"It was the hugest ...oof! hugestest water wall I evered see!"
The little girl scrambled to pick herself off the floor, her eyes wide and hands waving above her head. Her mother shifted in her chair.
"Is that so, darling? Well, don't worry about that anymore. It's time for you to go to bed."
The little girl was still prancing around the floor, re-telling the few soldiers and servants exactly how high the waves had been, when her mother nodded to her nanny.
"Li'l miss, that's enough for tonight. Your mummy is a bit tired and needs her rest. Now, off to bed with ya, luv!"
The nanny gathered the little girl in her arms and listened to her story while carrying her off to her room.
"Leave us, please," the matriarch commanded. The soldiers, servants, and nobles turned out of the room, bowing or nodding their heads as they passed her. When the room was cleared, the queen immediately stood up. The edges of her robe fluttered as she walked toward an open window. The night was cool against her face and as she looked up, she saw so many lights, they almost looked like stars. But she knew better than that.
"Gowan." A man propped against a far wall straightened and walked toward her, bowing as he flipped his hood back. When he moved, you could almost see the small patches of grey that peppered his dark hair. When he stood up and looked at the queen, he immediately frowned.
"I want to know how they were able to pull off something of this scale and why we were not aware of it."
"My queen," he paused then continued, "I apologize, but that should not be our primary concern at the moment."
She waited.
"It seems there is something more sinister than what they have let on."
I slammed the book shut. Too dramatic. The blue glow surrounding the book suddenly vanished, the characters being sucked back into the book. A quiet click! escaped one last time before all was silent. I glanced at my watch then slid my hands over a few other covers scattered across the wooden table, coming to rest on one, in particular. Scooping it up in one hand, I flipped it open to see where I had last left off when I saw a shadow cross the table. I slowly closed the book.
"Books," she hissed, "are not toys." I looked to find myself staring at a young woman dressed in a white shirt, her eyes keen on the book in my hand. A strand of her white hair fell over her glasses. as she finished speaking. Scary.
"Yes" is all I said. She started to move but I quickly stood up and grabbed the books farthest from me. "Yes, I agree." I stacked them a few at a time, gathering them first into a pile more to protect them from her than anything else.
She straightened herself and crossed her arms, pretending to fiddle with her blue bracelet. I glanced down at my own. "Well, then. You should be careful as to where you place your grimy, little fingers." She casually threw up a hand, "These books are expensive! And people like you should handle them with gloves or, better yet, not at a-a-" but before she could finish, a small thud echoed from the back of the room. She immediately turned around to see that a book had slid off one of the top shelves and was resting on the floor. Frantically, she began walking toward it, whipping her head back one last time, her glasses nearly flying off her face. Glasses are always for show, these days.
"It's closing time. You should leave now. And don't even bother to put anything back, since only we are allowed back. You'll just mess everything up." With that, she was gone.
Sighing, I finished stacking the pile of books. I picked the book I was about to read back up and, after surveying the room, slipped it into my small pack, making sure its corners wouldn't be noticeable. The lights began flickering to indicate that the Library was about to close. When I got to the door, I dropped my pack, flattening it with my foot, and carefully slid it under the sensors. Sometimes, I believe the sensors are just for show, since hardly anyone comes to the Library and even less come to check out books. Once outside, I swung the pack over my shoulder and began shuffling home.
I looked up and saw the last cloud drifting by with a small, feather-like tail. Then I remembered the woman and shook my head.
Book-Keepers. It's been generations since their very first coronation or whatever. There are rumors that they-we, everybody-didn't used to be like this. Everything was more open-more free. People were seen playing in areas made for them, eating together, or even just walking around for no reason other than for the sake of walking. Sometimes, these people even carried books with them...and everybody knew how to read them.
When I reached the steps of my house and reached for the door handle, I paused. What kind of world would that be?
**Author's note: I'm not a skilled writer, I know. So this is just story is just for fun.