A girl is bound to grow up

"How.....how did you....How? How did you get here?!?!" Zach shrieked as he pointed at Aria.

Aria chuckled as she sat properly on the windowsill and crossed her legs, "Why so surprised?"

Zach was flustered, "Hey, hey!!! Get down!! You'll fall."

Aria: "Pfft. Me. I'll fall? How do you suppose I got here?"

Zach scratched his head, "You.....flew!!!!???"

Aria looked smug as she rested her chin on her hand.

Zach was still awestruck as he stared open mouthed at Aria, who said, "Oh come on!! Don't tell me you don't even know this much! The whole academy basically has every detail about me."

"I'm not interested in all that." Zach mumbled as Aria jumped down from the window and landed gracefully on the floor of Zach's bedroom without even the slightest noise.

"So, you want to go fight?" Aria asked.

"Hmm? Maybe later, not now." Zach seemed a little distracted.

Aria tilted her head, "What's wrong?"

Zach went to the window and scanned the grounds, "Earlier, while I was looking for you, I thought I saw Bella go into the forest."

Aria crossed her arms, "That's not unusual behaviour. We all go out into the grounds all the time."

"Yeah." Zach nodded but still remained deep in thought. Aria reached up and tapped his broad shoulder, "Hey, what can I do? Should I go out and check if Bella is still out?"

Zach was undecided for a moment before he shook his head, "I won't trouble you with that. It's just that...." He took a deep breath and continued, "Bella has been acting weird for a couple of days."

Aria furrowed her brows, "Weird? How?"

Zach scratched his head, "I don't really know. For one thing, she's doing things she never liked before, hanging out with girls and doing girly stuff."

"Pfft. That's all? You shouldn't worry. Bella is a girl after all. She is bound to grow up at some point." Aria stiffled a laugh.

Zach frowned, "I wouldn't be worried if it was just growing up. She isn't changing from inside, it's like.....like she is forcing herself for someone else's sake."

Aria absent-mindedly walked out of the window and closed her eyes. She said, "I'm sure you are worried over nothing. But if you really are bothered, you should have a talk with her."

Zach nodded but Aria did not see it.

A silence settled between the two for a minute or two before Aria opened her eyes. "I think your worries really are ill-founded. Look, here she comes." Aria said as she pointed across the grounds in the direction of the forest. And sure enough, Zach could see some five figures moving out of the forest towards the castle. He could make out Bella's figure among them.

Zach sighed and said, "It's good that she's coming back before bed hours. You probably should get back too. Don't want to end up with a punishment. Right Aria? Aria?"

Zach turned to see Aria staring out of the window into a distance, frowning.

She muttered something, closed her eyes and started twirling her fingers.

"What's wrong Aria? Are you bending?" Zach asked.

Aria put up a finger to silence him and continued to twirl her fingers, her frown getting deeper by the second.