The sun shined atop of Mary's body as she dragged herself across the mud and dirt. She was only able to go a couple of steps before her legs gave out. Blood began to slowly come out of her mouth. Her body continued to bleed a trail. If she didn't stay in her guardian form, she would most likely already be dead. And her condition didn't look like it was getting better. Her mask started to peel off as she moved forward. It fell on the grass revealing her face. It was almost human with the exception of her black scleras.
She wanted to call for help. She wanted to call the shopkeep to heal her, but she couldn't make a sound.
As she laid on the grass, the sun shined brightly over her. The rain had made it too cold for her, and now the sun was making it too hot. As she looked up with almost closed eyes, the sunlight bothered her. It became too unbearable, so she just closed her eyes and kept dragging herself. She kept moving and movie ever so slowly. Nobody was there to see her. And nobody was there to help. She was all alone in any empty field away from any eyes.
As she crawled further, her phone dropped out of her pocket. Realizing this, she slowly grabbed the phone. It took so much effort to even turn it on. She opened one eye and looked at the phone. She had to call somebody. Anybody. She didn't know how long she was there or how far she was, but it didn't matter. She didn't think anybody would help her. Everybody betrays one another, she thought.
And when she turned her phone on, a picture of the three of them appeared. Jack, Mary, and Yune right outside of the nurse's office. Mary looked at herself in the photo. She was so happy. The three of them together. At first, she thought she was happy that Jack was being tormented, but now she realized she never felt that way ever before. Not when she was alive as a queen. Not when she was controlling all of those students. She never felt happy except for when another suffered. But the photo was different. Jack looked annoyed, but she could tell that they were having fun. All three of them. But even then, she felt betrayed. After Yune and Jack left, she felt that she had been betrayed once more. But this time, it hurt even more. She barely knew them, yet she enjoyed her time with them far more than any time before.
A tear rolled down her eyes as more blood spurted out of her mouth. She had nobody. Nobody would come to help her.
Was I going to die here, she wondered, was I brought back from the depths of hell to die abandoned once more on this muddy field. Even as I die, the rain stopped and the sun's intensity shined brighter than ever before - perhaps I was meant to die here, she thought, as God intended - abandoned by everybody to be left here. The world is cruel, yet when I show cruelty back, I am the one who gets punished, she thought.
As she tried to resist death, her body slowed. Eventually it became too hard to keep moving, and she just gave up. She laid there waiting for death to take her, but it never came.
However, what she didn't see was that her mark was glowing black. The mark of the crow. However, she didn't feel or see it.
Instead of death, what came surprised her.
"Mary! MARY!" Jack and Yune yelled as they ran towards Mary's lying body.
She heard their cries and wondered if this was a dream. She couldn't believe that they would come back for her. She thought that she was abandoned, but no. As they knelt down, she touched their hard armor. She still had some sensation left. She opened her weak eyes to see them and smiled gently.
She tried to say, "You came back for me," but she was too weak to say it. Instead what came out were weak moans.
"Relax. Don't move, Mary," Yune said worryingly. She looked at the wounds and knew that no hospital would be able to help her at this point. The moment Mary transforms back, she would die, they all thought. But both Jack and Yune knew that there was one being who could help them.
Both Jack and Yune screamed, "Shopkeep! Shopkeep! We need your help!"
And with a gust of wind, the shopkeep appeared.
"What would you like?" he asked.
"Help Mary! Heal her wounds," Jack ordered him.
The shopkeep looked at Mary for a second and said, "She has lost a lot of blood. At this point, she won't make it. Of course, I could help, but I want payment."
But neither Jack nor Yune had any black coins to pay.
"Please... we'll pay you later once we get a black coin," Yune begged as she applied pressure to stop the bleeding.
The shopkeeper shook his head. "Nope. Not gonna do. I'll need payment up front. And for these wounds, you'll probably need around 50 black coins."
"50! You can't be serious!" Jack yelled, "She's dying right in front of you, and all you care about are the coins. You can't even be bothered to help!"
"I don't make the prices - I mean I do, but I'm a business after all. If you don't want my services, I'll just leave. Besides, I let plenty of other Light Guardians die if they're unable to pay me. I couldn't care less. There are plenty of other girls that can become one," the shopkeep said as he began to turn away.
Mary opened her mouth trying to say something, but it was inaudible. She tried harder and harder. She couldn't lay down and die like this. Not when Jack and Yune came back to save her. Just the feeling of being important to somebody who isn't afraid or her or under her control made Mary feel special. She felt like she finally belonged somewhere. And she couldn't just give up, now.
With all the effort she could muster, she managed to say two words. "Use.... reserves...." she said quietly and hoarsely.
Yune and Jack barely heard her, but the shopkeep was able to hear Mary very clearly and froze in place.
