Chapter Two
"So you're on the run now and the first place you go to is a library?" Lonny remarked.
As odd as the place is given the situation, Tea always wanted to go back to the library. Its silence and peace along with the pretty interior and myriad of books are like heaven compared to the broken-down apartment and her father.
She scoured the aisles of books and found Sherlock Holmes in the mystery section. She brought back at least Sherlock Holmes books to a chair and started reading, her mind finally experiencing bliss.
"Really? Sherlock Holmes?" Lonny whispered disappointedly.
"Yeah. It's all about mysteries! I also like Sherlock Holmes!" She replied. She went back into the pages, not wanting to be interrupted again. The particular story she was reading, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is about an investigation where Sherlock Holmes must find the suspect in a murder, who is supposedly a ghoulish and murderous hound. Of course, it wasn't really a hound, but as Tea kept reading, she wondered: What if it really is a hound? It was a stupid question but the implications it can have on the story would be tremendous!
A man sat across from her and dropped a stack of books on the table beside him. The thump of the impact disrupted Tea's focus. She glanced at the man, who had blue slick-back hair and an unusually formal attire. The stack of books surprised her; They were all also Sherlock Holmes.
She looked at her stack, and then at the man's stack. She had one more than him, but it was unlikely she would finish all of them, or even one. She thought about why she ran away and how stupid it was to go without a plan, but since she's at it, she decided she wanted to do something nice in her first moments of freedom.
She grabbed the top book and scuffed her way to the man, putting hers on top of his stack. Before she can lift her hand from the stack, the man exclaimed loudly, followed by continuous hushes. She froze, not knowing what she did wrong.
"This... This is..." He muttered, eyeing the book so hard it practically began sweating.
"This... is A MASTERPIECE!" He screamed out finally. Everyone in the library simply stared at him, knowing that doing anything to him will solve no problems whatsoever. He looked like he was going to further lecture on about the book to no one in particular until he noticed Tea looking up at him, bewildered. Then he saw her hand in his stack. Turning her gaze, too, she realized that it looks like she's stealing one of his books and not vice versa.
"I'm not trying to steal any books, I, um-" before she can continue, the man interrupted her.
"Oh, don't worry. I know you're not stealing one of my books," he assured, then he went rapid fire.
"Hounds of the Baskerville is one of the books I was actually looking for, so it as the top book? Not by coincidence. Also, the way your arm is angled shows you were placing, not taking, especially when your thumb is between the books. Plus, the top of your pile shows signs of being moved around, and, with your stature, arm length and the distance between the armrest and the pile, it can be safe to assume you placed the books first then sat and thus slightly struggled to get the book. Odd. Not only that, all of your books are Sherlock Holmes, so you must be curious about Mr. Holmes himself or, at most, be a fan!" He concluded.
"That and I saw you walk up here," he added. He snickered. "I love overcomplicating my deductions!"
With all that said in such a short amount of time, all she can muster up was "Huh?"
"Well, did I get anything right, dear Tea?"
She froze.
"How-"
"Less talk, more action. You need to come with me now," he ordered. What? She didn't even know who he is, and he's telling her to come with him? Despite his pompous appearance, he can be just as bad as her father!
"I don't even know who you are!" She whispered harshly, remembering mid-sentence that they were still in a library.
"Oh please, you already know me," he replied. Tea had no idea what he was talking about. The man simply grabbed The Hound of the Baskervilles book and tossed it to her. He could've left it on his stack, she thought.
"I'm going to say it again. You need to come with me now." His face was now stern and intent. he looked at her right hand and suddenly became surprised.
"Oh, how could I forget! You don't have a servant yet!" He blurted.
"What?"
"Let's go- NOW," he said.
He grabbed Tea's arms and led her out, with Tea not doing anything out of fear, curiosity, and not wanting to attract attention in a library. A servant? She thought of a maid or a butler. But summoning a servant? She was utterly confused about why she had to summon a maid, preferably a butler, and didn't know what to do so she kept quiet. She wanted to talk to Lonny about this strange man, but it would look too weird. She simply kept quiet and followed, until the question that kept tugging on her mind finally got out.
"I still don't know who you are! Who are you?" She asked, this time more impatiently.
The man, still facing forward and sighed. "You already know me. In fact, you've been reading about me," he replied.
All Tea had been reading at the library was about Sherlock Holmes, so how can she possibly know him- Wait.
"You're Sherlock Holmes?!" She said with astonishment.
"Took you long enough," he mused.
Now she's more confused than ever.
The lady went to the two piles of Sherlock Holmes books and grinned ever so slightly.
"He really is a ruler after all," she remarked.
"Sherlock Holmes' detective skills are unrivaled, so of course he would notice us following the girl and my presence," Assassin added.
The woman nodded in agreement and looked at Assassin.
"Follow Ruler and the girl," she commanded.
Assassin dematerialized, now following her orders. She looked at the seat where Sherlock sat and saw the book The Hound of the Baskervilles laying peacefully. The cover showed the supposed hound of the novel. She furrowed her eyebrows, contemplating on the actual hound they have to deal with and the issue surrounding the particular situation.
This is going to get way more complicated, she thought.
Apologies for this chapter being short! The third chapter will be longer and will be more "engaging," to say the least.
Also, I don't have a set schedule for uploading chapters, I sort of just do it, and with the fact that I'm working on another project for Legend Of Zelda Breath of the Wild, so follow and fav this story to get updates! (plz)
See ya!
