Grim Realities
Willow slept like a baby during the rest of the night. Sam had opted to throwing a couple of blankets and his sleeping bad on the floor whilst the girl took his bed once more.
He had also learned one of the many lessons in raising a child, sacrifices must be made. Not like he cared that much though, he'd slept on much worse. It was approximately 5 in the morning and the only people awake were Sam and Willow. He had decided that now would be the time to tell her of her parents' fate. She was sat by the fire keeping warm in the autumn breeze, cautiously, he approached her and sat down beside her.
"Willow. There's something I need to tell you." He sighed heavily, the weight of the conversation immediately sending pangs of guilt to his heart, it didn't help that she looked at him intently with her deep cerulean eyes.
"We found a house in the woods not far from here and there was a woman... A woman with ears just like yours..." He began, a grim expression foreshadowing the news he was about to tell.
"...She-She's not alive anymore."
Willow knew exactly who Sam was talking about.
Her mother.
Her fox ears flattened and the sparkle in her eyes dulled instantly.
"It was the monsters, wasn't it?" She asked quietly.
Sam slowly nodded his head.
"I am so sorry." Sam consoled. He looked at her apologetically and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. He could feel her silently sobbing in his shoulder and just hugged her tighter. They stayed like that for about 15 minutes. Not a word spoken between them.
Willow had stopped crying eventually but Sam still held her regardless until she pulled away, wiping her eyes and nose.
"You may be wondering where you're gonna go," Sam began, waiting for her affirmation.
Willow nodded.
"Well, before I tell you this I need to know. Willow, do you trust us? Me, Murphy and Marina?" He asked.
Instantly Willow nodded, giving Sam a small wave of relief.
"Well, we were all thinking... What if you wanted us to look after you? More specifically, what if you wanted me to look after you?"
Willow's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, she began to nod furiously and her eyes began to water. Throwing herself at Sam in elation, she began to grin manically. Fortunately he was actually prepared this time and picked the little girl up effortlessly.
"C'mon kid, we've gotta get ready to leave this place." He said ruffling Willow's hair.
After breakfast was served and Marina and Murphy were awake and ready they had all packed their tents and other items. Sam had gone off to find Willow's old home. He needed to take pictures and alert authorities of what had happened.
That was what he told the others anyway.
Whilst he did intend to take pictures, his ulterior motive was to see the damage himself.
He had eventually reached his destination without any trouble from Grimm but what he did find was worrying to say the least.
"Oh no." He muttered under his breath.
He witnessed two men dressed in black and white uniforms, they both had hoods on and white masks, hiding their identity.
"What the hell are the White Fang doing here?" He asked himself.
Sam wasn't a moron, nor was he uninformed.
He knew very well of the White Fang, but he was more interested as to why they were snooping around a cabin in the middle of Patch.
Then it clicked.
Willow's parents, or at least one of them, were likely members of that pre-peaceful organisation.
This spelt bad news and all kinds of red lights were flashing in Sam's head.
He carefully and quietly crouched behind a tree, observing their actions and trying to eavesdrop.
"-no wonder they didn't report back in." One of them said.
Sam hushed his breathing to hear them better.
"The boss isn't going to like this." The other said.
"Well, you can tell him then, we're supposed to torch this place. Get rid of any evidence."
"Didn't they have a kid? A little girl? Where is she?"
Sam's heart skipped a beat.
"We didn't find a body, she could still be alive. You know how the boss is with -ahem- loose ends."
Sam slowly began to grip his sword and drew it as quietly as possible.
"Yeah well, the boss can deal with that. I'm not paid enough to kill a kid."
Sam loosened up, but he knew that he still had to get inside that house. He watched carefully where he stepped as to not arouse their attention and slowly crept up towards one of the White Fang members as he was dousing the place in a flammable liquid.
The other was out of the way inside the house so Sam eventually got to within ten metres of the first individual and then swiftly knocked him out using the pommel of his sword, catching his body before he fell and made a noise. He dragged the goon behind a bush and set him down, careful not to alert his buddy. He crept behind the second individual and hid around the corner and waited for a few seconds before the second man walked towards him and as soon as he was by the corner Sam sprung up and delivered a swift knuckle sandwich, knocking him out cold.
