"Yes, I ... There were people at home who thought me quite strange, as well." Because she had kept insisting that she was a girl, when others looked at her body and told her differently ... But she wasn't really willing to discuss that with Samuel. She'd never really had to tell someone before; back home, everyone had grown up with her, and they all knew. Most of them had opinions about it, too, but they'd quieted down after Apollo had publicly shown his approval by blessing her. Now people looked at her and thought girl, and those who hadn't known her before Apollo's blessing never realized they might have once thought differently. Including everyone she'd met in Caido. She didn't want to reveal her previous state to any of them, and run the risk that they might have "opinions" about it as well. Instead she added, "Shockingly, most of them changed their minds when Apollo blessed me. Suddenly everyone wanted to remind me how we'd been such close friends all along."
Nodding, Arialla didn't miss the intensity in Samuel's voice or eyes. She knew better than to take one's promise to a god lightly. "I will. I think I've waited out of fear that she would be angry with me for taking so long, but ... that'll just get worse the longer I stall, of course."
Samuel's words didn't exactly comfort Arialla -- rather the opposite, in fact. They reminded her that he was bound to the Voice forever, whether he liked it or not. Not only would he die if he left, but even if he did, the Voice still owned his immortal soul. Should she mention that? Or would that be too upsetting? Taking a deep breath, she decided to go for it: "Safrin told me that the Voice ... keeps the souls of the Ascended. So you ... really do have forever ..."
OK, she probably shouldn't have said that.
please don't take my sunshine away
