Warmth (WMMAP fanfic)

Chapter 2 - Encounter

Being a seven year old, Aelin was pretty smart.

That being said, he technically WAS an adult in a child's body. But the maids were already convinced that he was a child genius, and would boast about him to the villagers whenever they went to town to get food and supplies (while keeping his identity under cover, of course). Aelin had found that his favorite place in town was the library. It was like a maze, with secret hideouts and a never-ending amount of books. The library was grandiose, with all the information you could imagine. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it was a lot.

Aelin loved to hang out in hidden corners and secret areas of the library that only the librarian knew. The librarian was a nice old lady who treated Aelin like her own. She always recommended books that piqued the boy's interest, and introduced him to new hiding spots if his old one was found out. The old lady held a special place in the boy's heart, being one of the only people he was able to talk to freely, since other townsfolk were either too chatty or too observant.

Aelin decided that it would be good to go to the library today and quickly threw on casual clothes. He wore his usual white dress shirt with a black ribbon under his collar, tied into a bow in the front. He put on some dusty brown shorts, so he could blend in with the villagers. Aelin grabbed a napkin and a pen and wrote a note to his caretakers.

'Please do not be alarmed if you do not find me.
I will be at the town library.
Worry not, I will hide my features before going out.
Apologies for not informing you in person.
-Aelin'

The boy put the napkin and pen down, and took a deep breath. He focused all his concentration on willing his magic to his command. He concentrated on his mana, visualizing the result of what he wanted. He then exhaled, releasing the focus and relaxing, letting his mana channel his magic into his desired position.

Sunny, blonde hair was dyed brown, and emerald eyes dulled. Aelin carefully slid out his window, taking a shortcut to town. Once he reached the library, he pushed open the grandiose doors and stepped foot into the castle-like building. He waved to the old lady before going to his usual spot. He walked up the stairs and weaved his way through the maze of shelves, all while collecting books he found interesting. He then stopped at a certain shelf and pushed it to the side, revealing a room behind the shelf. As he stepped into the room, he carefully moved the bookshelf back in place, to prevent anyone else from finding the spot. He walked over to a table and set his collection down. The room wasn't much, but to Aelin it was truly wonderful, with shelves full of old records and archives, a wooden desk and a chair, and a window with a breathtaking view.

The boy sat on the chair and released his magic, to not waste any energy. It was okay for him to release it since no one was knew about this spot anyways, so there was no way anyone would find him. Brown hair reverted back to a sunny blonde, and dull green eyes turned back to shining emerald. The boy took a few books he had picked and put them on the desk, while spreading out an old map as well. He had already finished the history of Obelia and Arlanta, but he had a sudden interest in Siodonna. He had found an old record about medicinal herbs, and had thoroughly studied it through, and recognized every flora inscribed on the dusty pages, but as he reached the end, he found an herb he had never heard of before.

Sanyu.

It was an herb that could clear headaches and internal pain, and was often used in the form of Lippe tea. Aelin dug deeper into its history and found that it was a plant that only grew in Siodonna. And thus, his interest was sparked. He spent the past month researching on the people, the economy, the plants, the markets, and even the magic in Siodonna. And that's how we got to our current place.

Clothes and Dance.

It was strange, since dances in Obelia were usually things like folk dances, ballroom, waltz, ballet, etc., and the respective clothing were usually prim and proper dresses, frills, layers, dress shirts, vests, and so on. But respective dance clothing in Siodonna were rather sheer and breezy, with lightweight fabric that wouldn't hinder the movement of the dancer, and sometimes even veils that would hide the dancers face, that somehow only added to their beauty. To say the young boy was fascinated was an understatement. He read books about their dance styles and admired them with intent, paying attention and visualizing every word he read.

Dances were so carefree yet elegant, and the dancers danced as if they were one with the wind and their surroundings, it was truly magnificent. He hoped that he could see a Siodonnan dancer one day, and maybe he could even learn from them.

As Aelin pondered on the thought, images and memories flashed through his mind. After seven years of living in the new world, he had almost forgotten about the world he was in. Thinking of the Siodonnan dancers had reminded him of Diana, the mother of the crown princess. Speaking of which, the crown princess is about the same age as him, was she not? In the novel, she would supposedly meet the emperor in two years.

Aelin pondered. Should he try to save the princess? After all, it was possible since he was now in this world, was it not? Aelin decided to not bother for now, he couldn't risk dying right now. He went back to the books, it's not good to over think. He should study Siodonna dialect, in case he ever gets the chance to visit the province. He had already learned to speak, read and write Arlanta fluently, along with other imperial languages as well. As the boy flipped through the textbook, he heard a creak behind him. He dismissed it as simply the weak floorboards, but quickly whipped his head around once footsteps were heard. Emerald jeweled eyes were met with elegant golden eyes, as a certain figure caught the boy by surprise.

Ijekiel Alpheus.

How did he find the secret room, and why him of all people!? Aelin quickly got up and bowed, while speaking in a soft voice.

"My apologies, I must take my leave now."

And with that, the golden haired boy ran out of the room, leaving the silver haired intruder in the room. As Aelin ran, trying to leave the library as quick as possible, he summoned his mana and blonde hair turned brown once again. He ran out the library and to the market, too panicked to remember about the shortcut. While he ran, he suddenly bumped into a group of girls who seemed like nobles. One of them fell after hitting his shoulder on accident, so he stopped to help her up.

"My apologies young miss, are you alright? It was quite ignorant of me to run without regarding my surroundings, apologies if you are hurt anywhere."

The fallen girl put her hand on his as he helped her up. She stared at his eyes, as if in a trance. Aelin was confused at first, but soon realised why the girl was staring. Crap, he had forgotten to hide his eyes. He bowed to the girls, hoping to distract them from his eyes.

"I hope you have a wonderful day ladies, I must get going now. Farewell."

Aelin then ran back to Pearl Mansion, without looking back. When he got back, he couldn't help but still feel panicked, after all, there was no way Ijekiel didn't recognize him. Oh well, guess he just had to believe in Lady Luck this time.

❦❈❦

"He was so kind and polite!"

"And his voice!"

"His voice was so soft and silky and- *squeal*"

Athanasia listened to the tea party guests as they discussed a boy they happened to run into on their way to the palace.

"Was he really that great?"

"Forgive my rudeness princess, but WHAT DO YOU MEAN WAS HE THAT GREAT!? HE WAS BETTER THAN GREAT!"

"HE WAS LIKE AN ANGEL!"

"KYAAA! I hope we meet him again!"

"AND HIS EYES! They were so mesmerizing, a beautiful shade of green that sparkled like jewels..."

Athanasia froze. Sparkled like jewels? It couldn't be, she was the only child in the kingdom other than Jennette who had jeweled eyes! Surely the emperor wasn't hiding anything from her, was he? She shook her head. No, it couldn't be, after all, they said his eyes were green. Just who was this boy?

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AAAAAA IM SO SORRY
IM REALLY REALLY SORRY
I can't even blame burnout this time, I was just straight up procrastinating :(
I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I can't promise I'll be fast :(
I have a history test next week, agh

Anyways, I hope you guys are doing better than me!

You know the drill,

Take care of yourselves, stay safe, and hydrate!

Kiwii, out!
-🥝