Yay! An update so quickly? Yeah, I just have to get this story off my chest, maybe I'll be able to finish it in a week, who knows? Anyway, time guess true or false on the next chapters and you can win a one shot, which I will personally write just for you ;)
Anyway, I don't own ROTG and more importantly, all names have been changed for their privacy and any similarities to any person, place, or situation are just coincidences.
"Woohoo!" Amora yelled as they sailed through the air, Jack holding on for dear life. He didn't know why he decided to tag along, maybe it's because he wanted to know more about her, maybe he was curious about another spirit's job, or maybe he just didn't have anything else to do. He just decided that he might as well. Finally after reaching a neighborhood, she stopped right on top of a roof and unceremoniously let him drop to the ground. He resounded with a great big oomph!
"Hey! What's the big deal?" Jack shouted, shaking off the dirt that clung to his clothes. "Great, that'll come off easily." He muttered to himself as he found some grass stains.
"Sorry, the ribbon must've snapped off. Anyway, get up here, the next case is approaching." Amora said, resting on top of the roof. He glided over and sat next to her. He looked around the neighborhood, it was quiet, green. The house they were at was a simple one story house with a big front and backyard, it looked pretty decent.
"So, who are we waiting for?" Jack asked.
"Well, I've been tracking this couple for a really long time. They have had a lot of ups and downs and now comes the final moment, whether or not they can make this work. The girl should be here in about 20 minutes." Amora said, squinting at the sun.
"And we're just gonna sit here with our thumbs in our mouth?" Jack sarcastically said. "Ha, ha. So funny." Amora said dryly. "I call it as I see it." Jack responded.
"No, it'll take some time to tell you their story, that way you can understand a bit on their situation." Amora said. "This particular story, started a long time ago, back when they were just teenagers." Amora's wings glowed and so did the house. All of a sudden there was a bunch of people around, children, teenagers, adults talking and laughing.
"Woah, what did you do?" Jack asked.
"My memories from the past, I'm just replaying this story from the start. I didn't think you'd want to hear me talk for about 20 minutes. So you see those kids sitting on the picnic sheet?" Amora pointed out. Jack looked down and saw a boy with dark sunglasses with wavy, dark brown hair and a girl with black hair and honey colored eyes sitting next to him. Jack nodded to Amora.
"He is 14 years old and she was only 12 when this story started. You see, he's blind and she's adopted but his blindness was the result of a trauma not genetics." Amora started.
"What happened to him?" Jack asked. Amora's mouth became a thin line. She let out a tired sigh. "His mother died in his arms. It was a car accident. He was only 8 years old but since then, he couldn't see. I was trying to set her up with her soulmate when it happened. I tried helping, but none of my powers could've kept her alive long enough for the ambulance. So I guess you can say this case is a bit personal for me."
They kept quiet for a bit, watching the girl and boy interact with each other laughing and making small talk. "I'm sorry." Jack finally said. "It's ok, it was a freak accident…His name is Alan and her name is Reina. He's getting married today."
"Congratulations." Jack said. Amora laughed bitterly.
"Thanks, but he's getting married to someone else besides her." Amora said.
"How? You said this was personal to you. I thought you would watch it closely." Jack said. "And I did, at least I thought I did. See he was being cared for by his grandmother who then adopted Reina from a close friend of hers. Everything was fine until he got his sight back." Amora said, the landscape changing. The people were gone and instead a car drives up the path and parked in front of the house. A short woman with grey hair and a dimply smile came out of the car and Alan, taller and more filled out, came out as well. He saw the world with wonder and talked to his grandmother excitedly.
"After meeting with Reina, she convinced him to see a therapist to try to get his sight back. With the therapy and Reina's love, he got it back. I thought that this was the point of no return. He would see Reina and they would have a happily ever after, but things didn't go so smoothly." Amora said. Another glow, another place and they were now in a school with kids bustling here and there. Alan was in the courtyard, finishing his lunch, talking to his friends when a girl came to sit next to him and he got a flush in his face.
