Lina followed the maid's instruction and walked towards the direction. She needed to go to the library to know more about this place. The more she knows, the more she finds her way back. When she saw a silver twisted stairs, climb up and reached the front brown doors. My palms brushed the holder and turned the doorknob to open it, as expected it was locked. She's not sure if lock picking does work in this world, unless if she tries. She grabbed a hairpin from her hair and slipped it through the hole, receiving a soft 'click' from it.
Lina made a surprised gasp from her lips and grinned widely like a kid receive Cookies and Cream ice cream which is her favorite flavor. Luckily, she watched a Youtube tutorial on how to pick locks.
Turning the doorknob as the door make a creaking sound, finally, she entered the library. The library was a lot smaller than she thought it would be. Lina felt a little disappointment and awe at the same time. The room had one fireplace and in front of it sat a table with two plain couches on either side and a chair; all covered in layers of dust. There are dozens of shelves of books surrounding the sitting area, all were covered in dust and some even had the beginnings of cobwebs in the corners.
Its appearance made the library feel like it'd been a hundred ages that give an impression where she was trespassing. Back home, in her world, she used to take care library with so much care especially, the books than this place.
Lina walked over to the other side of the room to one of the windows to pull away from the closed curtains. The pieces of black, thick fabric were grime that her handprints, dark and distinctive, were left behind where she touched them. Furthermore, when the job was done she take a glimpse at the outdoors where she noticed the garden earlier. Setting the curtains aside widely, leaving a soft light that eliminates the whole room.
When she reached at the book of shelves, a sudden tickle her nose that had her sneeze, blaming the dust laying on its corner. Through watery eyes, while sniffling, she began zigzagging and between the shelves and scanning the book's spines to find something, anything that could find her answers. But none caught her eye, the brown leather of many books starting to blur together until she reached the very back of the library, where it was the darkest and smelled the most pungent.
The floorboard creaked beneath her feet just once, making Lina cringed at the sound of it, fearing she falls out within it, its sharpness of the woods which is like a dagger digging through flesh, in the silent room where she kept walking.
Then, finally, she saw it. Way back in the farthest corner, stacked lopsidedly between the above it and the books holding it up, was a book that immediately caught her eye. There was nothing really special about it at first glance, however, her curiosity encouraged her to peek at whatever was inside and chose to listen to it.
Lina got in her toes and raised her body, stretching her arms as far as they would go, which terribly wasn't enough to reach it. Damn this shortness. Lina set her mouth into an adorable moue, biting her lips in dissatisfaction. While attempting to jump to raise it, after three failed attempts, her palms made a contact to the book and pull it out from its selves.
Yes! Lina leaped in joy.
When holding it, she noticed that whatever its cover had been made from wasn't like the polished leather ones that the other books shared.
It was fragile as thin leaves that might crush when it gripped hardly. Its roughness is almost like scales.
When she brought it down to examine it, she noticed it looked like tiny black scales that reminded her of some sort of lizard or other reptiles. The book was as thick as the width of my hand and its pages were brown with age. It looked really ancient.
The cover was covered in dust, making her blow it softly which the dust went to her face that made her sneeze again terribly. Lina waved the air and finally, take a look at the cover that was written something. She traced the title sewn into the front with soft brush strokes on her fingertips, furrowing her eyebrows together as she mouthed the foreign world aloud.
"Das Verloren Winsfleir..." Lina whispered, or at least she tried to. The word sounded almost correct on her tongue strangely and with the accent quite suiting it. Though, she didn't attempt to read it again out of embarrassment of accidentally saying it insultingly to where the language derived from.
She couldn't understand what it says.
Her fingers started to flip the pages and odd sensations coming through on her fingertips but she ignored it, thinking absolutely nothing of it.
There are various words and languages, making her harder to comprehend its words. While holding the book, Lina looked around only once more before she hurried back to the sitting area and plopped herself down on the, from what her eyes could perceive, least dirtiest seat. The blue couch was surprisingly comfortable and soft as she leaned the plush armrest whilst her legs crossed over one another and one foot on the floor.
The book's spine groaned in protest as she pried it open as gently as she could to peek at what was waiting inside to the next pages. Lina made sure to be extra careful with it, knowing just how fragile old books such as that one could be.
There was a long, somber introduction from the author which she quit reading after the first paragraph. Mostly, she couldn't understand those strange words. She skipped through most of it until she came upon a map, a very old looking and crinkled map that had marks all over it and faded scribbles I could hardly read. There was a prominent dent in the corner.
Her eyes shifted their way to the bottom and widened in surprise at the familiar name below it. Isharislynkia. This is the place where she was now.
The map also showed boundary lines between kingdoms. There are six kingdoms that have various different symbols. It seemed a symbol with six elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Light, and Dark. There was the Isharislynkia Kingdom from the middle to the east coast followed by the Lyruxia Kingdom to the West, Daesyu Kingdome mostly in the north since they were better suited near the warmer environments. Off in the corner to the West which is nearly on the ocean, named Meira. A symbol of a fish tail that caught my attention. There was another one but farther than the rest below it, Her eyes drifted to the south which is circled in faded black ink with 'x's in some places. The small kingdom named, Imarnia.
The sun almost set, she kept the book and hid under on her dress, carefully not letting it fall. To avoid them finding out on her sudden disappearance she'll make sure to head back on his chamber on time. She left the library and locked it again to avoid the suspicion that she'd trespassed there. Her thoughts consumed only one thing: I needed to find a way to escape from this place.