The Enderdragon's Baker (A Minecraft Story)

Survivor's Guilt

"Everything hurts."

"Hmm? Oh, hey H. You finally respawned, huh? There are mundane potions in the chest." She pointed back at the chests behind her, continuing to cut up ingredients. She's cooking dinner tonight while Endie, Creeps, and Bones are out exploring a huge ravine they found.

"Thanks." He grabbed a few and parked himself at the kitchen table. He's not getting back up for a while. "So do you hate me or what?"

"What? Of course not. If anything I think your awesome." She scoffed. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Well that's because I am awesome." He said, smugly. She rolled her eyes. "But if that's the case, you definitely said something about me that pissed off dragon boy back there."

"I don't know what it could have been. All that happened was him working, both of us heading to bed for the night, and me having a nightmare. I must have woken him up or something because neither of us went back to bed after that." She explained, her smile fading. She heard another voice from it and stopped cutting up things halfway through, slowly putting the knife down till it faded. She continued before dumping it all into either the cauldron or the furnace, going to sit across from Brine.

"Are they about me?" She pouted.

"Well that's a heavy question." She mumbled. "It's complicated."

"Try me."
"Fine, but no telling Endie."
"Why? I'm surprised you haven't already."

"H, could you imagine how many times you'd have to respawn just to get punted back into the void by either Ed or Endie?" His eye twitched a bit. "Exactly. I didn't tell Ed. So if he did beat you up because of that, it wasn't because of anything I told him."

"Damn dragon's intuition."
"Dragon what?"

"I'll explain it later. What are the nightmares about? It's not like you were there and it's not like I'd actually hurt you. Hell, you didn't even know it was going to happen."

"I did." Brine paused, setting his drink back down.

"Wait, how?! Not even your brothers could have had that information!"

"Rumors spread, H." She sighed. "Rumors that you were around had spread and unlike everyone else, I was worried the same thing that happened last time would happen again. Endie bringing you to my shop was all the confirmation I needed." She took one of the mundane potions and started drinking it, hoping it would numb her enough to explain it all. "This isn't the first city I ran to, I've seen what you did to the other one. The only reason I escaped was my brothers had called me in for something important. So hearing the rumors spread again is like a flashback I didn't want."

"So... What did you dream about?"

"The innocent ones. There was a woman like me visiting family in Cobble Rock, a group of friends taking a week long break there on their way to a bigger city, a runaway who came into my shop everyday to get away from their anxiety about getting found again." Brine looked over her, recognizing something he didn't think he'd have to see in her. Grief. A familiar, deep seeded grief. "I'm stuck in a void and the only thing surrounding me is the sound of crackling fire and them yelling how I left them there to die. Almost every time I try sleeping it comes back."

"You should really tell them."
"I can't, I don't want them blaming you."

"I'd much rather be blamed than see you torturing yourself like this."

"You barely know me."

"So? As far as I'm concerned, your up there with Creeps, Bones, and Endie." She gave him a weary smile before downing the rest of the mundane potion. "What did you mean by 'a woman like you'? You really hate your family that much?"

"I don't hate them, I hate their 'business'. I wanted no piece of it so I ran." She grabbed another mundane potion. "They are idiots, but they are my idiots. I can't hate them, especially my younger brothers."

"Now that is something I relate to."

They laughed, finishing off the shrinking pile of mundane potions Brine had grabbed. By the time Endie and the gang came back dinner was done and the score was 11 to 14 mundane potions. 14 was Anna. Endie spotted them both and sighed, taking the last bottle from her.

"You asked about her family, didn't you?" He sighed.

"Nope, or at least not at first." He chuckled, finishing off his own. "Nightmares."

"You'll tell him but not me?" Endie pouted.

"Pft, you've been replaced, big guy." Bones snickered. Brine narrowed his eyes and he ran to hide behind Creeps.

"No, she just didn't want to worry you." Brine stood up than winked at Anna. "Survivor's guilt."

She than spent the rest of the night getting smothered by Creeps and Endie.  As annoyed with H as she was, she was glad he didn't say anything else about it.