Sorry for the huge pause, there's been a lot going on in my life! If this chapter is short, I promise to do my best to update somewhat regularly.

Gently Vincent laid the sleeping child on a couch in the lounge of the inn. The poor girl had fallen asleep sobbing quietly in Vincent's arms as he carried her out of the woods.

"They must have been running for a long time." Aeris commented, as she looked over Vincent's shoulder at the tiny girl asleep on the couch. "She was so exhausted, and it looks as though she hasn't eaten for days. The mother too…"

Aeris trailed off, thinking about the mother who had cared only for her child's life, and who had lost her own.

Red XIII came over to Vincent and Aeris, "It's late; now that everyone's back I think it would be wise to rest, and discuss this night later tomorrow."

Everyone agreed, no one was overly eager to think or talk about the night's events. Aeris offered to let the girl have her bed, and she would sleep on the floor. "If she wakes up in the night, someone will be there to comfort her, to explain…" The image of the girl's mother, lying lifeless on the ground, flashed through Aeris' mind.

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Late that night Aeris awoke to the sound of the girl crying softly in the bed. When Aeris sat up to look, the girl jumped, and her eyes grew wide and afraid,

"Where is my mother? Where am I?" Her enormous blue-gray eyes welled up with tears and she pulled the covers up to her chin.

Aeris sat back on her heels and held on to the very edge of the bed, "Don't worry, child. You're completely safe here with my friends and I. You don't ever have to worry about whatever was chasing you again. My friends and I protect people against bad things like those you saw last night."

"Where is my mommy?" The girl looked into Aeris' eyes. "She died, didn't she? She's gone away forever."

Aeris tried hard not to let her face show the shock she felt when she heard the girl say this. She had sounded like she had been expecting her mother to die all along. She sounded resigned to the fact.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that she has passed on, and gone to a better place." Silent tears ran down the girl's face. Aeris moved to embrace her, but the girl shied away, pulling the blanket back up to her chin.

Aeris sat back on her heels at the side of the bed. "My name is Aeris. What's yours?"

The girl paused before glancing up, in the dark Aeris saw her hesitate before saying, "Renata."