The first thing that Ariana became aware of was that she felt very warm and comfortable, lying on something very soft beneath her. The second thing she soon realised was that she had something heavy pressing around the top of her head where a dull arch seemed to have settled, though for the life of her she couldn't seem to understand what it could have been. She felt for certain that there ought to be something important that she needed to worry about, but she just couldn't imagine what that was or why it was so important to begin with.

As she struggled to try and make her slow brain work, an image of a young, youthful face of a young boy flittered across her mind, smiling back at her with his green eyes bright and full of life: Theta Sigma. Of course, how could she have forgotten that he had been staying with them? That seemed like a very odd thing for her to forget and even odder that it seemed to be a very important piece of information to her numb brain, though she still couldn't quite understand just what the importance was to her or why she felt so terribly anxious with worry thinking about her friend. Could it be possible that he had had an accident?

No, that was right but wrong at the same time. Theta hadn't had the accident…she had, and suddenly everything came flooding back to her. She remembered how they had foolishly thought that they could climb a mountain after only mere days of preparing, how they had gone through with the plan and snuck away in the early hours of the morning under the lie that they were just going to look in the woods surrounding her home. She recalled how they had climbed the mountain, pausing to break at the midway point before continuing on their way, and she recalled with a small wave of shock how her boot had slipped against the slippery rocks as they had climbed closer to the top of the mountain. What did that mean? Everything seemed to grow very dark after that, but she had the sinking feeling that whatever had happened to her after her boot had slipped was the cause for her slow brain and her forgetfulness.

She tried to open her eyes, feeling her heart rate start to rise with worry and panic, but they didn't seem to want to comply with her. They felt heavy and terribly sluggish, but she refused to give up, needing to know exactly what had happened, and after a long moment she finally managed to open them, squinting painfully against the dim light as she found herself staring up at a white ceiling. She realised with a jolt that it was her bedroom and as her brain began to slowly catch up with everything, it came to her that she must be lying in bed, which was why she felt so lovely and warm. How had she got here? And where was Theta?

She tried to speak, but her mouth was dry and her tongue felt like it was stuck, which only began to increase her panic even more. Yes, she knew that she was safely tucked away in bed, but she wasn't so much worried about herself as she was for Theta. She needed to know if he was okay, if he had got off the mountain safely or if he had injured himself, too. She tried to make a noise in her throat, but it was hardly more than a whisper and she was forced to stop and cough weakly. She hated this, feeling so weak and confused, unable to fully make her own body do as she wanted and with her brain still not quite working.

Thankfully, it seemed that she hadn't been left alone, and she suddenly felt a warm hand touching her shoulder. She blinked and looked up, thinking for one moment that it was her mother, but instead she found herself looking up into the face of an older, grey haired woman with a kind, rounded face: her maid, Cyra. She was a distant relation to the family, just as most of the other servants that were employed in the house were, but unlike Ariana, Cyra came for a branch of the family that were considered to be the Gallifreyan working-class, unlikely to ever get a place in the Academy and even less likely to ever become Time Lords, but despite that unfairness, Cyra had always been very kind and even motherly towards her throughout her childhood, though she was still very strict at times.

"Hush now, my Lady," Cyra said softly, giving her a comforting look, "You mustn't allow yourself to get into such a panic," she let go of her shoulder and moved across to the small table beside the bed, picking up a large glass water jug and poured the liquid into a small glass that sat beside it. She turned back to Ariana and carefully helped her to sit up slightly; pausing as Ariana winced and closed her eyes against a wave of dizziness before it past, and helped her to tip the water into her mouth.

Instantly, Ariana felt the horrible dry feeling disappear as she drank small, desperate sips of the cool water. Even her mind felt slightly better, seeming less confused and befuddled now as she finished the entire glass, "Thank you," she muttered hoarsely.

Cyra smiled very faintly and sat the glass back down the table, picking up a small piece of cloth and dabbing it lightly against Ariana's chin, wiping away a bit of water that had dribbled down it, "I am glad to see that your manners remain unchanged," she remarked, almost fondly.

