Forbidden || Technoblade x fem!reader

2. Between The Pages

      Princess (Y/N) ascended the grand staircase, her mind lingering on the breakfast she had just shared with her parents, her fingers tracing the architecture of the railings as her feet stepped up each stair with each step giving a tap, echoing through the stair case. The lack of emotional connection weighs heavily on her, the longing for some more connection. She wishes she could escape the confines of her royal duties, her mind wanders. She reaches the top of the stairs and made her way to the castle library door, opening it, where she had agreed to meet Clara to help her study, hopefully to take her mind off everything else.

      The library dimly lit, with most of the light coming from a grand Victorian window that stretches from floor to ceiling. Candle-lit lanterns, tended to daily by castle workers like Clara, provided additional light, their flames flickering softly against the wall creating shadow. The shelves packed with books of various ages and genres, some as old as the castle itself, others as new as last week. A coat of dust lay over the older books, their spines a rainbow of faded colors.

      As (Y/N) enters, Clara looks up from her seat from the book she read off the large wooden table. "Glad you could make it." she greets with a warm smile.

      "Wouldn't miss it for the world." (Y/N) replies, returning the smile. "How was breakfast with your parents?" Clara asks, her tone gentle, her eyes going back down to the book in front of her, fingers turning a few pages further in as if she was looking for something.

      "It could have been better, you know," (Y/N) admits, pulling the chair next to Clara to sit in. "They seemed more invested in their own matters than in engaging with me, as usual."

      Clara's expression softens with sympathy. "Ah," she took her eyes off the pages and back to (Y/N), "I'm sorry. I wish they weren't that way towards you. They've never been the same since the day you looked over the wall."

      (Y/N) nods, grateful for Clara's understanding and input. "They are just so...blunt now. But let's not dwell on it. We have studying to do, and I want to help you with your history test."

      Clara agrees, and they turn their attention to the task at hand. Clara explains that she was studying for an extended education test to qualify for a higher position in the castle, specifically in history affairs to assist with royal matters. The topic is the Great War of Valoriah and Luminara, two kingdoms to the east of Lythoria.

      (Y/N) feels a spark of excitement. She looked over Clara's notes and the book she had been studying. "Let's see if we can find more information in the older history books," (Y/N) suggests, standing up and heading toward the shelf.

      She began to search the shelves, her fingers brushing over the dusty spines. (Y/N) spotted a promising book on a higher shelf and began dragging a small cushioned stool over to reach it. Standing on her tiptoes atop the chair, she carefully pulls the book from the shelf. But as she did, the tightly packed books beside it came tumbling down, crashing to the floor, all around (Y/N).

      Clara jumped at the noise. "Are you okay?" she asked, rushing over.

      (Y/N) nodded, sneezing from the dust. "I'm fine, just a bit startled." (Y/N) wiping her face with the back of her arm onto her dress sleeve.

      As she got up, and bent down to pick up the fallen books, she notices one of them had opened, and a folded paper lay a few feet away. Curiosity piqued, she reaches for the paper. Her eyes widen as she saw it was a map of Lythoria on the visible part of the paper, dated over a hundred years ago. The map shows the kingdom as it was before the border wall was built.

      Her fingers rub along the crease of the paper just where the boarder would be, opening the paper to get the full view. Her eyes carefully going north, reaching the woods of where todays wall, through the woods and beyond that wall and dense forest, was a kingdom she had never heard of: "Artymidian" it read.