Do you enjoy yourself?

It was then that Aria looked away from Queen Amber's face for the first time during the conversation, and her eyes widened upon realizing where they were. "This . . . . this . . . " Aria stuttered.

The queen did nothing but let out a smile as she walked to Aria's favorite spot right by the lake and sat down. She twirled her fingers, and the next instant, Aria was sitting right beside her, her leg straight on the ground and back resting against a tree. Amber got comfortable before she spoke, "Well yes. This meadow. I am pretty sure that every student at the academy with any affinity to the elements finds this place."

"It used to be my favorite place while I was here you know?" she added, opening her eyes and looking straight at Aria, who nodded with a thoughtful expression. "I think it's the favorite place of a lot of students." she replied.

"Is it yours?" Queen Amber asked. And though her face remained perfectly amiable, Aria noticed a slight pointedness in her tone. "No. I don't think it is." she replied, after taking a few minutes to think about it. The queen seemed really surprised by the answer. "No? Why?" she asked.

Aria shrugged. "I don't really know why. It is one of my favorite places to be sure, and I always come here whenever I need to be by myself. But . . . . " Aria was struck by how genuinely interested the queen looked in her answer. "But I have too many memories in too many other places, I suppose." she finished.

"That's fair." The queen murmured and the two turned silent.

The silence had stretched long enough to turn awkward, and Aria was wondering if she should break it. Thankfully, she was spared the need when the Queen said, "Do you enjoy yourself at the academy Aria?"

Aria blinked, surprised by the question. "Well, this is the place where I will learn to be one of the best bendors there ever was, which is ultimately my goal. I have also made some great friends here, and met many people I love and admire." she said. Aria allowed herself a small smile as she finished. She had absolutely nailed the answer. But she frowned the next second upon seeing the queen shaking her head.

"I think I already asked you not to be formal with me." she said, and Aria realized she hadn't fooled anyone. "And the fact remains that you haven't answered my previous question, just made many more pop up in my head." Aria scratched her head, thinking genuinely about the question. Did she enjoy herself at the academy? Her ultimate goal was to gain power, and she had been tirelessly working towards it or the past year. But in between working her ass off, Aria did often find some time for enjoyment.

"Yes. I think I do." Aria replied blinking. She had just realized that the enjoyment she had been thinking of was the time she got between training. Aria remembered a time when training with elements had been her favorite past-time. When had she stopped enjoyed training? She wondered.

"Good. That is good." The queen's words brought Aria out of her thoughts. She continued, "Actually, Aria? You won't mind if I ask you one more question, will you?" Aria shook her head, sure that Queen Amber was just being polite and didn't really need to ask her permission.