Chapter 5: The Good Die Young

Astra woke with an unfamiliar roof over her head and took a few seconds of clueless blinking before she remembered that she was in her room in the barracks. She normally didn't sleep well in new places, but she must have been more tired than she thought. 

Yawning, she got out of bed, rubbing the film of sleep away from her eyes. The water in her washbasin, which she'd filled the night before, had gone cold and bullied the drowsiness away with great effectiveness. Splashing the water on her face and reaching for the soap perched on the stand, Astra washed up and then set about combing her hair.

As she was doing so, a knock sounded at her door.

“Who is it?” she called, tidying up the old tunic she had slept in and hoping it wasn’t anyone important.

“I have a delivery for you, miss,” came a voice she didn’t recognize.

Guessing that it was a servant speaking, Astra opened the door to confirm her prediction, as the young man there smiled cordially at her and held out a package wrapped in crinkly brown paper. “This was to be delivered for you, miss.”

“Thank you…” Astra took the bundle from him, her brow furrowed. “Do you know who it’s from?”

The manservant nodded, pointing. “There’s a note included, miss.”

Astra glanced down again at the thing in her arms - it felt soft, but dense. Cloth, perhaps? “I’ll take a look. Thank you very much.” Seeing the servant off with a wave and a smile, Astra closed her door with her foot and went to set the package down on her unmade bed before lifting the wrappings away with a careful hand.

She blinked, surprised and pleased; the bundle contained a long blue tunic of a soft, smooth material. The design wrapped around the torso and hips in a mass of folds that allowed for comfort and mobility, without making her silhouette look like a block of wood. Lifting the tunic up, she realized it was accompanied by a pair of chausses and black riding boots so new that the leather shone in the light. Tucked inside one was a beautiful hunting knife in a plain leather sheath, and inside the other was a note folded thrice.

Picking up the scrap of parchment, she unfolded it, noting the excellent penmanship:

Miss Astraea,

The Captain had these clothes ordered for you custom-made from the tailor, but the knife and boots are from Conrad and I. Think of them as welcome presents, and don’t feel obligated to repay us - the Captain says you’re notoriously bad at accepting gifts. Humour us this one time.

~ Liam

Smiling, Astra folded the note and slid it into her desk drawer. Glancing at the tunic, she recalled that Aleron had promised to take her around the palace today, and decided it was a good day as any to wear it. Putting the garment on felt nice - the tunic clung slightly to her body in gentle whispers and the fabric was very comfortable. Then came the leggings and boots, her usual sheath of throwing knives, and lastly she buckled her new hunting dagger onto her belt. It rested against her right hip, the weight pleasant.

She stood before the mirror, backing up until she could see her whole figure. Good enough. After making her bed, she stepped into the hall and was surprised to see Aleron already waiting by her door.

She opened her mouth to say good morning but then stopped, a slight frown marring her brows. “Did you sleep at all?”

The knight gave her a tired smile; the dark circles under his eyes were too obvious for him to deny it. “I’m afraid not,” he replied, shifting his weight off the wall he was leaning on. “There was quite the mountain of paperwork to handle in my absence.”

Astra murmured something sympathetic and studied him critically. Though the dark circles were prominent, he wasn’t pale, and seemed to be standing with his usual steadiness. “Are you sure you want to do the tour today?” she asked him anyway. “I don’t mind putting it off if you have work to do.”

Aleron shook his head. “I appreciate the thought, but I’d rather you know your way around before you run off and get yourself into trouble.”

“Well, excuse me,” she huffed, and his smile widened. “Alright, then. But if you get tired, feel free to cut things off early.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” he told her gravely, before offering her his arm like a proper gentleman. “Let us be off, then.”

They left the barracks, and the first thing Aleron did was retrace the path they had taken yesterday before they reached a familiar narrow staircase.

“His highness’s office is up there,” Aleron told her, gesturing up the stairs, “just in case you ever need to speak with him about anything. He’s not one to stand on ceremony, and for you, I doubt he’d complain about not having an appointment. You shouldn’t have much need to go up there, but it’s good for you to know in the event of an emergency.”

Astra nodded, already trying her hardest to sketch out a rough map of the area in her head. This was going to be tough, she thought ruefully, bemoaning her own bad sense of direction.

Aleron, seeing her brow furrow in concentration, chuckled. “You needn’t worry too much,” he told her, directing her down a different passageway. “If you get lost, you can simply ask one of the servants – all the staff in the palace know the layout well.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she muttered.

In accordance with his extremely pragmatic personality, Aleron’s tour consisted less of pointing out grand items and tapestries and more about making sure Astra knew where the important places were. He showed her the armoury (“it’s always good to know where the weapons are stored”), the kitchens (“I’m sure the palace chefs will not mind your using their facilities”), the servant’s wing (“inquire there if you are ever in need of assistance”), the noble’s quarters (“It’s probably best that you stay away unless you have business here”), and the gardens. He made a point to explain which gardens that were available for public use and which ones were reserved for the nobility – or, in one case, for royalty.

“This is his majesty’s private garden?” Astra asked, peeking down from the terrace they were standing on.

Aleron nodded. “Anyone is allowed to view it from the balcony like this, but entry is strictly forbidden for anyone aside from the royal family,” he explained. “His majesty apparently had it built to honour his late wife, the crown prince’s mother.”

From looking at the man, Astra would never have guessed that the wizened, stern king could ever have such a sentimental side, but she supposed that everyone was young once. “It’s lovely. Are there only roses?” From her position, she could see a large garden with fountains and more, stretching beyond what the eye could see, but all the blooms she could pick out were rosebushes.

“Yes, the first queen loved roses, and this garden was originally for her personal use,” Aleron explained, pointing to a few bushes which were sporting bright orange and yellow flowers. “She had great interest in crossbreeding flowers, and had a team of gardeners working to produce new colours.”

