"Thank you," Arialla said, sitting and taking the juice. She managed to inhale it by gasping when Samuel explained his situation, and had to get through a coughing fit before she could respond. Putting the glass down, she finally said, "Samuel, I'm so ... sorry. I was going to ask you about the Voice, actually, but I understand if you don't want to talk about her. Do ... Why did you leave her, if you don't mind me asking? You don't have to tell me if it's personal."
And does she still have your soul? That question rose in Arialla's mind, but she nixed it: asking about the state of someone's soul seemed terribly intimate for a man that she actually barely knew. And she suspected that answering would only make Samuel more miserable, as well.
The idea that the Voice might withdraw her gifts from a rebellious follower didn't surprise Arialla in the least -- she was rather more surprised that the Voice hadn't simply struck Samuel down on the spot. But she didn't really understand the extent of Sam's debilitation, either.
please don't take my sunshine away
