A Long Night

Noble was not sure how to argue with Counsel's statement. Sarai would never make her choose between the two of them, so the situation that the man feared would never come to be. 

And trying hard to make himself indispensable would either force him to be at least cordial to the woman who looked like Emira or keep him too busy to interact with her at all. 

'Neither of those things are bad, right?' She mused. 

Setting down the books on a low table, Counsel placed his hand on his chest. "If you will excuse me. I will find someone to guard your room." 

"You are not staying to read?" Noble quirked an eyebrow.

"Do you want me to stay?" The man's voice had a little too much hope. It was like needles to Noble's heart.

"I thought you would be as curious as I am," she deflected. "We are so close to getting our answer!" 

"Will Her Grace be staying also?" The man's fingers flexed and relaxed. 

"That was my intention." The Queen nodded. 

"Unless you require me to stay, I will make myself useful elsewhere." There was a hint of challenge in Counsel's voice. 

Did the Queen really mean it when she said she wanted him to be able to live his own life and make his own choices?

Noble smiled and dipped her head in recognition. "Of course, I can handle it from here. If you need assistance on a project, please let me know." 

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will find someone to guard the door until Kosi returns to you." Counsel turned and looked once more at the pile of books. "May I?" 

"Of course! As long as you return them as soon as you are through." Noble offered. 

Taking one from the bottom of the pile, Counsel tucked a journal under his arm. 

"I still cannot believe Her Grace's bracelets were the key to the chest. Are yours the same?" 

The judgment was lost from his voice, replaced by curiosity. 

Noble looked down at her wrists. "I didn't try it, but I would imagine they are the same." 

"I certainly hope so," the handsome man mused. "Because if it can randomly open solid stone, I wonder what other secrets it holds." 

"That's a very good question." The Queen had begun to wonder the same.

Noble already knew that they hid the monarch's true power from the world, and now one had revealed the hidden treasure trove of books.

What else could the enchanted jewelry do? 

Before the conversation could continue, someone knocked at the door. 

Noble bid them to enter, and a score of servants came through the door with piles of books in their hands. Among them, Pen and Lenore filed in from across the hall. 

"Your Majesty, is everything alright?" Pen curtsied as she tried to avoid being jostled by the sudden sea of humanity and paper. 

"Just a little light reading material, Pen. Nothing to worry about. You may put some of those here and the rest over there." Noble directed the servants around the suite. 

Under the pressure of the advisors and Counsel, Noble had reluctantly taken over the royal suite. She and Sarai had meticulously moved Emira's things to another set of rooms in the hope of finding the missing books.

Noble looked on now as those very books were carted into the room. 

'Funny how things work sometimes...' 

Getting to work, Pen guided the other servants to do the Queen's bidding while Lenore went to work clearing space for the yellow journals. 

Soon the process became orderly, allowing Pen to step back and observe. 

"Excuse me," Counsel startled the young woman with his words. "I wonder if I might have your help for a project." 

Noble felt Pen's emotions skyrocket. For a moment the Queen thought the woman might faint. The senior servant lowered her gaze. "I would need Her Majesty's permission." 

"By all means," Noble answered before even being asked. "If Counsel needs help and you are willing, you have my permission." 

'Oh no, she really is going to faint!' Noble quickly sent a jolt of fearful excitement into Pen so she could remain on her feet. 

The servant tucked her hair behind her ear and continued to stare at the ground. "If you need my help, Counsel, I would be honored to oblige." 

"It's settled then," Counsel clapped lightly and brandished a winning smile. 

'If the girl didn't already have feelings for him, she does now. That smile could rival the sun.' Noble wondered if Counsel's Aspect extended to nonverbal communication. She had noticed that when he tried, he could persuade anyone but the Queen to do almost anything. 

Did he even notice or was it automatic? 

'Too charming for his own good. I hope it works out for him...both of them.' Noble could see how happy Pen was. 

"I will see you both later." The Queen gave them her blessing to leave. 

With so many hands at work, it didn't take long for everything to be placed neatly around the room. Once again, the Royal suite had been turned into a small library. 

Hopefully, this was the final time. Noble wanted answers. 

"Thank you," Noble dismissed the extra people from her quarters with a gracious nod. 

Lenore stayed behind for a moment before offering to get refreshments from the kitchen. As soon as she stepped into the hall, She paused and curtsied. "Your Grace! May I help you?" 

"No need, Lenore, I am almost there now," Sarai answered her. 

The redhead came in with a final stack of books. Behind her, Kosi sauntered in chewing on a bone of some sort. Hopefully it was just a treat from the palace kitchen.

"Sorry that it took so long. It took Kosi and me a little longer than anticipated to get the lid back on the bench and make sure it was sealed again." Sarai explained her delayed arrival. 

She set down the books and rubbed her wrists. "I'm not used to wearing jewelry. Did the bands not cut into your wrists while you were carrying the books?" 

Noble winced. "Well, I wasn't exactly carrying them...I floated them up here." 

"Of course, you did." Rolling her eyes, Sarai slipped off the offending bracelets and set them in a special tray by the door. She wouldn't need them while she was reading anyway. "Where shall we start?" 

Noble looked at the room and hummed softly.

"I think we first need to organize them by putting them in order, and then we can start piecing together this puzzle. Let me get us some paper so we can take notes. I think we will need it." 

By the time refreshments arrived with Lenore, the royal women had gotten the books back in order. 

They settled down with some tea and began at each end of the king's reign to work towards the middle. 

It was going to be a lot of work reading and notetaking, but neither lady wanted to trust a scribe with the information they hoped to find. 

So they settled in to begin their studies. After a sip of warm, invigorating liquid, Noble picked up the oldest yellow journal and opened to the first page with a sigh. 

It was going to be a long rest of the day.

And an even longer night.