Angel's Point of View

The smell of wood fills my lungs as I take in the sight of the dining room of the inn. The tables are fresh with a layer of dirt as the lunch rush has proven itself profitable. Some of the wooden chairs were pushed in while some previous occupants clearly did not learn much in terms of manners. If Mom was here she would be throwing a fit about how people need to have basic respect for others! I glance down at the floor as thought runs through my mind, a cloudy thought that I can’t understand. Maybe I still need some time to wake up! To perk up! The old hag stops near a table with a wet rag in hand as she faces me.

“First thing I want you to do is clean the tables. It shouldn’t be hard.” The old lady hands me a rag and points to the tables near the windows of the restaurant.

“Ok.” Geez love the energy old hag.

“Young Lady, where are your manners? It’s yes ma’am.”

Shrinking my shoulders back I give an internal sigh at the lecture. “Yes ma’am.” I manage to cough out making sure to mask my annoyance.

“Don’t give me attitude.” Ok…, I guess I didn’t mask my annoyance enough. Straightening my back I put my hand to my forehead as a salute, “Sorry ma’am! Won’t happen again, ma’am!” I put as much energy into my voice as possible to show my commitment to my words after all that's what they did in the stories Dad used to tell me.

She just gives me an audible grunt in response as she leaves her hands on her hips waiting for me to start, clearly, she isn’t a fan of having fun I guess, she reminds me a bit of Mom’s attitude I think to myself. Shuffling my feet to the oak table blitz through wiping the first table and picking up a small sweat as I feel a water droplet fall down my cheek onto my neck, but while walking to the second table something pulled at the collar of my shirt. Looking back to no surprise of my own it was the old lady giving me another judgemental stare-down.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh I was going to the second table…like you wanted me to.” A cold snap swept over my body which is weird since I am an ice mage…

The old hag exaggeratedly points to the first table, “Does this look clean to you? Do you really think this is acceptable? Do you think you can not do better than this?”

“Um,” the hag pinches some dust in between her fingers while waiting for my response, my arm shakes a little as my nerves start to take over, “No Ma’am it does not look clean.”

“Then why did you move to the next table?”

A sudden stir from behind the counter draws our attention, “Oh cmon Mom don’t be too rough with the poor girl.” The pretty jet black hair lady from last night is there rubbing her eyes while giving an exaggerated yawn. From the corner of my eyes, I thought I saw the old hag's expression become soft but alas I was wrong as she raised her fist and shook it at the young lady, “Oh shut it, Amanda! I am teaching the young lady how to clean properly.” The hag shot her chin up giving a bit of sas to the lady while a strong emotion hung on a long piece of thread at the end of cleaning, almost as if it was something that the old hag deemed important. No, it sounded more like a respectful tone as if she was giving it adoration. Does this old hag find cleaning that important? Does she really worship cleaning?

The two started their own little world bickering about this and that seamlessly, without any touch of malice, just two ladies trying to prove that they were right as their hands moved about the air attempting to capture the physical emotions of their conversation. Their conversation shifted to the events of this morning, picking up on some context clues it looks like Amanda works the night shift while the old hag works the morning shift. As their emotional hands start to flare around less sporadically as their conversations steer in a boring direction, I shift my focus to the table that I had supposedly cleaned. I wave my hand over the table scratching at its weak layer of grime. While the old hag gets on my nerves she definitely has a point about it being subpar at best. What would Mom do in this situation? Taking note that the duo was explaining how many rooms were occupied and by who I began pondering on what Mom would’ve done. Well to begin with she would shoot right back at the old hag’s disrespectful tone. Secondly, she would think outside the box. Ok but would she really think outside the box in this situation? Whenever she cleaned at home or had us clean at home we used a rag just like here. A memory flashes through my mind from one of my Mom’s lessons, “Magic is a tool but it is not a replacement for discipline.” I pondered on that memory, while magic is not a replacement for discipline it can still be used as a tool. Adjusting my eyes I glance around noticing a lot of tables, like a lot. Even if I were to use magic it would still take quite a while to clean them all and mana. I flicker my eyes towards the duo again noticing they are still on that topic from earlier which is surprising as from the sounds of it they are still on the same sentence from when I changed focus earlier. Shrugging it off as just a weird consequence I start to put my magic plan into action.

