[b]"I would like to thank you for the offer of joining the covenant, but I think at this time, we are unable to."[/b] Ash said, her tone deliberate and authentically polite.

If she joined the church, she would most likely be safe. However, she would also live the rest of her life as a nun. Ironically, spending fourty, fifty, or even sixty years helping others wasn't the life Ash wanted to live. She would rather end her life than live an indentured one.

While prospects of soup sounded nice, she already had her pork. Having soup meant for those who had nothing to eat while she had some food in her pocket would feel wrong. She ate what remained of the slab and rested on a lonesome pew near the two. She had hidden her bloated coin bag between her chest and hands, keeping what little possessions she had safe.

[b]"Yea, it would be for the best if we rest now. Reconvene after, then,"[/b] Ash said to the others with a hesitating pause, [b]"we figure this all out."[/b]

And then she went to sleep on the miserably hard wooden pews.