Page 18 of Prometheus' Priestess

“Aye, I get that. I’m sorry, truly Iam.”

Amara said nothing to that, her focus on the food in front of her. She spooned broth into her mouth and restrained herself from sighing. She didn’t want Ralph to feel like her contentment had anything to do with him. Gratitude and annoyance battled inside of her for space. Annoyance clearly won out and set a scowl across herface.

“Some would call me an asshole for needing to ask for your forgiveness twice in such a short space of time,” Ralph said, noticing her expression and slightly slurring his words now. It had been a long day with a lot of lager.

“Some would,” Amaraagreed.

“I shouldn’t even ask. I’m a terrible human being,” he muttered.

Amara looked at him, but his head was now bent into his hands. She sighed. She didn’t want to be responsible for his mood. He clearly had enough demons clinging to his shoulders if he had problems with his sister and, clearly, with alcohol. She reached across and grabbed one of his hands.

“It’s ok ... I get it. Truly Ido.”

“I just wanted to see my lil’ sister again.” Ralph hiccupped.

“I know, and you’ve both been kind and generous to me. I won’t be one to hold a grudge.”

“Thanks.” Ralph hiccuppedagain.

They were finishing their meals as his sister walked back in.

“The bed’s ready for you whenever you are, hen.” Liss took a seat opposite them, her back to thewindow.

“On that note, I’ll leave you two to catch up.” Amara thanked her hosts graciously, and after fussing with Liss about who would clean the dishes, moved upstairs to the room where she’d placed her bags earlier.

It wasn’t until a few hours later, when Amara’s bladder protested, that she heard whispers from the landing.

“... you turned up here battered and bruised, hollering that you were going to break the door down! You scared the kids half to death! Of course I weren’t joking about you never coming backhere!”

“Ah the kids are fine, aren’tthey?”

“No thanks to you! What the hell were you thinking bringing …”

“Ah, psh! We heard much worse growing up. Stop yourmoaning.”

“Moaning? Moaning?! Look at you! You turned out just likeDa.”

“And look what it turned you into, you s-st-stuck up bitch.”

Amara gasped. There was a slur to the words but they were no less snide for it.

“First Ma then Mary, now you. Don’t know how to handle a real man, so you toss them aside ... innt thatright?”

“Don’t you do that. Don’t you dare. Not under my roof. I won’t have it, you hear me?” Liss hissed. “Don’t you project all your Mary crap onto me. I didn’t hurt ya. I didn’t abandon ya. I didn’t sleep with your best friend! I just asked ya not to show up here slaughtered, and now look at ya.I knew I shouldn’t have taken you in tonight, but where else are you going to go? You’ve burnt bridges with everyone in town. No one would have you. I only do it because you’re blood and if I turned you away, Ma would turn in hergrave.”

“I don’t have to stand here ’n listen to this b-bul-bullshit.”

“No that’s right, you go on and drink some more. Leave that poor lil’ lassie here. Go and get yourself shitfaced and don’t bother calling me when you end up in some coppers van ’cause you threatened the next guy who looked at youfunny.”

A burp, a brief pause, footsteps, and a slammed door.

“Goddamnit.”

Amara decided to go back to bed unnoticed.

When she awoke again, the stench of Scotch and stale lager invaded her nose to the point her eyes began to blink back tears. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she felt her hand brush against something before that something clasped at her wrist and pinned it above her head. Another hand slammed over her mouth as her eyes flewopen.

“Shh, shh ... I’m not here to hurt you,” Ralph crooned, releasing the hand over her mouth as he did so.

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