The sight of caked blood underneath my fingernails made my stomach churn. I wanted to vomit, but my body would not allow it.

"You might want to wash up." Sheo whispered as he helped me up.

I stared down at my arms and gagged.

"You're probably right."

I went back to Sheo's room and filled a bowl with warm water. I dipped a cloth into and scrubbed up and down my arms until the cloth and the water ran bright red. I dumped the water out the window and refilled it, getting a new cloth and starting the process over again. I went through four bowls of water and three cloths before Sheo came in and leaned on the frame of the door, ticking his cane against the marble floor.

"If you have any hopes of surviving here in the Isles, then I'd suggest you shape up."

"I am shaped up." I defended, scrubbing my arms.

"You broke down over a wee bit of blood Layla. I hardly consider that 'shaped up'."

I remained silent and let the sloshing of the water calm my nerves. He was so right that it made me angry. I finally set the cloth down and clutched my head, knowing full well he was right and I was wrong, no matter how much I wanted to think the opposite.

"I know I need to shape up. I will get better about this, I swear."

Sheo nodded, but said nothing and turned around and left the room, leaving me stranded with a bowl of pale red water and a red cloth. I threw the cloth across the room and threw the entire bowl out the window, hearing smash on the ground below me. I laid down on the floor and jumped slightly from the cold. I stared at the ceiling and wondered of what Martin might think of me at the moment. I closed my eyes tight and tried to remember his face, his voice and the way he smelled, but nothing came.

"What would you do in my position?" I asked aloud.

"I would get off the floor first."

I sat up and noticed Haskill in the next room, poking about. I stood up and shook myself off, going into the bedroom.

"What are you doing here?"

"For the same reason you are."

"Washing off blood?"

"Heavens no! Relaxing."

"In Sheo's room?"

"Precisely."

"Oh."

I sat on the bed and amazed by the sudden softness it held. I laid myself down and before I knew it, I was sound asleep.

--

"You have your own quarters now."

I jumped slightly and looked around. I had fallen asleep and lost complete track of the time. I looked in the lighted doorway and saw that it was Sheo leaning against the door frame again.

"You don't want me here anymore?"

"I'm just saying you have your own quarters now."

I swung both legs over the bed and stood up, clutching to the post for support. I walked out of the room and into the Dementia side of the castle, which was a little eerie and made me cringe. I remembered the duty I had here now however, and straightened up. This was step one to growing a thicker skin. I had to get through this place without freaking out. I went outside and smelled the heavy scents of alocasia fruits in the air and sighed. A few Dark Seducers reluctantly smiled at me. They were still upset at me for killing their mistress for sure.

Too damn bad. I was their mistress now whether they liked it or not.

I went downstairs into my own quarters, which weren't bad now that there wasn't a dead body on the bed. I checked the sheets to make sure that they had been changed, and thank the heavens they had been. I walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, seeing a variety of clothing everywhere from pajamas to evening wear. I pulled out a deep purple silk night gown and stripped off my old clothing and slid it over my pale, small frame. I sighed as I pulled my grey hair out from a ponytail and climbed underneath the covers, digging around for a book.

"Didn't this woman ever read?" I mumbled to myself as I fell off the bed looking underneath for a book.

"Maybe Sheo has one." I said aloud again and climbed out of bed.

Wait a minute. Would I really want one of his books? It might be something weird like, "How To Cook A Baby In 10 Minutes" or "Killing Minions For Dummies". I decided it couldn't be that bad and put on a bathrobe and went back into the castle and back into Sheo's room. I dim candle was lit over his head, and to my surprise he was reading.

"Can I help you?" He sighed.

"I was just looking for a book to read."

"Doesn't Syl have anything?"

I shook my head and he sighed, going back to his book and waving his hand toward a bookcase.

"Dig around, I'm sure you'll find something."

I smiled and grabbed a candle, using his to light my own. I squatted down and gazed over the various titles. He had all the volumes of the Biography of the Wolf Queen, A Brief History of the Empire, and The Real Barenziah. I was floored, considering these were all books that had to do with Tamriel.

"How did you acquire such a collection?" I asked, digging through two shelves.

"I collect them. Sometimes people who wander here bring them, and I tend to keep them."

I nodded and grabbed Darkest Darkness and Thief of Virtue, two books that I had at least four copies of when I was staying at Cloud Ruler Temple. Martin used to scoff at me, but I destroyed books on many occasions, so it was always good to keep a few extra copies around.

"Thank you Sheo." I said and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"Don't you want to stay?"

I blew out my candle and the flicker from Sheo's reading candle barely illuminated the smoke blowing around my face.

"I have my own quarters now, as you said."

He looked at me for a moment more, and went back to his book.