When the girl entered the library, she turned on the lights and sighed as she looked over the various shelves and sections of books.
"How am I supposed to find anything in here?" she wondered as she climbed a ladder to the very top of the shelves.
"Water, anything with water," she said as she surveyed the area.
"Damn, I don't want to spend an eternity with dusty old books," she thought as a book landed on top of her head.
"Ouch,' she said as she rubbed the top of her head, then looked down at the book and smiled when she saw it had a mermaid on the cover.
"Mermaids?" she inquired as she descended the ladder and picked up the book, then opened the lock and a blue wrapped paper fell out.
"What's that?" she asked, bending down to pick up the paper, then sat on a chair next to a table and turned on the lamp.
"Woah," she exclaimed as she opened the paper, looking at the water symbol on the side, and smiling when she saw it was the map leading to the waterfall, which was not far from the castle.
"Got it," she thought as she slipped the map into her pocket and turned to look at the book.
"Seems interesting," she said as she turned off the light and walked out of the library, carrying the book and the map.
The girl took them to her room, sat on her bed, and opened the book, curious to learn more about the mythical creatures known as mermaids.
As the girl began reading, she noticed that a few pages were missing from the book.
"How am I supposed to go on?" she wondered as she looked at the mermaid drawings and smiled at how lovely they were.
"Lyra," someone called out and she hid the map in the bed drawer.
"Come in," she said.
"I apologize for bothering you, but where are the others?" Sylas questioned as he entered the room.
"They went out, they had things to do," she responded.
"I was going to eat dinner; would you like to join me?" he asked, noticing the book on the bed.
"What are you reading?" he asked, smiling as she handed him the book.
"Oh, this is an old book, it tells the tales of mermaids, a lot of creatures are real, but mermaids are a myth, they say a mermaid is one of the most graceful creatures, are you into them?" he asked.
"No, I was just curious; do you read a lot?" she asked as he sat on the bed and placed the book on her lap.
"I used to read a lot before, but I don't really have the time to do it now because I've been busy with my duties, and I've been researching curses lately," he responded with a sigh and a concerned expression.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Lyra... did you know our older brother is cursed?" He asked and her eyes widened as she stared at him in surprise.
"I'm not sure what the curse is, he won't tell us, but whatever it is, it's really dark," he replied, and she lowered her head.
"Curses are normal in this world, though I am concerned for him," he said as she placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," she said.
"You are so hopeful, none of us are like you," he replied with a bright smile of relief.
"Let's go have dinner," she said as she got up leaving the book on the bed.
"Oh, the delivery guy came with a bunch of ice cream, they're all in the kitchen freezer," he explained as they walked to the dining hall.
"That's your brother's fault," she said.
"I wonder who's going to eat all of that," Sylas commented as they entered the dining hall and sat down while the servants brought their food.
"I'm not sure, but I know I'll eat a lot of it because I like eating ice cream no matter what time it is," she said and Sylas smiled.
"So does Arion; you two aren't so different at least in a few ways," Sylas replied as they began eating.
"Yeah, I realized that," Lyra said, with her eyes widening as she clenched her fists in annoyance as she remembered someone kissing her on the lips when she was younger.
"Also, I heard about the competition you're participating in; are you being forced to do it or do you want to do it?" he inquired.
"To be honest, I'd like to do it," she said.
"Okay, well, as long as it's what you want, I don't mind. Good luck," he said.
"Thank you very much, Sylas," she replied.
Sylas then stood up and stretched after they finished eating.
"I'm going to bed after finishing some work. Good night sis," he said, smiling.
"Good night," she replied as he walked away, and then she decided to call it a night as well.
Lyra returned to her room, removed her clothes, and went to freshen up, but while doing so, she couldn't help but worry about their older brother and his curse.
"What makes me so concerned about him? Did he ever call to see how I was doing over the years?" To hell with it," she reflected as she finished her bath, wrapped herself in her towel, and went to change.
While changing, the girl couldn't help but notice the mermaid on the book.
"I wonder if they really exist," she thought as she put on her nightgown and climbed into bed when she noticed a blue glow in the sky coming from the woods beside the castle.
"What the hell is that?" whatever it is, it's pretty," she wondered as she got out of bed and walked into the balcony and looked up at the sky when she heard a melodious voice and her eyes widened and her hands began to tremble.