There is a small village that resides in the empire of Ainolybab. A country that is an absolute monarchy run by an emperor and the high lords.

　　It is a world of magic called "Niekas". Where beasts, mages, knights, and many other figures exist. But this story is not about the world itself or the political structure of the empire. This is a story about a girl from the village of Muaau.

　　"Ahhh..."

　　The girl scrubs her eyes waking up from her slumber and then after staring at the ceiling for a couple of minutes contemplating whether she should get up or not. She decides to take a quick nap right after waking up, and so she falls asleep again.

　　"Aarunya! Wake up and come eat breakfast!"

　　"Uahhh!" *boom*

　　Just a few minutes later after falling asleep Aarunya gets woken up by her mother which startled her to such a degree that she fell out of the bed.

　　"Auuhh..."

　　"Goodness gracious child, be careful. You could`ve gotten hurt pretty badly. Are you okay?"

　　"Ahh, yes, mom. I`ll come over just let me get dressed."

　　"Okay, you be careful. And also, there`s something important I and your father have to tell you as well."

　　"Hmm? What is it?"

　　"We`ll tell you when you get dressed and come to the kitchen."

　　The mother steps out and walks to the kitchen.

　　Aarunya didn`t like hearing that her mother and father have something to tell her. Her mother though seemed to have a smile while saying they have something to say to her. But Aarunya felt something wasn`t right.

　　"Khrista, I can`t even get a few more minutes of sleep on a Sunday..."

　　Khrista is the god that the people of Ainolybab worship. And as such the people in these lands tend to blabber out his name whenever something good or bad happens, which in actuality shouldn`t be said without good reason as dictated by the religious rules.

　　But the people of the land don`t care too much about that. And the guards will not punish you for that in general. If you`re visiting a church and you say his name there for no reason, you will most likely just get yelled at.

　　Aarunya, who was sleeping naked was putting on her tunic that was made by folding over a long piece of fabric and cutting a hole in the center of the fold for the neck.

　　The sides of the fabric were sewed. Only two holes from both sides for the arms to fit through weren`t sewed. The tunic was long, it went down to her calves which made it out to be a dress and a tunic at the same time.

　　A dress that a peasant would wear. Aarunya was not of a wealthy family.

　　Aarunya herself was a short, petite girl. Around 162 centimeters tall, with long yellow hair that went down to her upper back. Maintaining long hair is not easy with the recourses they have but Aarunya treasures her hair and refuses to cut it short.

　　Her hands were the least beautiful part of her body because of all the farm work. The villagers think that it`s almost a waste to have such a beautiful girl do the farm work and that her parents should send her to a bigger town to give her an education. She could then get a proper job where her beauty wouldn`t need to get damaged so early in life. But at the same time, they know that her parents couldn`t afford such an expense. The other villagers were just in the same boat as well.

　　Aarunya, after finishing getting dressed up headed out of her room and went to the kitchen.

　　"Morning father"

　　"Morning Aarunya" Her father replies just like on any other morning.

　　"What`s for breakfast?"

　　"Cooked salmon, bread, and some water to gulp it all down."

　　"Just like always eyy..." Aarunya makes a sad but at the same happy confused face.

　　There is a river that runs through the village, so fish is the main dish for most families here.

　　Aarunya sits down on the chair and her mother comes in bringing in the fish, bread, and water for everyone.

　　Her mother is a short woman just like Aarunya. She has short blonde hair without any particular hairstyle. Slight wrinkles have already started forming on her face. She wore the same style of rags as Aarunya.

　　"So, mom you said you and dad have something to tell me, right?"

　　"Yes, dear," said the mother.

　　"You turned s more than a month ago"

　　"Right..." Aarunya replied awkwardly

　　"So, me and your father umm, have been going out looking for a certain someone for you, you know? Hmm, how can I say it better for you"

　　The mother who just a couple of minutes ago was smiling saying she has something to say to Aarunya is now acting a bit more flustered in saying what she wants to say to her daughter.

　　"I`ll tell her," says the father calmly.

　　Aarunyas father was a tall, 182 centimeters man who had short black hair. He had more of a muscular figure compared to the other villagers and he was also wearing a tunic.

　　"We`ve been looking for a husband for you Aarunya"

　　Aarunya`s mind slightly went blank but it quickly returned to her. Her heartbeat though, increased substantially as she was feeling her heart pumping faster in her chest now.

　　"You`re serious, aren`t you?"

　　"He`s the boy who you`ve played a lot with when you were younger. The merchant`s boy, Pasloe."

　　"Him? Yes, I know him but..."

　　"We discussed everything with his parents and they accepted our proposition as Pasloe himself has said that he likes you in the past."

　　"He does now, does he? I`ve thought so..."

