Secrets - The secrets that protect us

Chapter 52

Lucas

Lucas was certain that he knew no other person that could be so curious, so easily excited as Luna. He watched her as she was entirely engrossed in a book that looked older than his great great great grandfather. The leather binding was thick and brown, the pages yellow. Luna's fingers gently skimmed the pages as if they could break if she was too rough.

Last night, they had only eaten and went to the hotel he had booked for the two of them. Luna had fallen asleep quickly, not able to stay up any longer. Her body wanted the rest and he understood.

The fight with Malcolm was only two weeks ago and while most of her wounds have healed good, she still had some bruises and they would need another week to heal. The marks on her hands were gone thanks to Caleb who took care of them. Besides that, the lack of sleep had finally shown and taken over.

Luna had laid in his arms while he watched her and stayed awake for at least another hour. His mind had been full of thoughts and questions. They had found nothing and he was starting to set up assumptions.

His father didn't love his mum, so why marry her? Why did he abuse her? Was it just his nature? Did he abuse his stepmother too and he didn't know of that? Couldn't be. Those two were so happy together. Inseparable and so in love.

Was she the reason? His step mother? Did his father have an affair and had to get rid of his mum? If he loved his stepmother all along, why not marry her right away? Why marry his mum? How did they even meet? His father never told him how he met his mum. Or his stepmother.

At some point, he even questioned whether Asher was really his stepbrother, and not his half brother. But he had thrown that thought away quickly. His father was no good man, but he was an honest man and he would not do such a thing. Asher was his stepmother's son who was brought into the marriage like Lucas was.

It had taken an hour before his mind started to rest and he fell asleep too.
This morning they had woken up early and though they wanted to get up early too, it had not happened. They had rather stayed beneath the blankets, in each other's arms. It was mostly him who didn't want to pull away from her, from the warmth and security he felt with her close. That and he wanted kisses. Her soft lips on his skin felt to good to let go.

They had gotten to the National Archives at eleven a.m. and ever since Luna had been picking one book, one document after the other. Not that he didn't help, he did, but Luna was faster than him. She had been the first time they've been reading legends too. It was as if her mind switched into an analytic mode, knowing exactly what to look for.

She probably did considering her general interest in them and that she studied it.
Luna put the book back and scanned the book shelve, her eyes stopped on a book up high.
"Can you give me that one?" she pointed at a fat book with a red leather binding at the top of the shelve. He stepped behind her and reached for it, easily taking it down. It was heavy, the binding had an odd and kind of dusty texture.

He set it on the reading desk and stepped aside for her to open and skim the pages. Their eyes flew over them, getting a glimpse on the thousands of stories.

"What about this one." Lucas stopped on a page that told the story of a beauty, the daughter of a merchant, becoming mistress to a beast. She returns home with his permission and her sisters attempt to make her stay longer to anger the beast and have him kill her. The beauty returns almost dying, but she survives and they live happily ever after.

"That is actually Beautmount's version of 'La Belle et La Bête' it's a french tale," Luna told him in perfect french. He learned that language too, was quite good at it.
"Beauty and the beast. Jackson told the story to me once," he replied.