Chapter 2: Building towards the Future

Five Days later

Once again the serenity of the abandoned church was interrupted as a horse-drawn wagon made its way down the gravel pathway. Small animals fled the church as the incessant noise, caused by the wagon bouncing across the gravel, grew louder.

The horse-drawn wagon was now being pulled by two horses, and the cart was now twice the size. The cart itself was packed full of crates and wrapped up packages, so much that Jaune had to sit in the front next to Amelia.

"Umm… Miss Amelia…" Jaune asked while once again looking back at the cart full of goods.

"What is it, Boy?"

"H-How did you afford all of this?"

"I'm blind, Boy, not poor."

"Plus Salem's pockets will never be empty." The blind woman thought as she started to guide the horses to the side of the gravel pathway, slowing them down to a stop. Jaune looked at her, staring at her bandaged eyes.

"Ummm… About that… If you're blind… Then how did you get us around on this wagon... Without crashing?" Amelia smirked as the young boy nervously asked his question.

"I told you Boy, I've traveled all around Remnant. Do you really think I can do all that traveling and not learn how to get around without crashing into every random tree?" Amelia hopped out off the wagon, causing Jaune to quickly follow.

"But-"

"Enough questions, Boy. We made good time getting back here, but it'll be dark soon. We need to start getting ready." Amelia reached into the cart and pulled out the small hatchet.

"Here Boy, take this." Jaune took the hand ax and gripped the wooden handle tight. It felt heavy in his hand, but it didn't compare to the weight of his sword.

"Huh? What do you want me to do with this?" Amelia fought the urge to groan if she still had eyes she would roll them.

"I want you to go hunt us some dinner, I feel like having some bear meat tonight."

"WHAT!?" Jaune's paled at the thought, and he nearly dropped the ax in shock.

But that shock vanished and was replaced with pain as Amelia smacked him in the back of the head.

"Use that hatchet and start collecting some firewood Boy. Cut down some branches, collect some leaves and twigs. I don't care, just bring enough for the fire tonight. We'll need a lot so keep piling it up inside the church and don't stop until it starts getting dark. Oh, and stay around this path Boy... Don't go too far, unless you want to be a chew toy for a Beowolf." Amelia ruffled Jaune's hair as she said that last part, which caused Jaune to shiver at the thought.

"Well? What are you waiting for, get to work!" Amelia shouted while once again smacking the poor boy on the back of the head. Causing him to rush to a nearby tree.

Hours Later - Nighttime

Jaune struggled to catch his breath as he laid on one of the wooden benches that filled the room.

While Jaune spent his afternoon collecting firewood, Amelia spent her time creating a makeshift fortress. The blind woman created a wall of benches that formed a circle in the center of the room. In the center of the circle was a small fire pit made out of stones and the firewood Jaune gathered. Two of the wooden benches sat on either side of the fire to be used as beds.

"Well it's not the best campsite, but it's safer than sleeping on the road as we have been for the past few days." Amelia said as she stacked some firewood into the fire pit.

"Come here Boy, it's time for you to learn about the Goddess's second gift." Amelia pulled a small vial of red Dust from her robe.

"What's that?" Jaune asked as he walked up and sat down next to the blind woman.

"This is Dust, Boy." Jaune's eyes lit up as he nodded his head.

"Oh yeah! My… My Mom and Dad would use that…" Jaune forced himself to smile even as he started to shake.

Even though Amelia noticed his behavior, she didn't comment on it. Instead, she opened the vial and handed it to him.

"Do you know where Dust comes from Boy?"

"Umm… It comes from mines, right? And umm… OH! You can sometimes find it in the rivers… I think? At the bottom?" Jaune's face scrunched up as he tried to think of more locations, but Amelia simply shook her head.

"No Boy… That's where you can find Dust… I asked you, where did it come from?" The young boy tilted his head as he looked at Amelia, then back to the vial.

"Umm… I don't k-" As he spoke, a beam of light shined onto the vial of dust gaining his attention. He followed the light back to its source, a broken window at the back of the church. But standing proudly in front of the window, was the statue.

"It… Ummm, comes from the Goddess?" He timidly asked, causing the woman to smile.

"Very good Jaune… As I said before, the truth about the Goddess has been lost in time… But when the Goddess sacrificed herself, she gave her soul to the people. Allowing all of us to use the power of Aura… But that wasn't enough… No, to help the people even more… THE GODDESS GAVE HER BODY TO REMNANT!"

"GGAHH!" Jaune nearly dropped the vial when Amelia shouted.

