Chapter 13
The next day, Zhier met with me only to take me to the library, where my Faragon was waiting for me on the same floor where his royal highness tried to study but failed.
Zhier told me that he was going to go and meet his father, for what reason, I don't know. But something tells me that it involves the mark on my hands.
"Livia, if you have a hard time understanding something, don't be afraid to tell me." Faragon assures me. Right now, he is trying to teach me about the alphabets of the faes, but the thing about their alphabet is that it's too complicated for me to decipher. I think that I only managed to grasp at least one or two letters at the moment.
I laugh dryly and look up at my elf tutor. "I am very sorry, but I think that I am just not that smart to comprehend more than two at the moment." I feel like a toddler that's just learning the English alphabet. I want to cry. I feel so stupid and embarassed all of a sudden.
Now I get why Zhier hates to study.
"Really?" Faragon wonders. He places a hand on his chin and it is like he is debating something at the back of his mind. "I guess that's alright. Let's just make sure that you practice those two letters. The rest of the letters can follow."
"How many fae letters do I have to study again?"
"103."
"...sure." I feel dizzy. I want to go home.
I am not that stupid, but somehow this place makes me feel like a complete moron. I think that I have lost all my motivation to study. Still, since Faragon is here with me, I have no choice but to force myself to study, or I will just be wasting my time.
If only their alphabets were easier, I could easily memorize them all.
"Why don't we take a small break?" Faragon suggests, after a few hours of my trying to memorize the pattern of the first two alphabets. "You've been working too hard."
Hearing those words made me feel relieved and, at the same time, guilty. "Thank you and I'm sorry." I'm not going to lie that I feel ashamed to represent the human race's intelligence at the moment. And here I thought that since I became an adult that studying would be easy.
Who was I kidding?
"Don't worry about it. We all need a break." Faragon sets a cup of tea before me. I check the color and see that it's red in color. Come to think of it, my brain is so filled with other stuff right now that I am having trouble remembering what color of food to eat.
"It's red." Faragon says, as if he has read my mind about my troubles. "It's safe for you to drink, so don't worry."
"Thanks for being so considerate." I say, after sipping the tea and relaxing in my seat. "I mean no offence when I say this, but fae letters have too many scribbles."
Faragon laughs. "Actually, it was designed like that so that humans won't be familiar with Fae language. Do you know how much trouble it would be if it was easier for humans to decipher our language? They would know how to unveil our world and know our secrets."
"And that is dangerous how?"
"Our magic. I don't mean to say anything offensive to your kind, but it would be better if humans didn't get involved with anything that concerns creation and destruction with just a snap of their fingers." He gives me a wary look as he reads my expression.
I thought about what he said, and I could not help but nod my head in agreement. Humans can't do magic and yet we still manage to engage in wars and environmental destruction. I guess that an overcomplicated fae language is better than putting fae knowledge at the hands of humans.
"I can't say that you are wrong about that. As much as I hate agreeing with Zhier all the time, I find it sensible that he hates humans because we do destroy the land that we live in. Even when the climate changes, humans still continue to abuse it. I am not saying that we are all bad, it's just that some of us tend to abuse what little power we have." I pause and look at the letters that I scribbled down before turning to Faragon. "By the way, if you say that humans are not meant to learn your language, why are you teaching me?"
"I wonder about that too. Maybe because you have the Unseelie Prince's mark on you, I would gamble to trust you. Also, I don't think that you are the type of person to engage in abusive power. You merely want to read books about your mark."
Speaking of the mark, I look down at my hand. The accessory that Zhier gave me yesterday covers the mark, and yet I can somehow feel that it is still there. Looking back, I wonder where I would be if I did not have this mark? The answer to that is simple. I'd be home.
I finish my tea before setting it aside so I can get my paper and quill to start studying again.
"You're going to continue? Aren't you tired?" Faragon's gaze is unsure. It looks like he wants to stop me, but at the same time, he is trying to respect my decision.
"The sooner that I learn the language, the sooner that I can read the books that might have something to do with my mark and remove it. It's not like I can rely on Zhier for that."
I did not think that he would take my words kindly, as it is kind of an insult to their prince, but to my surprise, he just laughs. "It's true. Prince Zhier does not do well when it comes to studying. He's always better at fighting than academics."
"Well, there goes my image that all princes are perfect beings." I mutter, making Faragon laugh again.
"I would love to stay and help you study some more. Unfortunately, I have to attend the Queen soon." His eyes were apologetic when he addressed me.
"Don't worry." I intend to assure him. "I'll be fine right here. I can pretty much learn how to ride the stone guardians on my own. If I have any questions, I'll ask you at our next meeting."
"I see. I'll be going first, Lady Livia. And before I leave, make sure that you will not stay here until darkness falls. It won't be safe for those who are not used to living here. There are a lot of risk."
"Thanks for the motivation. Now, I will be sure not to stay here when the sun goes down." I am starting to hate this place more and more. I swear, when I get back home, I will wear a blindfold so I can never accidentally interact with a fairy.
Faragon left afterwards, after I promised him that I would leave before sundown.
Maybe just two more letters. Perhaps I can still fit some information into my brain. I start to work, tracing the letters in repetition until I can memorize them.
At least, that's what I remember doing before my mind begins to cloud and I soon start to fall asleep. By the time that I woke up, my body felt stiff, alerting me that I have been asleep for hours now.
"Oh, shoot! No, no, no, no." I jolt up immediately to look outside. My body felt cold when I saw that it was already night time. I look around in a panic. The guard that used to guard this place are already gone. I'm completely alone and enshrouded in the dark.
"Dang it." I quickly gathered my papers in my arms, but in my current state, I became clumsy and dropped everything on the ground.
I sigh to calm myself. "Keep calm, Livia. There's nothing to panic." I tell myself. I duck down to grab the quill and papers that have fallen under the table. I have just collected and stacked them neatly on the table when I noticed that it has suddenly become quiet than it was a few seconds ago. I know that it is night time, but until a moment ago, I could still hear a few fae crickets and frogs outside.
"Maybe they just got tired and went to sleep." Again, I tell myself so I would not panic. I decided to leave everything on the table while I made my way to the floor's exit. I wonder if the stone guardians are still awake at this time?
A movement caught my attention from the corner of my eyes, and I paused. I'm not sure if I should even bother looking that way right now. I might see something unpleasant if I look, but I can't resist giving in to my innate curiosity.
Call me naive, but I begin to move in the direction of the location of the shadow that I last saw. I'm still unsure if what happened before was just my imagination. I instinctively clasped my hand over the mark, having the thought that it would protect me.
I pause. Come to think of it, doesn't the mark only activate when I am in danger? Could it perhaps not be evil magic? I mean, it protected me a lot since I got here.
I was so preoccupied with looking at the mark that I did not notice that a sound was coming from the aisle next to me. I gulp and start to peek between the books to see what is on the other side.
Nothing. Maybe my ears are just playing tricks on me.
I start to back up when I hear the same growling sound again, but this time it did not come from behind the shelf. It came from the top.
I looked up carefully so I would not startle the thing crouching at the top of the shelf. A set of bright red eyes and long, angular fangs that were clenched into a snarl greeted me. My eyes did not adjust enough to the darkness, but there was enough light for me to identify from its outline what it is.
A beast.
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