Aliya still remembered that day so clearly. She wasn't sure why. It was a story she'd read herself countless times after hearing him tell it. The book he gave her was actually pretty detailed, the only thing it remained vague about was the Advisor in the story. Tate hadn't known it but she'd actually taken that book from Nourii Castle and had carried it to the capitol. She kept it tucked away under the mattress in her dorm room.
She wasn't sure why she kept it hidden, maybe there was some small guilt there for stealing a book. Lately, when she felt lonely or missed him she'd been taking it out and just looking at the cover. To this day she still could not read the title of the book or the author, the cover was just as unintelligible as ever.
She heard chairs scraping and the murmuring of voices. She jumped and looked around. She'd been daydreaming so hard that she hadn't noticed the end of the lecture.
She was about to stand herself when a shadow fell over her desk. "Ali, would you like to come to the library with me?"
She'd tensed for a moment wondering if it was a friend or a foe but was relieved when she looked up to see Anna. Anna was, well for lack of a better word, an underling of Cades. She too was in the fanclub centered around Tate and had known Cade since they were children. She was the youngest daughter of a Lord.
She was a nice girl, if a little standoffish. Aliya didn't take offense at this because Anna was like that with everyone. It was moments like this that made up for that slight character flaw, the ability to spontaneously include people and bring people in. Sometimes Aliya envisioned her like a butterfly net and Cade the butterfly hunter. Cade may be the one in pursuit of friends or club members but it was eventually Anna who captured them and dragged them to the desired destination.
She smiled at the girl, and even though she didn't get a response she thought Anna was smiling on the inside.
"Sure, that would be good. I need to check out a book for my report next week. Is there a meeting today?"
Anna shook her head. "No, Cade has been really busy and he said we may not be able to meet for a while. I just wanted some company today." She suddenly stopped and for once there was a clear emotion on her face, she looked uncomfortable. "You don't mind, do you? If you have something else to do don't feel obligated..."
Aliya cut her off, "It's absolutely fine. I do need a book and I enjoy your company so it all works out well."
Anna's face relaxed and a familiar sight greeted Aliya. Just like how Aliya could see the small expressions Tate made she could see Anna's. She was positive that behind that straight line of a mouth, Anna was happy.
The two girls walked together out of the Hall and back into the sunshine. Aliya noticed more eyes on her than usual and overhead whispers of a different sort.
"What is Aliya doing with that girl?"
"Wow, not that I like her or anything but next to that Lord's daughter doesn't she look like a goddess?"
Aliya grit her teeth. She glanced at Anna and hoped that she couldn't hear what they were saying. It was of course, hard to tell. Anna didn't give away anything and walked on as if the world didn't exist.
Aliya had been told in words and in actions since she'd arrived at the capitol that she was considered very beautiful. Her straight black hair was an uncommon color, so dark it almost appeared blue or purple under the light. Her eyes were called mysterious, all together she was considered to have a beautiful face. She's also never once in her life considered what her body looked like but she'd soon learned against her will that she had a figure that was the pinnacle of the Empire's beauty standards. She was of average height, curved, and athletic.
As for Anna, well Aliya thought she was pretty, but from what she had gathered society didn't think so. Not that Anna was considered ugly per se, just unremarkable. She had medium brown hair that was almost curly but not quite. She had eyes of the same color, a small nose, and thin lips. She was very short by society's standards and was sometimes confused with a child. She was the kind of girl that, even though Aliya knew her strength from training with her, on appearance it looked like a stiff wind would knock her over.
In Aliya's eyes, she was…cute. She could not understand why others thought Anna's appearance was something worth looking down on.
They soon reached the Library and entered in companionable silence. They actually visited the Libary often, the fan club meetings were often held there in a private study room.
They walked to a private corner, neither had to say where they were going. Although people might compare their physical appearance there were some ways the girls were similar. Both would always choose to sit away from crowds if possible.
"His Highness has a class now doesn't he?" Anna asked.
She was one of the few people who still referred to Cade as royalty while on the academy grounds. Aliya had heard Cade tell her to stop many times but it seemed the habit was too hard to break.
"Yes, he has one more class today."
Anna sighed, "Do you know why he's acting so strange lately?" Her blunt manner surprised Aliya, even though it shouldn't have.
She chuckled to herself, of course, Anna would pick up on it. She also was fairly certain that Anna had picked up the awkwardness between Cade and herself and that this was precisely the reason she was even bringing it up with Aliya.
She decided to be upfront with Anna, she liked the girl and trusted that she was well-meaning with her question.
"I do know, but it's not really something I can talk about."
Anna cocked her head and looked at her closely. After searching her face Anna seemed to come to a decision. She nodded once. "All right, I won't pry just tell me one thing."
"If I can."
"Is what's bothering him something dangerous?"
Aliya shook her head. "No, nothing dangerous."
Anna let out a breath and looked out the window of their newly claimed corner table. "Okay."
Anna continued to look out the window, saying nothing more. They were hidden behind the large bookcases. The corner windows let in warm light from the outside. A few dragons flew by the windows and Anna's lips tilted up as she watched.
"I'll be right back, I need to go find the book I need," Aliya said breaking the silence. Anna nodded never looking away from the dragons outside.
Aliya stood and walked into the maze of bookcases.
She quickly found the volume she needed to reference for her report, but she was also looking for another book.
She'd looked for the book a few times since arriving at the academy but the lecture today had reminded her that she'd yet to find it. She was looking for another copy of the mysterious book she had hidden under her mattress.
She made her way to this history section and looked over the rows and rows of books and parchment rolls that she'd looked over before. Her hand ran over the spines and her eyes strained as she tried to find something that probably wasn't there.
She was about to give up again when something caught her eye. Up on the top shelf crammed into the corner and almost obscured by the large tome next to it was a book with blue binding.
She was not tall enough to reach it herself so she looked both ways down the aisle before stepping up onto the shelf itself. She felt the board that was holding up the lower levels give just a bit under her weight and she sucked in a breath. She grasped above her head trying to get her hand on it.
After fumbling for a while she finally got the tips of her fingers on it. With painstaking effort, she managed to pull it towards her and then the spine was visible above her sticking out over the edge.
She grasped it and pulled as she stepped down.
She looked at the book in her hand and felt her heart sink in disappointment. The writing on the cover was completely legible.
"A History of the Founding of the Lya Kingdom"
She sighed and flipped it open haphazardly. She flipped the pages and was about to shut it when a few words caught her eye.
"Boumont….Tiylin."
She froze and read a few of the lines of the book.
As low as her heart had just sunk it now soared back up. Elated she almost ran back to the corner where Anna was now studiously bent over a book.
She sat and dropped the book she needed for her report carelessly on the floor next to the chair and then frantically opened the blue book to the first page.
Once she began to read she couldn't stop. It was definitely the same story, almost the same book, almost.
There were odd changes from the version she knew. The biggest change was that the Advisor was not mentioned at all.