When someone tells you to leave something alone, it's usually best that you do just that. Me on the other hand, when my curiosity is peaked I dig and dig until I'm satisfied with what I find. This is what brought me to the library. I set up a meeting with my father in hopes of getting some information on Nicolas but ended up with Adam who's none too pleased with me at the moment. Then found the courage to ask Nicolas about Simone only to be told I should 'forget' her. Now, he's upset too and I'm still without answers.
It feels selfish to be thinking about my own needs when I have not one, but two men mad at me for unknown reasons but this feeling inside of me won't let me be. Nicolas' reaction only made me wonder what happened to her and initially led to my current position fruitlessly looking through old census records.
A yawn made it's way through my lips despite my efforts to muffle it. I didn't get much sleep last night--couldn't with the kiss still fresh on my mind. Everything about it felt right and oddly, didn't feel new. Every move his tongue made against mine was anticipated like I'd had the pleasure of feeling it before then. Memories of it kept me up most of the night and when I had managed to fall asleep I was jolted awake by nightmares filled with being bitten on that dark street. When sleep was no longer an option I made my way here, where I have been pretty much all day.
With my face resting against the hand that's not clicking through pages of records, I rubbed my left eye free of the sleep trying to overcome me. I suppose I could come back after I've had the sleep I need but I know as soon as the cold late Autumn air hits me I'll be wide awake. Keeping this in mind I kept clicking, glancing over the names and nearly missed what I was looking for when another yawn rocketed through me causing my eyes to water.
Nicolas Ortiz DeLeon
Spose: Simone Jacqueline Mathieu
I got so excited that sleep was soon forgotten only to realize that other than an address and names of a few other possible relatives, this was it. I don't know what I was looking for exactly--maybe some dates of birth and death but neither were present. Frustrated I dropped my head on the keyboard. The keys smashed together causing a loud ping from the speakers.
Jumping up quickly, I looked around making sure the few people that were in there with me hadn't noticed. In the process, I noticed a new window on the screen that included Nicolas's place of birth with a weird symbol at the beginning of his name. Pulling up a new tab I entered a few words to describe the weird symbol, smacking my forehead again when the page loaded with a title I should have remember from my dream.
Prince.
In that same search engine I began a new search, suddenly fueled and feeling that I might actually be getting somewhere. There are tons of history books with the English and Chinese royal family trees so maybe there is a book of Spanish royalty that will finally yield answers. The search results were filled with a bunch of opinion pages and news articles about the extinct bloodline and rumors of unclaimed treasure. Beneath that, there was one that revealed a title of a supposed book that was disputed by the American government. Without hesitation I closed everything out and made my way to the front desk feeling hopeful.
The older woman behind it was checking the backs of a few books and only looked up with a smile after hearing me yawn for a third time. "Sorry Sweetie. Need me to look something up for you?"
"Yes," smiling back sheepishly I dragged my nails lightly across the wooden counter, chewing on the inside of my cheek, "you wouldn't happen to have the Golden Book of Kings, would you?"
The woman looked at me from over the rim of her dark brown framed glasses, "No." She answered a little too quickly going back to her work as if I weren't standing there.
"Ma'am please, I don't want to check the book out. I just need to--"
"There is no such book and if there were I'm sure it would be in a Museum."
My ears perked hearing her say that with such conviction. "If there is no such book then how do you figure it would be in a Museum?" I watched her stiffen and clench her jaw. She hadn't realized her mistake and now she knew she was caught. Running her fingers along the length of the long graying braid falling over her shoulder she looked to her left, then right, standing and leaned into me.
"That was just a slip of the tongue. There is no Golden Book of Kings." She said slowly as if she were trying to convince herself of that. I wasn't fooled however. If she had not said what she did, the slight trembling of her hands would have been a dead give away.
