Everyone let Eila have her space.

Even Elva.

She was thankful for the solitude. Too much information had been shared about her past and now things were starting to rise from the places in which they were buried. Memories she thought she had locked away were beginning to resurface. Her head throbbed as she fell onto her bed, body instantly curling up into a ball as she tangled her fingers in her hair and pulled.

"I don't want to be tortured anymore, I just want peace! Is that too much to ask for?!" She shouted, pressing her face into her pillow so hopefully nobody would hear.

"You will never achieve that so long as you cling to me." Galbatorix' deep voice rang through her head and settled uncomfortably between her eyes.

Startled, Eila sat up to find him standing in the corner of her room, hands clasped behind his back. His posture was straight and proud as it always was, his blackened plate armor gleamed and his red cape fell almost to the floor.

"Get out of my head, I don't need you! Get out! You're not welcome here!" She shouted as she crawled from her bed. She undid the ties on her robes and let it fall into her grasp, revealing her sleeveless tunic underneath.

"Now now, calm down, no need to shout. We are adults, Eila." He scolded with a honeyed tone and a dazzling smile.

"You don't seem to understand, old man. I said get out, now leave and take your rot with you!" She pointed to the door and he laughed.

"Remember remember," he hummed in a near melody. "The humans you killed? The souls you stole? The minds you robbed of sanity? The blood on your hands grows sticky before it dries; sticking to everyone you touch." He flashed a smile. "Even your dearly beloved; your heartmate. The only rot is with you, blackening everything you touch. I must say, you've done well to hide behind your fears. It gains sympathy. Just wait until they see who you really are."

Eila snarled. "I'm not that person anymore. Not your twisted right hand. I'll never return to that frame of mind."

He clicked his tongue. "You are addicted." He approached her and bent so his face was level with her own. "Addicted to the pain of memories, of the emotion and physical." He reached out for her arm and she shrugged away. "You would not have had that tunic made if you were not addicted to the memories. I will forever live in your mind because you are broken and beyond healing."

Eila shook her head a few times before jabbing a finger at him, doing her best to steel her voice. "You never loved me. I was only a project. An asset. An experiment. A tool. I was never your daughter. I hate you with every fiber of my being because of the things you did to me; because of the things you made me do. As a father, you're supposed to provide comfort and warmth. I had none of that. I can barely go outside without being afraid something is going to hurt me, and that's your fault. I was never treated as your daughter, therefore I'm not."

He straightened over her. "I gave you life, did I not? You have my blood, do you not? Shall we see?"

A searing pain lit the inside of her brain and she collapsed, grasping at her head. Her arms began to burn and when she found the strength to look, she was horrified to find four Burrow Grubs on the topside of each arm. She tried to brush them off, but they weren't real yet the pain remained as they dug deeper into her flesh. Desperation took over and all reasonable thought left her body as her survival instincts kicked in. The knife on her belt was drawn and soon the blade met skin as she took off a section of her left forearm.

The sheared chunk of skin flopped down and stuck to her wrist and hand which were soaked in fresh blood. She stared at it, wide eyed as her breathing remained haggard and ragged in the silence that followed.

"Eila! Eila!"

The half-Elf looked up just in time to see Elva burst through her door and run over to her, kneeling quickly. "Eila…" her violet eyes were frantic and wide and worried as her gaze landed on the sliver of skin and bloody wound. "What happened?"

The half-Elf could only stare at Elva's stomach, unable to look up into her eyes. The bloodied knife fell from her grasp and it rolled.

With a gentle touch, Elva pressed her palm to her partner's cheek. "Hey… it's okay…" she whispered. "Let me help you with that."

"'Kay…" Eila said quietly. She didn't move when Elva got up and walked to her bathroom. She instead looked down at the piece of flesh that hung on by a thread and the gaping wound it revealed. "Would you-" her voice cracked through its loss of strength.

"Yeah?" Elva poked her head out from the bathroom, concern lit her features.

"A pail? Empty… uh, the tub."

Elva nodded and did as she was asked. She retrieved the pale, rag and stitching supplies in hand, and brought all of it over to where Eila was sitting. "Here." She said gently and bent to kiss her partner's forehead. "I need to get cleaning supplies. Hold tight."

