The Exiled

Part 8

Haydn led the group to the library in the center of town. It was near where the dead body was that morning, but by now there was only crumbled, red-stained dirt.

The library was a nice place, made from red bricks. It had two lanterns near the doorway and a sign at the top which simply said "Library". On the inside, there were hundreds of rows of books and hundreds of columns; the library was the second largest building to king King's castle. Near the back of the building was a royal section which withheld a lot of secret information. Usually, there was a guard there. But tonight, there was not.

Haydn opens the door and immediately starts heading to the section only royals were allowed.

"Haydn, where are you going at the moment? That section is supposed to be blocked off to you." Laurence sternly murmured.

"It's fine." She shrugs. "You shan't worry about my whereabouts." The small caracal climbs a ladder that led to the very top of the rows and rows of books. She leans dangerously far over the side of the ladder before grabbing a book. "Ah! Here it is." she purrs before hopping down and opening it.

"What's that?" Rosa cooes, leaning in and trying to peek at the book cover.

"I think that book is the book of ancient weapons. It contains the several myths of the weapons used by our ancestors which contained magic-" She was interrupted by a scoff from Say. "Have you a problem, Mr. Evans?"

He nods. "You believe in magic? You are nearly an adult, Haydn."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Mr. Evans. However, this could be an extremely dangerous challenge for all of us. If it is true, which I believe it to be such, then we should address it and take action immediately. If this group of dangerous people has more so dangerous weapons, then we shan't stand by. Thank you," She finished sarcastically, with an even more sarcastic bow.

"Fine. By all means, go forth and waste our time," Say huffed, crossing his arms. At his frustrated permissions, Haydn opens the book. Laurence peered over her shoulder, and upon seeing the contents, gave a frustrated groan.

"How do you expect us to read it, O' Great Haydn? The book is entirely in Ancient Aesrilion. We abandoned that language long before any of our times." Laurence said, an icy edge to his voice.

"Oh, Laurence. Laurence, Laurence, Laurence. You assume my reading is for nothing? I learn a lot. I know a lot. And one of those things is Ancient Aesrilion." she hummed, shaking her head. "I thought you'd know me better by now."

"I thought I knew you perfectly fine." He growled, referring to the so-called incident which had happened with Haydn and Mieko. Haydn, however, simply flicked an ear and read, unbothered by his newfound hate for her.

Haydn mutters under her breath, carefully dragging her fingers against the tattered, old, and yellowed pages of the book. It made a slight scratching sound as she did so, everybody waiting in complete and expectant silence. Finally, with a slight tap, tap, tap, of her finger on a couple of words, she finds what she was looking for. "Here. It says that Malo and Thodia made these weapons near adulthood when their country was about to go into a war. They can be-" her speech was cut of by a surprised, short scream. Everybody turned, and Say Evans was on his knees. One hand clutched his chest and the other wrapped around an arrow which protruded through his chest, dripping with blood. It glistened almost perfectly, and Laurence almost found himself unable to take action. He was entranced with the gentle tap the blood made as it hit the ground below. Haydn shoved him from behind as she rushed to Say's side. She grabbed the arrow, and went to pull it out.

"No! Do not-" Rosa began- before Haydn grabbed the arrow and pulled it out. Say gagged as the blood now began pouring out of his wound freely. The arrow had been preventing it from doing such; but now that Haydn mistakenly pulled the arrow from his chest, he began bleeding out. Laurence finally jumped into action, promptly sticking his finger into one side of the wound. Now, the blood came only from the other side of Say. The arrow went clear through him. The blood had already began clotting around Laurence's finger, but Say was dying.

"What... what? What are you... Get your finger... Out of... What?" the magpie Weihr muttered, wincing in pain. Laurence worriedly mumbled to himself as he stuck the forefinger of his other hand into Say's back. It was quite the awkward position, but it prevented the bleeding. Say, however, had clouded eyes. He lied limply against Laurence's hold. Haydn was sobbing, apologizing, pacing. Rosa simply sat next to Say, brushing his hair behind his ears and whispering to him.

"It'll be all right. You will survive. I am so sorry, Evans, honey... I apologize for being so crude to you. But you will be fine, little bird." the pigeon hummed, more talking to herself than the man dying in front of her.

Say groaned something unintelligible, wincing and gurgling in pain.

"Shh, shh, shh..." Rosa murmured. "It will be fine. You are fine, my little bird." she cooed, cupping his face in her hands.

Laurence grunted uncomfortably at the strange position he was in. He was practically wrapped around Say to bring both of his fingers to block the wounds. "We need to get him to Bessie-Mae Le immediately. Somebody, go. Go!! Haydn, go get Mae!"

Haydn jolted out of her thoughts and turned to her caracal form before sprinting from the building as fast as her legs could carry her. Laurence watched her for a moment before turning back to Say. The magpie Weihr had gone completely limp, and the life seemed to be drained from him.

Rosa and Laurence both looked up when the faint sound of footsteps was heard by the door. When they both turned, there was a figure standing at the door with a bow and a quiver of arrows on their back. A green robe and a mask covered their identity, but in the shadow, Laurence could swear he saw red fluffy hair.

The same hair King's son, Prince, had.