Through Ash and Dust (ROTB)

Chapter 35

A couple days after, Saphira had Mirage keep to his offer of bringing her to a bookstore and that is where she was now. He did mentioned to her about taking the items she had been given by Optimus for Christmas to a museum, but Saphira still did not know which museum to take it to. She knew that the Museum of Natural History was not likely to be the one to take the items to, given the items were from South America. It was hard to know what part of South America the items came from, so Saphira would find another. She did wish Optimus could remember details about the truck that the items had fallen off from, but she didn't hold it against him. The museums were open now, so she would be able to take the items to any of them when she wanted to. She just still needed to figure out which museum to bring the items to.

For now, she was in a bookstore that was run by a family who love books. Saphira was thrilled to come here, as she was already going through so many books that were here. She hasn't bought any just yet, but she did intend to do so. And she has already spent a few hours in the store. When the autobots realized that Saphira was going to spend a long time in the store, they decided to go for a drive. Mostly to keep an eye on the surrounding area, even though they have not seen a single sign of Arthur the last couple days. As it should be.

Ever since having a heart to heart with Optimus...well, not a deep enough one to confess feelings...not deeper feelings anyway. But ever since the two have spoken, Saphira has taken it upon herself to make herself look more appealing. She bought beautiful hair clips for her hair, a necklace to match the ring and so on. She did not spend a huge amount of money, as she did need to save the little money she had in case she needed it for later. But she has been braiding her hair and putting the clips in, and she has been wearing the necklace a lot. When spring and summer comes around, she was likely to find dresses that would be very appealing to Optimus. Or at least, she would hope for that. But she still made an effort with the clothes she had now, even though Optimus may not notice, but she wanted to feel pretty for Optimus.

Saphira was currently reading through Moby-Dick as she had always been intrigued by the story, and she wanted to read a bit of it before buying. Luckily, none of the staff were bothering her, as they were used to people reading the books there at the store for hours. They were often reading something themselves to pass the time in the store. It was quiet, and it was comforting, and it was warm as well. The only thing missing was a hot chocolate and a cinnamon scroll.

Saphira hummed softly, turning the page to the next one to keep reading. She was very relaxed at the moment, and thoroughly enjoying her time. None of the autobots have bothered her about it yet, and she was very much okay with that. They would only ask her how much longer she was going to be and if she has found a book to buy. So it was fine of they did not bother her for the moment. Saphira did not know how many hours that have passed, but that didn't matter.

"Did you see the news this morning, Liz?" Saphira flinched as she heard an old woman's voice speaking loudly near the front of the store, and she knew it was the owner of the bookstore, Amelia, speaking to one of the workers.

"Um, I did not watch the news today, Amelia. You know it is just after twelve..." Saphira flinched and glanced at her phone, raising an eyebrow when she realized what the time was. She didn't want to eavesdrop, but the store wasn't big, and it was easy to hear anyone. "So I am surprised you are bringing up the news now."

"That's because I had to go and run errands for the shop for the last few hours, Liz. I couldn't tell you at the time." Saphira smiled a little as she heard the irritation in the woman's voice and kept her eyes on the book in front of her. "Apparently, some museum lost something just before Christmas last year." That caught her attention immediately. "I am not sure why they waited until now to reveal it, but it's been speculated that the said items that were lost have been picked up by mistake or stolen. I do think that the museum didn't notice until now that it was lost, but whatever..." Saphira hoped that she could hear which museum was supposed to receive the items, because that would help her tremendously. "Seems that the Ellis Island Museum was meant to receive tribal items from South America, and somehow, the drivers lost the items. It was seen loaded onto the truck, and it is gone. Pfft!" Saphira smiled a little as she now knew where to take the items. "Seems foolish to me!"