Chapter 15

The Truth About Aria

"Ms. Fleming! Ms. Fleming, wake up!" Aria gently shook Adora but was unable not to sound frantic.

"Aria," Adora opened her eyes to see the princess kneeling above her. "You're okay!"

"Yes, but Vanessa's not." Aria showed her the note Myrtle left.

"Oh, dear," Adora starred at the note horrified. "We'll have to go get help. I can't let you go to Myrtle alone. She's too dangerous."

"But the note says if I want to save Vanessa, I have to come alone," Aria protested. "What if Ms. Malone, I mean Myrtle does something to her!"

"If you go by yourself, you would have fallen right into Myrtle's trap. Who knows what she'll do to you then. We'll go to the kingdom to get help and you'll be safe with your family."

"We don't have time for that!" Aria could not bear the thought of hiding out in a palace while her best friend was in danger.

"What if I went with her for backup?" Derek suggested. "I can hide so Myrtle doesn't see me and then take her by surprise or something like that."

Adora still was not satisfied. "No. You two are just teenagers. I'm won't allow you to go up against the most dangerous witch in Galatia."

"We did just slay a dragon," Derek reminded her.

"Trust me. That's nothing compared to what fighting Myrtle will be like," Adora cautioned. "No more arguing. I want you two to follow me."

Adora then looked at Aria's concerned face sympathetically and said, "Don't worry. I promise you we will save Vanessa. All we need is a strong enough force to take on Myrtle. Once I find my sister fairies, we'll find a way."

"Are these the sisters you would always visit when you went away?" Aria asked.

"Yes," Adora nodded. "I'm sorry I never told you about any of this. I thought it would be better in order to protect you and let you live a relatively normal life. I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

Aria did have many questions she wanted to ask her lifetime neighbor about all this, but one particular subject concerned her more at the moment. Aria knew the story of Sleeping Beauty so she was aware that it was true love's kiss that would awaken her so she had to ask, "What about Edmund? Why wasn't he the one to rescue me?"

Before Adora could answer, Derek commented annoyed, "Of coarse you ask about him. He was the first thing that came to your mind after I kissed you."

"That's because he was the last person I remember seeing before all this!" Aria retorted.

"And you don't think that it was because of him you are here in the first place? Instead you believe that he should have been the one to rescue you instead of me!"

"Myrtle was the one that did this to me, not Edmund!"

The two of them were practically shouting at each other so Adora could not interject.

"Well, I guess I'm not good enough for you compared to your perfect prince, Edmund!"

"Edmund was the first guy to actually act like a gentleman around me!" Aria then began to remember exactly why she used to hate Derek. "You actually expect me to think you're the one for me instead of Edmund after the way you treated me all these years? You've tormented me ever since we met in elementary school!"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Here we go again with the tormenting thing. That's exactly what Vanessa said. Why don't you two go and start an 'I hate Derek' club?"

"You know what? Maybe we will," Aria shot back. "And I bet we will get a lot of members."

"That's enough, you two!" Adora shouted silencing them. "That's no way for true loves to talk with one another."

"True love!" Aria asked bewildered.

"Yeah, true loves don't say someone else's name after their supposed loved one kisses them," Derek added.

"Enough about Edmund!" Adora continued. "You two both need to just forget about him. The Edmund you knew is not even real."

"What do you mean?" Aria demanded.

"Oh, darling," Adora sighed. "There is a lot I need to explain to you. And I don't want any more interruptions." She shot a look at Derek.

Derek, not wanting to hear any more about Edmund, decided it was best just to walk several paces behind Aria and Adora so he wouldn't get fumed up again.

"Edmund, actually just Ed, works for Myrtle. He's her most devoted minion," Adora explained to Aria. "She sent him to your world to lure you to the spinning wheel."

So it was true. Edmund was responsible for her getting locked in a castle guarded by a dragon. Aria felt as though a knife pierced her heart.

Aria decided she didn't want to talk about Edmund anymore. There is still much for her to learn. She went on, "According to this note, Myrtle is actually Ms. Malone, our English substitute, but she only was there for a day. Why would she come to my school for only a day?"

"I'm sure she just wanted to locate you. I can't see Myrtle wanting to hang around with a bunch of teenagers."

Aria remembered the conversation she had with Ms. Malone, or Myrtle. "I guess it was my birthday celebration she told me she didn't get invited to. I actually felt sorry for her at the time because I know what it feels like to be left out." Aria paused and then asked, "Why didn't Myrtle get invited?"

"Oh, sweetie. Myrtle is quite well known for her mind tricks. It wasn't as if she became evil just because she didn't get an invitation to a grand celebration. We knew she already enjoyed practicing dark magic."

"Don't you think she still would have tried to kill me if she did receive an invitation?"

"Myrtle tried to kill you by giving you death as her gift. You see. It is a fairy's job to bestow gifts to royal newborn babies. And no, I don't think Myrtle would have given you death had she invited, but I assure you, she would not have given you a very pleasant gift."

"Was your gift the one that saved my life?" Aria recalled the fairy tale story.

