Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all  

A sensible human being would immediately call the police when they stumble upon a body. A sensible human being would also know what's good for them and not walk in the middle of the night, and certainly not in the midst of a storm.

Suffice to say, sensibility is not in Matthos Trem's list of attributes

Sometimes, when you've been in the complicated state a tad too long, you miss the hype and anxiety that you drive towards insanity and live sensibility behind. 

A new puzzle to solve, another mystery to be closed, a new game to be played. That alone stopped him from waking her up by force. He stared at the girl's sleeping form. She had been asleep for one solid day, and his patience was thinning as he drank his coffee, cross legged in his bed, waiting for her to open her eyes and tell him what he wants to know. 

Once he finished his coffee, he put the cup down and touched her forehead. She was warmer now, and he had to watch out for a fever. No bones broken, but when she wakes, he's pretty sure every part of her body will hurt. 

Unless she was supernatural, that is

Matthos shook his head at the thought. He was exposed to this from the time he knew how to understand things, something his parents had encrypted in his mind. 

"Never disregard the supernatural. The more you accept their existence, the lesser the chance for them to hunt you and prove to you they are real" he murmured as he felt the mattress moved a little

He caught her hand before it hit his face. She held her wrist and stared at her. His eyebrow was raised, and his mouth formed a sneer, only to have it erased as he caught the expression in her face-fear

"Glad you're awake" he smiled, trying to take a different route, but knew he was failing as her expression became a mix of disbelief and fear

"Are you hungry?" 

"Pa-par-parched" she whispered and so Matthos bolted up and took the water bottle he left on the glass table near his bed

"Here" he helped her up and supported her with his arms as she took the water bottle-just staring at it

Matthos opened the water bottle and tipped the spout on top of her bottom lip at an angle and let the water pour down, ignoring her confusion towards the object. She greedily finished everything, and finished with a burp

"I apologize" her eyes widened in fear as Matthos took the bottle from her 

"It's fine" Matthos smiled 

"Where-where am I?" she avoided his gaze and proceeded to folding her knees and clasping her hands 

Matthos grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her and sat behind her, letting the girl lay her head on his chest 

"Somewhere safe" 

"Safe-I don't feel safe" 

The power suddenly went out, and the girl started screaming

"Calm down, it's just a power interruption" he put his hands on her shoulders and patted it until she stopped screaming. Even in the darkness, her face was still clear. Since there wasn't any light on this part of the house, Matthos took her in his arms and went out. Closing the closet and proceeding to the living room where the fireplace was. The occasional lightning gave them light as he tried to start a fire, only failing abysmally 

The girl stared at him with confusion, and he left her to take some candles and matches

Only to come back and see fire, with the girl stretching her hands out and staring at it. He left her in that state and heated some soup and bread on the gas stove. With a tray of food and a glass of water, Matthos walked as silent as a cat and crept to her side-which made her jump

"It's alright, it's just me" he cooed and took the small table he had and put it in front of her, putting the tray's contents in front of her 

"Grammarcy" she started to eat, only sparing him a few glances and giving him apologetic looks as she devoured the food he gave her

The old word made him smile, and fueled curiosity. Instead of a thank you, she decided to utter a medieval form of it

She did not ask for more food, but eventually started to squirm around, touching her stitched wounds

"Do not do that, you may infect the wound. Wait for me, I'll take some ointment" Matthos was quick this time, and he started to dab the wounds with the white ointment, trying to ignore her sharp nails on his arms as she hissed in pain

"Salve" she eyed her wounds fearfully 

"It's alright" 

"'Tis right" she said in an authoritative voice, with a tinge of accent that made his brows meet

"I apologize" she bowed and went back to watching fire

"Who are you?" he took the table along with its contents when she looked at him with daggers, not taking the chance for the objects to hit his vital parts 

She sat silent for a while, and diverted her gaze to the window as the storm continued to destroy the other part of the town

"Safe, you have said I am somewhere safe" 

"I did"

"Safety is a dream" 

"How so?"

