Aria knocked on Stephen's room and was really surprised when he opened the door.
He was shirtless! The boy opened the door shirtless even before knowing who it was at the door!
Aria sighed internally as she said, "I'm sorry. I seemed to have caught you on a bad time. I'll wait while you get dressed."
All this while, Stephen had been looking at Aria like an idiot. He had never before seen such a beautiful girl, with her marble like skin, exquisite face perfect with the small mouth and round nose. And those deep eyes set under the golden eyebrows did not look like they belonged on earth.
Stephen had seen beautiful girls before, sure, but their beauty had been amplified by their beautiful dresses, ornaments and elegant behaviour. He had never even imagined that someone could look so unearthly beautiful, just standing there wearing everyday clothes and making a weird face.
His trance was broken as Aria spoke. "Huh? What? Huh?" Stephen spluttered out and mentally kicked himself. He was making a fool of himself in such a beautiful girl.
Aria repeated herself, thinking the boy seemed like an idiot, "I said, I'm sorry. I seemed to have caught you on a bad time. I'll wait outside while you get dressed."
Stephen sealed his lips, and closed the door with a dorky smile.
Aria raised her eyebrows as she stared at the closed door. "Weird." she muttered to herself.
Stephen hurriedly put on his shirt and combed his hair. Then making sure his face had the correct emotions and he was not looking like an idiot, he opened the door again to find Aria leaning on the wall beside the door, playing with her hair.
Stephen took a deep breath and said, "Hello."
He immediately shut up as his voice sounded weirdly high-pitched.
Aria looked at him and suppressed a chuckle.
She pointed to Stephen's shirt in response to his questioning look, which he was wearing inside out.
Stephen closed the door again and this time took a lot more time, making sure every piece of his clothing was perfect. He then took a few deep breaths, and opened the door.
"Hello there. How can I be of help to such a beautiful lady today." Stephen said, putting on his best smile. He was relieved to find out his voice had gone back to normal.
Aria suppressed a laugh as she replied, "Hello. I'm Aria."
"Oh my god! How rude of me! Stephen Hale." He hurriedly introduced himself, wondering what was wrong with him.
Aria shook his hand and said, "I wanted to have a word with you."
Stephen raised an eyebrow, "Oh! What have I done to deserve a word with such a gorgeous lady?"
Aria retracted her hand which was still in Stephen's and said, "You'll soon know." Saying this she turned around and began walking down the stairs.
"Why don't we talk over breakfast?" Stephen asked as Aria began heading towards the main entrance of the castle.
"I'd rather talk alone." Aria said, not even sparing him a glance. And it was good she didn't, because her temper might have flared seeing the knowing smile that formed on Stephen's lips.