Don't Forget

# 30 Shattered Memories

A/N Blood and Trauma warning (this chapter is pretty intense)

     Sky knows that he's dreaming. He knows that everything around him isn't real, simply because someone like him would never be in a place like this. Sky has no childhood. None of it is real. But it won't stop.
       Prince Adam lays underneath the thick blanket on his bed, just his head peeking out. The child's face show's nothing of Sky's sharp anger and grief.
      "What are you humming?", Adam wriggles further up in his covers, watching the servant in his room. The woman is busy cleaning up the prince's discarded clothing. No seven year old is very tidy.
     "It's just something my mother used to sing to me. Do you want hear the words?", she smiles. Prince Adam happily nods his head as the servant turns to face him. Long, curly, and brown hair. She has such a soft expression with a hint of longing in her eyes.
      And then blood. Adam's mother coughs up blood, a sword through her chest. The prince screams and runs towards her. Sky and Adam are both forced to watch in their fractured state.
       The servant disappears, replaced by a dirty man with a spark in his eyes. The bedroom has morphed into a drab prison court yard. Preston is screaming, blood pouring from his chest and leaking from his eyes. The fourteen year old Adam is numb with grief and despair.
      None of these are Sky's memories. Sky never went through all this, and these people's deaths have no effect on him. The assassin is shaking uncontrollably in this dark place as the prince trapped inside his head is screaming.
       And then Sky is standing above a corpse. The faces of all the people he's killed flash by on repeat. This is what Sky's done. This is what Adam's done. No, Prince Adam is dead. There's only Sky. Sky has always been a murderer who only cares for himself.
       There's a small body lying at his feet. The boy's pale skin is bluish in death, gray eyes glazed open. Jason is covered with blood. His clothes are soaked in it. One of his legs is completely torn off. Then Jason's yelling, much older and wearing a metal suit.
     "Adam!", He screams, watching Sky collapse to the ground. Various cuts litter his body, the side of his head bleeding heavily. The assassin's vision goes dark.
      Everything around him is dark now. He's trapped in this crazed state, unable to escape. The Prince can't even recognize himself. The Assassin doesn't know who he is. All the memories and emotions are clashing together into one thick fog, blinding him even further.
      "Adam...... Sky? Sky....... Adam?", a hand is placed his shoulder. His hands untangle from his hair at the voice. He knows what he'll see if he turns around. Dark, curly hair, always dirty. A wary expression. Blue eyes.
       Sky won't turn around. Adam is too scared to turn around. It doesn't matter. It matters more then anything else. He refuses to see what running truly took from him. ThaT blUe eyEd bOY is dead.
       When Sky looks up, he's met with a mirror image of himself. A different person then who was behind him. Adam sees a dark figure wearing two short words. Sky sees a kind smile and a golden crown. Neither can live with who the other is.
He wakes up with someone's hand on his forehead. His mind is in too much of a panic to use any of Sky's training. He throws himself off the bed, knocking over whoever had been touching him.
      Quinten yelps when the older male nearly crushes him. The assassin scrambles up and almost blows the door off its hinges in the mad rush. Sunlight blinds him. There are people all around. Way too many people for him to handle.
A few shouts go out as he bolts in a random direction. Sky is strong and fast, and he'd be hard to catch on an average day. But he's bleeding and hurt.
Someone hooks their arms around his shoulders and pulls him back. Adam screams then, writhing like a snake. Sub pulls him to the ground in an effort to hang on. He's still got injuries from his own mission, but Sky is worse off. The stitches on his side are broken and bleeding. Smaller scrapes and cuts are no doubt the same. Half of Sky's head is bandaged from a blow that gave him a concussion.
Quinten was suppose to keep him asleep for at least the rest of the week. Sky's strange healing factor would have saved him by then. At this rate, he'll kill himself.
      "Sky! You have to stop, you're bleeding!", Jason finally catches up to the two. He and Sub had first seen Sky run out. The assassin looks up at the boy with glazed eyes.
     "I don't know you. I don't", Sky mumbles. But Adam is crying and shaking all over. All he can see is a five year old's broken body. He quickly grabs a dagger from Sub's belt and flicks the blade back at him. The mute reflexively jumps back, letting go of Sky.
      He's up and running immediately, despite the growing splotches of blood all over him. He's paying no attention at all to where he's going. Someone else tries to grab him by the arm. In a daze, Sky stops and kicks out at whoever's got a hold of him. He kicks Mitch right in the chest and sends him to the ground.
       And then he's out of the camp and tearing through the trees. A branch smacks him in the face and finally stops his crazed sprint. Sky falls into his knees in the middle of the forest.
       Adam digs his fingernails into his scalp, still shaking and crying. What has he done? Look at all the people who have died for him, and continue to die because of him. Why is the prince still alive when so many are already gone?
      These can't be Sky's memories or feelings. The assassin doesn't care for anyone expect himself. No one would ever die for a murderer like him.
      Preston's lifeless eyes haunt his mind. 
      Some part of him recognizes the sound of footsteps heading his way. Sky's training takes a firm hold, and he pulls himself up into a tree. He's just starting to feel the effect of his wounds. His entire side is like a cold fire, and his vision is starting to blur. Sky still manages to clumsily climb up into the tree.
