In The Shadow of Asora

5. The Librarian

Jongho was arguably terrified.

With no clue how he could have been naive enough to run into a random room and think of himself as alone in there, he stayed frozen right where he was. His eyes flickered between the boy in the bed and the window on the other side of the room.

"Who are you?"

The voice addressing Jongho was quiet and deep enough not to be considered boyish anymore. Jongho had yet to fathom why a boy lived in a room that would normally be used as a dusty archive.

Without a word, Jongho crossed the chamber. He stayed clear of the door leading to the library in case the crown prince still wandered about, and instead focused his determination on the window. He could still meet Mingi from the outside.

However, before he could reach the escape route, the white blankets rustled when the boy sat up. His earlier fear of Jongho seemed to have eased since he didn't hesitate to speak up. It was mildly alarming how unfazed he was.

"Wait! Don't go yet! I never had someone break in here before!"

Jongho couldn't help himself. He scoffed disbelievingly at those words, but he did slow down. The man had protected him just now, so he at least had the sense to listen. As crooked and broken as Zey's people were, Jongho tried to hold up some morals for himself. And that meant to pay back favours. He could not deny his intrigue with the peculiar reaction his breaking and entering had warranted.

When the man spotted Jongho falter, he cautiously crawled over to his nightstand. His eyes didn't leave Jongho's masked and hooded figure for even a second as his fingers fumbled with his lamp as if he had to make sure that Jongho didn't jump from his sight.

After a few mishaps that Jongho watched with pursed lips, a faint blue glow lit up the room. Nethicite energy cursed through the round and moon-esque lamp that the man possessed. It was a pleasant colour and bathed them in enough light to see without blinding anyone.

As soon as the oddball of a man got a closer look at Jongho, he gasped softly. Eager eyes slid up and down Jongho's apprehensive posture a few times, and each time, they seemed to get brighter. They carried a nearly child-like excitement at the prospect of having a robber inside his room, and Jongho arched a brow at him. He doubted the man even saw it under all components of his masquerade,

"You're from Zey, aren't you? That's so cool!"

Was he making fun of him? Unsure, Jongho just narrowed his eyes. In his opinion, that was enough of a threat to make the guy back down, but it seemed as if he was wired differently.

Jongho didn't expect the man to scramble across the bed and nearly get stuck in his white sleeping gown as he reached for what appeared to be a diary and a pen. With no clue what to expect, Jongho awaited his judgement.

It came with the blonde boy shifting until he sat comfortably cross-legged and looking up at Jongho expectantly. A shy smile curled around his lips.

"Do you have some time? I would like to exchange my help just now for information."

Jongho blanked for a second. He quickly collected his wits, so it didn't get awkward, but shock laced his words anyway.

"Information?"

The man nodded enthusiastically - causing his hair to flop around wildly - before sinking down between his shoulders immediately. His hand rose to scratch at his neck timidly.

"You see... I want to know about Zey, and you are from there! I won't tell anybody that you snatched a few things, so please?" A pallid blue hue illuminated the tips of his hair. The colour complimented his light skin tone and soft appearance that seemed to be a crass opposite of Jongho himself.