"The Void Wears A Crown Of Forget-Me-Nots"

Chapter 5: Great Job, Leave All Of The Children Alone With Sharp Objects.

Watchers, if Xelqua had to explain them; he would say that they were the unseen entities that looked over universes and protected them from the shadows.

They were the ones that filled the empty skies and kept the worldS safe where the Gods were quiet.

The children were told that they were the lucky few to be chosen. That they were to become the greatest of the greats.

'Bullshit.'

Xelqua snickered to himself at the thought.

The 16-year-old sat in the dark library, wedged between two towering bookshelves that were so thick that they hid his entire body.

A thin purple light fell around his little hidey hole like a blanket. From the outside, no sound he made could be heard. But from the inside, the sound of his snickers bounced off of the purple sheen.

The teen lolled his head and pressed his back into the stonewall of the library. He exhaled in relief as the cold eased the nicks and scratches that fell painfully across his back.

Xelqua hummed to himself and listened to the song bounce off of the dark purple walls around him. The echo made a nice sound, like wind chimes or broken glass.

Blinking lethargically, Xelqua sighed and closed the old book he was reading. He'd been sitting there for a good chunk of time now, waiting for Xyia to finish with her rounds.

He originally came to the library to get some last-minute studying time in, but when Xyia's magic flared... Well, the only thing that really changed was that Xelqua was now sitting between two large bookcases with a purple sound barrier set up around him.

Xelqua placed his book on the stack of books he had already finished reading, and let his magic unravel around him. The golden tendrils of light and void stretched out and felt their way around the halls, searching for the crazy woman with a whip.

When he couldn't find her, Xelqua smiled and let the purple magic fall around him.

He stretched out his stiff joints and felt them popping as he yawned. Xelqua ignored the pain in his back as he stood up and slowly began to put the books away.

The young teen stiffly walked around, rubbing at the dark circles under his eyes as he finished sliding the last book into its place. Xelqua yawned again, his jaw clicking as he did so.

It had been a long night for him, but despite the aching in his joints, he still felt restless.

Xelqua reached out his hand, palm up, and let an inky black liquid pour into it. Numbers made out of stars twinkled in the void black, ticking like a makeshift digital clock. Xelqua still had 30 minutes to kill before he needed to get back to his room and sleep...

Xelqua looked around the silent library, he had already got what he needed and a bit more. There was nothing left for him here.

'Why not go to the sparring room?'

A smile flickered on the kid's face at the idea. 'Why not?' He closed his hand and watched the black magic, like a liquid would, splash between his fingers and run down his arm in black droplets before fading into nothing.

Xelqua turned and walked through the library and out into the night, his footsteps falling silently against the black stones. He breathed out into the shadows, his body seamlessly fading into them and all but disappearing from the watchful eyes of the night.

Reaching out, he trailed his fingers against the stone wall, feeling the rough texture of the bitterly cold bricks soothe his skin.

He walked down the halls he knew so well. And as he made his way to his favorite room during the day, he followed the curve of the shadows almost effortlessly.