Tales Untold

Library

Cinder sighed, sinking into the soft cushions of a plush scarlet couch. She had a book in her hand, and was prepared to spend the entire afternoon reading. She had never had time to just pleasure read before, but now that she was no longer Queen on Luna, and not yet Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth, she had a bit of spare time.

It had always been odd for her to just see people sitting around, reading for no other reason than just to read. She had never tried it, only reading important things like the news and important documentaries that nearly put her to sleep.

The Eastern Commonwealth library was ginormous, nearly three times larger than her Throne room back on Luna. It had rows upon rows of books from every time period that Cinder could imagine. Romances, fantasy, history, adventure, classics, mystery, horror. Any book you wanted, you name it and it was there.

Only one problem had presented itself as Cinder had walked through the hundreds of rows of books. She didn't know what she liked to read. She assumed that she wouldn't like romance, she wasn't a romantic person. Fantasy sounded like it could be good, but it was hard to pick one. Historical books made her want to fall asleep just thinking about them. She'd had plenty of adventure to last her a lifetime. All of the other books just blended into the mix of boring, or been there done that.

She didn't know who to ask on what books would be good, so she had just grabbed one from the fantasy section. It was more worn than almost any other book in that section, so Cinder had assumed that it had to be good if someone had worn it out that much.

Suddenly, there was a ping from her port. Cinder reached down and looked at a short message from Kai.

Where are you?

Cinder smiled, he must have got out of his meeting early. She answered back, telling him where she was. She loved living in the palace, being back home in New Beijing. It was funny, she had been born on Luna, expected to rule it even, but her true home was in the Eastern Commonwealth.

Opening the old hardcover book, Cinder began to read. The book was titled, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It looked like a children's book, but as Cinder read the first few pages, she was immediately intrigued. Who was Harry Potter? Why were the Dursley's so rude? Why were people walking around in cloaks?

Cinder began reading faster, becoming more engrossed with the book every word she read. It was almost as if the book were pulling her inside of it, taking her on an adventure with it. She could have sat there and read it all day, learning more about Harry Potter and his mysterious scar.

In fact, Cinder got so drawn into the book that she didn't even notice as Kai walked into the library, only looking up from her book when he sat next to her, wrapping his arm around her. Cinder looked up from the book, startled. Kai laughed and pulled her closer to him, kissing her temple softly. Cinder closed her book, putting in a torn piece of paper to mark her place.

Kai looked down at the book and gasped. "Harry Potter," Kai exclaimed, "is my most favorite book in the whole universe! How did you know?" Kai asked in excitement. Cinder looked down at the worn cover and smiled.

Looking back up at Kai, Cinder tilted her head. "You can read?" She asked in a mocking voice. Kai slapped a hand over his heart and made an offended face. Cinder laughed and leaned into his chest, breathing in his scent. "I didn't know this was your favorite. I've never read it before. I haven't really just read books. I just saw it and decided to read it."

"You've never read Harry Potter before?" Kai asked, sounding horrified. Cinder tilted her face towards his, looking at him and shrugged her shoulders. Kai's eyes widened in shock. "Do you enjoy sinning?" Cinder laughed, but Kai stayed serious.

Kai stood up, grabbing Cinder's hand. "Where are we go-"

"Hush," Kai said, "I am going to educate you." Cinder lifted an eyebrow, but allowed herself to be pulled back into the maze of bookshelves.

They spent hours looking through books, Kai telling her the ones that he liked, or didn't like. He seemed to have read every single book in the library, but seemed to favor the fantasy and adventure. He made a list in his port of all the books she absolutely needed to read, adding hundreds to the list.

Cinder watched as Kai told her about what seemed to be the thousandth book, his eyes lighting up. He seemed to know every character personally, having thousands of fictional friends. She loved the way he talked about the books, with so much passion and love. He was so adorable and dorky, but it made Cinder love him even more.

He looked like a child, full of such joy, as he told her about the miraculous adventure of Percy Jackson, who was the son of some kind of greek God, but Cinder was only half listening. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Kai's neck, making him pause mid-sentence.

"What?" he asked, his eyes bright and full of life. Cinder smiled and ran her fingers through his messy black hair.

"I love you," she said, grinning up at him.

Kai laughed, his eyes sparkling with joy. "I love you too," Kai said. "I love you even more than all of these books combined."

Cinder's eyes widened. "Wow, that's a lot." she whispered, looking into his copper eyes.

Kai smiled impishly. "It's true." he said, and then he leaned down and kissed her.

A smiled broke across Cinder's lips, and the two grinned into the kiss. Cinder ran her finger through Kai's hair, and Kai pulled her closer. She loved Kai, and he loved her. It was as though Cinder were living a magical fantasy, a fairytale where the charming prince falls in love with his opposite. 

After a few moments, the two broke apart, both still smiling. They stood there for a second, just looking into each other's eyes, grinning like lovestruck fools. Kai finally broke the silence, a questioning look on his face.

"So," he said, "which book are you going to read next?"