Lady Zula had watched Ariana's interactions with her tables and she couldn't have felt prouder when she watched her daughter swindle Brian out of footing the bill for his table and at full price. She had to pull out her red fan and hide behind it so they didn't catch her snickering.
After calming down Lady Zula looked outside and was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a line up of people waiting to get in, mind you it was mostly guild members but it seemed they were talking to one another loudly enough and attracted other people. She should have never doubted her friends and family when they said to have faith. She felt especially shocked when she saw a very fancy carriage stop on the street. "Ariana! Someone special is here to see you!" She shouted out as Ariana finished up wiping down a table. "Coming!" She called back. Brian and his group were already heading towards Lady Zula when they caught sight of the guest.
"For the love of heaven and earth! Men allow the Countess passage!" Brian boomed but outside the stunning Countess shook her head. "No, I will wait in line just like everyone else. Besides I'm waiting for company so this is a good excuse!" She shouted back as she stepped behind two women.
"Mother, don't worry I don't think it will be too long before grandmother is in here, it looks like the first wave of people are just finishing up." Ariana said with a small laugh. Lady Zula looked back at the room and saw the girls were moving fast to clear the table as they provided the bills to their customers. Even the Lumas were helping out as some collected dishes while others wiped the tables clean.
Everyone who came to settle their bill were shaking hands with Ariana and Lady Zula, praising them for the food and service. Vowing to coming again soon. While some of the guild's cooks were wondering if they could learn the recipes. Lady Zula beamed at the idea and looked at Ariana. "Sweetie, how do you feel about after hours cooking lessons?" Ariana thought about it for a second and smiled back at her mother. "Give me a week to fine tune the details. You will see a notice come out with class registration, schedule and fees." The cooks from the guild were absolutely delighted. "You will see us here at least once a day so we can try every dish!"
Lady Zula had no doubt that the idea of a cafe would be popular but she had no idea that it would also create another form of revenue.
The rest of the day was packed, word had gotten out about the deliciousness of the food and how fair the prices were that even young ladies from Nobel families started to show up around dinner time. While the Countess decided to stay the whole day enjoying everything along side James, Roland, Tillie and Zachary. Ariana would periodically sit with them and tease her uncle Zachary for having hidden his pretty face and beautiful eyes for so long. If it was the past Zachary would have beaten the person senseless for looking into his eyes but now with Ariana's help, he shed his former self and was more comfortable about his looks. Her heart soared when she saw how happy her family was and almost cried when she heard them laughing. Lady Zula couldn't have been happier.
Soon a week had gone by and the amount of customers did not decrease. Ariana stuck to her word and was able to come up with cooking classes that she scheduled for every Monday and Friday night. They had even gotten requests to hold private tea parties at the cafe and for catering at private functions. As the weeks went by their fame increased and they were already thinking about opening another location but to Lady Zula's surprise Ariana thought it would have been better to open a pastry shop instead of another cafe. So it would give a chance for other businesses to change.
By the three month anniversary of the cafe's opening they bought a bakery just down the street and were already looking over people's resumes for their new hires. Lady Zula put down the resume she was holding and looked across the table at her daughter. "Sweet heart, I have something to speak to you about." Ariana put down the resume she was reading and took a sip of her tea. "What's wrong mom."
"I have been thinking about it a lot and I couldn't ever dream that this would have happened. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought of meeting someone so extraordinary as you...." Lady Zula started but Ariana knew that this was just the honey before the axe. There was something awful waiting and she didn't want this song and dance. She steeled her heart and just waited silently for her mother to continue. "Really now child can you not just act your age? Can't I just beat around the bush for a bit before going into this discussion with you?!" Lady Zula groaned as she felt all her energy drain.
She looked at Ariana and sighed. She knew there was no other way of saying it without just getting to the point. "I'm sending Cayden to St. Verusha Academy early." Ariana's face drained of colour and she could feel her world started to slip. "No." She said as firmly as she could but her voice shook and it gave away the fear she tried to hide. "You can't." Lady Zula shook her head. "I'm sorry I should have been clearer on this.... Sweetie, Cayden asked to go to St. Verusha early. With his intelligence and funds he couldn't get in early but with my help... I helped him... I helped him get his foot in the door and the let him take the exam earlier then the rest."
Ariana placed her hands over her ears as she started to shake her head. "No, he can't go! Not yet! I thought we where going to go together next year, he just had to wait, he needs to wait for me." She said pitifully as tiny tears started rolling down her face. "Sweetheart, I know it's hard but he wants this." Lady Zula said as she rose from her chair and walked over to comfort Ariana. She gently wrapped her arms around Ariana and hugged her tightly. "Did I do something wrong?! Does he not want to be with me anymore?! I know I have been busy but I can make time, everything will be back on track if I make time!" She cried but Lady Zula just stroked her hair.
"I'm sorry sweetie but it's not you... he wants to be a better person and unfortunately his mind has already been made up. I tried to delay it as much as possible but he's leaving the day after tomorrow." That was Ariana last push, she burst into a wail as she burried herself into her mother's embrace. "I know, I know. It's okay you will see each other again soon.... please no more tears." She said as she pulled Ariana away a little and brushed away her tears. "Listen, everyone already knows, you were the last one to find out. The cafe will be closed tomorrow and we will throw Cayden a great going away party. It'll break his heart to see you so sad."