　　Pasloes father was a merchant which meant he wasnt home most of the time. Currently, he is home though visiting his family. Also, Pasloes father isnt what you would call a wealthy merchant, but they are living modestly. They don`t have to worry about not having the money for food during the winter. Which is better than a big portion of the village.

　　Aarunya wasn`t answering and just kept being quiet.

　　So, her father decided to break the silence

　　"So, it seems like you`re fine with it and we can give them confirmation that you accept right?"

　　 "You`re making me marry him because he`s the son of a merchant and their family is the richest family in the village with the highest chance that will accept our marriage proposition from something like our family, right?"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

　　Aarunya didn`t answer his father clearly at first because she was putting the situation together in place. Analyzing in a situation like this. She has a sharp mind.

　　"You probably don`t even care whether I accept it or not you just need the money!... Pasloe himself probably doesn`t even want to marry me. He never showed any type of romantic interest in me"

　　But of course, even if she was analyzing and understanding the situation her emotions did run quite rampant.

　　Aarunya`s response seemed to tick her father off, but he was trying to compose himself as well.

　　"We can`t lie to that, yes we are forcibly sending you to marry Pasloe. But at the same time, we chose their family because you and Pasloe used to be such good friends and so we taught it would just be easier for you to marry him. And yes, what you said is true, we do want bigger finances in our family. But at the same time, we do look at the benefits for you as well. With the help of their family, you could get out of this village and actually get an education. You wouldn`t need to work on these farms. You never seemed to like working in the fields so this would be better for you."

　　"Do you think I care about that?! Oh, and also how long have you been planning this marriage in the first place?!"

　　Her father answered: "We`ve had the idea for a couple of months now and we went to Pasloes family just three days ago with the proposal. We came to a conclusion very quickly by ourselves, in just two days. And now, we`re giving you the word about it. Which is just the next day"

　　"And so, you couldn`t have given me the heads up those couple of months ago?"

　　"It`s because we did expect this reaction from you. So, we didn`t want you to retaliate against it so early. We do know you quite well darling"

　　"Clearly, you don`t..." Aarunya murmured that quietly.

　　Her father caught her saying that but he didn`t answer. He only had what seemed like a disappointing grin on his face.

　　"I`d rather marry a poor man by my own desire than marry an emperor forcibly!" Aarunya proclaimed that fiercely

　　Neither the mother nor the father expected Aarunya to say a retort like that. To them, she always seemed like a good and obedient girl. Never truly got into fights with her parents. They did expect that she would retaliate against that decision at first, but only slightly for a short while, certainly not like this. Now here she is fighting back at full force for the first time in her life against her parents with such ferocity. She thinks that it`s absolutely necessary though.

　　"Do you have something against the boy Aarunya? Do you hate him? Is that why you haven`t been playing together? In general, you haven`t been spending much time with the kids. You`re going out somewhere but you`re not spending time with the others. So, where do you go these days?"

　　"No, I don`t hate him but I don`t love him either. And I haven`t been spending much time with my friends because, well"

　　"Well, what?"

　　"I`ve been busy working on my own dreams," Aarunya said that slightly blushing.

　　"Ohh that`s amusing, well what are your dreams Aarunya?" Her father said it clearly getting more irritated.

　　"I want to become a female knight..."

　　Both Aarunya`s parents clearly froze for a moment. Then a smile came forth on the father`s face.

　　"Hahaha, Aarunya that`s a laugh ahh... but you`re serious, aren`t you?" From a smile and laughter, the father quickly changed emotions to now being full-on serious.

　　"I am" she replied straight to his face with pride.

　　"You do realize that first, you need to afford the opportunity of even beginning knight training. And you`re a bit old now to start training for that."

　　Knighthood training starts mostly when kids are 10 to 14 years old in Niekas. You don`t have to be a noble or have a family lineage of knights to get accepted. There are even sayings of people who started their training in their 20`s and still became knights.

　　The biggest problem for Aarunya was, of course, the money that you need to get accepted as a Page.

　　"In the town of Pazzio, they annually hold the swordsmanship tournament in which the winner of the tournament can get to become a Page without paying any acceptance fees. You can prove yourself there that you might have what it takes to become a Knight. I wasn`t planning on going there this year, but tomorrow, late in the evening they are actually holding the event." said Aarunya

　　A Page is a person who reaches the first step to become a proper knight. You would go to live in the household of a knight, there you would serve the knight as a page. As a page you basically act as a servant for the knight, performing tasks such as serving meals, cleaning his clothes, and carrying messages. While working for the knight`s household, the page also learns the proper way to behave and good manners.

　　The page also begins to train to fight. You would practice with other pages using wooden shields and swords. They also would start to learn how to ride a horse using no hands, carrying a lance and if possible, magecraft. Many, especially the children from aristocratic families fail this beginning stage. Only a few, in general, get to become proper Knights.

