Disclaimer: I do not know Gail Carson Levine nor am I Gail Carson Levine. Many of the settings and some of the characters used in this story are hers.

A/N: SCORE! I finally managed an update! So very, very sorry I haven't been doing so, but I definitely have a very good reason. End of year = school crap = exams + other events = stress = not being able to write/update. Exams start next week, which sucks major, but I'll try to update sooner.

In response to some of your questions:

Mooky-Terence is 2 years older than Aria. As for your other question involving Aria's dad, I guess you'll just have to read and find out ;)

Slickchick650-Yep, the reviews do get emailed to me. It's actually kind of cool (lol I know, I'm a dork) cuz you get this little "Review Alert!" thing. Ok, I'm going to shut up now.

Eldainwe Aduial Elenath and Becker-Thanks for the constructive criticism! I didn't even realize it all seemed to be based on looks until you guys pointed it out. So thanks, and keep criticizing! I'll try to improve :)

To everyone mentioned above and all other awesome, awesome reviewers/readers (Pidget, Alqualyne, Nnifer, Cheler, TallemeraRane, AussieGal, sonchika, Tessandra, meg87, Connie, and Jayne)-Thanks for reading and/or reviewing! You guys rock even more than the _____ ! (insert your favorite band here, preferably the All-American Rejects :P) I hope I didn't forget anyone--but if I did, I'm really sorry, and you rock too! :)

Aria's Melody

Chapter 5: The Untitled Chapter That Now Appears To Be Titled

She was running, running as fast as she could through the dark alley, heading desperately for the light peeking out at the end of the tunnel. Her lungs were on fire, her throat sore and gasping for breath. She could hear angry footsteps pounding from behind, louder and louder, closer and closer…

Gasping, Aria woke, her body bathed in cold sweat and her heart pounding loudly. Head throbbing, she waited for a second, her eyes adjusting to the dark and quiet around her. She sat still for a moment, one hand rubbing a dull ache that emanated from her head and the other clutching Grands' necklace tightly. She breathed heavily a few moments longer, attempting to erase lingering thoughts of the nightmare.

Where was she? Memories suddenly flooded Aria's mind, shocking her for a moment. Grands. The drunken man. Terence.

Shivering from the remembrance, the dream, and the sudden cold she felt, Aria groped around her, her hands brushing against bed sheets. She finally reached the edge of the bed and quickly and quietly, slipped out, her bare feet touching the wooden floor below. Standing in the middle of the room, Aria looked around, arms wrapped tightly to herself.

A small window brought in meager dawn light through its heavy curtains on the right wall, giving some light to the wooden dresser in the corner of the room. A rocking chair sat in the opposite corner, silent and still, making Aria feel a silly need to rock it. Spotting a lonely shawl resting on the chair, she grabbed it and pulled it around herself, before reaching for the knob on the door of the room and quietly pulling it open.

A dim, empty hall greeted her, numerous doors dotting each side of it. Peeking further down the hallway, Aria saw steps that led downstairs, where warm yellow light came and welcomed her. Longing for warmth and happiness, she nervously tiptoed towards the stairs, wooden floorboards creaking quietly beneath her feet.

* * *

Jessalyn arched her eyebrows as she stared at her reflection in the mirror on the chiffonnier, tilting and turning her head slightly as she watched the mixture of shadow and light created by the candle accent the delicate curve of her nose. She reached up and let loose the hair that had been braided into an elegant twist around her head, the gold strands tumbling onto her shoulders and down her back.

Jessalyn smiled approvingly at herself. She was beautiful, and she knew it—and she knew others had the same knowledge. Ever since she was a small child, she'd been able to use her beauty to get everything she wanted, and she'd learned to enjoy toying with people in the process—how many men could she get to become intoxicated with love for her, how many others she could fool into making them think she was an absolute saint… So now it had become a game to her—a game where Jessalyn was confident she would always be the winner.

But now came the real challenge. The ultimate game. So much was at stake. A whole lifetime of practicing had come to this point.

Jessalyn's lips raised in a self-satisfied smirk. She wasn't going to disappoint her father.

* * *

Aria reached the last step of the staircase and blinked for a moment as the warm yellow light flooded her every sense. The room that she found herself in was cozy and welcoming, a motherly touch obvious in the milieu. She breathed a silent sigh of relief; wherever she was, she knew she was safe. As though to further prove Aria's notion, a kind voice spoke up.

