The Soul of Soteria | OLD WORK

Part 7/10

Lyon and Aria were sat at a table, which had a small yet elegant centerpiece. They had already ordered their food and were talking about the dance they had just attended. "We only stayed an hour, but it was fun. Did you see Mr. Whey trying to hit on Miss Rennet?" Aria asked, laughing a bit.

"He totally failed, but they're a match made in heaven. Their names both have curdled milk involved!" The two snickered and carried on with their conversation. The food finally arrived and after about an hour, their plates were clean and the check was now in the center of the table.

"I'm paying." Aria said, glaring at Lyon.

"Sorry, Ari. You're not going to win this battle." He said, smiling a bit. They both reached for the check, but Aria got to it first, causing Lyon to groan.

"No! I wanted to pay so I could be a gentleman! I didn't know you were that fast! Please, let me pay." Lyon begged, trying to take the check from Aria.

"Sorry, but no. I'm going to pay since I got the check first!" She handed the payment to the waiter and smiled victoriously. "You're welcome."

Aria grabbed Lyon's hand walked to the car. 'I can't believe I let her pay... I should have taken it from her. Oh, I'm a failure!' He thought as he drove the car towards Aria's house.

"Thank you for everything. I enjoyed going to the dance with you. Let's do it again, okay?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun. I'll see you tomorrow, Ari."

"Bye, drive safe!" She waved goodbye and went inside. There was only five minutes until Div was supposed to be there, which gave Aria no time to change out of her dress. She sighed and went to admire the roses Lyon gave her. They were perfect in every way and made the room look brighter. Just as she was starting to relax, there was a knock on the door. As soon as she opened the, Div ran inside with a smile on his face.

"I got you a present!" He said.

"Oh, really? Is it some sort of creepy bug?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"That's a good guess, but no. It's something that's been in my family for a very long time. We don't need it anymore, and I just thought you would like it." Div pulled out a small box. "Uncross your arms." He ordered. She rolled her eyes and did as she was told. Div set the box in her hands and grinned.

"This is heavy for a box this small." She said, wondering what was inside. "It's a rock, isn't it? That's the only way it could weigh this much."

"Just open it! I wanna see your reaction." Aria opened the box and gasped at the piece of jewelry that was in the small box. There was a silver necklace with a beautiful sapphire pendant.

"This is gorgeous! Are you really giving it to me?"

"Of course! I know you're going to take care of it and it'll make your eyes sparkle even more, so, it's yours. It hasn't been worn by anybody the last two hundred years."

"It's that old?!" She asked, astonished.

'It's actually from Ancient Greece, but we'll stick with two hundred years.' He smiled and nodded. "Oh, I never got to tell you. You look amazing in that dress."

"Thank you, it means a lot. You look very handsome in your suit, but you need to fix your tie. It's loose and it looks weird. Come here and let me fix it." She set the necklace on the table and began to fix Div's tie. He blushed a bit, embarrassed that she noticed an imperfection in his outfit. "There, it's fixed. Now you look like a proper gentleman."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's not my fault I can't make a good tie."

"Well, luckily I can." Aria smiled and fixed his hair.

"Who are you, my mom?" He groaned, a bit annoyed.

"I'm just trying to make you look nice! There's no harm in that." She pouted.

"Ok, my parents should be home by now. Want to go meet them?"

Aria began to panic inside. "It's going to be so awkward! Meeting family members of a friend is nerve wracking. What if they hate me and never want you to hang out with me again?" She twiddled her thumbs out of nervousness.

"Eh, they're pretty cool once you get to know 'em. They're pretty strict and love tradition, though, so they might ask some odd questions." Div said. 'They'll also expect you to be a Siren. If they find out I've been friends with a female human, they'll wring my neck.'

"Fine... I'll go meet them as long as you make sure I make a good first impression."

"Alright, I'll try my best." He said as he took Aria's hand and led her out of the house. There was a sleek, black limo waiting for them, which Div had rented so he could surpass Lyon somehow. The two got inside and were driven to a large, gated estate. Eventually, they were at inside and Aria was amazed at how large the house was. It was more like a castle to her and she felt a crushing weight put on her shoulder. How was she supposed to make a good first impression to such rich people? "Aria, you look like your about to pass out. It's just a house." Div tried to calm her down a bit.

"It's a castle, not a house! Oh, your parents are gonna think I'm just friends with you because of money!"

"I never bring anybody over, so they'll be shocked to see one of my friends. Let's go before you chicken out." He helped her out of the car and took her inside to the living room, where there was a man and a woman, whom Aria guessed to be Div's parents.

The woman had dark brown hair and green eyes while the man had blonde hair and golden eyes. They were both very beautiful people with a very powerful presence. The two ceased the conversation taking place and looked up at Div and Aria. The woman glared at Aria, suspicious of why Div would bother with someone that was so short and plain. This was going to be an uphill battle for Aria, and she knew who had a major advantage.