"And that is all I have to report, My King."

Melinda bowed her head in respect to the man before her. He was flipping through the book she had handed him, a pleased expression on his face.

"You're proving yourself well in your archiving skills, dear Melinda. Your father has taught you well."

"As my father would say, only the best for King Maxwell."

Maxwell nodded, closing the tome.

"The Codex has never been in better shape. You rebinded it perfectly and no record has been lost. I must say, your findings on healing techniques are quite admirable. They'll come in handy for us and those who struggle to survive in our world."

"Thank you, My King."

Maxwell smiled.

"And if you don't mind me asking, how have your travels to Earth been? I heard you're running the library your parents founded."

"It's fascinating to say the least, My King." Melinda chuckled a little. "Humans are so different from us in how they go about their days… and their days being much longer than that of our dear Shadow World."

"Agreed. It is quite the experience. I hope it's never a waste of your time."

"Oh, never. Sebastian and I always have ways of amusing ourselves and it's never a dull moment."

"Good to hear." Maxwell handed the book back to her. "That will be all. Keep up the work and report to me if you find anything exceedingly important."

"Yes, My King. Am I dismissed?"

"You are."

Melinda gave a bow before turning to leave.

"Have fun." He added as she left the throne room.

Melinda nodded, hurrying to her home.

"Phew…" she sighed in relief, packing the Codex into her book bag. "I swear reports to Maxwell are never relaxing… But… least it's Saturday…" She smiled to herself. "Just hope Percival hasn't fallen asleep on a book again."

oooooo

"I know being a teacher can be tiring, but Percival… what exactly have you been doing this week? You look like a walking corpse."

Percival lifted his head up a little from his book, looking to Sebastian, an annoyed look on his face.

"Thanks for the compliment, and this week was rather stressful in comparison to others. Let's just say some students wanted to share a piece of their mind with me in some of the most unpleasant ways in regards to their reports."

"Ah, not pleased with the results of your judgement."

"Yep." Percival set his book down, laying his head down on the table. "I'm used to it, but goodness the stress of it likes to hit at random."

"There, there." Sebastian patted his back. "Mel will be here soon to help you relax and take your mind off things."

"True…" Percival smiled a little. "I always look forward to Saturdays and Sundays now since this all started… It's been nice to get out of the lab more…"

"You and that.. Robert Wag… Whatever his last name is, making any progress on things?"

"Wagstaff, his last name is Wagstaff. As for progress, we're working on it… We had something weird happen, though."

"What?"

"Believe it or not but his typewriter some how managed to catch fire."

"... Huh."

"Trust me, we were just as confused."

"All I can really say to that… Magic."

Percival chuckled a little.

"Maybe so."

"Sebastian? Percival?"

Percival perked up, seeing Melinda enter the room.

"Ah, there you are."

Melinda smiled. "Hello, Percival." She frowned a little seeing the dark circles under his eyes. "Goodness, are you feeling alright?"

Percival gave a sheepish look.

"Students having their rough patches. Nothing I can't handle."

Melinda shook her head. "Nothing that you can't handle indeed, but something you've earned a break from." She nodded to their usual area. "Shall we? I picked up some cinnamon rolls on my way."

"Yes." Percival got up, stretching a bit before heading over to the area, making himself comfortable on the couch. "Were you meeting with your father again?"

"Partially." Melinda sat down beside him. "We met for maybe a minute, but he had to go take care of some other things, so I handled the archiving he was supposed to do for our friend."

"I see. I hope that went well."

"Oh, it did. He was quite pleased." She sighed in relief. "Always nerve wracking waiting to have someone check your work. I admit, I felt like I was a student again, awaiting my grades."

"I've been meaning to ask. What exactly does… this friend of yours do in regards to having you as an assistant for archiving?"

"Let's say he's in the business of making deals. A businessman of sorts." Of sorts is right..

"Ah, so just keeping track of records of business. Makes sense. I guess he must be a very busy man then."

"Oh, always, so, anything to be of use and help with his work. He treats us well enough at least."

"Glad to hear that. I don't think I could stand the idea of you being mistreated by someone."

Melinda smiled sheepishly. "I don't think I could stand the idea myself. If he did mistreat us I wouldn't work for him. It's a family business of sorts with my father being my teacher to how to do the job well but I'm never forced."

"Good." Percival reached a hand over, holding one hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

She blushed, squeezing his hand back gently. "I'm glad you worry like that… You're very kind, you know? I… don't think I've had anyone here in this town really be concerned for me besides Sebastian…"

"I try to be kind to those I meet. I work with students all the time and I do my best to let them know I care for their well being and only want the best for them. Same goes for my colleagues… Though I admit, it's rare that I spend time with someone who isn't a student or science colleague that I can just talk to about anything. I have Robert, for sure, but… you're no science professor. Em! Not saying you're not well versed in it but… uh… Shoot…"

Sebastian leaned over the couch they were on. "What he's trying to say Melly is that you're a gorgeous creature born of light who is unworthy of someone such as himself but by George will he try."

