"I am going to my room. I have some reading to do." Rose held up the book for Caitlyn to see.
The lady-in-waiting squinted slightly as she read the title. "Why of all the books in the library did you select 'The Usage of Names'? Even I do not read things quite that dry." Her nose crinkled as she tried to puzzle out the princess's new fascination.
"I am not sure you will believe me when I tell you, but I shall tell you just the same." Rose pulled the fairy necklace from beneath her dress.
"What does that piece of jewelry have to do with the book?" Caitlyn could not make the leap.
"The necklace showed me the book. Cait." Rose waited to see if her words had any effect. The brunette leaned back on the cushions and regarded her mistress with suspicion.
"Are you talking in riddles, Your Highness?"
"No, I mean what I said. The necklace literally showed me this book. I said 'I wish I knew what I was looking for' and the fairy came off the chain and flew off. I chased it through the library and it led me to this book." Rose lifted the tome again, hoping her point had come across.
Instead, the brunette leaned forward and touched the princess's forehead. The concern on her face caused deep lines to form between her eyebrows. Rose batted the woman's hand away.
"You don't have a fever." Caitlyn announced.
"Of course I don't! I am perfectly well. You think I am delusional?!" Rose was offended. She might be a bit creative, but she wouldn't lie about something like this.
Caitlyn winced. "I want to believe you, but...if what you said is true, why didn't the necklace react just now?"
It was a fair question. "Perhaps it knows I was not asking it specifically, or maybe it is shy and won't perform for an audience." Laying down the book, Rose pressed her fingers to her eyelids. "And I sound like a crazy person, don't I?"
"You are giving a personality to a small piece of metal," Caitlyn answered gently. The brunette could see the princess's frustration. "I know you believe in magic, but this is a stretch even for you."
Rose's back shot straight. "Magic is real! This necklace proves it, even if you don't believe me. After seeing Silver, his magical potion, and his strange cape, I am certain there is far more in this world than we can ever explain."
Having not witnessed any of these things, Caitlyn could not argue. She chose a different path. "Why would the necklace show you this book?" she asked, shaking her head only slightly at the ludicrousness of her words.
"I don't know exactly, but I will find out. Mark my words." Rose lifted herself from the chair and strode indignantly to her room. Her nose was so high in the air that low flying birds would have found it a nuisance.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Caitlyn asked with a small smile.
Rose rushed back and snatched the book from the couch where she had set it down. "Hmph!" she scoffed. Her second walk was less dignified, and became even less so as she paused. "Cait," the princess turned her eyes sheepishly toward the other woman. "Can you help me get out of this corset?"
The demure lady just smiled, "I would be happy to help, Your Highness." She glided toward the princess's bedchamber. "Are you sure you don't want to ask your necklace for assistance instead?"
"Oh, so you realize you are easily replaceable, then?" The princess smirked. She immediately regretted her words as Caitlyn tightened the stays before loosening them, making Rose gasp and scowl.
Caitlyn pretended not to notice her error and clicked her tongue. "Replace me? I wish you the best of luck. I look forward to you finding someone else to deal so gracefully with all of your lovely quirks? That would be magic indeed!"
-------
Once Rose was comfortably out of her dress and into her night clothes, she settled on her bed. Her bed linens were changed at some point during the day, and she was glad no one asked about the specks of blood that flecked her colorful comforter. Her yellow dress, she noted, was hanging by her closet, cleaned with the blood removed from the side. On her vanity, the long piece of cloth to tie back her blonde hair had been replaced.
'Caitlyn was busy even though she was now feeling well. I don't deserve her.' Rose mused, feeling guilt at her haughty behavior only a little while before. She forced herself to shake off all other thoughts as she tucked herself under the covers and opened the book.
"What do you want to show me, little book?" she asked quietly. The book, not being magical, refrained from answering.
Just as the title suggested, the book was full of names, their meanings and, on occasion, a historical figure who bore the moniker. While it was nice to know that Aurora meant 'dawn,' Colvyr meant 'dove of peace,' and Devrim meant 'revolution,' she saw no value behind these definitions whatsoever. What use were they to her?
"This seems like a waste of time. I don't even know what I am supposed to find here. Am I really to recognize one name among thousands as having significance?" Rose shut the book and rubbed her tired eyes. "Maybe Caitlyn was right; I wanted to believe something so badly that I made it true in my mind."
Pinching the pendant and lifting the necklace in front of her eyes, Rose continued to mumble.
"If only you would do your little trick again for me. I am beginning to think I am crazy. I wish you would help me find the meaning in this book, if there is any."
The little fairy squirmed beneath the young ladies' grip and pulled free of the chain. Rose's hand released its hold excitedly.
"There you are!" she squealed. "Can you help me?"
The fairy bowed and landed lightly on the book of names, pulling back the cover with its delicate arm. Running its feet across the pages like some stationary race, the small pixie moved page after page until reaching the proper place. It splayed out to force the book to remain in the correct spot.
Rose watched in wonder, until the pixie peered over its shoulder and gave the princess a dirty look.
"Oh! Sorry!" Gripping the book, Rose held down the pages for the fairy to continue. With a huff--'do metal fairies breathe'-- the small pendant scanned the page until it found the proper entry. The words lit up on the page for Rose to peruse.
The princess's breath hitched. She scrambled from the bed and moved to her vanity, retrieving the small slip of paper from it that the stranger had left for her. Not noticing that the fairy had returned to its spot on the chain, Rose stared at the words of the scribbled note, reading them over and over.
"To my safe Haven. The Maker is truly Gracious."
She returned to the book and picked it from where she had discarded it on the bed. Rose held the paper next to the entry which the fairy had shown her. Her hands shook tremulously.
"The Maker is Gracious," she shakily read the definition of the entry. 'It's a match.'
Her eyes darted, staring at the word before it for a long time, her mouth afraid to form the name she saw.
At last it came out as little more than a breath, taking every bit of energy to be spoken into existence.
"Sean."