Hi guys :D It's been a long time and we are a few chapters away from the end :'( I'd like to thank each and everyone of you who took time to read my fanfic, this one and the first fanfic of this saga. I have to say I am extremely proud of this chapter :D Some of you may understand what's going on in this one, others may not, but fear not, all will be revealed in time, I promise I won't be as long as I was with chapter 10. Have a good day as I present to you...

Chapter 11

Bane paused for a moment as he studied me, his eyes looked sad as they bored into me, I thought back to the days when his gaze would make my spine quiver, but now, the quivering feeling has gone. Not even numbness, that makes me sad.

"You used the word "love" in the present tense." He finally said.

"I did." I replied.

"Do you still love me?" He asked.

"Yes, No...I can't." I said, not meeting his eyes.

"Why can't you?"

"Because I can't afford to."

"You can't afford to love me?" He asked, his voice incredulous.

"Yes Bane! I can't afford to love you because if I lose you, I lose myself!" I cried, finally looking up at him.

"It hurts to breath thinking of not being with you, it physically hurts! Look at me Bane! I am a wreck and you did this to me! I can't sleep, I can't eat, I am a walking zombie, working and locking myself away, trying to get out of my own head so I don't think about you! This isn't living Bane, this is torture, every time I come here I am reminded that Talia pulled the carpet from under me and turned my life upside down. And let's face it, you never loved me, since Talia has been in your life, she is all you think about, not me, I'm just the messed up sister who didn't know where her mother was or that the man she thought was her dad was in fact her abductor. But then, Talia is even more screwed up than me; how does it go? Her mother was thrown in The Pit and she stayed there until she was eight and you helped her escape. No one can break that kind of bond, not even my father."

Bane just looked at me, the intensity in his eyes diminishing, I didn't expect him to fight me or even fight for me, as far as I was concerned, I was done.

"Bye Bane." I sighed, making my way down the hill.

Bane caught my arm, making me stop. He looked down at me and brushed my hair out my face.

"Stay, please." He said.

"I can't, if Talia wasn't here, I would, no I'm not bitter anymore, I would just be a third wheel. I have to move on, you do too." I said.

I kissed Bane one final time and walked off, not wanting to prolong the inevitable and end up crying. I felt that familiar feeling of depression begin to creep up on me.

No, not again, I'm not going back to curling up into a ball at night, hating myself and blaming Talia for every wrong done to me. I've just come out of the haze, I have to be strong, it's not fair on Raul, Kamal and especially mom, I know she worries.

I got back to Raul's and unpacked the rest of my things, I didn't feel like mopping around so I went for a walk; I ended up walking past a hookah lounge, the smoky aromas intrigued me and seeing as I had never been in one before, I decided to go in.

The lounge was dimly lit but gloriously cool, each table had huge hookah pipes attached to towering smoking pillars, instead of chairs, big thick feather mattresses and cushions dotted around each table. A rather large man spotted me and greeted me warmly. He was tall as he was wide, he had an extremely friendly face, a little like a puppy seeing his master for the first time, bright brown eyes and a mustache you could around curl your finger at least four times.

"Good afternoon and welcome to my hookah lounge," He smiled.

"We have tables for the regular customers, and tables for the beginners."

"I'll have a regular table please." I smiled.

The owner raised his eyebrows but showed me to a table anyway. He set up the hookah up for me and stood back, a sceptical look in his eyes.

"Do you need me to show you how to use it?" He asked.

"No, I'm good." I replied sucking down on the pipe.

I sat back and enjoyed the flavour, it tasted like turkish delight, I could get use to this. I exhaled and made a perfect "O" shaped puff of smoke and sighed happily.

The owner grinned and clasped his hands together, "Impressive, my apologies for assuming what I thought I knew."

"It's fine," I shrugged.

"How long has this place been here?"

"I inherited this place from my father so about 50 years." He said proudly.

"Wow, a long time then," I nodded.

