Never Let Go [Hiatus]

Part I, Chapter 5-Sentence

Theliel woke up in cold sweat. That day's events had replayed countless times in her dreams. Her eyes sprang open and she sat up abruptly. 'Ouch!' she gasped in pain, and fell back onto the bed, her hand clutching her wound. It took a while before she registered her surroundings. She was back in her own room, windows flung wide to admit the warm rays of the Sun. Theliel took a deep breath, smiling at the sweet scent of flowers that filled the air. Her wound had been cleaned and carefully bandaged. Miracle I survived. But because her chest wound was rather deep, it made her movements extremely painful and difficult.

Knock Knock.. The door opened slightly and Arariel peeped in.

'You're finally awake!!!' Arariel squealed and hugged her sister tightly.

'Ouch! Ouch! Gentle, Arariel! You're hurting me,' Theliel half-laughed, half-cried.

'You've been sleeping for a full week!'

'THAT long?!' Theliel exclaimed and then quickly thought of Aphaleon again.

'Aphaleon! How about him? Where is he now? Was he badly hurt? Did you all do anything to him?' Theliel asked, her heart seized with fear. Arariel looked at her sister with sad eyes.

Please don't tell me I've lost my baby brother. The thought of her own powerlessness in helping her brother grieved her. He was suffering so much, and could even have been exorcised by now, and here she was sleeping, never having a chance to help or say a proper goodbye. The last thing she did was to drag him into the dining hall half naked.

'When we arrived at the Gardens, he had already fled, but he could not travel far with his injuries and so we easily caught up with him. Father had sentenced him to isolation in the Rings Of Fire...'

'WHAT? That's so cruel. Aphaleon is no sinner! How can he banish him to hell?'

'Theliel, listen to me. Aphaleon is not the Aphaleon we know anymore. He attacks anyone and anything that approaches him. He doesn't recognize any of us anymore. He has become Hate itself.' She paused, waiting for a response from Theliel.

'Father had originally intended to exorcise him. But Rainer pleaded for you.'

Theliel's eyes widened and then grew gentle. 'Rainer, he...'

'He knew you would be bereaved. And actually Theliel... we sort of understood how you felt. Back then when Father passed the exorcism sentence, our heart sank. And that was when we realized that we treasure our brother after all, and considering how close you two were, you mush have felt so much worse..' Arariel squeezed Theliel's hand.

'What are you talking about? Of course all of you love your brother. No one doubted it.' she embraced Arariel, heartened to know that her siblings had not given up on Aphaleon either. Arariel hugged back, wanting to give Theliel the emotional support she needed. The two made small talk for a while before Arariel left to inform the rest about Theliel's improvement in condition.

'Arariel! Help me send my thanks to Rainer!'

'Sure thing!' she promised as she closed the door.