"This is so frustrating." Aristia muttered in annoyance when she didn't find anything after searching for a suitable book for Alaric.
She was still in the library with Alaric, looking for a suitable book to help him learn to read.
"What paradise for a book lover? This is mostly politics, history and culture of Amberale and other kingdoms."
[I thought it would be easy but I didn't expect it to be as hard as finding a needle in a haystack.] She thought.
But then it occurred to her that she was in the medieval era and they probably didn't have children story books. She should have considered the situation and timeline she was in. This got the cogs in her brain turning as she thought of ways to teach Alaric and earn money at the same time.
No. She wasn't thinking of asking for payment for teaching Alaric.
[How disgusting and shameful would it be if I asked for money to teach a three year old, much less my own supposed brother?] She had a better idea that she planned to put into action sooner or later.
While searching for a book for Alaric on the part of the shelves her hands could reach, which wasn't much since the shelves were insanely high and she didn't trust the ladder even though it looked and was sturdy just like all the other wooden furniture in the mansion, she found a book about the history of the Kingdom and decided to take it since it would come in handy in building up her knowledge of this world and also in her history classes.
Carrying the book back to the sofa area, she saw Alaric still sitting in the position she had left him.
Sighing, she said, "Sorry, Al. I didn't find the book I was looking for. But soon, you'll be with one." She said vaguely. "We can start without the book but we'll need paper and writing materials." She called for Adeline to get them writing materials.
After a few minutes, Adeline returned with the materials as instructed and handed them over to Aristia.
Laying the materials down on the table, Aristia picked up the pencils and handed one to Alaric, then asked if he knew how to write any words.
Alaric shook his head in denial.
Aristia nodded her head in contemplation.
"Here." She said handing over one of the papers to Alaric. "This is yours and, this...," she said pointing to the other set of paper, "...is mine."
She started by teaching him the alphabet, then to spell and write his name and then she went on to teach him how to spell other simple words. Alaric caught on easily and in no time, he could spell, pronounce and recognize some short words.
They continued that way until Aristia decided it was time to take a break.
She sighed in relief as she stood up slowly and stretched her tired limbs.
Alaric who was caught up in his excitement of knowing how to read some words didn't even know how tired he was until he heard his sister say they should take a break. He too stood up and stretched just like Aristia did and then yawned loudly and cutely.
"Hehe," Aristia couldn't resist patting his head. "We'll continue with this tomorrow, after my lessons, alright? Now, let's go have those snacks." Aristia suggested when she noticed how tired he was. She forgot he was just a little kid. They had been there for quite a long time.
They stood up to leave while Cassandra and Adeline stayed behind to pack up the writing materials.
As Aristia and Alaric exited the library, a passing maid bowed in greeting to them and Aristia asked her to prepare the snacks since their maids were currently busy. Nodding, the maid went off to carry out the task.
Opening the door to her room, Aristia waited for Alaric to step into the room before she went in after him and shut the door after her.
Pointing to the bed, she told him, "You can sit on the bed," while going to sit on the chair by the window in front of a table with some books on top. Placing the book from the library on top of the table, she turned to Alaric only to see him struggling to climb the bed.
She couldn't help the chuckle that left her mouth. This seemed to annoy Alaric, judging from the pout on his lips.
Aristia walked over to him and decided to help him out, but she quickly realized the truth— she was too small to carry Alaric. Sighing softly, she used all her strength to help him up onto the bed and slumped to the floor when she successfully achieved her goal.
Hearing a knock on the door, she allowed whoever was on the other side permission to enter, stood up and walked toward her chair to complete the history assignment given by Viscountess Vasily.
The door opened and the maid she instructed to get them snacks appeared with a tray in her hand, containing snacks, a jug of water and two empty glasses. She bowed her head. "Princess, here are the snacks you requested for."
"Thank you. Give the snacks to Al and place the glasses of water on the bedside table." She told the maid who wasted no time in obeying. Bowing again, she left the room, leaving the prince and princess alone.