Now that he was free of any White Fang thugs, Sam entered the ruins of what was once Willow's home and scanned the area, looking for anything of interest. He noticed he was standing in what used to be a living room, there was a tv, a few images of what he only assumed to be relatives with Willow's late parents, a torn up carpet, the remains of a sofa, a destroyed table and some broken kid's toys. No doubt Willow's.
He took pictures to document what happened here. Frankly, Sam had never seen so much carnage, the whole room looked like a bomb site. As if the view wasn't already bad enough, the blood of the female victim was everywhere.
On the walls, on the carpet, all over the sofa... just everywhere.
It was mortifying and Sam felt a little nauseated by the sight. His stomach was having none of that shit.
Deciding that he'd seen enough, he walked down the hallway and entered the master bedroom, to his surprise it wasn't as bad as the living room but the place was still a tip. The wooden bed had been all but destroyed and the mirrored wardrobe was smashed. Inside the wardrobe Samuel had spotted something that confirmed his suspicions.
Two uniforms.
Two very old uniforms.
Both of which he recognised instantly. It was confirmed. Willow's parents had been White Fang. Not like it mattered anymore, they were dead for crying out loud. But what did this mean for Willow? Would this jeopardise her safety?
He couldn't take any risks.
He had to get her out of Patch.
Far away that this would never effect her.
He'd get her last named changed to his own, go through all the legal documents.
Samuel Steele was more than able to jump through all the legal hoops.
If she were to be his kid, he was not willing to let her be hunted by a terrorist cell.
She was six and barely able to walk and talk, she could not be expected to deal with this. Especially when the authorities and Huntsmen were having a hard time as it was. Sam exited the room with grit teeth and a clenched jaw and walked down the hallway, passing the kitchen and bathroom straight to the room at the end.
Slowly, he pushed open the shattered door. Claw marks very visible in the wood. The room on the other side was myriad shades of dark blue with decorative wallpaper.
"Similar to her Aura." Sam commented to himself.
There, in the middle of the room was a single bed, either side sporting a bedside cabinet. There were a few stuffed animals on the bed and thrown around the room, some in better condition than others.
A flexible lamp on the right cabinet illuminated a shattered picture frame. Sam walked over to it and lifted the frame up, revealing a picture of the little girl as a baby. He laid his sword against the bed. Careful not to tear or damage it anymore than it already was, Sam gently pried the picture out of the shattered frame.
He held the picture up to his face, pulling off his helmet with one hand to see it better. His heart, which was once beating like a war-drum in his chest, began to slow down as he analysed the picture of Willow.
She was a tiny baby - probably small enough to have fit in just one of Sam's palms - Sam couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the two huge, soft fox ears on her head. They were comically disproportionate to the size of her head.
Pressed for time as it was, he tucked the image of her into his armour and placed his helmet back on his head. He was eagar to leave this haunted shell of a home and return to the girl he would take under his wing. Picking up his sword that he had set against the bed, he sheathed it and walked back through the hallway, stepping over any shattered glass or construction debris.
Once he stepped outside it had began to rain. Let it never be said that Sam enjoyed rain. Thankfully his armour was watertight and rust proof, thanks to the dust-forged steel it was made from.
He took one last look at the broken home before walking away, never to return again.
Back at the camp, little Willow was growing silently impatient. Sam had been gone for longer than she thought and she was worried. Her facial features were scrunched up and Murphy would occasionally glance and chuckle at her, specifically the way her bottom lip was sticking out.
She trodded over to Marina, who was packing her things ready to leave and lightly tugged on her coat-tail to gain her attention.
Marina turned and looked down at the girl inquisitively, offering her a smile.
"What's the matter sweetie?" She asked in a mothering voice.
"I miss Sam." The girl pouted.
"He'll be back soon, don't worry." Marina smiled at the girl.
Willow wasn't convinced, or amused, as she maintained her pout whilst looking down at the floor.
"Hey kid, you keep that bottom lip sticking out and I'll have to stack our tents on it." A deep male voice called out from behind her.
Instantly, her sapphire eyes lit up in joy as she ran towards the man in armour behind her.
He quickly picked her up and sat her on his broad shoulders whilst she giggled, throwing her arms in the air and getting soaked by the precipitation.
"You ready to go little one?" He asked looking at her through his helmet's visor.
"Yep!" She chirped.
