"I hope you don't mind me bringing you out of the recovery ward. I have too many bad memories of the place to have a normal conversation there." the queen said, looking at Aria with an apologetic smile, as the two of them moved towards the forest.
Though Aria's mind was filled with questions about what kind of memories the queen had and where she was taking her, on top of the questions she had already wanted to ask for a few weeks now, she didn't say anything and just returned the queen's smile.
"I am sure you are wondering where we are going, and why am I using wind bending to fly you, when you seem to be perfectly able to fly yourself anywhere you want." queen Amber began, and Aria only let out a small, nervous smile. She had no idea what to say. "Please don't feel nervous around me Aria." she said again.
'Easier said than done.' Aria thought, but her thoughts were interrupted by the queen's words as she said, "Aria, I would just like you to know how grateful I am to you. And how sorry." Aria blinked in shock. Why was the queen apologizing to her? "The night warriors are the only stain on this kingdom. The only ones who are strong enough to pose any real danger." Queen Amber continued, "And I am extremely sorry that you, a student who shouldn't have to worry about what is going on outside the academy, got dragged into this mess. But I am also grateful for the hideout you discovered and the members you wiped out. I would like to suppose that the night warriors have been greatly shaken due to their fight with you, and I strongly hope that we will be completely able to weed them out now."
Aria would have very much liked to keep smiling and not say anything, but some kind of answer seemed to be expected of her, especially after the long speech the Queen had given. But Aria had no idea what to say. She wasn't even exactly sure why Queen Amber was telling her this.
"My Queen," Aria began, and was interrupted with, "Please, call me Amber."
"Amber," she began once more. "I don't think I deserve either the apology or the gratitude you are giving me. I just did what any citizen of the water kingdom would have done in the same situation. And as for me being dragged into the mess, I do have a knack for finding trouble." she finished, wondering how she had done. Aria thought her reply had been good enough, so she was very surprised when Amber stopped walking. Just as Aria was wondering if she had said something wrong, the queen held her stomach and started laughing on the top of her lungs.
Aria: " . . . . " Was the Queen making fun of her?
But it looked like she wasn't, as she spoke while wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, "Oh my god! I am so sorry Aria. It's just that, that whole exchange reminded me too much of the previous king." "The previous king?" Aria asked with a curious tilt of her head. The queen waved her hand, "Yeah. He was a very serious person. But that's a story for another time. Would you like to sit and talk?"