Celestial Fragments

The library

Nights grew longer and colder, with an empty bed and no one to change a few words with. After their fight, Aellioah didn't show his face anymore. He didn't come to sleep in the same bedroom and didn't invite her for dinner at all. She had caught a few glances of him rushing through the hallways once, but she wasn't sure if it was him or just her imagination hoping to find and speak to him. Kephry had told her multiple times that he had to leave for the battlefield and there was no way he would return so soon.

Guilt was slowly eating her away. The last words she told him were how she hated him, despite her better judgement. Anger and frustration had gotten the best out of her, and it was eating her from the inside. And now, he was in battle, sleeping on some cold floor, while she was lying in his bed, eating his food and being an ungrateful brat.

Multiple times had Kephry offered her to sleep in the northern quarters where all of them slept, but she refused, because she did not want to deal with anyone being jealous of stupid over all that happened. She knew very well, not too many agreed with her presence here, and they made it known every time they had the chance.

Tonight, the intrusive thoughts seemed to be stronger than her tiredness, and Angelique found herself roaming the empty and cold hallways. Plenty of the men inside the palace had left with Aellioah that morning and she wondered how many would return.

Small lights guided her steps as she walked, all wrapped in a blanket, heading for a vaguely familiar room. His library. His enormous library. She had found it a few nights ago, and she found it comforting that the room smelled like him. Leather, amber and sandalwood.

The library was fascinating, with countless books in foreign languages, too few of them actually useful to be read by her. But it didn't matter. It was rewarding enough that she could sleep surrounded by his scent.

She stopped in front of the door and even before she turned the doorknob, the door opened by itself and after a moment of hesitation, she stepped inside. Unlike the other nights, tonight, the room was warm and the fire was alive in the fireplace, burning brightly as if someone had just started it.

"Hello?" her voice echoed in the empty room, as she cautiously stepped further, looking around.

Nothing was out of place. Nothing seemed to have been moved or even touched. His desk was just as messy and not even the dust seemed to have been bothered from its surface.

Uneasy, but blaming it on overthinking, Angelique peeled the blanket off from her shoulder and folded it slowly, setting it on the sofa, before heading for the endless shelves filled with books, journals, grimoires and what not.

As she scrolled through the nearest shelf, something caught her attention, moving somewhere far in the corner of her eye. With her heart threatening to break open from her chest, Angelique followed the shadowy figure further into the library, through the maze of bookshelves.

Eventually, a little lost and confused about what was happening, Angelique stopped. She had walked for far too long and the maze of shelves seemed endless. She had to turn back, before she would forget to do so. But before she could turn around and walk away, a white-haired woman stepped out from between the shelves. Her eyes were a warm shade of pink, she stood taller, much taller than Angelique, and wore a simple white ethereal gown. Her warm eyes were surrounded by fine lines and within them, she could find stories of times long passed.

There was a strange familiarity within the woman, but Angelique ignored it, her eyes narrowing and taking a step back as the figure approached her.

"Who are you?" Angelique demanded to know, taking a defensive position. "I haven't seen you around ..." she added with sternness in her voice.

The figure, that until now had been emotionless, smiled gently, stopping a few steps away.

"You're not-" she paused with a gentle giggle. "-not whom I expected to meet tonight." she spoke, her voice still gentle and somehow motherly.

"Who did you expect to meet?" Angelique asked cautiously.

"Tho... he hadn't visited me in a long time...." the white haired woman sighed and her shoulders slouched, the smile in her eyes dimming slowly.

"Who are you talking about?" Angelique insisted.

"What brings you here, child?" the woman asked, the smile returning to her face, the small lines around her eyes appearing again with it. "Troublesome night?" she asked with kindness.

There was no tension in the air and Angelique could not feel a threat in any way coming from her, yet, she still didn't want to engage too much with the woman, but the white-haired woman stepped closer again.

" Do you need help finding anything in this place? I've spent quite some time here and I might say I know this place like the palm of my hand...." she offered.

The tone of her voice was warm and soft, like a warm breeze in autumn and, despite intrusive thoughts, Angelique dropped her defensive pose.

"I was hoping to find something on Dragonkin people..." She muttered, unsure of how to put it.

"Dragonkin, you say? Oh my!" she chuckled and nodded her head. "They do have quite a rich history." she gestured for Angelique to follow. "What started your interest in the dragonshifters?" She asked as she guided her along the shelves.

"A certain feeling of belonging...." Angelique answered unsure of what it was she wanted to find out.

"Hm?" the woman stopped and took a long look at Angelique, her eyes narrowing slowly. "Belonging you say?" she muttered before turning and closing the distance between them. she took a long , pensive look at Angelique, studying her from head to toe, making Angelique feel more uncomfortable that ever. "Sweetling, there is nothing in you that belongs there." she announced with a gentle smile. "The dragon shifter were terrifying beings, with talons for nails, sharp teeth to rip off flesh, large bodies that radiated heath from within..."

Her description sounded familiar, but Angelique bit her tongue.

"I still want to read about them!" she stated with determination.