cough hack Thanks to the flu, I have found myself with time in which to work on this story. Fun…….

Disclaimer: don't own

Murtagh walked through the woods, a blood red sword in his hands. There was silence; no birds sand their songs, no animals stirred. Murtagh kept walking till finally, he came into a clearing. There was someone on their knees in the middle of the clearing. Murtagh approached them carefully. Suddenly, the person stood up and faced it. The teen Murtagh had killed gaped at him, his face white, and blood sprouting from the wound in his side.

"Murderer." The noble whispered. Murtagh took a step backwards.

"No. I- I didn't mean to." He said hoarsely.

"You're as evil as the sword in your hand." Murtagh looked down at the sword and realized it was Zar'roc. He started to tremble. He tried to let the sword go, but his hand would not release it.

"Come, see for yourself." The dead teen motioned to a pool of water. Still shaking, Murtagh slowly approached the pool and looked down into it. His blood ran cold. Morzan's cold and evil face reflected in the pool. Murtagh stumbled backwards and feel down. The dead teen sneered down at him.

"See it do you? You see the face of the monster you have become." The dead teen started laugh as more blood poured from his body. The blood covered Murtagh, drowning him.

Tornac held onto Murtagh's shoulders tightly, trying to hold him still. The boy had started to thrash around in his sleep; only heaven knew from what.

"Murtagh! Wake up!" Tornac yelled. Murtagh continued to thrash. The boy was going to bring further injury to his already-broken ribs if he did not hold still.

"No!" Murtagh muttered as he flailed around.

"NO!" he screamed out, making Tornac jump. Suddenly Murtagh's eyes flew open and he stopped moving. Tornac sighed with relief. He let go of the teen's shoulders and sat back into his chair.

"You're pretty strong for a kid your age." Tornac said, wiping the sweat from his brow. Murtagh didn't respond. He sat back and looked at the ceiling. Tornac looked at him wearily; was Murtagh going to admit to his crime? After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Tornac decided to tell Murtagh he knew.

"Murtagh, why don't you tell me how that noble died." Murtagh's head shot around to look at Tornac; his eyes were wide.

"How did you know?" Murtagh's voice was dry.

"A guard came yesterday to arrest you, but I refused to let him." Tornac said, watching Murtagh closely

"I didn't mean to kill him." He muttered. Tornac let out a breath.

"Just like you didn't mean to hit Nathaniel either." He said coldly. Murtagh looked up at Tornac with surprise.

"How did you know about that?" he asked.

"Nathaniel is my nephew. He came into the kitchens all bloody. He told his how you hit him." Tornac's voice was rising in anger. "You know better Murtagh! I have taught you better then this! First you hit an innocent boy, then you sneak around and kill a noble?!" he yelled.

"You taught me? You haven't taught me anything as of late! You've been too busy with your new life. A better one, I'm guessing. At least you haven't had to deal with me!" Murtagh snarled, sitting up in bed.

"Don't make this about me Murtagh! You ambushed a noble and killed him! How could you?!" Tornac hissed.

"Is that what they told you? How could you believe I would do such a thing?!" Murtagh yelled up at Tornac.

"I didn't believe you could break an innocent boy's nose either! But you did that!" Tornac replied angrily.

"That little idiot deserved it! You didn't hear what he said to me. And you have no idea what really happened with that noble! Maybe if you hadn't been so busy with you new job, you would have been able to protect me from them!" Murtagh screamed. He was shaking now, trying to hold in tears that were struggling to escape.

"What do you mean, protect you?" Tornac said, his anger calming for a moment.

"It doesn't matter, you don't care anyway." Murtagh muttered, turning away.

"Murtagh, tell me what you mean." Tornac said. Murtagh looked back up at Tornac, his eyes on fire with anger.

"If you were there, I wouldn't have had to kill him! If you hadn't been so absorbed with your new life, you could have protected me from becoming a monster!" Tornac gaped at Murtagh.

"A monster?" Tornac repeated.

"Just leave me alone." Murtagh muttered, looking out the window. Tornac was about to say something, but instead turned on his heel and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Murtagh let out a breath. The nobles had lied about what happened. He was going to be put in jail, maybe even put to death. The thought made him shudder. Murtagh winced and pulled back the sheets. His ribs were bound in a bandage. They would take a while to heal. Murtagh groaned and leaned into his pillows. His thoughts drifted to Nathan. From the sounds of it, the boy had too lied about what happened. The world was out to get him, Murtagh decided. Why had this all happen to him?

"Jeeze Mandy, what did that shirt ever do to you?" Mandy jerked her head up from the shirt she was very roughly scrubbing.

"What?" she said, confused.

"What's wrong? You haven't said a word since you got here." Mandy looked at Kamara.

"I'm sorry dear, it's just, this whole situation has been bothering me." She said sadly. It was wash day, and all the maids had gathered in the stone quart yard set aside for this purpose. The princess, as always, had joined them.

