❧𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡❧ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐂𝐔

₀₆ | 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

The alarm blared through the young girl's bedroom as she sat up, turning the alarm off with a gentle yawn. She looked around her bedroom which had changed for the fifth day in a row. It looked similar to the way that Aria's room had looked before this whole mess, but it still looked forty years older nevertheless.

Once the young girl got out of bed and she made her way to her wardrobe only to be greeted by a princess costume.

"Uhm..." She said as she picked it up. It was a Halloween costume. The young girl was extremely confused as she eyed the soft pink and white silk fabric. Aria was sure that it wasn't Halloween, since she distinctly remembered celebrating it with her mother the month prior.

Either way, Aria wasn't too disappointed. Halloween was her favourite holiday, so she couldn't wait to stuff her face with as much candy as she could without being told off for it.

She slipped the dress on and made her way downstairs, swaying her princess wand around with a large smile on her face.

Aria knew that she probably shouldn't be so happy about this, especially since she knew that Wanda was the reason for it, but she didn't care at that exact moment.

She was just too excited to eat all the candy in the world. What kid wouldn't be? She was only 9, after all.

Aria made her way to the kitchen, only to realise that her mother wasn't there like she was only 2 days prior.

Aria's brows furrowed in confusion. Where was her mom?

"Mom?" Aria's voice rang through the house as she called out to her mother. She expected nobody to answer, but she felt a moment of surprise when she got a response.

"Yes, bug?" Aria's mother's voice rang from upstairs as she walked down, She wore her usual police uniform.

Aria couldn't get used to the nickname no matter how much she wished she could. She was so used to her mother calling her 'bean' that 'bug' just felt wrong.

Aria wished that Wanda had just kept the name 'Bean'. Because at least one thing in this whole mess would still be the same.

She hated change more than anything in the world.

Although, she didn't care too much as she watched her mother interact with her for the first time in days. A smile crept to Aria's face as she ran up to her mom, wrapping her small arms around her mother's waist.

"I missed you," She mumbled as she squeezed her mother tightly. She knew that she had to keep the act up to help her mother, but she couldn't help but let the act slip for just a minute. For long enough to enjoy the moment.

"I haven't gone anywhere, bug," Aria's mother chuckled as she wrapped her arms around the young girl, running her fingers through Aria's brown locks.

Aria couldn't help but frown on her mother's side as her mother mentioned not going anywhere. The young girl almost forgot the situation that they were in while she was hugging her mother. She almost forgot the horror that Wanda had created for her and her mother.

Aria had to stay strong, she knew that, but she wasn't sure how long she could keep this up for. She was only a kid, after all.

"Right... I knew that. I just, missed you when I was asleep," Aria said as she fixed the frown on her face and replaced it with a smile as she looked up at her mother.

"Well, you're going to have to miss me for a little while longer. I'm patrolling the streets with Herb tonight. Making sure that nobody gets into trouble," Aria's mother stated as she placed a soft kiss on the girl's forehead.