Picking Up The Pieces
Alyse was still quaking like a leaf as Thor's fingers found her hand again, and he slowly lifted them both to their feet. The movement strained on her injuries, but she didn't let more than a squeak leave her lips. Her eyes stayed closed.
Thor moved to her side, his spare hand resting gently on her lower back. Her fingers gripped his tightly, trembling.
He felt it would be less painful for her to make her own way than if he moved her himself. He couldn't carry her without needing to support her somewhere around her backside or upper thighs, and that would only hurt her grieveously. Moving on her own, he would help her, but she could go at her own pace. She was more atune to what would be less or more painful for her than he was.
His hand on her back guided her gently to the bed. He needed her there. He knew what he was asking of her wasn't something light, but at the same time... she couldn't do this without his help. She needed him.
Her skin crawled at his hands on her body, but she couldn't do without them. At least gripping his hand was a way of channeling the pain. She took tiny steps, but she didn't care. Only slight, hot twinge stung at her backside from her movements and she couldn't bear any more than that. She kept her steps small and slow.
She eyed the medicine box as she got closer to the bed, not trusting what was inside it. It was going to hurt her more, and she was dreading it more than any brute force Thor might give her.
Still, she clamped her jaw down bravely. She didn't want to cry anymore. She wanted to be brave. She needed to be brave. Only the brave could survive against the God of Thunder.
She'd cried so much. Been so afraid. She'd bore enough pain and anguish today alone to last her a lifetime.
Where could she be now?, she wondered. In a healing room full of strangers. If she'd left. Would she feel better there? No. Safer maybe, but scared still. Alone. Uncertain of the future. In this room at least, the future didn't matter. It kept her worries simple. She only had to worry about Thor.
But that was one hell of a worry.
She wished she could relax. Logic told her to. He wasn't angry. He had no reason to hurt her yet. Hell - he'd been on the verge of tears apologising to her.
He could have fobbed her off to the healing room. Have her dragged away by guards. He could say anything if he wanted to, if he wanted to protect his name. The world would believe him. Who would dare challenge his word? In the back of her mind, she knew he was doing her a great kindness by tending to her himself. He didn't need to.
But it didn't change why he was doing it; for the harm he'd done her before hand. That would be hard to wipe away, no matter what sincerity or kindness he did her. She hadn't forgiven him. She wasn't sure if she could.
She'd focus on hating him later, she promised herself as her knees bumped the edge of the bed. After she was on the road to recovery.
For now she had the medicine to face.
She gritted her teeth hard as she bent stiffly over the bed, her hands leaving Thor's to brace on the mattress. This was going to hurt, she thought screwing her eyes shut.
Before she could flex her knees though and draw them up, her legs were swept smoothly from beneath her and slid up onto the bed. She yelped - more in surprise than any pain. He'd settled her down so fast it was too quick for her to struggle, to cause herself any hurt.
Her eyes shot open wide with surprise, breaths leaving her rapidly as she lay on her front on the bed, propping herself up on her elbows. She stared down at the pillows. Thor's footsteps were slow and quiet as he wondered round the bed to fetch the medicine basket. Alyse didn't dare move, just waiting. He could do anything to her right now and she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him.
Her heart raced in her chest as she waited for something to happen, for some searing pain. It would be pain, she told herself. All she could think of anymore was pain.
She jumped when Thor spoke.
"This will hurt." he warned softly. Alyse felt the bed slowly dip beside her as he knelt his knee on the edge. "I have sleeping draught if you would rather not endure it."
Alyse's mind sank instantly with relief. The idea of sleeping, of not having to battle through the pain, to feel nothing... it was so tempting. But then the thought of being alseep with him, putting her faith entirely in him... no, she couldn't do that. She didn't trust him.
Her eyes watered at the lost bliss though, mourning for it. "No." she rasped out, her throat running dry as the prospect of what was to come started to sink in.
Her hands fisted in the sheets of the pillows and she hardened her eyes at the headboard, bracing herself. There was no deluding herself anymore, no delaying. The pain would come now and she would grit her teeth and bear it. Don't even make a sound, she growled at herself in her head. Don't be weak. She'd had enough of crying, of screaming. She would not be a quivering wreck anymore.