“What an expensive hobby,” Astra murmured, hearing her companion’s soft chuckle at her comment. “May I ask how she died?”

“Of illness,” Aleron replied, gently turning them back towards the palace interior. “She had no children, so after she passed, his majesty married the Crown Prince's mother. Don’t ever mention the first queen in front of his majesty, though – it’s taboo to speak of her in his presence.”

"What about the Crown Prince's mother?" 

"She died in an accident when his highness was still quite young. Better not to speak of it either, though." 

Astra added that to the list of about a hundred other things to watch out for, and sighed. 

“Don’t fret.” Apparently her gloom had not gone unnoticed, and Aleron patted the hand that rested on his arm in a comforting manner. “You'll have little reason to interact with the royal family. Come, let me show you somewhere you’ll enjoy.”

“Oh?” A little interested at that hint, Astra perked up as they went back inside. “And where might that be?”

“The library,” the knight replied, and, as he had expected, Astra’s expression brightened immediately, prompting him to laugh. “I knew you would act this way. There is another library restricted for only nobles, but there is also one available for public use. The library master, Declan, is a good man. I am sure that the two of you will get along well.”

“If he likes books, then there’s no doubt about it,” Astra replied promptly, making him laugh again.

“Oh? Why, hello, you two!”

A bright voice made them stop and turn; for the second time in as many days, there was a young woman with pale blonde hair standing a little ways down the hallway and smiling at them.

“Syrrah.” Aleron smiled at his fiancée as she approached. “Has your health improved?”

“Since the return of my beloved, it’s improved tenfold,” she teased as she stopped before them and looked them up and down with a knowing smile. “Giving Miss Astraea a tour of the palace?”

“I felt it my duty to make sure she is familiarized with her new surroundings as much as possible,” Aleron responded, going to pat Astra’s hand, but the noirette slipped her arm out of his grip before he could.

“I see.” Syrrah’s gaze turned to Astra, who was looking decidedly expressionless as she gazed back. “Are you settling into the palace properly, Miss Astraea?”

“I’m slowly growing used to it, milady,” Astra replied politely. “What brings you to this area of the palace?”

Aleron glanced at her, feeling a little proud – she had remembered his explanations of the palace layout. They were currently in the northeastern wing of the palace, which was commonly known as the ‘Scholar’s Wing’, where the two libraries and a small research lab were housed. The eastern side of the palace contained both the Scholar’s Wing and the Military Wing, where the Castle Guard and Raven Knights were housed, as well as the main training courtyard.

However, the Noble’s Wing was located in the northwestern corner of the palace, and Aleron had explained that it was rare for the nobility to venture to the eastern half of the palace unless they had some business there.

“Were you looking for me?” Aleron guessed, seeing his betrothed’s expression light up.

“How did you know?” she laughed, reaching to take his hand. “If it’s not too much trouble, there’s something I need to discuss with you…”

Aleron hesitated, his head automatically turning to Astra. Syrrah turned to look, as well.

The noirette smiled awkwardly. “Is the library nearby? I can head there on my own.”

Feeling more than a little sorry for cutting their time together short not once but twice now, Aleron tried to save the situation. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting just a bit, I can…”

Those maple eyes shifted away from him. “Something tells me that it won’t take just a bit. Don’t worry. I can go by myself.”

Pausing, he tried to search Astra’s expression, but she looked calm and he could glean nothing from her face. A tug at his arm told him that Syrrah was growing impatient; faced with his duty to his fiancée, Aleron reluctantly surrendered. “The library is down that hallway – the large pair of double doors,” he told Astra, who nodded and bowed slightly to Syrrah before she left first. Aleron’s eyes trailed after her, concerned, until another insistent tug on his arm made him turn and escort Syrrah in the opposite direction.

Astra resisted the urge to glance back over her shoulder as she moved with purposeful steps towards the place Aleron had directed her. She felt a mixture of guilt and unease. Syrrah hadn't done anything wrong, but anytime Astra was around the blonde, she felt very uncomfortable and couldn't help acting a little stilted.

She was just glad that Aleron hadn’t seemed to pick up on much aside from the fact that she was acting odd. She didn’t want to be the cause of a rift between him and his fiancée.

The doors to the library were not guarded, so she pushed them open and slipped inside, stopping short and feeling the tightness in her chest fade completely away as she stared at the sight before her.

Books.

Of course, this was a library, so obviously there would be books everywhere, but Astra had yet to see such a grand collection of tomes and scrolls, and it sent her heart racing with excitement as she walked farther into the shelves that were more than twice her height. Long sliding ladders were placed at the ends of each shelf for patrons to reach higher shelves, and there were large tables spaced out evenly, with a few books stacked atop each one.

For almost fifteen minutes, Astra didn’t so much as touch a book's spine. She just wandered through the maze of literature, ogling at the vastness of the collection. This place was a bibliophile’s haven, she thought privately. Did they let commoners borrow books? Because she very much wanted to. 

Bang!

“Aah!”

She was lost in breathing in the smell of parchment and ink when she heard a series of thumping noises, followed by a man’s voice raised in surprise and pain. Following the sound in concern, she rounded a bookshelf and stopped short.

A thin man dressed in white and green robes was sprawled in a rather rueful manner on the ground beneath the shelf, rubbing the back of his head. He wore a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles, but even with the comical glasses, he resembled a fairy with his glimmering silver hair splayed across the floor and his snow-white skin.

Does this world even have fairies?

Astra approached the prone figure on light steps, afraid to make too much clamour in case he really was a fairy and chose to vanish or fly away. When he looked up at her, dazed, she extended a hand. "Are you alright?"