Pendulum || TAENNIE FF

⚔Chapter 62: His sound and colors

A U T H O R

"I told you. Wail Karren wouldn't want the book to be a child's fairytale. She wants more color to it." Heather complained and placed a stack of books on the desk. "She's a woman who loves a good challenge. We can't keep it simple."

Flake narrowed his eyes at her. "You want to impress her, don't you?"

"Should that even be a question?" She said and sat beside him. "Many look up to her. Jadis looks up to her. I look up to her! She sees what we can't see in other creatures. How can I not want to impress that kind of woman?"

Flake shook his head and grabbed a book. "And what are these for? You're not planning on plagiarizing others' works, are you?"

"No, they're for references. We need to know if what we're writing is correct so we don't get humiliated. The whole school depends on this one thing. I also want to leave something behind when I leave." Her tone sounded sad when she said the last words. 

Flake looked at her with his brows furrowed. "You're really leaving?"

"I can't stay here. If I do, my whole self will be paralyzed. It already happened twice, and I guess it's already the second warning. As much as I want to be here a little longer, I need to look after my future too." Flake leaned on the couch and looked at the stack of books. "You already know that I'm human but you still don't know that I'm a princess, right?"

"You're royalty. That's cool." He grabbed a pen and started writing on a pad of paper. "I guess what you meant by "future" is ruling your kingdom. I get it." He quietly sighed while writing the draft for their book.

There was silence. The library should be a quiet place but Heather felt an awkward tension between them. "What...what are you writing?" She leaned closer to him and looked at the paper on his lap. "The rabbit and the grasshopper?" She read and looked at him. "That's my entry in Ink Fictions. Why are you writing that there?"

"I liked the thought," Flake answered and looked at her. "They're different but both of them know how to jump. Just because they have this little similarity, they hated each other, assuming that one is copying the other. Isn't it what this is about?"

"But that's not the whole idea," Heather said and took the pen from him. "These two characters are blinded by their insecurities. They would've gotten along with each other if they didn't think of it as a competition. And you know what's the worst part? They didn't help each other when the storm came. They let their egos get the best of them. Now, they're dead. End of story."

"Two different animals with the same skill, and that skill caused them trouble," Flake told himself. "This should be the one we write. It's got the color Wail Karren would probably like."

"Hmm, no. We need to talk to the members of Ink Fictions before you make a decision. They're a part of this too." Heather stood up and went to the shelves to find more books for reference. 

She stood on the tip of her toes and reached one with a silver cover. She pulled it out and looked at the cover. It didn't have a title, nor an author. But, when she opened the book, it was filled with sketches of many things. Who put this thing here? She thought and scanned through the pages. 

Heather was busy looking at the sketches when Flake came behind her and peeked from the back to see what she was reading. "These are amazing. Who drew all of this?" She turned the page again and found a drawing of a girl hugging a boy with her head buried on his chest. "This feels oddly familiar. Where did I see this exactly?"