"Yes, dear. It was," Adora replied.

They were silent for a moment while Aria absorbed all this. She then asked, "So what were you planning on giving me before Myrtle interfered, Adora?"

"Intelligence even though according to Verna, the head fairy, that's not appropriate for a princess."

"Intelligence," Aria said as she thought about this. "That would have really helped me out in school. What did Verna give me?"

"Her gift was the gift of poise," Adora replied rolling her eyes.

"Poise?" Aria could not help but laugh. "That's so lame."

"My thoughts exactly. You have Freya to thank for your beauty."

"Beauty." Aria never thought of herself as beautiful, though that was because she would always compare herself to the other girls in school.

"Yes, she made it so your hair would always be long and golden and your skin fair."

"So she's the reason I can't get a tan or even cut my hair," Aria grumbled.

"Precisely," Adora answered. "Your poor parents were quite shocked when you were little and they took you to get your hair cut. It immediately grew back overnight. That was when I knew I had to tell them the truth about you."

"So they knew this whole time. I guess that explains their behavior on my sixteenth birthday. They originally wanted me to stay home from school."

"That may have helped, but I have a feeling Myrtle would have still found a way to get to you."

"It seems like you were the fairy with the good gift. Too bad you had to go last."

"Yes, too bad," Adora laughed. "Though Thelma's gift was good. She was the one who gave you the gift of music."

Aria smiled. "I do like playing the flute."

"Good. Thelma will be glad to hear that. She loves music. She did have to make it so it would attract a suitable man in order to satisfy Verna."

"That doesn't really work in high school. No one wants to date a band geek."

"I think you'd be surprised," Adora smiled as she looked back at Derek.

Aria had forgotten he was behind them. When she looked back at Derek she remembered their fight and how angry she was with him.

"Adora?"

"Yes, Aria?"

"Did your spell really specify that it had to be true love's kiss to awaken me?"

"It sure did."

Aria still could not accept Derek as her true love. "Are you sure? I mean, you should see what he's like in school."

"Well, love does work quite differently you your world than it does here, but I can tell he really does care for you. After all, he did risk his life to save you."

Then realization hit Aria. Derek could have died trying to get past the dragon to get to her. He knew what he was up against when he saw the dragon, yet he still came for her. Aria felt terribly guilty. After Derek had rescued her, all she did was go on and on about Edmund. Of coarse that would upset him.

Aria sighed and told Adora, "I guess I should probably talk to him."

"That's fine, dear. I need to think of a way to contact my sisters with magic since I've never tried on my own before. Just make sure you too keep following me."

Aria nodded as she hung back to walk with Derek.

As Derek walked up to her he asked, "So did figure out what you wanted to know about your boyfriend?"

"Edmund is not my boyfriend," Aria stated firmly.

"So Adora told you he's really ugly, huh?"

"She didn't mention that. She just told me Myrtle sent him to trick me." Aria was determined not to start another fight with Derek. "Look, I never got a chance to thank you for, you know, saving my life."

"Don't mention it. Besides, you saved mine too so we're even."

Aria still was not satisfied. "Why did you save me? I remember in English you said you would never risk your life for a woman. What changed your mind or do you just think I'm hot?"

Derek laughed remembering that English class when he said that. "To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure. I guess I'd never forgive myself if I just left you there. Also, I remember you said you'd never give up your life for someone else either yet you stayed behind to help me fight the dragon instead of run away. That's risking your life, too."

He has a point, Aria thought to herself then said, "I suppose nobody knows how he or she would act in a situation until they are actually in it. I guess I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just ran and left you alone with that dragon."

"Yeah, about that, when we get back to Norfolk do you think we can tell people I killed the dragon?" Derek asked jokingly.

Aria replied, "When we get back you can tell people whatever you want. I'll be sure to visit you in whatever mental institution they put you in."

They both laughed and continued to follow Adora. Derek then suddenly felt a pain in his arm.

"Are you alright?" Aria asked concerned.

"Its nothing. Just where the dragon burnt me. I'm sure it will stop in a minute."

Aria took a look at his arm and exclaimed, "Derek, it looks twice as big as it did before!" She then called, "Adora! Please come over here."

"Did you two finally work things out…?" She then saw Derek's arm. "Oh, Derek, you didn't tell me the dragon got you. Dragon burns must be treated immediately or they'll just keep growing across the skin!"

"What do we do?" Aria demanded.

Adora responded, "We'll have to go back to Greg's so he can treat it."

"Who's Greg?"

"He's the wizard of Galatia."

"Just picture Dumbledore," Derek added.

The three made their way back to the wizard's cottage. Luckily for Derek, Greg was able to treat him and he was now in the process of recovering. Greg and Adora stood in the kitchen discussing how they planned to deal with Myrtle.

Aria knew what she must do. She looked over at Derek asleep on the couch from the medicine and smiled. She felt truly glad to see that he would be okay. As she walked beside him she gently kissed his forehead and whispered goodbye. Aria took the sword from his side careful not to awaken him and left to take on Myrtle one on one.