A lithe figure made her way swiftly through the streets of the Royal Capital, her footsteps light and quick. She had managed to slip out from her living place in the Outer Forest, and she had made good time today. It was not often that she was in the mood to travel all the way to the neighboring kingdom, but when she did, she would make good use of it. For the past few weeks, she had found herself leaving the Forest more and more, and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the Capital City. It was a curious thing, as she had lived in seclusion most of her life. However, she had recently discovered a treasure in the Royal Palace, and found that her steps naturally turned towards that direction quite often.

Her waist-length hair fluttered gaily behind her, the light azure hue almost glowing as it caught the sun’s rays. To be sure, her bright blue and white outfit and non-traditional hair color would always catch someone’s eye, as it usually does. But today, her mind was focused solely on what awaited her ahead, and she barely noticed the usual staring and whispering from the people on the city streets. Her destination?

The slightest of smiles curved around the edges of her lips. My favorite place, the library! On she pressed towards and into the palace, so she was slightly panting when she reached the entrance to the Grand Magic Archives. She took a minute to let her heartbeat calm down, and to compose herself like the graceful elf she was.

”Good afternoon, Mr. Librarian.” Suna bobbed her head and greeted the librarian. He was an elderly man, but had earned her deep respect in his vast knowledge of history and facts. They had exchanged some thoughtful conversations in her past visits here, and she enjoyed his company immensely. Almost as much as she enjoyed the actual reading.

“Ah, Suna! Perfect timing, my dear,” the librarian looked up from his desk. “I need your help today. Do you have a few hours to spare?” Suna noticed that he looked a little harried and out of sorts today. Not that she would say anything about it to him.

”Of course! What would you like me to help you with, sir?” No matter how many times she had politely asked for his name, the librarian would only smile mysteriously and tell her that there is no need to know, at least for the time being. So for now, she had settled with just addressing him with the most general of terms. ”If it is trying to decipher another strange code, I am afraid I would not be of much help!” She laughed lightly. ”Did you ever manage to make sense of that language last time?”

The librarian chuckled and waved his hands dismissively. ”I gave it to one of my assistants, and he is still trying to decipher it even now.” He got up from his desk. ”I need help arranging and putting away some books today,” he motioned towards a huge stack of books beside his desk. ”Some Magic Knight came barging in yesterday and pulled all these out. He only skimmed through those, and left so quickly without saying another word.”

Suna hummed. ”Mmm...he must have been on an important mission and needed some information.” She glanced over the titles of the books, curious as to what the Magic Knight might have been looking for. ”Ancient Myths of Clover Kingdom, Folklore Beginnings...what is this? Real Mythical Beasts From Fairy Tales? Sounds like somebody is trying to find some mythical beast out there.”

”Perhaps. Who knows? Anything is possible,” the old man shrugged his shoulders, but Suna caught a gleam in his eyes. ”Perhaps there will be news of some strange beast found and captured by next week. I will be willing to bet this old librarian hat on it.”

”I would not dare to bet against you, as I am sure you will be absolutely right.” Suna waved her hand towards the stack of books, ”Let me help you get these out of sight and out of mind.”

”Thank you, my dear. You know where all the main categories are, so I am sure you know where those would go.”

Suna cocked her head to the side and sighed in a playful manner. ”Unfortunately, I sure do.”

”Then I will trouble you with these. I have to go find some information, so I will be back.” He nodded at her and turned to go. ”Oh, and there will be compensation for your time, of course.” He called over his shoulder, and walked away further into the archive library.

Suna’s elvish ears perked up. Even though she would gladly help the old librarian for free any day, any type of monetary compensation would be a welcomed offer.

She found one of the shelving carts and stacked as many books as she could on it without risk of falling. There was once another assistant who was shelving last time, and since he was in a hurry, he overstacked it and the cart toppled over when he tried to push it. The sound of falling books was not a pleasant sound, much less in the hushed environment of the library. Suna had rushed over to help him pick them up, but she noticed that some of the older volumes were slightly damaged when they fell. She wanted to make sure she did not make the same mistake and draw unnecessary attention to herself, much less damage these precious works.

The blue-haired elf meticulously read each book title and placed them back to the proper alphabetical order on the shelves. It helped that the books were all of a similar topic, so she got through the pile fairly quickly. There were several books that had been hastily closed and the pages were caught in a fold. She would open them up and make sure the pages would lie flat before closing it and shelving it away.

It irked Suna that some people would treat these priceless writings in such a casual and disrespectful way. They may be old and tattered, but that was all the more reason to give them the care and attention needed to preserve them. In the Forest, she did not have ready access to books, so when she first stepped foot in this royal library, it was like a whole new world. She was slowly understanding how the Clover Kingdom and its inhabitants worked and thought, but there were some things that she still could not comprehend--such as their treatment of books.

I suppose it is because they have the luxury of being surrounded by books all the time... Suna carefully placed the last book in its proper place, and wiped her hands on the side of her clothes. ”There we go. All done.”

She stretched her arms above her head, and noticed that several hours had passed. She would have to leave soon if she wanted to make it home before dark. Glancing around, Suna searched for the familiar form of the librarian, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Oh well...I trust he will find a way to pay me later. Suna jotted down a quick note letting him know that she had finished and would come back again sometimes next week. She left it on his desk, and giving one final glance behind her, stepped out of the Grand Magic Archives. She was sure to come back again soon.


Spell Usage Summary: N/A