With a flick of my wrist, I dampen the table’s top with a thin layer of mist. Completely concentrating I try to dig the water underneath the dirt and grime with some level of success I draw the water upwards letting the surface tension balance the dirt on top. My hand shaking from the strain of my mana being poured through it. Pulling with my hand I direct the water into a nearby bucket that I am guessing is used for cleaning. Breathing a sigh of relief as the stress dissipates from my body I take a step forward and dig my nail into the oaky table examining my handiwork, that's much better I think to myself. Huh, that's weird, I realize that the two innkeepers stopped being so noisy. Looking behind me I figured out what cat caught their tongues. I give a soft smile, yes I am a wizard! I know so cool right? A smile glosses over my lips.

“You did not bother checking if that bucket was used for cleaning did you?” The old hag pointing her finger in my direction.

Taken aback from the disrespectful tone I weakly reply, “What do you mean I just assumed it was since it's sitting right there and you wanted me to clean the tables…”

“Oh please for the love of God’s mercy on me.” The hag mumbles to herself before resting her hands on her hips taking a more instructional posture. “You are too smart to be this dumb. Think more outside the box rather then focusing so much on a single action. I wanted you to complete the task of cleaning not the single action of removing the dirt. Think for a moment before jumping to conclusions.” The old hag is lecturing me like she is my Mom. Why does she think she can replace Mom?

Amanda interrupts, “MOM! Stop expecting her to already know what to do, it took me years to get to your stupidly high standard!” I notice Amanda glance over in my direction before returning back to her mother’s.

“Amanda don’t coddle her! Cleaning is an art that is important for the rest of her life she should know how to do it properly!” The Old Hag’s tone is pushing her authority on her daughter.

“Mom you are impossible!” Amanda gives a defeated sigh before looking at me, “That’s amazing Angel I didn’t know you were a wizard!” Amanda clasps her hands together, “You gotta show me how to do that it’ll make my job soooooo much easier!” Her warm smile embraces me making me feel a little less defensive of my job. But of course the Old Hag can’t let me be proud of anything.

“AMANDA”, The hag yells while stomping over to the oaky table I had just cleared inspecting it, “Do not disgrace my inn with this rough cleaning job. The table looks and feels like she took an axe and riggedly cut my polished table.” She pinches something that looks like sawdust in her hand and points it at me, “This is supposed to be cleaning not woodcutting. Honestly its disappointing that you learned such a disgraceful magic at your age.”

It’s one thing to disrespect me but it's a whole other thing to disrespect the magic my Mom taught me. “EXCUSE ME I AM DOING EXACTLY WHAT YOU TOLD ME OLD HAG! FOR FRICKS SAKE!” A torrent of emotion spiraled out of my mouth as I screamed at the old hag.

“MAYBE IF YOU DID NOT JUDGE EVERY LITTLE THING I DO TRYING TO ACT LIKE MY MOTHER! NEWS FLASH YOU AREN’T MY MOTHER AND….AND MY MOM TAUGHT ME HOW TO USE THIS FRICKING ROUGH MAGIC! MAYBE IF MY MOM AND DAD WERE STILL HERE I WOULDN’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOUR BULLSHIT! SERIOUSLY WHY DO---” The shock on their faces snapped my mouth shut as I realized I was yelling at this old lady, an old lady who even though she's always judging me, gave me a chance to help Jack. A fleeting image of my Mother appeared into my mind. This hag gave me a chance when she didn’t need to. Clutching my into an angry fist with tears trickling down my cheeks I choke on my own words, “I am…I am sorry for swearing…I know it's not ladylike and…and I am sorry for yelling at you when…when you…you… were just…just….trying…to.t..to be nice.” At this point, it's taking everything to keep my tears from flowing out. Why am I crying so much? It doesn’t make sense to cry. Why am I crying so much I was just being disrespectful I--i---i--I can’t even think anymore as tears just start flowing everywhere. Inbetween sobs I see the reactions of the duo as the hag looks at me with concern as Amanda has her arms out as she is slowly walking towards me. Everything is going so slow why? Why is everything so slow? Why am I crying? Why do I feel empty? Why do I feel like a part of me is missing? I fall down to my knees and just cry and cry, I am barely able to register the arms embracing me as I hear such soft words, “Its ok dear.” Leaning forward into her shoulder I cry and cry I cry and cry and cry and cry. I don’t know why. Why am I crying so much. Why? Why?