"Sebastian!"

Percival turned bright red.

Oh heavens above just kill me now!

Melinda was silent, picking up one of her smaller books before smacking Sebastian lightly on the head with it.

"Out! Bad boy!"

"Ow! Fiiiiine, Your Majesty." Sebastian slinked off to one of the sections near by. "I was just trying to help!"

"Scoundrel!" She called after him. "Such a mischief maker I swear…"

"Y-Yeah." Percival was still red in the face, his hands gripping at his shirt sleeves. "H-Heh… He just can't help but jump to conclusions."

"He loves to surprise people. Especially you as of late for some reason…" She was still red herself, fiddling with her hair. "B-Besides, surely you have lines of women around that school just waiting for you to pick one of them… Why have someone like me?"

"That's far from the truth, actually." Percival glanced to the ground. "The thing is… I can be a bit absent minded when I get into my work. I had a nasty habit at one point of staying in my lab for hours on end and falling asleep there. Then Robert came along and straightened me out and brought me back down to reality. I still devote plenty of time to my work, but I take breaks more often. As for women… I'm… not the popular topic for them. I can talk with women just fine but I'm no romantic." Percival looked to her. "And you, I'm surprised you're not a Mrs. I mean… you're intelligent, hard working, and very kind. Who wouldn't want that?"

"Because I'm all those things." Melinda frowned, lowering her head. "I work, I don't want to be someone's little trophy to tote around in front of company. I hate the idea of being trapped in a house all day, stuck raising children because it's expected of me - don't get me wrong, I love children and I would love one of my own one day… But the idea of becoming trapped… Because that's what's expected of women in this country… That scares me… And trust me, it's not like people haven't tried - Sebastian's chased off plenty of men who were here to stare at me instead of their books.."

Percival frowned, moving closer to her, taking both her hands into his.

"I'm so sorry Melinda… That's awful…"

Melinda looked up into his eyes, huddling a little closer to him. "It can be… I just decided I'd wait to see if someone would be able to handle me… If I marry, I want to be able to keep my library open. I want to have someone I can talk to about everything. If I have a child, I want their father to be willing to HELP me raise them, not just expect me to do all the work or heaven forbid, hire a nanny to raise them for me."

"And that's okay to ask for all of that. Women deserve just as much respect as men do, and for families, both have to do their part. It's not as simple as one stays trapped while the other is free. It's the two living together and facing problems as a team." Percival was hesitant before bringing an arm around her. "And me… I'd be hard pressed to find someone who could put up with my absent mindedness."

She smiled softly, leaning into him. "I could… I like your personality… I don't think you're absent minded…"

"Heh… If you say so." Percival blushed a little. "Again, Robert has a way of pulling me back down to reality. He's the only other person outside of my family who puts up with my antics."

"I'd like to meet him. I keep saying to bring these people who mean so much to you by. One of these days please do…"

"I'll probably bring Robert over when he's not tangled up in the wires of one of his contraptions. My parents are a few towns over so it'd be a bit harder to bring them to meet you."

"Well, can't rush into it…"

"MELINDA LIKES SMART PEOPLE!" Sebastian yelled over.

"SO IT'S A WONDER I KEEP YOU AROUND!"

"BECAUSE I AM!"

Percival was trying his best not to laugh, covering his mouth.

"Is he sure about that? He's got the attention span of a cat."

"Cats are very smart. They keep us well trained." Melinda snickered.

"True, true. They rule the world some what." Percival smiled. "I'm guessing you're either a cat person or you have one."

"I'm a cat person… And I do have a cat back at my house. I've had him for a long time now but oh is he so much trouble - I should have known he was trouble because Sebastian gave him to me on my birthday." Melinda grinned sheepishly. "He's mine though. You have pets?"

"Personally, no. My parents, however, have two collies back at home they're raising. I always love seeing them, and well, my parents have hinted there might be a chance of puppies in the future."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Melinda smiled. "Collies are such beautiful dogs, very smart too."

"Indeed. I can see that mother's zoologist side in you. Seems you're not partial to cats or dogs, but rather like them both."

"I love them both. I'm honestly fond of all animals - except for spiders. Where I'm from they're huge."

"Yikes. Yeah, I'm not too fond of finding spiders in my beakers… Robert especially doesn't' like finding them taking up residence in his inventions. There was one time he found a nest in one of them and oh boy did he SCREAM."

Melinda's eyes were wide. "What tier was it? I-I mean, how big?"

Percival hummed in thought before making a shape with his hand.

"About the size of a small loaf of bread. He was not happy about it in the least since… well, he tried to remove it but it was stuck pretty tight. I had to take a bunsen burner to it. He had to start his invention over again from scratch."

"That's pretty small though- I mean, huh…" Careful Mel, CAREFUL.

