Disclaimers: I do not own anything out of Resident Evil. All of the contents belongs to Capcom.

Chapter XVI: Dark Void

'I miss her. I miss my mother so much.' - Sherry

Arklay Mountain, Midnight

He didn't missed the fact that all eyes were on them. No, that was an understatement: All eyes were on her. Everyone present at that moment - those who decided to stay up - had their eyes locked onto Sherry as they were now in front of an unlit, almost crumbling little cottage - it was of considerate size, enough for a very small family - but it seemed that Sherry was too absorbed in her own state of trance that she barely noticed the gazes that were thrown at her.

Compared to when Sherry first showed Jake around that the words came flying eagerly from her lips rapidly, she became unbearably quiet after Jake insisted that she will have to show her everything, to which she had brought him to this small little straw house. The walk might be a very short one since this village was nowhere the size of the courtyard back at the Palace, but Sherry hadn't said a word since, and it was already too much.

"This is it." Came her soft voice, her eyes were fixated to the worn wooden door.

Jake nodded weakly, his head glanced over his shoulder to the staring people and when they caught Jake's dark eyes, they turned away awkwardly and resumed to where they were before Sherry.

'That's it. Privacy, people.'

He didn't need her to tell him and he knew well what this little place was to her.

Sherry's home.

Sherry's former home.

A long exhale of air escaped her. Regretfully, Jake placed a hand to her shoulder, "Hey, it's alright if you don't wanna show me. We can turn away right now and—"

"It's alright, sir. I promised after all, didn't I?" She smiled wearily to him, declining his offer.

"You sure about this?"

"Yes. Let's go inside."

And in they ventured deeper into the depths of Sherry's secret.

The dark environment was only lighted by Sherry's little lantern (offered by the villagers, a better choice that the torch) and Jake could barely see any structure, so he waited for Sherry to grope and search around the cottage til she found something to light the darkness.

They stopped at a sturdy wooden table and there sit a half-burned candle with a very thick radius, so thick that when Sherry were to grasp it, her fingers wouldn't find her thumb. Using the fire from the lantern, she lit the unused candle and was relieved to find that it could still burn after so long, "It was the same candle when I left here."

The flame burned vigorously from the candle and when the room was finally brightened, Jake could finally see how modest this little cottage was - the wooden walls were cracked and there was only one window covered by an old curtain, the floor was not covered, and the furniture were of the simplest ones; a table, two wooden chairs, a small fireplace (which Sherry explained that it was used for cooking), a large closet that could fit in a person and two straw beds.

Sherry looked around, as if something was amiss.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, he still hadn't move from his position.

Her head swayed from side to side, "It's... clean."

"Clean?"

But then she shrugged like she had realized something, "Perhaps it was my neighbors .. after all, we have children in this village and- it wouldn't be alright if they happen to walk in here to see things."

The place was so small that Jake's peripheral vision was enough to scan the whole house, "You mean... it was a mess when you left your home here?" Jake eyes searched for any sign of misplacement, anything out of place or so, but he found none; the furniture were polished clean and they were intact. And there were no a single blotch of oddities to be found.

"...Yes. A horrible mess." Her last word soften when she slowly sunk her backside to one of the straw beds which Jake quickly assume that the vacant one was her mothers, so he took a seat from the chair instead.

She grew silent, Jake noted. Perhaps her mind was now off back to where it all began.

"This is a nice place. Cozy." He started, eyes darting around his environment.

"That's charming, sir, but obviously this is nothing compared to the Palace." He was relieved by the small laugh that Sherry gave back.

And he wasn't deliberately flattering her too. "Hey, there was no pun intended. This is a really nice place, it's homey." Jake's stare bore into the flickering candlelight, "The castle... Sometimes, I think it's too big that... it felt empty. Mom's bedroom was where I find the coziest, although the whole Palace is supposed to be my house, for me, technically it's just any other building."

"Of course," she agree, "I felt safest when mother was with me every time she returned from work, here in this little home."

A sad smile, "But I was proven otherwise."

Jake's eyes returned to her in mere second and a cloud of forlorn hovered on Sherry's beautiful face.

A short while later, Sherry stood up and went for the closet - it was just clothes and rags - but it seemed like she was looking for something else in there. A short finding and she pulled out a piece of jewellery from there, "I'm glad it's still here."

"What was that?"

She turned around and the candle light highlighted the piece of object dangling between Sherry's fingers.

A golden pendant with a large locket in the middle.

"I don't remember much about the tale of this pendant, but mother always wear it with her, she hid it under her clothes. She told me once that it was a gift from my father."

