The Last Healer

Chapter 18: Ariella

Chapter 18 Ariella

"Ariella!" Natalie's voice rang from behind me. I tensed, turned around, and watched her walk into the kitchen. "Did I scare you?"

"A little." Or a lot. I glanced back at the pieces of bread behind me and turned to her. "Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"

"Oh I'll help!" She glided towards me. "We'll make something for Brittney too, she'll be out soon."

"Did you both get the day off?" I questioned as I turned back to slice more pieces of bread. Brittney and Natalie seemed inseparable when they were together and now they even had stayed here together.

"We had it off for a while. Ma asked us if we wanted to go in but we said no." Natalie opened the cupboard and pulled out a couple of dishes. She held them against her chest as she made her way back towards me.

"Why didn't you?"

"Because, unlike someone, we don't put work first." She grumbled. The plates made a soft click as she placed it on the counter.

"Someone?"

"Don't worry about it." Her eyes rolled in annoyance and turned around. "I'll grab some apples from the pantry; fruit is always a good thing in the morning!"

She slipped around me and rushed in the pantry.

My mind swirled in confusion, trying to understand what she said. Who put work first and why did that annoy her? Did someone back out on their plans with her and she got upset? Or was it someone who backed out on someone else?

Stop trying to understand what other people are thinking. I criticized myself as I reminded myself of what Dimitri said.

"So, after breakfast, we're going out!" Natalie giggled and placed an apple on each plate. Her hands slipped around the edges of the plate and lifted them up. "Grab your plate and let's go eat!" Her voice rang with laughter as she walked away from me. I grabbed my plate and followed her.

Brittney joined us at the table and the two of them started talking while they were eating.

"So we need some hats, ribbons, gloves, and a couple purses." Natalie exclaimed before she took a bite off of the bread.

"Did ma and pa give us permission to use the money? And will we have enough?" A soft crunching noise filled the room as Brittney bit into the apple.

"Yes and maybe." Natalie shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Nibbling on the bread, I studied the two of them. It was obvious that they were close and it made sense that they would be. They've been through a lot together, even before they were adopted. They were all that each other had left.

"Ariella, what were the colors of your dresses?" Brittney interrupted my thoughts.

"Well-I-uh...There was a couple blue, a purple, a green, a red, and a white." My cheeks flushed as I counted off. I had seven dresses, more than I had ever had in my life, and it felt amazing to have that many dresses.

"Thank goodness she stayed away from oranges, yellows, and pinks!" Natalie jumped up and stretched. "Well, I'm done and ready to go!"

"Go where?" I asked as she picked up my plate.

"Shopping!" She giggled and disappeared in the kitchen.

"After we get that done, a couple of our friends want to go out for lunch so we're going to meet them at the bakery." Brittney smiled, her hair hanging behind her as she leaned back in the chair. "It'll be good for you to meet other people. You'll be able to become part of the community if you have some friends and a lot of people want to meet you."