Avoiding Trouble

Reagan left me in the library after that. I had informed him that I wouldn't be able to see him off and he didn't seem to mind. After giving stealing a couple of kisses from me, his hands holding me firmly at the waist, his mouth warm against my lips, he winked and walked out of the door leaving me with nothing but the lingering taste of his lips on mine.

The moment he had left, I exhaled and swallowed a lump of emotions that I hadn't even know I contained. Then all of a sudden, as though a spell had been lifted and I willingly danced in the library. I spun in the large room; my dress skirt swirling around me and touching the polished wooden floor as I glided across the room with a laugh that echoed in the quietness of the library.

I grabbed the hem of my gown and began to walk round in the library, my gaze inspecting the numerous bookshelves that rose from the floor. Sixty of them! I counted sixty bookshelves which were guardians to books that contains over thousands of written tales, people and an entire different universe. My fingers lightly traced the spines as I went along while quietly reading calligraphy of titles written in golden, silver and faded ink. Some were old, others flexible, their covers faded, while others were brand new, their shiny leather and golden titles calling to me, to discover their contents.

It appeared as though every corner of the library was created purposely to cast a spell on the dweller. The smell of the room grew richer as I explored, the scent of old paper combined with that of the leather bindings. I finally found a book I wanted to read, an old worn out book with pretty leather cover that had intricate drawings on it.

Tales of the isle of Eragon!

Fantasy then! I thought with a smile as I immediately went to the reading spot that was set up for me. I sat down there and it wasn't that long before I lost in the world of the fae courts and war between the seelie and the unseelie.

I was just about to get to the climax of the book when all of a sudden, I heard a knock on the door. Startled, I looked up but it was only Heather entering with a small smile on her face.

"Apologies my lady but my lord had mentioned you will be here."

I sat up straight noticing how stiff my joints were. "Oh Heather, good morning."

"Afternoon my lady."

"What?"

"I'm afraid, it's noon." Heather repeated before she walked deeper into the library and pulled the big velvet curtains.

The sun streamed in through the high windows as Heather walked around and slid back the curtains of crimson velvet; the library seemed to grow brighter with the gold that settled on the smooth floor and was reflected on the delicate fretwork in the paneling of the bookcases.

"Great Sól!" I mumbled under my breath calling the name of the sun god. "I missed breakfast!"

"And the morning assembly too!" Heather said and I looked up at her in horror, "But the lord of the house said you were to be excused and that you weren't to be disturbed."

"Reagan said that?" I asked feeling a flutter in my belly.

"Yes my lady." Heather responded with a smile, "It's really good to see the two of you getting along so well, but most importantly it's really nice to see you happy."

I couldn't help but smile at that, "I look happy?"

Heather gave me a nod, her eyes smiling at me as she replied. "Yes you do." She said and I grinned in response, "But unfortunately, you can't stay here all day, you've been summoned."

"Summoned? By whom?"

"The duke." Heather responded and my stomach flipped a little, "He requested you and lady Adrianna join him on the archery grounds."

Right, Killian! For a minute, I forgot about Killian's existence and my duty of being a good host to him. "Why the archery grounds though?"

"Probably to pass time, since he knows you lady are not good at it which means you." Heather said fixating me with a pointed look, "You also have to pretend you are not good at it. Be terrible if you must, we do not want to risk you secret identity being exposed."

Right, right! I thought to myself as I stood up from my seat.

Right, right! I said to myself regaining from the amazing story that I had just been trapped in, for the time. Finally accepting the fact that I wasn't going to be finishing the book today, I grabbed my bookmark, a mere ribbon which was on the table right next to me, I then placed it between two pages, where the Seelie prince was about to go to war with the unseelie prince. Stroking the leather cover with a slight smile on my face, I stood up and placed the book back in the shelf, returning it to where it rightly belonged.

Heather watched me with a patient look on her face, "Shall we?"

"I do not have much of a choice." I grumbled under my breath as I followed Heather out of the library.

We stepped out into the hallway and I responded to servant's greetings. Heather led me to the bedroom and once inside, I took off my night dress while Heather rushed into the bathroom to run me a bath. I entered the bathroom and entered the warm bath, allowing Heather to wash me when something suddenly flashed into my mind.

"Heather." I called softly.

Heather added more bathing oil to the water, "What is it my lady?"

"Um, you know that archery lesson we are going to be having soon," I said as I glanced at Heather.

"Yes my lady, what about it?"

Swallowing, I turned to glance up at Heather, "Well, I'm afraid I'm not going to be terrible at it." I confessed to which Heather gave me a resigned look.

"There's definitely going to be trouble." She informed me.

I sighed then turned back in my seat. "Well hopefully, there's a way that I can avoid it!"