The breath forced slowly out between her teeth, and she started to get twitchy. What was he going? Could he not just get it over with? Her cheeks started to blush, the longer she waited. She felt exposed like this. It felt degrading, knowing Thor was just staring at her. It was humiliating.
"What are you waiting for?" she hissed, resisting the urge to glance over her shoulder. She kept her eyes ahead, on the headboard.
She couldn't see Thor and that was the way she wanted it. It was the way Thor did too; his eyes stared down at Alyse's body, his breaths lifting his chest heavily. His eyes watered in horror. He'd done this? Her flesh was completely black, save for lashes of red where her skin had been beaten through and broken. Dried blood coated around her, the wounds looking stretched and painful. The small muscles of the backs of her thighs and her lower back quivered constantly, and he guessed it was from the jarring of the blows he'd given her.
He ran a hand over his mouth to mask his shaky, ragged breath. By all the gods.. he'd torn her apart.
He'd seen many wounds before. Things that were not meant to be seen, but battle was not courteous. Still, he'd never felt the same churning of his stomach as he did now.
Before, he'd hurt his enemies.
This woman was innocent.
The men he attacked had weapons to hurt him in return.
Alyse had had nothing.
He wanted to let out a strangled groan at what he'd done, but he didn't let himself. Alyse needed him to do this. If he wanted to keep her, he had to do this.
Gulping down his horror, he reached for the basket. He brought out a pitcher full of water first, opening the closed tankard and taking a gulp himself of cool crisp water. He took out the small cup he'd brought too and poured some water inside, offering it forward to Alyse.
She cursed him in her head when she saw the drink. Her hands fisted tighter. "I don't want water." she forced out levelly, even though her throat was parched. "I want this done with."
She didn't move. Didn't turn around. And Thor tried not let his heart sink too far. He put the water quickly down on the bedside table and the tankard away, cursing his idiocy - even Alyse was being braver than he was at what was to come. He needed to man up.
He pulled out a second tankard and opened it, pulling out the damp cloth inside and squeezing out the excess. The water trickle was almost melodic.
His eyes fell down on Alyse's wounded backside as he held the cloth in his hand. He ran his tongue over his lips as he leant forward. His elbow braced on the bed, hand reaching up beside Alyse, palm to the sky. Thankfully, she only hesitated a moment before she put her dainty hand in it.
"Grip as hard as you need to." Thor reassured softly. Nothing she could do could hurt him. "I'm going to wash you first."
He wanted to tell her what he was doing to her, so there were no surprises. It was the least he could do. It was soothing him too though as if reassuring himself that the pain he was about to cause he was going to help her in the long run.
Tentatively, he lowered the cloth down. Alyse's back bowed slightly with the breath she heavily sighed out, fighting a groan as the tiny droplets of water stung her backside. The cloth lay on it softly, though to Alyse, it felt like it weighed a ton. Thor's fingers hadn't touched her yet - and she gritted her teeth hard to swallow her cries when they did.
It was only light, but that one brush, on the tender, exposed, ripped up skin of her behind felt like an iron brand on her. She breathed hard, trying to channel it. She wasn't going to make a sound.
"Are you afraid of me?"
The soft question caught her so off guard she forgot her rule and a small whine escaped her lips. What was that? In pain, in heart ache... she wasn't sure.
She frowned. Why was he asking that now? Really?
Her hands slacked in the pillows and around his, though Thor's fingers just gripped hers tighter. Alyse was just so unprepared for that. "Erm..."
She fought the instinct to say yes. Just 'yes' wasn't right. She was afraid when he hurt her. When he was angry. But he wasn't always a mindless ball of rage. The man tending to her now wasn't. The man who'd written her that note wasn't. The man who'd made sweet, gentle love to her in the bath wasn't.
She wasn't afraid of that man. That man made her heart ache with something she was afraid to say. She chose her words carefully: "I'm afraid of what you're capable of." she whispered.
For a moment, he paused. Both his breath and his hand. Then, gently, the cloth grazed over her skin again, wiping away some of the crusted blood from her. Alyse's teeth crashed down on her lip to hold in her shout.
"I see."
He said it so quietly, so defeated...Alyse didn't have time for sympathy though as his thumb started rubbing away more crusted blood, being as gentle as he could.
Her eyes stared ahead with determination: she was entitled to her own question, wasn't she? "Will you be bedding the other maidens now that I cannot serve you?" she sighed, eyes fluttering shut in relief as Thor's hand drew away from her behind. The trickle of water told her he was rinsing the cloth. In seconds, the cool water was back.