Eila still couldn't look up at her, her body feeling frozen as blood continued to ooze from the wound and onto the floor. Bile and undigested food rose up in her throat and was soon emptied into the bucket Elva had brought only moments before.

She didn't hear Elva approach. She only felt a calm hand rub circles into her back, helping to soothe what best she could as her partner's body continued to reject whatever was left in her system.

Eila closed her eyes and did her best to relax when she was sure it was over. The pain in her arm seemed arbitrary compared to what caused it.

In the time that remained, Elva had worked her way to Eila's front, and with gentle fingers she began assessing the fresh wound.

Eila didn't wince when the wet towel was applied to help wipe the blood away. It was everywhere and Elva did her best to clean the area before sanitizing it with antiseptic.

"Something's wrong with my mind…" she whispered and Elva frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"M-my f-father… I… he…" her shoulders sagged and she closed her eyes. "I see him sometimes…"

Elva frowned and looked up from her task. "You see him? Like…" she didn't know what to compare it to.

"Like I see you or Arya or anyone else." She hissed softly when the antiseptic burned.

"Sorry." Elva murmured with sympathy. "Does he say anything?"

Eila nodded. "He… reminds me why I'm a bad person. Why I don't… deserve the… affections you give me… or… Elva, I've done so many horrible things. I can't… I'm not good, and you… you're amazing." She cringed when Elva carefully set the piece of skin back over the wound, covering it.

"Don't listen. Never listen to that." There was a harshness to her tone that startled the half-Elf to a degree. "You're wonderful, Eila. Harsh past or no harsh past, I'm still going to want to be with you because I like you for who you are."

"I've killed people. Lots of people. Are you okay with that?" Eila asked, disbelieving.

"It was against your will. If at some point it wasn't, you're a different person now." She looked up after working on getting a length of stitching cord threaded through a needle. "This might hurt." She warned.

Eila nodded and waited, absorbing her partner's words. "I'm… not twisted, but I have qualities that are." She winced as the needle pierced her skin. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I feel like I'm… insane. How often does one hallucinate in the vividness that I just… went through?"

Elva made a knot. An overhand knot threaded twice through and a singular overhand knot above. A Healer's Knot. She tightened it down and cut the excess and started again about a centimeter away. "I don't know, but I think you should tell Arya about Galbatorix in case there is something wrong. I can't sense anything in you akin to an attachment, so I doubt he's real. It might just be that you're experiencing intense episodes to a degree that causes you to physically suffer as well. I… could feel you when your head started to hurt, then as everything got worse from there."

Eila sighed. "I'm so sorry you had to feel that."

"Don't be." Elva shrugged. "If I couldn't feel it, I wouldn't know you were in trouble or in what ways to help you." She tied another knot. They were getting easier to perform as she practiced and got the hang of it.

"I did this to myself… on accident but also on purpose. I was seeing things that weren't there." Eila said quietly as she looked at her right arm, free of abrasions and cuts from where the Burrow Grubs were. "I need help." She sighed. "It's getting bad despite the Reiter Reed. That does help, though."

"How long have you been using it?"

"Two weeks about. Sloan always sends me home with some whenever I visit. I have far more than I need. He always gives me too much and he fusses with me when I try to take less home. Do you want some?" Eila looked up. The crotchety old man she carved wood with at least twice a week was growing on her.

Elva smiled. "Maybe when I get back we can share some. I'm going to miss you."

Eila's eyes saddened. "I'm going to miss you too." She said quietly.

"Hey… it won't be for too long. Maybe a week or so at most. I think the new pair are several days in, so it could be less." Elva said reassuringly. "I'll be home before you know it."

"And… you're not leaving because of me?" She flinched and shook her head. "I know it's a task given by the Eldunarí, but… I just…" she chewed her lip and Elva stopped what she was doing to look Eila dead in the eyes, waiting for her to finish. "You accepted the task so quickly. I can't help but immediately think you need to get away from… us… for a little while. I'm not against anything you need I just-"

"Eila." The human deadpanned.

Startled, the one in question looked more directly at her. She swallowed, feeling like she was going to be in trouble. "Yes?"

"Don't you ever think that I accepted the task because I wanted to get away from you."

Unused to the harshness of Elva's tone, Eila shrank back.