     "Sky! Where'd you go? You really shouldn't be out here", Ty follows the broken branches and trampled bushes to the spot underneath the tree. Ty can't believe how much of an obvious trail his teacher left. It's never been that easy before.
     A drop of blood leaks down onto the soldier's cheek. Ty looks up in shock to see Sky laying on a branch above him. He looks horrible.
      What skin isn't covered in bandages, is dirty from his crazed tussle with Sub. The bandages wrapped around his torso are soaked through in blood. Sky's eyes are red and blood shot with tear stains all the way down his face. He watches Ty with half lidded eyes.
      Sky has always seemed so strong and sure of himself. Even when he was cold or rude, Ty was proud to be learning from him. Seeing Sky now makes him want to hide in a hole.
     Bloody and battered, the assassin can't hang onto to consciences very long. He passes out and quickly slips from the tree. Ty shouts and barely manages to catch him. He almost drops him from the sudden weight.
       Sky wakes up back in bed. But this time, both his hands are tied to the headboard. His entire body aches, his head and side both burning.
      "You scared everybody really bad, you know?", Ty speaks up. Sky turns his head to see the soldier sitting in a chair across from his bed. "Mitch asked me to watch you so you wouldn't hurt yourself again".
      Sky turns away to stare at the ceiling. The day before is all just a confusing haze of panic. His mask is more firmly in place now. It's been a long time since he's had those kinds of nightmares. Those memories belong down down down where no one can find them.
"Are you hungry?", Ty speaks again, "You were out for about three days, and then one more after......". Sky doesn't answer. He feels like a prisoner again. Again? No, Sky's never been a slave. Who said anything about slaves in a mine? That never happened.
They sit in silence. Ty uncomfortably bounces his knee for a few minutes. He finally gets up with a huff and walks over to Sky's bed. There's a small end table next the bed with a glass and pitcher. Ty pours a cup while glancing at Sky.
"So, do you want me to help you sit up, or am I gonna force feed you?", he raises an eyebrow. The assassin only holds a glare for a few seconds before slightly nodding.
Awkwardly, Ty helps Sky sit up with his arms still tied behind his back. His side gives a throb of agony with every movement. He still feels a bit better after drinking.
The assassin leans back against the headboard after he's done. He doesn't speak. Ty sighs and sits down on the end of the bed, scooting to let his back rest against the wall. The quiet could almost be cut with a knife. Both of them are feeling pretty miserable.
"Alright. You know that I grew up on the capital's streets, right?", Ty starts to ramble. He's been looking for the right time to explain something like this, but he's never had the opportunity or the right person. "What nobody really knows is that I was born to a noble house. My father was one of the King's counsel men. He threw me out when I was six".
Sky looks up to meet his eyes. It's not everyday that someone spews out their life story. Even rarer for an assassin to meet noble blood on friendly terms.
"It really hurt for my entire family to throw me out. My older sister or mother didn't even protest. I suddenly didn't exist. None of the other noble houses would acknowledge me. I eventually found out that other noble kids under seven were suddenly 'deceased'. About five of us were all thrown out". Ty is quiet for a moment after that.
"I think I dislike your father", Sky says then, his voice rough. Ty laughs a little at that. No one's ever heard of his past before.
"That's the crazy thing. I don't think he did it because he hated me. No, it's the opposite", Ty looks up to the ceiling, "After the castle fell to the squids, over twenty noble families were executed. Most who didn't ally with the enemy. My dad, sister, and mom were all beheaded. I lived because there's forged documents marking my death at age six; I died from drowning. My father saved me".
Like many others, Sky never realized how much history a street rat could really have. Ty's lost everything, including his noble title, and fought his way back up into a semi-important military position.
"Sounds like you've got a lot of baggage on your shoulders", Sky remarks. Ty's most likely the last of his own blood line.
"You're the only one who knows. With how bad your nightmares seem to be, you've probably had it pretty rough. I'm here to listen if you ever need it", Ty says in a quiet tone.
Sky's face goes cold at that. He's got no past to talk about, and certainly nothing like Ty's. Sky has no nightmares that make him want to die on the spot. Those dark memories can't be his. And yet, he feels the echoes of shackles on his scarred wrist.
"But you weren't there when I did need you the most", Adam quietly mumbles. All the betrayal and grief suddenly feels fresh. But his healing factor is starting to kick in, drawing him back into the void of sleep.
Ty turns to face Sky at the words, confused and about to ask what he means. He quickly closes his mouth. Sky is passed out again and still awkwardly up against the headboard.
Wasn't there? What did he mean? Without his jacket or shirt, most of Sky's scars are in plain view. Only a few are covered by bandages. Sky's wrists are a mess of scar tissue Ty's only just noticed.
It reminds Ty of shackles. The rough metal would definitely bleed if someone wore them enough. Where would someone get that kind of treatment?
A dirty boy in a wooden slave wagon comes to mind. Ty's eyes widen as he looks back to Sky's face. Jutting our from the fresh bandages on his chest, there's another large stab scar right in his gut. A dirty kid, unable to escape because of a bloody wound to his stomach.
Ty's blood runs cold. He gets up and moves around Sky, confirming his worst fears when he sees the brand burned into his shoulder. The same one that Ty has.