"Mayhap I will tell you when you find yourself afeared" 

He kept his silence, mirroring hers until she sighed

"Lightning, 'tis a great song to put someone to sleep" 

"You mean a lullaby?" 

She hissed at his statement and bared her milky white teeth-her innocent blue eyes darkened as if challenging him to speak more

"No, no, no!" she stood up but lost her balance

Matthos bolted up and caught her before she hit the floor

"That-never-utter-such-hateful-" her voice morphed into fear 

"What is your name?" 

She deflected the question once more, but held onto his arms as Matthos carried her and lay her down on the couch. She still watched the storm through the window

"Cursed"

"Your name is Cursed?" he deadpanned at the words, to which she chuckled

"That word you uttered, 'tis a curse" 

She said it in a matter of fact tone that made him wonder if she was an actress. She definitely looked like one

"Two fruits of the same womb. A rotten child, the other blissful. Esurient for power, would heed at naught. An orison to the enemies of thy gods who roamed, a malison disguised by a voice sweeter than a nightingale's.  A sanguinary for the innocent beings, a burden for thee" 

"I don't understand any of it" Matthos scratched his head

"Please, my lord! I will do no harm, I cannot  do such! Please, do not kill me!" she shielded herself, startling Matthos

"I'm not going to hurt you" he gritted his teeth and took ten deep breaths before facing her 

"I will not hurt you" he crooned, holding her in place and patting her back. His shirt was instantly soaked by the tears as she started to cry

"No harm shall come upon you while you are with me" 

She pulled back, her blue eyes looking straight at his grey eyes that reflected her face at the moment. She saw no lies, and felt none but reassurance. A strange feeling, is this what safety feels like? 

"Just tell me your name" he smiled, his lips curled and it made her do the same

"Neva" she suddenly stretched her arm and touched his hair

"Your hair is as bright as a corn's kernel" Neva said, touching a ringlet of Matthos' blonde hair

Good thing he had self control, and kept a serious face while laughing inside his head. She just basically called him a corn head.

"Your eyes, they are as dark as the clouds outside" 

"Yup"

She then sat straight, looking at him as if she was expecting compliments

"Uhm-" he resisted the urge to scratch his head

"Your hair is as dark as squid ink-and-your eyes are as blue as the blue corn moon" Matthos wanted to bang his head on the wall as Neva's face morphed into incredulity

 Blue corn moon? Really? He just quoted Pocahontas!!! 

"Grammarcy" 

"What town are you from?" 

"I don't know, I only remember her" Matthos wanted to slap himself, she was quite happy before, but he scared her once again

"How old are you?" he asked next

"I do not know" she hugged her knees, lowering her head 

"Do you have any family?"

"Family" a smile appeared on her face, a sad one that he wanted to erase so badly

"My family, they are alive, but they will do everything in their power to destroy me. Please, for all that is holy, do not look for them. Conceal my presence-"

"Matthos, my name is Matthos" 

"Math's" she frowned, and then realization dawned in her expression "A field of study?"

How he hated his name at that moment, he knew his parents were geeks and accepted that wholeheartedly. What he could not accept was the fact that he was named after their favorite subject 

"Yes" he sighed in defeat, and let her giggle at the joke that was his name

"Neva, are you still hungry?" 

"Yes, my lord. I am famished" 

"I am not a lord"

"A commoner?"

"A slave" 

"With a house made of wood and metal?" she looked around "With velvet couches and Persian carpet?" her eyes were about to pop out

"I was only kidding"he held his hands up in surrender

"You're a kid?" 

"I was jesting" he corrected

"Oh" 

"Do try to sleep for a while" he then looked at where she was and decided to carry her to the couch. She was starting to doze off, and the lights went back on. Making him catch the moment when her eyes finally closed, and her face finally eased into a calmer expression

"You will be safe" he whispered and covered her with the blanket

Tomorrow will be challenging

But first

Bring out that Archaic dictionary