Ariana's eyes widened as she remembered why she had been so upset, "Theta," she breathed, grabbing Cyra's wrist in a surprisingly strong grip, staring up into the woman's lined face, "Where is he?"

She frowned deeply, her expression suddenly growing colder, "You need not concern yourself with that boy," she told her, "You must rest, you took a great fall".

"I need to see him, please. I must know that he's alright…"

"Shush, shush, shush…" she hushed her hurriedly, her voice growing soothing once more, but it did nothing to ease Ariana's panic and worry for her friend, "Rest, child, and think nothing more of him".

"But, I need to…"

"That boy is nothing but trouble," a voice said from the doorway, and Ariana blinked slightly numbly for a moment before she caught sight of her mother walking towards them, her bright green and gold robes flowing gracefully behind her. Cyra instantly fell into a deep curtsy, lowering her head and hastily backing away from the side of the bed as Rosslyn came to a stop as she reached her daughter's bedside, her expression as cold as ever, "I knew from the moment I heard of your…relationship with him that he would only bring you disaster," she sniffed, almost sneering, "But what more can be expected from a member of Lungbarrow House? The entire House has been searching for a way to get themselves more political power for centuries; I expect that boy saw you as an easy way of obtaining such power".

Ariana stared up at her, "No, Mother…" she shook her head, swallowing hard against the wave of dizziness that the motion caused to her, but she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Theta's not like that," she insisted, "He's kind and gentle, he's my friend. He would never use me to…"

"Friendship," Rosslyn cut across her, scoffing, "Friendship is nothing more than a childish distraction. People like us, my dear girl, do not have friendships, they have carefully selected relationships with those who can assistant them when the need may come. The time is very quickly approaching were you will be forced to see this too, and give up such childish notions ".

Ariana refused to accept that, she refused to allow herself to think of other people as nothing more than a means to an end, and she knew that Theta wasn't just using her. His family might see her in that light, but she knew that he didn't, that he was far too honest and loyal to treat people like that. No, their friendship was sincere, based on common interests not what the other person may be able to provide in the future, and perhaps that thinking made her foolish and showed just how young she truly was, but she very dearly hoped that the day that she came to expect that a person's friendship towards her was nothing more than a means to an end wouldn't come. She refused to allow herself to start thinking like her mother and father did.

Her mother took a deep breath, her eyes still fixed on Ariana, "Cyra, insure that she has something to eat and that she rests," she ordered, "School is due to begin again in two days time, I expect her to be completely fit to attend classes".

"Yes, my Lady," Cyra curtsied again, not rising to her full height until Rosslyn had swept out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Ariana stared after her, feeling her heart sinking and a wave of sadness wash over her as she realised that her mother hadn't even asked how she was feeling, but she supposed that she really wasn't surprised by her lack of motherly care. And that only made her feel even more sad to think that she had long since grown used to the idea that her mother really wasn't very interested in anything other than her schooling and insuring that she didn't embarrass the family in some scandal, it meant nothing to her that her youngest daughter could have very well have died. How could any parent be so indifferent and cold to their own child like that? It truly shocked her.

"Now," Cyra began, her voice catching Ariana's attention, "I shall duck down the kitchen's and arrange for a tray to be brought up," she fixed her with a stern look, pointing, "You will not leave that bed, understand?"

"Yes," she muttered, toying with an edge of her blanket.

A finger gently lifted her head, forcing her to meet Cyra's brown eyes, "Cheer up, child," she smiled warmly at her, "You will be out of this bed before you know it, back to your studies. You will hardly have the time to worry about anything else".

She frowned at her, "I'm not going to give up my friendship with Theta," she said, her voice strong and full of determination. She had already made her mind up and she refused to just give up her friendship with him just because of this, not when it wasn't his fault. Friendship might be meaningless to her mother, but it meant a great deal more to her, "This entire thing was an accident".

"An accident that very nearly cost you your life".

Ariana paled slightly, not having realised just how serious it had truly been, "What…what do you mean?" she asked quietly, fearful.

