Chapter Text
She was so small.
From the first moment he laid eyes on her, Andrew felt that this little creature would change his life forever - for the better or for the worse, he didn't know.
But that feeling was certainly not enough to stop the panic and confusion upon seeing an infant on the ground. He frantically looked around, searching for...something, anything, of those who had abandoned her. He found nothing.
There was only the moon, and the grave silence of the cemetery.
With shaky arms, Andrew picked her up, and silently brought her inside. Or at least tried to, because as soon as he held her, she started kicking and screaming, shattering the grim atmosphere of the too-quiet place.
He quickly closed the door, and adjusted his grip on the child, who was currently bawling her eyes out. What could he do?
...What would his mother do?
Still uncertain, the Gravekeeper started rocking, gently, while singing a familiar melody. His voice was soft and a bit raspy, but after a while, it managed to calm her down nonetheless. Good.
Now...what? Thoughts started running around in Andrew's head way too fast to follow - one of the first being not wanting anything to do with this child, actually - and yet, the more he looked at her, the more a deeper part of him simply...wanted to keep her safe. She knew nothing of the cruel world outside. She was pure. A pure soul, bound to be corrupted by this rotten, rotten world.
And Andrew...Andrew knew better than to put himself above all that - he was no different, after all.
Was God testing him? Or was this just some kind of sick joke?
Her white eyelashes fluttered then, and she opened her eyes - were they white, too...? - to look at the man who protected her from the cold, and smiled.
In the end, he made the most obvious decision.