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The Eternal

Chapter 16: Truth within Lies

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text


Truth within Lies


Standing in front of the hospital, Lila Rossi titled her head to the side as she sighed, not knowing what truly compelled her to come to this place. The dream was nothing but a blur as of that moment, and she could barely recall what had happened. The only thing—the only one—she remembered was being told to come over to the hospital to visit Chloe for some reason.

No, Lila thought as she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Memories were slowly seeping back into her mind. She had been told to make friends with Chloe, something that she had agreed to for the reward that it would lead for her in the future.

“Let’s do this,” The Italian muttered beneath her breath as she walked up to the doors of the hospital.

The doors slid open, and she walked inside, the fresh air conditioner brushing against her skin as soon as the inside was exposed to the outside. Lila looked around and saw that many people were around, sitting in ways that she could feel that they were here to get a checkup after the events that happened.

After spotting the receptionist, Lila walked up to the woman massaging her forehead as though she was feeling a headache.

“Hello,” Lila softly called out, trying to get in the woman’s good graces from the first word.

“Hello, miss,” The receptionist said, straightening her back. She looked around, and behind Lila, looking for something. “Are you alone?”

“Yes, I came here to visit someone after I received the news that they were admitted into this hospital.” Lila mustered a worried expression on her face, as best as she could.

The heart of the receptionist faltered at seeing the sight and sighed. She looked around and gently waved as she spoke. “You aren’t the only one, dear. Everyone here is the same as you. Who are you looking for?”

“Chloe Bourgeois,” Lila replied, and the name was an immediate effect.

The receptionist’s shoulders tensed at the name and looked down at a paper on her desk. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as subtle as possible, but Lila caught onto her expression quickly and discreetly.

And so, the Italian put up a confused expression.

“Is there a problem?”

The woman gave out a forced laugh as she furrowed her brows. “None at all, may I ask who gave you this information?” She had a smile on her face that did not quite reach her eyes.

Dammit, didn’t think about that. Being quick with her mind, Lila thought about the only possible clue as to from who she would know this information. “Adrien Agreste said it to me, I am classmates with him and Chloe.”

The woman relaxed, and Lila grinned inwardly as the woman simply passed her a piece of paper.

“This is the room, please memorized it before I destroy it.”

Lila frowned at the receptionist's words but didn’t say anything. She had managed her mission on getting the room, she would not complain. Looking over the number of the room, Lila knew for a fact that it may slip from her mind soon after she had it in her mind, and so she made the number of the room with her fingers.

“Thank you,”

Saying goodbye to the receptionist, Lila made her way toward the elevator of the hospital and quickly pressed the button on the floor. It quickly moved up and reached its destination.

Lila got out of the elevator and noticed a black-haired woman moving in the direction of Chloe’s room. The Italian followed the woman and saw her enter the room that the receptionist told Lila was Chloe’s room.

With curiosity filling her body, Lila moved toward the room and saw the door closed. Breathing in and out, she knocked on the door a couple of times and waited. Nothing happened for a couple of seconds, but then Lila heard the click of the door and noticed the door giving a slight opening.

From the opening, the woman Lila saw before was standing there, looking at Lila with her grey and cold eye. The Italian shivered for a second and noticed how her heartbeat seemed to fasten as soon as the woman’s eyes were laid on her. Swallowing her saliva, Lila prepared herself.

She was close to her objective, if she could plant seeds, it could all work out in the end.

“Is Chloe Bourgeois in this room?” Lila asked, standing straight.

The woman narrowed her eyes. “Who is asking?”

“Lila Rossi, a classmate of hers,” Lila responded, as innocently as possible.

The woman said nothing for a few seconds before she said. “Wait here a minute.”

And she closed the door.

After a minute, the woman opened the door completely and allowed Lila to step inside the room. She didn’t know what she had been expecting, part of her believed this to be a simple PR thing to gain a better reputation after Miracle Queen, but when Lila saw Chloe’s state, she knew it was no longer something bad.

It was horrible, Lila knew in her heart.

Chloe had lost an arm—the left one, from what she could see. The light she once saw burning within the girl was no longer there. Lila thought for a second she was not looking at Chloe, but someone who happened to be blonde, and share the name with the girl.

“Hello, Rossi,” Chloe said, without a tone in her voice. “What brings you here?”

“I. . .” Lila didn’t know what to say at first, but she quickly put on a concerned expression on her face. “I wanted to see how you were doing, after I heard what happened to you I came after asking Adrien if he knew where you were.”

After her answer, Chloe didn’t say anything for a second. The blonde turned around to face the woman. “Athena, leave us alone for a couple of minutes, I’ll call you if I need anything.”

So, her name is Athena, Lila thought, filing the information just in case it's necessary.

“Miss—”

“Athena,” Chloe said, lifting her right hand to calm Athena, her voice was relaxed and calm, almost as though she wasn't there. “Don’t worry, this is a very good friend. Almost family if you will.”

Lila frowned in confusion as Athena remained unchanged in her opinion. After much reassurance, Athena left the room, looking at Lila with clearly threatening eyes that told the Italian that if she were to do something to Chloe, someone will end up dead. Probably her.

