"You don't believe me, do you?" Helen spoke, interrupting her thoughts. "It's not like that Helen . . ." Aria's voice trailed off as she couldn't think of any excuse. "Fine." Helen huffed and crossed her arms, "Just wait until everyone else sees your scars. I'm pretty sure they will be oohhing and aahhing more over these scars that you consider so ugly than your pretty face."
Aria chuckled upon hearing this. "They just need a reason to oohh and aahh. Don't they?" she said, a little sadness creeping into her voice. Helen reached over and tucked Aria's hair behind her ears. she held her face and spoke, "Oh darling. You are worth oohhing and aahhing about. Never forget that."
A couple of tears welled up in Aria's eyes as she heard these words leave Helen's mouth. She bit her lower lip so as to choke back sobs and not let Helen know how much she needed to hear this right now. Aria looked at her hands filled with so many wounds, and her eyes softened a little. She had no business hating these hands, they were all that she had.
And the wounds she had been considering as so ugly, they were proof of just how strong she was. That she had fought a real battle and come back alive to tell the tale. How many students at the academy could boast of surviving a battle with the night warriors after all.
Aria let out a long breath as she pulled herself out of her thoughts. She held tightly onto Helen's hands and said, her voice still a little shaky, "Thank you." Helen made a very surprised face as she asked, "Whatever for?" Aria let out a chuckle upon hearing this, hearing which Helen also led out a smile. And everything seemed to be all right. At least for then.
"And Aria?" Helen said, settling comfortably into the chair. "Don't worry about Joseph. I'll talk to him." Aria shook her head and said, "It's fine. He'll come around. Always does."
"Speaking of coming around," Helen said, changing the topic, and her entire demeanor changing with the topic, "Guess who made up during breakfast?" Aria's eyes brightened as she leaned in a little closer, asking, "Who?" "Clara and George!!!" Helen exclaimed, and Aria let out a too dramatic gasp.
These talks with Helen were one of the most favorite part of Aria's day now. Being in the recovery ward, she barely had any idea what was going on in the academy. It had started off as an innocent discussion about their classmates and other people they knew, about what they were up to. But the two girls had now become full on gossip bees.
Helen somehow found out everything that was happening with everyone in the castle, and Aria listened to her narrate it, completely absorbed in the tale.
But alas, Aria had the bad habit of forgetting the previous gossip, like she did when she suddenly interrupted Helen to ask, "Wait, who is Diane?" Helen said with an exasperated groan, "You need to be more interested in gossip Aria!" The accused only let out a guilty chuckle as Helen began, "Diane is the one . . . . . "
An hour later . . . .
Aria and Helen were engaged in an animated conversation about some professors when Jacob walked in.