Ok, I didn't have softball practice tonight so I wrote the next chapter. Two little girls are staying with us and them combined with my two little sisters is making this house living hell. Save me.....LOL!(Wow! I'm actually able to smile during this time! Go me!)
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The Fiery Princess
Chapter 9: A very large surprise
     The next day Lehana began the long and tiring task of teaching Ardara. Being a princess Ardara had always had servants to wait on her hand and foot so naturally she didn't know any kind of houskeeping skills. The first obstacle that Lehana faced was getting Ardara to wake up at a decent hour. Ardara had always gotten what when SHE wanted and it had never even occured to her that other people had to get up early to get things done. This was a big shock to Ardara but she put her mind to it and made herself get up early. After that Lehana had to teach Ardara how to dress herself. If you haven't ever dressed yourself and instead had servants do it for you being able to dress yourself and braid your hair is quite an accomplishment. Then came the task of teaching Ardara how to keep house. It was a long process but finally Ardara was able to do the basic things around the house. Slowly and with many mistakes Lehana's house was repaired and the garden revervished. Lehana soon found out that Ardara had had more schooling then she had on mathmatics so she let Ardara handle the bills. Ardara because of her high birth was very good at this and handled the accounts more ably then Lehana could ever hope to. Then came the task of teaching Ardara to cook. Lehana was a wonderful cook and so proved a very able teacher for Ardara. After many a burned supper and quite a few nasty accidents Ardara was finally able to cook some easy things.
     Three years past and Ardara was almost unrecognizable. She had grown strong and hardy with a sun tan. Her eyes now held the fire that the news about her marriage had taken away. Her hair seemed to have become lighter and in the sun it glistened and shown. She was now quite able to handle everything around the house and Lehana who was getting old was able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of her labor. Lehana lived right outside the town so every week Ardara would go and get what things they needed at the market. And today was one of those days
"Do you want to come with me?" Ardara asked Lehana
"No my dear" Lehana replied for she was now very stiff and always stayed at home. So Ardara went on her way. The short half mile walked to town was now nothing to Ardara and when she reached the market she began to shop around. One thing Ardara was good at naturally was haggling. She could get a seller to half his prices no matter how low they were. Ardara headed for the fish stall. The fish stall was run by a family who had been for a long time. The stall was run by the youngest of the brothers in the family and his name was Jaiden. Ardara walked up to him and said
"Hello Jaiden! Do you have any fresh trout today?"
"Hello to yourself miss! Yes actually we just got a catch of trout in would you be looking to buy some?" Jaiden replied
"Yes, but at half the price you're selling them at" Ardara said. Finally she was able to half the price and was about to walk away when Jaiden said
"Um Celestyn, I have something to say to you. Would you walk over here with me." Puzzled at what Jaiden could possibly want to say  to her Ardara followed Jaiden. Once they were a little ways from the town Jaiden said rather uncomfortly
"Um Celestyn, I've always admired you....and....um......I....um......kind of.....care about you.....in a special way." Ardara stared shocked at Jaiden. All she had ever known from men was cruelty so naturally she wasn't about to let anybody through to her. Throwing up mental barriers to protect her mind from Jaiden Ardara replied
"Um, ok Jaiden. Um...I have to be going now." Jaiden looked rather crestfallen and said
"Ok, by Celestyn" With her head spinning Ardara walked back to Lehana's house.
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