That night when Aria arrived back at the mansion, she was left aghast by everything that had transpired. Being away from everyone and training with Helga, the dark elf had no clue that the situation had gotten so serious. She tried to inquire more and more to snub out her anxiety, but with everyone beyond tired, the dark elf was left troubled throughout the night.
But when morning came, she tried to ease herself into the information she was given, however, when it didn’t seem to work, she decided to head off to Helga’s and distract herself with training.
"So they find out about the Mistress, huh?" In the middle of changing their clothes in Helga’s room, Aria had been lost in thought and the Valkyrie had read through her expression. Turning her head around at the bruised and marked back of the Valkyrie, the dark elf stared at her confused, not knowing how she even managed to figure out what she was thinking.
"Don’t be so shocked, I heard the party raided the maze last night, hence it was shut–something like that was bound to make news."
"You know everything?" Aria asked, turning around completely.
"I do, and since the Mistress is still alive and so are your friends I can only imagine that they struck a deal or that the demoness revealed everything and they knew they couldn’t do anything," her eyes glaring at Aria from over her shoulder, Helga noticed a slight look of surprise taking over Aria at the second part of her statement. "They retreated then, I assumed as much to be honest."
"Wait wait wait..." Taking a step back with her hands firmly held between them, Aria glared into the Valkyrie’s eyes and asked her the burning question. "You knew what the Mistress has been doing? Selling children as slaves? No way that’s true!"
Just uttering those words, Aria wanted to claw her own throat out, but when Helga’s stern gaze refused to budge, that feeling of disgust quickly turned to anger. Squinting her eyes in rage, her hands moved on their own and grabbed the bruised back of the Valkyrie. Digging her nails into her skin, she tried to hold herself back, but something in her refused to just let that matter go.
Even so, biting the inside of her mouth she glanced down to the ground and drew long deep breaths, and as her eyes lifted up Helga’s body, they stopped at the names carved into the back of her flesh. The next moment, however, a film of new skin rippled over the wounds, covering the names and the bruises entirely.
Taking yet another step back, Aria stared at Helga–her head shaking side to side with visible disappointment.
"I can’t believe you’re trying to justify this–"
"I’M NOT TRYING TO JUSTIFY IT YOU MORON!" Losing her calm, the Valkyrie screamed at the top of her lungs, but quickly darting her eyes to the shut door, she covered her mouth from running off on its own again. "We’re done talking about this, you can go back to that mansion of yours for now..."
Lifting her head, Helga stared at Aria for a while before walking closer to her and shoving her to the ground with one hand. Stay updated through мѵʟ
"What the hell?!" Complained the dark elf, more offended than hurt.
As their eyes met again, the Valkyrie said to her in parting words.
"Get off your high horse and just accept that you can’t fight everything. I never claimed to be an angel so stop treating me like I am some saint..." Walking towards the door, Helga gripped the door handle tight. "Besides what do you think, how would a fight with that devil end with? Trust me, every parent in Athenia–if they knew what that would be like, they’d beg me to let the Mistress do her thing."
And with those words, the Valkyrie walked away–leaving Aria sitting bare on the hard floor and thinking to herself.
’What the fuck are we fighting for if we’re allowing shit like this?’ But for now, she could do nothing–nothing but return to the mansion and come back another day to train with Helga while pretending as if they never had this conversation.