The Heroine of Ireste

~Chapter 1~

Aria Fandor had not moved from her spot for hours. She has been swallowed up in the book she was currently reading, and in that moment, it was all she truly cared about. Not many other people in Tona knew how to read, and the ones who did were mainly scribes and worked for the king. Aria, whom was taught how to read and write from an early age by her uncle, couldn't imagine a life without books. Without them, Aria knew that she would have a very boring life. The peace and quiet of the bookstore had slowly started to consume her, and before she knew it, hours worth of time had passed and made Aria forget where she was, for all her thoughts were focused on the book in her hands.

The owner of the bookstore, Arvin, had known Aria since she could read and knew not to disturb Aria, but he did know to warn her when her older sister, Aurelia, was on her way to come get her. This was one of those moments. He saw a head of long golden hair pass by and ran into the back of his store to retrieve Aria before her sister could reach her. He spotted her lying on the ground, her dark hair pooling around her head, not moving at all. If Arvin hadn't known Aria for as long as he did, he would have thought her dead, but he knew that she was just in her own world now. He didn't want to disturb the girl, but he also didn't want to face the wrath of her sister if she discovered her sister splayed on the floor. He quickly kneeled next to her and caught her attention by saying, "Miss Fandor, angry Aurelia is here." This was enough to make Aria jump from her position, stick a bookmark in her book, and run out of the back room.

Just as she made it into the front of the store, Aurelia opened the door and walked in. "Hmm. I see you've been spending your time with dust bunnies. You should get out of this place and go outside for once, sister." said Aurelia, her eyes scanning the piles of books in hopes of finding something else to critique. "Uncle has given me time that I get to spend on my own, and this is how I choose to spend it. I would like to spend my time on something useful, not going out and gossiping with girls." replied Aria, smiling a little at her sister's reaction. Aurelia was still taken back from Aria's answer, but she tried to shake it off by saying, "Cousin Sandor has come home. Uncle Mauno and Aunt Ignatia wanted me to come find you to bring you home." Aria's eyes lit up as much as when she first walked into the bookstore. Sandor had been away for about two months in hopes of becoming a knight. He had been receiving training night and day, but most thought that he was still too inexperienced to become one of the king's knights. He was still quite young at 19, but it was what he had wanted to do since he was a child. "When did he come home?" Aria questioned, still trying to contain her excitement. "No less than an hour ago. Now come on, I don't want spend any more time in this dust hole," Aurelia said, not waiting for an answer and heading outside. Aria turned to Arvin and said, "My apologies for my sister. She always acts like that. And please, call me Aria. Good day," And then rushed out the door after her sister.

Aria caught up to Aurelia rather quickly, but Aurelia didn't give her younger sister so much as a second glance. "You should stop going into that bookstore. Reading was not made for young girls like you. I would prefer if you would come with me for once," Aurelia scolded, talking to Aria similarly to the tone a mother uses when scolding her children. 

 "If reading was not made for girls, then why did Uncle Mauno teach us to read?" Aria asked.

"He should not have taught us in the first place. Because of him, you read instead of doing what normal girls do. As your older sister, I ban you from books," Aurelia commanded.

"Actually, Akoni is older than both of us, so he is the one who could forbid me from something, but Uncle Mauno is also our guardian and the adult caring for us, so he can overrule both of you, and no matter what reason you give him, Uncle Mauno will not take away my precious books. Maybe as punishment, he will make you stay inside and read all day yourself." Aria smiled, knowing she had both her older brother and Uncle on her side. Aurelia only "humphed" and did not speak for the rest of the walk home.