Jake fiddled the golden locket between his fingers as they now sat by the candle together. Red serpent encrusted in the middle of the circular golden medal, Jake gave it a quick examined and passed the pendant back to its owner, "What's that symbol?"

She twisted the locket so that she could see it, "Oh this? It's my family's emblem. Or from what I'd heard from mother before she..."

He opted himself to ask 'What happened?' but instead it came out as Jake reminded her that she could still change her mind. And still she insisted a no. "Listen to me, Sherry... As much as I wanted to know—heck, dying to know what the hell was going on behind you, you still have the choice to get outta here and let it be forgotten... We'll just sneak back into the castle and back to our rooms and that will be it."

She heard shuffling from him and the next moment, he was there on one knees, right in front of her, "You don't have to force yourself just so you can sate my fucking curiosity."

Sherry looked upwards to his eyes, he was completely serious about it, he was offering her a chance to back out.

"No, sir..." She stated, "It's... about time that I let it out to someone. Someone that I trusted."

"...You trust me?"

"Yes."

It was just another midnight when I am alone in my own house. My mother, Annette used to work late, she help Aunt Bernard in tailoring so she wouldn't be back until the wee of midnight before she finishing her work..

There I was, in my straw bed awaiting for her return so that I could peacefully go to bed - a bad habit of mine, I can't sleep until I know that my mother was back home safe and sound. And when she did return, I would pretend that I was fast asleep.

That night was different.

She did return, but it was different. Everything was different.

It was raining so heavily that night that the thunder was ferociously deafening when she return home. Instead of coming over to me silently with muted steps and to pull the blankets over me more properly, all I heard was frantic movements. When I opened my eyes to see what was going on, mother was pushing a table to block the entrance, the candle was knocked off to the ground, leaving me to be surrounded in total darkness save for the light out the window.

That was done, she came over to me hurriedly, I had already long sat up from my bed to look at I could say anything, she spoke quicker than I could, "Sherry, listen to me..." Her voice was hushed.

She began as she ushered me to stand, "I need you to hide." That said, and the next moment she had already opened the closet for me, "Promise me that whatever happens, whatever you will hear, you won't come out until you are safe."

"What's going on, Moth—"

I didn't even get the chance to speak and she had me yanked to stand atop the pile of clothing.

I could tell that she was crying, "Sherry dear, promise me. Never come out until it's safe."

As much as I need more clarification on the situation, and as reluctant I was, I knew that she was adamant on her decision, so I agreed to her terms, "I promise you but—"

And she took off the gold pendant - the only piece of luxury we had - and she wound it over to my neck.

Annette pulled me down to kiss my forehead, "You promised, Sherry. Do not break your promise ever. And my child," she kissed me again, "Never giving up, no matter the odds."

She had told me that a millions times, considering that we lived in hardship all along; we used to be bullied, we used to work like there was no tomorrow, we used to be bloodied and battered and there was no one to care until we moved to this village where we had the flood and rebuild. Never a single day were of comfort in our lives. And that reminder was what she told me every time I woke up from a day of harshness.

A sharp bang came to the door, making the table shook, that was when it came to my realization that we were attacked. Annette released me finally.

"I love you."

That was the last thing she had told me that night. Never did I expect that it would be the last thing she say to me ever.

Thus, the closet was shut behind her, hiding me in it. But little did my mother know that I could still perfectly see what was going on in this small sanctuary of mine. There was a creak at the closet that allow me to peek whatever was going on.

Another force rammed the door and Annette was struggling to push it close, but her resistance was futile when the door broke down, along with the barricade that she had set. She fell to her back and the table was knocked aside by the force.

There stood two tall men. Bladed. Masked. All black.

Each had a sword in their hands and Annette quickly stood from her ground. And one of them spoke, "It's been a long time, Madam Annette. It took us a while to find you." A dark chuckled rumbled, "We meet again."

My mother mother pointed an accusing finger to the one who spoke, or more accurately, to both men, "That worthless men had sent you, am I right? You are here to kill me. Annette laughed sarcastically, the cold wind blew against her bronze hair, "I knew this day would come someday. But I did not expect that the spineless coward would have sent you again to finish the job. He never had the courage to do his dirty work."

"Watch your language. You will not disgrace our master. Your husband was just... unlucky." One man pointed his sword so that the tip was on Annette's throat.

Inside the closet, my hand clenched onto the pendant that my mother left me. Watching as both man approached my mother with that horribly glittering sword. I was trembling inside my claustrophobic hiding spot and I snapped the pendant apart. But they didn't hear it, because Annette was screaming a top her lungs.

