Seven days Six nights XIII

How long did they spend here? Four, five hours? Jack was not sure, but he also knew it would take time for Amelia's mother to recover. If, she recovered.

Not everyone did. At least, his sister did not.

Currently, all he could do was help the mother and daughter clean up the room where it happened.

There was not much in the room, a large wooden bench that went as far as the end of the wall. Across were various plants, big and small.

On the wall was a single window that faced the walls of the neighboring house.

After cleaning the floor, Jack sat on the bench and stared out the window. His mind went back six years ago.

When he came to, the sun was already starting to set.

He heard the door close, and Amelia's figure appeared.

She walked slow but stopped across from Jack.

"I'm sorry… I-"

Before she could even finish, Jack raised his hand and stopped her. He shook his head.

"This is not on you. You have nothing to apologize for."

Amelia could only bite her lower lip and swallow her words. She never meant for him to see such a scene, and she never expected something like this to happen.

Although she was saying she was sorry to Jack, those words were meant for her mother.

All she could do was blame herself. If her mother did not take out a loan for her sake, none of this would have happened. Yet, she believed her mother's words when she told Amelia not to worry.

Jack's hazel eyes observed Amelia's expression. The way her shoulders were lowered, and the way her head was dropped he had a knew it all too well.

That moment something tragic happened, one would always blame themselves even though there was nothing they could do about it. It was easier to blame someone else for your problems, but the moment you start holding yourself accountable is the same time you start spiraling out of control.

While he did not see Amelia doing anything outrageous due to her being a priest, he could foresee her changing her temperament.

"You know, my mother always told me to live a better life than she lived. Every night before bed, she would come tell me stories about her younger days, I guess she had a theory it would help guide me down a different direction than her…"

"I wanted to live up to her expectations, I wanted to bring her happiness. But look at where that got her."

Jack sighed.

Getting up, he walked over to Amelia and hugged her.

She did not know it, but she was similar to him in a way. He always spent time listening to the stories of everyone else, but out of them all Amelia's was the one closest to his own.

Maybe it was due to what occurred, or maybe it was because he was sympathetic towards her. Jack brought her into his embrace and gave her a shoulder to cry on, something he did not receive.

He was never good at this sort of thing, comforting someone else in pain. He did not know what words to say, or how he should act. All he could do was let her cry.

Amelia rested her face on his shoulders and wept.

A few minutes passed before Amelia stopped crying. She moved her slender fingers underneath her veil to wipe the tears.

"He will get what he deserves. For now, what will you do with your mother?"

Amelia turned her head to look at the wooden wall next to her. Behind those walls was where her mother was resting.

"She is coming with me, back to the temple."

Jack nodded his head.

Her mother was still in debt, and if Ash came knocking the temple would not protect her. While she would be safe at the temple for a bit, that was only short-term.

Amelia and Jack did not leave the house until dawn.

Amelia's mother gave up information about Ash to Amelia, and Amelia reported what she heard to Jack.

Her mother was not in the mood to move, but under her daughter's urging, she left her home.

She was scared, especially of all the eyes that were staring in their direction.

Amelia stopped walking after they reached the main part of the city again, where the buildings looked better due to them being made out of brick or stone, and people filled the streets with joyful expressions.

Underneath the transparent veil, her eyes were focused on a singular figure.

A man with long blonde hair and a full beard, downed in silver armor. A white tunic on top of the armor with the symbol of a long sword in the shape of a cross embedded with red threading.

"Why did you stop?"

Jack asked her.

He glanced in the same direction she was looking but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just people passing by, a few guards as well.

Amelia shook her head.

"We need to hurry."

In her mind, she hoped that was only an illusion.