If There Be Light, Then There Be Darkness
Written by Princess Kayla
Inspired by Naoko Takeuchi's "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon"
Chapter Four - The Restricted Section
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Yearning. That was Beryl's state – a state of yearning. Since she had returned to the library, her mind was completely overcome with thoughts of her Prince and their first meeting in the garden. He was simply...intoxicating. A sigh of bliss left her lips.
"Beryl, I am heading upstairs to my quarters now." Aggravation occurred as the Kingdom's Historian interrupted her enjoyment.
"Very well," she bit back her irritation.
The Historian set aside some papers he was working on and stood to his feet. He was grey-headed and wrinkled, pale from the days locked away in the dusty library. "Do not stay up too late, Beryl," he said his farewells.
"Yes, Sir," she mumbled and watched as he sluggishly climbed the nearby stairs to his quarters. She pitied him and his waste of a life. He had spent his days serving as Historian, letting go of any desire to marry or start a family. If he had any longings outside of the thousands of books in the library, he did not reveal them. Beryl often wondered if she was destined for the same fate.
'No!' she slapped herself mentally, 'I am meant for more than this.' Her thoughts drifted back to Endymion's eyes, and she wondered if he was her destiny.
'Beryl, you must treasure your gifts. Your purpose is to continue to grow and learn the extent of your power,' Beryl remembered her mother saying to her, 'You are fated for greatness.'
As if her mother was there, Beryl nodded in agreement. She took her place as the Historian's assistant so that she could do just as she promised her mother and grandmother.
Whenever, she had completed the tasks the Historian gave her, and he had headed off to sleep, she would sneak into the dusty depths of the rear library - the restricted section.
Just as in her town, sorcery was forbidden. Some did not even believe that it existed. The Prince's grandfather, King Terran, declared all wizardry prohibited. A document in the restricted section explained that King Terran believed that a great evil, described as 'infinite darkness,' threatened the kingdom and by preventing all forms of mysticism, the kingdom would be protected.
Beryl remembered her grandmother once saying, 'They think we all belong to the darkness. They do not understand how we are different. You can give into it, but we do not. We cannot. If we let her take us, we are no longer ourselves. We are hers to be used as she pleases.' Beryl had not understood what she meant then and still did not know. But she remembered her grandmother calling the darkness a 'she,' and Beryl wondered who exactly 'she' was and how did 'she' threaten the great Golden Kingdom.
Since working there, she learned her book of spells - the one she had saved all those years ago - was one of three. There were three clans of sorcerers. In one of the books found in the library, each member of the clans were named, and each one had been marked out with dates beside them. All were marked out except her mother and grandmother. This made her wonder if the one who had marked the names out stopped before learning of her loved ones' deaths. She noted that her name was not written in the book and pondered if her mother had shielded her from the knowledge of the world. If so, with the death of her grandmother and mother, it was most likely believed that sorcery had died with them. The power in her blood became all the more precious. She knew she had to protect and care for it.
"I will keep it safe," Beryl whispered into the silent library, wishing that her mother and grandmother could hear her.
Sighing, she finished up her work for the day and went to her tiny room under the stairs. It was nothing much, but it was a place for her to hide herself and her secrets. She lifted up the mattress and reached into a slit she had cut underneath. Carefully, she pulled her priceless grimoire from its hiding place. What little sunlight reached through the few windows had disappeared, so she lit her lantern and walked through the night to the restricted area.
She placed the lantern to the ground and pulled a book from one of the shelves - The Mystics of Nature. She sat down and opened the book to where she had left off and then turned to a similar page in her grimoire. She had been working through her family's spells, trying to trace them back to their roots. She wanted to learn of their origin in order to fully grasp the beauty of each one.
Beryl was so focused on her studies that she did not notice the library door open; she did not hear the footsteps come down the aisle.
"A spell to turn dirt into water?"
Beryl let out a scream, and a hand came crashing down over her mouth. The man shushed her, "Please, it is me, Endymion. I am sorry; I did not mean to startle you."
A heavy door opened. "Beryl? Are you alright?" the Historian's old, deep voice called from the other side of the library.
Her Prince looked at her with pleading eyes that begged her not to reveal his presence. She pulled his hand away, "Everything is fine, Sir. I believe I saw a mouse. It surprised me."
"Very well," he huffed, "You need to be off to bed."
"I will soon, Sir. I am putting away the last of today's books," she lied.
"Alright. Goodnight."
"Yes, Sir, goodnight." She waited for the sound of the door closing and turned to the Prince. She quickly stood to her feet and bowed her head. "I apologize for screaming, my Prince."
"No, no. I should not have snuck up on you like that. I saw the light of your lantern and was curious," he explained regretfully.
"May I ask, my Prince, why are you here so late?" Beryl questioned quietly.
"I guess you could say that I escaped my room for the night," he answered, trying to keep his voice down, "I could not sleep and thought I could perhaps steal a book from the library; perhaps a story would calm my wandering thoughts and help me rest."
Beryl could barely see his face in the light of the lantern, but it still captivated her. She stood so close to him in the small aisle that she could smell him. He smelt of the Rose Sanctuary - so hypnotic. "My Prince, I can show you some books. What are you interested in? Adventure? Theology? History?" she paused, "...romance?"
