CHAPTER 106

"Not exactly comfortable, is it?" Mike noted.

"Nobody is meant to linger here. Librarians can grab the books they need and just go. However, there are some perks to being the Head Librarian." They were at a small break between shelves and she tapped the wood with the head of her staff. A panel slid sideways to reveal a small, circular sitting room with a skylight twenty feet above them.

"Where does that go?" Mike asked, pointing up.

"Nobody knows. Or if they did, they never told me. It's always daytime through those skylights, it provides the best light for reading. Of course, there's a spell to keep the books from fading from exposure, but that's a given." She walked to the middle of the room where a circular table waited. A couple of chairs were waiting for them as well as a platter of snacks and a pair of silver goblets.

"Did you put these here?" Mike asked as he sat down in one of the chairs. There was a variety of meats and cheeses on the tray, and he licked his lips in anticipation.

"I did." She sat down across from him. "Consider it a peace offering."

"Frr whff?" He had already stuffed a giant slice of salami and some cheese into his mouth.

Sofia frowned at the table. "For me. My motives haven't exactly been pure of late, and I'm afraid I have been quite angry with you."

He swallowed his food and shook his head. "No, you don't need to be sorry. I've been selfish lately, and haven't really been thinking about the others. My heart was in the right place, but that's no excuse. You don't need to be sorry."

The cyclops smirked. "Are you even sure that's what I'm referring to?"

He froze in place, a piece of cheese already on its way to his mouth. "Isn't it? I figured you were mad because I've been focused on rescuing Cecilia and being reckless. You know, getting lucky at the last second?"

"Hmm." She tossed a piece of smoked turkey into her mouth and chewed for a bit, then swallowed. "That's...not quite the truth."

"Enlighten me." He set the cheese down.

"When you first came here, I wasn't necessarily kind to you. You were able to see past my attitude, and we...found a way to get along." Her cheeks turned bright red. "After the incident with the Labyrinth and the Society, I started neglecting my duties in the Library and spending more time in the house."

He nodded. She had become the de facto chef of the house almost right away.

"Part of that was selfish on my part," she said, stacking a few pieces of cheese together and then knocking them down. "It was nice to be around other people for a change."

"It's kind of a constant state of affairs, these days," he agreed. It was hard to find a quiet place in the house without someone watching.

"Yeah, well...when I saw how worried you were about Cecilia, it triggered something in me that I didn't like."

"Oh?" This conversation wasn't going anywhere he had suspected.

Sofia took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I was jealous. Jealous of how much you cared for the banshee and, well, not me."

He tilted his head at her and did his best to examine her statement from every angle. No matter how he looked, it was beyond him why she would feel that way. "I don't get it."

"Well, part of that is my fault," she said, then glared at him. "The other part is definitely yours."

He fought the urge to be defensive and instead leaned toward. "Go on."

"You've been ignoring me," she told him, her eye cast away from him and toward the floor. "I cook and clean for everybody because I enjoy their company, don't get me wrong. But between my duties here and helping with the house, I realized you never seemed to care that I was there."

She was right. He had done his best to be polite and thank her for meals, but how long had it been since he had just sat down and spent some time with her? The cyclops had become an important part of the house, but she was still a person.

"It wasn't until you had a lead on Cecilia that you even came to me for help. I definitely don't feel very appreciated for it, and you completely ignored my advice. Again, I should have said something, but I allowed myself to stew over it. I got so excited last night when I found out that you were coming here by yourself that I realized that I couldn't keep being angry with you whenever we were together.

"I know that I shouldn't feel the way I do, but I can't help it. I like to think that I'm above petty emotions such as jealousy, but there it is. Not only am I jealous of the others for having your attention, but I'm certainly not very proud of how I feel. By nature, my kind are very proud, so..."

"I'm really sorry, Sofia." He leaned across the table and took her hand in his own. "I know now that I've been so caught up in trying to get Cecilia back that I forget I live in a house full of people who deserve to feel important, because they are. I don't have this problem with the others, because, frankly, they are a bit more aggressive about getting what they want from me when they need it, and you should never be afraid to bring these feelings up. I'm just now discovering that some of the others are struggling with their own demons, and I need you to know that you can talk about anything with me, I promise."

She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Moments became minutes, and her stoic features became stained with crimson.

"Is there something else you want to tell me?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Um..." She shifted in her chair. "I didn't...so, you...I thought you were going to be mad, so I wasn't planning on saying the other part."

"Hey, go on. I'll listen without interrupting." To emphasize his point, he grabbed a few blocks of what looked to be muenster cheese and held them to his lips. "See? Too busy chewing, just go for it." He popped the cheese in and chewed it carefully.