He turned around towards Mary and replied, "I will be taking 100 black coins from your reserve pile. That will make your reserve total to be, uh, 1307."
"thirteen-hundred black coins!" Jack and Yune both exclaimed.
When Mary was a queen she had many other Light Guardians serving under her. She was able to collect many black coins for herself with the help of many guardians, however she didn't know what to do with them at times and just saved them. She gave them to the shopkeep to keep them like a bank, and he had no objections to it.
"Please say you agree or nod your head so that I can confirm with you," the shopkeep said.
Mary tried to move, but she was too weak. She didn't have the strength to nod her head ever so slightly. Then, Yune grabbed Mary's head and began to nod it for her.
"There, she's agreeing to your terms. Now, help her," Yune said.
The shopkeep sighed, "Alright. I guess that's close enough."
And with a motion of the shopkeep's hand, Mary's wounds began to seal themselves. Her skin regenerated. Life was being restored to her.
"Lucky, she didn't die. Then, there would be no power to bring her back," the shopkeep said.
"Well, we all know that's a lie," Jack said.
"...Right. Well, I'll be on my way. Let me know if you need anything else," the shopkeep said before he vanished into thin air.
Mary's eye sprung open and she coughed out whatever leftover blood was stuck in her trachea until there was nothing left to cough out. Yune tried to comfort Mary and patting her back like a child.
Jack pondered on the shopkeep's words. He said that the dead can't be brought back, but that was exactly what they were. The only conclusion she could come up with was the even the shopkeep was limited in power. But Jack didn't really care for that. She was just glad that Mary was alive, however she wasn't sure whether she was relieved because Mary would be useful for her own means or if she actually was worried about her as a person. But it didn't matter to Jack. She just had one goal in mind and that was to find Annie.
As soon as Mary stopped coughing, she said to both Jack and Yune, "You came back for me. I thought you had left me."
Mary transformed back into human form and felt normal. Yune and Jack proceed to, as well.
"No. We wouldn't leave you. We're all in this together," Yune replied while Jack scoffed.
Mary stood up with dirt and mud all over her. She looked straight at both Jack and apologized sincerely, "I'm sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry about what I did. Or what I didn't do. I know you wanted to save those people more than killing the Night Demon. I didn't understand it at the time. Well, I still don't, but I want to try to make it up to you. For the both of you."
Jack was utterly surprised by this. She didn't actually expect Mary to apologize for that. She expected Mary to say something like 'I was handling it just fine without you two' or 'I didn't need your help' as if she was a brat. But this apology really changed Jack's perception of Mary.
"You don't have to apologize," Yune said.
"I do," Mary continued, "I might not understand how either of you feel. You, Jack, probably wanted to beat me to death after that incident, but even if I don't understand, I want to try to. You both saved me. I gave up until the two of you came. I thought you two abandoned me, but I was wrong. Utterly and completely wrong. Please - Please accept my deepest apologies."
Mary really did feel sorry. She never felt this way before. It hurt, but she couldn't leave the two of them again.
Jack thought that perhaps Mary was just trying to trick them, but she just couldn't tell. She nodded her head.
"Alright. I do think you want to change, but I don't accept your apology. Actions - not words - are going to show me whether you really do feel sorry."
"I understand," Mary replied disappointed yet satisfied.
"Thank goodness. So, looks like we're back to being friends again," Yune said.
"No. Not friends," Jack replied.
"Huh?" Mary and Yune both exclaimed.
"Family," Jack said, "The three of us aren't related by blood, but this is the closest I've had to a family. None of us are perfect or get along well. And we each tolerate each other."
Jack smiled and continued, "If that's not how a family is supposed to be, then I don't know what is."
"Family?" Yune quietly said.
Mary smiled and hugged Jack.
"What are you doing? Stop that," Jack complained as Mary's head would only reach Jack's belly.
"I can't. Because you're absolutely right, girl. This is a much better family than with my mom who's been nagging me about my birthright and my traitorous sister who executed me," Mary said.
"You had a strange family," Jack replied with a blank face as Mary continued hugging her, "Please stop. You're all muddy and gross."
"Family..." Yune said to herself. She felt something tug at her heart, but she didn't know why. The memories still wouldn't come. The only thing she remembered was the blonde girl who stabbed her in the back. However, she barely remember anything about her. And there was a third girl, but she had no idea who it was. She shook away the thoughts of trying to figure out her own memories and was just glad that the three of them were together again.
Yune smiled and decided to jump in.
"Leave some room for me," Yune said as she approached the two with her arms wide open.
"Oh, please no," Jack said as she was now being hugged by two very small girls to her. The only thing Jack could do was remain static and keep her arms straight like a robot. She didn't know how to respond to these hugs. But she didn't complain after. She just let it happen.
"So, this is what a family is like," Jack said, "I don't like it."