A Beautiful Evil (A Beautiful Book. 1) #Wattys2015

Chapter Fourteen - The Library

The Library is easily the largest room in the whole castle. It spans way beyond the depth of what the eye can see. Some servants in the castle joke and say that if you take off in one of the aisles, you could run forever and never reach the end, and I believe them.

The entire library is enchanted, so it somehow seems to fit within the walls of my father's castle, but yet it still insinuates that it goes on for infinity. I assume it does, given that nobody has traveled or even had the time to make the venture into the library. For a moment, I wonder if Charles has ever ventured far into the library, because I used to catch him in the library all the time.

The book shelves themselves were a work of art, towering above your head and carved out of the beautiful mahogany.

Fillin blows past me, a white streak of fur. He barks, and his voice echos off the marble walls. His toenails scrape across the hard floor, and his tongue falls out in a wolfy grin. It seems nothing like the on edge canine he was in Adrian's realm.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Adrian, and Avery, mouths hanging open and their eyes growing in size. Charles looked at home.

"Books," whispered Avery, walking towards me and running his finger along the spines of books as he passed. "So many books."

I was so dazzled by the beauty of the whole thing, I forgot to be mad at him. I flexed my nostrils, inhaling deeply. The stale scent of mold and dust flowed through my nose, but was hinted with the distinct smell of books. I grinned at Charles, flashing teeth. He smiled back. It was the true smile I hadn't seen him bare since I told him he could never be more than a friend. My heart clenched, and tiny butterflies billowed in my stomach as he walked closer to me.

"Changed any?" he asked.

I gave a small shake of my head, offering him a little smile. "Nope. It hasn't changed a bit," I breathed. "Aside from the new books, anyway."

He chuckled, and the sound warmed me. "It adds hundreds of books daily. I can't imagine how long this thing goes on for." The Library was also special because daily, every new story that was printed, or even written in a little girls diary, magically appeared on these shelves. And they weren't in any special order, may I mind you. So that made searching for books a lot harder.

Over Charles shoulder, I saw Adrian reach for a book on a high shelf, just as a small man hobbled up to him surprisingly fast. I recognized him immediately.The little man was significantly shorter than the Horsemen of War, but made up for it in attitude. Reaching inside his small plaid vest he was wearing, the tiny man pulled out a thin stick that seemed to grow when it touched his palm. It soon lengthened into a thick walking stick. With a grunt, the man brought the sick down across Adrian's head. "You buffoon! Don't touch that!"

Adrian yelped in surprise, bringing his hand up to shield himself from his attacker. "Whoa, little man. Watch it!"

Charles and I shared a single glance and burst out in laughter. Charles bent over at the waist, clutching his stomach and wheezing while I somehow balanced myself against his shoulder, wiping tears from my eyes and gasping. The little man continued to beat Adrian, cursing him for all he was worth. "You'll get your fingerprints all over the books! The oil from your fingers will ruin the pages! Didn't you just hear me? Don't touch!"

I laughed louder.

"Guys, this isn't funny!" yelled Adrian, now in the fetal position, his hands blocking blows to his head. "Ow!"

Somehow I managed to find my sense, and I straightened, wiping tears out of the corners of my eyes, and attempting to pull Charles up with me. "Ben," I chortled. "Let him go. He didn't mean it."