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“W---h…why?” Please someone just answer me I need to know why. I don’t know why I am feeling this way. Please. Please someone, anyone just help me.

The gentle voice embraces me even stronger than before, “Lets get you to a room. Are you able to walk on your own dear?” I weakly shake my head no. I can’t. I can’t do anything. I just want to know why. Why can’t I figure it out? Why am I so upset? I feel my feet lift off the ground as Amanda picks me up making sure to keep me in her embrace as she carries me down the hallway to an empty room.

Jack's Point of View

I awoke to the sight of blurred oaky walls surrounding every corner of my eyes. A thin white blanket covered my torso which lay limp trapped under the comforting warmth while my head rest on the white fluffy pillow that propped me up. Lifting my aching neck I take a dry gulp as I scan the room I notice my duffle bag bundled up in the corner all messy. Why is there a duffle bag again? It takes me few a labored breaths to remember where I was. I Guess Angel had a hard time finding the correct clothes to wear or something as clothes poured out of the duffle bag. Gazing across the room I searched for any sign of my sister but outside of the mess she left nothing. As I breath a lump in my throat tears into my already consistent headache. I got to get up and grab something to drink…and with a growl from my stomach, something to eat as well. Pulling the covers off I notice a bandage hugged securely on my thigh dampped by a dark red hue with a light hint of purple, guess Angel did leave something else behind besides the mess. Weird, I remember the pain in my thigh from the previous night not to mention the amount of dried blood on the bandage but it feels almost like new, did a healer come by? Panic starts to settle into the back of my mind, if a healer came by that means my arm! Stretching my arm up to my eye line as adrenaline coursed through my blood, I frantically search my arm for any trace of the demonic transfigurations but no sign anywhere of that curse anywhere.

Stretching my arms in joy I quietly ask myself, am I cured? is this serious? I'm cured! I am fucking cured! I jump out of bed twisting and turning as I hunt for any sign for that monster. Nothing.My eyes can’t find anything I can't believe it! I got to tell Mom! I….got to tell Mom. Memories start to flood back through my mind. Pictures of my family being burned through a crisp as I hear screams of my sister as I ran. My eyes slowly stretch over the room again as I collect my thoughts; the inn…the bag…the bandage…that night did happen. Fuck me I drop my shoulers into a sigh as I refocus my thoughts on what I have left, my sister.

Digging through my backpack I find myself a pair of clothes that thankfully don’t have a layer of blood on them. Hmm, thinking of a layer of blood I should probably change my bandage. As I skim around the room my eye catch a roll of bandage wraps. Grabbing them I start to remove the old bandages. As my hand is in the midst of unwrapping the bandage I feel some unusual bumps softly singling to the back of my mind the loss of hope. Fuck is the only word I could think of. That single word acted as both depression and acceptance as the unwrapped thigh was no longer my own but of that curse.

Knock Knock

Snapping my focus towards the door I tense up while staring, waiting, waiting for Angel to say something from the other side of the door. Sweat dripped down from my forehead as my eyes darted back and forth from my thigh to the door.

Knock Knock

“Excuse me but I heard some noise from your room and I wished to talk to you. Is now a good time?”

