You are a hero Aria

"Aria, you are a hero not only for Harper today, but for all of us. And I sincerely thank you for being there when I could not. And doing what should have been my duty. But I think that you will be better employed by the side of Harper than here." Professor Thomas said in a fatherly tone.

Aria blushed upon thus being addressed by a person whom she admired very much. She looked down and nodded. Professor Thomas's face broke into a radiant smile as he patted Aria's head, "And could you bring Harper to visit Miss Anhao whenever she is feeling well enough to make the trip? I would be really thankful if you did that."

Aria blushed scarlet and tears glistened in her eyes. But all this was unnoticed by the teachers due to the darkness of the night.

Aria did not reply and immediately flew away from the forest, reaching her window and climbing in to be presented with a horrifying scene.

Harper was apparently having some nightmare as she was writhing and shrieking on the bed. Aria was so worried that she hurried over and shook her by her shoulders, yelling, "Harper!?!? HARPER!!!!! Wake up!! It's all right. I'm here. It's all right. HARPER!!!!!!"

Harper was jerked awake and she looked around, her face pale and eyes wide with fear.

She finally calmed down when she realised that there was no danger and heard Aria's voice.

Harper grabbed at Aria's dress and said, "Could you.....will you stay with me? I'm afraid to be alone."

Aria smiled, her face full of relief and kindness. She said, "Of course Harper. I'm here. I'm here till you need me. Sleep. I'm here."

Then, laying Harper's head on her lap and gently stroking her, Aria again hummed the tune, her mother's lullaby, which had already worked it's magic previously.

Next morning, Harper opened her eyes and thought that she was dreaming.

She was lying on a beautiful bed that could only belong to a princess, in a room that felt as though it had been decorated by the fairies themselves.

She looked at the big bed, covered with a huge carved arch and from which hung almost transparent curtains, making Harper feel as though she was intruding.

Above the bed, hung the lavish chandelier, mesmerising Harper with it's beauty.

After admiring the chandelier for five whole minutes, an important question struck Harper. Where was she? Whose room was this?

So she directed her eyes away from the ceiling and towards the whole room.

The room was lavishly furnished but simply decorated. Finally, after going through the whole room, Harper's eyes fell on the windows, which covered the outer semi-circle of the room. And in one of the window frames, Harper saw a beautiful angel sitting and reading.

The light shone from behind the angel, thus making it harder for Harper to distinguish her features. She let her eyes adjust to the light and saw that the angel, as she had expected, was indeed beautiful.

She was wearing a white shirt and dark blue pants, which kind of struck Harper. Why would an angel choose this kind of outfit? Her gaze then fell on the angel's feet, one on the windowsill and the other definitely dangling outside the window. Those beautiful little feet, that seemed to be carved out of the most exquisite marble, seemed almost to be shining in the sun.