As soon as the door was closed, Lila quickly spoke. “Who is that?”

She had questions, but if she managed to get on Chloe’s good graces, that alone will be enough.

“My bodyguard,”

“Since when do you have one?” Lila asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chloe waved dismissively. “Don’t worry about it.”

An awkward silence drowned the room. Lila looked around, tapping her thigh. She looked down and Chloe looking at her as she pointed at the seat right beside her. Lila frowned, but with the blonde’s nod toward the seat, the Italian moved and sat closed to the injured heiress.

“Now, why are you here, Rossi? I don’t think you and I were close enough for you to worry about my health.” Chloe asked.

True, Lila conceded in her mind but kept that to herself. “I think we simply started on a very deaf note, and I notice that you were being isolated from everyone else. I didn’t think that was right, so I came to see you, but I don’t think anyone else will come to visit.”

Chloe knew that Lila was right, she has seen that she had been blocked but didn’t care much when she saw that. Even so, she could see what kinds of conversations they were having now that she wasn’t there inside of her mind, and it didn’t help her mood any better. Though she hid well beneath a relaxed face, Chloe was troubled from the inside as she was reminded clearly of all that she lost seeking her mother’s love.

The blonde briefly glanced at her left side and sighed.

“That may be true, I was an ass to everyone for no goddam reason,” Chloe admitted under her breath.

Lila was confused for a second, never thinking she might have ever heard Chloe saying that. “What do you mean?”

“Now, Rossi,” Chloe said, quickly changing the topic. “But what exactly made you come here today?” She coughed, her throat drying up.

Lila noticed this and saw the glass with water on the table beside. Still thinking about getting good points with the girl, she stood up and retrieve the water for Chloe, handing it to the blonde.

“Thanks,” Chloe said, exhaling as a gentle breeze brushed through the open window. The curtains waved as she turned to face Lila as she handed the empty glass of water to her.

Lila walked and left the glass on the table, and then she felt something briefly touch her hand. Her mind turned foggy, but then it snapped back to reality.

Chloe’s eye now was the one in concern, though it didn’t show much of it. “What happened?”

“Sorry!” Lila giggled as she glanced around, nervously. “I simply can’t believe this happened to you. I thought that all the damage caused by. . . that was undone.”

Chloe shook her head. “This wasn’t caused by that, this happened shortly before that thing appeared.” The inflection on Chloe’s voice was not lost to Lila. She sounded very sad, as though she was about to break down from trying to remember something.

Nevertheless, Lila needed more information more her moves, so she went to sit back on her seat and pressed, as softly and gently as she could to get the information.

“Are you ok with telling me what happened?”

Chloe shook her head, and Lila sagged her shoulders from disappointment. It seemed she would need more work to do.

“We aren’t truly friends, Rossi,” Chloe said, not looking at her. “But even with that, you came to see me. There may be a reason for that, but at least I appreciate your presence. These dull walls will kill me if I don’t have something to do.” She chuckled at the end, sadness leaving her voice.

Lila blinked as Chloe continued.

“Thank you for that, Lila Rossi. For showing me that there is still hope for me.”

Lila was growing more and more confused, as she didn’t know what Chloe was talking about. In the end, she cared very little for the context, as it seemed that she was better in Chloe’s eyes, and that was enough for her.

“Athena! You can come.”

As soon as those words left Chloe’s mouth, the door snapped open, and Athena walked inside. Lila shrunk down as soon as the woman’s eyes fell on her, but Athena turned around to face Chloe.

“Is time for her to be on her way?” Athena inquired as she pointed at the clock on the wall with her thumb.

Lila noticed the slight annoyance in Athena’s voice, obviously not wanting the girl there.

Chloe frowned but decided that it was best for Lila to be on her way, though she liked the small talk, very small talk. She turned around to face Lila. “You can come to visit me sometime later, but it seems that it’s time for me to rest for a while.”

“Ok. . .” Lila said as she got up from the seat and began walking toward the door to leave.


Once Lila got out of the room, Chloe looked at Athena, who looked back, and then they both looked at Hope when she came out of her hiding spot. The dove Kwami was looking at the door, thoughtful, more than anything Chloe had seen her before.

Though Chloe thought as she looked at the Kwami, I haven’t been with her for a long time, so I can see the lack of information. The blonde cocked her head to the side and pondered why that felt incorrect.

“What did you do?” Athena demanded to know, while she kept briefly glancing at the door. Chloe looked at her and noticed something had changed in Athena’s eyes, as though she had gained some insight into something and knew what was happening.

“I simply wanted to check up on something, and it seemed that I was right,” Hope said as she twirled around in the air to face Chloe. “Does she have anything weird going on with her?”

“What do you mean?” Chloe blinked, confused.

Hope pursed her lips as she flew around the room, trying to find the words she is looking for. “Like everyone being different when she is around!”

When Chloe thought about it, there were times when everyone changed as soon as Lila said anything.

