This was written very quickly, which means the style is weird and it's sappy as all hell. BUT I couldn't let inspiration pass me by.

~  

              Skeletons didn't have much in the way of government. The village was small enough that most decisions could be made with regular village meetings. However, that did not mean that everyone was on equal footing. Some families were more...esteemed than others.

By far the most esteemed had to be the Garalde family. An old family—in fact, they were one of the few that spoke pure Serif—they had more or less been the village's driving voice for generations. Perhaps it was because they had the best crops, perhaps it was because of their clean, precise linguistics, or perhaps it was simply because the whole family carried themselves in a way that demanded respect.

Whatever the reason, it was safe to say that the village was shaken up when Palatino, the second son of Galliard and Perpetua Garalde, eloped with that Courier girl.

Palatino was almost written off, which was honestly a little unfair. It wasn't like he chose to fall in love with Lucida. It just...happened.

She was a seamstress; it was a family trade, passed down from mother to daughter, but there was no denying she had a talent for it. As a result, her work became the most sought after in the village. Even Trinité, the Garalde matriarch, was tempted into buying Lucida's work. But, of course, she was much too important to fetch it. So, really, this whole thing was her fault; as the youngest male in the family, shopping duties fell to Palatino.

Though, no matter where he had seen her, he would have been doomed. Lucida was a tiny thing, with delicate, quick phalanges, wide, friendly eye sockets, and the biggest, brightest smile Palatino had ever seen. Even when she was still, she lit up the entire marketplace.

As he approached, she leaned against the counter and sent her bright smile his way.

"Ooh, you're the Garalde boy!" she called, the unmistakable sing-song of Slab-Serif coloring her voice. "I know which order's for you!" Before he could respond, she held out a carefully tied box and gave him a wink. "I'll warn ya, though, it might be a bit snug on ya."

Palatino stood up straight, trying to not look embarrassed. "They're...they're not for me!"

Lucida giggled as she handed him the box. "Nah, I'm just jokin' with you. Must be for your girl, yeah?"

"My, uh...my grandmother, actually," he replied stiffly. "She's...she's very fond of your work, Miss Courier." He managed an awkward little smile.

Lucida blinked, then set a hand over her ribcage with a smile. "Well, bless me, I'm honored. Imagine, a Garalde likin' a little Courier's work." She pushed a paper toward him. "I'll still need your signature, though, sir."

He glanced up at her, then back down as he signed. "Um, Palatino, please. Not 'sir.'"

She smiled at him once more as he stood up. He handed her a little bag of gold, then gave her a nod and began to walk away. As he got a decent way from her stall, he suddenly heard her cry, "Oi, Palatino!"

He stopped and turned. Lucida crooked her finger, ushering him back. His browbone furrowed as he walked back.

"It...it was the right amount, wasn't it? If you need more, I have..."

"Let me see your hand, please."

Palatino blinked as she interrupted him, but he did as she asked. She plucked an already-threaded needle from a pin-cushion and, with quick, neat stitches, fixed a little tear on his shirt cuff.

"This was botherin' me like you wouldn't believe," she said as she snipped off the thread. She kept a hold on his hand as she sent him another wide smile. "My name's Lucida. Come back any time you need something stitched up." She gave his hand a quick pat, then let him go to be on his way.

Honestly, how could he not fall for her after that?

~

For her part, Lucida knew she would probably end up brokenhearted. After all, he was a Garalde. They rarely interacted with anyone outside of their social sphere; a Slab-Serif working girl was no doubt miles below Palatino's social standards. But...well, he did have lovely cheekbones and such broad shoulder blades...and the poor dear had been so terribly shy, she had no choice but to flirt and tease him a little. And, honestly, there was no harm in trying her luck.

But imagine her surprise when he came back a week later, a shirt in hand and a slightly panicked look in his sockets.

"Well! Fancy seein' you here, Mr. Garalde," she chirped, looking up from her embroidery. He gave her a shy smile, then held up the shirt.

"Hello. Um...is your offer still open? T-to stitch things up?" He unfolded the shirt to show a large tear at the shoulder. "It's my nephew's naming ceremony tonight and I noticed I had this. I-I don't have another shirt and there's no time to buy one. I-I mean, if it's too short-notice, I completely understand and—"

"Hush, hush." She took the shirt and looked it over, then gave him a wink. "Give me five minutes and it'll look good as new."

A few flicks of her needle later, and it really was like the shirt had never been torn. He looked it over in amazement, then gave her a smile.

"This is amazing! How much do I owe you?"

She waved her hand. "It's on the house," she said. "You've obviously been under enough stress today." She leaned against the stall with a warm grin. "Have fun at the ceremony, Palatino."

He gave her a lovely, marrow-melting grin. "Thank you, Lucida. Really, I can't thank you enough." He looked up as he heard his sister call for him, then gave Lucida one last smile before hurrying out from the market. If she didn't know any better, she'd say there was a little bit of a spring in his step. And, despite her best attempts not to, she really hoped it was because of her.

