22 - The Stranger

They had walked down the busy streets if the city. The roads were smooth concrete with brick sidewalks. The buildings on the sides seemd very picturesque. The tall lampposts were black and adorned with autumn floral. This was her first time coming to the city. Before, her parents would go alone and she would stay at the manor with her brother.

The city would look beautiful when it had snow and people bustling around. They had arrived too early to see more people. Stores were just opening up. Fresh sweet aromas wafted towards them. Looking to the right, there was a bakery with pretty decorated cakes on display in the windows.

"Sister! Sister! Let's go in and buy some muffins!"

Anemone was about to go but the shop next door caught her eye. It was a book store. Miss Sophie's birthday was coming up and Anemone wanted to get something special for her. "You go ahead, Cayden. I'm going to that bookstore, okay?"

Cayden made a face. "Sister, I want you to come with me. We can go there later."

Anemone brushed him off. "Just go, Cayden. Meet me after you're done." Not waiting for a response, she hurried into the book store. As she opened the door, she heard bells tinkle. Looking up, she saw there were gold bells attached to the door. The door closed behind her guard.

Anemone moved towards the bookshelves. She wondered what kind of book to get for her teacher. There were new books and old books lined together. As she went deeper into the store, she noticed only old books. There was a shelf filled with old history books. Her hand reached for one with a pale red spine.

When she touched the spine, her eyes caught a blue light on the side. Turning, she saw there was a boy deeply immersed in a book. He had shoulder length black hair and his hands seemed really white under the lighting. His clothes were all black but tight fitting. His bangs covered the left side of his face that was towards her.

A strand of his hair had a blue bead tied in. The sun from the window had danced on the glass bead, emitting myriads of blue. She held the book and turned to study him. His presence seemed to be part of the background, so still he was. She didn't know how she didn't sense him there.

When he finally turned a page, he must've realized she was watching as he finally turned his gaze to her. She was shocked. His eyes were the brilliant blue she had seen her fairy prince had. They were darker now in the lighting but it was really similar. His lower face was covered with a black scarf.

"Sister? Why are you over here?"

Startled, she turned to see Cayden. "I..." She turned back to look at the boy but saw he was gone. Looking around, there was no sign when he left or where he walked to. "Cayden, did you see anyone there?" she asked, confused.

Cayden looked and shooked his head. "Who did you see?" Anemone sighed and pushed him away. She walked back to the front but realized her guard wasn't around.

"Where's Calla?"

Cayden gave her a weird look. "She was looking for you. Someone had bumped into her and dropped all the books. She had to stop and pick them up. She called out to you but you didn't respond. When I got here, she pointed to where you went. Sister, you can't leave your guard like that."

Anemone frowned at his words. How did Calla get waylaid?