The Librarians And The Caretaker's Prophecy

Confrontations

"Colonel, I must protest this treatment strongly! Lady de Winter is no threat to you or the library. Having Mr stone interrogate her and treat her like some common criminal is moronic and insulting!"

"Jenkins, you know it's not. Why is someone so young trying to date someone your age? In fact, why is she here in the first place? She's playing on your feelings, trying to manipulate you."

"Colonel, please..." he watched as she circled him. He felt the twitch in his right hand, "This is preposterous. Just let me see her."

"No, Jenkins. It's my job to protect this library and it's occupants and I'll do that, even when it's against your own blindness and stupidity."

"Oh for god's sake..." he walked past the colonel and hunted through the drawers of his desk. "Here." The caretaker slammed a huge tome on the desk and began to flip through pages until he landed on the chapter required.

"The Knights of Winter?"

"Read further."

"Lady Maria Lelianna De Winter, daughter of Aurelius De Winter, lord paramount of the east and sword of the night, and Lysandra von Winterfeld, first daughter of the noble house of Winterfeld of Eastern Prussia. Married to Maxim La Fayette."

Jenkins hummed, his eyes brought up the page to the heraldry of the knights of winter; a pack of wolves beneath the stars of Orion's nebula.

"How do we know she's not some deranged woman with a fascination for history and magic?"

"We are the same age, Colonel Baird!" He snapped, loosening his ascot slightly. "She is an immortal." The caretaker flipped through the book, skimming past the pages on Ser Galahad and ending up at the house of La Fayette. "Here."

Eve's hands traced over the image in front of her. There was the woman. She was much fitter, her hourglass form covered by a black and gold dress and her hair long and curled, as she stood next to a dark haired gentleman whose face had been obscured over the centuries. The man's hands sat upon the woman's shoulders. Beneath, it read: Maxim La Fayette, Lord paramount of the South... and his lady wife, Maria La Fayette.

"Why is this blacked out?"

"These books are very rare, this was obtained from Canterbury cathedral in the 1700s by the librarian at the time. I'm sure one of the monks must have been forced to scratch out such...slander, by their former lord."

"Wait. He's immortal as well?"

"Oh yes, in the library, we had the hall of ancestors that helped us keep track of the immortals. His portrait was still in perfect condition the last I saw."

"So, we find him and reunite him with his wife?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Jenkins, you cannot keep her to yourself, no matter your feelings."

"He was a nasty piece of work, even for that time. He would..."

"Maxim would put down any slight against his name with absolute ruthlessness, be it a peasant telling a joke about their liege lord or his wife questioning his actions." They looked up to see Maria stood with Stone and Ezekiel, the necklace settled against her collarbone once more. "He studied dark magic, eventually finding a way to secure his legacy forever. Immortality. All he had to do was pay a small price."

"What price?"

"A ceremony. Once every 25 years." Maria nodded, staring down at her hands. "I have spent centuries trying to make up for it. Hoping he would stop. I... I tried to talk him out of it but... well, Cassie has seen the punishment for trying to change my husband's mind." She gave a sad smile to the little librarian and turned away to hide the tears that burnt her skin. Jenkins moved to her and wiped the tears from her cheeks, kissing the crown of her head as he embraced the much smaller lady.