Travis sat down in his new cell, a large white room with a white bed to match. The lights were blinding white, so much it hurt to look at the ceiling. He looked around the boring cell. The bathroom was in a separate room, complete with a bath and sink.
He had washed up already inside the small washroom, but with no other option, he had had to put on his old hoodie and jeans on again. On the wall opposite of the bed, there was a small, square window barred with iron, big enough to frame his upper body. The door was wide and tall, probably to fit the Valkyries' wingspans.
There were no windows, nothing to tell him whether it was night or day. Five hours must have passed as he sat there, waiting for them to let her in, and finally, she did come.
When Travis looked up from his cell, he saw that she had changed much since their last encounter. Her brunette hair clean, her clothes not as ragged.
"Hey," he managed a small smile.
Instead of a response, her hands flew up to cover her mouth.
"Travis? Is that you?" she asked in disbelief. "You're the one who called me here?"
It sounded like an accusation.
"Yeah, it's me."
"How—how did you get here?"
"Long story, you see, I-" he paused, and then turned his gaze to the tall, eerily quiet girl standing next to her. Immediately, he straightened as recognition hit him.
"That's Leahe," she explained, noticing the movement. "She's the one who kidnapped me."
"Oh. She interrogated me earlier. But while you were here, I was kidnapped by Raven and her father. I was just handed over like a useless piece of meat." he said bitterly.
"I'm sorry, who?"
Travis glanced up at Leahe, who's glare seemed to penetrate his skin. "Um, you know, that girl with the glasses and dressed in all black back at the alley."
Leahe stared unblinkingly at him, but Sage looked astonished. "You know her name?"
"Yeah, I met her and was kidnapped by her and her father."
Sage frowned, then turned to Leahe. "I think you can go now," she whispered. Travis watched her nod, then close the door shut behind her as she left.
"Are you hurt? Why did they take you?" he said, looking concerned.
"I'm fine. They gave me shelter and food, and treated me with respect."
"I'm not so sure about that. They're probably just fattening you up to cook you like a cow."
She scoffed. "What? Stop being ridiculous. I met a wonderful person here, named Celeste, and she just wants to help her Valkyries."
"Valkyries? The ones in the myths? Because I only know those hybrids."
"They're not hybrids. They're a-"
"A mistake. I know."
Sage frowned again, and he decided that he should share his story first before they got into any more disagreements.
"Okay, how about I start with telling you my story."
Travis told her of the kidnapping, and of the man and the girl Raven who they had previously seen in the corner of the alley. He stumbled around the part about the man's true relations to him, and he had decided not to tell her just yet. He explained how he had gotten kidnapped, and about the book he read on Valkyries. He also explained how the man had managed to capture Leahe and a boy with curly blue hair and glasses. He also explained how a girl with blonde hair and white wings had taken him as a prisoner in exchange for the two Valkyries.
"I was thrown into this prison cell by the guards and Leahe interrogated me. She told me I had been in the presence of Dark weapons! Can you believe that? I asked her to bring you here for me."
"I've had a totally different experience."
"Okay, well we have priorities. You can tell me all about them once we're back on the streets."
"I'm not going back there."
"What do you mean?"
Sage stood up from her spot on the floor, and brushed herself off. "I just can't believe what we've gotten into, Travis. Valkyries, Dark weapons, magic. It feels like a dream."
His expression grew dark. "They're dangerous. It was all in that book I read. They may not seem like it, but I'm telling you, just be careful."
"You're right." she sighed. "It's better to be safe than sorry, but I have a mission to accomplish now."
He looked up in curiosity.
"There are bad people going after their kind to gain their powers, when all they wanted to do was live peacefully away from society. I was brought here for a cause, and I'm planning to help them." Sage continued.
"That's absurd! They are dangerous people, and will roast you alive if they could. Inhuman, hybrid, vile beasts who just want to end the human race," he stared at her intently. "Promise me you won't help them. You're gonna get yourself in big trouble if you do,"
"No, I've been hiding my entire life. In my thoughts, in the alley. I need to help them in some way. It's time I did something for a cause, and stopped hiding."
"That book I read clearly stated that they are—"
"Okay, I get it. The book. Do you think I could get ahold of one of them?"
"Raven's father had it when he captured me and gave it to me to read, and he still has it."
Sage rolled her eyes. "You've been brainwashed, Travis. You read an enemy book? The Valkyries I have met here have no intention of harming me. I do have an idea though, on my tour with Reese, the library was one of the places we visited. If we can just get there, we can find a copy of that book so I can read this for myself. You said it had a lot of information on the war and Dark weapons."
Before she began to leave the room on her search, Travis stopped her.
"Wait. Can you ask Leahe if I can come too?"
Leahe had been glaring at Travis for the whole trip. He could feel her eyes on him at all times, every time they stopped to let him catch his breath, each time he asked to stop.
"I feel a bit wary letting an enemy prisoner just waltz around our base," Leahe told Sage as they caught their breath for the third time.
Travis has also been given a glowing orb to travel around, as the buildings were only in places Valkyries could reach. He still hadn't gotten the hang of the orb yanking him towards the buildings at top speed and the long, swift leaps in the air. Sage seemed to have experience with the orb, as she swiftly leapt from place to place, slipping slightly.
