Seconds in Time

Page 15

I opened the last door on the right side and found myself beyond happy. There were several shelves built up to the ceiling and full of books, old and new. There were a few chairs and a small table and stack of papers for taking notes. All the woodwork and furniture in the room looked old and used, which only made me happier.

I walked in and brushed my fingers admirably across the spines of the dusty books.

"My father had it built for you. He thought it would make you happy." Alexander said from the doorway.

I had always said that if I was kidnapped and locked up in a castle, I wouldn't be as mad if I had a huge library full of ancient books. Well, this may not be as large as I would have liked, but it was good enough. I would probably never read all the books, but I would try. Of course, this would probably mean a little more to me had it come from Alexander and not his father.

"It does." I wanted to add that it only did to an extent, but that would make me sound more difficult to please. I would like to at least start off on a relatively good foot.

"Well," He began after a moment and pushed himself off of where he was leaning against the doorframe. "There will be time for more exploring later. I expect that lunch will be ready momentarily." It wasn't until then that I realized how hungry I was and how much slower I was going to eat.

Mind you, it isn't like a cram food down my throat, but I always seem to be the first one done eating. I'm not one of those stick figure girls who don't eat anything. I really like food and often have to refrain from eating because I'm bored. I'd be fat if I didn't go through fazes of hardly eating anything. For a week or two I usually just lose my appetite.

I followed Alexander back down stairs and we silently walked through the castle again. In a way I wanted to start a conversation, but it was probably wiser to just keep my mouth shut. He didn't appear to be the kind of person that silence bothered. Being a quiet person, it usually didn't bother me either, but this was just awkward.

"Who wears jeans to meet royalty?" I heard him mumble under his breath, thinking I wouldn't hear.

"I'm not def." I snapped at him without thinking.

He glared at me and I gave him a challenging look.

We stopped just around the corner from the dining room and he looked down at me with a sense of superiority.

"Don't make a fool of yourself." Well, if this isn't going to be the most awkward lunch ever I don't know what will be.