"Due to him regaining his sight, his own inner sight was lost. His love for Reina fell while he began to live a normal life. The poor girl had to witness it firsthand since they lived together. He no longer needed her in his mind. He took notice of other girls, as is for a boy his age while she continued to live with her love." Amora looked another way and Jack followed her gaze. Reina sat against a wall, under the shade reading a book, her clothes dark and her expression sad. He noticed how her eyes kept glancing towards Alan as he put an arm around the other girl.
She bit her lip and put her book away in her backpack. She walked away towards the hallways. Alan didn't take notice. It was like he didn't have a care in the world.
"Because of her non-confrontational personality, she said nothing and did nothing. She didn't fight, how could she? She was only 14 when he forgot about his love for her. The red rope became thinner and thinner even though they were so close, and yet their happily ever after was far away. I had to watch her cry as her heart kept breaking and breaking." Soon orbs of images gathered around Jack, Alan with different women, Reina with different men.
"They kept finding different relationships. Alan tried to convince himself that Reina was nothing but a sister to him, and lied to himself about his actual feelings toward her. He eventually realized, when he continued on to college, that all the relationships that he had, were shallow, just based on looks. Reina took paths to men that didn't appreciate her and kept putting herself in abusive relationships. Of course, something like that doesn't really go unnoticed." Amora said. The image turned itself into a living room. Alan and Reina, now in their twenties, as he was blocking the hallway towards the bedrooms while Reina stood in front of him, an obvious slap marked on her cheek.
"It was the summer of his 23rd birthday when he finally noticed the bruising." Amora went on.
"Why did he do it?" Alan said, Reina stood her ground and stared at the floor, her hand clutching her other arm. "Tell me!" Alan yelled and Reina visibly flinched, a slight shake revealing her fear towards him.
"He thought I was cheating on him…" She finally said after a very pregnant pause. "He wouldn't believe me so he hit me." Her voice shook and she gulped a couple of times.
"You should've gotten help, called someone, called me! I would've gotten you out of there before he did this to you." Alan argued, reaching for her cheek and she took one step back.
"No, if I called anyone, he would've gotten angrier. You would just make the situation worse. Just let me handle this." Reina said.
"No. I can't anymore. I can't just keep seeing you like this. He made you so sad, I hear you crying in your room every single night. I can't just stand by and see him hurt you like this. Bring him here, I'll talk to him." Alan said.
"Why do you even care?" Reina whispered.
"I care about you, isn't that obvious?" Alan said. Reina mumbled something. "What?"
"You're a liar!" Reina shouted at him. "You don't care about me! You never cared about me nor loved me or any of those things you used to tell me. You are just a big fat liar and pretender! You only do this because you have to bear with me as I still live with you! You're a fake and I don't need you!" She ran, grabbing her keys and ran outside.
"Reina!" Alan shouted, following her. They followed the image to the outside where Reina took off in her van and left.
"He eventually contacted her abusive boyfriend, and after getting incriminating evidence, had him put away. The damage to their relationship was done though. She no longer loved him the same way and the red thread between them broke." Amora said.
"But they're soulmates! How can that happen? They're supposed to be together." Jack said.
"Yeah, destiny dictates that they have to be together, but humans are strong and tenacious. She broke the thread herself, not completely but it was enough that even my help probably wouldn't be able to do anything for them. She eventually moved to the British Kingdom and then went under an apprenticeship in France to become a pastry chef. For 2 years there were barely any contact between him and her. She only called to their grandmother to see how he was. Eventually he found a woman who he was content with and they became engaged. To help him save money, she decided to make his wedding cake. So now we are here." Amora said, her visions finally fading and a car coming up. A woman came out of the car, and Jack knew that this was Reina. The years made her into a beautiful woman, her eyes no longer looking down and instead she looked ahead with a strength that Jack didn't see in Amora's visions. Her grandmother came out, more wrinkles and white hair, but her same smile and twinkle in her eye. They had a tearful reunion and she came inside the house.
