United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Chapter 13 - Falte

Falte was exhausted. 

He couldn't remember if he'd actually slept that night - he'd been awake when he had heard the loud crashing followed by Ava's scream. He'd been up late trying to sort the last few books that had been shipped in that day, but since the library was a floor below Aaron's room, it had taken him a while to get up the stairs and find his friend's room. 

When he'd arrived, he hadn't expected to see Ruby and Marcus crouched in front of Aaron's closet, where the former king had been hiding. Marcus had stormed off to demand that Linda hurry it up with her friend, while Ruby and Falte had taken Aaron out of his room to let him stay in the room next to the king and queen's. The maids would take care of Aaron's room in the morning, Ruby had decided; and after an hour of sitting with Aaron and trying to see if there was anything he needed (but he remained silent and short-tempered throughout that time), Ruby and Marcus had retired to their room to try to get some sleep. Falte had stayed with Aaron for a bit longer, hoping that he could find out more about the killer that had been right in front of Aaron. 

"You said you saw... darkness?" Falte had asked, and Aaron had given him his signature glare. 

"How many times do I have to tell you dimwitted people?" Aaron had snapped, his green eyes cold. "It was a red-eyed demon, with wings and horns and black flames surrounding it." 

Falte was grateful to have at least a small description they could give Linda's tracker friend, which would probably help her find the killer easier. But since Aaron was the only person alive that had actually seen the monster, it would be a lot more troublesome if that was the only thing that Aaron knew about it. 

After sitting with Aaron for another half hour, Falte had finally gone down to his room - but everything after that had blurred together in a way that made Falte wonder if he actually had fallen asleep or not. He could remember staring blankly at the ceiling while his mind turned over and over, but half of those moments were hazy. 

Now, he was up and opening the library again at the normal time - 5:30 A.M., which Falte was normally used to - but he was more exhausted than he'd been in years. A few of the library assistants were darting around, turning on lights and shelving extra books. 

One of them, a teenager named Althea, was strolling around with a cart of returned books. Her straight, silver blonde hair that skimmed her shoulders was pulled into a loose, messy ponytail. Her oval shaped blue eyes were bright and alert, and a soft smile was touching her full lips. Even though she was small, she still somehow was about an inch or two taller than Falte, though she didn't even mention it. 

"Good morning, Falte," she said kindly as she paused behind him to shelve a few of the books. 

"Morning, Althea," Falte replied with as much energy as he could, giving her a warm smile that obviously didn't match his expression. 

Althea's eyebrows creased a little, her smile fading slightly. "Are you all right? You look..." She hesitating, searching for the right word while examining his face. "Fatigued," she finally settled for. 

"I didn't sleep well," Falte said with a shrug, waving his hand dismissively. "It's not a big deal. I should be fine after a cup of coffee or something." 

"Why don't you go get one now," Althea suggested kindly, tilting her head to the right. "You should take care of yourself. What kept you awake?" 

Falte often had to remind himself that Althea didn't actually live in the castle, because she was in the library so often - if she wasn't working, she was reading or searching through books to find one to read. She was a kindhearted young teenager who yearned for the expansion of her knowledge, which was already quite a high level.