Thor's voice was stiff when he answered, but smooth, just like the gentle strokes of the cloth. He couldn't need many more, Alse told herself. He'd washed nearly every inch of her injured backside. "No."
Just one word. No.
Alyse's own word blurted out before she could stop herself - "Why?"
He was the prince. He had every right to take a woman if he wanted to. He could fuck anyone. Just because he'd taken Alyse doesn't mean she was the only one he could take. He didn't belong to her. Especially after this. There was no way they'd be doing any fucking any time soon. Alyse's body couldn't take it, and nor could her heart.
She sighed a breath of relief as the cloth slid off her backside and clumped back into the tankard. Her tense body slumped thankfully against the sheets.
For a moment, her lips twitched as if to smile. But then she remembered it was all far from over.
She twitched when a gentle palm ran over the small of her back. Her head glanced over her shoulder before she could help it, startled by the tender touch instead of pain.
She caught her prince's sorrowful eyes instantly. She wanted to look away but the look on his face, so sad and gentle... she couldn't. He gazed down at his palm, smoothed over her lower back, his eyes drinking in over the skin of her body that he hadn't yet destroyed. It was mesmerising. His palm smoothed up the contours of Alyse's back tenderly. "Because I don't want anyone else." he murmured softly.
Alyse held her breath. In her head, an 'I only want you' followed his words, but he betrayed nothing else in reality. His lips didn't move again.
His eyes did.
They were alive like a live wire as they flickered up from her back, such an electric blue. It sparked something inside Alyse, something that made her mouth fall open silently. She didn't know what words to say. She just stayed in a locked connection with them, waiting on him to make the move.
Cold shivered up her back as his warm palm left her and she pulled her eyes away, wide and staring at the headboard. What the hell...
"I will try to be gentle."
Oh gods... Alyse bit her lip in anticipation, cold dread running through her system. Something else was going to hurt now.
She wasn't wrong. But she took it like a soldier, Thor thought, gazing down numbly on his work. She didn't make a sound as he gently smeared healing paste over her wounds, dressing them with thick bandages. The only give away for her pain was the squeezing of her hand in his.
When it was done he wondered around the other side of the bed, crawling up alongside her. She watched his every move carefully.
His hand moved gently to her lower back. "Roll onto your side." he said quietly.
He knew it would hurt. The paste would be stinging her intimately...but the tight bandages should numb her pain stung at her eyes, but she rolled like he asked, and his hand on her hip stopped her when she lay on her side.
He settled down beside her, propping himself up on his elbow. The hand of the arm he leant laced it's fingers forward and through her hair softly, not missing the way she stiffened instantly under his touch. Her eyes widened. Thor gulped. "Lean your head back." he rasped. His thumb gently tease at the hinge of her jaw, trying to entice her back. He wanted a better view of her throat.
His fingers quickly worked at the clasp of the collar behind her neck and it fell with a velvetty innocence between them. He hated it now. Maybe he should burn it. His hate was irrational, he knew; it wasn't the collar that has hurt Alyse, it was him. But he didn't need anymore reminders than the broken woman before him.
Reluctantly, trembling slightly, she rolled her eyes upwards and tilted her head back, knowing there was no other escape. Thor's palm supported her at the back of her head and neck, cupping her. Her eased forward to look.
He knew she must be afraid. Must feel vulnerable. Even now, he felt her trembling as he leaned in close, his hand at her neck. From her point of view, he was in prime position to kill her, and it saddened him to realise that would be what she was thinking of. How could he stop her being afraid of him? He desperately didn't want her to fear him.
"A little paste won't hurt." he eventually murmured. Small, thin cuts lined around her throat. Not bleeding exactly, but still...Thor wanted them gone.
His spare hand pulled the box between them and reached inside, finding the pot of paste. He smeared a little around his fingers.
"Hold still." he muttered, eyes locked on the delicate flesh of her throat. His fingers ventured forward slowly. He felt Alyse's breath hitch nervously. "It won't hurt." he assured softly. "I'm only using a little. You shouldn't feel it as much."
His orange covered fingers waited, waiting for the go ahead. Finally, Alyse gulped. And slowly nodded.
