The Walking Dead: Return to Paradise Part Two

Chapter Six: The Line You Cant Uncross

Minerva quietly opened the door to the den. The soft music coming from inside denoted that Louis was close by.
She stepped in and shut the door behind her. The room was filled with candles in jars, bathing the whole area in a flickering, orange glow.
When he noticed her enter, Louis raised his head from the piano and smiled.

"Hey, Minnie. What's up?" He said cheerily, continuing to play the piano.

Minnie smiled back. She walked closer taking a chair from against the wall and carrying it next to the piano before taking a seat.

"Nothing, just came to see you." She replied.

"Well, here I am. Your mission was a success." He joked.

Minnie scoffed good-naturedly. She crossed her legs and sat back, looking over the enormous grand piano. She could see her reflection in the polished wood, she looked tired and there were tiny flecks of blood on her face.

"What are you playing?" Minnie asked

"A piano." Louis smirked.

"Walked into that one, didn't I?"

"You sure did. It's something new I've been working on. Wanna hear it?" He replied.

"Sure."

Louis sat up straighter and stretched his arms out in front of him. He dramatically cracked his neck and flexed his fingers over the keys.
Once his theatrics were finished, he went to work.
The song wasn't long, Louis played for just over thirty seconds. In that short time, Minnie found herself getting lost in it, swaying in time with the music. The song came to an abrupt end and Minnie opened her eyes.

"It's not finished yet, I'm still working on the rest."

"For an unfinished song, it sounds really good."

"Thanks. Maybe we could write some lyrics, make it a duet?" Louis laughed.

Minnie chuckled as well. Her laugh faltered and she leaned on the piano at Louis' face height.

"I, uhh. I wanted to say thanks for coming with me today, it meant a lot." She said seriously.

"Come on, you don't need to thank me for that. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't help my friend find our missing friends." Louis paused for a moment, furrowing his brow, "Ugh, that was a mouthful."

Minnie smiled softly, laughing a little. She sat down next to him on the piano seat, facing her back to the piano.
Louis rotated himself sideways on the chair to face her. His looked at her pensively and sighed.

"I gotta tell you something. I still want to find Clem and Vi, and I'll do anything I can to help. But I don't want to kill anyone. It's just... it's a line you can't uncross, y'know?"

He reached down and unbuckled the gun holster from his belt and held the weapon out gingerly for her to take.
She looked at the gun, then at him. Minnie took it and placed it on top of the piano.

"Of course, I get it. And I'm sorry about what happened today. I really didn't want it to go that way, it just got out of hand."

There was an air of shame in her voice. She was trying so hard to not be that person anymore.
The one who was an enforcer for Lily. The one who had cut herself off from her emotions. The one who had no problems with killing.
What had happened with the two bandits in the woods may have been justifiable in self defence, but it didn't change how she felt.