19 Caroline

Breakfast on her first morning at the castle was surprisingly uneventful. Lucian chattered at length about the many amenities the keep offered. When Caroline had begun to ask about the surrounding city, the older vampire was quick to steer the conversation back to the keep. Mara chimed in from time to time with a nod or suggestion but would lend Caroline no aid in persuading Lucian to let her leave the keep. The food was delicious but different, small plates consisting of varied delicate portions, which only served to make her feel even more woefully out of place.

She wondered if the different foods were native to Ibudal or just the fare of wealthy people. She had eaten her meal politely, while deep down longing for Nim's heaping savory portions. During the meal, she couldn't help a small tinge of disappointment course through her that Ender was absent from the morning meal.

Caroline had so many questions for Ender. While Lucian had graciously offered to answer any she might have, dread filled her while thinking about what tangent the older vampire might go spiraling down. She swiftly concluded that while Ender was harder to wheedle for answers, he tended to be more direct.

Caroline took her leave of Lucian and Mara, excusing her self from the table after eating what she determined was a polite amount of the offerings. Truthfully, she wasn't hungry at all. Her appetite was suppressed by stress and emotion since last night.

Lucian bid her good day with a nod and wave of his slender arm, crimson eyes sparkling. The vampire, dressed in the same crisp all-black suit from the night before, appeared not to have changed clothes. She vaguely wondered if he had even slept at all and realized she knew next to nothing about vampires. Mara appeared at Caroline's side as she exited the dining hall and placed a comforting arm around her shoulder,

"I know it must have been a difficult few days for you dearie, you let me know if you need anything or directions in this godforsaken castle." the serving woman told her with a wink and soft smile.

Caroline could see up close that even Mara's serving dress was more refined than anything she had ever owned back home. Dark blue with delicate silver stitching, the dress hugged the older woman's curves giving her the look of a specter floating through the halls. Mara's dark brown hair with flecks of grey sprinkled throughout was tied in a neat bun on top of her head, elongating her already tall figure. Was everyone here a giant? She mused, becoming even more self-conscious about her small stature.

Even though small wrinkles lined her eyes and mouth, Caroline decided Mara was stunning and smiled up at the woman. "Thank you, Mara. I am happy you're here."

"And I, you, child," Mara replied softly.

Caroline leaned into the woman's half-hug for a moment before turning away. The interaction with the woman, however brief, sent a shock of longing for her grandmother Caroline hadn't expected. The older woman gave Caroline a quick look of sympathy before changing the subject.

"What would you like to do today?" Mara asked, without waiting for an answer, she started to point in different directions. "The gardens are through the dining room, and the library is up the stairs and in the east wing."

"I think I'll go see the library," Caroline told her with a grin. Seeing Lucian again so early in the morning was low on her priority list, so crossing through the dining room, the vampire still occupied was not going to happen.

She still wasn't thrilled about him watching her sleep, or the comments he made to Captain Grier last night. False or not, she even found them to be rude and a bit hurtful. Lucian might be handsome and well-spoken, but that did not mean she wished to endure his presence or leering gaze any further.

Finding the library was reasonably straightforward as Mara had given her excellent guidance in finding the place. Still, Caroline found herself stopping throughout the sprawling keep to admire the many ornaments and paintings along her route. Instinctively she reached for her notebook only to remember it was sitting on the bedside table in her room and swore a silent oath under her breath. As beautiful as her dress was, it sorely lacked in pockets. Maybe she could purchase a bag? She mused.

Caroline smoothed the front of her light blue dress, unable to take her eyes off the tattoo spread over her right hand. The pain had all but gone from the night before, but the memory of it was fresh in her mind. The sight of the intricate shapes was still slightly shocking. Seeing the mark on her body would take some getting used to, she decided, in the meantime, she would endeavor to keep it as covered as possible. Pulling on the sleeve of her dress, she looked up to see a set of large engraved double doors made of a dark wood loomed before her.

Nudging one side open, she poked head inside tentatively. Seeing no one in the immediate vicinity, she entered slowly and began to peer around the cavernous room. The library was round, taking up the whole of the tower with a spiral staircase running along the edge of the cases. Sunlight sprinkled in through narrow windows upon the vast array of tomes.

She assumed the library would be as lavish as the rest of the keep but had not anticipated the sheer volume of texts. Both Caroline and Nim were avid readers, and though they had stacks of books strewn about the farmhouse, it was only a tiny drop in the ocean of novels surrounding her now. Caroline looked around her in reverence, exhaling a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Where to start? She thought while running her slender fingers along the spines of the volumes closest to her. She felt at home for the first time since arriving in Ibudal, and the smell of aged parchment and leather reminder made her feel at ease.

"Yoo! Hoo!" a voice trilled, "You must be Caroline." An aged man poked his head from behind the door much the same as Caroline when she entered. His face was kind but weathered. His features were so wrinkled they looked almost like melted candle wax that had been set out in the sun. Stooped over with age and with a pair of spectacles barely staying put on his long crooked nose, the man raised an inquiring eyebrow. Caroline nodded.

The elderly man hobbled over to her, standing about a head shorter than her, and held out his hand. "I am Jerel, keeper of the library. Although I think Lord Lucian only keeps me on the staff so I can play chess with him from time to time." Jerel told her with a chuckle.