His lips twitched to smile gratefully, but he caught himself quickly. He wasn't here to be friendly with her anymore. Not to be her friend or lover. It was like their roles had been reversed; his purpose with Alyse was purely to heal her, and tend to her every need.
His fingers brushed carefully over the torn, bruised skin of her throat and his eyes focused on it - so he didn't notice Alyse's arm move from her side to cover her breasts as modestly as she could. Her cheeks flushed. It didn't feel right anymore. She felt embarrassed, ashamed even, to be unclothed before him. She didn't like it anymore. Didn't feel comfortable with it.
Her eyes blinked away their blurring tears, and she was desperate to break the anxious silence. "Why did you hurt me?" she instinctively breathed.
Thor's fingers hesitated their delicate dance over her throat before he answered, and that pause just sent Alyse's nerves skyrocketting. Again. Would that always happen? Silence meant anger, and anger meant a beating - would she always fear that? She didn't want to feel that way, but..
"Because I could." he finally admitted quietly. His eyes stayed staring sadly at his task on her neck, gentle fingers stroking paste over the noticable cuts on her throat. Even Alyse could see their glisten. "I wanted to hurt you as you had hurt me. But, I..." His tongue darted out and wet his dry lips, eyes blinking quickly. Alyse jumped at the movement. "But I lost control."
Alyse blinked furiously again; she just wasn't sure still. Was that enough? Really? In her heart, she knew he didn't want to hurt her. Not rationally. Not while he was sane. But he admitted it - he lost control and he'd wanted to hurt her, to do this to her...
It was like he could read her mind: "It won't happen again." he rasped, as he rinsed his fingertips in the water again. "I couldn't bear to hurt you again."
Alyse breathed a sigh of relief through his words, praying the medicine was over. She just wanted to go to sleep now, to throw the covers over her head and pass out. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body stickily from the pain and her panic, and she just felt tired. This day had been exhausting. It was only going to get worse, she knew. Her body would heal methodically, she knew, but what about her heart? How would that mend?
It certainly sped up with his promise. He was promising - he would never hurt her again. And she believed him. She didn't stop the tear that rolled over her cheek at that. She believed him.
"These leaves..." Thor started again, clearing his throat, his hand relaxing at the back of her head enough for her to glance down between them, and the pile of large leaves that sat there. "They have an oil that is apt at healing bruises."
So he was going to wrap her in leaves, Alyse connected in her mind, holding her breath. That didn't sound painful. She heard the stiff leaves rustle as she closed her eyes and waited, feeling Thor's hand tempt her head back again. Was this going to hurt? Her teeth were gritting by the time the leaf pressed coolly over her neck, sticking in place from the paste. It was thick, almost heavy. But she could feel the cool oil seeping through, a stark, refreshing contrast to the paste that burned through her cuts.
A breath sighed out of her as the refreshing leaf settled and another one was carefully wrapped around the neglected space of her neck, bringing relief. She thanked whatever gods were listening that it didn't hurt.
"Keep still." Thor murmured as he worked, fingers delicate with every touch.
Alyse bent down her chin testingly as Thor's fingers finally flowed from her hair and she was surprised the leaves around her throat were not as restrictive as she'd first thought. Her throat ached as she moved her head down again though.
Her eyes blinked open and she found herself searching for Thor's; they were busy scouring over her bruise-littered shoulder, fingers preparing another leaf.
She dipped her eyes down to her covered chest, feeling her body tense again as Thor's retreated hands moved in again, reaching gently for her shoulder. She held her breath again. His palm smoothed over her bruised shoulder in almost a caress, flattening out the leaf over her skin. His gentle thumbs rubbed the leaf down carefully to keep it in place.
His eyes watched his movements carefully, and finally, dread started to creep into his heart. Gods, what now? There was no more he could do for her.
But there was still so much damage to be fixed...
His fingers stilled on her shoulder softly, eyes watching them with a sad gleam. "Are you afraid of me still?" he breathed.
Alyse's heart twanged in her chest. Her eyes lowered even more down to her body; her leg tried to cross forward slightly, to try and shield her womanhood from his gaze. "I'm not sure." she said honestly. "My heart doesn't want to be... but my body is. I don't know how that can be changed."