He had been surprised at first when he emerged from his cell, as the sky was completely dark and covered in a thin blanket of stars. The buildings were built in cliffs and on hills, and an enchanting aura seemed to rest upon the glade as if it were a preserved snow globe just for the eyes of those inside. The library was only a few meters away now, and the soft glow emitting from the building felt welcoming.
Hobbit holes were buried everywhere in hills and valleys, and he guessed that those were probably homes for all the Valkyries that lived here. The Puzzle building was behind them, the tip of the puzzle piece embedded in the ground. Valkyries of all ages and sizes flew around the glade, even at this time of night, either traveling from place to place or stopping to chat with friends. The whole place was lit with light from fireflies as their footsteps left behind a path of the glowing bugs.
"I'm sure it should be fine," Sage reassured her.
"By the way, he's not an enemy. He got captured by the enemy. He's innocent."
"Well, he did have a tracking chip and camera on him when he arrived."
Travis spoke before Sage could respond. "Hey, it's not like I put that chip on myself."
Just as he had finished speaking, they had arrived at the library. Travis awkwardly held the orb in his hands, as it was too big to fit comfortably in his pocket.
Before they stepped foot in the library, Leahe turned around to stop them from entering. "Just remember, the book or books you are looking for may have some missing pages or volumes. Do you wish to continue?"
Travis and Sage looked at each other, slightly confused, and nodded.
Inside, the bookcases spiraled around the circular room, the bookcases built in the sides reaching until the tall, elegant ceiling. A librarian's desk was positioned next to one of the towering bookcases, and a girl about thirteen years old with short blue hair and pearly white wings stood behind the desk.
"Bijou! So nice to see you," Leahe flew over to hug her, then frowned. "Where's Roy? I thought he went to the nursery once we came back at dusk. He should be back by now,"
Her bright expression suddenly dropped, and she fixed her gaze at the polished wood floor. "Oh... um. He had to stay in overnight. His wounds from the Dark weapons weren't healing, and Suri can't seem to figure out how to heal him."
Leahe's eyes narrowed, and she slammed her fist into the bookshelf. "Just wait until I see that man and Raven again. I'll send them flying to the other side of the world in pieces!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll find a cure," Bijou said half-heartedly. "Anyways, what are you doing here at this hour? It's nearly dawn!"
"We came here to look for a book. I told them on the way that the copy they're looking for might not be here, but they want to look for themselves. Did the search party bring back an old leather book when they patted him down?"
"Hmm. What book was it? I'm not sure they did, because if they found a book, surely they would bring it back for the library." She looked at the Travis and Sage hiding behind Leahe, then gasped. "Humans! And one of them is that prisoner they brought from the bar! Leahe, may I ask what you are doing with them?"
"They are looking for a book, as I said before. The books on the Demonic War should be in the back."
"Oh... last I checked, we don't have any books on the Demonic War."
Leahe smiled. "Well, there are and you'll find out where Roy has been hiding them this whole time."
The room they entered was built in one of the bookshelves at the top of the library, and Sage and Travis had to precariously land on the edge of the door frame in order to get inside. The room was dark and dusty, as if it had not been cleaned for decades. Coughing, Travis and Sage followed Bijou and Leahe through the door to find two bookshelves on a stationary cart parked in the corner. The light slowly flickered on. The bookshelf seemed to be just as dusty as the air quality, as Travis and Sage both let out a series of coughs.
Leahe skimmed her finger down the spines of books on the shelf and frowned. "They should be right here," she said, pointing to a shelf at the bottom. She started to remove all the books on the bottom shelf, until Sage pointed out something strange.
"Wait, what's that?" Sage pointed to what seemed like the corner of a sheet of paper sticking up from the inside corner of the bookcase.
The four of them stared at the piece of paper that was sticking out, until what sounded like soft footsteps started to sound from the doorway.
"What—" The door burst open, and a girl only a head taller than Bijou entered. She had a large white wingspan, and seemed quite tall, towering over the four hunched over at the bookcase.
Travis noticed her light pink hair, and thought it was strange that everyone here had wildly different hair colors than everyone in Windmoore.
"Bijou!" she ran over to grab her arm, and started tugging it towards the exit. "I was so worried! You weren't in your bed when I woke up, and now you're sneaking off towards the library!"
Bijou suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Um... actually, I was filling in for Roy. These three here wanted to look for a book, so—" her voice slowly faltered out and she stared at the dusty floor.
"Bijou, are you not supposed to be here?" Leahe crossed her arms.
"Um, well I thought someone should fill in, and so I snuck out."
The pink haired girl sighed and rested her gaze on Sage and Travis, who gave a slight nod in response.
"Hello, I haven't seen you guys around. You're humans, too. Are you here on a special mission? My name's Orchid, and if you didn't know, I'm Bijou's sister." Orchid held out a hand, as Travis and Sage shook it and said their hellos.
"Well, I won't ask any questions, so I'll be on my way. Come Bijou, let's go eat breakfast."
As Orchid and Bijou(unwillingly) left, Leahe fixed her stare on the sheet of paper again.
"I wonder what-" Leahe began, as a series of shouts began to escalate from on the other side of the door.