Cecil had left the kitchen soon after, with an exhaustion that weighed heavy on his limbs. It had been a long day, and he didn’t want to deal with any more surprises. Unbidden, his hand found the little leather pouch that held a small egg and smiled.
It was so small he could almost close his fist all the way around it. There were a variety of flying, egg laying things in the garden. The Hummingflit was a giant butterfly that was green with blue on the outside of its wings. There was also the feux fae, a type of disturbingly humanoid hummingbird. Then there were the normal birds and drakes.
He paused.
Many species of squirrel lived in trees. Did any of them lay eggs?
A passing window told him that dusk was around the corner. It wouldn’t hurt to stop by the library and look for an egg book to look through.
At the next intersection of corridors, Cecil took the one that would lead him to the library. Soon he stood at the darkwood doors that opened into a bookworm's paradise.
And they opened on their own.
Cecil took a step back as Eriss walked out.
“There you are!”
He scratched the back of his neck, “Here I am?”
Had she been looking for him?
“I’ve been waiting for you here since you got better, and I didn’t want to chase you down.”
Guess that was a yes. But…
“Why were you looking for me?”
She pouted, “Oh can’t I look for my baby brother after he was injured?”
“You never looked for Tavv when that wasp hive fell on his head.”
“That's different. It was his own fault.” she wrapped him in a hug, “Besides, he's not the baby in the family.”
Ah well.
Who could argue with logic like that?
She released him and stepped back into the library, holding the door open for him. “Why don’t you come in? I might be able to help you find what you’re looking for.”
Cecil walked in easily and described the kind of book he was looking for. A small piece of relief he hid in the back of his heart. If she had caught him here in the middle of the night when he was filing away at that stone, he didn’t think he could lie to her.
She turned back to him with a smile on her face, several books in her arms.
And he wouldn’t want to.
…
Fanny left immediately after waking Cecil up. And now that he knew where she was going, it didn’t bother him. He was eight and a half for goodness sake. Plenty old enough to have more freedom.
He rolled out of bed, dressed, then walked to Madam Wyntrop’s tea room. And knocked.
“Come in.”
He did so, and bowed slightly at the older woman. Her silver hair curled and coiffed to perfection. Cecil sat down as she prepared tea service for the two of them. She poured him a cup of what smelled like a warm citrus tea, and spoke.
“It’s good to have you back dear. Did Mecine fix you up well?”
“Yes. Though she and Branyn are still trying to convert each other.”
She chuckled, “They make quite the pair, do they not?”
Cecil pretended to sip his tea noncommittally while he blew gently to cool it down.
“Yes. Well, healers aside, what rumors have you brought me today?”
He shrugged, “I’ve been in the infirmary for long enough that I'm sure you already know everything that I had heard.” He raised an eyebrow, “Unless you want religious gossip?”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
She chuckled, “No dear, that isn’t quite my cup of tea. But since we are in this unique position, we shall play a game instead. How’s that?”
He watched her twinkling blue eyes warily. Old lady’s games were seldom easy, but always interesting.
“Of course. What are the rules?”
She beamed, “The rules are simple. I give you a situation that is currently happening, if you make an accurate guess, I will give you a day of no homework.”
That was no great reward, since he just needed to find new gossip for her each day. But it wasn’t terrible either. He would be able to shut himself away and not be bothered to find out current events.
“If you guess incorrectly, then I will assign you a book that you must read.”
He grimaced slightly, “That punishment is much harsher than the reward.”
“Yes! Life is often thus. Where you do something not for the reward, but to avoid the punishment. But since I am more forgiving than life, you can use your days of no homework when you are supposed to discuss an assigned book. Now, the first is this, which country would lose the most from total engraving trade sanctions?”
“Istania.” he replied easily. They were the largest exporter of engraved goods. Effrain pulling out of purchases would likely cause their economy to weaken from the sudden lack of incoming capital.
“Wrong. I want you to read, Ink Made Noble: A Gentleman's Guide to Hand and Quill. Istania has a self-sufficient economy that is unreliant on the funds from exports. Also, I asked who would suffer most from total sanctions. Would you like to try again?”
Cecil angrily sipped his tea.
“Yes.”
Cecil furrowed his brow. They didn’t really trade engraved goods with any other countries at any sort of noticeable scale. In fact, most countries didn’t even trade directly with Effrain, but with the caravans and shippers who ferried goods from one side of the continent to the other. So it wouldn’t affect the countries, but the middle man.
He grabbed a scone and took a bite.
Shipping… Then his mind went to the meetings he had gone to several months ago. Lady Janick was the one who had convinced the counsel to make an exception to the indiscriminate sanction because her family shipped goods. Not just that, but their family practically funded a whole island country with their taxes.
“Nimous would hurt the most due to the stop of sails, pardon the pun.”
She chuckled, “I’ll allow it. And you are correct. While Nimous is a small country focused mainly on maritime activities, they also have sources to some amazing engraved artifacts that are infeasible in the known world.”
He leaned forward, “Does that mean I don’t have to submit a written report on better handwriting?”
She sighed, “No, but you really should improve your writing skills. They are foundational to how you are perceived when the only thing a person knows of you is your handwriting.”
Hmm. He conceded that as an excellent reason. But now that he was thinking of it, engraving dealt in some sort of alphabet. So, even if it was more akin to carving, it might be wise to do the lessons in the book anyways.
“Fine, I’ll consider it. What is your next question?”
…
Cecil left the room at a loss of three. Considering that the old woman had grilled him for an hour, it wasn’t that bad. And now he had a list of interesting books that he could pick and choose from. But he decided to choose the one on writing, “The Truth of Tales and the Tales of Truth; Myths, Memory, and the Molding of History”, and “Of Maps and Monarchs; The Curious Manner in Which Men Divide the Earth”. He had just enough time to pick up the books before class with Talmage. Then afterwards, he could read them and the one on eggs with Oakley.
His half jog brought him to the library just as someone peeked out.
“Erris? What are you doing here?”
She smiled at him, “Oh you know. Picking up the latest gossip before class. What about you?”
Cecil blinked, “I got assigned some books for Madam Wyntrop. If you let me pass, I'll just…” he tried to squeeze past her, and she backed up to let him go.
Then followed him.
He glanced back and squinted at her, “I thought you were headed to class?”
She laughed, “Oh, I’m about to. But I figured I would help you first.”
“Ooook…”
Cecil told her two of the books he needed, then went in search of the third one. He thought he remembered the one on truths and myths being near the castle horror story section. He quickly walked around several stacks muttering the call number of the section under his breath.
X200…
X1998…
X 2 3762…
And Z.
A quick scan revealed the book on the middle shelf, which he grabbed and brought to the desk. Pro Ostrion was already awake, and had registered the other two books that Eriss had already found. He placed them all in his book bag after he thanked the old man, then left the library with his sister close behind.
“How did you find those books so quickly?”
She shrugged “Got really good at finding books when I had a tough teacher that had me reading books five hours a day.”
Considering how bad Madam Wyntrop and Talmage were…
“Do they still teach?”
She laughed. “Unfortunately you don’t have to worry about the old hag. She left to go take care of her new grandkids. I’ll have to check on them in a decade or so. They’ll either be psychopaths by then, or brilliant beyond belief. Either way, they need to be identified before they can do serious damage.”
She must have been quite formidable for Eriss to praise her so highly.
Soon enough they entered the classroom, and Cecil sat down secure in the knowledge that his encounter with the Madam this morning had him up to date on all sorts of events.
( ?? ? ? ?)
/ づ?
