Chapter 3

Blake stood with her arms crossed, a look of concentration furrowing her brow. She was in the study, a room left behind by the original tenant. They called it a study but really it was a small library, lined with books left behind by the tenant, an elderly man that used to have quite a bit of prominence as a poet, so she was told anyways.

At the moment she and James had the cottage to themselves as Yang had decided to take a solo mission saying "somebody has to get the bread, besides you could use a little break", in translation "you're not putting off connecting with the kid anymore".

It wasn't like she didn't want to connect with him, she just wasn't really sure how. She didn't have siblings growing up and hardly ever had to deal with children, let alone one that would soon be her and Yang's own. Needless to say, it was not as easy as her partner made it sound.

She sighed and decided to capitalize on the reason she was in here in the first place: finding a book that might help her current predicament. It was a long shot sure but she didn't seem to have many other options.

Her ears twitched and she turned at the sound of the door creaking open. James slowly pushed the door open whilst peeking around it, clearly not sure whether he should be there or not.

"Oh James," Blake said with, what she hoped was, a friendly smile, "is something wrong?"

"Um no," he replied quietly, "I just wasn't sure where you were."

Blake mentally kicked herself; of course he wouldn't feel comfortable being alone here, he had only woken up 2 weeks ago.

"Whoa," Blake was snapped out of her stupor and found James looking at all the books with an awe-full expression, "are all these your's?"

"Um, yeah sorta," she replied, "the last person who lived here left all these behind."

James walked over to one shelf and started scanning the titles, pulling out a few and looking at the covers.

Blake blinked in surprise, "Do you like books, James?"

James looked up from the book he was holding and nodded, "Mom used to read stories to me alot, she even taught me how to read a little."

"Oh," Blake said, looking down with a pained expression, "I'm-"

"It's okay."

"Huh?" Blake looked up.

"It's like Yang said," James put down the book he was holding, "I have to stand up and keep going."

Blake felt her breath catch in her throat, that was the last thing she expected from him. He had said it with a sad smile, as though he was starting to accept that things had changed and there was no going back; it was oddly mature for a boy his age.

It was strange how his words made her feel; she felt sadness welling up in her chest for him having to go through so much at such a young age, but she also felt oddly proud of him. His expression also reminded her of someone, another person with silver eyes.

Blake smiled and wiped at the small tears that dotted the edges of her eyes, "you're right, but don't forget what else she said."

James cocked his head in confusion.

"None of us stood back up on our own," she said with a light giggle at his expression, "we had other people there to help us." She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "just like we're here for you."

There was a moment of silence between them before Blake looked around at the bookshelves and asked, "so what kinds of books do you like?"

James furrowed his brow and mimicked her, "um...not sure, mom usually read me fairytales so I guess those."

"Then I think I have just the thing," Blake replied. She walked over and pulled one of the books on the upper shelves.

James sat at the desk in the middle of the room with Blake standing over him. They started reading through the book, an older tale about a young girl brought to another world. Blake decided to let him read through it and help with some of the parts he was struggling with, it seemed like the 'guardianly' thing to do.

Things were going well but James seemed a little...distracted, "Is something on your mind, James?"

James opened his mouth but paused, seeming to reconsider what he was going to say.

Blake cocked her head, putting on her best 'it's alright' face.

"What did you have to do to become a Huntress?" he asked. Well, that was unexpected.

"Why do you want to know?"

James looked up at her, his eyes burning with determination, "Because I want to be a Huntsman."

~10 years later~

The day was almost perfect; the trees were all bright green, flowers bloomed all over. Birds sang their happy songs, and animals of all kinds ran free without a care in the world. James couldn't help but smile as he looked toward the clear blue sky.

"It's a beautiful day isn't it," he said. He looked down at the ground next to where he was kneeling, on it was a stone slab with the words 'In Loving Memory of Andrea Asher. Devoted Mother. Rest in Peace'.

A breeze blew through, ruffling James' hair, as well as his black jacket and dark gray scarf with a blue line through it, a gift some years back from Yang. He reached out with a hand clad in a fingerless glove and brushed off a few stray dead leaves that had caught on the grave.

"I'm sorry I can't stay long this time, today's the big day so I can't miss the Bullhead."

He let out a soft chuckle, "It's still hard to believe right now, but I guess it'll probably sink in once I get settled."

He stayed there in silence for a few moments, enjoying the scent of nature before deciding to stand.

He brushed off some bits of grass still clinging to his dark blue jeans and checked his black and gray boots for any dirt before looking back at the grave. "Wish me luck mom, I love you." With that he turned around and made his way toward the path leading to the hill the grave sat upon.

"I'll do you proud, I promise."

A/N: And there's chapter 3, admittedly this was shorter than I intended but I wasn't sure how to make things longer without it coming off as rambling. Also I know I said that you should probably expect a chapter once a week (and if you live outside the US that's still technically true...I think) but this part I had pretty much planned out already and it was just a matter of getting it down, so this may happen again but don't expect it. Lastly, I'm really glad people are liking this story, honestly I've always been a little skeptical of my writing style and whether or not people would get what I envision but I'm starting to see that's not such a big deal as long as it's enjoyed, so thanks for checking it out and offering some kind words:)