Part 2 -- Relics From the Past

Ashley, now seventeen returned from her school graduation ceremony with a firm resolution in her heart.

"Hey Ash! How was your day?" Ray said as he began making coffee for the two.

"Alright, I guess. Graduation was such a drag though, they really know how to waste our time." Ashley replied in a drained tone.

Ray laughed as he and Ashley sat down at the table.

"Yeah I know exactly what you mean. I guess nothing has changed since I was your age." Ray said in a sarcastic manner.

"Ray, I need to tell you something..." Ashley said in a stern voice.

"Sure Ash, what's on your mind?" Ray asked.

"I'm joining the Red Petals. I'm going to find the bastard that killed them..." Ashley said adamantly.

Ray was almost blown back by this statement. Ashley was going to join a bounty-hunting corp in Roseheim, and she is convinced that her parents death was a murder.

"Whoa, whoa! Take it back a step here!" Ray yelled.

"First of all, and don't take this the wrong way, how do you know that it was a murder and not a simple accident?" He continued.

"Accident, Ray? Really? You told me that you knew them, the legendary bounty-hunting duo dying in an accident? I don't think so, I dare say that they made a few enemies in their time that wanted back at them." Ashley responded with quickly.

"Fine, okay, let's assume that it was indeed a murder. But why would you join the Red Petals? Are you even cut out for this? You realise what kind of people they go after right? Murderers, rapists, drug dealers and human traffickers? They go after the worst of the worst!." Ray said with concern in his voice.

Ashley replied confidently:

"I don't care, Ray. I don't care if I'm not a fighter and I don't care what kind of people i'll be hunting. I will get stronger and I will find out who did it. Nothing you can say will convince me otherwise, I am going to Roseheim tomorrow."

Ray sighed, and after a moment of pondering eventually said:

"Alright, damn you...God, if there is anything you have inherited from your parents, it's that you are damn stubborn."

Ashley laughed a little at the remark and followed up with:

"What's wrong old man?"

"Watch it, Ash I'm only thirty-five and you'd have to train pretty hard to match me." Ray retorted, again in a sarcastic tone.
The two exchanged laughs as they enjoyed the rest of their lunch.

After a brief moment of silence, Ray spoke:

"Wait here for a minute, there is something I need to show you."

Ashley nodded, and waited patiently as Ray proceeded upstairs and into the attic.

The attic was dark, moist and cold with dust covering every surface. It had clearly not been used for at least ten years, maybe more.
Ray shuffled himself to the back of the attic where only the smallest glimmer of light could enter the room as he searched meticulously thinking to himself:

"Where is it? Where is it? I knew I put it around here somewhere..."

After a few minutes of searching, he brushed off some old books covering a dusty old metal box with a symbol on it. The symbol was a shield with two crossed swords on it with a rose down the center.

"Ah, there it is!" Ray said to himself, blowing off some of the dust that had collected over the years.

However, at the same time Ray began to conflict with his thoughts.

"Ash, is this really what you want? Maybe I should destroy this thing and try to convince her to stay here." One half of Ray thought, while the other half of him argued:

"No, this is Ashley's decision to make and I will support her in this. It's my duty as her father to help her in any path she pursues. Not to mention, I myself would like to strike back at the bastard that killed my old friends..."

After a few minutes of arguing with himself, Ray eventually decided to dust off the old box and bring it down to the kitchen where Ashley was still waiting.

"What's that you're carrying, Ray?" Ashley asked.

Ray placed the box on the table and explained to Ashley:

"Your parents were in the Red Petals and after you were born they moved out here to get away from the bounty-hunting life. You know all of this, but what you didn't know was that they had plans if they were ever killed."

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked. "They had planned around their own deaths?"

"That's right." Ray replied. "They didn't want you to ever pursue the same life that they had, but they also knew that there might come a day where you may not be left with a choice. So they gave me this and told me to give it to you if something ever happened to them."

"So...What's in the box then? And what's with the weird rose thing on the front?" Ashley inquired.

"That, my dear Ash, is the symbol of the Red Petals. Go ahead, open the box yourself." Ray responded.

"The...Red Petals?" Ashley thought to herself.

Ashley's head was racing with thoughts at this point, her parents had planned for her to join the Red Petals? And why did Ray have this job? What was it about Ray that made her parents trust him so much to not only take care of her but to also help her join a bounty-hunting guild?

Ashley opened the box which, to her surprise, the interior was completely spotless. A galling contrast from the exterior which had gathered dust and corrosion over the years.

But even more surprising to Ashley, was the contents: A letter addressed to Ashley and a uniform; a white shirt and black tie with a black overcoat with the Red Petals' symbol on the left side under the collar.

"What the hell is this?" Ashley said out loud.

"Consider it your initiation gift. Read the letter, it should explain everything." Ray said back.

Ashley felt some grief that she hadn't felt in years as she read her parents final words, she read each word slowly and absorbed every single one.

The letter explained to Ashley that someone was hunting her parents and that they had ordered Ray to only give her the letter if they had died. The letter also explained further what the Red Petals are hired to do and also detailed the true identity of Raymond Fisher.

"Ray...You were..." Ashley's voice got weaker with each syllable.

"You were my parents squad leader?!" She eventually said with surprise.

"Heh, I guess you caught me. Yes, I used to serve in the Red Petals and your parents worked under me. After you were born, and they decided to leave I also left with them. They were my closest friends and wherever they went, I went." Ray replied.

"But this whole time...I was just an order to you? A favor? I saw you as my father and I was nothing to you? You were just plan B from the start?" Ashley said, with a hint of anger in her voice.

Ray chose his words carefully before replying:

"Ash...You don't quite get it, do you? Yes, I agreed to look after you if something happened to your folks, but consider that your parents and I were like family. We always looked out for each other and had the others back at all times. And I see that in you, Ashley."

"What are you getting at? I'm not my parents, I'm just another job aren't I?" Ashley responded, with a little more anger in her voice.

"I'm saying that you have that same charm and drive that your parents did. I'll be completely honest with you, when I first met you that night you were a favor for friends. But I grew to like you, Ashley. No, I grew to love you as a father. Make no mistake, I see you as my daughter and that won't ever change." Ray said with compassion in his voice.

"You...You really mean that don't you?" Ashley said, this time with more emotion in her voice.

"I do. You're the best damn daughter a father could ask for and I could not be more proud of you. I'm sure your parents are thinking the same thing right now." Ray replied.

For a moment, Ashley remembered the night before the incident, six years ago. She remembered coming home from school after passing her tests and hearing her father say those exact words, "I'm proud of you." and that was all it took for Ashley to break.

"Ash, you're my daughter and I will always love you." Ray said in a delicate voice.

Ashley's eye started tearing up and she and Ray shared a passionate embrace.

"Thanks, I love you too Dad."