Meeting In The Library

Late in the night, after everyone had eaten dinner, and retired to their room, a figure walked through the corridors holding a tray, with not one but three glasses on it. Its footsteps were as light as that of a cat's soft paws stepping on the floor.

The figure stooped In front of a double door which opened and he made his way into the room, the doors closing behind him.

"Your grace," Gustavo bowed and placed the glasses on the table in front of The duke.

Kian who didn't look up from the book in his hand since the butler came in finally looked up and picked one of the glasses, downing the red liquid in one go, doing the same to the second and third.

"Have you found the book yet, Your Grace?" The butler asked, not moving from where he stood.

"No," Kian replied and closed the book he held before leaning back. "How was dinner?" He asked and Gustavo informed him of everything that took place during dinner mostly focusing on Aylin.

"I didn't know grandmother could be so creative." He stated, referring to the lie Andromeda made up about Aylin.

The story Andromeda had made up was a good one, it was believable and would explain the reason for Aylin's striking appearance.

The other night when he had asked her about the thing between her and his grandmother, he had expected her to lie when he heard the change in her heartbeat but she didn't, though she didn't exactly tell all the truth which made him more curious about the deal between her and his grandmother.

"Your grace."

"Mm?"

"I don't think Her Grace is happy with your decision to let Lady Rhea live here." The Butler stated.

"I know, but she won't be staying for long," Kian said as he stood up and walked towards the door. "I will be in the library, don't disturb me if it's not important," He added.

"Yes, Your Grace." The butler bowed just as Kian walked out of the study.

He walked through the deserted halls. Everywhere was dead quiet as It was late at night and everyone was asleep. Walking into the library, which was dark except for the fireplace which emitted a warm glow and illuminated the room with the flames of the fire flickering in time with his steps as he walked through the large shelves.

He stopped when he reached the last shelf and pulled out a book, a creaking sound following after. An open door now stood before him, giving way to a hidden stairwell leading down to an underground library.

He climbed down the stairs and reached the end of the staircase, his shoe clicking against the marble tiles, the echo from his steps echoing throughout the dimly lit, high-ceilinged room where bookshelves lined each wall. He walked until reaching a table in the middle of the room; a leather armchair sat next to the table with books and papers placed on it.

With a flick of his fingers, a small flame appeared next to him, lighting the candle on the table. He sat on the chair and turned his body so that he faced the wall, His eyes scanned the bookshelf on the right side until they landed upon a certain book, which started gliding towards him until It dropped on the table.

Kian stared at the book. A title was written on it; The Darkness and The Light. He ran a hand through his silver hair before picking up the book and starting to read.

Not more than an hour after he started reading, he heard the sound of a door opening, specifically, the library's door. Deciding to ignore it, he continued reading but after some minutes, the sound of books falling reached his ear followed by a curse.

With a sigh, he placed the book down and climbed up the stairs, back into the library. As he walked out from behind the bookshelf, the sight that met him sent wasn't surprising because he was expecting it.

There she was, dressed in a pink nightgown, her face scrunched up in a frown. Her dark hair was tied into a low bun and held back by a ribbon.

Without saying anything, or giving her any indication he was there, he strode toward her and stopped right behind her.

"What are you doing?" His voice was calm, frigid.

Aylin jumped at his words as if she hadn't expected him to be there and turned her body until she saw who it was, her eyes widening when she noticed that their face was only inches apart.

She hurriedly took a step back but in her hurry, she tripped over a book which had fallen from the shelve and fell back.

"Ahh!" Aylin cried out and closed her eyes, expecting the pain which didn't come.

Why was she not feeling any pain? Didn't she fall?

Aylin cracked open one of her eyes and saw the duke still standing in front of her, unmoving, his red eyes — trained on her. Her gaze traveled to his hand which was stretched out, down to his fingers which held the hem of her dress, stopping her from falling.

"Oh?" She said and in one pull, she was standing back up.

Aylin grabbed the wooden shelf to stable herself before looking up at him. "Thank y–"

"You are always screaming and falling, aren't you?" He interrupted her.

Aylin blinked, confused. "That's because you always are always scaring the shit out of me."

"I wouldn't scare 'the shit' out of you If you aren't always sneaking around in the middle of the night," Kian replied.

Aylin frowned, "I wasn't sneaking around, I was looking for a book, and yesterday, I wanted to get–"

"What book?" Kian cut her off once again.

"A book I saw in the afternoon, but it isn't here anymore. I can't find it."

