The Library

The library towered above them like a monument to the gods. The rain pelted the umbrella, their boots splashing through puddles quietly as they trudged towards the building. It reached so high that the arch was a hand reaching to heaven, begging for mercy. The stained glass was coated in tears of rain. As the pair approached, the massive building of books only seemed to grow larger. Andrew let out a steady, low whistle as they stilled at the massive wooden doors.

“Well, its reputation doesn’t do it justice,” The blonde said in a whisper, hazel eyes piercing through the night like honey through thick black tea.

Silence fell between them as Elaine reached behind her to pull her hood onto her ebony hair. Ivory hands searched her pocket for the thin, well-sewn mask; pulling it from the confines of her cloak, the young knight placed it onto her face. Making sure it was secure, Elaine looked to Andrew as he followed her actions; his own mask seemed far too dark on his friendly face. There was a new sort of shadow about the boy, and his eyes caught hers in an unnervingly steady gaze. Clearing her throat, she commanded quietly, motioning to the umbrella, “Set that down.”

The boy closed the umbrella, setting it against the pale brown brick of the cathedral-like library. Rain pelted their cloaks as Elaine’s hand stilled on the door, looking to Andrew, she whispered. “If it gets bad, you go. Got it?”

“Of course, Ellie.” There was a lilt to his words. She knew when he was lying; he had always been a horrible story spinner. Andrew wouldn’t run, not if his life depended on it. The boy was infuriating, impulsive, and downright cheeky, but he was as loyal and brave as they came. Andrew was everything a knight ought to be.

Elaine managed the smallest smile, one that barely touched her mouth at all, but it was more than anyone else got. With a breath and the boy’s gaze finally flickering from her to the task at hand, she turned the handle and gave the great door a steady push. It felt as though she hardly needed to; it swung open smoothly and slowly. The room spread before them, books everywhere like the teeth in a great beast. Stepping inside, she held the dagger tightly. Andrew stood at her side, his sword drawn and ready.

The pair took their steps surely, spotting the first guard. Elaine jumped into action. With swift steps, she came from behind, her small but sure hands pounding hard into the vulnerable part of the man’s exposed neck. The guard crumbled to the ground in a heap, a loud thump echoing through the empty library.

“Cecil?” The voice of another guard echoed from behind a row of books. The guard's sword was already raised, and he noticed Andrew before he saw the small girl towering over his passed-out friend. The guard lunged towards Andrew, their swords caught in a heated dance. Another two guards seemed to burst from the various parts of the library. Running quickly, dagger and all, Elaine evaded the grasp of the guard who reached for her. Whirling on her heels, she slammed the hilt of her dagger against a pressure point in the man's back. The giant came tumbling down.

Andrew was in a heated battle of silver and bronze, the men’s swords crashing together in a well-skilled routine. There was a reason Andrew was at the top of their class, sharing the position with no one but Elaine. Another guard jumped from the shadows, his sword aimed at the boys' exposed backs. Elaine was too far away, so she shouted. The words were raw against the cloth of her mask, “Behind!”

Andrew glanced; his sword caught against the dark-haired man’s. Elaine acted on impulse; with a flick of her wrist, she sent the dagger flying through the musty air. The blade met the dark skin of the guard’s wrist; he reeled back in instinctive pain. The man’s sword had clambered to the cool stone floor. Sometimes the smallest of cuts hurt the most, and she was the most painful parchment cut any person could come across.

Running the slight distance between them, Elaine met the skirmish. Reaching down as she stepped, she picked up her dagger and turned on her heels. The man was going for his sword once more. He was fast, but she was faster. Ivory's hands reached for the hilt as he towered above her, and with a swipe of her leg, she sent the man crashing to the earth. Using the hilt of his own sword, she knocked him out with a solid smack to the head.

Elaine sensed the strong hands before she felt them. Hard fists caught her forearms, lifting her into the air. The smell of meat lingered from the guard’s mouth as he panted against her cheek. The knight wriggled against the hold, trying to aim her precious dagger into his protruding stomach. Andrew was still caught in the head guard's dance routine, but he noticed the moment the hands had met her arms. There was an anger to the blonde's strikes now. Andrew’s passion filled him with a fire that could strike fear into the heart of any mortal.

“You are trespassing.” The voice boomed against her cheek.

“The door was unlocked.” The man seethed at Elaine’s response, his grasp tightening painfully.

“Very funny.” The man didn’t laugh.

Elaine knew why it had been unlocked, but they didn’t. To them, they really had picked the bronze keyhole. The girl wondered what they would do if they discovered what she was. The truth was the guard now held in his hands a girl worth more than every book and artifact in the ancient library.

