Torre Proibita

Uncertainties and Angers Arise

As the new friends discussed topics ranging from favorite foods to favorite arias and operas, Aria made sure to let Cassio take part in the conversation, just so they wouldn't be leaving him out. Cassio couldn't believe how sweet Aria was, and when he saw how happy Elio was when talking about and to her, a few realizations started to kick in. He had been keeping Elio in the tower by himself for way too long, and when he watched Aria and Elio talk together, he couldn't help but wonder if he should let Elio go. At the same time, one of the reasons he had kept Elio away in the tower was to prevent women from falling for him, as falling in love possibly led to raising children and turning down strangers' help. With that in mind, seeing Elio holding Aria's hand was both heartwarming and terrifying to him, but the fact that Aria was so nice helped diminish his fear a little.

"Are... are you alright, Sir? Your face looks quite shocked!"

After blinking a couple of times in order to bring himself back to reality, Cassio moved his chair closer to the couch and assured Aria that he was just fine, even though he truly wasn't. He didn't want to lose Elio to a stranger he had only met once, but with how kind and polite Aria was to both gentlemen, he started feeling like he could trust her with his son. As he was worrying if Aria was being polite as a trick to earn his trust, he brushed off his fears when Aria asked him a question as part of their conversation, and he answered it while struggling to keep his thoughts from tumbling out of his mouth. Luckily for him, the struggle was easy to win, and he kept his worries in the back of his mind as the conversations went on. For a man who hadn't been involved in such long chats in his life, Cassio was both amazed at how long he was actually taking part and impressed at how Aria managed to keep the conversation exciting.

"Well, I don't want to take all of your time, Elio and Cassio. You two were here before I came, so I'll gladly take my leave."

Aria shyly admitted as she began to unfurl her rope, and she was dragging it behind her before Cassio accidentally stepped on the rope, causing her to fall on her face. While Elio looked at his father in shock, Aria simply got up before looking behind her, which is when she noticed Cassio looking at her with genuine concern in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry for that, Aria. I hope you don't mind me asking, but could you meet me outside the tower once you're down? I need to ask you a few things."

"Why... sure, Sir! I'll see you when I'm down there."

With that, Cassio moved his foot off the rope before Aria flung it out the window, and Elio ran to hold onto it before smiling as Aria steadied herself on the windowsill. After saluting to Cassio and smiling sweetly at Elio, Aria and Elio exchanged cheek kisses before she slid down the rope, which she gave a couple of tugs before Elio let go. That was Cassio's cue to meet with Aria, so after he promised to be back up soon, he vanished into thin air before appearing between Aria and Canio. The conversation between them started off light and casual, but quickly changed to a bit more serious when he asked about her interactions with Elio.

"To be perfectly honest, Sir, I've only talked to Elio twice before today, and I know we were holding hands earlier, but... alright, I'll admit it. We kissed during our first meeting, and not just cheek kisses. I can assure you, Sir... our kisses last time never went x-rated."

Finding out that his son was more than just being sweet with Aria made Cassio's blood start to boil, and even though he was glad that Elio's kisses were pure, anger still raged in him at the fact that there was something going on between his son and Aria. Once he managed to calm himself momentarily, Cassio explained to Aria how the tower was made as protection from the dangers of the outside world, and Aria was surprised to find out that the powerful wizard was against romance. When she apologized for being so close to his son, Aria was met with a firey-eyed Cassio, who commanded that she should stay away from the tower for a week.

"Father! Have you lost your mind? Keeping me in solitude without a real friend for another week?"

Elio shouted from the window, causing both Cassio and Aria to look up before Cassio snapped back at him.

"I'm not company enough for you, young man?!? Fine! If you're going to be so ungrateful, I'm keeping you both out of the tower forever!"

With that, Elio soon found himself transported out of the tower with a knapsack in his hands, filled with what little possessions he had to his name. With an almost evil grin growing across his face, Cassio watched as Elio struggled to walk on the dirt with his bare feet, only to look on in surprise when he saw Aria handing him her shoes. He couldn't keep the two of them separated in the end, so he just watched in silence as Aria led Elio to Canio, which she let him pet before assisting him in the mounting. After taking a final look around, Aria kept her arms around Elio in both a protective and caring manner before they rode away from the tower, all while Cassio watched.