Chapter 10

After Nuada left Percie alone with a vial of medicine to care for the injured and sleeping troll she looked down at herself and sighed.

He was right, she was a bloody mess.

She boiled a clean pot of water and took remaining scrap of cloth before removing the tunic he had draped over her as well as her bra and carefully cleaning away long drips of blood and patches of gore that had begun to get tacky.

While she was at it she also made sure the entrance was covered before slipping off her pants and cleaning away a layer of grime and grit attained over the weeks, there wasn't much she could about her hair however, other than pull it back tightly.

The hot water dripped down her back as she rubbed at her shoulder and arms before working on her legs, which were surprisingly muscular, even if they were also very bony.

In the silence she was left to ponder what had happened to her in the past 48 hours.

She had participated in the killing of dozens of humans, Witnessed the murder of an Elderly, elvish king at the hands of his own son, and helped save her new friend's life , and somehow in that time frame managed to stay semi-sane.

She then thought back to the Elvin Court, those guards that she had stabbed, did they die?

Had they had families, wives, and children?

Would they be missed?

Percie felt the shadow of guilt hang over her, as the realization of what she had done washed over her like a deadly crashing ocean wave.

In her eyes nothing she could do would ever compensate for the things she had done.

She let out a breathy sob, "Oh, Oh dear God what have I done?"

She looked at her hands in horror, she was shaking like leaf as she yanked out her dagger and threw it on the ground with a loud clang.

Tears fell freely down her cheeks as silent sobs and gasps raged her body, her chest tightening making it harder to breath.

She pushed herself into a corner and struggled to breathe.

She had killed people, she was a murderer.

"Percie? Percie are you there?" Nuada returned to see Mr. Wink lying on the ground in a deep sleep.

"Percie?"

The girl huddled herself in to the corner, silencing her gasps but that only made her tremble more.

"Oh Gods Percie! Are you okay?" Nuada finally spotted her in the corner and dart to her quickly, "What's wrong? Did somebody hurt you?"

He tried to make sense of her babbling and she clutched her chest trying to will air in to her unwilling lungs.

"I'm a murderer" she whimpered and covered her mouth, weeping harder.

"Percie, Percie, slow down. You're having a Panic attack," he spoke calmly but firmly, kneeling beside her.

"Come here, you're alright" He took her hands and pressed them firmly.

"That's it, good girl." he soothed her, as her breathing steadied and she stared at him, then suddenly threw her arms around his neck.

He tensed at the sudden contact, and awkwardly patted her back, before sighing and began rubbing it dotingly "You're alright, just tell me what's wrong."

"I killed those people Nuada" she whispered softly, "I, I didn't e-even know them, A-and I killed them." she buried her face into his neck as a new wave of sobs racked her body.

"No, No! You mustn't think like that Percie," He pulled away and cupped her face firmly, "Percie look at me,"

She tried to jerk her head out of his grip but he stayed firm, "Look at me Percie!"

She met his gaze with watery eyes. "You are NOT a murderer Percie," his hard golden eyes bore into her, "You are not a bad person. Do you understand me?"

He wrapped his arms around her tightly as she rested her head on is shoulder, "I'm so sorry dragging you into the Percie,"

He swallowed, "I forget that not everyone can handle guilt like I do, not everyone can shut it out." He held her close as she sobbed, unable to make her pain go away.

After a while he settled on the ground and leaned on the wall, as she willingly rested between his thighs, pressed to his chest like babe until her shaking form stilled, exhausted.

He felt his sister's presence enter his mind, Nuada could feel where she was, who she was with, and most of all, what she was feeling about who she was with.

As much as he hated this bond, it did had its advantages.

Nuada gently moved Percie off his lap and onto the thin cloth cot but she began to stir, letting out small whimpers, like that of a small lost child.

But not at all like Percie.

Nuada cursed himself for letting this little creature worm her way into his heart.

Noticing she had been bare chested in her distress Nuada quickly took the cast away tunic and draped it over her chest.

"This will all be over soon Little One, soon this world will be free of those wretched humans and our kind will no longer have to lurk in the shadows." He whispered and brushed her frizzy brown hair out of her face,

What was to become of Percie after the Prince's goal was reached?

It was all too clear that she was not overly fond of violence, and fond of her he was she was, he would never think of her in a romantic sense.

She was too small, too childlike. A smart-mouthed little scrap of a thing.

He thought of her more like something to protect, someone to teach. What Nuala might have been had she been a few years younger than he.

However he wouldn't, no…he couldn't leave her alone.

"Don't worry Percie I'll find a place for you." he muttered, unaware that Percie was awake and heard every word.

"I really do miss him Percie. My father." the prince confessed "When he was alive, it was easy for me to pretend to hate him, but now that he's gone, it's harder than I thought it would be.

It pained her to hear him talk like this, but it was probably the only time she would hear him let it out.

"What is it like I wonder? To not remember anything about who you are or where you come from?"

He ceased running his fingers through her hair, "At least I still have you, and Wink. We don't really belong anywhere."

Percie moaned to make it seem like she was awaking, "Percie?" she turned to him with a tried look,

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Thank you for listening." he remained stoic and Percie sighed

"No problem"