"Our wonderful Goddess gave her soul to the people! And her body to the land! Her soul gave us Aura, and her body gave us Dust!" Amelia quickly snatched the vial out of Jaune's hand.

"Dust is a powerful gift... Given to us by the Great and Wonderful Goddess!" The woman repeated once more while she held the vial of Dust in front of Jaune's face.

"It used to be, the only safe way to use Dust was with Aura." Amelia's hand shimmered with a dim, almost unnoticeable glow as she sprinkled a small amount of Dust into the fire pit.

Once the Dust landed into the pit of dried leaves and twigs, a small fire started. Starting with a few embers, then steadily growing into a small and contained fire.

"You see Boy if you use Aura to control Dust, you can wield it and shape it any way you want… But these days, since many people don't know how to unlock their Auras. They were forced to find other ways to activate Dust. They use machines and weapons to wield Dust, and they think this is the best way." Amelia stashed the fire dust back into her robes, then pulled out a small vial of light blue Dust.

She poured the entire vial into her palm, then closed both hands around it. Jaune watched intently as her hands once again glowed with the same dim blue light as before.

"People who use machines or weapons to wield Dust think themselves to be masters of it… Such arrogance! The only way to wield the Goddess's gift is to use the Goddess's greatest gift!" Amelia unsealed her hands, allowing Jaune to see a small ice figurine of Salem. Perfectly sculpted to depict the 'Goddess' holding her arms out as if she was going to embrace you in a motherly hug. Amelia handed the small figurine to Jaune, causing him to gulp as he took it from her.

"A-Amazing…" Was all the boy could say as he held the small ice 'Goddess'.

It was cold in his hands, but not unpleasantly cold. It was like holding a cup of ice water, he could feel the coldness but it was muffled. The small figurine was also completely solid, even if he squeezed it in his hand as hard as he could. It wouldn't even crack, he felt that if he tried he would hurt himself more then he would damage the ice.

"…Are you going to teach me how to do this?" Jaune asks Amelia, finally taking his eyes away from the figurine.

"Hmm? Teach you how to make sculptors of the Goddess? Hmmm, if that's what you want, but we'll start with wood first."

"N-NO! I-I mean… are you going to teach me how to use Dust? T-To use it the right way?" Amelia smiled as she ruffled his hair.

"Oh silly Boy, I'm going to teach you how to master both of the Goddess's gifts… And so much more." Amelia's smile faded as she tugged some of Jaune's long hair.

"OW!" The boy cried out, but Amelia simply ignored him as she walked over to her own temporary bed. She took a seat on the wooden bench.

"But we will start those lessons another day, for now, come here Boy, take a seat there." Jaune turned to Amelia as the woman pointed to the floor in front of her. He stood up and was about to drag his exhausted body to the spot, but he froze once he noticed the woman pull out a knife from her robe.

"W-WH-WHY!?"

"Just do what I say, Boy." Jaune nervously gulped as he slowly made his way to Amelia. He sat down on the spot facing her.

"Turn the other way Boy."

"O-Okay… But… What are you going to do?"

Jaune winced as she gripped a handful of his hair.

"I'm going to cut your hair Boy, it's far too long and will only get in your way."

"Gah!"

"Hold still Boy! I'm blind remember? If you keep moving around I might cut off your ear!"

"GAHH!"

Midnight

Jaune groaned as he rolled over on the bench. He ran a hand over his still aching head. Where long locks of blonde hair once laid, was now replaced by a buzz-cut and bald spots.

"S-Stupid blind lady." The boy muttered as he tried to soothe the pain.

"What was that Boy?" The poor boy froze as the ice cold voice of Amelia filled his ear.

"N-N-N-NOTHING!"

"Go to bed Boy."

"O-Okay!" Jaune let out a sigh of relief since Amelia wasn't going to kill him. The boy closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep, but he couldn't.

An unsettling feeling washed over his body, causing him to shiver. His eyes snapped open and his sight was drawn to the statue of Salem. He didn't know why but his heart started racing when he looked at her. His throat grew dry, and the urge to run away filled his body.

"H-Hello?" He timidly called out to the stone Salem, then froze as her head snapped towards him.

"AHHHHHH!" The boy screamed, but before he could run away an ice spike impaled the statue's chest.

"RRRAARRRRR!" An ear-piercing screech filled the room as a black smoke-like creature fled the statue.

A white bone-like mask appeared in the smoke, one eye in the center of the mask it tried to look around the room. But as soon as the mask appeared another ice spike flew towards it and impaled its eye. Killing the creature and instantly causing it to dissolve.

