I Wish || Ijekiel Alpheus

Chapter 11

"There's a lot of things to buy here." The young Florence, Viviane, said in surprise as she walks around the marketplace. "Of course there are, my lady. It is a place where you can buy anything." Ava Brooklyn stated as she yawned. How is she sleepy at 2:00 in the afternoon?

It has been a week now ever since the festival, meaning it has already ended. It's pretty sad since they have snuck more than once at that time, and sadly, they got caught on the last day of their 'snuck night' by her father.

Thankfully though, after a couple minutes of scolding, her father said they could go only if they come back at 11:30 sharp, and with that, they flew away to spend their time having fun on the last day of the festival.

Oh, did I say couple minutes of scolding? What I meant was.. an hour.

Thank goodness they decided to try and sneak out an hour earlier or they would've been late for the fair.

 "Funny." The young duchess-to-be of the Florence duchy rolled her eyes, kind of frustrated on her personal maid's reply. 

They decided to go out to shop whatever they could find cute, or nice-looking. They do have the money to do that after all. The young lady doesn't have anything in mind to buy, she'll probably just buy a book or something similar.

"Look at these, my lady." Ava stopped on her tracks and stared at the beautiful dresses and jewels outside of a small but elegant-looking shop. "They're so gorgeous." She said as she continued to stare with heart eyes.

"Would you like to buy any of these--" She turned to the side to see her master gone from where she was standing earlier. Not even a single soul was left for her to talk to. Wait, was she talking all by herself all this time?!

"I swear in the name of the Gods, I will not even try to look for you if you'll disappear, but, may you have a nice walk, my lady."

She knows that the princess won't go anywhere, that is, unless something came in mind oh so suddenly in that brain of hers.

On the other hand, the lady's steps were heard from afar as she walked to a small library not far from the store her personal maiden stopped at. Well, to be fair, she wasn't really that girly to begin with, so her attention was on this small library than those dresses and accessories.

The small chime of the bell that was attached on the door made a small ringing sound as she went inside the small library. She was pretty sure the owner wasn't around since the reference desk or a librarian was nowhere to be seen.

She went from aisle to aisle and didn't really search for a specific book since she has nothing in mind at the moment. She then went to the aisle where she was most interested in ever since she was a child.

The flower aisle.

Now, she already has a whole private library full of books about everything, mostly flowers. But, who knows, maybe she finds a book that isn't in her library. Well, that's pretty impossible but, you will never know.

She picked up a book and went to a small table to sit down and read.

She was starting to love the book when a voice started to speak in front of her. 

"May I sit with you, if that's okay?" It was a voice she knows better than anyone. But, he couldn't possibly be in this old, vintage library, right? I mean, he must have a library of his own, so why bother coming here? Not that she has to say anything about that.

She shooed the book out of her sight by slightly lifting it down, but still holding it in place so she wouldn't have to look for the page she left off. And there she saw the man she least expected to be there.

"Yes, you may." The young lady politely said before going back on her book. The certain white-haired male smiled and mumbled a 'thank you' before sitting down on the chair in front of her, the atmosphere being tense between them.

"I never knew you come to this place." He said, starting to read a book himself. "I just found this while shopping earlier and thought maybe I could look at it for a bit." She simply and shortly responded, eyes not leaving the sentence she was reading.

Silence fell upon them before the boy spoke again. "Ms. Florence--" She cut him off. "Viviane." She corrected. "Viviane, may I know what that book you're reading is about?" He asked, placing his own book down on the table.

Is this trick or what?

Without lowering her guard, the young lady placed down her book and started speaking in a more casual way, making sure she still has her manners, of course. There's no way you can leave them behind especially when you're talking to a noble.

"Well," She paused for a moment. "It's mainly about flowers. It says the basics on what you have to know about them. Some even says you can eat some of them, just make sure they aren't the poisonous kind."

"It also says that there are people named after flowers, like the princess." She laughed a little, already knowing that fact. "Names of flowers are very pretty to say. some are weird and some sounds adorable if you say it correctly--" She quickly ended her ramble, not bothering to finish her sentence.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry for my rudeness. I was too annoying, wasn't I?" She lowered her head before looking anywhere else besides him.

"No, no, please, keep talking." He smiled. Is this some kind of joke? I mean, who wouldn't be annoyed by someone who was talking nonstop? But, it doesn't look like he was joking, it looks more like he was sincere.

"Plus, I miss this side of you." He added his sentence, making the young lady confused. "Which side?" 

"The real you side." He slightly grinned. "But every side of me is real, though." She laughed. "I know you more than anyone else, so please stop lying." The duke of the Alpheus house shook his head, making the girl playfully roll her eyes.

She looked out the window to see the sun setting. "Want to take a walk with me?" Ijekiel Alpheus asked, also looking out of the library window. Her eyes slightly widened before chuckling.

"I can't say no to such a generous offer now, can I?"

___