"Good, we'll be leaving soon." He replied, ruffling her her, to which she whined in response.
He put her down and decided it was time to disassemble his tent.
After everything was packed, the fire was snuffed out and everyone was accounted for, a Bullhead was called and waiting to pick them up and drop them into Vale.
Each of them boarded the Bullhead, Sam holding Willow's hand to make sure she didn't fall, and the ship took off.
Willow's hand tightened around Sam's and he looked down at her.
"First time flying?"
She looked up at him with nervous eyes.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." He comforted her by rubbing her head.
"You're going to like Vale." Marina perked up. "There's so much to do."
Willow seemed to forget about her nervousness as Marina started to speak to her about Vale.
"There's lots of stores there; restaurants, cafés, clothing stores, weapon stores." Marina grinned at that last one, as she knew Willow had a particular interest in those.
"Tell me more!" She chirped, eyes full of fascination. "I wanna know about the weapons!"
Marina shook her head. "Nope." She said, popping the 'p'. "You'll just have to see when we get there."
Willow stuck her infamous bottom lip out once more, earning a chuckle from the older huntress.
The journey lasted only 20 minutes and when they landed, Murphy handed the pilot a couple of Lien cards for his service before they all exited the Bullhead and made their way out of the airport.
Willow's tiny little frame began to siphon energy from an unknown source - possibly the sun - as she practically jumped for joy being introduced to this new environment.
Sam looked down at her and couldn't help but sprout a smile. She had that adorable little glint in her eye that he had grown to love in the past 24 hours. He picked the tiny girl up and carried her out of the ship on his shoulders. Murphy also handed the pilot a tip of 50 Lien for his service and the man happily pocketed it.
The four of them left the airport via elevator and Sam let Willow down so that she may take in the scenery. Holding on to Willow's hand for the duration of the trip to make sure she didn't wander off and get herself lost in the urban jungle that was Vale.
Sam had decided that their first order of business was to get the girl some damn clothes, whilst Marina had done a decent job, Willow was tiny, so the clothes that she was wearing looked at least two sizes too small. This was an issue that Sam was determined to fix.
"Hey guys, you two go on ahead to city hall to file the report and claim the reward, we'll catch up with you later," Sam called to Marina and Murphy.
"Where are you going?" Marina asked, raising her eyebrow. Sam simply pointed to Willow's oversized black shirt.
"Shopping." He bluntly replied. Marina looked a little unamused at his response.
"What? Are my clothes not good enough?" She questioned him jokingly.
"No, they just don't fit her properly," He grinned, flashing his teeth underneath his helmet.
Marina lost her scowl and rolled her eyes. "Very well, catch up with you later," She sighed. Murphy just waved to them before following the Huntress.
This prompted Sam to walk the opposite direction to the huntsmen duo with an awestruck Willow sat comfortably on his shoulders. It was only five minutes into walking down the bustling streets of Vale before Sam began to notice various glares and looks of disgust coming from passers by. Obviously, the sentiment towards Faunus here was less than savory. However, despite his vexation, he didn't react in any hostile manner as Willow seemed too busy sightseeing to care.
Sam had finally found the store he was looking for, a humble tailor shop he spent much time in during his younger days. As he entered the establishment he heard the familiar chiming sound above the door before setting Willow on the ground to explore.
"Two seconds!" A mature womanly voice called out from the back of the store. Sam recognised the sound of a sewing machine working in the background.
His eyes scanned the store, paying attention to the many vibrant colours and fabrics on display. There was quite possibly every colour under the sun in the shop, sheets of varying fabrics and materials in large abundance, all neatly organised in a colour coordinated fashion.
Orderly. Just like the merry character that ran the fine shop.
"Hello and welcome to- Oh my word..." The words came out as a whisper as the woman dropped her lastest piece on the floor and her slightly wrinkled hands shot up to her cheeks.
Samuel grinned as he lifted his helmet and met the bronze eyes of the maiden behind the counter.
"Long time, no see, huh Janice?" He joked, flashing a grin at the older woman.
Her gaped mouth soon formed a bright smile as she shuffled around the counter and wrapped the young huntsman up in a hug.
"Oh~ look how big you've grown!" She beamed in elation as she placed her gentle hands on his face and gave him a loving kiss on the cheek, an action he reciprocated without hesitation.