"W-W-Wha… W-What… was that?" Jaune asked as he tried to control his shaking body.

"That was a Geist, Boy… A rare, and very dangerous type of Grimm… You've surprised me, Boy, I didn't expect you to notice that… Creature."

"W-What do you mean?"

"The Geist, Boy… I knew it was there, and I was waiting for you to fall asleep before I dealt with it… I didn't think you would notice it."

"Dammit, I know She wanted to watch over us, but I had to kill it. Especially after the boy found it… I hope it doesn't upset her… Well, let's see if I can salvage this." Amelia shivered as she thought of the punishment she might face.

"Y-You knew it was there? H-How?" Jaune nervously asked, snapping the woman out of her thoughts.

"…Jaune… You felt it didn't you? That feeling deep in your stomach? That feeling of dread? As if your mind was telling you to run away?"

"Y… Ye-" Jaune opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. So he simply nodded his head.

"That was the Goddess warning you…"

"T-The Goddess? What do you mean?"

"… I told you… Aura could be used in many ways... One of the ways you can use it is to heighten your senses… That's how you knew the Geist was there… You could sense it, you could sense the malicious intent that filled the Geist... And that proves how powerful that Aura inside of you truly is… Even with your Aura being locked, you could still sense it… Remember that feeling, Boy… That feeling, was the Goddess warning you of danger… That trust that feeling, trust the Goddess…"

Jaune gulped as he put a hand over his stomach. He glanced up at the statue, and that feeling of dread was gone. He let out one last shaky breath, then fell back into his bed. He looked over to Amelia, who had a small brown Dust vial in her hand.

"What are you doing?" The boy asked with a raised eyebrow.

The woman didn't answer him, instead, she threw a handful of brown Dust onto the statue. Once the Dust landed on the statue, the hole in Salem's chest instantly closed and the head turned back to its original position.

"Go to bed Boy… Nothing else is going to bother us tonight." Jaune held his blanket tightly, he was still shaking slightly but at the mention of sleep caused the exhaustion to take over him. He slipped into dreamland moments later.

The Next Day - Morning

"GET UP!" Amelia shouted into Jaune's ear as he slept on his wooden bed. The shout caused the poor boy to fall off the bench and land on the stone floor.

"I'm… Up..." The boy grumbled as he laid on the floor not moving.

"Fine Boy, stay on the floor I'll just eat your breakfast myse-"

"I'M UP!" Jaune shouted as he jumped to his feet, and he quickly held out his hands.

Amelia could only sigh as she placed a bowl of stew into the boy's hands.

"Here, eat quickly there is a lot to do."

"Umm… I only get one bowl?"

"Just eat Boy."


Two bowls of stew later, with Jaune working on his third. Amelia walked towards the boy, holding a box in her arms.

"Here take these." Amelia reached into the box, and pulled out two items, dropping the two objects next to Jaune as the boy slurped down the last of his meal.

"What are these?"

"A hammer and a chisel Boy." Jaune sat the bowl down and picked up the tools. The hammer was much heavier than the ax, it was nothing more than a dense block of metal on a stick, and the chisel was nothing more than a long metal spike.

"…Okay? Well, what do you want me to do with them?"

"Follow me, Boy." Amelia placed the box she was holding onto her bench and made her way over to the Church's entrance. Jaune quickly followed her but was having trouble carrying the hammer and chisel. They were just too heavy for his frail arms to properly hold.


The blind woman stood patiently as Jaune shuffled his way towards her, while awkwardly carrying the two tools in his arms.

They were now outside the Church, standing in front of a large pile of broken stone that crumbled off of one of the walls.

"As you can see, this place is falling apart. Your job for the day is to collect all of this fallen stone and pile it up over there near the cart. If you can't carry a stone, then use those tools to break it into pieces until you can."

Jaune raised an eyebrow as he looked at one of the stones, then at the tools in his hands.

"You want me to collect rocks? But… I thought you were going to train me?"

Amelia placed a hand on his head, lightly squeezing.

"Just do as I say, Boy." Jaune winced as the blind woman squeezed his head harder.

"O-Okay!" Amelia smiled and patted Jaune's head.

"Good Boy, now get to work." Amelia stated as she walked away.

"Y-Yes ma'am…" Jaune sighed as he walked over to the pile, he dropped his tools and tried to pick up the smallest piece of stone rubble he saw but it wouldn't budge.

"Great..." The Boy groaned as he dropped to his knees.

One Month Later

Jaune laid on the forest floor, struggling to breathe. His arms ached, and a shot of pain pulsed across his body seemingly in time with his heartbeat.

