Torre Proibita

Getting Acquainted

"Thank... thank you, Sir!"

The words came out of Aria's mouth before she could stop herself, and she blushed as she peeked out from behind the bushes before her eyes widened at the sight of Elio, who was looking right at her.

"You... you're a real woman! I thought that was just a voice in the breeze or something, but...oh, wow!"

"N- no, Sir, I'm not a figment of your imagination."

"I... I can see that now."

While Elio looked at her in awe, Aria stepped away from the bushes with nervousness in her gait, wondering how she was going to get up there before she had an idea. She then pulled out a rope that she usually draped a curtain over, and she approached the tower before flinging one end of the rope up to the window. As surprised as Elio was by the cord, he caught it and held onto it before looking at Aria with anticipation, and she shouldered her purse before calling up to him.

"Can... can you either pull on this or tie it to something while I climb, please?"

After Elio gave her a nod, Aria watched as he disappeared for a moment before she felt the rope getting tugged, and she took that as her cue to climb. She was surprised to feel the rope being pulled as she climbed, but she was happy that her ascension was assisted once she got the hang of it, only to sigh with relief as she reached the window. After pushing herself into the tower and sitting on the windowsill to catch her breath, she looked up to examine her new surroundings, and that was when she found herself face-to-face with Elio.

With his swept-up chestnut brown hair and his angelically creamy-light skin, Elio was just as handsome as Cassio predicted, and then some. It felt like Aria was gazing at an angel, and the sentiment was shared by Elio, who had never seen a young woman other than in his books. He thought he was dreaming when he saw her, so he reached his hand out before gently brushing some hair out of her face, causing her breath to hitch a little before giggling. Her giggle was just as lovely as her singing, and Elio couldn't believe that such a beauty would be in the woods at the same time as him, and he wondered if she was sent as a birthday gift.

"You... are you alright, Miss? Do you need some water or something to eat, after all that climbing?"

"Oh, I... I would love some water, Sir. May I have some, please?"

With that, Elio ran to the kitchen next to his bedroom before getting a couple of cups and filling them with water from his fridge. He then came right back to the window, where Aria was currently coiling her rope up, and she smiled as she took a cup from him before she had a sip. When he considered sitting beside her on the windowsill, Elio decided to sit with her somewhere else so she wouldn't accidentally hurt her head on the window frame, and he invited her to sit with him on the couch across the room from the window. With a little giggle, Aria nodded before getting up and walking with him to the couch, where he dusted off the main cushion before having her sit first.

Touched by his chivalry, Aria agreed and sat on the couch before Elio sat beside her, where he looked at her with fascination in his eyes before blushing a little. After apologizing for his wide-eyed behavior, blaming it on how he had never seen a woman before, Elio smiled as Aria forgave him before they introduced themselves. Once he learned Aria's name, Elio complimented her by saying that her name was like a melody, all while her speaking voice was as beautiful as her singing voice. None of those things could possibly compare to her face, which was angelic before her blushing at his compliments made it adorable, but he didn't say anything about that for fear of it being too soon.