/22/ Is it a deal?

Trying to be conscious of her surrounding, Sania looked behind her every time she took a step, to ensure that she wasn't followed just in case she wanted to be killed by who knows who?

As they approached the end of the hallway, Sania heard the voices of little children running in the hallway from a diversion that led elsewhere in the castle.

"Children?" She wondered, it proved to her that there were more people in the castle that she has yet to meet.

"Yes, my Lady," Melissa uttered.

As soon as they approached the diversion, two kids ran out laughing, with one chasing the other with a stick. Unable to stop himself on time, one of them bumped into Sania.

"Oof!" The young boy exclaimed and looked up to see the face of the young lady who he ran into, while the other boy ran off, worried that they might get into trouble.

"Are you alright?" Sania bent over and asked him. Judging by his physiognomy, Sania assumed that he was O'Neil's son.

The boy smiled and nodded his head,

"Yes, sorry," he apologized and Sania smiled back at him. It has been a long time since she saw a child, especially since her sisters lived far off in another kingdom and had children over there.

"I'm not upset, okay?" He said to the boy who had an expression of guilt, Sania couldn't resist the urge to touch his cheek and ruffle his hair jokingly.

"Why was he chasing you?" She inquired.

"He wanted to turn me into a cat with the wand, so I ran," the boy replied and Sania chuckled, she found it so adorable that they played such a game using their imagination.

However when the boy mentioned that, Melissa interjected,

"Do not say that. Now, run along."

Without a second thought, the boy ran off in the same direction as his brother, and Sania asked why she chased him off.

"I apologize, my lady, he's a very naughty child, both of them are. Also, they aren't supposed to talk about spells and turning another into animals, they have been warned." Melissa explained as they continued to the library.

With a giggle, Sania mumbled "Oh?"

"They are probably just playing witches, kids will always be kids. Just look at them, so innocent, I hope their parents don't get them to dislike me too."

"What are their names?" She asked.

"Jim and Jeffery, my lady, they are Prince O'Neil's sons." She answered and Sania smiled at her predictions.

"The face tells it all," she said.

They both continued through the hallway until they got to the library. They found it open already which meant that someone was already inside.

"But who?" Sania wondered and contemplated whether or not to leave and return whenever the person was gone to avoid clashes.

"Probably Princess Ariel, my Lady, " Melissa answered,

"She read a lot of books in the library," she added.

For some reason Sania was excited, Ariel was the first person to have seen her privately and acted warm unlike the others. She wondered whether to take the risk and go inside to meet her again, or turn around to avoid drama.

"You may go in, My Lady," Melissa ushered, and Sania gave in.

"If she was nice to me before, what would stop her from being nice to me again?" She wondered.

Inside the library, Sania felt like she had just come alive, her love for books cannot be quantified especially since she grew up reading a lot of them. She loved them so much that her father, King Ezra, paid several writers in the Kingdom, to create new and exciting stories for her to read every month.

Now in there, Sania looked searched for a specific book that she couldn't read to the end when she was back in Cyris. She didn't take it along with her and hoped that a copy was there, although Melissa told her that she had seen a book with a similar title.

Melissa led her to the shelve where she had seen the book, while Sania tried to keep an eye out for Ariel.

"Here it is!" Melissa exclaimed with delight and showed Sania the book she took out of the shelf.

"Oh, yes," Sania uttered, indeed it was the book she needed, but just then, Ariel came from behind and said,

"I wondered who else loved to come here, never would I have guessed that it was you, Sania."

At first, Sania's heart skipped a beat before she turned around briskly to meet Ariel's charming smile.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you," Sania quickly apologized, but Ariel shook her head and laughed.

She walked towards Sania and stole a glance at the book she was holding,

"Kendrick's Clay," she mumbled,

"It's such a good book, I heard the author is from Cyris."

"Yes, I know her, she wrote a lot of my favorite books before she passed."

With an expression of surprise, Ariel replied "Oh, that's sad."

Sania wasn't sure how long Ariel was going to stay nice to her, for all she knew, it might just be pretend and she might change her attitude in a snap.

"Hey," Ariel continued,

"Since you love reading, how about we meet here from time to time? We can read books over a cup of tea, discuss about it... I must admit that it is rather boring being the only one who reads books around here."

"Plus, I'm not allowed to relate with you openly, this is the only place I can talk to you freely without being locked up for being disobedient."

"They'd do that?" Sania interjected in surprise.

"This castle is not all what it seems, the longer you stay, you'll find out."

Sania became quite relaxed, even though she couldn't trust the young princess wholely, it felt good to have someone speak to her without being abusive, and for once, that person wasn't Taffi.

"Is it a deal?" She asked Sania.

"Certain...

"Sania!" The loud voice of an angry man disrupted her. And knowing who it was, Ariel shook her head disdainfully.