ambition, and Phoebe; the younger sister of Papatt, and a girl of common sense. Pushing my cloudy glasses further up my nose, I hasten my pace in order to reach the pastry shop my parents own. They make all sorts of donuts and croissants and they also have a small brewery in the back where they make cider. Papa lets me help out during my summer holidays, he says he needs his son to know how to manage the family business.

I rush through the door of the pastry shop, which is already jam packed with hungry customers, and I immediately get pushed around by the crowd. I'm a lanky fourteen year old boy, so all it takes it a poke and I'm tripping over my own feet. I brush my curly black hair from my dark eyes and roll up my shirt sleeves. I'm in business mode now, and though I'm usually quite shy I can get really mean when it comes down to business. Out of the corner of my eye I see my Mama rushing pastries to and from the kitchen to keep up stocks. She's beautiful as ever, and I can see she's wearing the spider brooch I have her for her birthday this year. Spiders are fascinating, I love them!

~~~

After a long hard day at work I grab my old notepad and head off up to the Mountain. I'm recording the strange effects of the spiders around the hole I have found. It looks quite deep so I haven't dared explore it yet, but it must lead to some sort of cave system, as the spiders seem to love it! These arachnids are not like any categorised in the library, as they are a bright purple and they have the most brilliant ruby eyes. They're probably poisonous so I stay clear of their pincers, but I always bring a few pastries along with me to feed to my eight legged friends. My only friends.
"Hey look! It's the spider freak! Careful he doesn't bite!" I hear the scathing tone of my school bully, and I quickly jog up to the hole and sit next to it. Phew. She's always pushing me around and acting superior, but I think that's just to make up for her lack of intellect or skill. Either way, I never let her deter my studies. I shall persevere on in the name of science! I glance behind me to check she's not around, but as I turn my head I feel a harsh push and I go spiralling into the spider cave.

And I'm Falling.

Or am I Flying?

I'm Falling.

Falling...

I land on a large and sticky spiders web which has enough strength to break my fall before it snaps and I land on a patch of grass in the cavern. I gulp. A web that large would indicate a large spider, and as much as I love them I do not want to be eaten by one. I see plenty of tiny spiders converge upon the broken web, and one particularly small one crawls up my arm and sits on my shoulder. I smile as I hurry out of the dark cave, hoping my new buddy will accompany me through this dungeon under the mountain.

Making my way through some serious puzzles in the purple cavern system, I take notes in my notebook, which seems to have torn sometime as I fell. I make it out and into a snowy forest, still taking notes on the strange climate down here. It's like a whole sub-terrain. I persevere onwards. If there is a way in, there will be a way out. I find a small town, and a large house at the edge of Snowdin looks inviting, yet I cannot stop. The tiny fellow on my shoulder has slipped into my best to keep warm, but has not abandoned me. Making my way through a blizzard, I come out in a rather warm wet cavern. There are waterfalls aplenty, and I decide against going for a dip. I wonder what's happening above the mountain... I do hope I will not be reduced to a cross on the peak with a ribbon dyed in my favourite colour (which is Orchid for those who care to note.) The spider and I go past strange glowing blue flowers that whisper words to me as I pass, and I decide to sit and sketch one in my notepad. It's practically falling apart at the seams now. I encounter several creatures of interest, all of whom allow me to sketch them, seeming flattered by the very suggestion. There's Woshua, and Aaron, and Froggit, and Snowdrake, and Whimsum, and so manny more! It's fascinating how monsters have lived underground all this time without humans knowing, or rather, remembering. We did seal them down here after all.

After several more rooms of water and rock, I encounter a strange turtle who fails to tell me his name. He asks for my glasses and notebook to check my findings, saying he is an undergrounds historian and wants to learn more about humans from the way they study. I allow him to borrow said items, and decide to go for a walk around the area he called 'waterfall'. How original.

I can't see very well without my glasses, and several times I slip on a rock or stray too close to the water and find myself dunked in. I am soaking wet, and I decide to head back to the old turtle's store to retrieve my items. But as I walk, I find myself slipping on a wet rock, hitting my head, and falling into a deep section of river. And everything is black. I watch myself be pulled from my body, and I watch a purple heart float from where my actual heart would be. Amazing! It seems Humans have a clear SOUL which becomes visible in the monster realm. And then Woshua gathers my SOUL into a specific jar. I have noticed every monster carries one of these jars, but none would tell me what they were for. I become enraged at the thought of the kind and friendly Woshua being out to get my SOUL, but I cannot move. I'm trapped in some sort of limbo. A skeletal monster sucks the purple glow from around my SOUL, but leaves the colourful heart where it is and I cry out. He could of helped! He glances over at me and I notice he has chunks cut out of his skull by his eye sockets and his mouth. I'm pulled into his palm by an unseen force and I...

Who am I?

Orchid... Perseverance... Spiders...

Oh that's right. Forgive me, my name is Muffet. One of the best Spider Bakers in all the UnderGrounds!