"Oh! You're awake!"

The voice belonged to a middle-aged woman, her chestnut hair twirled into a bun on her head, loose strands falling into her kind and slender face. She was in what appeared to be the kitchen, at a table near a large copper stove where she was kneading dough, white flour smudged on her dark blue apron. The woman hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron before walking quickly to Aria.

"How are you feeling?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "How does your head feel? No bleeding cuts, but I'm guessing a bruise has most likely formed."

Aria managed an uncertain smile. "My head does hurt a little," she admitted. "But I'm sure it'll be alright in a few days. Thank you for taking me in. I'm sorry about all the trouble."

The woman smiled, pushing back her hair with the back of her flour-covered hands. "Oh dear, there's no trouble at all. Terence went out for a breath of fresh air, and I told him to bring something to defend himself with if there was any trouble—you never know what kind of people are out at night nowadays—and luckily he did!"

She paused for breath and led Aria to an overstuffed chair in the corner of the room. "Please, sit down. You must be tired out of your wits. Are you sure you wouldn't like to go back to sleep for awhile?" When Aria shook her head, she continued. "You're probably wondering who I am—I'm Areida, a close friend of Terence's mother. You're Aria?"

Aria nodded, trying to take everything in all at once. Terence must have told Areida who she was. "Aria Delamont," she confirmed.

"Delamont?" Areida, who had gone back to the kitchen to pour a mug of something warm for Aria stopped in her movements.

"Yes." Aria was surprised at Areida's reaction. "Do you know my father? Lord Maxmilien Delamont? Or my mother?" Aria's heart thumped hopefully. Maybe Areida was a friend of her mother's. "My mother was Elizabeth. Elizabeth Reaal Delamont. She grew up here."

Areida momentarily appeared both startled and thoughtful. "No," she said after a pause, "I did not know either of them. For a moment I confused your last name with that of a family I used to know."

"Oh?" Aria accepted the mug that Areida finally handed her and looked up curiously. "What was their last name?"

Areida hesitated, and then cocked her head, as though thinking. "Deltamon, that was it."

Aria paused to drink the gold-tan liquid in the mug and immediately relaxed as a hot, sweet tea touched her lips. "Thank you for your hospitality Areida. I don't know what would have happened if you or Terence hadn't been here."

Areida smiled, and her warm brown eyes crinkled at the corners. "You're welcome dear. After all, this is an inn." Her voice turned serious for a moment. "But why were you out so late? And by yourself in Amonta?"

Aria wavered for a moment, wondering whether to tell Areida why she was in Amonta. The trips she made to Amonta, even when it had been with her mother had always been kept a secret—her mother had said it was more fun that way, that the trips were covert adventures just for the two of them. But now Aria kept the trips to herself only because it was much simpler that way—her governess would have never allowed it anyway if she knew.

Deciding that telling Areida was safe, Aria explained herself, and the reason she was here and what had happened to Grands. Her voice cracked as she spoke about Grands, and suddenly she found herself hugging Areida, sobbing and choking on her tears.

It was a healing moment as Areida comfortingly explained life and death, and Aria found herself feeling much better than she had before.

She realized she missed not having a mother.

* * *

The wind blew through the trees, a light whooshing sound that mixed with the chirps of birds in the cemetery. The sun shone brightly in the clear sky. There were no puffs of clouds, no hint of even a whiff of one. But Aria didn't even notice.

She stared at a slab, newly put into the ground, the name "Kat Molndate" inscribed neatly but coldly into the gray surface.

"I miss you already, Grands," Aria whispered. A light breeze blew through the graveyard, ruffling Aria's hair and taking the words away from her lips. She closed her eyes, imagining her message to Grands swirling and flying through the blue sky, twisting up, up…

She opened her eyes and blinked for a moment in the morning sunlight and looked back down at the slab and next to it, the flowers she'd placed.

Aria was sad, but Areida had helped her accept Grands' death. Grands is in a better place now, Aria thought, as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly. Areida had offered to accompany Aria for the burial, but Aria had declined. Aria knew Grands had no living relatives, nor anyone else who knew her. She wanted to be alone for this.

