SWNOVELS Chapter 33: Aegaea
She's spent nearly the entire day hiding in the library after yesterday's revelations. Mostly to avoid Lord Hallmar, who has been searching for her since earlier this morning. Unfortunately, she hasn't been that lucky in avoiding his precious daughter.
She had been swimming through the halls in search of the library a little earlier. She had spent a good few minutes complaining about how big the palace is and how lost she was. As she had rounded a corner, Delmara had been rounding that same corner. Luckily she had enough sense to stop before a collision could happen, and she had been expecting Delmara to continue on her way and ignore her like usual. However, that hadn't been the case this time.
She had donned an expression of mock surprise that did little to hide her contempt. "Ah, what a surprise. I did not expect to see...Rodion's younger sister today?"
She remembers grinding her teeth together, because Delmara couldn't even be bothered to remember her name. Yet her little crush on her brother allowed her to remember her relationship to him. Not that she isn't used to this by now. It's no surprise to her that her brothers' annoyingly good looks have awarded them all kinds of attention, but it's only particularly annoying when all of their interactions are interrupted by a random girl when they're out in public.
Suddenly, Delmara's voice interrupted her thoughts with an annoyed tone slipping into it. "I believe I asked you a question so I would suggest you answer it." Serena then frowned. This girl has got to be worse than Raquel...
With a resigned sigh she replied, "I am. Though I have not a clue as to why you would bother talking to me now?" She couldn't help but let slip a tone of suspicion, originating from her own knowledge of Delmara's potential plans. It could be that her father had relayed his intentions to her, and this was the beginnings of a trap to make her disappear without a fuss.
Although, that didn't seem to be the case as she then said, "I would know what you have done to earn the prince's attention." The statement had certainly caught her off guard to say the least, but she had no answer to give her. After all, she, herself, didn't know how she was awarded the prince's absolutely positive attention when she got here.
So she shrugged with something of a helpless expression upon her face. She then said, "I have no answer to that question myself. I have no idea how I even managed it." And that was the truth of it, but Delmara didn't really seem to care for the answer. Her ruby red lips twisted into something akin to a scowl as she balled a well-manicured hand into a fist.
However, that expression didn't last too much longer before she released what must've been a calming sigh. She proceeded to school her expression into something a little less temperamental, and gave the tiniest of smiles.
"I see, then I shall not hold you here any longer then." Her words were kind enough, but it didn't take Serena any inhuman hearing to take notice of the resentment in her tone. What did I ever do to her? It's not like I was purposefully trying to get his attention! Yet she didn't allow those thoughts to make themselves plain on her face, and managed to maintain a blank expression. One that had always served her well in hiding her inner most feelings.
Delmara began to continue on her own way, but just before she continued further down the hallway she added, "Before I forget..." Serena flinched as her posture became tense. Delmara continued, "My father was searching for you. He would have words with you as well." And just like that, she was gone without another word. Not that she had needed to say anything to else to scare her out of her wits even more than she was already. There wasn't a single doubt in her mind that Delmara knew of her father's intentions, if her tone was any indication. She definitely had no qualms with ushering her would-be rival into the metaphorical lions' den or, in this case, a frenzy of sharks.
Not long after that encounter, she somehow managed to find the library by the sheer grace of whatever force had been keeping her alive thus far. And it is here that she's been hiding for the duration of the day. Lord Hallmar is persistent to say the least, as he managed to arrive at her little sanctuary to question the servants cleaning the library. Thankfully, the servants' dislike for the Aquilus family kept her from being discovered. They knew full-well that she had been hiding in the library all day, yet they chose to point him in the wrong direction. He did come back a few more times, but ultimately gave up his search for the day.
It's the voice of a passing servant that serves to interrupt her thoughts with a bow of his head and a gentle voice. "Lady Serena, would you care for a cup of tea, or perhaps a sea cake to snack on?" Tea... Drinks had been strange to her when she first arrived down here. The fact that they remained in the cups without so much as rising forth from the glass completely baffled her. However, it was yet another thing that utilized the simple explanation of the use of magic. Almost every normally unexplainable thing down here is explained by way of magic. At this point she's learned not to question it, and uses it as an explanation for most things she comes across. Like her crab legs she had for dinner last night. They were still steaming and everything as though they were fresh out of a boiled pot of water.
A slight movement out of the corner of her eye serves to remind her of the servant's presence and his posed question. So she quickly says, "Oh! No thank you I am quite good." The servant offers her a soft smile before bowing his head once more and leaving her to her reading.
Her gaze turns back to the pristine pages of the book; protected by magic so as not to be damaged by the water. However, no amount of flipping pages of this book yields her any answers to her questions. The thought alone leaves her with a rather angry kind of frustration festering in her chest. Frustration over having spent most of the day searching through useless books. Patience is one of her best traits, but even this particular endeavor serves to drain it like a leech on her skin.
