Vanguards Of Aetheria II: The Solace Rune

Chapter 14: Regret

The Next Morning.
                                       6:39 AM
It was a quiet morning, everyone was still recovering from everything that went down the day before. Cal was getting hit the hardest, still devastated from the loss of Keith. It felt quite awkward for Jill, having just stepped in with the group at the worst time.

Cal was sitting alone outside on the stair steps of the Inn they purchased rooms for last night. It was early in the morning, so the streets of Trayton were dry and empty.

As Cal sat in silence, he heard a door creak open from behind him, and then followed by footsteps.
A woman then stood behind him, this woman being Jill.

"Hey." Said Jill.

"..." Cal didn't respond.

She then sat down next to him on the step.

"I know you don't know me very well, and that goes both ways." Said Jill.

"..."

"But I can sympathize with you and your loss." Said Jill.

"In what way?" Muttered Cal.

She looked at Cal as she responded.

"I had a friend a few years ago. He, uh, helped me with my expeditions and other things of the sort. This man's name was Kyle, and Kyle was a brave and kind man." Explained Jill.

"Kyle was my best friend, and maybe even more.
But one day, he started to act... differently." Jill continued.

"How so?" Asked Cal as he turned his head to face her.

"His mood was different, he rarely smiled, and his performance in fights dropped so much that he was walking out with several deep cuts and even broken bones. It seemed like he wanted to get seriously hurt." Jill replied.

"I always asked him what was going on, but he'd give the same answer again and again." Said Jill.

"What did he say?" Asked Cal.

"I'm fine, is what he'd say. Always trying to reassure me that everything was perfectly fine, and not to worry about him." Replied Jill.

"But he wasn't, right?" Asked Cal.

"No, he wasn't." Replied Jill.

She looked off into the sky where Cal was looking at first.

"One day..."

"He, uh..."

Jill was quite shaky, whatever she was about to tell him was going to be serious.

"Stopped coming with me on trips and adventures, and I had a feeling there was something wrong with him so I decided to let him be and recover from whatever was troubling him. But now that I think about it, that was probably the biggest mistake that I've ever made. Like, ever." Said Jill.

Cal realized what had happened to her friend, Kyle. But he didn't know how to to say it because he was worried it would make her upset or uncomfortable.

"Did he...?" Cal muttered.

She looked back at him.

"Yeah..."

"He couldn't take it anymore." She said.

"I'm.. very sorry." Cal replied.

"Don't be, It's not your fault or your burden to carry." Said Jill.

"And I know the cause of your friend's death is quite different than my friend's death, but I feel as if our connections to our friends aren't so different." Said Jill.

"I'm not gay though." Cal replied.

"What?" Asked Jill.

"You said you considered your friend as more than a friend. But to me, Keith is my best friend and I am already with Victoria." Cal explained.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I worded that poorly." Said Jill.

"Don't sweat it." Replied Cal.

There was silence as they both looked around.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did Kyle do it?" Asked Cal.

"Apparently his Mom was killed by Vampires, and he wanted revenge. He pursued the vampires that killed her, but only managed to eliminate all of them except for one. That last one standing being the one who killed his mother, and he was defeated in combat by them. Luckily, he was shown mercy..."
Jill explained.

"And he couldn't live with his own defeat?" Asked Cal.

Jill nodded.

"I just wish I could go back in time and help him." Said Jill.

"There's a lot of things I wish I could go back in time to fix, but I guess it is what it is." Replied Cal.

"Like what?" Asked Jill.

"I'd save Keith along with two other people." Cal replied.

"Are the other two apart of your family?" Asked Jill.

"I guess you could put it that way." Cal replied as he looked over at Jill and smiled.

"Well then, I won't pester you too much." Jill said and stood back up, looking down at Cal and smiling.

"Alright." Replied Cal.

Jill turned and began to walk up the stairs, but stopped and turned her head to look at Cal.

"There's this saying that I keep in mind..."

"We can't rewrite the past, but we can do everything in our power to change the future." Said Jill.

"I'll... keep that in mind too." Cal replied.

Jill nodded, and walked back inside the Inn. Meanwhile, Cal kept sitting outside in silence.

—————————————————————————
8:00 AM.

The whole group was eating breakfast in a nearby tavern, all of them sitting down in a booth.

"So, I guess Jill is one of us now?" Asked Elijah.

"It's not... official yet." Replied Jill.

"You're welcome to join us. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten our hands on the rune so easily." Said Victoria.

"It's her choice." Said Cal.

"On the topic of the rune, what do we do now?" Asked Elijah.

"We find a safe place to store it, and keep it completely confidential." Replied Cal.

"Sounds good." Said Elijah.

"Well what about Stellaria?" Asked Tessa.

"I don't think we should open that can of worms yet, Tessa." Replied Elijah.

"It's too late, that can has been open ever since Keith was killed." Said Cal.

"And I know just how I'll seal it back up." He continued.

"How?" Asked Tessa.

"I'm going to kill Stellaria and change the future." Cal replied as he looked over at Jill.

Jill looked at him and proceeded to smile and nod in response.

"Change the future? What are you going on about Cal?" Asked Elijah.

"I'll make sure that what Stellaria did to Keith doesn't happen to anyone else ever again." Replied Cal.

"Who's with me?" He asked.

Elijah looked at Cal with a gaze fuelled by determination, and then nodded.

"For Keith." Said Elijah.

Jill and Victoria both looked at Cal as well.

"For Keith." They both said.

Tessa then nodded too.

"For Keith." Said Tessa.