"No sleeping on the job Boy, get back to work." Amelia's cold voice filled his ear once more causing him to shudder. She worked him to the bone over the past month, not allowing him a single minute to rest.

The woman forced him to move broken stones all day every day. Once he was finished with his first pile of rubble she moved him onto another, and another. He was even moving piles of broken stones in his dreams.

"I-I'm f-f… Finished ma'am!" Jaune managed to shout back as he pointed at a large pile of stone lying nearby.

"Are you sure you're finished, Boy?" Jaune groaned then sat up.

"Yes ma'am, I got all the rocks from inside the church and all around the outside and piled them up near the cart… So unless you want me to pick up all the gravel on the pathway, then there are no rocks left for me to collect." Jaune rolled his eyes as he replied to the woman.

"Don't give me lip Boy, or you'll be eating those rocks for the rest of your meals."

"S-SORRY!"

"Good, now come over here." The poor boy groaned as he stood up and followed Amelia, who was walking toward the horse-drawn wagon.

Jaune stood next to Amelia as she pulled off the wagon's backboard allowing the boy to see inside.

The once full wagon was now almost empty. Amelia was steadily unloading the supplies over the last past month. The only things left in the wagon were a large plastic tub, several large bags labeled 'mortar', a few five-gallon buckets, a shovel, and a book.

"Here we go, let's start with this." Amelia said as she grabbed the book. She handed it to the confused boy, allowing him to read it.

"Masonry for dummies… What? Why did you give me this?"

"It's your next job boy, I want you to read that book and learn everything you can about masonry."

"Why?" Jaune asked in a confused tone, but he quickly stiffened as Amelia placed a hand on his head.

"Are you questioning me, Boy?" She stated in a cold voice causing him to shiver.

The boy shivered, he gripped the book tightly and looked up at the woman.

"I-Its just… I thought we would be starting my training now!" He started with a slight stutter, but the boy was able to finish his question with confidence.

"No." Jaune's newly found confidence was shattered as Amelia turned to walk away from him. But she was stopped in her tracks as Jaune rushed to stand in front of her.

"W-WHAT!? WHY NOT!?"

"We will not start your training until the Goddess's church is restored."

"RESTORED!? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?"

"It means what it means Boy. Your job will be to restore the church, you will patch the walls, install new windows, repair the floors, and then get started on the roof… We will not start your training until our Goddess gets the church she deserves!" With that Amelia started to walk away once more.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD TRAIN ME!" Jaune shouted causing the woman to stop mid-step once more. She turned to face the young boy, making him freeze up in fear. He was sure if she had eyes, they would be glaring daggers at him.

"You want me to teach you?… Fine… Lesson one, never EVER! Put your own desires above the Goddess! Without the Goddess, the people of this world would have been wiped out a VERY long time ago… Without the Goddess's sacrifice, everything you know, have known, and will ever know would have never existed!"

Jaune's knees started to shake, he felt his throat starting to go dry. Amelia didn't move, but at that moment Jaune was far more afraid of her than any Grimm he's ever seen.

The frown on Amelia's face deepened as she continued her rant.

"You want to put your own selfish desires above her? Have you not learned anything from the stories I've told you? Selfish people are the reason the Goddess is not known! The reason she's not worshiped even though she saved this world and everything on it… But maybe... Maybe she was wrong about you Boy… You have the potential to become a great warrior… But selfishness is something no Inquisitor should have…"

Jaune stood in place, stunned by the woman's words. His shoulders slumped and tears started to fill his eyes. Amelia could only sigh as she listened to the boy try to stifle his cries. She knelt down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He was startled by the contact but didn't move.

"Listen Jaune… I promised to train you as an Inquisitor, and I will… But you have to remember one thing… An Inquisitor lives to serve the Goddess… Everything you do is for the Goddess and in the name of the Goddess… To an Inquisitor, there is nothing and no one more important than the Goddess… Jaune you're what? Seven? Eight years old? There will be plenty of time to learn, as long as you remember the Goddess always comes first… It's already almost time for lunch, we can start restoring the church after our meal."

"O-Okay."


A/N: I'm actually surprised that some of you remember this story from before. I posted it a while back, I don't even remember when, and I didn't have it up for long, maybe like 2weeks if that with just 3 chapters. But for those asking, the reason why I'm posting it again is really simple. I didn't really have time to write this last time, so I took it down before people got into it. But now that I have time I wanted to give this story a fresh start, and I kinda like this accounts name more than the other one I had... But anyways I hope you enjoy the story, and if you have any tips/ideas feel free to leave a review/pm.

~Improv