About
The girl: Areida is one of my favorite characters from Ella Enchanted. Ella first meets her when she goes away to boarding school with her future stepsisters, Hattie and Olive. Although Ella sticks out like a sore thumb at the boarding school, she is quickly befriended by Areida, a sweet, soft-spoken girl from Ayortha. Together, the two manage to survive the difficult lessons and the strict teachers, and Areida teaches Ella how to speak Ayorthaian. Unfortunately, Hattie, who discovered Ella's secret (namely, that she was under a spell that required her to obey any command given to her), ordered Ella to stop being Areida's friend. In order to escape the command and avoid hurting Areida, Ella ran away from the boarding school.

Even though she and Ella were separated, Areida always believed in Ella, and remained faithful to their friendship, defending her at all costs. At long last, the two were reunited when Ella broke the spell and married Prince Charmont, and they quickly renewed their friendship.

In Fairest, we learn more about Areida's family and childhood. Areida is the youngest in her family, with two older brothers, Yarry and Ollo, and an older adopted sister named Aza. Her parents run the Featherbed, and inn in Ayortha, and she and her siblings help with chores at the inn. Areida is extremely supportive of her sister, despite the fact that much of Ayortha considers Aza to be ugly; but Areida reminds Aza of her inner beauty. When with her sister, Areida shows her spunky, fun-loving side.

Ella Enchanted: Gail Carson Levine's first novel, Ella Enchanted, is one of the best re-tellings of the Cinderella fairytale I've ever heard of. At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the "gift" of obedience. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. When her beloved mother dies, leaving her in the care of a mostly absent and avaricious father, and later, a loathsome stepmother and two treacherous stepsisters, Ella's life and well-being seem in grave peril. But her intelligence and saucy nature keep her in good stead as she sets out on a quest for freedom and self-discovery, trying to track down Lucinda to undo the curse, fending off ogres, befriending elves, and falling in love with a prince along the way. This Cinderella story with a twist is a must-read for any fans of fantasy! (From Amazon)

Fairest: Gail Carson Levine's newest book is the story of Areida's older sister, Aza. In a kingdom where a woman's beauty is defined by being short and dark skinned, Aza is tall with pale white skin and black hair, which makes her feel like an outcast. However, Aza has the advantage of having the most beautiful singing voice in the realm. Additionally, she has the ability to throw her voice and mimic the voices of others, a talent she calls "illusing." Through a chance meeting at her family's inn, a duchess invites Aza to act as her companion and accompany her to the palace to attend the king's wedding. When the beautiful new queen discovers Aza's talent, she sees a way of protecting her reputation and disguising her own inability to sing well. Pressured by the woman's threats upon her family, Aza deceives the court into believing that Ivi is a gifted singer. Thus begins Aza's adventures, through which she discovers her own strength of character, learns about her true heritage, and realizes that there is more to herself than just appearance. (From Amazon)

The fanlisting: This fanlisting was originally owned and run by Irisa. She very kindly allowed me to adopt it after she had decided to close it. ^_^ Thanks, Irisa!

Some of you may be curious as to what exactly a fanlisting is. The basic definition, from The Fanlistings, is a list of fans of a certain thing from all over the world. The goal of this fanlisting is to form friendships between very different people from very different places through their common fandom--in this case, the character Areida from Ella Enchanted and Fairest.