Thorns of Roses

Chapter 58 - Duty Or Desire, That Is The Question

"Where is he going?" Félix quirked an eyebrow, as his eyes followed Nino who vanished among the bookshelves.

"No clue." Alya shook her head, her cheeks still flushed where Nino kissed her a moment ago. "Sooo... How're things between you two by the way?" she smirked, glancing at the couple with a meaningful look.

Marinette jolted up from her notes and peered into the Prince's greenish eyes, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders - pulling her closer to him in the process."Everything is perfect." Félix replied, his emerald greens finding their way to Mari's icy-blues. A wide grin plastered across his face when she smiled back - a light red hue staining her cheeks in the meantime.

"I can see that." Alya snickered and turned behind her back when she heard some rustling noises coming from the stairs.

"Found it!" Captain Lahiffe appeared, holding a rolled-up parchment in his grasp as he rushed back to their table.

"And... What is it that you found exactly?" Félix inquired confused, his arm still around the Princess who stared at the captain curiously.

"Alright, so as you all know I got the position of the head of the Palace guards this summer." Nino started, panting a little as he sat down. "And to be completely prepared for my new duty, I wanted to get to know the territory of the Palace, as well as the garden, by studying the building's structure. So I searched for some of the blueprints that had drawn throughout the years. "

"And why is it important on behalf of our research? "Félix asked.

" Well, you said that you've looked through all the sections in the library. "Nino shifted his gaze to the couple, as a confirmation of his statement.

"Indeed. "Marinette nodded, not fully understanding why the captain wanted to know.

"..And that's where you are mistaken then! " the Captain opened the scroll and placed it in the middle of the table - revealing its content.

It was an old plan of the Palace's ground floor.

"So, as I was looking through the blueprints, I found this one that was written a hundred years ago, way before the war." He tapped on a certain part of the parchment with his index finger. "..And I happened to notice quite an interesting thing. According to this blueprint, the library's footage used to be wider than it is now."

"Wait.. What do you mean?" Alya leaned closer.

"Before the war had happened, the library had another room right here," Nino pointed at a certain spot where another square footage was drawn to the library. "The reason is unknown but it looks like that this room got destroyed or at least hidden from our eyes."

"That's...impossible!" Marinette's eyes bulged in dismay, "I've never heard about this before." Her voice faltered as she investigated the parchment. "But why would anyone hide a room in the library anyway unless ...." She halted for a moment, before looking at the Captain in recognition. " Unless this room harbored something my ancestors wanted to keep from us."

"..0r from the South Kingdom. " Félix interjected and stood up. "Well whatever it is hiding, we should see it ourselves." Looking at the Princess, he stretched his arm. "Shall we, Princess?"

"Yes." Marinette's lips curled into a smile as she accepted his hand and let him help her stand up.

~~~

It only took a few minutes for the four of them to go downstairs. While trying to not get lost among the labyrinth of bookshelves, they followed Nino, with the parchment in his hand, who led them to one of the corners of the library.