Percival smirked a little.

"I'm guessing you've seen bigger. How big of a nest have you had to deal with?"

She looked to the table in front of them. "... About three of those stacked. Give or take. It was disgusting and it was in our archives."

Percival's eyes went wide.

"That's a full out infestation! How did you ever manage to get them all out!?"

Melinda crossed her arms. "I didn't. My boss did. There was some fire, books needing serious time to air out and being scanned over for stray silk, but we didn't lose anything thankfully."

"Huh… I see… Still, yikes, there must've been a lot of little buggers crawling around then."

"Little… Yeah no… These were big ones… I'm not exaggerating…" Melinda shuddered. "When I first saw them I made Sebastian go after them first… Then he fell in and got his head stuck in one of the nests…"

So what, wolf spiders? That's still not gigantic…

"Yikes… I'll be honest, I've never seen large spiders outside of books I've studied. Can't imagine having to get rid of them."

"The large spiders here are nothing. I'll happily look after the likes of tarantulas, even the largest of specimens. The ones back home are horrible beasts." Melinda made an estimate with her hands. "About this big across.."

Percival shook his head in bewilderment.

"I… HUH!? Melinda… I… I don't think there's been a spider recorded that huge."

"That's not even the biggest." She deadpanned.

"... Okay, how big?"

"Bigger than you."

Percival's jaw dropped a bit.

"... I… Melinda… What kind of spiders are they breeding in… whatever country it is you're from?"

Melinda raised an eyebrow. "The normal kind? Black, kind of dumb, hissing all the time, yellow ones with black stripes - very venomous, don't even mess with them and of course, the queens… Guh, nasty creatures, genuinely mean, always wanting a fight."

"I've never in my life heard of breeds like that. I've heard of black widows that are huge or even wolf spiders but… this doesn't sound like anything anyone has recorded. Sounds like something someone created in a lab."

"No one created them in a lab. They've been there longer than we have." She crossed her arms. "I have sketches to prove it."

"... Let me see them. I'd like to know what these breeds look like."

Her eyes lit up before she hurried to where she kept her things, pulling out a book before sitting beside him again.

"... Before I show you, promise me something."

"Hm?"

"Don't tell anyone."

Percival was caught a bit off guard, but nodded.

"Very well then. Let's see."

She opened the book, showing a particular section that had drawings of large spiders with four legs instead of eight with gaping mouths. They looked almost comical but eerie at the same time. "The normal run of the mill spider back home. Rather dumb, but mean as well. They'll bite if they get a chance." She pointed to another with stripes. "Spider Warrior, venomous, they won't stop their pursuit unless you kill them first and finally. the one they answer to… The Spider Queen…"

She turned the page, Percival's eyes going wide at the sight of it.

"Holy moly…"

"Yeah… They're unpleasant, mean things… They lack venom, surprisingly, considering they're the 'mother' of all spiders. They can't exist without her and she can't exist without them. They'll leave you alone if you don't touch their babies… Which, unfortunately, sometimes you have to."

"Why would you have to? Well, besides getting them out of your things, per say."

Melinda grinned a little. "They're important to our culture. They produce three things upon death - glands, silk and a type of meat. The meat, we don't make use of unless we need to. The silk, however, we use for clothing and the glands, they have healing properties."

"Huh… I've… never heard of such techniques… and these spiders… they look like something out of fantasy yet…" Percival looked at the sketches carefully. "These look… real."

"Honestly… there's a lot of things that if I had not seen them myself or spent time dealing with as a child I would not believe… My mother's a zoologist as you know. One of the things I got to deal with daily was watching a spider nest near our home grow and us occasionally having to surround it with grass traps. As I said, they're not that smart."

"I see…" Percival scratched his head a little. "Sounds… dangerous still."

"It is… But how would I ever learn to deal with them if we didn't have them around? And my mother, goodness, fast as lightning when it came to it. My father could never match her in that regards."

"Sounds like some thrilling life… It's… astounding something like this hasn't been seen… But… Then again, and I'm just guessing here, the country you're from isn't well known."

"Not well known and not easy to get to." Melinda closed the book. "It's a strange place, with strange people and creatures… And yet I love it so… Growing up there was always an adventure… Sometimes scary, sometimes fun.."

"Sounds interesting…" Percival brought a hand to his chin. "It would be amazing to see it for myself…"

Melinda smiled a little, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe one day I could take you… Though unfortunately, we're stuck with Sebastian."

"That's okay." Percival gave a gentle look. "And Melinda… I just want you to know this. Do not be scared to talk about things with me. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable about whatever it is you've seen or anything… I want you to feel safe."

Melinda relaxed, nodding as she huddled a little closer to him. "And I trust you… I want to show you the things I've seen and done, the people I've met, the things I know…"

Percival rested his head against hers a bit, smiling.

"I look forward to hearing about them then."