The Castle of Cursed Hearts: Realm of Shadows and Pain Series

Chapter 9

The next day, when I woke up, I took a long shower. I put on a yellow sundress that almost touched the floor and put on some light make-up. 

I decided to skip breakfast and I began my search for Azriel. I needed him to help me in the library. 

"Azriel! Are you near?" I called out in the castle halls. 

I spent a few minutes just yelling for him, only stopping when my throat felt tired. Which was a lot. I sighed as I stopped walking. This was tiring work.

I began to walk again, calling for Azriel once more but when I turned a corner, I ran into a wall. 

My eyes instinctively closed, and my nose was squished. "Ow." I said as I stepped away from the wall and rubbed my nose. "You're looking for Azriel?" I froze at the voice. I've heard all of their voices enough that I knew each without having to look at them. "Riddler." I said as I took another step back and opened my eyes. 

That was the wall I ran into. I rubbed my poor nose before taking in Riddler's appearance. He looked tired. Bags hung under his eyes and the normally bright rustic color in his eyes was dimmed. His hair, which was normally already messy since it was slightly curly, was an even bigger mess. "Long night?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. 

He nodded once before we stood in silence. "Do you need anything?" I asked finally. He tilted his head. "I had asked you a question." My brows furrowed as I tried to think back. 

When he saw my confused expression, he sighed softly. "I had asked if you were looking for Azriel." I nodded. "Ouh, yes. I was hoping he could help me with something in the library." 

Something flashed in his eyes as he slightly perked up. "You've found the library?" He asked. I twisted my fingers together. "Was I not supposed to?" His eyebrows pulled down. "You're allowed to wander the castle however you wish; I'm simply surprised you've found interest in the library at all." 

"Ouh." I said softly. 

More silence.

"Is it something I could help you with?" He asked. 

"I'd prefer if Azriel helped me, but if we can't help him, I suppose you'd be able to help." I found myself slowly saying. What was I saying? I didn't want his help but the hopeful light that entered my eyes stopped me from taking back my statement. "Well, let's go look for my brother then." 

Brother? I thought only Rimuru and Sirius were brothers. "They are, but we acknowledge the 5 of us as brothers, even if it's not by blood." Riddler explained. I winced. I must've said that out loud then. "I see. Thank you for explaining that to me. I was a little confused." He dipped his head and we fell into a weird silence that neither of use wanted to fill. 

What would we say to each other? We never talked at dinner or in the halls when we passed each other. It was rare if I got a nod of acknowledgement. Today was the first conversation we've had since I walked away from him my second night here. 

It was hard to believe that he said he'd try to be better at communicating with me on day two when we didn't know each other and I feel like that's something you say to your partner, maybe a friend, not a stranger. 

Riddler held the large library oak doors open for me and allowed me to walk in before falling into step behind me. I breathed in the smell of the library, just taking a second to stand among the books. "So, what can I help you with, Calista?" I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. He was right next to me when a second ago he was behind me. 

He was close enough that I could smell him. He smelled good. Reminded me of a bakery smell but not in a bad way. My throat felt dry and I had to take a step away from him to speak properly. "Uhm, well. As you know, I'm trying to find a way to break your curse-" Riddler interrupted me. "I did not know that." 

I blinked once. Twice. I intertwined my fingers together and twisted them nervously. "Well, I have been, but I can't seem to find the correct books to further my knowledge and better help you four."

He nodded slowly while closing his eyes. "I do believe I know a few books that could help you. I never thought to try the library to look for answers." I resisted the urge to scrunch my nose because who wouldn't want to try a place that's filled with knowledge. Instead, I nodded and looked towards the towers of books. 

Knowing the books is one thing, finding them? That's a whole different story. 

This might take a while..

                                                                              ~*~

A while was a misunderstanding. A while might be the entire morning, bleeding into the afternoon. 

By the time Riddler found about half a dozen of books, the sun was setting. I did find out that they days here dragged on longer than above though, that was a upside I suppose. 

He placed the dusty books on a table we managed to find, and we both plopped down with a sigh. "I forgot how big the library was." Riddler said as he ran his fingers through his hair and picked up the first book in our small pile. I grabbed the second.

I pushed a notebook and pen toward Riddler. Empty. He raised an eyebrow at me when he saw that there was nothing written. "What's this for?" He asked, palming the pages. I scratched my head despite it not being itchy in the slightest. "Well, I write notes down, anything I might find to be important, interesting, anything I should go back too, or any questions that I hope to have answered in another book. I was thinking maybe you'll write down some notes and we can compare them?" 

He looked down at the notebook for a heartbeat or so before meeting my gaze. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll gladly take some notes." 

I blinked, wondering if this was some sort of trick. Surely not. It made me... Happy.

I smiled before opening my book and inhaling a lung full of dust. I sneezed and rubbed my nose then wiped the book down to get rid of anymore dust that had been collecting. I didn't comment on the fact that Riddler didn't say anything following my sneeze, I just turned the page and started the long journey of reading.