Chapter 1:
The first time Diana ever laid eyes on the woman she came to know as Leona, she was just a teenager. Diana was only just fifteen years old when she was talked into attending the parade that was being held on the main roads that lead through Mt Targon and up to the Solari temple, a teenage Rakkorian girl had just been named Chosen of the Sun and they were celebrating her being Chosen. Diana had never really cared for Solari tradition or the culture itself but was forced into pretending for those around her in case she was seen as being a heretic.
Diana forced her way through the crowds of people to the front, just in time to catch a glimpse of the Chosen. If she was going to be forced to attend this event, she was going to at least have a look. When she found the Chosen, Diana was surprised to find a girl not much older than herself clad in the ritual armour of the Chosen, she had auburn hair and her skin seemed to glow as if Diana was looking at the sun itself. She found that she couldn't take her eyes off the girl as she passed by, fascinated by her, this was the most interested Diana had ever been in anything related to the Solari. She felt an overwhelming urge to want to speak to her, to get to know this girl even if she knew the Elders wouldn't let Diana anywhere near her if they could help it, she was known for being a troublemaker who refused to follow tradition or keep up her duties.
Diana dismissed the idea of ever getting the chance to know the Chosen of the Sun, believing that it would be impossible, and moved on from that day. She occasionally saw the Chosen, who she came to learn was named Leona, around Mt Targon, sometimes she would pass Leona on the street and other times it would be seeing her training outside the Solari temple. Every time she saw Leona she felt the slightest pang of, what she thought was, jealousy. Leona was so beautiful and so perfect, able to please the Elders and be happy with herself, how could she not be jealous of such a girl? It wasn't until years later when Diana was nineteen and hiding away inside one of Mt Targon's libraries that she finally spoke to Leona. Well, when Leona finally spoke to her more like.
"Would you be able to help me with something?" A voice asked from the other side of the table that Diana sat at, she looked up, meeting eyes with Leona who smiled gently at her. Leona was talking to her? She had only ever seen Leona from a distance, she hadn't ever expected the Chosen to want to speak to her, even if it was just to help her for a moment. After a few moments of silence, where Diana mentally fumbled with how to respond, Leona spoke again. "Are you okay?"
"Uh, yes. What do you need me to help you with?" Diana forced herself to say, trying her best not to appear even more stupid in front of the Chosen than she already had managed.
"I'm looking for a certain book and I've been told that you know this library better than anyone else. Do you think you'd be able to help me find it?" Diana blinked at her for a moment before nodding.
"What book is it?" Diana asked her as she rose from her chair, preparing to go find the book for her.
"It's a poetry book, I'll know it when I see it." Leona smiled at her again and it made Diana's heart skip for a small second, she forced herself to turn towards where the book was most likely located, wanting to hide her embarrassment from the Chosen.
"It should be in this section here." Diana pointed at a shelf in the book case she stood in front of before stepping aside to let Leona have a look for it. After a few moments Leona pulled a book from the shelf and smiled at Diana.
"This is it. I've been trying to find this book since I got here years ago but I had no luck, I didn't feel like travelling all the way back to my village for a single book though. Thank you for helping me find it." The smile Leona was giving Diana made her feel like the most important person in the world in that moment, she didn't know how Leona did that, making her feel significant even if she wasn't. "Your name is Diana, right?" She asked her, causing Diana to swallow hard.
"Yes." She tried to force a smile back, not wanting her nervousness to show through. She couldn't put her finger on why Leona made her so uncomfortable, was it because she was the Chosen? Or was it because Diana was jealous because of how perfect she seemed to be? She couldn't work it out.
"My name's Leona." The Chosen said to her before sticking her hand out, introducing herself to Diana as if Diana didn't already know who she was speaking to, though Diana gladly accepted the handshake, not turning up the chance to make physical contact with the Chosen even if it were just this once. "Thank you for helping me, I'll remember it." She said to Diana before turning to the front doors of the library, leaving Diana standing in the literature section by herself, her hands still clammy and gross. She wondered if Leona had felt how sweaty her hands were as she turned red with embarrassment. She had no clue why one person could make her feel so uncomfortable and awkward, it surely couldn't just be because she's the Chosen, Diana hadn't cared about being reverent to Solari tradition and important figures before. Diana decided to take solace in the fact that Leona most likely would never speak to her again, maybe she wouldn't even remember her name, pushing the worry about her feelings to the back of her mind as she returned to her research.