"Did you know the boy who was killed?" Kamara asked, frowning.

"No! She knows the murderer!" one of the other maids put in.

"Don't call him that!" Mandy snapped.

"Well that's what he is! He is an evil thing! He ambushed that poor noble and killed him!" the same maid said.

"That's a lie!" Mandy fired up at once. "Murtagh is covered in bruises and cuts! Four of his ribs are broken! When me and my brother found him, he could barely stand and passed out as soon as we reached him. Explain that!" a stunned silence followed these words.

"Murtagh? That's his name?" Kamara said finally. "I have never heard of him."

"You wouldn't dearie, he's no noble's brat." Mandy said to her. Kamara nodded.

"Who are his parents then?" Mandy frowned.

"His mother was a peasant girl. His father was Morzan." Mandy said sadly. Kamara gaped at her.

"I've met him." She said slowly.

"You have?" Mandy said, turning to Kamara in surprise.

"Well, yes. It was years ago though. It was when I was first brought to the palace." Mandy nodded. Suddenly a boy walked into the wash place.

"Mother, Uncle Tornac asked me to tell you to go talk to Murtagh." He said. Mandy stared in confusion at Nathan for a moment before she realized what he was saying.

"He's awake?!" she cried, jumping to her feet. Nathaniel nodded.

"I must see him at once!" and with that, she ran quickly away from the group.

"She's obsessed with that kid." One of the maids said disapprovingly. Nathan said nothing.

"What happened to your nose?" Kamara asked Nathan. He looked up at her and turned scarlet.

"Murtagh hit me." He muttered. Kamara raised an eyebrow.

"Why did he do that?" Nathan opened his mouth. He didn't want to lie to the princess like he had to his uncle.

"I provoked him." He said, ashamed. "I should have known better."

"It's not your fault that boy has a temper." One of the maids said absent mindedly. Nathan shrugged.

Murtagh jumped as Mandy burst into his room. His eyes widened as swooped down on him and hugged him.

"Don't scare me like that! I nearly had a heart attack!" she cried. Murtagh gasped din pain and pushed her off.

"Sorry dear." She apologized. She pulled a chair to the bed and sat down.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Murtagh gazed at her.

"Fine." He lied. Mandy sighed.

"I don't believe you." She said bluntly. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Murtagh did not hesitate to tell her the story. How he had helped Marcia find her way, the nobles attacking him, and how he had gotten the knife away from the one boy. Murtagh's voice faltered when he told how the noble had run at him, and how he had stabbed the boy. Mandy reached out and grabbed his hand.

"You did nothing wrong." She said softly.

"It was self defense, it's not your fault." Murtagh shook his head. He was about to tell her about his dream, but decided against it. She would think him weak.

"Why didn't you tell Tornac?" Mandy asked. Murtagh's face darkened.

"He did not want to hear. He assumed those filthy nobles were telling the truth. He wouldn't listen to me." He said angrily.

"Oh, that doesn't sound like him at all." Mandy whispered. "He must have still been upset about Nathan."

"You know about that too?" Murtagh groaned.

"Of coarse I know about it! He is my son!" Mandy said indignantly. Murtagh gaped at her.

"He is?" suddenly the memory of Tornac saying Nathan was his nephew came to the surface. "Oh." He said. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry Mandy! I didn't mean to hit him!" Murtagh suddenly said hurriedly. "I told him I couldn't teach him anymore and he got mad! He started to yell at me that I was a spoiled noble who knew nothing else but riches. I don't know I just snapped. I am sorry." Mandy shook her head.

"Idiot child. He doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut." She said to herself. "Try not to feel so bad hun, everything will be fine. I will talk to Tornac about this, and a healer will be in here to check on your ribs." Mandy gave one last smile then left the room.

The end. No im kidding, this is gona keep going. Just noting that the last time I looked at the clock it was just turning 3, now it is 4:30. ugh.

That rest of the week was hell for Murtagh. Whenever he slept, his dreams were haunted by the dead teen's face and his father's image. He would often wake up in a cold sweat and not be able to fall back to sleep. The fact that he was restricted to his bed gave time for his waking moments to be just as horrible. He would dwell for hours on the kill. A murderer, that's what he was. He heard them even through all the stone, he knew that is what they were calling him, a monster. He deserved it. That was what he had become. Not even his best friend cared about him anymore. It was ripping Murtagh apart, and he could do nothing to stop it.