Thor tried to ignore the stab in his chest, but it was harder than he thought. He gulped hard. He didn't know what else to do. The rich scent of the paste and the leaves was almost calling him, calling him to aid her. But he wasn't sure what else he could do now. He couldn't hold her, in case he hurt her. Did she even want him there at all?
Then he blinked down and noticed; her arm over her chest, her crossed legs, other arm wrapped over her stomach to hide more of her from him. "You wished to be covered?" His eyes were gleaming as they flickered up to her face.
Hers screwed shut, and she nodded silently.
Thor gulped again as he nudged the box away, reached for the sheets and pulled them gently from his side of the bed, casting them lightly over Alyse's body so they shielded her from his gaze but did not wrap in any way restricting. She nestled in them quietly.
Watching her was heartbreaking. She couldn't even look at him. How could he fix that?
Maybe he couldn't, he realised. And maybe that was all for them now. Perhaps they were over, and as soon as she was well, Alyse would walk out of the door and Thor would never see her again.
It was his fault.
"How long will it take?" Alyse mumbled, hand pulling the sheets as high as her chin. Her eyes stayed low. "For the medicine to work?" she clarified.
Thor's eyes scoured her sad, lifeless face with an aching heart. His throat ran dry. "I..." The medicine he'd chosen wasn't the most effective, but it was one of the more bearable. It would still heal her well though. The wounds were not deep. "By the end of the week your wounds should close." he finally rasped out. "The bruises should only take days."
Alyse nodded silently, and her arms wrapped protectively around her body again. This was better, she thought. This position. It would be easier to sleep in than on her front, even though it was stiff and awkward.
She wanted to sleep so badly. The light had fallen in the prince's chambers and all that remained was a ghostly glow from what the sunlight left behind. But she couldn't relax. Not with him next to her, watching her like that. No, she didn't dare close her eyes with him there.
But at the same time, she didn't dare ask him otherwise.
Her heart was in her mouth as Thor's fingers dipped out of sight, but she breathed a sigh of relief when all he brought out from the box was a wrapped loaf of bread and grapes, cramming the rest of the leaves back inside in their place.
Thank gods, she breathed in her head, propping herself up on her elbow eagerly - she was starving.
Alyse watched him lay the spread carefully on the sheets, moving the box out of the way again. His eyes were careful to avoid hers. "Eat." he said quietly, breaking up the bread into small pieces for her. "You need your strength."
He was right there, Alyse thought, reaching for a grape and popping it in her mouth almost instantly. Her eyes fluttered as the juice burst in her mouth. She grabbed a couple more, eating quicker than she probably should as she turned to the bread. She was so hungry she didn't even care when she brushed Thor's fingers, the shiver that raced up her spine overwhelmed by her hunger.
"Are you sure you don't want to go home?" Thor asked quietly, drawing Alyse's eyes up from the food automatically to his crystal blue orbs. "I shall take you there, if that is what you wish."
Home... a part of her longed for it. It was safe and dependable... but it didn't have Thor.
And even if he'd done this to her, she wanted to have faith in him. For the future. She wanted to give him another chance. Life without his was just unthinkable now...
Her head shook without much thought. It made her heart ache though, with love that he'd be willing to do that for her and pain that he knew she was so ...tentative of him. "I don't want to leave this place." she mumbled, eyes falling to the grape twirling in her fingers. "I don't want to leave you." That was the more important one, even though she felt stupid for confessing it. As if any beatings she got from now on were her own fault for staying and letting her traitorous heart control her. "But I don't trust you anymore." she finally admitted. Her hands trembled under the sheets. "I don't think I can bear you to be close. I..." she gulped before she finally said it: "I don't know how I feel about you anymore."
The blood pounded loudly in her ears in the silence that followed and it tingled her pained roots of her hair. She waited anxiously.
Icy fear washed through her quickly - what the hell had she just said? The prince had asked her a simple question and she'd said all those things to him. As if he was her equal! It never much bothered her before. It was hard to remember status when the God of Thunder was thrusting between your thighs but now...now all there was to do was talk.
"I understand." he finally gulped.
I understand... it echoed in Alyse's mind and she held her breath; what did that mean? It was moments like these that confused her. She should feel hate and fear of him, and that alone. But when he said things like that... her heart just flared up unexplainably.
She didn't know what else to say. She ate some more, and with Thor's help to reach the cup, drank some water until she was full and satisfied. She almost felt happy again. Nothing hurt and she was satisfied.