An unfamiliar woman’s voice came softly through the door. Why does someone want to talk to me?

“Yes, please give me a moment,” I hurriedly replied while taking the new bandage and wrapping it around my thigh which surprisingly looked heal from a glance.

Opening the door I am greeted by a young woman with stunning black hair. She looks a bit familiar but I can’t put my finger on where I have seen her before.

“Hi there, Jack right? I’m Amanda.” She introduces herself with a smile gleaming off of her beautiful face. My body lingers a little longer than it should have as I am in awe. Catching my composure by the throat I adjust my posture.

“Hey, yeah my name’s Jack. I don’t believe we’ve met. Whats up?”

“Oh no we met but you might not remember.” She gives a slight chuckle. “My name is Amanda, I was the innkeeper who checked you and your sister in a few nights ago. Ringing any bells?”

“A few nights ago?” I am taken a little aback. Didn’t we check in last night?

“Yup. Don’t be too surprised after all you’ve been sleeping for about two days give or take a few hours.” She adjusts her hand to her lips giving a more easy going thoughtfulness posture.

“Oh.”

“May I come in?” Before I say anything, her foot shuffled\s forward making me move to the side so she can walk in. She walks over to the bed and sits down. With a wave of her hand accompanied by a glintening smile she beckens me to sit down next to her. I decline moving near the side of the bed leaning on the wall.

“Jack I want to talk to you about some things if you don’t mind?”

“Oh!” slipped out of my mouth as I realize what she wants to talk about, “This is about the money I owe for the extra nights here right?”

‘Oh noooo thats fine for now. Angel has been working hard here under my demanding Mom so you don’t need to stress about the extra nights.”

“Working?” I stand up straight in a bit of surprise but I try to keep my feet planted straight.

“Yup. My Mom came over yesterday to kick you two out but Angel begged for you to stay so my Mom came up with the great idea of making Angel do a bunch of chores.” Amanda giggles at the end. “Either way I actually wanted to talk to you about something and I think it’ll be best if you sit down.” She pats the bed again signaling me to sit next to her.

“No, I’m fine.” I dismiss her concern. “What did you want to talk about?” Placing more weight on the lean I try to make my body appear a bit more relaxed.

Amanda gave a defeated sigh as her expression shifted to a more serious demeanor, “ What happened to your parents?”

I felt my body stiff up in response. Not allowing the question a moment to sink into my mind I answer, “They are dead.”

“May I ask when they died?”

“They were murdered a few days ago.”

“I see. Are you sure you do not want to sit?”

“Yes, I am fine,” I dismiss Amanda’s concern again. I don’t have the time to sit anyways.

“Does Angel know?”

This was a weird question to ask why wouldn’t Angel know? “Yes.”

“When was her Birthday?”

I am unsure why but this question sets me onto the defensive. I seriously can’t deal with all these questions. Like who the fuck does this girl think she is? I don’t even know her. Like seriously just leave us alone. “Two days ago, may I ask why this matters? Why are you trying to dig into our lives?” I want to leave. I don’t like it here. “Where is my sister?” My fist clenches as I look around. Is she working with that bastard Azreal?

Putting her hands up in a defensive manner she says, “Cool your jets, Jack, she's with my Mom cleaning dishes in the kitchen. Look, just let me talk for a second ok?” I don’t trust her. The woman asks again, “Ok?”

“Fine” My words are as flat as humanly possible as my eyes stay trained on the woman.

“Good. So to begin with I started to notice something was a little weird with her after she had a meltdown yesterday. She got very upset and started crying for hours and the only thing that she was saying in between her tears was “I don’t understand why am I upset. Putting a few pieces together I think she might have forgotten the events from two days ago, after all, she said her birthday was yesterday not two days ago.”

Looking up I have one pivotal question in my mind, “Why are you telling me all of this?”

A smile creeps onto her face as she looks at me ever so sweetly, “Because I know what it is like to be hurt and lost.” I walk over to the bed and finally take up Amanda’s offer to sit down next to her.