“Just got lucky, I suppose.” There was a painfully light air to her words. The girl glanced up at the man; his hands gave the slightest breath. It was just the moment she needed; Elaine broke his grasp and whirled in the guard’s arms, sending her fist and dagger hilt straight into his temple. It was a hit so hard she wouldn’t doubt if he forgot more than the night’s events. The beast staggered back, and Elaine didn’t bother to watch his fall. Instead, she ran towards Andrew just as the master guard's sword grazed his arm. The gash painted crimson blood along his midnight colored shirt.

Elaine was about to tear the guard limb from limb for cutting the boy when the blonde snatched the upper hand. The knight's sword repaid the man for the gash, a harsh line painting his cheek from Andrew’s blade. The guard growled in frustration, but it was short-lived because Andrew sent his own hilt into the man’s skull. The armor-clad man seemed to fly back towards the bookshelf, his body crashed into the wood- sending books tumbling around him like a blanket of words.

The pair’s breaths were ragged as they stepped towards each other. There was an eerie silence that followed the battle, like a calm before a storm. Thunder broke the silence high above them. Elaine let her gaze meet Andrews, “You idiot.”

Her eyes dropped to his arm, hands picking at the material around the wound- he winced as she made a makeshift bandage with a tear of her cloak. 

“It’s fine.” He said sternly, his gaze still locked on her face, “We need to find the book.”

Elaine looked up at Andrew once done, contemplating the risk; he responded with a press of his forehead to hers, words unspoken between them.

 Turning on her heels, she led him through the dusty smell of books. The chandeliers overhead seemed dull; the candles burning low enough that the wax dripped downward, even staining her cheek. Elle wiped the wax away with a hand as steady as stone.

 Rounding the bend, Elaine stopped in her tracks. In the center of the room was a woman with eyes the color of ash. She glanced their way for a moment, but then resumed to her book. The volume she was reading was massive, maybe as large as Elaine. It was leather-bound and intricately sewn. The book rested atop a cherry wood table that towered in the old library. The woman stood behind the podium; her old, but unworked hands, smoothing out the precious pages.

“Welcome to my library,” The woman said, her eyes flashing to them. “Can I help you find something?”

The librarian had a reputation about her, stories whispered on sleepless nights. Her name was Claudia, and she had been in the library for as long as anyone could remember. Claudia’s book held more than the location of library books; it was said to hold every answer imaginable. The volume was magic; so much so that it was a part of the woman’s soul, and only she could read its pages. To every other eye, it was completely and utterly blank.

“We are looking for a very special book.” Elaine began, but the woman cut her off.

“You want the Magicae, everyone wants it these days.” Claudia’s words were a period, short and to the point.

“Yes,” Andrew answered for them. Claudia seemed to glance his way, as if she hadn’t noticed him.

“I will not tell you where it is, seeing as you played so roughly with my guards. However, if you find it, you may read it.” The ashen eyes settled on Elaine’s silver glare.

“Thank you.” She replied and turned towards rows of books.

“Try and do more and you’ll see why the King has yet to take it,” A warning and a threat.

Eliane ignored the woman, knowing she couldn’t take it even if she wanted to. If she simply took her own page, then perhaps she’d be free of the draft. Andrew stepped into time with her, eyes scanning the books, but his hand finding hers, black cloaks only tinged red by fresh blood. He seemed to be looking for the title, as if something so precious would be hidden for any wanderer to see, but really he was stealing glances her way.

“It won’t be there.”

“And why not?”

“It’s too precious, they would protect it.” Elaine walked faster, and Andrew picked up the pace and squeezed her hand. It was small but calloused, well worked from the training she had, scars that had always matched his. 

“We can turn back, make a run for it. What if taking the page kills you like the king's attempts have killed some of the royal guard?” Andrew made her stop, pause, their fear of the day crashing around them.

“I’m eighteen. I have no choice, I am in that blasted book. If I leave it there, they will take me, use me, I would rather risk my life trying than live as an object,” Her tone had raised, and the librarian shushed them in response. Elle huffed and pulled her hand away, but the taller boy wrapped an arm around her chest, hugging her from behind. She tensed then relaxed.

“Let me take it.”

“You aren’t magical; it wouldn’t work. I don’t need your protection.”

“Elaine, just stop, for one damn second, and consider our last option. We do this, I could lose you.” 

She turned in his arms and faced him, frustrated and a little fearful, “If I don’t, you will lose by the end of the week. You know they check the books daily. What happens when we are in guard training, while they search for new names, and there is mine.”

“Well,” He took a breath and her face in his hands, his skin was coated in blood, but so were her pale cheeks, “I go where you go. Always have, always will, Ellie. Let’s get that page and bring down this whole system from within.”

