Mercy *Obi x OC* (COMPLETE)

Tangled Up In You

Tangled Up In You - Staind

I wake up screaming and swinging. I don't want to be with this strange man, I want to be with Len. Where am I? I want to go home... I feel someone grab my wrists and hold me still and I fight against them until my vision clears. I'm not with Threil... I'm with Obi. I'm safe now. Once I stop fighting he quietly tells me that I'm safe and it's okay and I bury my face in his chest as I break down. I'm glad that I'm learning about what's been suppressed, but that hurt and I could feel how terrified I was back then. I should have been on my toes and kept my distance, but I didn't think much about the man talking to me about windows. Mother taught me that the people who attended churches were good people and to trust them more than those who wandered the streets. Trusting him led me to this...

"It's okay Els, I've got you, I promise I won't let anyone get to you." He whispers as his hand runs through my hair.

I tighten my grip on his shirt, not wanting to leave the only bit of safety I've ever known.

"I saw it... I saw Threil take me."

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it, just know he can never hurt you again."

"N-No, you deserve to know." I slowly pull my face from his chest without releasing his shirt.

I know Obi blames himself for my disappearance but maybe this will help. I explain what happened in my dream and feel him hold me tighter.

"I should have kept you beside me. We were in a different village in the middle of the night and-"

"It's okay, Obi, you don't have to blame yourself. I don't blame you for what happened. I guess if anything, this whole things just means I get to meet you again like a new person."

"I'm not sure that's a good thing..." He sighs.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. How's your head? You passed out earlier. I think we overloaded your head a little bit."

"I'm as okay as I can be I suppose, but tell me what it means, please? I think after everything life's thrown at me, not much will surprise me."

"I don't want you to think anything differently of me... but uh, since I left home, I- became a thief..."

"Not a surprise from what I learned from my memories." I chuckle.

"I am also an assassin for hire."

"Oh." I blink. That I didn't exactly expect. "I did that for Threil."

"You?" He laughs. "I can't imagine little Els kicking someone's ass, let alone killing someone."

"Rude." I retort. "Once I'm healed, I'll kick your ass and show you."

"Who's rude now?"

    I fold myself into a chair on the small porch on the front of the cottage and sigh contentedly. It's another windy evening and I convinced him that I felt well enough to be outside. He wouldn't let us go out into the world but this is close enough for now. I accept the cup of tea and the blanket from him and get comfortable while he settles beside me. After I'd calmed down completely he helped me up to the bathroom so I could take a much deserved bath. I still don't have any clothing but what he has so I borrowed another shirt and a pair of pants that I had to roll the waist and the legs on. He's gotten quite a bit taller than me over the years. He was always taller by a few inches but now he's close to a foot taller.

"So, Obi the assassin, hm? I was wondering why your name changed, but I wasn't going to ask."

"I learned a few things while I was out looking for you and needed a way to make money while not getting killed myself." He shrugs. "I never came across you though."

"It wasn't often he sent me out and it was always at night with strict instruction. I wouldn't go into the villages if I could help it and just had to kill and return home. I was never seen so I didn't have to worry about an alias or anything like that."

"I still can't picture you doing any of that." He chuckles. "When we were kids, you were always trying to stop me from fighting when the other kids would pick on you."

"Well, if I wasn't so confident you'd get your butt kicked I wouldn't have had to stop you." I mumble then pause. "Wait, what?"

"You said that every time I tried to fight. Did you have another dream last night?"

"No, and none of my previous memories mentioned that."

"Maybe you're starting to remember more subconsciously. That's a good sign that the drugs are moving out of your system and you may eventually get more of your memories back."

"Are my parents still alive?" I ask quietly. I haven't had any memories about them yet.

"Last I knew, your mother is still alive and your brother as well. Your father died in a mine collapse about four years ago. I haven't been near Sea Port in two years."

"What about your family?"

A weird look crosses his face and he redirects his attention to the cloudy skies.

"Mother is still alive last I knew, but she's gone to the dens... My little sister Anyala is possibly alive, though I have no idea where she could be now. Things went very bad after your disappearance and I left home. I came back to check on Anyala and found out that Mother was intending to sell her off to fuel a drug habit. I stole Anyala from her room and brought her to the home of an elderly couple I'd stayed with for a short while. I came back to check on her a few months later but the couple died and she was nowhere to be found. I haven't seen her since."

"I'm so sorry."

"I did what I thought was right but that never seems to work out. I'm not very lucky in that sense... Do you want to see your family?"