A Step Forward (1)

Lia and Tamara ate their breakfast in silence, each consumed by their own thoughts. While Lia didn't know what goes through the mind of her mother, her own was reeling from the events of last night.

After eating, she found herself browsing through the bookshelves again. She wanted to take a walk outside and clear her head, but she feared that would make Tamara furious. And, well, the thought that those goons might still be lurking around made her shudder. Their little library seemed like a safer alternative, albeit too small for walking around.

Tamara usually comes into the workroom after lunch so Lia beat her to it and enjoyed the feeling of having the room all to herself. This part of the house was where Tamara makes her concoctions and experiments. But for Lia, she loved calling this place as the mini library with its bookshelves and different assortments of books placed on the other side of the work table. No new books yet, though. She slid her index finger along the spines of the books, not really looking through them and just letting her mind drift.

The beggar, the goons, and Tamara -- those were the people that bothered Lia. The beggar, she could put them off at a later thinking time. The goons -- they were probably gone, but what they said still stuck to her. That brought her to Tamara and how affected she was about those words. Lia glanced again at the bookshelves. Could she have missed something while reading the novel?

There were some historical books on the shelves that seemed to come from another country judging on the description of its people and culture, something you would not normally have or need. Was this supposed to be Tamara's birth country?

In the novel, Lia had no interest to know about her adopted mother despite having been saved by the older woman. And obviously, fighting the witch was just one part of the male lead's many fights so Tamara was shoved aside and glossed over. Lia regretted not reading the novel until the end. What if there was more danger coming and the novel Lia's involvement was just the start of a scheme? What if there was a revelation in the end that she was not able to read before she died?

She glanced at the other bookshelf and started looking around earnestly. Any information about this world was good. Not too long in her search, she found some books with handwritten notes on the side and notebooks. Excitement ran through her, tingling through her fingers as she opened the book. This must be it! But her excitement slowly dwindled with each turn of a page. Soon, they all become boring notes and drawings of plants.

Lia thought there would be incantations, symbols, and circles or just anything related to witchcraft. But, as it turned out, these resembled more science books she had in school. Pretty advanced for a far-flung town. This could not be notes of a witch, could it? What if, and that was a big if, Tamara was one of those noble ladies in the novel who was thrown out of the family because of a secret lover?!

The door opened, startling Lia. She hastily put away her wayward thoughts.