Dagger

Chapter 6

Forest was the sleeping in kind of guy. The Silver Blades never woke him up and so he wasn't used to being pulled out of bed.

Forest yawned groggily as he, Wyatt, and Jack stepped out of the elevator and into a large open area with a massive window at the far back. There was a seating area at the foot of the window and an elegant wooden double door to his right. There was an open area to his left, the flooring merged into white polished stone. He recognized this floor as he came here multiple times throughout the day to go to the cafeteria, which was on the left, but today he would be venturing to the right.

    The library had lots of wood. Wooden bookshelves filled the room, along with wooden tables and chairs. Large windows were situated by the reading areas. It was raining that day, so the glass had raindrops dotting it. A slight draft of cold air emitted from the windows. Forest looked up and noticed more books and, through the maze of shelves, there was a staircase that led to the upper floor. This part of Proelia had a completely different feel from the rest of the building. While most areas had a modern feel to it, the library felt more traditional and old.

    Wyatt happily skipped off and as Jack went to follow him, he muttered to Forest. "The librarian can help find what you're looking for." Just like that, he was alone. Forest looked around, looking lost like a deer in headlights.

    "Hello there!" Forest was startled as he noticed that the voice came from the checkout, which was  beside him to his right.

    It was a young girl with flowy dark hair. She wore a periwinkle blue skirt with a matching lace halter top. The shade of blue gave a nice contrast to her dark skin and hair, it made her blue eyes pop. Forest leaned away, a little taken back. "Is it just you here?" She looked awfully young, and he couldn't help but wonder.

    "Yup!" She smiled. "It used to be me and my uncle, but he died..." Her smile fell a little but he could tell she was trying hard to keep a happy disposition. "So I took over, How can I help?!" She was very cheerful despite the heavy topic.

    "I guess I'm looking for combat books, special moves, stuff like that. I don't really know, I was kind of dragged out of bed..."  He said, still tired.

The girl stared at him for a moment  and Forest began to feel uncomfortable. Her eyes were wide with surprise or recognition, something.

    "I know you!" She pointed her finger at him and Forest recoiled. This girl was freaking him out. She slightly cocked her head to the side, it was a quick gesture. She then pulled her hand away. "Oh right..." She looked down and bit on her fingernail. She then looked back up at Forest, her eyes piercing his.

    She smiled at him, then spoke,"I'm Julianne. You may not remember me, but my friend and I saved you the other day."

    Forest's gears in his brain turned, then he remembered. His stance relaxed a little and he nodded. "That was you?" Julianne smiled and nodded in response. "Oh, thanks for saving me then, I am eternally grateful." He smiled wide and he heard a giggle in response.

"Oh!" Julianne said as she remembered something. "I almost forgot about your book!" Julianne disappeared behind the desk. He could hear her rummaging through the assortment of books that were stashed behind the desk. Pages were ruffled and books were restacked. After a few moments she  popped her head over the desk and dusted off a brown leather book.

  Julianne held the book out towards him "Here you go! This book should fit your needs better than the other ones on the shelves."
She waved her hand in the general direction of the wooden shelves filled with books.

    Forest nodded and smiled quickly. "Thanks." He looked down at the roughed brown leather book in his hands. He rubbed his thumb against the scaly cover, which had no title. Forest headed over toward one of the seating areas that hid amongst the shelves.