Knowing it was rude to gawk at someone so plainly, Isabella quickly gathered as much of herself as she could and whipped open her fan once more, fanning herself rapidly. "Oh...Aiden...its been so long. I am glad to see you are well." she nervously remarked, beginning to sweat under sheer shock and pressure. Aiden rose and smiled softly.

"You can drop the act...all of you. I understand what a shock it is to find me alive and well." Russo put a hand on Aiden's shoulder and looked down to him.

"If you feel uncomfortable, you needn't stay..." he uttered, softly. Ever since that accident months ago, Russo was tormented by the idea and self-inflicted guilt that the incident was all his fault. Within those months, Russo stayed by Aiden's bedside, often losing days worth of sleep. He tended to Aiden's bandages, making sure they were kept fresh and even kept him company when he was all alone in the infirmary. Besides Russo, all he had to talk to were the occasional nurses and rarely the surgeon before checking up on his injury's progress. Thousands of times it seemed Russo apologized,  and a thousand times Aiden, however weak he was, assured him there was nothing to forgive. Aiden smiled, yet kept eye contact with the Vespas.

"No...its been too long since I have felt the sunshine and smelled the roses. All I have known was that dark room with the smell of must and mold. I think I'll stay. Besides, I can understand their reactions...and I commend them for being so calm and reserved about it." He nodded to the company ahead of him and gently touched his eyepatch. "I will be glad to answer any questions you have about my injury and recovery. I'd like to put the light of truth to the dark rumors surrounding this..."

Lady Arienne and Jonah stepped forward. Jonah bowed, and Arienne curtsied. "May we sit? I brought some biscuits to share." Arienne added cheerfully.

"Grace of the lord...where are my manners? Yes, by all means! Please sit." Gregory motioned to the Farfalla family with a more relaxed look. The Farfalla family bowed and curtsied as a gesture of respect and sat amongst the Vespa clan.

"Lady Josette! I haven't seen you in a while either! I did miss your company so!" Isabella smiled delightedly as she held the frail gloved hand of Josette Farfalla. Josette was a tall, thin, and pale girl of 20 years of age. Her blond hair had a paleness to it that made it seem sickly, although its quality was rich and silky. Her pale green eyes accentuated her green dress, adorned with a white satin trim. Josette was often very weak and became sick quite often. Her immune system was quite weak and on top of that, she was anemic. She felt dizzy when she sat or stood up too quickly and would often black-out, In some cases, she would even faint. Because of this, she rarely left Farfalla Manor, spending her days looking out the window. Josette smiled coyly and weakly grasped the hand of Isabella.

"It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Far too long, dearest...did the travel here make you weary? Here...have some tea. I made my famous strawberry shortcake too!"

"Isabella...you are always so kind to me." Due to the fact that Josette rarely left the house, her relationship with the Vespas remained healthy. She never attended any of the duels, so she had no reason to hate them. Aside from that fact, while she was locked away time and time again, she set to thought and tried to find the reason why the two families fought. Every time she drew a theory, she disproved it one way or another. She believed that the only reason the families continued to fight was because the other side kept fighting back. It saddened her, but with her weakened state, how could she convince the families to stop? Even if she did find a way, the excuse always came up that she was not well or in her right mind, and dismissed.

"So...umm, Aiden...what ended up happening....after...well..." Rufio stuttered, looking for a more civil way of bringing about his question regarding Aiden's wound.

"...My eye was impaled?" Aiden smirked and directed the gaze of his eye at Rufio.

"Well...y-yes"

"Well, in order to prevent infection and the possibility of contracting necrotizing faciitis..." Aiden took a very calm and casual sip of tea then continued in an equally relaxed manner "...it was amputated, and the eyelid sewed shut". The looks of the faces on the Vespa clan showed not only shock and slight disgust, but surprise that Aiden seemed so at peace when he spoke of such ghastly events.

"My word! Good gentlemen, this isn't tea-talk...." Arienne assured them while she was in the middle of passing a danish to the stunned Isabella.

"Begging your pardon, lady Arienne..."

"As do I, dear cousin. I was just returning an answer to the question"

"Well...please save it for another time? This is a day for light conversations and tea."

"Thank you, Arienne" Ethan replied, who had been silent for most of the party, simply enjoying the sun and hot tea.

"Lord Desiderio, Will Deborah or Basil be joining us?" Jonah inquired after gently wiping some biscuit crumbs from his lips. Desiderio turned toward him and shook his head slowly.

"Lady Deborah is off to visit ill family. As for Basil..." he turned and looked to a window on the third floor of the mansion where Basil paced and slept, ashamed to go out into the day even protected."He has become nocturnal."

"Nocturnal, you say? How queer...I thought there was another reason he hasn't shown at the duels." Jonah mentioned, taking a sip of tea. Aiden listened with interest and wondered what Basil would do if he ever found out he was still alive. When someone tries to put your eye out, they mean for you to suffer or die. Somehow, surviving after the assault seemed like it wouldn't suit the tastes of Basil, whom he had scarred. If truth be told, it certainly wasn't. From that very window where Desiderio glanced, Basil watched through a dark, shaded curtain with rage in his eyes. He thought that Aiden had died a horrible death. He would not let this stand. Next time he confronted Aiden, he would be sure he stayed dead.