Her cheek nuzzled into the pillow when she was done, and she watched Thor's powerful arms flex as he packed away the box and the remnants of the food. He dipped out of sight and she stiffened when he moved behind her, unable to relax. She didn't trust him that much. Only when she could see what he was doing.
He walked back around the bed, into her line of sight, fingers tapping away at his armour until the plates fell away from his body. He made move to remove his shirt or trousers though, Alyse noted with relief.
She was still unsure though.
She didn't want him gone, but she didn't want him close either. And now it was time to decide. The light was gone and they both wanted to sleep. But she didn't want him to hold her, to give him that advantage to hurt her if he wanted to. Yet at the same time, she didn't want him to go. Even though she knew she should, she didn't.
Her eyes lifted to his face as he stopped, paused at the side of the bed. His blue eyes stared down at hers carefully. There was nothing harsh or hidden about him now. His orbs were just open, as if he were at her mercy. They just made her heart ache they were so soft, so... purely beautiful.
She could see the uncertainty, the question, in his eyes - did she want him to sleep with her or not? He wasn't moving until she said either way. His lips hovered apart but no question left them.
Alyse gave him his answer; sucking in a subtle breath, she opened up the sheets on his side of the bed for him.
He nodded stiffly before he climbed in beside her, staying on his back so there was a clear gap between them. Those were the things that gave Alyse hope in him. He was considerate. He wasn't a monster. He could be... but he wasn't. Tending to her, feeding her, and now thinking of her heart as well as her body... he was a gentleman.
She could feel the anxiety coming off him in waves as she watched him, watching the outline of his face as he stared at the ceiling. His mouth was tight. His eyes were unreadable. She hoped he'd sleep.
Gods only knew she needed to. Her body sung for her to close her eyes, but she couldn't yet relax. His tension bled into her.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe her anxiety should get the better off her and, prince or no prince, she should ask him to leave her alone.
Or maybe that was just being a coward.
Would this fear just go away if she pushed him away, ran from him?
Somehow, she doubted it. And she didn't want to be alone. He could break her heart, but at the same time he'd made it feel more alive than it ever had before, happier than it had ever felt before.
His hand rested lightly on his chest and Alyse's eyes were drawn to it. Dare she? Her skin chilled at the thought but... if she wanted this to work, she had to try. The fear wouldn't just go away if she let it consume her. It would only get stronger. She couldn't run.
That in mind, she gulped - and her fingers shook as they reached out.
The emotions raged inside her and she shocked herself as she had to blink away the tears, sucking in a sharp breath. This shouldn't be so hard, but it was. She didn't let herself stop though. Things wouldn't get better if she didn't try.
Baby steps, she told herself. She wasn't going to engulf herself in his arms or let him fuck her. She was just going to touch him. That was all.
She took a breath - and her fingers clutched around Thor's before she could change her mind.
His eyes flickered down from the ceiling in surprise but Alyse didn't linger to see them, burying her cheek down into the pillow. Her cheeks blushed as she tried to make her heart stop racing. It wasn't chills his touch brought her this time, but heat; she felt sweat start to break out nervously, the familiar ache from her nether regions between her legs.. just from his hand.
She gasped as pressure engulfed them unexpectedly, Thor gripping her fingers back tightly. Alyse didn't pull away though.
She forced herself to breathe. She was holding Thor's hand and it was fine. She wasn't hurt, and he wasn't going to hurt her, she told herself. It was fine. Her fingers gripped to him tighter.
This morning, those hands had destroyed her. Now they were comforting her. It felt nice, feeling something warm and strong hold her, letting her know she wasn't alone...
Thor moved their clutching hands slowly until they were lying on the pillow between them, rather than on his warm, shirt-covered chest, fingers laced together and intertwined. Alyse's eyes traced over the size difference, scouring over their linked fingers. It looked right; his warm, calloused fingers gripping her small, dainty ones.
A small smile pricked at her lips and her shouder slumped into the sheets, feeling her body starting to relax at last. He was here, and she was safe. Those two truths could exist simultaneously.
Her mind swayed with tiredness and she didn't even bother to look to see if Thor was closing his eyes, letting his guard down before she did the same.
Maybe they could build something back after all, was her last thought before she surrendered to a dreamless sleep.
But it would be a long journey.