Roden quickly scanned the next bookshelf, running his hand along the threadbare bindings. He pulled out a book that might have once been a brilliant red and squinted at the fading letters of the title, then sighed and returned it to its shelf. Would he ever find what he was looking for?
He turned the corner and entered what he hoped would be the last row of dusty bookshelves he searched through. His wish was granted, and he emerged holding a dingy blue book of considerable size. He sat down at a small table and flipped through the book. Soon, he found what he was looking for, and produced a folded sheet of paper, a small vial of ink, and a pen from his pocket. He unfolded the paper and began to write, glancing from the book to his paper to make sure he copied the information correctly.
He soon finished and refolded the paper, and put the pen and ink back in his pocket. Just as he was putting the book away, Tobias entered the library. Roden groaned. He would never hear the end of this.
"Roden?" Tobias gawked incredulously. Never in a million, nay, a billion years would he have expected to see Roden in a library. Roden winced and turned around to face Tobias. Before he had a chance to explain himself, Tobias walked towards him.
"Yes?" Roden asked, smiling sheepishly.
Tobias looked around and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
Roden blinked. "Reading."
Reading what, Tobias wondered, but didn't bother to ask, as Roden was already walking out of the library. Tobias walked over to the section Roden had emerged from, and soon deduced which book Roden had been reading from the fact that it was the only non-dusty book on the shelf.
"A cookbook?" Tobias said to himself, reading the title: 100 Best Baked Desserts. "What on earth..."
Roden wasn't exactly the type of person to bake cookies on a whim, or to bake anything at all, for that matter. Tobias placed the book back on its shelf and strode powerfully out of the library, fiercely determined to figure out what the blue blazes Roden Harlowe was doing with a cookbook.
Roden walked through the halls to the kitchen, standing in the doorway as the cooks and servants stared at him, all wide-eyed and more than a little confused. "Um, I..." he started, unsure of what to say. Surely they couldn't refuse the captain of the guard a little time in the kitchen—actually, they could. And what would they be thinking? The thought of the whispers and curious looks that would most certainly be directed at him made him wince a little, but he finally gathered up the courage to finish his sentence.
"I was wondering if I could bake something? It wouldn't take much more than half an hour..." Roden said, his face growing uncomfortably warm. Before any of the shocked kitchen staff had a chance to answer, Roden cast his eyes down towards the floor and began to turn and walk out the door. "Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I-"
"Of course you may." That was the voice of the head chef.
Roden turned back around and stood in the doorway for a second, before blurting, "Thank you," and walking to an unoccupied table in the back. He took out the recipe he had copied, and asked around until he found all the utensils and ingredients he needed.
An hour later, the cookies were finished. Baked to golden-brown perfection, they smelled heavenly, and, though not as good as the cook's, Roden thought they tasted pretty good. He wrapped them in a white cloth and placed the bundle, tied with a pink bow, in a small basket, then hurriedly thanked the cooks and slipped out of the kitchen, leaving the kitchen staff with more questions than answers.
Tobias walked down the hall, hoping Jaron's inpromtu regent's meeting about adding a zipline connecting the watchtowers (an idea which the regents politely agreed to take into consideration, but, thankfully, pushed the matter aside without further thought) hadn't caused him to miss his chance to find Roden.
When he went into the kitchen, the servants told him that Roden had just left after baking cookies and wrapping them up with a pink bow. Tobias left with several possible conclusions swirling around in his head. Roden most likely had made the cookies for a girl. Was it that maid he seemed to take an interest in - what was her name? Emily? Ella? something with an E - or perhaps the cookies were for old Mrs. Cooper, who had unofficially taken Roden as her grandson. But Tobias' questions were soon answered as he turned the corner, nearly colliding with Roden's back.
"I hope you like them," Roden said, handing the basket of cookies to his niece. "I baked them myself." He spent hours the previous night trying to think up the perfect gift for Nila's eleventh birthday, finally settling on cookies. He was worried it wouldn't be enough for his amazing niece.
In truth, Roden often wondered if he was enough for Nila. He and his father were the only family she had, and Roden felt that he was not a good enough example for her. He just hoped she understood that he couldn't always spend as much time with her as he would have liked because of his duties as captain of the guard, and that he didn't show her as much physical affection as much as Harlowe because he wasn't used to that himself.
Nila fully understood that Roden sacrificed a lot to make time for her, and every time he hugged her, it meant so much more than a hug from anyone else, because he never showed physical affection to anyone except her. She loved him, and constantly wanted to make sure he understood that.
"I love them, Roden!" Nila beamed, putting the cookies down and flinging her arms around Roden. Roden stiffened, unsure of what to do, then gradually relaxed and returned the embrace.
Tobias smiled at the unexpected sweet sight, then retreated back into the hallway, satisfied at this conclusion to his investigation, even though he hadn't gotten the juicy gossip he had originally hoped for.
Roden relaxed, finally satisfied that he had done his duty as Nila's uncle. He savored moments like these, even though he would never admit it.
"How about a piggyback ride?" he smiled. His niece was stronger than other girls her age, and she nearly knocked him down.
"Can you teach me some more sword fighting moves?" Nila begged, and Roden agreed without hesitation. He couldn't have asked for a more perfect niece.