~

For the next few months, he kept coming back. Once a week, it seemed, something would need to be mended—baby clothes for his nephew, his sister's favorite dress, an alteration for his grandmother's latest purchase. They would chat while she worked, and he would linger after she finished. She never charged him for those, and he always tipped extremely well when he picked up orders.

Once, though, upon realizing that nothing in the house needed to be mended, Palatino resorted to cutting a huge hole into one of his shirts just to have an excuse to go see her. Lucida noticed, of course, but politely said nothing about it. She did, though, make a comment about how much she enjoyed his company, and, if he wanted, he was welcome to visit even without any torn clothes.

So that's what he started to do. And it was lovely.

It started with little bits of chat when she was between customers. Comments on the weather or a particularly picky customer Lucida had dealt with or something completely snooty Palatino's brother Renard had done. After a while, she'd invited him to sit with her behind the stall. She put him to work, of course; he would thread spools and pull out the fabrics she asked for while she sewed away.

Their conversations progressed, to their families, their hobbies, jokes (Palatino had amazing comedic timing), and even their dreams for the future. Lucida wanted to have a huge family; Palatino wanted to be seen as his own person, not just the "second son". Lucida wanted to expand her trade out to Monsters and maybe even humans; Palatino wanted to focus on things that engaged his mind, not just sitting on old money.

It was in the middle of one of their talks that Claritas and Hever of the Times family—another old Serif family, connected by marriage to the Garaldes—came by to pick up an order. Palatino had ducked under the stall to hide; he was by no means ashamed to be seen with Lucida, but they both knew that if word of their friendship got out, things would be brought to a very swift halt.

Lucida gave them a smile as they approached. "Nice to see ya, Miss Times, Mr. Times," she greeted brightly. "If you'll wait just a mo, I'll have your order all nice'n packed up."

As she pulled out a very fine dress to wrap up, Claritas sent her brother a smirk. "It's a tremendously lucky thing she works so well with her hands," she said, loud enough for Lucida to hear. "A skeleton could never get far with a voice like that."

Hever laughed. "Honestly. With an accent that thick, she may as well be a Gaster."

Palatino looked up from his hiding spot, watching Lucida with concern. Her smile stiffened, and he could see the way her browbone furrowed with hurt. But there was nothing he could do here, and he guessed jumping over the stall and punching the lights out of both of them was out of the question. So he watched, heart breaking, as Lucida put on her best professional face and gave them their orders. Once they left, though, her smile died, and she quickly turned her sign from "Open" to "Closed".

As Palatino started to get up, she slid down beside him with a sigh. Once she was fully hidden, she covered her sockets with her hands.

"I hate my accent," she whispered, curling in to make herself even tinier than normal. "I hate it."

"You shouldn't," Palatino assured her quickly. She shook her head.

"It's awful. It sounds like baby-talk and...and no one takes us Slab-Serifs seriously because of it!" She sniffled. "God, I wish I sounded like you."

"I'm glad you don't," he said quietly. He pulled away one of her hands to look at her, gently holding it as he added, "I think your voice is lovely. I could listen to you talk all day."

She sniffled again, pulling her hand away so she could shove his shoulder. "You're a wicked flatterer, Tino," she said, though she didn't sound quite as upset. He smiled at her.

"Is it still flattery if it's the truth? If so, I'll be the worst flatterer in the village. Your voice is better than any song I've ever heard."

"Tino..."

"It puts every instrument to shame."

"Oh, Tino, stop!" A giggle snuck into her voice as she went to shove him again, but he caught her hands this time.

"And if I could hear it every day for the rest of my life, I'd be the luckiest man in the world," he said softly.

She looked up at him, sockets wide. He met her gaze steadily. For a long moment, they sat in complete stillness. That one statement, made by shy-as-anything Palatino, unleashed a whole flood of possibilities and hopes that they had both been very careful not to share.

But, as the wave of emotion cleared, there was really only one thing they could do after that.

Luckily, Palatino had some friends in high places.

~

For the first month of their marriage, they were very careful to keep it to themselves. A little bit of ribbon tied on their ring fingers was the only change, as far as the village knew. It wasn't ideal; Palatino wanted to announce to the whole world that he had been lucky enough to marry the greatest seamstress in the village, and it took all of Lucida's strength not to re-introduce herself to everyone as Mrs. Lucida Garalde. But neither of their families would support an elopement, and, though they loved each other enough for a spur-of-the-moment marriage, they weren't quite ready to be cut off from their respective families.

But, of course, talk had already started cropping up in the village. Being married emboldened the two of them, naturally enough, and so they began talking outside of Lucida's stall. Whispers of how they had been seen laughing together in the Village Square, gossip over how they had been walking alone near the forest...but things really came to a head when Lucida gave Palatino a gift.

It was a scarf. Lovely and warm, and the brightest shade of red Lucida could find. Delicate embroidery curled at the edges, and the letters P and L intertwined in one corner. It was by far Lucida's best work, and the fact that it was given to Palatino—free of charge!—did not go unnoticed.

Trinité had been the one to corner Palatino about it. She demanded that he cut off whatever this thing was with Lucida.

