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Ariel gasped upon the surroundings that she had entered upon. The walls were very vast and high, yet so highly inviting through the decor and display of music. Majority of it was neon blue. And by it, I mean the castle itself. There were bits of neon nick-nacks and nautical decor that neon yellow and Fuschia, but to Ariel, it was really more of an underwater nightclub. Come to think of it, anyone could be thinking the same thing.
"Wow... This place is so vibrant!" Trollex chuckled at her reaction, happy that she was at least comfortable.
"Come on, I'll take you to your room." He smiled, they began to swim past the vast hallway filled with doors that usually had no purpose or essential need on the other side of them. The ceiling was just as enormous but even more so. It took Ariel and all of her might to not become overwhelmed, she didn't want to seem ungrateful.
Putting Ariels dismay at a stop, they finally make it to one of the guest bedrooms in the castle. Trollex opened the door for her as a chivalrous gesture. Allowing her to go first her gestures towards the room.
"Your room awaits..." He smoothly jokes, giving Ariel the chance to laugh softly in response.
She looked ahead of her to see the most beautiful bedroom she's ever seen.
Then again to her, she had never really seen a room that was any less 'modern' being in exile and having to prioritise with specific living spaces.
But this was beyond her imagination. There laid a Queen sized bed in the middle of the room, two bedside tables on either side. The walls were dark as an orchid. Just beyond her view, in front of the bed was a vast window display of the rest of the Techno village, an array of lights that almost left her at a blur from other homes that some other Techo Trolls were emitting, preparing themselves for slumber. A crystal chandelier that nearly had its structure appear like water droplets and crystals beads that had dangled from the window-ceiling to the floor.
"So, you dig it?" Trollex questioned, somewhat amused at her expression, realising that it wasn't even a question. Ariel continued to gawk at her surroundings, she struggled to respond
"I- yes... yeah."
Trollex chuckled, shaking his head at her antics through even more amusement. Ariel's eyes had landed onto Trollex's complexion, her facial expression slowly becoming more and more relaxed.
A silence came upon them as they continued to stare at one another. It was as though at that moment in time, there was no sense of nervousness or embarrassment but pure captivation, as if at that brief period- the eyes of which they looked into were the source of each other's happiness.
Ariel shook off that sense of magnetism off of her shoulders. She had let out a sigh while doing so, which in turn had gotten Trollex's attention as he had cleared his throat in nervousness.
Ariel had nervously put a strand of hair behind her ear. Trollex had searched around the room with his eyes momentarily, mentally checking if there was anything else he had needed to assist Ariel with.
His vision met with Ariel once again.
"So uh," Trollex started.
Ariel had looked back at him alarmingly; a habit she had when people tried to get her attention after a long-suffering period of silence.
Only this silence wasn't suffering but somewhat nurturing.
"Treat it like it's home, no pressure around here. I'm on the third door to your right." Trollex gave her a kind smile before turning around and starting to make his way at the room.
Before he could do so, he felt a small delicate hand grab his.
"W-wait," Ariel stuttered. She hesitated once again, not used to sharing so much emotion to people at certain levels. Trollex looked back swiftly again, his eyes slightly widening in a questioning manner.
Ariel drew back her hand while Trollex slowly turned to fully face her. "Uh..." She struggled but gave in. "Thank you. For everything. I know this might be really sudden...and maybe... you know an inconvenience and-"
"Hey! Hey, now hold on. I never said this would be an inconvenience, Ariel. Not at all." He had grabbed her shoulders, trying to get her eyes to lock with his so he could get his message across.
Ariel had her own arm drawn up and down her shoulder as a way of comfort. Trollex had noticed this, his eyes shifted down to her shoulder and her hands making his way to hers.
He squeezed them affectionally, almost silently letting her know of his feeling about her staying over.
"Okay? You need a friend right now." Ariel smiled shyly, her eyes shrinking from her cheeks rising as she grinned. Some part of her felt that her heart had shrivelled from a slight rejection, however, she shoved that feeling away and focused on Trollex's kind heart.
Ariel mouthed, "Thank you."
Trollex nodded and had swum his way out of the door closing it on the way out.
From the rush of the moment, Ariel had collapsed on the bed, with a grin plastered on her face. She suppressed a squeal of excitement and giddiness.
She glanced at the ceiling as she continued to focus on the comforting support that the springy cushions of the mattress had on her back. Her heart continued to race as a sigh had escaped her lips.
"Ooo, someone is a little giddier than usual~"
Ariel heard a squeaky voice coming from her window, only to see a small orange seahorse, with a teasing grin on her little face.
Ariel only scoffed, trying to not make it obvious. "Okay! Okay, I know what you're getting at. I mean, I always knew there were these strong feelings for him...but now that I'm actually... talking to him it just feels... a lot more real now." She turned her attention back to the ceiling for a short minute.
Mira smiled, happy for her aquatic troll friend and swam over to her eagerly, landing beside her.
"Well, it's good to see you actually talking to him, and not well you know, 'O-oh, m-me? I-I could never, M-Mira. H-he wouldn't'"
Ariel laughed at Mira for a second, her eyes widen from the impression that Mira had done of her. "D-do I really sound like that?"
A silence was brought upon them, only to be interrupted by sounds of laughter between the two friends surrounding the walls of the bedroom.
They both sighed and recovered from the momentary amusement that would always make everyday life easier for them, even through the face of adversity.