I leaned in just as much as she did trying to be as intimidating as possible but nice at the same time. "It was a slip of the tongue but it was full of truth." In a split second her eyes flashed just as Roger's had when he first proved to me that he was a wolf and small smile spread across my face. "Look Ma'am, I know you're a wolf and I know the book is real. You're probably under strict orders to deny it but you have my word that I won't tell anyone about the book. I just need to look through it. You can even stay with me while I do it."
She looked a little surprised and actually sniffed the air around me. Her brow rose a little. I started to tell her I was the daughter of one of the councilman but I'm not sure thats something I should be throwing around freely. The woman backed up looking down at her watch then to me nervously. It's pretty late and being a Saturday, that means the Library will be closing soon. I took that as a hint making my way toward the small lounge area and pulled out my notebook. In it I had some of the basic details from my dreams and what I did know about Nicolas. I added Simone's whole name and just because, drew out the small symbol that was beside Nicolas' name along with the claims that the bloodline was no more. I don't know why this was so important to me but I felt it necessary to record that.
When the last few people left the building the woman rounded the high front desk and approached me, nerves obvious and showing through her movements. I stood right away, shoving my books into my bag while she locked the front door. With the same ring of keys, she nodded for me to follow her through the back, up a flight of stairs that led up to a room filled with boxes and had a windowless door in the far right corner. She went straight to it, unlocking it without a second thought but held onto the knob before allowing me in.
"Listen to me carefully, this book is very old and the only in existence as far as I know. The only reason it is here in this Library is because it was found here, packed within a box full of items that belonged to the last King and his Queen. Those items are now on display in the Museum across the street but this book has remained a secret for obvious reasons."
With that she pushed through the door allowing a rush of very cold air to hit us. It was like being inside a refrigerator. The walls were lined with metal doors with locks on each. The white light reminded me of the very lights used in hospitals. The woman sat down her keys to retrieve two pairs of gloves, giving a pair to me as she slipped on the others. She scanned the cases stopping at one that was a few feet away from the door, and twisted the key in the lock. She tugged on the handle pulling the long draw out that held what looked like a silk blanket. It was red with gold trim and fringes just like the cloth that held the ring Nicolas gave to Simone. She placed the bundle down on the metal table carefully unwrapping it with me standing over her shoulder.
I feel like a kid on Christmas day. Like this book holds the final answers to all of this. The book that was uncovered was not at all what I'd expected. It looked old but expensive like it did belong displayed in a Museum. It was brown with gold binding and lettering that spelled out "Libro de los Reyes". Despite the Librarian having main control over the book I couldn't help but trace the letters with my fingers.
"Beautiful isn't it? When I first found this book I did the same thing."
"You found it?"
She nodded pushing her glasses a little higher on her nose. "Yes, about twenty or so years ago. I could tell after I looked through it that it was valuable and after speaking with my father who was good friends with a Councilman at the time, I decided that it was best to keep this book a secret. One of the other Librarians thought we could get some money off of this so I hid the book for a few years claiming I knew nothing of it. It drove her absolutely mad thinking the book was taken by the government. When she quit working here I returned the book, hiding it here in an unmarked case. The jewelry, gems, and gold dishes I found with it were the only things I turned in with a made up story about finding it buried in a chest in my yard."
Looking at the antique, if that's what it could be called, I sort of understood why she would want to keep such a find underwraps but a part of me was still curious.
"Why?"
Rather than answer with words she carefully unlocked the latch on the book, turning to the first page. My eyes nearly touched the table falling upon the page that looked as if it were made of pure gold. The handwriting was perfectly written in black ink and if I'm not mistaken, by hand. It was in Spanish making it hard for me to read but the Librarian, thankful acted as a translator.
"This book was created by the first known King in the Dominican Republic with the intention of recording his history for future heirs. He was the son of a poor man that was living on top of a gold mine and was deemed royalty since it was located solely on his land. Through him the royal line was created." She turned a few pages that all contained names, "The person or persons responsible for documenting the history of this bloodline included stories of how the Princes and Princesses that later became Kings and Queens met their spouses. It also details the births and unfortunately the deaths of those children."