"You are a Garalde. You do not go associating with common families like hers," she spat at him, bones creaking with each word. "If you don't tell this girl that you're finished with her, then dire consequences will follow."

A year ago, Palatino might have been scared into doing as his grandmother asked. Now, though, emboldened by love and the future he and Lucida were set on having, he decided the hell with it.

So, early the next morning, as Lucida was setting up her stall, he marched his way over to her. He paused for a moment, then pulled her into a kiss that the whole village saw. Lucida saw stars, and she couldn't help her breathless giggle as he pulled away.

"Wasn't expecting that," she said with a bright grin, setting her hands on his clavicles. She blinked, realizing what had just happened. "Oh, but we really shouldn't—"

"I'm taking you to meet my family," he interrupted, looking at her intensely. "It's time we stop hiding." He took her hand and guided her to the section of the village the Garaldes lived, with grand houses and fields with enough fruit and vegetables to feed the entire village several times over.

"Tino...Tino, are ya sure this is the right time?" she asked as he led the way to the large house at the edge of the forest. He looked back at her, then pulled her close. He cradled her face, pressing his browbone against hers.

"I should have done this from the start," he murmured. "I was...I've never been happier than I've been with you. And I shouldn't have let fear get in the way of our happiness." He smiled. "Even if they disown me, it'd still be infinitely better than a life without you."

Lucida returned his smile, the very bottom of her sockets starting to grow wet, and she stood up on her toes to clack her teeth against his in another kiss. She took a deep breath.

"Well, then. Guess we should go say hello," she said. She straightened her skirt, but stopped as she heard a strange, low noise. "Did ya hear that?"

Palatino frowned. "It almost sounds like horns. But what..." He gripped Lucida's hand as he heard a scream, and then several others joining it. She looked up at him with wide sockets, then ran back toward the market.

The quiet village was a scene of absolute chaos and carnage. Dust powdered the ground like snow, and several houses were already engulfed with flames. A wave of armored soldiers charged in, cutting down any skeleton—man, woman, or child—that came in their way. Only one species would be so cruel and thorough in its destruction.

Humans.

They poured into the square, apparently set on completely decimating the village. Both Palatino and Lucida were frozen in fear by what they saw, until a group of humans noticed them. With a scream of fright, Lucida shot several bones at them. A few humans fell, but that only seemed to anger the rest. They charged at the two of them. As they came closer, Palatino's sockets glowed blue, as did the humans. With a cry of rage, he threw them back.

"Lucida, run!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Find your family!"

"No! We stay together!" she cried, then shot another few bones at a human who charged from their right. She grabbed his arm and pulled. "We can still warn yours!"

He looked back to her, then used his magic to throw another group of humans away. There was no time. They could either die together trying to find his family, or...

"To the forest. They don't know their way in there," he said quickly. He took off his scarf and tucked it into his coat, then took Lucida's hand and ran. She followed, trusting him completely. It was clear that the village was lost. For all they knew, they might be the only survivors.

~

They were not the only survivors, but they might as well have been. Two of the survivors—Chancery and his granddaughter Sable—had such thick Blackletter accents that their Arial was practically another language. And the third, Wing Ding...well, being a Gaster, poor W.D. could hardly speak Arial at all. But, at the very least, it was better than being completely alone as they made their way into the Monster city.

But the humans were coming this way. Everyone knew the primary fight was between the Monsters and the Humans; Skeletons were just collateral.

When the humans attacked the city, W.D. charged into battle, and Chancery was hit by a stray attack. Lucida tried to call for W.D. and grab Sable, but waves of Monsters separated them all before she could. Palatino knew they couldn't wait for the others; they had to go to safety. So, despite Lucida's struggles, he more or less dragged her into a nearby cave. He ventured as deep as he could; other monsters were already pouring in, but there was no time to focus on that. They had to find safety. Now.

They carefully made their way over precarious rock bridges over magma, and soon found a cool, dark area with water pouring through. This would be a good place to stay for a while, but as they heard a loud, collective scream of dismay from behind them, Palatino urged Lucida onward. Monsters didn't trust skeletons; they couldn't take any risks by staying out in the open.

So, truthfully, he considered it divine intervention when he saw the door.

It was a gray door set in the wall of the cave. It was so out of place, it should have been suspicious, but neither Palatino nor Lucida thought to question it. Doors meant rooms, and a room meant safety. He threw the door open, and they both ran inside.

The room was completely gray, and completely empty. Lucida was suddenly doubting their decision to come in, but Palatino assuaged her.

"We'll just stay until things have settled down," he said, setting his hands on her small shoulders. "Once we're sure the battle is over, we'll go back out.

She grudgingly agreed, then more or less collapsed against one of the gray walls. Palatino slid down beside her with a sigh, then took her hand.

"We're safe," he murmured. "That's what's important."

She looked up at him, then squeezed his hand. "And we're together."

Palatino smiled wearily at her, then pulled out his scarf from his coat. He wound it gently around both of their necks, and they leaned against each other, taking a moment to gather themselves before bracing for whatever might come next.