That night, Sharon sat beside her own bed while staring at the wall in front of her. Her mind was consumed with thoughts about what Mery had said earlier.
She had not expected her own daughter to bring up her father's death, not after all these years.
The incident had happened ten years ago, and she had buried those memories deep inside her heart.
Was Mery still angry about what had happened? Was she still thinking about it even now after so long?
"Hanson, what should I do?" she whispered to herself while opening the pendant that hung around her neck.
Inside was a small portrait of her late husband, his face frozen in time with a warm smile that she had not seen in a decade.
Hanson Jax had been the most hardworking man she had ever known. He had run the pub with his family back then, while she had been a young girl selling flowers on the streets to survive. That was how they had met, on a busy afternoon when he had bought a bouquet from her for no reason at all.
"You have the prettiest flowers in the market," young Hanson had said while handing her more coins than the flowers were worth.
"That is too much, sir. I cannot accept this," she had replied with wide eyes.
"Then consider it payment for making me smile today."
They had fallen in love quickly and married while still young. His parents had taken her in as their own daughter since she was an orphan with no family of her own.
But tragedy struck when orcs attacked the village and killed both of his parents. During that terrible time, she had been pregnant with Mery.
Hanson had worked himself to exhaustion after losing them, and he grew sick from grief and overwork. After she gave birth, Sharon had taken over running the pub while caring for both her husband and her newborn daughter.
Thankfully, Hanson recovered from his illness, and they worked side by side together for years. Those had been the happiest days of her life.
Then came the night of the great storm. Orcs attacked the village during the chaos, and many families died that night. Sharon remembered the screams, the fire, the sound of buildings collapsing. Hanson had seen a baby roll out from the arms of its dead mother and start crying in the middle of the street. When he tried to run and save the child, Sharon grabbed his arm out of fear.
"Hanson, do not go! It is too dangerous out there!" she had screamed while holding onto him.
"The baby will die if no one helps! I cannot just stand here and watch!" he had shouted back while trying to pull away.
But he was the kind of man who would never abandon a child in need. He ran out into the chaos to save the baby, and Sharon watched from the doorway with her heart pounding.
He turned back towards the pub with the baby in his arms, but one of the orcs spotted him and gave chase. Hanson ran faster, calling out to her as he approached.
"Sharon! Open the door! Please, open the door!"
Mery was crying in her arms, terrified by the sounds outside. Sharon looked at the orc closing in, then at her husband, then at her daughter.
"Mama, I am scared!" Mery had sobbed while clinging to her dress.
Sharon made her choice.
She closed the door.
Hanson slammed against it and pounded his fists against the wood. "Sharon! Please! Open the door! I have the baby! Just open the door!"
She pressed her back against the door while holding Mery tight. Tears streamed down her face, but she could not move.
"Hanson, I am sorry. I am so sorry," she whispered through the wood.
"Sharon! I am begging you! Please!"
She heard the orc roar behind him. Hanson screamed for her one last time, his voice filled with terror and desperation.
"Sharon! Do not let me die like this! Please!"
Then came the crunch.
The sound of bones breaking. The wet tearing of flesh. The baby's cry cut off mid-wail.
And then silence.
She heard her own name whispered one final time, soft and fading. "Sharon..."
She turned around slowly. Mery had seen everything through the crack in the door. Her daughter's face was pale, her eyes wide and unblinking. Sharon fell to her knees and pulled Mery against her chest, covering her ears with her hands to block out the sounds of the massacre happening outside.
"Do not listen, my love. Do not listen to any of it," Sharon had whispered while rocking back and forth. "Close your eyes and do not open them until I tell you."
She had held her daughter through the night while the screams faded one by one.
"I don't care what happens to this village anymore," Sharon whispered while clutching the pendant. "I will not let Mery go out there and sacrifice herself for anyone. I must protect my daughter from danger. That is what you would want, right, honey?"
She stared at the portrait of Hanson inside the pendant, waiting for an answer that would never come.
Then she stopped suddenly. She heard noises coming from downstairs in the pub. She got up from her bed and crept closer to the door. The closer she got, the more clearly she could hear two voices speaking, though she could only recognize one of them.
"Mery?"
She whispered while opening the door.