Author's Note:

Yes, my story is coming on with it's last chapter, although the story is nothing to be happy about. I kinda wish I didn't write it, that I didn't give Kiera such a tragic back-story. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapters! I certainly had fun writing them!

Chapter 13: Aftermath

Inner Feelings.

Wind blowing hard against my robes, we stood in front of the door that will lead us to the final rite that had to be performed. As I followed behind Papa and Big Brother, whose faces were hidden behind the black robes, heavy drops of rain crashed against mine. It felt slow, unreal. The sky cried as if in sympathy of our loss. Thunder boomed as lightning cracked the skies, but all the sound, all the lights, disappeared as soon as the heavy doors of the church closed behind us.

Passed the doors and into the shadowy halls of the church, lights flickered from a number of candles lit across the room, as far as my eyes could see. The lights danced slowly to the tune coming from deep within the halls, bells rang softly as the songs were sung in a mix of voices, gentle and calming. With each step through the hall, the songs got louder and louder. All the while, my face stayed the same, neutral. My robes swished from side to side as we walked, each moment felt longer than a day.

I didn't know why I was feeling so slow, so listless. Eventually, my eyes went to Big Brother, and saw him walking with the same, neutral look, with the exception of furrowed brows. He looked annoyed.

"Ah!" I cried out as I tripped on a small crevice in the stone-floor. Kicking into my long, black robes, I pushed into Big Brother by accident. Before I could react, Big Brother pushed me away, falling on the floor in the church.

"Get up." Big Brother yelled at me as he saw me fall on the floor. Ever since yesterday, Big Brother's changed, I still haven't seen him smile.

"Fionn!" Papa roared out in anger, his yellow hair glowed as they appeared from the dark robes. Even then, Big Brother's face remained the same. Helping me up, I could see hopelessness in Papa's eyes, before they returned to the same listless look Big Brother had.

"We're gonna be late." He declared, before resuming his steps. I watched as Big Brother didn't cared for me like before, and it was difficult. But deep down I knew why he was acting like that, so I couldn't blame him.

"C'mon, we promised to be there on time, and we De Lucas always go by our word." Papa comforted me the best he could, pushing my shoulders forward, before we continued our steps. That sentence sent a wave of thoughts through my mind. Particularly because of how true it was. Through the sound and light, my feelings seemed to drown out and disappear.

We entered to a hall of faces, all of them facing towards the one who slept in the glow of the light. That was where Momma's coffin was placed. We took our seats, and I realized there were people present, those of which I've never met before. It made me wonder how Momma got to know them. Everyone looked sad, listless, some of them were even crying in silence. But I couldn't cry anymore. The tears felt out of place...

We watched on with silence as candles burned on, the fire flickering, dancing around Momma's coffin. Songs and prayers were sung, candles were given out for us to hold, lighting up the halls of the church. I was told that this act was to surround Momma in a sea of light, ensuring her a safe trip to the beyond. It was a calm, strangely relaxing moment, the whole phase feeling like a dream. As the flame flickered in my hands, I stared at Momma's coffin, and began to think on what Papa said. The words that sparked a wave of emotions within me.

Our word binds us, we always go by our words.

I remember the time before, when he would always remind us about that code. About how lying to others, breaking your promises, can often be the worst thing one can do to another. Thinking back, I remember the few days before, when everything was so normal. How Big Brother and I got through each day looking forward to the next. I would skip around, always with a smile on my face. As I stood in the church, however, it felt like the most difficult thing in the world.

I remember waking up early, to give myself a chance to show off all the cooking I've learned over the past year. I could still see the smile on Big Brother's face as he chomped down on the plate of scrambled eggs I whipped up.

That's right, we promised to go home straight away that day. A promise we apparently broke.

Then the ritual moved on to the absolution, where Momma's coffin was cleansed by both song and holy water. The priest then began reciting the words needed, while we watched in silent as was our role. As everything was happening, I began to think back on how much I've changed over the short span of two days. I still don't understand what happened exactly. Ambrogio's words rang through the depths of my mind...

Death as a stimuli, unlocking the potential within.

Death of my friends? Momma? My body felt different ever since, stronger, faster. When I fought, I knew exactly where to strike, where to dodge. I got the urge to smash the skull of my enemies, and how to efficiently carry it out. Sometimes, it scares me, how easy it was to kill. Was it what they called instincts? The memories of my time in school felt like a dream, those times when the other students would bully me, and Big Brother would come to my rescue. Somehow, I don't think my time at school will stay the same as before.

Without reason, my eyes turned to look at Big Brother, and I saw how lifeless his eyes were, as they stared hard at Momma's coffin. I remember how he suggested getting gifts for Momma. It was a simple, forgettable lie. Pushed by a reason we thought of goodwill, who could have ever imagined we would be punished for it, what the one choice would lead to.