Tornac was avoiding his sister, and he knew she knew it. He was afraid she might tell him Murtagh had done nothing wrong, that Murtagh was the real victim. A normal person might ask why he would be scared of this, wouldn't he be happy? A part of him would be, but another would hate it. If Murtagh really was the victim, that made Murtagh's words true; he had not protected Murtagh. Guilt had swelled inside him as soon as he left the room. If he had been training Murtagh as he should have been, Murtagh would not have hit Nathaniel. If Tornac had been paying more attention to Murtagh, the teen would not have even been in the palace alone in the first place. He sighed as he walked into the stables. This place had become his focus, but should it be? Shouldn't his focus be the boy he had known since he was a toddler? Shouldn't it be the boy who had desperately needed someone to care about him? Tornac clenched his fist as he walked down the aisle. Admitting he was wrong was something Tornac was never good at, something he was not particularly willing to do. And so he hid, he hid from his sister like a coward. The thought disgusted him. However, he could only hide for so long. Proof of this was now striding up the aisle after him.

"Tornac! You fool! Stop walking." Mandy panted as she came up behind him. Tornac scowled and turned to look at her.

"Look sis, I am really busy-" Mandy cut him off.

"No your not you filthy liar. Now shut up and listen to me." Without pauses or letting Tornac speak, Mandy told him everything Murtagh had told her about what had really happened.

"He's scared Tornac! He wont admit it but I know he is. He doesn't know what will happen to him and here you are treating him like a criminal!" she stomped her foot.

"Now I have already dealt with Nathaniel for lying to us. Both of you are going to go up and apologize. Then you are going to figure out a solution to this mess, am I understood?" Tornac scowled.

"Yes mother." He said sarcastically.

Murtagh sat, upright and rigid, in an armchair. He gazed out the sun filled window, wishing he could leave his room. Suddenly, there came a nock at his door.

"Come in." he said dully. He glared as Tornac and Nathan walked into the room.

"What are you two doing here?" he said coldly. He did not feel any guilt as he spotted Nathan's bandaged, the little twit had lied, he deserved it.

"Mandy told me what really happened." Tornac said, his hands behind his back.

"Did she?" they stared at each other for a moment. Finally Tornac broke down.

"I am sorry Murtagh. You are right. You are my charge and I have not been taking care of you at all." Murtagh raised an eyebrow. "And he," Tornac pulled Nathan out from behind him, "Is sorry for what he said, and then lying to us about it." Nathan quickly nodded.

"I didn't know, I am sorry." He said. Murtagh said nothing. Tornac decided it was best not to wait for a response and continued,

"I am going to quit my job at the stables. I shouldn't have taken it in the first place, I just thought they you didn't need my anymore but…Oh well it doesn't matter. I will train both of you from now on." Murtagh gaped at Tornac.

"Are you serious?" he said in amazement. Tornac nodded. A grin broke over his face.

"Well that's not so bad." He said. His gaze fell upon Nathan again, and this time he did feel a twinge of guilt,

"I'm sorry for hitting you. I shouldn't have lost it like that." Before Nathan could answer, however, there came a banging at the door. Tornac raised an eyebrow and went to open the door. A guard stood there, his face blank.

"The boy has been summoned to the king's court." Tornac glared at him.

"Murtagh is in no condition to go anywhere." He snarled.

"King's orders." The guard replied before turning to leave. Tornac turned and found Murtagh extremely pale.

"It will be all right." Tornac said, though his voice shook. Murtagh nodded and stood, wincing as he did it.

"Let's go then." He said and walked towards the door. He was good at hiding pain, Tornac would give him that.

"Stay here Nathan." He said before leaving with Murtagh.

MMUUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA! Cliff hanger. What will the king do to poor Murtagh? Will the king even be there? You shall all have to wait1 Just consider yourselves lucky that I am updating this soon. I bet you are all so happy I got the flu and am home sick today. You horrible people! How do you live with yourselves?

Asldssg- Ya, he killed him. Murtagh had to become a killer sometime.

Your teacher hates the Outsiders?! –jaw drop- how could anyone hate that book?

Sunkistgurl10- YES! We will make an army to hunt down chris if he kills Murtagh! Who is with me?!

C.T. Eleczko- You are the reviewer! Without you people would no longer write and get depressed and give up writing for all eternity! Ok maybe not, but whatever.

Tennischik09- Im glad you like it! I hope this chapter is satisfying.

Lady Shana- I get a hug? Aw, I feel special. I love Murtagh too, hence im writing about him. I think it is a real shame how he is kinda ignored to a certain degree by a certain someone cougheragoncough in the books. That is, until, he became a threat.

Lost Scribe- How could Murtagh remind you of Johhny? They do have a few things in common….ok maybe one thing. Oh no, Murtagh is gona to take FOREVER to recover from this, ok maybe not that long. ;)

Tiger Priestess- The truth has been reveled. But the thing is, will the king believe it? –shifty look-

Jeeves1729- eh, not really. Though I will tell you, Mandy scolded Nathan a lot. Is that good enough for ya? As you could kinda guess, Mandy loves Murtagh more than Nathan to a certain degree. Poor guy.

MurtaghLuver- SO SO SO SO SO SO SO glad you like it!