Luci showed me the other parts of the library downstairs. The excessive book collection, old studies, and even vintage models. I wasn't that interested in them, but Luci seemed so happy I didn't want to be rude.
Now, were on our way to the second floor. "Just follow me up these stairs," said Luci, her heels clank against the steps. As we ascend, I see even more books in my view. Damn, how does she handle this place on her own? "Think of me as the witch from "The Wizard of Oz", follow the yellow brick road." She jokes.
As we land on the second floor, I see a little corner towards the back walls. A coffee table sits in the center with two black love seats surrounding it. Laying on one of the loveseats with a book is Kai. He's so into what he's reading that he doesn't even notice Luci or I's existence.
"Hey, uh, would you mind waiting I want to talk to Kai?"
"Oh, sure! I've got to work up the elevator, it might take a while so don't think you have to rush." She smiles, pats my shoulder, and walks over to the elevator on the north wall.
Since the couch is facing the wall, Kai won't see me walking up. I tiptoe through the bookshelves; many stories pass me by as I get near Kai. Before my hands touch his toned shoulder, he catches me.
"Touch me Quinn, and I'll toss you on the ground." I groan while flopping on the seat adjacent to him.
"So violent." I joke while laughing.
"Being here brings out the rage. What are you doing in the library, you don't read." He pushes back his black hair, the dirty marks and scars that were once all over his face have now disappeared. When his face is soft and gentle, he looks a lot like Vet.
"The King is not letting me go to certain parts of the library, so it's either the garden, drawing room or the library," I tell him. I think the reason he doesn't want me roaming the castle, is so no one finds out I'm here. He's scared of how his court and people will react.
Kai's thick eyebrows dance with amusement, "And you chose the library?"
"Had no choice. I thought the drawing-room is where you draw, but turns out, women just sit around and stare at their life passing by." I was truly disappointed.
Kai leans off the couch, pushing a long curl out of my eye. I decided to wear my wild, curly hair unbound. It makes me feel like Merida in "Brave". Xenia was hesitant to let me leave out the room looking "un-ladylike" her words not mine. I told her if someone said something, I wouldn't drag her down with me.
"Quinn, you are truly something else. Your lack of knowledge is unsettling."
"Have you seen Katana around? The last time I saw her she was with The King."
His eyes lower, hooded. "I've seen. It's. . .peculiar."
I scrunch up my face, "What do you mean by that?"
"Katana doesn't like to be around people all the time, especially someone she hasn't seen in years. I think she's up to something, trying to get information, but I don't know what." He rubs the stubble on his chin.
"If she would have told someone, it would be you," I speak.
"I doubt it." Their relationship is a weird one, she loves him but keeps information from him.
I push his feet off the couch so I can sit next to him. "So, why have you been huddled up in here reading?"
He leans into me; I can smell strawberry jam on his breath. "I'm on a mission."
I look around, trying to find the hidden spies within the bookshelves, "Mission?"
He explains, "Luci, the girl that works in this library, has been taking weird books off the shelves. Didn't you notice the books with the weird designs on the spines?"
"I have. When I asked about it, she told me it was nothing, and proceed to stand in front of the books. The marks, on the side, they looked familiar but I couldn't place them."
"The marks are from the powerful family. The men that attacked us on the roads, were marked by them, it's like branding. Fallon Chase, she's one of them." It all comes back to me once Kai explains it, why didn't I notice that? The guy that was hurting Kai, white hair and brown skin, he had the swirly line with two dashes on his cheek.
"But I don't get it, why would books be pulled out on them? The powerful family isn't linked to the Pergola's."
"And that, Kai snaps his fingers, "Is what I'm trying to figure out." He shakes the book in his hand. The title reads, "The unknown."
He continues, "I've always been the reader, the one with knowledge. Most people don't like to read, but if they did, they would be so much smarter and aware of things. I let Katana hang around our uncle while I sit in the shadows of the library and absorb information that will be helpful."
Once my mouth opens up, Luci comes around the corner. "Quinneth? Are you ready to go?" Her eyes roam over Kai and me, wondering what we were talking about. This second story of the library isn't that huge, and she could have been listening in on us. She is a werewolf after all, and who "works up" an elevator?
"Oh yeah, just saying bye to Kai, that's all," I tell him goodbye, to which he yanks on my curl and pushes me along.
In my hand, I feel something rough. It's a rolled-up piece of paper. Opening it, I see neat handwriting. It says:
Meet me in the North Tower at nightfall. We need to talk more when there aren't lurking ears. - The best-looking guy you know.
I roll my eyes at the last part, so cocky. Leaving Kai to his "research", me and Luci walk down to the corner of the library where an old, vintage elevator sits. Damn, how old is this castle? She pulls open a creaky gate, it's like the one on "The Titanic". I accidentally look down to see how far this thing goes, it's deep. So deep that if I fell, it would take a while for me to hit the ground.