　　"So, for the last year-plus, you`ve been seeing your friends less and less because you were..."

　　"Practicing my swordsmanship yes"

　　"With what?" her father asked confused

　　"I`ve found a blade lying by the river outside of Muaau about like 5 years ago. I never showed it to anyone though. I`ve always hidden it underground"

　　"5 years ago, eyy? Hmm, the battle of "Sun Storm" happened there between the military and the rebels south from our village a few kilometers from here. It must have come from there."

　　"Yeah, I think so too."

　　The atmosphere in the room became much calmer. Even though what Aarunya told her parents was like a ludicrous teenager`s dream.

　　"How good have you gotten with the blade?" the father asked

　　"Well, I`m not sure. I haven`t actually fought with another person, but I think I`m more than pretty good." Aarunya said that with a smug on her face.

　　A smile came across the father`s face.

　　"Very well my dear Aarunya. You are obviously not happy with the whole proposition of your arranged marriage. So, I`ll give you a chance."

　　"Huh?"

　　"Dear, what are you..."

　　"Silence woman!"

　　The mother instantly shut up.

　　"Aarunya, duel me."

　　"Huh?" confusion engulfed Aarunya

　　"If you win against me then you don`t have to marry Pasloe. I will allow you to go and try to chase your dreams. Heck, I`ll even get you to the tournament myself in time. And I`ll refute the marriage proposal. But if I win, you will marry him without any excuses. Do you understand?"

　　"... Okay sure. I`ll take your challenge." She said that with what seemed like confusion and confidence, but deep down there was refusal as well. Because for a slight moment she did want to refuse his proposal but still accepted her father`s challenge.

　　Then, Aarunya got off her chair and looked at her father directly

　　"I accept," she said it with what seemed to be a determined look in her eyes

　　"Good. I don`t know if you know Aarunya but I used to be a soldier when I was younger."

　　"Huh?" Aarunya for a moment couldn`t comprehend what her father just said.

　　"Yes, I took part in a total of 2 campaigns for the empire until the war ended. I fought many glorious battles but times changed, I got older and my ideologies changed as well. As the empire went to piece, I decided to come back to my parent`s old house and raise a family here."

　　Aarunya never really talked with her parents about things like that so she didn`t know about that and none of the villagers ever mentioned to her that her dad was a soldier once. Right now though he works as just another farmer.

　　She quickly realized something when her father mentioned that he was a soldier, so she asked him:

　　"But wait, hold on. Does that mean that you can perform some spells father?" This would greatly affect their fight if that were the case. Her father calmly replied:

　　 "No no, I can`t perform any magecraft. I was only a soldier and never a knight. And I don`t have the potential for it either."

　　Aarunya, of course, knew that basic soldiers are never trained in magecraft. Simply because magic users are extremely rare. Those who show potential in it are transferred to become pages and begin their training in the arts of magic, if they wish so that is. They also do not need to pay any acceptance fees because of their rarity. Not anyone can use spells even if they wanted to in the first place.

　　But there are also cases where unqualified/self-taught magic users teach others with potential in magecraft outside or inside of the military.

　　"For a moment you probably thought I was trying to trick you into this duel and then I would unleash some type of spell on you for a quick victory, right?" He looked with sly eyes at her daughter.

　　"You`re full of surprises today so I was just trying to make sure."

　　"Hm, I guess I am& So, what do you say? Do you accept?"

　　Aarunya was thinking about this whole situation for a brief moment. Then she took a deep breath and said:

　　"... okay." She said it calmly, with a blank expression on her face.

　　"Great. We`ll duel tomorrow at 8 o`clock in the morning, in the woods west from here. Can`t have any people witness father and daughter fighting with each other using swords now, can we? And that way if you win, you could get some rest before we get you to the tournament"

　　"Do you have a sword?" Aarunya asked already expecting a "yes".

　　"Sure, I do. I was in the army after all. Not only that, but during a war, you get to snatch a lot of things. And I just happened to decide to keep a lot of stuff with me if you know what I`m saying ahaha"

　　"..." Aarunya

　　"..." Father

　　A deadly silence fell into the room. A type of silence in which the family could hear a child getting a spanking in the house next door.

　　"So tomorrow it is Aarunya." the father said, slightly embarrassed

　　"Right..."

　　"Ahh look at this! The fish got already cold from all of our talking. Quickly eat!"

　　And so, everyone started eating their breakfast. For Aarunya this was her chance to get out of here but at the same time finding out that her dad was a soldier didn`t put her mind at ease. He participated in 2 campaigns and came back alive. That is something praiseworthy. All she could do now was eat, train and plan on her strategy for tomorrow...

　　That is of course what her father thought.