Because This Life...

Apologies.

Assumptions.

Redemption.

Awkward silences aren’t something I’m completely in tune with. It’s either a demanding quiet, or just a place where people love to feel the sounds around them rather than the constant chit chat of others. But this heavy blanket of nothing was making me twitch. The slap of shoes -his shoes, anyway- echoed lightly against the marble floor. I still haven’t gotten any shoes, and to be quite honest, it felt really good. The cold floor brought relief to my feet. Almost like feeling grainy sand between your toes when you’re at the beach. I just want to dig my feet into the ground. Never the less, we weren’t at the beach, because one; there are no beaches in Recuron or any realm for that matter. Two; this was cement, so I doubt that would feel any good.

“We’re here,” his whisper broke me out of my train of thought and made me jump. Maybe I did get used to the awkward silence.

“Ah…” I said, not really sure what to make out of the double wooden doors we stopped in front of. “So, yeah.”

“This is the library,” he laughed softly then cleared his throat, “you’ll be in here most of the time, researching. And don’t get me that look.”

He was referring to my ‘what did you just say?’ face.

“It’s not as bad as it seems. What I want you to do is research about yourself, discover who you are. No one else has the opportunity to learn about their heritage, so don’t take it lightly, Vincelia,” he muttered my name a bit hesitantly.

“Okay, sure. Whatever you say,” I let out quickly and walked through the doors, only to be stopped by the most amazing collection of books I had ever seen. This was too fairy tale for me, but gazing at these books almost tore my soul away. There was one issue though… “Uh.” Wait, what was I supposed to call him?

As if reading my mind, and maybe he did, he spoke a bit louder, “Call me A’cail. I say we are a bit more than acquaintances, so that should be fine. Also, it should be fair since I call you Vincelia, yes?”

I nodded and gulped, not seeming to get why I had shifted my feet to stand a bit straighter as he said my name so properly. Vinnie, get a grip on reality, please?

“So, A’cail, there is a problem… I can’t-”

“Read?”

I fidgeted, looking away and back into the study at the thousands of books. “I never got a chance to learn,” I whispered, frowning just a bit.

There was another silence. I hated silence. Who invented silence? It seemed like silence was the loudest noise to come across. Deafening nothing made everything else stick out so sharp, I started looking around just to hear the sound of my hair swish.

“I can teach you…” He started, but I cut him off.

“No, no! It’s fine, really. I’ll figure it out.”

“Vincelia-”

“Yeah?” I said half-mindfully, gripping tightly against the wooden door and clicking my tongue. This was going to be difficult, I thought hatefully.

“Nothing. Oh, and one more thing,” he said after turning around and walking away. I was about to follow him, but he shook his head, still retreating down the empty hallway.

“Huh?” I asked, confused.

“You aren’t allowed to leave this Library until I come and get you personally. No one else is to take you back to your room, understand?”

He didn’t wait for a reply, guessing he pretty much heard the curses in my head. His silhouette already disappeared into a different room.

“Thanks, your Highness,” I muttered sarcastically to myself. “Now, let’s learn how to read.” Mock enthusiasm for the win.

- - - - - - - - -

Dripping… Heat and shouting…

Don’t leave, please… don’t say goodbye to me!

Fading, rippling… Blinding lights that shatter my vision. Contortion…

Stop!

I shuddered and gasped as I woke up, my breath quickening dramatically. What the hell? I looked out the window nearby me, watching as the brightness of the sun disappeared little by little, and the second sun of Recuron replaced it. There was the hint of shadows the crawled and slithered around the sun like smoke which caused that dull of shine. Right now it was night time in the demon realm, and sleeping at this time only guaranteed nightmares. Although, I really don’t know what that dream was about.

My dark brown hair clung to my cheek, making me growl and move it away angrily. I hate this hair. Always so puffy and curly… Why can’t I have straight hair? I moved my hand in front of my face and examined it carefully. The pigment of my skin was light brown, soft like mocha. Even if my hands were rough from labor, I didn’t think they were that bad. I had long fingers and chipped nails. Well, who has time for clean nails when you work with dirt, right? No one.

I looked down at the books that were in my lap. They were thick and heavy, full of dust from the neglectfulness of its owner. I was sitting on the floor next to a wide, brown desk, leaning against it with my shoulder for support. So, I fell asleep ‘trying’ to read. Did I get anywhere? No. Did I find anything interesting? Yeah, I did. There were a lot of pictures in these big books. Some of them had maps of the demons realms, including Level A.

Level A was mysterious, bounded and exotic. Nothing about who lived there had me interested, but what. What life? What… What atmosphere? It was like one big circle. I tried saying the words slowly, the pronunciation, but it was all too much. I picked up words and meaning all around my previous… work houses, but none that I can read off paper. What the hell are all these numbers in this book!

“That’s a math book, Vincelia,” I heard the laugh make out.

“Math book?” I frowned, looking down at it again.

“Isn’t math numbers only? Not numbers and letters?” I questioned his judgment.

“They are called Variables.” He took the book from me and sat down facing me, crossing his long legs in the process.

“So… letters are the Alphabet and they are also called Variables…?”

He nodded and I sighed heavily. “I don’t think I want to learn Math,” I grumbled, picking up another book beside me.

“Did you find anything that interested you?” He asked, weighing the math book in his big hand. He had long, slim fingers like mine. His were longer, but yeah.

“I did,” I said slowly, catching his eye.

“And…?” He trailed off, eyes widening. His lips turned into a grim line. “No,” He said bluntly.

I opened my mouth to question why he said no suddenly, when it dawned on me. “Could you please stop reading my damn mind?”

“Sorry, but it’s not something I can really control. Especially not around someone whose mind wonders everyone minute of the day,” he laughed, but soon fixed his structure. “You don’t want to know about that place.”

“Why not, A’cail? What is so bad about Level A that has everyone on edge? There are rumors, sure, but who knows for sure?” I looked down at the book that contained Level A’s maps and smiled a bit. “I feel there is something there. Something is pulling me in and I just want to know what. I don’t know why, but my gut never really seems to prove me wrong,” I grinned.

“Never really?” He smirked.

I glared at him and huffed, “most of the time!” He nodded and rolled his eyes at me like a kid. So much for a high royal.

“I heard that,” he laughed again.

He had a really, really nice laugh. I sighed and he gave me a quizzing look. “Nothing,” I said, standing up and placing a book on the giant desk, “just sleepy.”

“Let’s go. Dinner is ready, anyway.”

I blinked and opened my mouth again, “dinner with you?”

Author's Note

Let me know what you think~

Reviews

[SparksLC]

Once again, I must say amazing job =) Lovee this. I can't wait to see what happens next.