Sadly, the rain had drowned her voice. Or the villagers might have helped us.

"That tyrant! He killed my husband! You killed my husband" She wailed helplessly.

They raised their sword and-

"No. Stop. That's enough now, Sherry."

She hadn't realized how the tears were streaming down her pale cheek through her puffy red eyes, nor did she noticed at all that she was in fact, shaking in tremor. It was when Jake had left his seat to be right with her and to have both of his hands planted either side of her shoulders, that was when Sherry snapped herself out from the tremor.

But barely.

"—They stabbed her—" She sobbed.

"No, hush. It's enough. You told me enough." Jake commanded softly.

"—I-I want to help her but I couldn't..."

Jake shook his head, "No, Sherry. You did the right thing to hide." It must have been confusing to her that her eyes bore into his for answers. And so he gave her, "You can't possibly fight off two armed men at once. And... from what your mother had said, I believe it's not just a simple robbery. They deliberately wanted only your mother's life."

Sherry's head ducked down that her chin touched her neck, her body felt lifeless, "—They killed my mother... and my father— They killed my parents— I-I..." The next moment she had said that and her tears went rampage again.

"Shh. Be quiet, Sherry."

Neither realized how they were now embracing each other. Sherry's head were planted onto Jake's chest while his arms were wound around her small frame. Her moisture was soaking into his cloth but he cared none, Jake stroke her blonde hair quietly as he let her cry her heart out.

Now he understand. Now he knew her exaggerated fear of thunderstorm.

He knew how much it hurt. Now he knew that her parents didn't die of natural cause; it was not by old age nor a disease nor a famine nor an accident. But their deaths were intended, staged, and deliberate: Sherry's parents were murdered by someone she had not a single idea about.

"I miss her. I miss my mother so much."

Of all of the sudden, Sherry was like the smallest, tiniest person the the world. The most helpless and vulnerable.

And Jake Wesker was the only one who could change that.

He remembered the incident at the castle tower when she had cried like this.

This time, he didn't just hold her to comfort her. He did something that he had wanted to do the last time but he didn't.

Now he will.

"I'm here now." He murmured and he kissed her temple softly.

Sherry didn't seemed to mind.

Arklay Mountain, Midnight

She had cried herself to sleep later on, that Jake had to put her in her straw bed while he stayed awake for a lookout. Perhaps they won't be returning to the castle before the sun rise after all. It shouldn't be a matter; after all, he was the Prince. He will have a way to not get Sherry's reprimanded for sneaking out with him without permission.

He sat by the candle while Sherry was fast asleep on her bed. On his hand was the golden pendant left by Sherry's mother and the other had propped itself to the table.

Jake's large thumb stroke the red serpent symbol encrusted in the middle, but his mind was elsewhere.

'Who could wanted her family to be dead?'

The short question brought him a lot of variables. It was a hard guess, considering that Sherry was born in poverty and why would anyone wanted these poor people to die?

'From what her mom said, it was the same people who murdered her father... It was before Sherry was born.'

His eyes flickered over to Sherry's sleeping figure. one hand draped lazily over her stomach while the other rested on the mattress. Jake sighed, a whirl of guilt washed over his systems when the Prince realized how cruel Sherry's fate turned out to be: She had a hard life to begin with, then she had to witness her mother's death before her own eyes...

Even now in the castle life was never better for her.

It was just agony for her to serve him.

He recalled the days when he deliberately trying to get rid of her that he made Sherry's life in the Palace miserable.

She had never had any sort of comfort in her life, even after she had seek safety in the castle.

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow he could do something for a change.

Eyes returning back to the object in his hand, Jake could help but wonder.

'Where have I seen this symbol before?'

A.N: Urgh... Stressful life lately, which explains the late update. Here I am sitting in my WiFi-ed plane quickly updating. Guess what? I'll be going on another working trip! So quick update would be not possible! Hopefully it last though, you can't imagine how hard it is when all the idea came flowing out from the pore and you can't really write with your colleagues around. :'(

Okay, forget about the bad things. So, how's this chapter? So Jake/Sherry moment and of course, Sherry's past. :)

So you see, Annette was murdered right before Sherry came to the castle. The golden locket? Yup, it's a RE2 reference. ;) We still have Jake's past uncovered. But that won't be too soon, not until one 'big' moment came by. No spoilers. :D

Oh, and about Ada Wong? *Wicked grin* She WILL be here. It's just the time factor.

Hard for me to say this but please expect a late update, peeps. Til then, I'll see you later!

Oh, RFF too! :)