So she tosses the book onto a nearby table and slumps down in her seat. For a while, she mindlessly stares at the rows of bookshelves before her. Each one filled to the brim with all manner of books and scrolls. Occasionally, a few locks of hair will flow into her field of vision, but she does nothing to move them. Meanwhile, the library's keepers flit about like a swarm of hummingbirds. Each one attending to some menial task pertaining to the upkeep of every piece of written knowledge lining these shelves and covering these tables.
Thankfully for her, the area she sits in is a nice little carved out piece of the library shaped for the comfort of someone like her. Though to be honest, Rodion is almost a bit more of a bookworm than she is. She briefly remembers his first days here. Days that were spent in this library, trying to gain an understanding of this world they were thrust into. Yet, he no longer frequents it anymore. He more or less has returned to his old habits of disappearing and skulking about somewhere on his own.
Eventually she tires of the sight of books and scrolls. Instead finding the scales on her tail to be of more interest than anything else. She has yet to see another merperson with a tail like hers', effectively making her the one to stand out the most wherever she goes. The white going down the center of her tail seems ridiculously bright thanks to the amethyst purple taking up the majority of it. She continues to trace her gaze down her tail to the ruffled white fin that had only served to make swimming particularly difficult in the past. A grimace settles over her face in that moment as a brief memory of Prince Oceanus's swimming lesson pops into her head. Luckily, her brother seems to have forgotten her mention of that, given that he's not brought it up even once since he got here.
Her grimace quickly morphs to a frown as her eyes turn downcast. But it's been a month since he arrived here, and I've been down here for longer than that...
Finally, she releases a growl of frustration as she forces an angry hand through her hair. But all that does is serve to remind her of her vastly different ears as her fingers make brief contact with the fins pointing upwards. These stupid ears pretty much discourage her habit of pushing strands of hair behind her ear. A habit she wasn't too pleased about giving up. They way they are formed has completely discouraged her efforts to learn how to tuck hair behind it like Princess Arcelia occasionally does.
And as if things couldn't get any worse, a familiar voice decides to rear its ugly head within the confines of her mind. 'Someone seems to be thoroughly frustrated,' Proteus says with something of a chuckle which only results in her face morphing into a full-on scowl. But instead of answering him, she chooses to ignore him as she decides to stand up from her comfy seat to search the shelves once more. 'Ignoring me are we? How long do you think you can keep that up girl?' He taunts, clearly amused with her growing frustrations.
Her fingers run along the varying colors of the books' spines, with no clear interest in what they are. He continues to speak to her, taunt her, and demean her. Yet she says nothing to him, knowing full-well that he's searching for a reaction. A response to further entertain him and anger her. She mustn't let him goad her, and yet she laments her own poor luck. How is it that she's the one stuck hearing his volatile voice in her head with no way of blocking him out?! 'Because I find you of particular interest,' he purrs in response to her question. She swears under her breath having momentarily forgotten about his perversion of her mind. 'Perversion, you say? How hurtful your words are! Am I truly so loathsome that you feel the need to be so cruel?' He asks mockingly with a hurt tone to add to his game.
At last, she releases a huff as she ceases her browsing, and turns her focus inward. She then coldly replies, ‘Yes, if you must know. But then you already knew that. I detest you with everything that I am, and your own insistence to play these ridiculous games only adds to that fact. So, what Proteus?! What is your game here?! Surely you know of my intentions as well as what I know in regards to your little puppets?!'
Silence. Ten minutes pass, without a single sound to be heard. For a moment she believes that he has finally left her alone, but then that's just wishful thinking. For no sooner does she think that, then his detestable voice filters back into her mind. 'You play a dangerous game, little one. You do not honestly believe I will let you unravel my carefully laid plans so easily do you? Pah! Go on then, entertain me more! Your presumptuous intervention shall make for the most amusing of spectacles.' He chuckles sinisterly as she balls her right hand into a fist. 'You are nothing but a speck of sand beneath my fin. You think yourself worthy of a prince, then you are sorely mistaken. Let us see how long your little play at mer-princess lasts...' His voice trails off, and after that is silence at long last. She breathes out a sigh as she's allowed to think with a clear peace of mind at last.
It's in that moment that she notices something that she hadn't seen before. A book. Yet it's different from the rest. It possesses a strange golden glow. It's faint, but quite noticeable. She slowly reaches out her hand to touch the book. Her fingers don't even graze the spine before she feels a strange pulse of an unknown force run through her body. Though it doesn't deter her, even as she momentarily recoils because of it. She pulls the book from its place on the shelf and quickly darts back to her seat, hoping to be away from prying eyes. Then she looks over the entirety of the book for the first time. The book itself is a rich turquoise color with golden lettering appearing to be that of an unknown language. But what baffles her the most is when the letters suddenly rearrange themselves to form a title in the common language.
"The Secret Wars - The History Of Aquaria's Royal Family," she murmurs quietly as she runs a finger over the letters. She then opens the book, and just like the title, the lettering proceeds to rearrange itself. "The recounts of Lady Aegaea..."