Elaine said nothing but kissed his cheek, let her eye meet his, and she turned away to walk through the stacks, her fingers catching his. She wasn’t afraid, but she feared for one person who happened to be beside her. Distracted by her tumbleweed of thought, she nearly missed the glint, but there it was, the case that took the team hours to find at times in school, was right there waiting for them like magic.

Steps quickened as she felt Andrew follow her every move. Reaching the glass box, the girl let her fingers glide along the smooth letters chiseled into the golden rim.

“The Magicae Book.” It was a breath on Andrew’s lips, falling against her cheek so differently than the stinking guard. It was sweet and low, as if the word was magic itself.

Elaine tried to lift the lid, but it didn’t budge. Words trailed along the sides of the glass, the metal seeming to shine against the pain. Reading quickly, she breathed. “A riddle. It opens with a riddle.”

Andrew chewed his lip, reading the words from over her shoulder aloud in a hushed tone. “Don’t push her too far, or you may find your adventures to be through. But on the draw, the stroke, the streak, the lady smiles on you.”

For a moment, silence filled the library, and the young knight's lips pursed in thought. Then it crashed into her like a runaway carriage. A huff left her lips, breathily and surprisingly light. “Luck.”

“What?” Andrew looked at her, confused; she only used the word occasionally when making the rare joke about herself.

“Luck. The answer is luck.” Elaine spoke the words down into the glass; the magic seemed to hear her, and as she gave a tug, the lid lifted.

The book beneath the glass peered through Elaine. The volumes’ binding was smooth leather, and the stitching was gold. Long, smooth letters were intricately painted across the front, and her hand brushed them softly. It was the most precious book in the world. Reaching down, she pulled it out and flipped to the page she desired. There it was in thick black letters, the word luck. The pages of the book were filled with names and places, a guide to every gifted being in the land. It was centuries old and was only written on by the top magistrate himself, the king’s second in command and head of all magic. On the page of luck was one single name.

Andrew looked over her shoulder. Elaine took the frail parchment and gave it a single tear, freeing the page from its confines. Stuffing it into her cloak pocket, she breathed sternly. “Let’s get out of here.”

Andrew nodded but lingered, the shadow of a girl strutting in front of him. With a quick hand, he snatched the book, sliding it into his cloak. Placing a rather similar book in the Magicae’s place, he shut the box just as she looked back to make sure he was following.

“Should we thank the librarian?” The boy asked in a whispered cheekiness.

Elaine simply gave him a look and led the way back through the mounds of books towards the stained glass windows, and the door that had just so happened to be open. Stepping out of the library, they were met with rain and a sudden blast of chaos. The librarian must have gone to check up on them and seen what she had done, noticed the stolen page, and was roaring with rage.

Elaine breathed, snatching the boy’s hand, “Run.”

The rain soaked them to the bone, the gash in Andrews' arm melting along his clothes like a red dye. Thunder roared in time with the shrill pounding of alarm bells. The rats scurried through puddles at the pair’s feet as they dodged through alleys. Andrew held her hand tightly, keeping her steady when her foot caught puddles. Elaine didn’t like needing people; she hated knowing the reality of who and what she was, nothing but a tool for luck. That was the curse of her gift; she was only lucky for others. One day, her power would win her the highest knight position in the kingdom, but it also made her nothing more than a weapon. Andrew had become a constant, so much so that sometimes she forgot what she was. On nights like these, however, as the king’s knights trudged past them towards the library, just barely missing the pair, Elaine remembered very well what she was.

Andrew pressed her close as they waited a moment against the cold rain rain-kissed cobblestone of a bakery’s outside wall. The mud soaked her boots, and she shivered in the cold. He was warm, however, and it helped fight through the chill, not that she would ever tell him that. Elaine’s heart was pounding loudly in her chest. As the road cleared, she felt Andrew tug at her hand this time, leading her back onto the road and towards the pale white towers of the academy.

They reached the dormitory doors as the moon began to set low in the sky, the lightning still painting the night in bright light. The crying bells were growing louder between the streets and thunder, their feet light against the slippery cobblestone streets. Pushing through the double doors, the pair scurried silently up the stairs, trekking mud but keeping quiet. Reaching her room first, Elaine turned to face Andrew, out of breath and hair clinking to her pale skin,

“We need to fix your arm.” I

“I’ll fix it up myself. I can handle it, Elle.”

The girl gave him a look, one that Andrew returned as Elaine stepped into the room. He followed her inside, unable to tell her no. His eyes lingered on her back as she kicked off her soaked and muddy shoes, making every little thing seem beautifully strong.

 With a silent and unnoticeable movement, he placed the book on the side of her desk. Andrew knew how helpful the book could be; the king had planned to have it not only stolen for the war, but copied by his new charmed printing press. It seemed that if every courtier had a guide, they could pick and choose who they wanted to help them and who they didn’t want around at all. Some would be sent to die, and others would be used until they did.

