**Please note: This version is unedited**
I got there too late.
Blood soaked the yellow walls of an otherwise cheerful kitchen. Through a lone window, soft moonlight illuminated a white towel with purple flowers, which hung beside drying dishes next to the sink. The kitchen was clean, except for the floor smeared with sticky red. Blood didn't bother me. It hadn't bothered since I made my first kill at the age of eleven.
I wiped my sword against my leg, not knowing why I bothered. Every sword I touched seemed to get dirty. However, this time, the sword wasn't mine. If only I was a few minutes sooner... I clamped down the thought. It never paid to look back.
For weeks, I'd watched her. She was stronger than she realized, surprisingly strong. But she wasn't the one I sought. Nothing special. Just a regular girl. Then why did you save her?
Sirens sounded outside the small house. They were getting closer.
"The police," came the obvious realization from my apprentice.
I sighed. Apprentices had been so much easier to train back in my time.
"We should go," he nagged.
In a small burst of magic, I mended the fabric of the girl's ripped shirt. In another burst of magic, blue fire went over her face as I mended her mind. I hadn't been able to stop the horror, but I could bury it. Forget, I whispered in her ear. Ryan, forget.