✓ Golden Eyes ➣ j. kline

seventeen

➣ [ THE CURE ] ➣

- ➣ -

THE WORLD FROZE. The pain of Arya's wounds seemed to fade slightly as she stared at him from across the field. Slowly, one step at a time, he walked toward her until they were at least two feet apart.

"What's wrong Ma?" Arya's thoughts were interrupted by the little girl still clinging to her.

Arya blinked at the girl for a moment then smiled, "don't worry about it." She lightly patted her hair as the girl pulled Arya closer, causing her to wince.

"How...how are you?" Noah stepped forward, reaching out to touch her face, but stopped. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Look, I think there's been a huge misunderstanding," Arya said. "I'm not..," she looked down at the girl holding her. Noah's face shifted again to something that Arya couldn't read and he took a step back.

"Diana," Noah spoke, the girl looked up, "how about you go with Joseph while I handle this?" He looked over to the dark haired man that had been traveling with the group.

The man, Joseph, smiled at the little girl, calling to her, "Yeah, we can go visit Josiah." Diana looked up at the man then up at Arya who smiled warily.

"I'm glad you're back Mama," she grinned, then walked off with Joseph toward the camp. The rest of the group stood still for a moment, the awkwardness of the situation hitting all of them. Arya couldn't have been more thankful when Bobby broke the silence.

"I guess the tour will have to wait."

➣

Arya laid quietly on a cot in the middle of a tent, her breathing beginning to become shallow as the poison reached her lungs. It seemed that the shock of her long lost lover and a girl that had called her her mother had pushed away the pain of the poison, but not for long. Jack sat at her side, holding her hand and holding a cool cloth on her forehead, trying to talk about the movies he had watched at the Bunker.

"Didn't you say she had a cure just in case something like this happened?" Bobby asked from just outside the tent.

"Yes, but Michael stole the last she made of it," Noah answered, his tone sharp. It was strange. Listening to the voice of the person you thought you had left behind. Arya's train of thought was halted as a fresh wave of pain made her wince.

Jack began to panic, "What is it? Is the water to cold? Is —".

"I'm fine Jack," Arya smiled at him, "it just hurts a little."