"After you, Ms. Worthingshire." She steers me towards the elevator opening, I hesitantly get on. I hope I make it out of here alive. Luci gets on, shuts the door, and starts to spin a hand crank, lowering us down. As she does that, I hold onto the bar for dear life, hoping we don't drop. "Don't worry Quinn, no one has ever fallen in this thing, with me at least." Oh yeah, that's comforting.
Luci works a few more spins into the hand crank, lowering us down until we reach the bottom. The elevator makes a booming sound, shaking the ground beneath our feet. "Welcome to the lost floor." She smiles at me. The gate is pushed open, we walk out. It's pitch black, the only thing I can see is pure darkness.
"Is this what you brought me down there to see? Darkness."
She laughs, "No silly. I took you down here to see this." Her hand feels around on the wall, a bright light kills the darkness around us. My jaw drops to the ground once I see the room in full force.
It's a long room that descends from one end to the other. In the room, lots and lots of valuable items are here. Weapons, crowns, and clothes.
"Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Yeah," I say, my eyes glowing in awe. The clothes are so beautiful, decorated in gold trim and dark purple. I know during the 1400s, it was hard to get clothes in the color purple due to the color being hard to find. They must have been really rich because tons of purple pans the room. "Why is it called the lost floor?" I ask Luci.
I follow behind her as she heads deeper into the room. "This library used to be where they stored everything of value. The medical books started to grow and grow, so they changed it. These valuables in here couldn't be moved, due to them being fragile. So, they stayed. I'm responsible for all of this." She pans her arms around the room. Wow, that's a lot of responsibility for someone who isn't even 25 years old.
"You don't have to say anything, it's pretty cool. I'll explain everything here. Follow me." We walk over to a glass case. "These are old necklaces worn by past kings such as Bernulf and Adalwolf the first. They wore them into battle. In this tall glass case, we see the golden sword that Belladonna used to slay her sister, Bessarabia."
"She killed her sister!" I say, my voice bouncing off the walls.
"It wasn't as tragic as you think." She assures me. "In the Pergolian bloodline, lots of red wolves are born. It's a mutation in the genes on the man's side. Anyway, Bella and Bessa both had the mutation, making them red wolves." Her voice lowers.
"You say it like it's a bad thing."
"It is," I swear I heard her voice shiver. "Years ago, before the sisters were born, a curse was put on the Pergola family by an old crone in the village. If two sisters in the Pergolian bloodline are born red wolfs, one will die in battle from being killed by the other." I gasp. "So, a hundred years later, Bella was born, three years later Bessa showed up. Adalwolf the second and his wife, Suna, were scared. They made sure the girls grew up loving each other, so if they did get the mutation, they wouldn't want to kill one another. No matter how hard they tried, once the girls grew into women, the mutation came into play and the vengeance set in. Both sisters battled it out, the older sister becoming the victor and Queen of Nygaard."
"Could that happen again?" I ask.
A crooked smile comes on her face, a dimple shows. "No, it can't. Not in this lifetime anyway. King Adalwolf has a son, Vet has a son and daughter so it can't happen to them. Now, with Yount it was close. He had Sasha, then Shilah, but she died before the mutation could set in."
"So, you're saying. . ." My words linger.
"Yes, if Shilah grew up to have the mutation, she and Sasha would battle it out and one would die. We all here in Nygaard think that she's still alive, maybe being held somewhere for her protection. It's a big conspiracy, like Anastasia."
"Who?"
"Grand Duchess Anastasia. She and her family were killed in the house known as, "The special house of purposes." When they were assassinated by the Bolsheviks, it was said that Anastasia, the youngest sister, got out alive. A woman named Anna Anderson said she was the lost duchess, but turns out she was the daughter of a fisherman or something like that. To this day, historians still speculate about it."
"I must have missed that part of history class." I don't tell her that Shilah is dead. That she died in a pack in Nygaard from a rogue attack. I know this is crazy to say, but Shilah is lucky she died. Can't you imagine being sisters with Sasha, having to be raised in the same household? Queen Tura did a good job of sending the baby off.
"Let's move on, that conversation was dark." We walk across the room to the clothing items. "These are the dressings future King and Queens wore to their coronation." She points them out. "This red one is Conri's, he was a bad King so no one ever mentions him. The blue, Fridolf, green, Barnulf. And you know about Adalwolf and Bernulf."
"And this, she points to another outfit, "was our late king's coronation dressing, King Adolphus. The father of the current King, and grandfather to Sasha, Shilah, Katana, Kai and the future King, Jai'lon."
The dressing was beautiful. An all-black suit with gold trim on the ends. Golden orchids decorate the leather jacket. "He was the only King to wear black to a coronation, it's only supposed to be worn at a funeral." Next to his outfit, I see a long, elegant dress with a train that's longer than Princess Diana's. It's black with silver sparkles on it.
Once I squint more at it, I realize it has the same color scheme as the one in the village when we first arrived. How did I-
'You have great taste, Lotisia.' I hear a voice say around me.
"Who dress did this belong to?" I say, demand in my voice.
What Luci says scares me, "Queen Rhella."82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVoY5HDZSO