Cyra sighed heavily and took a seat on the edge of her bed, fussing with the blankets for a moment as she seemed to try to think of exactly how to word it. Finally, she looked back up and meet her eyes, "When you slipped, you were knocked into the mountain side," she explained, her voice carrying a gentle tone to it, "You hit the side of your head very hard, but luckily the ropes you had attached to yourselves stopped you from falling. That boy…"

"Please," Ariana cut in, feeling quite tired, "Call him Theta".

"Theta…" she corrected herself, not seeming to be entirely pleased about having to do so, but she continued regardless, "He managed to bring you further down the mountain to a ledge, where he attempted to help you with a small medical kit that you had taken with you. He bandaged your head and found a small distress call massager amongst what you had taken and activated it. The call went out to the Citadel, who sent out a group to investigate. They found you both and took you back to the Citadel, where your parents were notified and they rushed to meet you there, arriving just as a physician was examining you," she sighed slightly, looking back to her, "The physician determined that your body had entered into a healing coma to protect its self and that there was nothing more that they could do, except to tend to the cut in your head, and wait until you woke, but that once you did they expected you to make a full recovery with not permanent impairment".

Ariana swallowed, feeling quite stunned that it had been so serious that her body had entered into a healing coma, "And what about Theta?" she questioned, growing concerned again.

"He was sent home, of course. He was terribly distressed…" she added, almost as an afterthought.

"But he was okay? He wasn't hurt?"

"No, he was bruised and had a few cuts on his hands, but he will be perfectly fine".

"Good," Ariana nodded, closing her eyes in relief, feeling the panic that she had first felt when she awoke fade at the news

Cyra stood, seeing that she had calmed down, "Now, I shall arrange for you to eat something," she said, moving towards the door, but she paused as she reached it with her hand on the handle, fixing her with yet another stern eye, "And I mean it, don't even think about leaving that bed," she gave her a very serious look.

Ariana opened her eyes and gave her a small smile, "I won't," she assured her, keeping her smile on her face as she watched as Cyra opened the door and disappeared out into the hallway, closing it behind her. The moment it shut and she heard her footsteps walking away, she lost the smile and pushed the covers off herself, pausing slightly as she noticed the white nightgown she was wearing.

She shook her head and slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed, carefully standing, but she very quickly found herself falling back down onto the bed with a loud groan and her eyes closed against the intense wave of dizziness that came over her. She was really starting to hate that feeling. She tried to stand again, trying to ignore the sensation as she stood and carefully began to make her way across her bedroom on wobbly legs until she reached a large mirror that hung on the wall. She almost didn't recognise her own reflection.

Her skin looked almost paper white now with dark circles under her eyes, making her look as if she hadn't slept for an entire week, and her lips looked very dry and pale, too. Her hair was mussed and had fallen out of her braid, but it was the bandage that she had around the crown of her head that really caught her eye. She frowned at it and carefully tried lifting it up, wincing as she pulled it up just enough to see a small, jiggered looking red mark that ran along the edge of her hairline in her right temple. It wasn't very big and nor would it be very noticeable, but it was still a startling reminded of just how close she had come to dying. It was partly healed already, from which she supposed she had the healing coma to thank for.

Seeing enough, she pulled the bandage back down and staggered back over to her bed, just managing to climb back under the covers before her maid burst back into the room with a tray in her arms and saying something about needing to brush her hair, but Ariana wasn't listening. She would see Theta in two days time, when they went back to school, and knowing him he would blame himself entirely for what happened, but she wasn't going to let that happen. She would speak to him, make sure that he understood that she didn't care what her parents or anyone else said; because there was no way that she was just going to let this little accident ruin their friendship like that, even if she had to go up against her own family.

And it's only taken me half a year, but I've finally managed to write this chapter. It is slightly different from what I had planned, but that's what usually happens with me. So, Ariana is starting to grow a bit more into herself, slowly becoming more like the Hatter, but she's still got a long way to go. I hope you like it, tell me what you thought. Please review :)