He bent down to look at the books. Immediately, she was mortified. If he took note of what they were, she could be arrested. She dropped down beside him and quickly started to gather her things. He touched her arm, and she instantly hesitated. His touch was electric, like a strike of lightning. "Please, my Prince, this is nothing that you would be interested in," she begged.
He gently pushed her aside and picked up the grimoire. He thumbed through the pages, squinting to make out the words in the dim light. 'What do I do?!' Beryl's thoughts screamed.
"Sorcery?" the Prince questioned, "Interesting."
"My Prince - I - uh..." Beryl stumbled over her words, "please let me explain."
He raised a hand at her, "It is alright. I am not going to tell. Strangely, I have been wondering about similar things as of late." She was shocked. He did not appear bothered at all by her reading such forbidden material. "I have grown up hearing stories of magic, but never seen any evidence. This book seems quite old, possibly from before the ban of sorcery?"
"I believe so," Beryl tried to play off her knowledge of the book's origin. "I have grown up hearing of stories as well. I could not help but be curious when I noticed the articles here in the..."
"Restricted section," he finished for her with a playful smile that made Beryl's breathing quicken. This must have worried him because he calmed her, "Please, believe me, it is fine. I will keep your secret as long as you keep mine. I do not want anyone knowing of my little adventure here tonight." Again she nodded reassured, and her heart rate slowed.
"Actually, there is a story passed down through the royal family that there is magic in the blood of each of the heirs to the throne," he shared, surprising Beryl. "Elysion...I think it has something to do with why we sometimes call our kingdom that." He closed the book and handed it back to her. "I would love to know more about that. Are there any books that refer to it?"
Beryl nodded, "I have come across a few that might fit what you are looking for, but I have not studied them." She placed the grimoire on the shelf, pretending that it belonged there, and picked up the lantern. "I can show you, your Highness." He nodded, and she led him out of the restricted area and into the historical section of the library. She brought the light up to the shelves to scan the spines of the books. "Here," she stopped on one, "'Elysion: Myth or Legend.'" She took the book off the shelf and handed it to him.
"Thank you," he looked over the cover, "I will enjoy reading this." He smiled again, and Beryl's heart fluttered. Even in the dim light, he was radiant - her Prince. "How did you become the Royal Historian's assistant?" he asked, his interest in her made her heart skip a beat.
She collected herself and began, "Before I came here, I lived with a woman in town. She was the keeper of the local bookshop. She took care of me when I arrived in town."
"You were alone?" he asked. Beryl clung to the concern in his voice.
"I was born far away from here, and when my family died abruptly, I came here alone. Calla, the bookkeeper, offered me room and board," Beryl explained, "So, I worked for her. She was very kind to me, but she was in her late years." She paused. "One of my duties was to collect books and deliver them to the royal library and bring back books that could sale in the shop. That was how I met the Historian."
"I see," the Prince said.
Beryl sighed deeply, recalling her caretaker's face, "Calla passed away a few years ago. It was not tragic or sudden. She just slipped away one night in her sleep."
"I am sorry for your loss." Beryl could hear the sympathy in his voice, and she imagined his arms around her, comforting her.
She continued, "The Historian heard of Calla's death and approached me after that. He offered me the opportunity to leave the bookshop behind and take the position as his assistant. With it came a room and a comfortable life." Beryl did not dare tell him that her true reason for taking the position was to learn about her ancestry.
"It seems you were meant to be in a place of books," the Prince commented, "I hope you are being well cared for as you serve our kingdom."
Beryl nodded with a smile, "I am, thank you."
"Good," he smiled, "Well, I have to be going back to my room." Her head dropped in sadness. "I thank you for your assistance," he whispered, "and your discretion."
"You are welcome. Will you return soon?" She tried to mentally will him to a 'yes.'
"I am sure I will at some time," he replied, "Thank you for your assistance, Lady Beryl. Farewell." Slowly, he disappeared into the darkness. She stretched her hearing as far as she could, but he was very good at being quiet; he must be skilled at moving secretly around the castle halls at night.
She waited there for a moment and everything began to sink in; Beryl had been with her Prince...alone. The moment had been theirs and no one else's. Her mind lingered on the curves of his face as the lantern's light touched his skin. She would treasure the way his eyes focused on her and how his words were spoken for her. She rested her back against a shelf and sighed, "Endymion...my Prince."
Suddenly, she remembered what she was doing before he came into the library. Her back straightened, and she rushed back to the restricted section. She skimmed the shelf until she found her book of spells. Pulling it close to her, she realized that her conversation with the Prince could have gone differently. He could have taken her right then to the castle guards, accusing her of using sorcery. Yet, he did not. He promised to keep her secret, and with that promise, he was protecting her. Her protector.
Beryl recognized her feelings. She understood now that she would love her Prince, her Endymion, with all her being for the rest of eternity.
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Final Note from the Author:
Thank you for taking the time to read (pardon any grammatical errors). I will be updating with a couple of chapters this week. Thank you for staying with me as this story develops. Yes - Serenity will come, of course. I'm not taking the usual Silver Millennium path with this. Please be patient, and I would love some encouraging reviews. - With Love, Kayla -