The Book Keeper

The Apprentice

Sunlight streamed through the high windows of the old royal library making everything from the old parchments to the gleaming books look alive but claira already knew that because at times she had heard them whispering to each other and to her though, the whispering would often die out like a midsummer's breeze she never felt truly alone inside the library.

"Girl! The masters of medicine have sent for the salutem volumes 1 to 5" Master's old raspy voice called out to her "delivering!" She hollered in response and set towards the medicine section of the royal library, grabbed a ladder and carefully maneuvered to the top most shelves holding her red skirt all the while. Navigating through books was not a difficult task since she was an apprentice book keeper for the royal library for two years now quickly traced the dusty spines and took out five bulky volumes and held them close to her chest as she descended carefully "Girl! Where are the books?" Master hollered again as soon as claira's feet touched the carpeted floor she rushed out to the left wing where master was standing with Nel the greasy haired servant assigned to the Masters of Medicine. Nel was weedy and tall, Claira wondered if he would be able to handle the books. Surprisingly he did and sneered at her "you better pick up your pace book keeper I won't wait so long the next time." "I will pick up my pace the day you wash your hair Nel." Claira smiled sweetly at his disgruntled face.

"You shouldn't pick up fights with these servants; they can harm your job." Master Ezra said though he wasn't completely friendly with them either. "How can they be a threat to my job? Especially that idiot Nell, he thinks of himself as some kind o-" The look on master's face enough to shut her chattering. "The books in the east wing are gathering dust especially the ones about war maneuvers. Those are extremely precious and with this ever raging war the King or his General might call for them anytime. Go tend to them." Master said and started reading a piece of parchment.

The old man kept ordering her about cleaning the shelves and dusting the books all the time. Claira didn't mind because she loved the books as much he did and cared for them a lot, however you could never be entirely sure about the dust in the vast royal library. She came to a sudden halt behind an enormous bookcase in the politics section and listened carefully, there was something behind that very shelf and another shuffling noise sent her mind wandering in many directions. The books did whisper but they never sounded that stupid, maybe there was a stupid book or maybe she realized with horror it was a mouse or worse a palace cat, a cat shuffling around her precious books. Her grip tightened around the duster as she quietly crept towards the cat. Royal or common no cat was going to ruin her books. Even with all the windows there was never enough light in the library.

The shuffling had stopped and there was complete silence but Claira knew where the cat was she quietly struck with her duster only to find nothing but thin air .The cat had gotten away but one day it was going to pay for sneaking in and trying to ruin the books. Claira turned to go to the war section when suddenly she slammed into a wall of flesh and cloth and staggered back "You!" she exclaimed stabbing the blond boy with her duster "You are the cat!" Cats were bad but people were worse and this particular tall and blond boy looked like he could damage a lot of books with his ragged look and burning blue eyes. "Excuse me? Did you just call me a cat? I often get comments about my striking good looks but none of them are related to cats." He said looking bewildered "I will call you a crow if I have to. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Claira demanded. "My name fair maiden, is Wyl and I'm doing what people do in libraries, I'm searching for a book like I usually do."He replied nonchalantly. Claira's cheeks flared and her grip on the duster tightened "Look here Wyl, cat, crow or whatever name you like for yourself, this is the Royal Library and It is open only for aristocrats , nobles, the masters and members of the royal family and you don't look like you come under any of those categories . So, feel lucky for yourself that I haven't called for the guards or my Master and get going before I do." Claira said to him and turned on her heel to leave for the War section.

Reaching the section she groaned because the first two bookcases were full of dust and she was under the impression that the maids had cleaned them, sighing she started dusting the books and got a considerable amount of it in her hair and on her dress. Coughing she proceeded to the next bookcase. "That is some dust .You must really love books to go through this ordeal every day." Wyl was leaning on a nearby bookcase eyeing her and the dusty bookcase with great distaste. "What are you doing here? I think I made myself clear you're not welcome here." Claira said with her hands on her hips, there was no way she was going to fall for his tricks he probably already had stolen something. " I wanted to talk with you and I still haven't found the book I'm looking for . Please let me stay I just wanted to ask you some questions." He really looked desperate. "Fine, you can ask me questions but I can't get you the book, it's restricted and I don't want to lose my job." Claira said knocking her head to the right and picking up a stack of books which were supposed to be in the history section. She paused at some length and looked back at Wyl who was standing in a pool of receding sunlight looking at her form like an idiot "Well, aren't you coming ?" she asked him . He crossed the distance between in few long strides and joined her walking towards the south wing "So , you're an apprentice and you have a sister is that correct ?" Claira looked up at him with suspicion "How do you know about Cora?" Cora was her twin sister though they hardly looked alike and was an apprentice to a potter she decorated most of his work with her beautiful strokes. "Your sister looks like you and I just you know got reminded of her when I saw you today. Anyway you said that these books are only for the aristocrats and the other crowd, so I'm guessing that you've never read any of these them and you still love them?" he had asked her a difficult question "Yes I've never read any of these books and yes I love them because they are books and it does not matter whom they belong to and I would love to read these books but I have to do with whatever I have at home."She answered shrugging "Is that all of your questions because I need to leave now."

Claira said noticing the rapidly receding sunlight " Yes that will be all, thank you very much ." Wyl answered gracefully "And what do you do? Are you an apprentice or just a street urchin?" She asked him, looking right in his sky blue eyes . He seemed to have run out of words "I'm what you think I am." He said as grandly as a prince "what's your real name?" Claira asked him this boy had got his answers and she was going to get hers. He looked more confused and out of words and even scared. Was he an outlaw? She couldn't know because she never paid attention to those wanted posters. "Why do you want know?" Good question, why did she want to know? "So that I can tell the palace guards to not let a blond, arrogant street urchin named Wyl in ." Claira proudly announced her intentions to thin air and an uncharacteristically cold silence "Wyl? Master? Anyone? Where is everyone?" Her voice echoed in the empty library. Claira turned on her heel only to crash into another person and staring right in her luminous green eyes "your destiny lies in the beyond and within." The woman said in a creepy voice that echoed loudly and then there was a sudden gust of wind which blew everything around Claira's red skirt , her black hair , the woman's white hair, stray bits of parchment, the heavy curtains and more hair.

Claira stood stunned as she tried to fix her ruined braid , a second before there was a woman , her voice still echoed in Claira's mind  and now there was nothing but thin air in her place" What are you doing ? And what happened to your hair, Girl?" Master appeared from behind a bookcase . " Nothing , just wind." She answered quietly " I think I will leave now master it's getting late , you know mother gets worried and I don't want to miss Kal's wagon ." She said and went to gather her cloak .

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