Hey everyone! Well, i guess this 'hi' should just go out the TDH cause she seems to be the only one that reads this story XD. So yes, before i run off to university i've decided to put this one up despite the shortness of it. And i'll try and put up another one before i go... or at the very least get started on it xP. Enjoy!
Chapter 11 From Waif to Ward
The man removed himself from his leisure reading once again to observe the child that lay on his bed. It was becoming habit to him. Of course, within the schedule of his daily routine, the sleeping girl was a newly come exception to what he was use to; and so he had to try to not be bothered by the abnormality of the situation. It had been three days since he brought her into his home; and those first days had proven to be quite unnerving for the man. The poison had rendered the girl into a near-death state. Its hemotoxic properties made her wounds unable to heal themselves and thus bled at a continuous rate. To make matters worse, any pressure on the body at all caused mass bruising to occur. However, as absurd as it seemed, it was both a blessing and a curse that the venom had such a presence on the girl; for despite the danger of the situation, the symptoms made it easier to find the proper antivenin to dispel the poison. And so now, after much hard work, the girl was safe from an early journey into the afterlife and was resting in an almost-unbroken cycle of sleep for the past day.
Although the child's health was no longer in immediate mortal danger the man was still at unease about what had occurred. That poison should not have taken such a toll on the girl's body. He knew that very well. The type of serpent which attacked her was not know to harm people to such an extent that they would have died within 48 hours. In fact, most don't even get it's symptoms until several days after an attack.
But this child…
He looked upon her once again and observed the travesty of a lonely waif. She was starved. Her body was frail and miniscule compared to others of her age. Her cheeks were sunken as well as her eyes. When she breathed, her rib cage was all but invisible from sight; even through the torn cloth which she wore. Quite a pitiful sight, really. It was no wonder that the poison spread so quickly and acted so powerfully against her. The child probably had barely enough strength to walk let allow fight off a snake's poison. She would have died before the sun had set that day if no one else had found her.
His fist clenched slightly. He knew the truth of the situation. No one else would have bothered with the girl. It was obvious that she was completely on her own in the city. But it was strange. After all, fair-skinned or not, street urchins come together and live off each other in the city. That's the norm for them. If she were alone on the streets it shouldn't have taken long for others to have found her and taken her in. And it especially shouldn't have taken three years to accomplish!
He mused at that thought. Three years.
Had it truly been that long since that ill-fated day? Three years since he destroyed this child's very being? That, deep down, was the source of his dejection. The knowledge he held over the reason that this child was such a horrid wreck. It was his fault and he knew it. It had been bad enough when he carelessly, despite accidentally, altered her personality in such a way that was irreversible. But to make matters worse, he knew that she would break. He knew that a great trauma was all that was needed for the walls of her soul to topple. At the time, he didn't want to think that it would happen. But what else could have been an alternative? He knew the girl's mother was a part of Pegasus' excavation. He knew the curse that awaited those involved with the search for the Gods. HE KNEW THAT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE!
Perhaps he could have warned Pegasus back then? Maybe if he warned him to keep that woman away from the project things would have changed? Maybe so, but it is too late to think of such thoughts. What's done is done and cannot be changed. He allowed this unforgivable travesty to take place, and as such he must pay the price for his mistake. He broke from his train of thought to look at the child again as she began to toss and moan in her sleep. He walked over to the bed and put his hand upon her forehead. It was warm. She had a slight fever. He sighed and walked off towards the door. He would have to fetch some water to cool her body down. He should probably get her something to eat as well in case she wakes.
It was, in all honesty, rather awkward to be thinking of such things, for he never had anyone to care for other than himself in his home. But this was something that he would have to get use to. He knew it from the moment he found her in the alley and he made his decision after he saved her from the poison. He will have to take full responsibility for his actions. And he will have to do this by taking the girl in as his ward until he was able to heal her soul from the scars made as consequence from his actions.