Children of the Citadel

chapter 7

I couldn't sit still in the bedroom. When I wasn't pacing, lost in thought, I spent the time staring out of the window. Once in a while, someone I didn't recognize would cross the courtyard in a hurry. Was part of that book missing? What was the meaning of those parts that I couldn't read? Why intentionally mislead readers to believe that there had only been fourteen generations of Priestesses?

Or worse, why mislead followers of The Messiah to believe that there had been hundreds?

The latter was far more difficult to ponder. The tradition of selecting a Priestess must have come around much later than someone cared to admit. That was the most logical explanation. Perhaps in that interim, some other method of communication with The Messiah was utilized that was less effective, or maybe even shameful.

I would discuss it with Sapphira. Had she known this, and never mentioned it to anyone? Perhaps she thought it was best left alone, or perhaps she felt it was her secret to keep, part of her duty as the Elder of the Archive.

I finally turned away from the window. Sitting here, in this barren room, was pointless. I'd do what I had always done when I had a question and no answer - go to the library.

Miraculously, I successfully retraced the steps I had taken earlier with Valenia. Truthfully, though, it was relatively close.

The library was utterly silent, save for the weak crackling of a dwindling fire in the hearth. There wasn't even a librarian. Valenia had mentioned that they needed help in the library. Maybe I could lend my services, since I was to live here and all - for the time being, at least. I hadn't even considered the likelihood that Guinevere might eventually become comfortable enough here with Rhidian that she'd decide it was time for me to return to the Citadel.

I hadn't had much time to truly investigate when Valenia and I had come through the library earlier, so I took my time when I arrived. Taking slow, silent steps through each aisle, I deduced that the library was divided into four sections - history, academics and science, fiction, and classics. Classics seemed a sort of combination of the three: famous fables, religious texts, theatrical scripts - that sort of thing.

Once satisfied that I'd familiarized myself with what the library had to offer, I returned to the history section. Everything was named similarly, most individual volumes or sets titled some variation of History of Illamore. A series of atlases claimed my attention. It required both arms to carry the three massive volumes, so I brought them to one of the tables in the corner and set them down before returning to the same shelves. On my way, I lit more of the candles in the area using the meager flame in the hearth. A warm, bright glow soon enveloped my little corner of the place.

I grabbed books about Messivita. I grabbed an entire series regarding the history of humanity in Illamore. I even visited the classics section and picked up several booklets of Messianic sermon transcripts from past decades.

Time passed quickly as I read. I soon found myself feeding the fire from a nearby supply of logs as the sun began to sink below the horizon and the temperature outside dropped. The surplus of windows certainly knew how to let the warm out.

I even snuck down to the kitchen at one point, hoping to find Valenia there again. No such luck. It was empty, most of the servants either retired to their living spaces or returned to their family homes, so I snooped in the cupboards and found myself a bread roll.

It was on my return trip back to the library when things got... unusual. I had reached the first floor, and could see the glowing light from the library emanating into the hallway maybe fifty paces away. There was nobody around. At least, not within earshot.

That's what I thought, anyway, till I heard the creak of a floorboard. I heard no footsteps accompanying it, but it was unmistakable.

I turned my torso to look behind me. No one. "What the hell," I muttered to myself.