"The title?" Kian questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Aylin gave him a questioning gaze, wondering why he was asking for the title. "The Protectors of the Light." She answered.

Kian narrowed his eyes, "Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure," Aylin responded firmly. "Are you going to help me look for it?"

"No," he replied bluntly and turned around. Aylin glared at his back for a while before following behind him.

"Then why were you asking for the title?" Kian ignored her question and continued walking.

Aylin wanted to yell at him to turn around and answer her but she held herself back and asked, "Are you also looking for a book?"

Kian stopped abruptly, causing Aylin to bump into his back. She stepped away quickly. "Sorry–"

"How do you know?" Kian questioned, cutting her off. He turned around so suddenly, Aylin gasped and almost fell over.

"Know what?"

"That I was looking for a book," Kian said as his eyes bore into hers, boring straight through to her soul.

"I didn't know, I simply guessed," Aylin muttered under her breath.

"Did you?" He asked, tilting his head to one side.

Aylin felt like she was being studied. "Yes." It's not like she was psychic or anything.

Silence filled the space between them, The only light illuminating the space was the flickering flame on the fireplace.

The sound of something falling broke the silence and they both snapped their heads toward the direction of the noise, seeing a book lying on the floor.

Kian walked towards the book and picked it up, examining the cover, "Is this the book you were looking for?" He asked, showing it to Aylin.

'The protectors of the light' were written in bold letters on the center of the cover.

"Yes, It's the one." She stated as she walked toward him.

But this wasn't where it was this afternoon. Aylin thought, glancing at the top of the shelf where the book fell from.

"Thank you," She said as she collected the book from him and turned to leave.

She walked a few steps before stopping and turned around to stare at the man who was watching her, an eyebrow raised. "I... Uhh... wanted to thank you."

"You already did."

"No. For healing me, last night. Thank you." Aylin clarified.

And you should also apologize!

Kian nodded and continued staring at her. Aylin decided to say one last thing when she saw that she wasn't going to get an apology from him.

Did she seriously think that she would get an apology? He probably didn't think he did anything wrong so her had nothing to apologize for.

"And one more thing, I know that I may seem suspicious but It's all a coincidence.–"

"A coincidence?" He questioned, interrupting her.

"Yes, a coincidence. I'm a light sleeper and anytime I wake up in the middle of the night mainly because of nightmares, it's hard to get back to sleep. So I find something to do, sometimes I eat, watch movies, listen to music, or read." she finished, waiting for him to respond.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Kian asked.

"Because I don't want you to misunderstand."

It was better for him to see her in a good light.

"Misunderstand what?"

"You think that I'm a witch."

"Do I?" Kian smiled, cocking his head to the side.

Aylin stared at him, his crimson-red eyes were gazing directly into hers, the intensity shining brightly within his eyes. There was a twinkle in them, almost like mischief but different somehow.

"Don't you remember the first time we met?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"That was a different situation," Kian replied with a smile.

She opened her mouth to talk but Kian beat her to it. "You should go back to your room and sleep, and as you said, it's just a coincidence. Nothing more." He said but Aylin hesitated before nodding.

"Alright, goodnight." Kian didn't reply, just kept watching her as she walked away, and disappeared behind the doors.

As soon as Aylin left, a figure appeared behind Kian.

"Your Grace!" The figure kneeled on one knee, lowering his head.

"Where's Trevor?" Kian questioned, turning around.

"He is on his way, Your Grace."

"She and my grandmother are going to visit the seamstress tomorrow, I want you to follow and keep an eye on them. Karl and Rhea might tag along so be careful." Kian instructed.

"I will, Your Grace!" The figure said before disappearing.

Without turning, he strolled towards a couch by the fireplace, sat on it, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and leaned back.

The clock on the wall moved and moved until an hour was almost complete but just as the clock struck twelve, a figure appeared in front of Kian, immediately kneeling on one leg with his head bowed.

"Your Grace!" Trevor greeted.

Without opening his eyes, Kian spoke. "What did you find?"

"I found one of them and followed him but he found out that I was following him and sent a beast to stop me from following him."

"And he succeeded didn't he?"

"I'm sorry Your grace! It will –"

"What type of beast was it?" Kian replied, more interested in the beast that was able to hold up Trevor.

"It was a demonic beast, Your Grace." Trevor's voice lowered as he answered his master's question.

"Hmm." Was Kian's reply as he rested his head and smiled.