History At The Library Novels & Stories

It makes it all worth it. “You know,” I say as I watch her lightly brush her fingers against some book spines, “this may be the oldest library in the city, but the ones in our territory hold a lot of supernatural history. Stories, secrets, legends, memories… Some of them tell of our ancestors, even your family.” Willow looks up at me, her eyes glimmering. “I could show you,” I offer. She nods, her face lit up with excitement. Hendrix does a happy dance in my head.

It wasn't entirely a lie, which had become, I was uncomfortably aware, the only kind of lie I still seemed capable of telling anyone anymore. The library held centuries of pack history, meticulously kept, shelf after shelf of bound records detailing wars, treaties, bloodlines, territorial disputes going back further than any wolf currently alive could personally remember. I'd wandered these shelves before, mostly out of restless curiosity, never with any real purpose beyond killing time while Kade attended to council business. Tonight I had a purpose, and it terrified me more than any battle had.

I asked as we left the hospital behind us. The carriage had been there but Father insisted on walking. "The pack library." His answer was short, casual even. "And you're taking me there because...?" He glanced at me, staring like my question made no sense. "Because that is where our history is kept. And before you can understand what your future holds, you need to understand our past." The library wasn't very far, but as the silence stretched, so did the distance. Eventually, we came to a halt in front of the massive building. Even standing in front of it, it looked ancient.

Centuries of record. It's here, something in me said. If it exists anywhere, it's here. "You can use the library whenever you like," Maren said from behind me. "The King doesn't restrict it." I turned slowly. Took in the scale of it. "Does it have historical records?" I asked. Still casual. Still just curious. "Pack histories. That kind of thing?" "It has everything," Maren said. I looked at the shelves. Somewhere in here was the truth about my father.

But they kept a wary eye on Ighor, since he was human. "What are we doing here, Mistress?" Ighor asked. "To pay the Chief Historian a visit," she answered. "But shouldn't he be at the games?" Ighor asked. "Apparently, he is not." "Hmm," Ighor remarked, furrowing his brow. Following a couple of hallways, they arrived at the Royal Library. "This place never ceases to amaze me," he said in admiration as they walked into the facility. A couple of the library attendants roamed around, cleaning and performing other duties as required of them. Sighting Talia, they bowed with a smile, uttering no words. She reciprocated the gesture with a smile and nod.

The air was cool and musty, filled with the scent of old books and dust, but I was reminded of how much I loved spending time in a library. I used to do that all the time while at my old college. "Excuse me," I said softly to the librarian, a woman with spectacles hanging on a chain around her neck. "Could I get some help finding materials? I'm researching Elysium University's history." "Of course." She offered a gentle smile, leading me through rows of towering shelves to a section dedicated to the university's past. She pulled out a couple of books, their spines cracked and worn, and handed them to me. "These should provide a good starting point."

“But If you want to know more about her, your best bet is the orphanage library. We’ve tried to keep what we could possibly find about our history there.” Elara pointed out the library and I nodded before whispering a quiet thank you, and making my way down the narrow hall toward the old library. I was determined to find out as much as I could because most of the weird things in my life rarely turned out to be coincidences.

Which only made it more irritating. Her gaze moved toward the small stack of books sitting on the corner of her desk — mostly art books and a few random novels she hadn’t finished yet. None of them would help, at least not in this case. Maybe the internet just wasn’t the right place to look. Arabella tapped her fingers lightly against the arm of her chair as the idea slowly formed. Libraries had records the internet didn’t. Old texts. Language archives. Historical dictionaries. She remembered once hearing that the university library downtown had an entire section dedicated to ancient languages and forgotten dialects.

The echoes of laughter, spirited debates, and shared camaraderie still hung in the air, infusing the center with a sense of purpose and promise. In the heart of the community center, the library stood as a beacon of knowledge and understanding. Each book on the shelves, each scroll in the archives, was a testament to the city's commitment to learning and intellectual growth. From historical tomes detailing the origins of the Sapphire Crown to scientific treatises exploring the mysteries of the universe, the library was a treasure trove of wisdom waiting to be discovered.

I should at least look into it. “Where is that one?” Jai asked the librarian. “It’s in the same section, History, isle number 12.” The guy said. “There’s shelves with universal letters on it, try to search from letter F for ‘family’. You should find it in there somewhere.” Jai wrote that down and thanked the guy. He was about to walk away when he saw Claude already walking ahead of him. “Hey, Claude!” It earned him a few glances from the nearby visitors and the librarian. “Shh!! Keep your voice down!” The librarian reminded him.