A/N: Betaed only by myself this time. And no, I have no clue as to why the muse has a word limit lately. Guess I'm finally learning to be brief. Yes, still working slowly on my other stories. Unfortunately the muse seems to have attention problems of late.

Bloody Intentions

Book prays as they bleed. Watches them take the blood of others time and again. Cries as it splatters and stains his clothes. Wonders why he is being tested once more.

When he left the abbey, he swore that he would walk in the world honorably and follow the path of the bible. Yet as he looks back, he can't help but see that almost all of his choices have left footprints stamped in a trail of blood. Is he still on the right path? Can any path in which he holds an instrument of death again be the right one?

There was no blood in the abbey. Not to say that there wasn't death, the brothers weren't always young. But violence was absent and injuries few. He misses the peace, misses the certainty of knowing what each day would bring. Tomorrow he might be called on to help rescue the Captain or to defend the girl. And the day after he might be asked to break a commandment in order to save the ship.

Would God give half a hump if he was innocent? Did it matter that he only aimed for non-lethal shots if the victim bled to death? Did it matter that he did it only to save the lives of those he considered to be family? Would any of his good deeds ever wash the blood off of his soul? And could he accomplish any good on a ship whose crew spilled the blood of others so callously? Would his sins be any less if he stood by and did nothing?

In the past, he'd taken an eye for an eye before learning to turn the other cheek. He hopes to teach that lesson to the warriors of this crew, but fears that his wisdom is unheard. Worse, he finds that he admires the hard choices made daily by these people even as he is horrified at the loss of life their actions bring. Do his good intentions separate him from their sins? Both have become soaked in the same blood.

Book prays for the answers even as he worries that his actions have caused his God to turn from him.