Today, my morning was completely ruined by the sun's heavy glare through my window. The light lashed out, slapping me across the face continuously until I was forced to wake up.

I yawned as I started to get up from my comfortable bed, and stretched out my arms to get some blood in the system. After all, like Papa always told me, you had to get some exercise in your body before you dedicated an entire day to reading and learning.

That was when my door opened, and my mother came in with a concerned and worried look.

"Ah, Esther, did you just wake up? It's late in the afternoon! You need to learn to manage your sleeping times!" I could only grumble to myself as I started to get dressed into my formal outfit, all the while my mother nagged me.

"I was busy all night learning about the village... I didn't get much sleep at all." I told her as I finished dressing myself. I didn't understand the issue with waking up so early. After all, dad would deal with all the village matters for now, I just needed to focus on getting smarter and wiser.

"Honestly... Learning how to set up a sleep schedule that you are able to maintain and keep is a key to becoming a more mature person." I could only sigh as she continued to lecture me, just in time for me to start combing my white hair.

"Well, your breakfast is on the table, I have to go to the marketplace now to get our supplies back up. Apperio's gone to the other villages to discuss some things, so he'll be back by tomorrow." I nodded as I got my hair up into a ponytail, half-listening to my mother's spiel.

"Alright, be safe, and stay inside!" With that, my mom began to leave, and I could only sigh as I finished my hair.

Honestly, I wish she treated me a bit more like an adult. I'm seven years old, I know how to take care of myself and make sure I was safe.

Just wished sometimes she could see me as someone that can be independent and strong, rather than just a doll she needed to take care of constantly. At least papa knew that I was mature and could be trusted...

I went to the dining room, where she had set up a decent breakfast. A single bright red apple, a bowl of porridge with some pickled vegetables on the side, and some milk.

The porridge had no flavor to it at all, the milk was warm and barely chilled, the pickled vegetables were incredibly salty, and apple was just a complete letdown. I managed to down all of the food, but it was an effort for me to be able to do such a herculean task.

With that all done and over with, I put the plates away inside the kitchen, then took out an earthen teapot with a single cup. I began boiling some water, and put some Sichen leaves into the teapot.

Those tea herbs were great for relaxing and trying to be calm. They tasted like a lemon that had been mixed with incredibly sweet honey, with a little hint of some fresh mint. A huge bonus was the mental benefits it gave, and the fact that my family could get a hold of loads of this stuff was terrific.

I keep reminding myself to go ask Dad how much these herbs were, and where I can find a supplier, but I never have the chance. He's either too busy doing work for the village, or I'm too busy studying and trying my best to try to fill his shoes.

My thoughts were snapped back to reality when I heard the bubbling of the water. I took the pot off the fire and poured the hot, scalding water into the teapot. I watched as the water went from clear to a light, vibrant green.

The tea was ready, and I had a decently large platter to carry it on. Now, all I needed was some kind of snack to keep me occupied inside my study, and I should be good to go for the rest of the day.

I went to the kitchen and looked inside the shelves for anything that might work for something that would make me jump in joy. In my search, I found honeycomb cookies, miniature croissant bites, and thin honey wafer cookies.

I, of course, piled my plate with a lot of goodies, and set the teapot on it as well. I descended downstairs, careful to not slip and fall, before making my way past the large conference room towards my little study.

Today was going to be a good day of studying and learning, like always. After all, I had snacks to keep me satisfied until dinner, and books to keep my mind healthy and strong.

That was my everyday schedule so far, and it hadn't changed for a moment.

... well, at least until today. When I opened the door to my study room that Papa had gotten built for me, I spotted something that didn't belong there. A small, cute little girl with long brown hair was sitting on a cushion in a relaxed pose, reading what appeared to be a really old and dusty book.

The moment the door opened, I watched as the little girl frantically turned her head towards me, with her face going pale. I froze, and just stared right at her intense black eyes, the two of us frantically panicking in our minds.

"Um... hi?" I managed to say, wondering how in the world a girl managed to get inside. She didn't get in through the front door, otherwise mother would have warned me about her. She definitely couldn't have gotten in by magic, because then there would've been some kind of alert by the guards.

So, she must have snuck in somehow. I don't know how she did it... but now I was worried. If a kid could get in undetected, what other kinds of criminal elements could get inside? They could steal stuff or even worse, murder to their heart's content.

"I... um... ah..." She seemed to have been completely flustered, and probably hadn't bet on anyone coming in for a while. Thankfully, she met me, because otherwise, my parents would have been outraged.

"Hey, calm down. I won't tell anyone." I closed the door behind me, and set my tray down on the table. "Breathe in and out, let yourself relax. It's okay, you won't get into any trouble."