"Good! Then he will change his mind and stay!" Ariana said bitterly as her misty eyes stared back at Lady Zula. "And here I said act like a child!" Lady Zula groaned. "No, that will hurt him too much and you will just hold him back from becoming a splendid man. Ariana you have to let him go." Ariana dropped her head and allowed more tears to spill from her eyes. "I understand." Lady Zula kissed the top of her head before letting her go. "Good. Now go to bed, I will clean up."
Ariana lightly nodded her head and dragged herself up the stairs. She plopped herself into her bed and grabbed her pillow. She wasn't sure how long she cried for but when she finally peeled herself off the pillow she saw how dark it was. Her stomach growled and she couldn't bring herself to go downstairs. There was a soft knock on the door and Adonis floated over to see who it was. He quickly did a rainbow flash and opened the door completely. 'Master it's Cayden!'
Ariana shot up and tried to look at him through her puffy eyes. "I didn't think you would take the news this badly..." He said gently as he walked into the room carrying a tray of food. "Why?" She croaked and instantly flushed when she heard how she sounded. Cayden sat on the bed and placed the tray on his lap. He took the fork and cut a bite size omurice off. "Eat first then we will talk." Ariana chomped down on the fork and stared at Cayden as she chewed.
Cayden kept feeding Ariana until half the omurice was gone. He then placed the tray onto the floor. "Do you know how amazing you are?" He started to say but Ariana's face started to darken. "Cut the crap. I could careless how amazing I am or what I've done. It's all a giant scam. I use memories of my past life, nothing I have done is the real me." Cayden flinched at her words. He looked at her with so much concern that he couldn't find the courage to keep talking.
"What? Now that I'm refuting what you said, you're going to go quiet? That's not fair Cayden, this is not fair! I don't know who I am... I don't know who my parents are or where I came from or why I'm 'special' and now... now you want to leave me behind." Ariana started to lose her composure as she clutched the bed. Her face twisted from anger to sadness and tears started to roll down her face again.
"I'm not what people say I am... I am a normal girl who is scared of being left behind and Cayden you are making me live my nightmare. You are leaving me behind." Cayden gritted his teeth it was taking every ounce of his strength to not loose control, he dropped his gaze to the floor and closed his hands into a fist. "Please don't leave me behind... you mean too much to me." Ariana whispered snapping the last string of resistance he had. Cayden grabbed Ariana and pulled her into his arms. His breathing became erratic as he slid his hand up to the back of her head. He pulled off her hair tie and ribbon, allowing her long black hair to gently tumble down onto her back.
He pulled her away to look at her and his face slightly flushed. "I..." He started to say but Ariana shocked him by placing the gentlest kiss against his lips. His eyes grew wide while Ariana blushed shyly as she stared back. Cayden's mouth moved open and closed a couple of times but no words came out. Ariana gave a small smile as she repositioned herself on the bed. She sat right beside Cayden and leaned her head against his shoulder.
They weren't sure how long they were sitting silently for but Ariana didn't mind. She didn't want the feeling to end. "Why did you kiss me?" Cayden finally spat out and Ariana refused to bring up her gaze. "Why are you leaving me?" Ariana asked instead causing Cayden to gently bring his hand under her chin. He brought her gaze up to meet his. "I'm sorry. I have to go... We will be together again soon. I just want to... I need to... I.... I am not a good person so please stop looking at me like that."
Ariana wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his neck. "I don't care. I want to be with you." Cayden hugged Ariana back. "Can you stay here with me tonight. I promise not to do anything funny." Cayden's body became stiff. Ariana tightened her grip around his waist. "Not a good idea." He said a little breathlessly. "I swear I'll be good. I just want to stay with you a little longer." Cayden pulled Ariana off of him in one swift movement.
"You can but I can't." He said in a low voice that it sent shivers down her body. "I don't understand?" She whispered and Cayden grabbed her hand and placed it over his pants. Ariana's eyes grew wide but she didn't pull away. "Ariana you need to understand that the things you do are not acceptable to any male." Ariana slowly pulled her hand away, she placed her hands over her heart and swallowed back some saliva. "If it's you... it's okay."
Cayden shot up from the bed and became furious. He started to stomp towards the doorway, Ariana was afraid that he was going to leave so she got up and quickly hugged him from behind. "Please Cayden don't be mad. I meant it. I have been in l-l-lo-?!" She started to say but Cayden pried her arms off. "What about Owen?" Ariana felt as if a bucket of ice water was dumped on her. "H-h-how?!" Cayden turned his head slightly and his face became dark. "You don't know many guys your own age... what your feeling now and what you call out in your sleep is something you need to sort out. So I will go on ahead and vet all potential suitors. Make sure the Academy is safe for you and when we meet again I will introduce you to your best match."
Ariana started to shake her head no. "This is what is best. Good night." He said before leaving her room, the Lumas floated up to Ariana and lead her back to her bed while Adonis gently shut the door closed.
When Ariana woke up the next day she was still in shock. She was grateful to her Lumas who decided to keep her company in bed. She wasn't sure how to face Cayden today but she needed to send him off with a smile. With the help of her Lumas and their magic, she was able to look presentable. She searched around for her favorite ribbon but couldn't find it. "Have you guys seen my ribbon?" The Lumas looked at one another and shook their bodies. Ariana sighed and gave up on the search. She looked at the door and couldn't find the courage to leave.
'Its okay Master. We will be with you.' Duko said as he rubbed his body against her cheek. 'Thats right! No one is going to mess with you while we protect you!' Rahul said as he landed on top of her head. Ariana got an idea and looked at her Lumas with a giant smile. "Can I ask you a question?"