They soon parted as the lady made her way back around the counter. "I remember when you were but a timid boy entering my shop for the first time. Ohh, I'm so proud of you!"
"I remember that too, feels like a long time ago," He recalled the memory, smiling warmly. "But it's not me who needs some clothes this time around..."
Sam peered down to the small faunus hiding behind his legs, Willow was looking up at Janice Everlite with a reserved look in her blue eyes. Holding her baggy sleeves up to cover her face slightly.
Janice caught sight of the little girl and her facial expression immediately softened. "Aww, aren't you adorable?" She cooed, chuckling slightly.
"Janice, this is Willow," Sam began, bending down to pick up the girl. As he did so, the faunus buried her face in the crook of his neck to hide. Sam heartily chuckled as he brought up a hand to stroke the back of her head. "As you may tell, she's a little shy."
Janice's smile grew into a grin as her eyes focused softly on the tiny girl. "Oh~ that's alright, son. She just hasn't met me yet."
"So, this begs the question. Is she yours Samuel?" The woman asked inquisitively, brandishing a mothering tone, with a hint of jokiness.
Sam's happy expression faltered slightly but he still remained smiling.
"No, not biologically at least. She uh- she's in the same situation I was as a kid," He replied in a darker tone. Judging by the way Janice's expression fell slightly, indicated that she knew what he meant; The poor child was an orphan, much like Samuel was.
Sam had met Janice whilst he was still living in the orphanage. He was one of the few kids allowed to explore Vale and he was often given the task of taking the children's torn clothes to Janice to repair them. It was during this time, that Sam had bonded with Janice, the woman acting as close to a mother figure as Sam could get. This meant that Janice knew Samuel Steele thoroughly, and could see right through the 25 year old man like a pane of glass.
The girl in his arms raised several familiar alarms in Janice's mind. If this girl was now an orphan, Janice held her reservations that Sam would undoubtedly bond with her well and maybe even adopt her as his own. She knew he had a heart of gold, in regards to her heritage, Janice knew that Sam would completely bypass that and see her for who she was as a person. A quality of Sam's that Janice was most proud of.
"I see," The woman replied, her warm smile returning to her face. "Well, I've known you long enough to tell you that I know you'd make a great father, Samuel. That I have faith in."
The woman sighed deeply. "I just hope the council will agree with what you're undoubtedly planning. You know how they are with Huntsmen parents and Faunus respectively. Chances are, my boy, that the odds may not be stacked in your favour..."
Sam nodded slowly. "I will do whatever it takes. You know how I feel about orphanages," Sam ran his hand through Willow's hair and looked at her with concerned eyes. "Her parents were with the Fang, Janice. I may be able to use that fact to coax the council into letting me take her in. Maybe even train her to become a Huntress. There aren't many Faunus Huntsmen or Huntresses in the world, after all."
Janice looked at the pair with a raised eyebrow and instantly recognised that caring look in Sam's steely-grey eyes. A look she was all too familiar with.
"Well, whatever the future brings you Samuel, just know that I will always be here for guidance," The woman spoke confidently, flashing the man a grin. "Now I know you didn't just come here to catch up, what can I do for you both?"
Sam smiled and stopped stroking Willow's golden hair to pinch the girl's shirt and pull it, indicating how loose-fitting it was.
Janice smiled, knowing exactly what the man was getting at. The girl needed new clothes, and Janice was all too willing to help out.
Author's Note: It's been far too long since I updated any of my stories, but fuck it. I have way too many ideas building up with many chapters written. Currently, I have a sequel to this story in the works with at least 17k words in total and I'm eager to let you guys read it once this story is well in the works.
With that information, you can guess that this is an origin story for both Sam and Willow and the sequel will reference events that transpire in this one.
But for now, I'm keeping the sequel stored on my hard drive until I deem it fit for your guys' reading. Well that, and when I can actually consider it ready given how early I am into this story.
Other than that, some of my other stories will probably get updated at some point, given I can actually find the motivation to write them, it all depends on how I feel.
Reviews, as always, are welcome and I'd love to see some constructive criticism on my work to allow me to improve on my writing and not make my stories play out like they're written by some machine. A trait I have noticed in some of my earlier works.
Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter and expect more in the near future.
Have a good one!
-Hydra
