"Oh... thank you." Ariana said with a small voice. Halina couldn’t hold herself back. "Hey! You know... my hair is so short now I wish I could do something with it. I mean it doesn’t really match my uniform that well, so I was wondering... you know because your so pretty and all, if you could give me some tips?" She shouted as she blushed fiercely. Ariana looked up and tried her best to smile but to show her sincerity. The gesture was nice, she knew Halina meant to give her a distraction and appreciated it even if her voice and body language said otherwise. "Why not?" She said as she went to grab her own uniform. "Give me... give me just a second to change."
Ariana took off the dress and looked down. She instantly covered herself with her arms and started to scream. "Ariana?" Halina said as she reached out for her. "Don’t look please!" She yelled. "Get out!" Edlyn shouted as she stared down Ariana. Halina and Talisha looked at each other and didn’t budge. "You both need to get out. The others will come soon and we can’t let them know the truth. Just say it was a bug and you ran out while we are trying to kill it." Edlyn said as she furrowed her brows. Halina was ready to protest but Talisha grabbed her hand and dragged her out the room. Slamming the door behind them.
Ariana started to silently sob as she hugged herself. Edlyn pinched the bridge of her nose to calm her anger. When she settled her heart she walked up to Ariana. "Flint... did he... did he tou-ch you ag-ainst your will?" Edlyn asked. Ariana brought up her head and hugged herself tighter. "Ariana, please... did Flint do some-thing ag-ainst your will?" Ariana covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud. She tried to take deep breaths with her mouth covered but it sounded torturous. "Ariana?" Edlyn tried once more and Ariana nodded her head yes. Edlyn quickly wrapped her arms around Ariana’s shaking body. "It was not your fault. You are the vic-tim." She whispered, remembering Mrs. Dabney’s words back at the infirmary "Not you fault. You are the vic-tim." She said again but more firmly.
Halina and Talisha knocked on the door after everyone left. They saw Edlyn helping Ariana get ready. She had a grave expression on her face as was finished brushing Ariana’s hair. She was wearing the the royal purple school dress but just like Edlyn’s uniform, the skirt’s length was modified. Instead of going down to their ankles it stopped mid thigh. It still had slits on the left and right side to reveal the indigo plaid dress underneath but it puffed out more with layers of lace underneath. The dress had a low cut in the front making the white collared blouse stand out as it seamlessly blended into the royal purple dress. Along with the uniform dress all students were to wear a silvery grey blaze with golden vines on the trim of the lapels. Ariana was already wearing her ribbon around her neck like a puffy bowtie, the ends of the ribbon went down and the bronze stars glittered under the light. Edlyn had just finished tieing a plan, red ribbon in Ariana’s half up hair hairstyle.
"Wow! A single ribbon can make you look so sweet! Do you think the same can be done with my hair?" She asked innocently. Ariana looked at Halina, she gave her a small smile but her eyes betrayed her real state of mind, they were all puffy and red from crying so hard. "I’m sorry ladies but we should finish up and get to the mess hall for breakfast. We must not be late for homeroom." Talisha said as she started to collect her school issued satchel. Talisha pouted and a spark was ignited in Ariana’s eyes. They were giving her an out, they didn’t ask or want an explanation so she had to grab the opportunity for normality, even if she had to push through the hurt and pretend to be okay.
She quickly grabbed the brush from Edlyn and pushed Halina onto her bed. She moved behind her and started to brush. "Three minutes, just three minutes and we can go." She said as she quickly started parting Halina’s hair. Ariana got Edlyn to pass her clips and hair ties as her hands worked. She section and braided at lightning speed. When she was finished she took a step back and admired her own work. Halina walked over to the mirror and gasped. She had never seen the style of hair before. Two mermaid like tails were braided into the long part of her hair there was only an inch of a gap between them but her hair was so light it stood out beautifully.
In the front, two inches of her was swept behind her ear and pinned into place while a loose lock was purposely left out, it sat infront of her ear to frame her face. "You can still add an accessory if you want." Ariana said as she passed her a small, blue crystal swan hair pin. Halina nodded her head so Ariana pinned it in place. Halina turned around and admired herself a little more. "We will be tardy." Talisha sighed and the girls quickly grabbed their things.
During breakfast Ariana made ideal talk and smiled, during their walk back Ariana made small remarks and smile. When they arrived to their homeroom, Ariana stopped talking altogether and just smiled. She was trying her best to keep herself together but it felt like the whole world knew how dirty she was, how easy she was, how vulnerable she was. She could see them turn into shadows with glowing red eyes, whisper, making up rumours and laughing as they pointed at her. "Ariana?" Edlyn called out. Ariana shook her head and everything was back to normal. "Sorry... just tired " She said and then pointed towards a spot with four seats.
Ms. Hadley walked in and stood at a podium at the front of the class. Ariana looked around and saw that there were rows and rows of seats going up a slant, students climbed the stairs to find a place to sit. She figured the entire first year was gathered together for homeroom. "Alright, if I can have your attention please." Ms. Hadley shouted. Everyone silenced and brought their eyes forward. "Fantastic! As you all know, this Academy prides itself for bringing up the young nobles of the future. We focus on both academics and magic while we encourage science and future advancements. To do so we must start off with the Summoning Ceremony. A ritual from the past that has now become the main root of our history and culture."