The girl managed to do exactly that, before coughing up a storm due to the dust she had breathed in. I couldn't help but giggle, though I did have the manners to cover my mouth.

"Here, have something to drink. It'll help your system." I handed her a cup of Sichen tea, and she started to drink it. I watched as her eyes widened in amazement, as she looked at the drink, then back at me.

"Woah, this is really good. What is this?" I could only smile at her question.

"It's Sichen tea. It helps calm you down, and it tastes good too." I watched her sip the drink more, apparently enjoying every last bit of it... until, of course, within a few seconds, she had finished it.

She looked at her cup, then back at me. I noticed that her eyes were wavering, and that her upper lip was trembling a little. She was tempting me, but I wouldn't fall for those tactics.

"Alright, alright, wait right there. Let me go grab a cup quick, and I'll pour you a new one." I got up, and immediately went upstairs, grabbed a cup, and headed back down.

The girl was right where I left her, looking amazed as I stepped back in. I poured myself some of the now warm Sichen tea, and got her some more as well.

"I've got some snacks too, here you go!" I set the platter down on the floor in front of her, and I could only watch as her eyes began to sparkle with joy.

"Now, can you tell me why you're here? I know you managed to find a way to get inside, but that's not important right now." She looked away as I asked her this simple question, before finally setting down her cup.

"I wanted to learn how to read and write, but the guards that were at the front door were being jerks about it..." I could only sigh and shake my head. I knew that those guys outside were idiots, but I didn't expect this level of stupidity. I might have to talk to my dad about those two in a bit.

Nevertheless, they were trying to do their job, albeit in a round-about way. They were to prevent anyone from entering this building, unless they were allowed to by my father or if they seemed like an important person.

Never had anyone said anything about helping kids learn. My father wouldn't want me to do something like this either, he'd probably want me to focus on learning and making sure I could do his job in the future.

But in a way... I was doing research for becoming the village elder. Being able to talk to my own people and connecting to them personally was a good way for me to decide on what policies I wanted to set up to help benefit others.

This was what I was going to do, yes. There were no hidden agendas here at all, no sir. There was no other reason for me to do this at all.

I quietly looked at her, and then looked at the book cover. 'How to Read and Write: The Basics!' was the name that I could read, and I blinked for a second. That wasn't a book that I owned in this little study, so where did she get this?

"How did you get that book? I know I don't have a copy of it in this room." The girl blinked, and then slowly set the book down. She started to shake, and I could see that her head was probably racked with thoughts to lie to me.

"I did just tell you I won't tell anyone. You can trust me." She started to fidget, and looked down at her cup to avoid eye-contact with me. I instantly recognized those signs of someone who was incredibly nervous and worried.

"I found it..." Instantly, I knew she was lying. Who just finds a random book? That kind of thing only happens once in a thousand years, and there was no way she was that lucky.

I sighed, and just patted her head. "It's fine, you don't need to tell me. But, do you really want to learn how to read and write that badly?"

She nodded frantically, and drank up her tea. "Yes! There's so many thing you can do when you know how to read and write! The possibilities are endless!"

This girl's enthusiasm... It was strong enough that I couldn't help but be amazed. After all, it wasn't everyday where you met a small child who was dead-set on learning how to do those complicated acts.

Come to think of it, why did this girl want to do these acts so much? They seemed pretty out there, and if she wasn't one of those that were 'elite', then there was no way she would want to bother learning.

Perhaps she was an outlier or a special case. To be honest, as much as I would like to ask her about this, I knew full well that she was going to just straight up lie to me. In the end, trying to get the answer from her would be a waste of time, so I stayed quiet.

I'll try to build up a rapport with her first so I can get my curiosities satisfied, but for now, I should just focus on helping her out.

"So, you're reading that book, huh? I can help you learn how to read and write." The girl looked at me with a raised eyebrow, obviously surprised by my statement. Her expression then turned dark as she looked at me.

"Don't pit me. I can learn on my own." I was thrown back a little, but not by a lot. I've faced worse before when my father had been threatened by some unsavory people, this was nothing. It was simply a little kid giving a temper tantrum.

"I'm not looking down on you, I'm offering to help. I learned how to do those tasks on my own, and that book doesn't seem like it'll be any help to you." The girl continued to glare at me, and simply inched backwards, in an attempt to get away from me.

I sighed. My words were being treated the opposite of what I was intending, so maybe I should point out the problem.

"Not insulting you, I swear. I'm just saying that the book you're holding doesn't seem like it'll hold up any longer." I said as I pointed to the object in question. The book definitely didn't have a long lifetime, especially when the cover was cracked and broken, and all the pages seemed to be worn and damaged.