It was dangerous for every magical being, and he knew Elaine, beneath the grumbling, she was looking for bandages, beyond her exterior. Andrew knew how beneath the anger and coarseness was resilience and kindness because the truth was she cared. The Magicae was a guide in the right hands, and a weapon of war in the wrong ones, and there were no better hands than Elaine’s.

Feeling his gaze, she turned to face him, giving him a wary glance in return, “What are you grinning about?”

“You.”

 Elaine rewarded him with an eye roll and a gentle push towards the door, “Okay, sir flirts-a lot- off you go. Get that cleaned up, I’ll be checking it tomorrow. It seems someone used up at of my supplies last week when they tried to jump from one balcony to another like a fool.” 

“I was testing your abilities by having you nearby,” His good arm pulled her into a hug she reluctantly returned, “And it distracted the others from looking at you closely. That picture is still out there. You may be older, but they want you. I’d break limbs, let alone earn gashes, if it means keeping you-”

“Stop,” She pushed him away in a huff and a surprisingly raw, “Thank you, but we both know I don’t need you to save me. Especially by dying because I don’t know how it works perfectly, how to control it, so just stop being such a dumbass.” 

“Elle, I didn’t mean it like that,” Andrew caressed her cheek, the will they won’t they always in the air. It annoyed them both, and yet neither ever could say what they wanted to risk. Leaning into the touch as he eyed his arm and softened, she was tired, worried, and he was warm when she was cold. 

“I know,” She sighed.

“Let me stay, you can boss me around as much as you like,” His breath was warm, making part of her flushed, but her eyes rolled instead. So he kissed her cheek, sometimes it was the best way to get the walls she built to fall, to whisper in a fort of blankets like they did as kids. Now, however, a kiss or two was stolen, and Andrew didn’t want to leave her alone in the ringing of the war bells.

“If you stay, we will be caught by morning, and neither of us will be in class, because we spent the remaining hours here. You need to mend that, rest, and be in class. If the top two don’t show up after what we just did, it would be extremely suspicious.”

“As you wish, Lady Luck.” Andrew met her gaze, and they spoke in the silence for a moment. A nod of his head nearly stole a kiss from her lips, but he drew back, for once making her a little breathless. Andrew gave Elle a well-practiced bow. As she began to shut the door on him, he could spot the slightest drizzle of a smile on her lips, and she brushed them with her fingertips.

The morning came far faster than Elaine wanted it to. Sunlight poured in through the pale blinds of her room, breaking through her eyelids and reminding her she had training and class. The night’s adventures felt more like a dream, except for the very real pain that coursed through her slightly sore bones. Pushing herself up and out of bed, Elaine yawned, walking to scan over the readings she was supposed to have done for the day. Fingering the parchment, her eyes nearly flickered past the smooth leather face that glared back up at her. The gold had been what caught her eye, but the name clutched her breath.

Elaine looked from the book to the closed door, as if someone would pop out from the grains in the wood and claim to be placing the book. In the early morning sun, Elaine could still see Andrew's grin as he left her in the shadows of the night.

“You idiot,” The knight murmured, fingering the bright gold letters of the book, thinking she should have let him kiss her for what he’d done. Both so frustrating and yet the salvation of her people, “You wonderful idiot.”

Elaine took a seat in the wooden chair, her hand opening the age-old book. Eyes scanned the countless names and gifts of fire, ice, and even wind. Some could speak into minds, and those who were so powerful they could bring down kingdoms or even end the 200’s year war.

For the first time in a long time, Elaine saw more than swords and shields; she saw an undeniable hope for what could be. It wouldn’t be easy, and the battle would be long, but maybe the girl kissed by luck could set her people free. 

The knock at the door stirred her from her thoughts, and she leapt to her feet. Putting the book into the back of her desk drawer, she walked to her wooden door and unlatched the lock. Elaine opened it slowly with a loud creak; her hair as wild as the wind as it blew through her window.

“Good Morning, Elle.” Andrew grinned down at her as if he were keeping a brilliant secret.

“Good Morning, Andrew.” Stepping to the side, she let the boy in, “We have much to discuss.”

The boy plopped himself onto the armchair in the corner as Elaine shut the door. The knight genuinely smiled, the sort of smile that felt very new on her lips. “How do you feel about another super secret mission?”

Andrew was beaming, obviously catching on that she had found the book. “You had me at super secret. I’ve been told I need to work on my sneaking skills.” 

“You are an idiot.”

“And you still keep me around.”

Elaine dug the book back out and tossed it his way, “Painfully true.”

Andrew peeked at the book in his hands, then at her; Elaine rewarded him with a grin of rarer worth than the jewels hidden in the king’s vault.

“Let’s get started.”