She took his hand and smiled at the man warmly. She could tell that despite his self deprecating comment that the older man lovingly doted upon the books in his care. Not a speck of dust could be found in the spacious room, and several books were laid out on a table next to tools, appearing in different stages of repair. Several other tables were stacked with papers and quills, and a smaller table looked to have a half-finished game of chess sitting atop it. "I am glad to know you," she told him, glancing around the room. "Your library is magnificent."

"Oh, ho, the library is not mine," he said, waving a gnarled hand, "just mine to look after for now. Can I help you find anything? Romance? History perhaps?"

"I'd like to read about plants native to the area. Herbs, trees, flowers, whatever you have." Caroline told him with excitement in her eyes. The fact that she could not identify every specimen on her journey had been bothering her some along with everything else that had happened to her. It also wouldn't hurt to have a working knowledge of what she could use in the area for medicinal purposes if need be.

"Ah! A young botanist we have. How splendid! Come, I will show you." Jerel said as he began to move towards the staircase at a tortoise-like pace. Caroline followed, admiring the expansive collection as they went.

She spent all morning reading in the library and even cleared off a small desk that Jerel assured her she could use for the duration of her stay. Caroline accepted gratefully. Having left her book of notes back in her room, the old librarian was also kind enough to give her some parchment and a quill to write with as she sorted through the tomes stacked up around her. Focusing mainly on trees and shrubs, Caroline spent hours committing different plant life to memory, jotting notes down throughout her studies.

She did find one book about magical plants she decided she would bring back to her room with her to read that evening. The girl was not aware such flora existed, but she had resigned herself to the fact that there was much she didn't know since coming to Ibudal.

Once her eyes had become bleary from reading, and her stomach began to growl, she realized it must be nearing lunchtime. Thanking the elderly man again for his help, he hobbled over to her and took her hands in his.

"This castle needs a little more life in it, I am glad you are here," he told her, his spectacled eyes twinkling. "Please let me know if I can help you with anything else."

Caroline told him she would and felt a little lighter after the interaction. It was the first area she had been in, where she didn't feel woefully self-conscious and out of place. Touched by the man's kindness, she wondered to herself how such a sweet old man could have wound up employed by the two vampires.

Caroline returned her room before searching for lunch and dropped off the armload of books Jerel had sent in the armchair in front of her fireplace. Caroline decided she would briefly tour the garden before locating Mara for some lunch. Picking up her small leather-bound book, she started to head downstairs. A short hallway to the left of the grand staircase caught her eye, a servant's passageway, she thought. After looking in both directions, she opened the door and slipped in the passage undetected.

The hall was narrow, but the chances of running into either of the vampires on her way would be minimal. Caroline knew her habits well, and getting distracted by conversation was undoubtedly one of them. Passing by the small windows in the spiral staircase, she could see the bright rays of the sun gleaming down on the town below.

Caroline envied the townspeople's freedom. Here she was so far from home, locked in a castle with three vampires and an elderly librarian. Back home, staying indoors was a rarity for her. Most days were spent on the land and with the animals. While visiting the enclosed garden was tempting, the feeling of being locked in a cage still loomed all around her. She was not a prisoner, not yet at least, but the invisible binds around her chaffed and itched as if they were real.

No one had asked Caroline if she wanted to be sent to Ibudal, and in fact, it was Ender who had ordered her to come with him to Castle Mont. This was all his fault, she thought ruefully.

Being given so few choices in the last two days left her feeling lost. It was as if she had no control over her own fate or even a small say in it. Glancing down at the tattoo lacing its way across her hand, she thought bitterly of another decision she had little choice in making. The more she thought about it, the more resentful she became of the vampires. Who were they to order her around? She had only signed a contract with minimal terms. They couldn't dictate where she went.

Resolute, Caroline continued down the corridor until she located what she suspected would be there at the end. The servant's entrance. Thankfully Mara must have been in a different part of the castle because she heard no sign of the woman down the hall. Unhooking the latch, she creaked the door open as quietly as possible, hoping none of the vampires would be able to hear her exiting the building.

Bright sunlight rained down upon her as the soft, warm breeze tickled her cheeks. Caroline closed her eyes and breathed in a deep lungful of spring air. She couldn't help but grin to herself. She was not sure why the moment was meaningful to her, but in that action, she had commanded a part of her destiny. Even if it was just opening a door and stepping outside. Caroline did not belong indoors. Her home was under the sky.

Home was turning cold earth over in her hands while watching the worms wriggle away as she planted. It was sweating under the summer sun while leading the sheep into their pasture. Home was babbling streams, birdsong, and falling leaves. She may not be in Ovandale, but she could find solace outside of the castle's confining stone walls.

It didn't take her long at all to locate the path with which she suspected delivery men brought goods to the castle. Caroline had carried produce from the farm herself using such entrances for a few of the larger homes back in Ovandale. No one had bothered her all morning in the library. Surely they wouldn't miss her for the afternoon; she justified to herself.

Caroline sauntered down the path admiring the blossoming trees and budding flowers as she began the short walk to the small city. She was too absorbed in her surroundings to notice Ender watching her from his balcony.

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