Hollywood Zenith

Talia, Ariel

It's been hours since Samuel left, vanishing in the unfamiliar maze to search for the archives. Ariel who was left alone with Talia didn't know what to do other than take care of her half sister who was still reeling from the effects pf being rescued from the brink of death.

Ariel strictly cleaned up her temporary quaters which was riddled with the aftermath of Talia's miraculous healing. She didn't know what he did but Talia seemed to be reborned with her body returning back to it's pristine self with no visible destruction which she endured during the ritual.

There was no scarring or the infestation that was brought upon on her by excessive use of poison in her body. The obvious sign was her lack of hair, other than that was the collection of gross material that her body shed during the healing process.

She situated the unconscious Talia away from the quaters as the residue poison might be harmful for anyone that would come in contact with it.

It was odd for her to care for Talia as she felt like she was partially responsible for her current state. As someone who never known any family other than her master, it was hard for her to connect with others even of it was her so called sister.

For her, all that mattered was to carry forward her master's legacy but somewhere along the line she began to see through the surface only to realise her master's ideal might be wrong.

Absolute morally was just a concept but she believed she was doing the right thing which comes at a price which she was happy to part with but seeing how cruel her master was to Talia, she began to change her view.

Now with a variable like Samuel in the mix who was able to take away their biggest advantage-poison, she didn't know if their goal was even possible. She knew about the mysterious organisation that they were at odds with but she didn't know if their current trejectory would even come close to dealing any damage to their enemy.

She lifted the naked Talia wraping her in a coean sheet before taking her to the adjacent room. She did hear few things how Samuel had changed her sister and witnessed how he was able to sneak into their den without ny issue which made him even more mysterious.

Unlike other girls who were fascinated by his appearance, for her his capabilities were much more appealing. She wanted to know more about his powers but that might have to wait.

"Ummm.." Talia stirred when she laid her on bed and she showed signs of waking up. Ariel decided to watch over her as she was still a prisoner according to her master.

She didn't know what will happen next, whether Samuel will confront them head on or just sneak away with Talia, either way thr ball was in his court and she was strangely okay with either outcome.

She felt neither fear or happiness but it was clear she didn't want her only blood relative yo rot away in this place, she might not be able to do anything about it but Samuel could definitely confront her master. It might be the reason why she contacted him. If not for her, it was clear Talia might not have survive for long.

"Sami.." Talia muttered which woke Ariel from her thoughts.

She opened her eyes to see a unfamiliar ceiling trying hard to sit up but her body was still too weak to obey her command. Ariel gave her a glass of water and said," How are you feeling now?"

"Hmm...I have a massive headache but more than that I feel pain all over my body." Ariel helped her sit up only then the other party realised something was wrong.

"You..Ariel?" She squinted her eyes to get a better look at her.

"Yes. You are still weak but I can see there were no lasting effects on your body." She had already checked and she seemed fine. Her skin seemed to have taken in the natural pink hue and she looked better than before.

Talia also looked at her hands which felt like a dream. She did dream about returning back to her normal self so this all seemed much more like it than reality.

Suddenly, she remembered what transpired but more than that she remembered Samuel's familiar touch. It was when she was at the lowest and he came to her rescue. It was hazy but she did feel unprecedented comfort when he touched her.

"Do you remember what happened?" Ariel asked seeing her looking at the glass of water absent mindedly.

"Was he here? What happened to me? Did he do it?" Her voice was still hoarse leading her to take several gulps of water to wash her throat.

"He was but he went out leaving me to take care of you. I don't know what he did but it definitely healed you."

Talia touched her clean hand feeling the familiar skin. She didn't know how he did it but it seemed to have healed her. She was back to her usual self without any trace of poison in her body.

"I remember parts of it..." She murmured trying hard to remember only to get glimpses of what happened.

She remembered how his skin turned black when she touched him not to mention his muffled scream when they kissed as she hugged him. It sent a jolt down her spine as she believed something happened to him because of her.

"How was he when he left? Did I hurt him-"

"He was fine. Just a little shaken up but other than that he walked and talked normally." Ariel only entered the room after he had neutralized the poison so she didn't see the process but seeing Talia's reaction something must have happened between them to make her worry.

"I see." Talia quieted down again. She didn't have the strength to run after him beside she wanted to know something from Ariel, her supposed enemy.

"Why...why did you help me?"