The Dreamworld

Chapter 13-Family Dinners with Childhood Friends

The days went by and Ashlyn adjusted to her life as a librarian. Ever since that awkward night that ended up waking up with a broken nose, Ashlyn hadn't seen much of Granger. Any time she would catch even the slightest glimpse of Granger, he would end up running the opposite way without a word much to Ashlyn's frustration.

Granger had only seen Ashlyn once in the week since they spent the night together. The one time he did try to speak to her was to return the notebook at the library that she had left at his apartment. He had translated more pages for her and made more progress on it in the couple of hours he had it compared to what she had accomplished in two weeks. She had been stuck on a translation and Calian refused to help translate his own writing despite how often they ended up hanging out together.

Ashlyn didn't particularly care to be around Calian so much, but it was for Sven's sake. He adored her and wanted to spend all his time with her when she wasn't working. The kid had been making great progress with his English and was able to hold simple conversations with her now.

She spent her time hanging with Kailee and Hannah some too, but both of them had their hands full dealing with a surprising number of increase in residents. The Queen still hadn't made contact with her since she had been forced back into a coma and she would rather not have to face that lady again. She terrified Ashlyn.

In the two weeks of adjusting to working as a librarian, Ashlyn discovered that the city did have its own version of a Starbucks inside its skyscraper of a mall. She ended up stumbling across it on one of her many outings with Calian and Sven. Now, the three frequented the place every morning before work so Ashlyn could get her caffeine fill. Calian kept insisting for Ashlyn to move across the city to his home for Sven's sake. She refused to live under the same roof as that platinum-haired perv. Once Sven could speak English fluently, she planned on moving him over to her apartment before Calian could corrupt the poor kid further.

It was easy to fall into a routine in the Dreamworld now that Ashlyn was used to the swing of things. Her days were predictable with work, Sven, and coffee. Oh, and an annoying perv named Calian. She wished she could see more of Granger, but he continued to avoid her no matter how much she tried to flag him down.

Ashlyn was pretty sure it was Friday, but the days all blended together after a while at work. Dusk had begun to set in, the sun giving the sky a hazy red glow across the horizon as it set in the sky signifying that Ashlyn's shift was coming to a close. She always found the way the light shone through the cathedral-like windows beautiful illuminating the whole library in a kaleidoscope of colors.

She only had to finish reshelving a few more books before she could lock up for the night and head on home. Calian would be meeting her shortly with Sven in tow to cook her dinner. He always cooked for her. That was the only thing that pervert was good for. Beef-stew was on the menu tonight. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of his cooking.

The giant wooden doors of the library creaked open, a platinum-haired blonde running, his tiny arms engulfing Ashlyn in a hug around her waist. Like clockwork, the city's bell could be heard ringing six times outside marking his arrival.

"Sven!" Ashlyn smiled as she ruffled his hair.

"Ashlyn, I walk du hjem!"

Ashlyn chuckled at his attempt to speak English. He had a tendency to merge the two languages when he was excited. She glanced up to see Calian had walked into the room with someone else. Her eyes traveled over to the sandy brunette haired boy, his puppy dog brown eyes looking around at the cathedral-like windows in the library in awe. The books she held in her hands slipped from her grip, clattering to the ground with a loud thud.