"Arabia Heartfield by the way."

I heard someone choke in the background followed by some violent coughing, the owner laughed hard and slapped the choking man on the back.

"I told you that stuff is strong."

"You did Abdul...should have listened." The man said weakly, his eyes watering.

Abdul laughed harder, patting him on the back sharply, making the man choke more.

"You should take after Arabia here!" He said, pointing towards me.

"She is a natural!"
I smiled as I blew the flavoured smoke out my nose, making Abdul shrill with delight, which, to be honest, was weird, funny and endearing, but weird.

"I like you already!" He cried.

"Always happy to make friend." I grinned.

As Abdul went off to attend to some new customers, the choking man chuckled.

"I haven't seen Abdul that happy since his daughter was born," He said, sipping some water.

"You've had quite an affect on him."

"I tend to have an affect on everyone." I sighed, I thought back to the last few years since all this started, not one person I have had contact with either A) been normal or B) not affected me or been affected by me. Think about it, Bobby, Bane, Mom, Talia, I'm like some sort of drug, once you've had a taste of me, good luck trying to forget me. The thought of it made me unhappy again, I took a long drag from the hookah pipe, sighing as I filled the air with translucent white smoke.

"I see this troubles you," The man said thoughtfully.

I said nothing, my face and posture obviously giving away how I felt.

"You must think of it as a positive," The man nodded.

He looked like the kind of person who could blend in with the crowd and stand out all at the same time. He sat tall so I assume he was a tall man, he a narrow face with a long chin and looked to be in his mid to late 40s, with his scruffy dark brown beard peppered with grey hairs, his hair was short and well groomed, combed back with a wet comb; his hazel eyes were interesting, they say the eyes are the windows to the soul and you could tell this man had a story to tell and had seen many things, perhaps good but mostly bad, you could tell he had been through a lot.

"Do you think you would be who you are now if you hadn't have come into contact with these affected people?" Maybe they wouldn't be where they are now without you."

I thought about what he was saying then thought back to Mom; she would still be locked away if we hadn't have helped her, Bobby wouldn't be dead, Talia on the other hand wouldn't be so crazy...but then again…maybe she would, nevermind. I could understand where this man was coming from but I don't think it was all down to me.

"I just wish I could do something productive for me, not guided by who my family is and what they are famous for." I said.

"Fair enough," The man replied.

"But why is a pretty 20 - something young lady like yourself still living through your family?"

He had a point. I need to think for myself for a change.

"I never asked your name." I said.

"Saul Gharmia." He said.

"Arabia al Ghul, Heartfield I mean." I said correcting myself.

"Al Ghul? Heartfield?" His hazelnut eyes lighting up for a second.

"I see why you would want to change. The family pressure, am I right?"

I nodded my head.

"Understandable." He acknowledged.

"You have no idea." I sighed.

"No I do, families have no idea how much pressure they put on each other, it's always I must uphold the family name or the family honour, I must not let my family down, I'm doing this for my family, I'm taking up the family legacy. You try and do something for yourself, and you look selfish."

"You've had experience then?" I asked.

Saul chuckled, going to smoke the pipe again and thinking better of it.

"More than I would like."

I wanted to ask him about his family, but the distressed sadness stretched across his face made me rethink the idea.

"I must apologise," He said, smiling weakly.

"My mood is bringing down the atmosphere."

"It's alright, you obviously have been through the mill, I understand that you wouldn't want to go through it with someone you just met." I replied.

"Still, you are very easy to talk to," He smiled, standing up.

"I'm afraid I must leave you now, it was a pleasure, Arabia." He bowed his head at me, turned and walked towards Abdul, paid for his stay and left. I decided that it was high time I left and went back to Raul. It was my turn to cook. I got up to pay Abdul my fee but he shook his head.

"Our friend Saul took care of your bill, my dear," Abdul said.

"He said, "Tell her thanks for listening.""