Everyone would just believe her as though it was truth, reality, even though it made no sense. For a second, a brief image crossed her mind, without shape nor meaning, but it left a feeling.

Family.

It confused her, even more than she already was, and she shifted on the bed to look at the door. A breeze gently came from behind through the window as Athena stood beside the young heiress of Le Grand, who finally replied to Hope’s words.

“Well, if you can consider everyone believing her words without question, then that.”

Hope narrowed her eyes. “To what extent?”

“They believe it without question, don’t even bother to check afterward.”

After closing her eyes for a moment, and nodded to herself, Hope addressed Chloe once more. “Then I think I know how she got this ability. Though. . .” Her eyes slid toward Athena, and at that moment, Luminous came out. “I have a slight suspicion that you already gave the bodyguard the story.”

“What?” Voiced out Chloe as she turned to Athena.

The woman sighed as she walked closer to Chloe. “While true, you are going to hear the story soon enough. But some things must be done. Is there anything I should know?”

Chloe frowned but softened her features. If she wanted to have Athena with her, trust should be placed first. “Well, there is this notebook in one of my drawers. . .”


Later that day, Athena stood in front of her Miss’s drawers in silence after being given enough information about the location of the notebook. Kneeling in front of them, she quickly moved toward the one she was told had it and opened it up.

There were many things inside of the drawer, many of them senseless and expensive for someone her age to have, but it gave the illusion that nothing not expensive could be there. Athena nodded to herself once she spotted a fragment of the notebook.

Once she took it out of the drawer and she closed it, she opened the notebook and began reading its content to the fullest, every detail without missing anything, no matter how silly and anger-written it may be.

A knock on the door promptly made Athena close the notebook shut, and from the door appeared her employer.

“Hello, Athena,” Andre Bourgeois said as he walked inside. “Did you find what you needed to?”

Athena nodded. “Yes, I’ll be now returning to Miss Bourgeois’ side.”

The mayor of the city was dejected at everything that was happening, and Athena could see that. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked as though he wouldn’t be sleeping in a few days. She was worried, although she didn’t show it, because she knew that if something were to happen to him Miss Bourgeois would be more devastated than she already is.

“You should get some rest, Mister Bourgeois.” Athena walked to him. “Make it so Miss Bourgeois will see that you are well in health.”

Andre hesitated, before nodding with resolve. “Yeah, sure, I guess some sleep wouldn’t do any harm. Though, I need to make sure nothing will come up that might wake me up.”

“Then go and make sure,” Athena said, but stopped for a second before voicing out something in her mind. “Are there any leads on who caused the explosion?”

Andre looked at her in the eyes, troubled. “A body has been recovered from the driver’s seat on the remnants of the limousine. They are already trying to identify the man, as Chloe’s driver came to check up on me once he heard the news.”

So, the one driving was someone who filled in his shoes. Athena thought about it and a plan began to form in her mind as she gently gripped the notebook. “When the man is identified, please inform me of his identity and also don’t tell Madam Bourgeois about it or the news for that matter.”

“Why?”

“You wouldn’t want Madam Bourgeois to know more about the man who almost killed her daughter, would you?” Inquired Athena.

Andre nodded in understanding; he truly didn’t want his wife to feel any more pain on what was happening. She already committed to staying in Paris for a time, more than she did in the past—something he was surprised by—and didn’t want to give her a reason to go back to the States so soon.

Not when things were—in a way—beginning to look for his family. 

He simply didn’t want more family drama.

“Very well, as long as you too don’t tell Chloe the identity of the man who caused this to her.” He could come to a compromise for his family’s well-being.

“Then be it as you say, Mister Bourgeois.” Athena nodded.

Bidding farewell to Andre, she went to walk out of the Le Grand, feeling the sun kissing her skin as soon as she stepped outside. Athena opened the notebook once more, after making sure there were no people on her sidewalk. The grey-eyed woman continued to read all inside of it as she moved toward the hospital.

A sudden chill ran down her spine.

Luminous suddenly came out of the miraculous, and hovered in front of her looking around, wary. “There is one nearby.”

Athena’s eyes widened and she was momentarily stunned when she saw Luminous move without saying another word. She quickly followed him toward a small alleyway, and the stench of blood soon filled up her lungs.

She glanced at Luminous, who had ceased moving and was gazing at a wall. Athena stopped before him and shifted to face the wall the Kwami was looking at. There was something scrawled on it, on fresh blood, a name:

“Gabriel”

Athena murmured what had been written on the wall, confused before she heard some metal bouncing off the ground. Snapping her head toward the containers of trash, tendrils of darkness arose from behind one of them. A danger bell rang inside of her mind as transformed with her thoughts and movement soon came to be known.

A snake slithered from the shadow, black in color and eyes red as blood, fangs were leaking a green substance as Athena identify as a small piece of flesh disappearing into the snake’s mouth—human flesh.

As she readied herself for battle, Athena remembered something from the story Luminous had told her.

“Until she is back, they won’t stop coming.”

Another sin came to be.

Notes:

Sorry for being gone for some time, I was preparing some things since I will be entering college in a few days.