A part of me kept screaming out, crying for me to follow. It was his fault, the voice cried out. He wanted to get those stupid gifts! If we just went home straight after school like we promised, Ambrogio wouldn't have found me. He wouldn't have found out where Momma was, he wouldn't have implanted that fiendish spell over me, putting the illusion over my eyes. I could feel a seething, lingering hatred growing within me. And it scared me.

And yet, another voice reasoned against it. It told me how painful it must be for him right now, and I felt tears coming to my eyes as I tried to think of how Big Brother was coping with it.

Next thing I knew, I was outside, rain pelting against my robes and my skin, as I followed Momma's coffin to the burial ground. Contemplating what happened in the last few days, I felt like a piece of driftwood, washed along by the monotonous feel of the funeral. The whole thing just felt surreal, unbelievable. Or maybe I just found it difficult to accept what was happening before my eyes. Lightning kept flashing across the skies, the rain never stopped, but it never went so far for us to cancel the funeral. I just kept watching, as if that was all I could do...

Time passed, and soon, the ceremony came to an end, Momma's coffin lowered to the ground and buried. After much thought, difficult as it was, I came to accept what had happened. My mind decided that it was a lesson learned, the cost of breaking our word. I stood there, my black robes hanging, wet from the rain that had passed, as I stared at a particular puddle on the ground. I said I accepted it, but I never said it was easy. I felt like just standing there, never moving from that spot, forgetting every trouble I ever had.

"Hey!" A voice called out. Who it was directed to, I didn't know. I just assumed it was one of the many people walking passed me, leaving the area.

"Hey! You there, with the shiny hair!" The voice called out once more. It was a boy's voice, and I could hear footsteps as they pressed against the mud towards me. Squish. Squish. Squish. It was difficult, like it took all the energy I had, just to look up from the puddle, but I felt like letting myself get distracted. "Hey! He-" The boy cried out once more, and as I shifted my eyes, water from the puddle splashed all around.

"Whoa!" His voice changed to a desperate one, as he struggled before falling face first into the puddle.

"Splash!"

Realizing what happened, he quickly stumbled up to his feet, as if trying to hide what happened. His light, brown hair a mess, he quickly pushed the mud away from his face, revealing bright, blue eyes. Somehow, looking at him made me feel relaxed, calming my thoughts. Soon, a smile appeared on my face.

"Ha ha ha ha!" I can't help but laugh as I watched him climb back up, ignoring what happened to him. Immediately, I realized how inappropriate laughter was for the situation, so I pushed the feeling away, but the smile couldn't disappear no matter how hard I tried.

"Ew, I got mud on my face!" He whined out, doing his best to clean the mud off. That was when he saw my smile, and his blue eyes throw themselves wide open in between the brown smudges left on his face. "There's that smile." He exclaimed with a smile, his eyes calming down. "You wanna cry, you cry. If you don't, then smile. There's no point keeping it all inside." He said to me as his eyes fell to the same puddle I was staring at.

"I know... your Mum died, but I don't think she would've wanted you to stay sad about it. Now you have to smile, for your sake... and hers." He spoke as if he understood what I was feeling. I wanted to say something, to tell him I wasn't sad or anything, that I didn't need his encouragement, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. His words were exactly what I needed.

"Achoo! Oh man, the cold from yesterday's coming back!" He flustered as he gave out a couple more sneezes.

"Amato! Amao Zanna, where are you?" Another familiar voice yelled out a name I never heard before. To my surprise, the boy turned towards the voice. I turn as well, to see Mister Luciano searching for the one he called for.

"Coming, Dad!" The boy called Amato replied with his smile beaming, his spirit never faltering.

"...Thanks." It was the only thing, the only word that I could squeeze out after watching him bounce around with his smile on his face.

"No problem, you looked like you needed to hear some words is all!" He exclaimed loudly as he trotted back to Mister Luciano. The boy left as cheerfully as he came, with a bounce to his steps. I watched on, a certain feeling filling inside me. Refreshed, I felt like I just woken up from a dream, my mind calmly accepted all that happened. A few seconds later, I was walking back to Papa's side, the fog of uncertainty that hindered my actions slowly disappearing from my mind.

Before we left, I turned towards the spot I was, and the boy's face appeared in my mind. I wondered if I would ever meet him again, before turning back, leaving through the cemetery gates.

And that marked the end of my story. The experience that changed my life forever. The event that robbed Momma away from my family. Sometimes, the feeling returns, warm blood at the touch of my fingertips, the cold metal piercing, carving away the flesh. I don't deny how afraid I was whenever it did, but what else can I do but push it away? After that day, I trained, harder than I ever did before. My personality matured. Through the pain, I learned the true meaning of the code, the code of my family.

"Our word binds us, we always go by our words."

Well that certainly took a while to write! I'm not entirely sure if I nailed the meaning down correctly... Other than that, it's the end of this side-story! A painful lesson that changed Kiera, and made her stronger! Do you guys like the story as a whole? Next time, take a minute or two to think to yourself how much your word is worth!