"Do I have to go to sleep now?" I looked up pleadingly, hoping to coax her into another hour. "It's not that late, and I'm not even tired!"
She laughed slightly. "It's more than an hour past your bedtime! And you may not be tired, but I am!"
"One story... Please???" I tried, with only partial success, to keep my lower lip from jutting out.
Lia tried, less successfully, to keep from smiling. "All right, just one." She turned to the low shelf that held all my favorite stories. "Which one do you want me to read?"
"Joan of Arc! Joan of Arc!"
She sighed. "You hear that story every night!"
"Exactly! It's my favorite! Please! If you read it tonight, I'll be good all day tomorrow!"
"Fine..." She slid out the thin, well-worn volume, then began.
"A long time ago, in France, a girl was born. Her parents named her Jeanne d'Arc, but we know her as Joan of Arc...
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
"So even though she died, her contribution helped Charles VII keep the throne and eventually become one of France's best kings." Lia closed the book. "Are you ready to sleep now?"
I intended to say, "I guess," but being mid-yawn, it came out "Ah guehh..."
She smoothed out the covers where my frantic hands had tugged and twisted them into a mess during the story. "Goodnight, Joanna."
"'Night, Lia." I hesitated. "Lia?"
She turned around by the doorway. "Yes?"
"Was Joan happy?"
"What?"
"Was Joan happy that even though she died, she was able to help her country?"
She smiled thoughtfully. "Well, I don't know for certain. She's the only one that could answer that. But from what I know of her, I'm sure that she was very happy to give her life for a cause she believed in."
I smiled, satisfied. "Okay. Goodnight, Lia."
"Goodnight, dear."
"I love you..."
"I love you too. Now go to sleep, little one."
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