6. ACTing Right, Acting Wrong

                                    

                                          


                          
The Castle . . .
                          
"Here you go, wife," Asriel insisted as he gave her another burger. "Anything else?"
                          
"No, this is fine," Frisk said. Asriel was annoying. It was obvious everything he was doing was part of an ACT. "Don't have to have your arm wrapped around me for me to eat. Where am I sleeping?"
                          
"Oh. Mother and father have been arranging room," he said as he took his arms off from around her. "The castle has changed quite a bit. It's amazing. It's because of you real advancement and cultural exchange could happen."
                          
"Okay, yeah." Frisk tried to be polite, but at the same time, she didn't just want to lay back and pretend everything was going fine and she'd be a perfect wife. She took another bite of her hamburger. He ordered it from the outside. Apparently imported food was cheap because everyone bought imported food. Getting food from Underground was supposed to be ritzier, and he would do that for her another night.
                          
Uh huh. She almost finished her burger. Her soul and hunger feeling somewhat better with food, she desperately needed rest. Her soul needed rest, it went through too much. But, the food was good.
                          
"Frisk?" Asriel placed his paw on hers. Then, moved it away slightly as he discovered all the ketchup on it. "Napkin?"
                          
"At the end," Frisk said as she sucked on her fingers. "One more." She reached for one more burger. "No use cleaning up until it's all done." She took a big bite of her burger, spilling some catsup on her dress. "Oops." She shrugged and took another bite. It was drenched in blood anyhow from her used to be fatal wound.
                          
"Don't worry, we are getting more clothes for you tomorrow," Asriel insisted. He tried to hold her hand again. "Anyhow, I wanted to see how you were? You lost precious people tonight. Death is very hard. Are you okay?"
                          
Frisk stopped eating a moment. "I loved my Aunt Ida and my cousin Maxie. I even had some feelings for my Uncle Gaster. He made Aunt Ida happy. It's hard to believe he did that. It's hard to believe they are all gone." She got a little choked up and her eyes became watery. "I've lost many people over the years. I just keep moving. I cry, but I keep moving." She took another bite of her burger and felt his arms wrap around her again. "You're gonna get catsup all over your wardrobe."
                          
"I don't care about that," Asriel insisted. "I'm sorry for all your pain."
                          
"Yeah, well, just don't share it," she said a little sharper than she meant. "What happened above the surface fourteen years ago is my business. Nobody else should know it, Asriel."
                          
"Of course. Sorry. I'm just very bonded with you." He laid his head on top of hers. "We share the same soul you know."
                          
More like he stole half the power of her soul. She looked upwards at his head resting on hers. Goats were big. "I thought monsters took forever to grow up. We were kids at the same time."
                          
"Oh? Yes," Asriel said, rocking her back and forth. "I was, but after so many years a change happens, just like with humans. I grew up, even as a flower." He patted her hair. "I'm glad we grew up at the same time. We'll be so happy."
                          
Patting her hair? "You sure about that?" She took her messy hand with catsup, and pulled his hand away from her hair. She'd rather have catsup in her hair than his hand. "Humans don't live long."
                          
"Oh? Oh, don't worry about that," Asriel said, letting go of her again. "You've been infused, wife. You'll live as long as me, and I will live thousands of years."
                          
"Thousands of years?" Frisk looked at her fingers, sucked on them, and changed her mind. Thousands of years. "Looks like one more burger." She reached for it, but Asriel stopped her.