We The Kings: Book Two

Chapter 10

King Zander Bray. Lafayette King. Charged with acts of cowardice and abusing his subjects. Bring Directly to the Vendov King or King of the Mullis Islands for proper punishment. Large reward to whoever finds him. Bring him, alive or dead.

I looked farther down on the post. There was another poster of me. It was a poor drawing.

Faceless Hero. Award for saving Duke Harmlet's daughters from traderous bandits. Govornor Harmlet offers award to him for his courage. Report to his guards and give the reason the Faceless Hero covered his face.

It was almost laughable I was to be rewarded and punished. That I was charged with cowardice and praised for courage. Both pictures were inaccurately drawn. My nose was larger in the drawing of the king, and I looked significantly younger.  The Faceless Hero drawing concealed most of my face, and had my hair much darker than it was. I presumed the girls gave the best description of me they could, despite it being dark and my face mostly covered.

The post was filled with many wanted posters, many who were considered Lafayette traitors. Mavis fortunately was not depicted on the wall. I had a sense of relief that no one was actively hunting for her or her family.

That was my last stop before finally making it into the city. It wasn't the capitol city, but it was large. People were bussling every which way. There were more wooden posts with my face on it. I had to be careful.

It was mid day when I arrived. The sun was hot and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. In the city there were several statues of the Vendov king, and the kings before him. Black and gold banners draped down off buildings. The banners used to have a fox on them outlined in gold. It was no longer a fox. It was a dragon.

There was a fee to tie my horse up. I did so, and began to walk the rest of the way. I kept my head down and my cloak up. I took a deep breath. I was on the doorstep of my enemy. The library was found on the west end of town. It was round and tall, and matched most of the building's colors. Black and gold dragon banners draped above the staircase. I entered through the front door.

Inside the library was dark. The light shined through from the dome roof. The inside wasn't gold and black like the outside, but deep browns. The book shelves were tall and reached the celing. In the center, a statue. It was of a woman.

The library was dusty, and there appeared to me no one else there. But a man. He was stepping on a wooden block, stuffing thick books onto a shelf. He was dressed modestly.

"Oh, hello. Sorry, I didn't see you." He stepped of the wooden step and approached me.

His hair was dark and curly. He had olive skin and soft brown eyes. He appeared to be around my age. I kept my head down.

"Hello." I said deeply.

"Don't be afraid, come in. I know the place is a little dusty, but don't mind that." He said, blowing off dust on a book.

I stepped in, keeping my head down.

"Can I help you?" He asked, stepping onto the ground.

"I'm just here to read."

"We have plenty of books for that. More books than I can think anyone can read in their lifetime. Except my father, he claims he's read every book in here, but I don't believe that for even a second. Sir, can you remove your cloak? I can't imagine you'll be able to read with your head down so low." He spoke quickly, but his voice was soft.

I reluctantly pulled down my hood and looked up at him. I attempted not to make eye contact but he was compelling to look at. He was very handsome. His eyes so soft.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Lee."

"I'm Carlo. I'm the book keeper. I watch over the library. Well, it's my dad's job. But he assigned it to me since he's been busy lately."

"Fasanating." I replied.

"Yeah, we haven't found the best way to organize these books yet. That would be a bit of a process, so I can help you find whatever you're looking for."

"You don't have them in a certain order?"

For being the greatest library in the world, it was surely a mess.

"There's so many books it would take years. So whatever you need, I'm here for."

"It's fine. I'll find them myself."

I pushed past him and walked away. I kept my head down. I appreciated whoever drew my wanted poster so poorly to the point where it's hard to recognize me.

"I'm sorry sir, but the library rules are posted by the door. I am the only one authorized to use the ladders to get to the top shelves. It's a safety precaution. So I have to get those books for you. And because of our poor organization you don't know what books are on the top shelves. Therefore you are stuck with me, sir." He smiled.

"Fine. I'm going to be here for a while."

"That's perfectly fine. No one ever comes just to read anymore."

I sat at one of the wooden tables that were scattered throughout the library.

"What are you looking for?" Carlo asked.

"Books about mythical creatures. All the ones you have."

"All of them? Are you sure?" He questioned.

"Did I hesistate?"

"Of course. I'll get all of them."

He was cute, but I needed distance from him if I was ever going to be able to find what I was looking for. He still was a Vendov citizen, and would report me if he found out my identity.

About five minutes later he carried a heavy stack of thirteen books. He dropped the stack onto the table. Dust flew off them on impact.

"Here are a few. Let me go get more."

"This is a few?"

"Why yes, are you sure you want all of them?" He retorted back to me.

"Yes. I didn't come to the grandest library in the world for nothing."