Hidden (Nod x Reader)

Chapter 3

The elevator came to a stop at the bottom of the Rings of Knowledge. Rows and rows of scrolls littered the floor, each rolled up tightly. Moths navigated their way through the aisles, inspecting each piece of papyrus and making sure it was in its correct spot.

We followed Nim as he searched for one scroll in particular. "Okay, blooming a pod," he muttered to himself. "Gotta go way back for that." He plucked one out of the ground and began to read. "Here we go, let's see...Pod, care of. Must keep moist...Well, good news is, once the queen chooses it, it's gonna bloom no matter what. But it has to open tonight in the light of the full moon when it's at its highest peak...yep, solstice...full moon, highest peak, mentions it a bunch of times."

"What happens if it blooms out of the moonlight?" Grub asked.

"Unclear. The last part's missing." Nim held up the bottom of the scroll, where the paper was chewed through. "I gotta be honest, termites have been a problem." He heaved a sigh of relief. "And here I thought we were doomed. This calls for a celebration!"

"Wait." MK spoke up. "This is gonna sound weird but...I'm not from this world. And I thought maybe something in these scrolls could tell me if there's a way for me to get home."

Nim shook his head. "The scrolls don't tell the future, they only guide us with the knowledge of the past."

"The past?" I crossed to stand right in front of the yellow caterpillar. "Could...could my memories be here somewhere?"

Nim blinked. "Sorry, who are you?"

"I used to be a stomper," I replied. "I woke up outside Moonhaven two years ago with amnesia."

"Oh," Nim said, tapping his chin. "Yeah, I heard about you. Y/n, right?"

I nodded. Nim started searching through the scrolls again before grabbing one and handing it to me. I unrolled it, then furrowed my eyebrows. "I can't read this."

"It's just dusty. Blow it off."

My eyes flicked to the caterpillar, then to the paper in my hand. I took a deep breath...

...and blew.

***

Two little girls were chasing each other around the meadow beside a large, older house. Their h/c and ginger hair tangled into knots as they ran, shrieking.

"I'm almost there!" The h/c lunged and tackled the ginger, who sat up with a frown.

"It's not fair!" she exclaimed. "You're too fast!"

"That's how tag works, Mary Katherine!" the other girl said with a laugh. "You just need to be faster!"

Two figures watched from the porch with smiles on their faces, arms wrapped around one another.

"She gets it from you, you know," the man told the woman.

"What?"

"Your crazy competitiveness."

The woman laughed. "Oh, be quiet." They watched their two children in silence for a few moments before the woman spoke up again. "We're doing good, aren't we?"

The man smiled as his two daughters began giggling with one another. "Yeah," he said. He rubbed his wife's shoulder. "We're doing good."

***

"Mary Katherine?" The h/c girl was older now. She knocked on the door hesitantly. "Can I come in?"

"Go away!" shouted a voice from inside the room.