17th December, 1771.....
It was Aria's seventh birthday. She had come home from the academy to celebrate it. As Aria got up in the morning, her maid greeted her, "Happy Birthday Miss Aria."
Aria got up from the bed, "Thank you Penny."
Then Penny helped Aria freshen up, though Aria protested that she was used to doing things on her own. (She had no helper at the academy.) But still Penny helped her.
After getting dressed, Aria looked at herself in the mirror while Penny did her hair. Aria had gotten really beautiful and seemed to be getting more beautiful by the day. She had fair skin like jade, golden hair that could even challenge the sun, and dark black eyes, which looked like a starless night ready to swallow you whole. She also had a great figure. Not too skinny, nor too chubby. Probably due to all her training.
As she struggled with her hair, Penny said, "Miss Aria, your hair are really too short. I don't know what to do with them."
Aria: "Don't you also start Penny. I have listened enough about my hair from mother."
Her mother used to scold her every time she came home after cutting her hair. Now even Beth had started saying. She had said, "Aria. You really have beautiful hair. Why do you keep cutting it off."
But no one seemed to understand that it was really difficult for a five year old kid to handle long hair by herself. It also interfered with her training, so Aria wore her hair a little above her shoulders. In a low ponytail usually.
Aria sighed and said, "If you don't know what to do, just put it in a ponytail. I like it like that anyway."
Penny sighed and tied half of Aria's hair in a high ponytail and left the lower half open. She then took out some flowers and Aria protested. "Penny, you know how much I hate wearing flowers in my hair."
Penny said, while very affectionately tucking the flowers in her ponytail, "Miss Aria, madam picked them out for you. Look they are white lilies, your favourite."
Aria looked and said nothing. Partly because white lilies were really her favourite, and partly because her mother, 'madam' had picked them out.
After she was all dressed up, Penny led Aria out of her room. While walking, Aria complained, "I can't walk in this, Penny." and she pointed to her dress which kept coming under her shoes. Penny said soothingly, "Try it like this, Miss Aria."
When Aria could walk properly, she said, "Actually Penny, you are more suited to being a princess than me."
Penny brushed off her remark as she ushered Aria into the living room, where the rest of her family was waiting for her.
Here Aria received presents from her family. Her grandfather gave Aria a beautiful necklace. Her father gave her a book about history, her mother gave Aria a new dress, Beth gave Aria a bracelet and Julia gave her toys. Aria thanked all of them and they went to have breakfast together.