"The wedding is gonna be in 2 hours. She'll be getting ready and we should go to the church." Amora said.
"So then why did we come here first?" Jack asked as Amora got ready with her wings. "I had to see for myself if things were salvageable between them. I can barely see it but that tiny string of fate is still there. I can still change this for the better. Come." Amora said, flying towards the church and Jack followed closely. It was filling in as they leaned against the church's walls, people talking excitedly and finding their seats. As they waited more and more, Jack kept looking at the people, trying to find a hint of Reina. Finally he saw here, wearing a dark green dress with a black belt and high heels, her hair falling with waves as she escorted her and mother and herself towards the first few pews. They sat down and the wedding commenced.
Alan walked into place with his best man and him making small talk. He took one glance over to where Reina was and then towards the aisle.
"You know, Alan did realize his feelings towards her but too late. He's in love with Reina, but is marrying another. Sounds really stupid doesn't it? These people are so confusing sometimes." Amora said.
"So then why doesn't he stop this? Why doesn't he just grab Reina and go?" Jack said as they people stood up to welcome the bride. "Fear, that's why but that's also why I'm here. My arrows aren't made for making people fall in love, they are made to make people remember why they love and give them the courage to fight for that love." One by one the bridesmaids go down the aisle and then comes the bride, arm in arm, with her father. Alan smiled slightly, but kept glancing over to Reina who had a tired, far off look in her eye. The priest asked them to sit down as he goes on with the traditional wedding vows.
"Here it comes, the decision maker." Amora said, getting ready her arrow, she pointed it at Reina.
"Speak now or forever hold your piece." She let it fly and it hit Reina. All of a sudden she stood up; the people broke out in murmurs as she excused herself to the aisle.
"Please…" Amora whispered. Reina stared at Alan, and he as well. She did a motion, as if she was grabbing a piece of thread. With her other hand, she made it into scissors, and cut it. Amora's eyes filled with tears as Reina started to walk out of the church.
"Wha- do something!" Jack shouted at her. "I can't, she made her choice." Amora said with her eyes downcast.
"Well if you won't, then I will." Jack said flying over to Reina and freezing the tarp she was walking on, she tripped and Alan flinched, as if he wanted to go to her but stopped. Amora caught this motion and, without hesitation, shot an arrow towards him as well. He started running towards Reina as people started to stand and gasp. He helped her up, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"Alan?" The bride said. Reina gave him a confused look. He grabbed her hand and ran towards the exit. People broke out into shouts and panic. Amora followed the couple along with Jack. They took her car and off they went, laughing all the way. Amora smiled to herself as people ran out after them and Jack nudged her with her elbow.
"See, wasn't so hard, maybe I could be cupid." Jack said and Amora laughed while wiping her eyes. "So, are they finally going to be together?"
"Well, it's not a sliver of thread, but it's not a rope either. I'm still gonna help them. Thank you, if it wasn't for you, they never would've gotten the courage to do this." Amora said.
"Ah, it's nothing." Jack said and Amora smiled. "You know, you make a good guardian twinkle toes." Amora laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, gorilla woman." Jack said.
"I guess, this is what it feels to have a friend." Amora said.
"I thought you and Tooth were friends." Jack said. "Oh yeah, she's my best friend but sometimes she's so focused on those teeth and she works all the time. We rarely get to see each other since I actively get out here and do my job while she stays in her palace. At least you can actually be out here." Amora explained.
"It would be hard doing a snow day from a palace." Jack joked.
"Yea, but I think that's enough drama for you. If you want, you can go ahead, take a breather and I'll swing by your place in case you want to know some more about my cases." Amora said, stretching.
"I don't have anything to do really. I made it snow already in the most important places, I think I can keep you company for a bit more. I got nothing else to do." Jack said, waving his staff.
"Alright, I'll keep it simple this time." Amora said, summoning her ribbon again.
"Oh boy." Jack said, giving himself a face palm before being whisked away again.