The Nightingale

Chapter Thirteen

"You need to wait for me here. It's going to take me a minute to convince Liam to switch stations, and if you show up before he's gone he'll sound the alarm that you're here, and it won't just be four Guards who show up to kill you." Natasha nodded at Penelope and watched as she walked away from her and John, leaving them hiding a few houses away from Natasha's home. The moment she began to walk away, John turned back to her.

"Natasha-"

"I know what you're going to stay," Natasha stopped him, turning to face him. "We can trust her, trust me." She watched him closely, noting the skepticism and irritation that remained etched into his expression.

"How can you say that? Your own father tried to kill you, your own family. How can you know that you can trust her?" He asked, motioning in the direction that Penelope had gone, the path now empty as she had turned the corner to Natasha's home.

"You didn't see her face when she asked me to help her, John," she exhaled, shaking her head, "And you didn't see Ky's face when he saved me that night. He wanted to escape, I could see it in his eyes when he took that hood off and I could hear it in his voice when I told him that he should come with me. He was filled with pain and desperation and, and sadness." Natasha looked away from John for a moment, running her hands through her hair as she sighed heavily, trying to fight off her own pain at the memory of Ky giving up his life for her.

"It's the same look that I saw in Penelope's face, the same look that I didn't see in my father's. My father didn't want to be saved, he made that very clear in what he did that night. Ky wanted to be saved and it's my fault he died. Penelope wants to be saved, and I won't let her die." Natasha looked back at John, waiting for his reaction. His expression did not changed, he only looked more unconvinced as he stared down the alley Penelope had traveled down.

"Your stubbornness is going to be your downfall. And so it seems mine."

At that moment, Penelope appeared in the mouth of the alley, holding her sword out in her hand to signal to them that it was safe to approach her home. Natasha looked back at John who simply shrugged and motioned for Natasha to go first, and she noted that he still hadn't put his dagger away, or removed his free hand from the hilt of one of the swords that hung by his side. She had put her own dagger away when they neared her home, but she felt her hand move towards the handle as she walked, her fingers brushing against it.

"We don't have a lot of time," Penelope whispered as they neared her. "I think Liam was suspicious of why I wanted to change stations ahead of schedule, so whatever you're hoping to find, find it fast.

"Can I have a minute?" Natasha looked between Penelope and John, who both nodded at her. Penelope turned away, her eyes scanning the street, but John continued to watch her. Natasha let her eyes linger on him for a moment, before she turned away and faced her home, the only building left fully standing among the wreckage, and Natasha knew it was intentional, a reminder for her if she ever returned home of the destruction she caused.

Taking a deep breath, she reached slowly for the handle and pushed the door open, stepping inside the dark space. The interior of her home was a stark contrast to the outside, still standing tall and put together. On the inside, the remnants of her life were in shambles. The kitchen table and chairs were knocked over, dishes shattered on the floor around it. Remnants of a meal spoiled on the counter where her mother prepared dinner, telling Natasha that her family had been preparing to eat together when the Guards stormed in. The small cabinets on either side of the fireplace had been ransacked, her family's belongings taken from the shelves and strewn across the floor, some pieces ripped and broken. The legs on the bench in front of the fireplace were broken off, and Natasha wondered if Tomas had smashed the furniture in an attempt to use the wood as a means of defense.