After a few more minutes of staring at the gray slab, Aria turned her head up to the sapphire sky to say a final good-bye.

She turned and followed the dirt path through the cemetery, ducking a low branch of a maple tree. Aria let herself through the ornate iron gate, stopping abruptly when she saw a boy standing under a tree near the entrance, the bright green leaves slightly hiding him from view. Hands held in front of him, his head was bent, looking as though he was studying intently the grass on the ground. He was so deep in concentration that he didn't even notice Aria walk towards him.

"How interesting is the grass, really?"

The boy looked up startled and straightened before giving a tiny smile. "I was hoping that if I stared hard enough, I could catch it growing."

"That would be quite an achievement, wouldn't it?" Aria's lips turned up at the corners, and she looked at Terence through the leaves, grateful now for company.

"Areida told me you were here." Terence paused, too polite to ask about the situation. "Are you feeling better?" He inquired instead, stepping out from under the tree.

The two began walking, leaving the shadows of the trees next to the cemetery gate and heading up the path to the main road.

"Yes, I am. I haven't had a chance to tell you thank you yet for helping me last night. I—I don't know what would've happened without you." Aria turned red. "Thank you."

Terence smiled. "A save for a save."

Aria gave a puzzled look. "A save for a save?"

"You saved us from ogres once. It was my turn to return the favor."

Aria gave a lilliputian grin. "Oh I see. So you were only just returning a favor? It wasn't out of the pure goodness of your heart?"

Terence blushed. "That's not what I meant—I mean, I didn't mean that I was just going to return—I did it because…" He trailed off, cheeks pink and tongue-tied.

Aria smiled. "Thank you." She said softly, suddenly feeling emotional again.

"Thank you."

They were silent for a moment, watching the dust swirl around their feet on the road as they walked. The miniscule particles shimmered in the sunlight, reminding Aria of fairy dust and childhood. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a small child again, Aria mused. No worries, no complications…

"You're probably wondering why I'm in Amonta in the first place," Aria said after a moment. "My mother used to take me here to show me where she'd grown up. It was a wonderful thing to do with her, and we'd used to sneak off together for a day, to visit this town. I loved it. When my mother passed away, I couldn't go back for awhile. But Father began going away frequently on business trips, and so I began sneaking to Amonta again."

Aria paused and gazed up at the sky for a moment. "I met Grands once when I was alone here. She was buying food, I remember, and the vendor was being awfully mean to her because she was old and a little slow with some things. I was angry that he was treating her so horribly and I just had to give him a piece of my mind."

Terence chuckled and gave her a sidelong glance. "Strange—I can completely imagine you doing so."

"Are you teasing me, Your Majesty?"

"No, not at all, My Lady." The prince gave her an amused look, watching as she tilted her chin into the air.

"Good, because you don't want to."

Terence smiled before his face turned serious. "What happened then?"

"I yelled at him," Aria stated simply. "He was surprised—and I took the opportunity to lead Grands away. She didn't deserve to be treated like that." Aria told Terence about how she'd gotten to know Grands well and how she began sneaking to Amonta monthly. "My governess is most likely extremely perplexed as to where I am right now. I was planning to get home yesterday evening."

Terence looked worried. "Will she be alright? Won't she notify someone? Would you like to go back to Aloya right now? I could take you back," he offered.

Aria smiled at his courtesy. "No, it's alright. Thank you. My governess wouldn't tell anyone yet—she'd be afraid if Father found out, he'd accuse her of not taking care of me correctly. Not that she does, anyway." She kicked at the ground and watched as dust flew into the spring air again. She stretched out a hand and tried to catch the particles, watching as some settled onto her open palm.

Terence gazed at her for a moment and opened his mouth to say something, but then thinking better of it, he stopped. Instead, he asked her, "Would you like to explore Amonta with me today then? You probably haven't had a chance to see the whole town, and neither have I."

Aria's eyes lighted up, and she looked up, much happier than she'd been a moment ago. "Really?"

"Really."

A/N: I know, I know, very short chapter. But the next one will be longer, and there'll be some fun and evilness too. How's that? :) Review, comment, criticize, go watch tv, etc. etc.!

Luv, daydream (you know, I've gotten used to this pen name now. I guess I'm not gonna change it anymore, lol)