Elva noticed and realized her mistake and sighed, softening. "Eila… I care so much for you. Trust me on that. If I needed a break, I'd tell you and I hope you'd tell me if the circumstances were the same for you. I wouldn't have burst in here and started fixing your arm up if I didn't care about you." She leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to Eila's lips.

"I'm sorry." The half-Elf said quietly. "I didn't mean to hold doubt in my heart."

"I understand, though, and it's not your fault. If it's anyone, it's your father for causing you to be so distrustful of the world. I'll love you through the hard times and the good, so long as we work together to tackle both." Elva smiled and her cheeks flushed as Eila's jaw dropped.

"Y-you…" her voice shook and her eyes watered. "You love me?"

Elva nodded. "To the best I know of it. I can't explain how special you are to me. Eila, I've fallen for you and I've hit the cobblestones with enough force to shatter me. I know it might be too soon or the wrong time to confess this to you, and you don't have to say it back either. I don't know how these things are supposed to happen. All I know is that you mean so much to me and that my heart aches because of it. I don't know how else to express the way I feel without telling you that I love you."

An almost panicked look washed over Eila's features and Elva suddenly worried if the confession had sent her over the edge. Instead, Eila kissed her. Hard.

"Eka ástar ono… eka ástar ono…" she whispered softly between their breaks for air. I love you… I love you…

With a hand in hair, Eila let all of her joy show as much as possible. She moved forwards and the string Elva was using to stitch her arm up with pulled. She winced with a soft gasp and Elva pulled away immediately.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…" the human exclaimed and Eila shook her head.

"Let's do intimacy after this. Remind me why we aren't healing it with magic?" Eila offered a smile.

"Because I need practice with giving stitches and because I also don't have much experience healing people with magic. I also kind of want to see how your skin heals naturally, but you can heal yourself if you want." She smiled. "Or you could show me how and I'll do it."

Eila shook her head. "I might do it. I haven't decided. You need to save your energy for traveling." She shrugged with the opposing shoulder so as to not interrupt Elva's handiwork. "And I uh… I'm used to having to nurse a wound. It's almost comforting in a way, as bad as that sounds."

"It's okay to feel that way. Just make sure to keep it clean and all that." Elva smiled as she worked. That smile faded as concentration took over.

A span of silence stretched between them as Elva finished her task, the ring of stitches stretched in a wide oval across Eila's forearm. She cleaned it again, then wrapped it securely and carefully in gauze after washing her hands of Eila's blood.

"You should tell Arya about your father and how he visits you sometimes. I truly don't think he's attached to you in any form or fashion, but I do want you to get the help you need when it comes to dealing with this. I don't want you to be in distress anymore. I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore."

She helped Eila to her feet, then took care of cleaning out the bucket. Eila's knife was taken from her and placed next to her sword, which resided on her desk.

"We have the whole day. Do you want to do anything?" Elva asked when Eila had grown quiet again.

"I just want to spend the day with you before you leave, that's all." The half-Elf looked exhausted, but she was hiding it to the best of her ability.

"In bed?" Elva asked and Eila smiled.

"Sounds wonderful to me."

"Shirts or no shirts?" A dark eyebrow arched over a violet eye.

"No shirts." Eila looked sheepish. She craved the skin-on-skin contact and the closeness and the warmth. She liked the feeling of Elva's pulse beneath her fingertips. Elva's heart was so kind and loving and gentle. She felt safe. Yes. Eila loved her partner. There was no question about it.

She was just glad Elva loved her too.

With deft fingers, the human had removed the tunic from Eila's body and soon Eila had done the same, smiling softly when she realized Elva was wearing her tunic.

They climbed into bed together and snuggled close, settling within each other's embrace. A sense of calm fell over Eila as she absently played with Elva's long, slender, silver-tipped fingers of her left hand. She would miss this when Elva wasn't home.

Home.

Eila smiled and closed her eyes, allowing her body to be lulled by the strong thrum of her partner's heartbeat. Yes. This was home.

A/N: Hello! I hope you all are well. In this story, a 'Healer's Knot' is the same as a 'Surgeon's Knot', and we are calling it that because I don't think the word 'Surgeon' exists in Alagaësia either. Things are moving, this is good. The next chapter might come soon, we'll see.

Enjoy!

Oh! Also, please forgive any errors as I didn't have it in me to proofread this. I'll end up doing it soon, but I just want to move on. I've been stuck :)

-Lady Arlo