I probably should have told her right off what name I was looking for but I was so intrigued by the book. I've never been a history person but to be in front of and within touching range of something so old with so much historical importance I was too excited to speak. I came here with a purpose, needed and wanted to see this with a purpose that I no longer remember.
I watched her turn delicate page after page until she came to the middle of the book. There, written at the top of the last page before everything goes blank was the name, 'Nicolas Ortiz DeLeon'. I could make out what some of the words said but not enough to understand it. She ran her fingers over the name seemingly upset, prompting me to find my voice.
"What? What does it say?"
The Librarian sighed turning a little in her seat, "This is the last known Prince--King rather. He was the only son of King Rafael Ortiz Perez and Adrianna DeLeon Covas who was said to be the youngest daughter of the King of Spain. They married when she was just sixteen and he twenty-one. After his parents' death, King Nicolas came to America in hopes of creating a new dynasty and fell in love with a French farmer's daughter. He married Simone Mathieu and lived here until her death only two years after they married." She paused, sighing sadly, "She died during childbirth as did their only son." She again looking confused and it was eating away at me. "Queen Simone and Prince Nelson were buried on the property of King Nicolas' American land. His whereabouts and date of death are not here." I shared in her confusion then but I had more questions than anything. She knew of the Council but did she not know that Nicolas was a vampire with a chair? Or maybe she didn't know if I knew that? She scanned over the page again, sighing again as she sat back and looked at me. "What did you need from this book?"
Should I tell her my reasoning or make up some story about investigating the so-called extinction of the bloodline. After a second of thinking, I realized that wasn't such a bad idea.
"I have to do a paper on this. Everything I read online said this royal bloodline went extinct and I need proof and something to back up my theory of what really happened."
"Which is?"
I swallowed loudly not expecting the older woman to hit me with a question I didn't have the answer to. In the back of my mind I felt as if she was challenging me to see if what I'd just told her was a lie.
"I--I--don't think I'm crazy for this but--I uh--think that perhaps King Nicolas was devastated by the death of his wife and son and simply relocated without notice." She looked at me with a quirked brow and an expression that almost told of her disbelief so I continued before she could question me again. "I mean, think about it. If you were in love with someone and they died, would you want to stay in the house you shared with them? Many people do but I'm sure it's hard for them. Maybe he couldn't take it. He did lose his son too."
She nodded her head looking away. "I suppose that could have been the case. His money disappeared as well and a few years after the deaths the house they called their palace was knocked down. The land was closed off and unkept for centuries until about fifty years ago. It was bought by a wealthy Frenchman. The house still sits on the land and is being maintained by family."
"So you don't think anyone there would be able to give me any information on King Nicolas' possible whereabouts?"
She nodded her head again but this time the opposite way. "I doubt they would know. The land had been pretty much vacant until they came along and I'm pretty sure the people that live there now don't even have knowledge of King Nicolas."
Having taken in so much information, I still feel like I haven't gotten anywhere. I need to know more about Simone and why I'm now having memories of her life with Nicolas and none of this as even brought me a step closer. On a hunch, I turned to the Librarian with my fingers crossed.
"Does this book say anything else about the Queen? Living relatives or something?"
"Not really. This book was created to track the royal line. Anything outside of The King and Queen's children wouldn't be in here unless it was speculated that one of them had an illegitimate child."
Mimicking the woman, I sighed, standing while pulling off my gloves. I guess the only way I'm going to figure this out is by asking Nicolas myself even though he told me to forget about her. I'm just going to have to risk him looking at me like I'm crazy for having dreams about their life.
The Librarian stood the book up along the binding to latch it closed. As she did it slipped from her hand slamming against the table. A small sheet of discolored paper fell from the back of the book, floating to the floor just by my feet. Without thinking I leaned forward picking it up with my bare hands, looking over the print that was surprisingly in English...I think. Immediately I gave it to the Librarian to read and watched her face closely. By the time she looked up at me her face was glowing with a smile and her eyes wide.
"Do you know what this is?!"