She stared long and hard at me, before opening the first page of the book defiantly. She looked at the page for a moment, blinked, and then rubbed her eyes. Then, she squinted and brought the damaged tome closer, almost as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

I could only sigh mentally upon seeing this sight. There really was no reason to doubt me whatsoever... but then again, she didn't know who I was. No one in the village did, really, since I never went out and played with my fellow kids.

"Come on, I can help. There's some snacks and more tea involved." The little girl stiffened, and I could see some drool appearing on the side of her mouth.

"They're sweet, delicious, and best of all, fresh. In fact, I don't think you can get some of these at the marketplace. They're probably available in the village's bakery, where the prices are decently high for a normal worker." She frantically looked at the platter I had prepared, and I could watch her think long and hard about the offer. I was certain that at this point, even I could anticipate what she was going to say.

"Alright! I accept!" Hook, line, and sinker. I had managed to ensnare this girl in my trap. Now that

I had gotten that bit of trust, I could start yanking the line until she was completely and utterly loyal to me.

Now, I just needed her age and her name so I could figure out more about her. Since we did have that line of trust, might as well ask about her age.

"Hey, how old are you anyways?" I asked, and blinked when I realized she had been chowing down on a honeycomb cookie, which was basically crumbs at this point.

She paused, and started to think for a while, before nodding to herself. Seemed like she had realized a lie potentially, or was just doing some thinking to figure out her actual age.

"I'm four!" Well, that made a lot of sense. The age that children came to the village center to play was usually at that age, at least until they were six years old.

"Gotcha. Here, make some space, I'll help you with your book. Seems like you're a little stuck." The kid just sat there, before reluctantly moving over a bit to allow me to sit down.

I did so, and looked at the first page, and blinked. The book was obviously damaged, as the picture that would have displayed what letter to learn first had been tainted and only displayed a part of the word. Not only that, but there really wasn't a way to learn without a partner that knew how to pronounce these letters and help out.

Really, this was bad for self-tutoring, but perfect for someone that would be teaching another. Since that was my plan... well, whoever got this girl this book, I thank you. You have made it easier for our social interactions to expand further.

"Alright, you see that letter? That's pronounced 'arc', and the way you write it is..."

-----

We were almost done with the book when I heard some movement in the hallways. Before I knew it, someone had opened the door to my study quickly and roughly, making a loud noise that interrupted our lesson.

We turned to the source of this annoying, abrupt distraction, and were greeted by four people. Two of the guards were standing there, one of which was holding the door, and the other had their jaw open. There was a red haired boy who had his jaw opened and looked furious, while another girl with dark blue hair was staring with a smug look.

"See! I told you she would've found a way to sneak in! Come on Feliza, why didn't you tell me?!" Ah, so the girl's name was Feliza. That's something I'd have to remember.

The two guards bowed down frantically, obviously trying to redeem the mistake they had done. "We're so sorry, Miss Esther, we let you down! Don't worry, we'll take care of this little intruder!"

The idiot duo took a step forward, then immediately stopped when I put a hand up. "Not a single step further! I have given this girl my permission to stay in here, so you all can just leave!"

"With all due respect miss, your father specifically said-" The words that were meant to come out of the guard's throat were halted sharply by my glare, which caused him to step back and gulp heavily.

"My father had left me with some responsibility over this building and the village. I'm saying she can stay, and she can come back at any time. Do. You. Understand?" The two useless fools hugged each other, giving me a disgusting looking face. Honestly, how did these two morons pass the basics of guard duty?

"That's enough. If there's nothing else, then leave!" The four squeaked and dashed out the front door. The girl just sat there, completely bewildered, while I could only sigh and rub my forehead.

Really, what incompetent morons. How the hell was a four year old girl better than them? No, not even that, but how come her own friends were as stupid as them? Really, I don't even know what was going on in the village anymore.

"Uh, what about your father's rules? He's probably going to be upset, right?" I looked at Feliza, wondering about the situation that I might face.

The two guards would definitely snitch on me and tell my father, which would then result in a conversation with him about what I was doing. That would probably result in me getting a punishment of some type.

But to be honest, at this moment, I couldn't really care less. I found someone that I could connect to in some fashion, and I would be damned if I would have that link be snapped from a single day.

I felt happy teaching her the basics, and I felt like I was doing something that I desperately wanted to do for the rest of my life. However, considering my future path, it would be much better to savor the little moments for now.

After all, there was no way I could defy my destiny, so I would have to work with what I had.

"Screw the rules." I said firmly to the little girl, who seemed to brighten up even more. I then patted her on the head, and started to scratch her. I was glad that this session was going to last longer, it made my heart feel that much better.

"Now come on, let's continue our lesson, shall we?" The girl nodded fervently, and I couldn't help but smile.

It felt nice, knowing that you could help change something for the better. Even if it was as minor as helping out a kid.