Peaceful Studying

[Trinn]

OOC: OMG DAEMON!!!!

"Well, in that case, perhaps I should try to find my young son and keep him out of trouble." Teodora said. She stood and stretched. "Thank you for entrusting us with your daughter. We will treat her as our own and keep her safe with our own lives. Fortunately Torreck is keen-eyed and alert to out of place things. If anything happens that is unusual, he will be aware of it. You know it's strange, being bonded to a dragon. I never thought I would want it, but now I can't imagine a life any other way. Although I don't know why fate chose to bond me eternally to the mind of a male." She chuckled heartily at that, and realized she had perhaps drank more of the wine than was necessary. "Take care Daemon. The castle is yours to explore as you will. If you have need of anything, you know how to reach me." And she tapped her head to indicate telepathy.
***

The sweet taste of success had been so close. Thane was wrenched from his conquest quite forcefully when Serena grabbed his hand and began pulling him along. "Hold a moment there girl!" he growled, and trotted a few steps to gain the lead. "You don't even know where you're going." He gave her a roguish smile. Keeping hold of her hand, he dashed forward and raced down the corridors towards the archives. He knew she wouldn't mind a bit of running. She was too excited by the prospect of discovery, and he found her rather cute when she was excited. He might as well amuse her and go along with it. He had nothing better to do after all.

Fortunately they did not have to run for very long. Soon enough the doors of the archives appeared before them, tall and grand. Inside were hundreds of books that bored Thane out of his mind. Breathing fast, he halted and finally released Serena's hand. "Here you are, my lady." he said with a gallant smile. "Your destination." And he waved towards the doors extravagantly.

[Tismri]

OOC: lol

Daemon smiled as Teodora rambled about her dragon for several moments. He knew as well as anyone that fate was a strange master. Kind and cruel in equal measure, and often his gifts was made of both.

"Of course, Teodora. Thank you for accepting us as our guests. I am in your debt for keeping my little girl safe."
~~~~~
Serena was glad when Thane took the lead, as she knew she likely still couldn't find her way to the archives from here. As she ran with him, her excitement did not distract her from the fact that she was still holding hands with this near stranger. It was pleasant, but a little unnerving. She could just imagine what her father would be thinking if he could see her.

These thoughts melted away when he announced their destination. She pushed the doors open, and the sight inside made her immediately sigh with longing. Books upon books, scrolls upon scrolls, lay within. There were nearly as many as in the library of Ileria. She stared up at the shelves for a moment, wondering exactly where to start as she ran her gloved fingers over the many tomes before picking one up. She brushed off the cover, dusty despite the generally immaculate condition the castle was kept in.

"The City of Crystal," she read aloud. She cracked open the tome past the title page and read the opening paragraphs. Immediately, she was drawn in by the words. "It looks like an old scholar's first impressions of the city. He mentions that the ruler was a king. That means this must have been written ages ago!" Her words trailed off as she became fascinated by the book's contents.

[Trinn]

"A King, you say?" Thane asked, and peered over Serena's shoulder at the open book. That was unusual indeed. He could only remember being taught of all the different queen mothers that had ruled Ismalia. If he had learned of any kings, he must not have been paying attention that lesson. "Ismalia has known only Queen mothers as it's ruler for eons. Perhaps this book stuff isn't so bad as I had thought." He trailed off, realizing how intently Serena read the book. He had a feeling she would be fine standing rooted to the spot until the book was through. Feeling a little concerned with her fascination, he carefully took he by the shoulders and directed her to a niche in the wall. Here was a table and sturdy chairs. He sat her down and sat across from her. "So," he began, "Is this all you do when you're in a library?" He was already beginning to feel bored. "What else are you learning there?" and he reached out and tapped the page she was on. "Really, I've never seen someone so taken with books before. You're in your own little world. I've never seen a cuter book worm than you." He paused, then continued. "Most book worms are old spinsters who have nothing better to do than read of lives that were better than theirs. I feel bad for them. A lot of priests and old men read books too. And my cousin, Jason. Books books books books." and he spread his hands wide apart. He didn't realize that a key point of reading books was to be quiet and read t he book.

[Tismri]

Serena hardly noticed as Thane guided her to a nearby chair, much less the words he was saying. She read quickly enough, turning a page every minute or so. She was absorbed in the words with which the scholar described his visit to Freia. After a little while, her eyes widened and she gasped delightfully.

"Look here!" she showed her companion eagerly. "Here, he mentions the northern mountains, and their bright night glow. It must be a case of natural magic; I hardly dared imagine they existed here as they do in Alagaesia. He mentioned that he planned to explore the mountains next. Do you know what that means?" The excitement in her eyes and face could not be mistaken as she turned the book back toward her. "If he went there, he must have written an account of it." She placed the book aside for the moment and went back to the shelf, looking through the tomes for any indication that they detailed his visit to the mountains. "If it isn't here, perhaps it can be found in the mountains themselves," she said, more to herself than anything.