"Of course not. That's why I gave it to you." I frowned, fighting laughter. How in the hell would I know what that was aside from a piece of paper with fancy handwriting on it?
"Well, this paper is made of cotton and linen rags that were stamped to separate the fibers which stopped being made in this fashion around 1780. What's written on it suggests that it was made well before then and is connected to the lost King." I get her excitement now but she is beating around the bush and yet again, it's eating away at my nerves. "It's a spell." Her face lit up again, "It calls for a lock of hair and a few drops of blood. It says:
'Great Gods of heaven, Mother of thee Moon,
heal thy heart and spirit's wounds.
No longer of flesh and freed of bone
halt thy soul on thy journey home.
Looks to differ thy shall be weary of lies
Thy'll be mistaken, lost in thy eyes.
Bind thy spirits and thy blood,
Return thee to earth thy true love.'"
Her hand flew to her mouth, shaking visibly. Whatever that meant, it had meaning that obviously rocked her to her core. I just stood there waiting for her to come back to life and explain this new find to me. She snapped back to reality after a few seconds longer taking a seat with her hand still covering her mouth.
"This is a spell..."
Didn't she say that? I believe she did. "Not to be rude or anything Ms--"
"Rita. Rita Stanley." While speaking to me her eyes were still focused on the paper clasped between her fingers, her voice flat like she'd zoned on me again.
"Not to be rude or anything Ms. Stanley but I need some clarity here." To that she shook her head apologizing with a quick flash of a smile that didn't reach her still wide eyes.
"This is a rebirth spell. During this time, most people had no clue that just about every midwife was wiccan--witches. According to this book, King Nicolas was known for being a kind man. He freed the slaves he brought to this country as soon as he touched down but their bonds were so strong they stayed with him like family. It makes complete sense now!" She trailed off babbling again, "If the midwife present during the birth was one of those slaves, she would have love King Nicolas so much to want to heal his pain therefore conjuring up this spell to reincarnate the Queen." Rita paused looking down at the paper repeating a few lines, "Looks to differ thy shall be weary of lies, Thy'll be mistaken, lost in thy eyes."
"What does that mean?" Confused doesn't begin to express what I feel. I have a headache brewing just behind my eyes and it's growing the longer I try to figure these riddles out. All I want is clear answers. I swear as soon as I know what all this has to do with me, I'll leave it alone. If I actually thought prayer would get me that, I'd get down on my knees and pray for it right now. Instead, I slid my hand over Rita's giving it a gentle shake.
"I'm sorry, Sweetie. This is just...It means that many would be born with different looks but not to be fooled by the eyes. If this spell was carried out, then it's quite possible that your theory about the lost King is correct. Maybe he did just walk away in hopes of finding her somewhere else but that presents a little bit of a problem considering he was twenty-five when she died. A reincarnation of Queen Simone would have been reborn on the anniversary of her actual death five, ten, maybe even twenty years later. Even if he had found her chances are he would have had to wait for her to grow into a woman to be with her again."
Something about that reminded me of Adam's version of what happened with me and Dalton. I didn't want to think of Nicolas in that light--being so impatient that he robbed some young girl of her innocence and call it love. He wouldn't do that. I don't believe it and refuse to entertain the idea. Going back over what she said, I sat, pulled out my notebook scribbling down everything she just told me with one last question.
"What's her date of death?"
Opening the book with the one hand that was still gloved, she flipped to the page containing Nicolas' biography then closed it and latched it carefully. "February 24, 1647."
I froze allowing my pen to slip through my fingers and hit the floor with a loud snapping sound. Rita looked down at me confusedly as I had been looking at her everytime she got lost in the book and finds, and almost forgot she was there. Pushing back out the chair I collected my book and grabbed my pen only hearing Rita when I was about to run out the door. I threw a quick and vague answer over my shoulder; a lie about being late for a study date to which she accepted without further question. The whole way down the stairs and through the Library to the main door that was only locked on the outside, I kept repeating that date in my head.
February 24, 1647. February 24th.
That's Simone's date of death and my date of birth.