The last chapter was really fun to write, but I feel like I might have accidentally did a little too much world building for this fic to be as short as I want :( I want to see magical Gumi and her family :(

But we'll see. I meant to make this only 20 chapters or so, maybe I'll do a 2nd fic instead of just making this one longer. IDK. Lemme know what you guys want to see :) If you're a regular reader of mine, you know that I kinda get carried away with the number of chapters I write lol

Anyway, I'll see you guys in a week. Enjoy the chapter! :)

The next day, Mei was out on business in the town, so Rin was left to study in the library on her own. Which, of course, meant that she had abandoned A Detailed Description of the Houses and Kingdoms of the World and was instead perusing the mountainous shelves for books to borrow.

If there was anywhere in the palace where Rin could get lost, it was here. But she didn't mind one bit, twisting and turning through the maze, occasionally moving and climbing the ladders littered throughout the room to more closely examine books that caught her eye on the higher shelves. She found a collection of poems from a land she had never heard of, probably long gone in the history books. There was a book all about the feats and achievements of the Megpoid family and their use of magic, which Rin tucked under her arm. Another was a book of fairy tales and folklore told from her own homeland. Of the three books, this one was in the best shape. The other two, especially the book of poems, looked nearly ready to fall apart. She handled them carefully.

House Nekomura, live on the southern isles, specifically the island of Malrich. Colors are red and black, house crest is a cat…

Rin ran through her kingdoms as she browsed, so she would not feel entirely guilty of taking advantage of this rare free time she was granted.

Only once she had exhausted her memory trying to recall the final few did she decide to return to the book on the main floor. She would read over it a few more times before letting herself free into the shelves once more.

Her footsteps echoed in the tall room as she happened upon a familiar staircase, descending down four floors before catching sight of the book. To her surprise, someone was sitting at her table, flipping through the pages.

"It's not that interesting," Rin pointed out, appearing from the shelves with her three chosen books hugged to her chest.

The prince jumped at her voice. "Where did you come from?" He asked, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment at being taken off guard.

Rin smiled, amused. "My instructor is gone for the day. So I've been looking through the shelves," she explained, turning to gesture towards the maze. "Have you been in here before?"

"No," he answered, looking up towards the skylights. "Never. It doesn't even feel like we are inside anymore."

"It's a great way to pass time, getting lost in here," she told him. "I wish I could do it every day."

Len looked down at the open book on the table. "What is it about?" He asked, flipping another page.

Rin sighed. "It's a history book. Has all of the houses, their names, their colors, their children, and so on. It's my latest assignment."

He nodded, saying nothing as his eyes skimmed the page.

"I can show you some more interesting ones," she offered. "I found a few books upstairs that I almost took for myself. You can borrow them, as long as you bring them back. I'm sure Mei won't notice."

Len's eyes were not skimming the page, tracing back and forth across every line as Rin had initially thought. Instead, he gazed down at the page with a hint of longing.

"Len?" She asked, noticing this. "You can… you can read, right?"

He said nothing.

Rin was taken aback. "They never taught you?"

"I did not let them," was his answer, his voice filled with regret. "Though now… I wish I had."

"I can teach you," she responded immediately.

He looked away, ashamed.

"So you wouldn't listen to your teachers when you were younger, and then when they gave up on you, you realized how wrong you were to turn them away?"

Silence.

"Pride is a nasty thing," she advised him.

He could not meet her eyes.

"Do you want me to teach you? I will. It isn't that hard, I promise." She was nearly pleading with him now. "Don't you want to be king someday?"

"Of course I do," he snapped back at her.

"You will need to learn, then."

He took a deep breath.

Rin took a step towards him, pushing his shoulder with her free hand and forcing him to look at her. "There is no shame in it," she offered, locking eyes with him. "Don't let your pride get in your way a second time. You will need to know."

He stared at her for a moment before finally nodding. "Okay."

Rin beamed. "I won't be able to teach you every day," she said, suddenly feeling excited. "But Mei is often gone during our lessons, so perhaps you could wait in here at this time every day to see. And if she's gone, I will teach you. If she's here, you can practice on your own."

Although he wouldn't show it, Len was excited as well. Overjoyed, more like it, if not still ashamed for his ignorance. "That will work."

"I will ask Luka every morning if Mei is here for the day," she continued, talking more to herself at this point. "She should know. And then I might be able to tell you at breakfast. Although, with father watching…" She cut herself off, suddenly feeling like she had said too much. Once again, if her father found out about this…

"He wouldn't be happy to see us here," he said as if reading her thoughts.

"There are tables up on the third floor," Rin said after a second of thought. "We can have our lessons up there. That way, if anyone comes in, we will at least be able to hide," she explained with an amused grin. She was suddenly so eager, so excited to defy her father. Might as well live a little before he sends me off to my doom, she thought resentfully.

"You will have to show me where they are," he told her, looking around the room once more. "I fear I will starve in this room, getting lost so easy."

The princess let out a laugh. "It is not so bad. Come," she grabbed his wrist, much to his surprise. "I'll show you."

She led him into the shadows of the bookshelves.

"So what's this one?"

"...A."

"And this one?"

"L."

"See? You've already got it."

They had found their reclusive table in a far corner of the library, and were only working on their first lesson for a few hours before Len was able to pick out nearly every letter in the book they had chosen from the shelves. He was much more quiet than usual, still adjusting to this uncomfortable situation with the princess, but she did not see it that way at all. Soon, he had almost forgotten his shame.

"Why were you up so late last night?" Rin asked, attempting to make friendly conversation that didn't involve her teaching. They had been at it for a while now, and she didn't want to exhaust his brain too much.

Len rested his elbows on the table. "My sisters couldn't sleep."

Rin frowned. "Are they uncomfortable in their rooms? I can have mother arrange something better-"

He shook his head. "They've been having nightmares."

Rin looked down at her lap, where her hands were folded neatly. "Oh." Although they were too young to understand completely what had happened, she could only imagine what the girls remembered of the night they were attacked.

"But they will pass," he continued, dipping his quill in ink before once more attempting to spell his name.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, saddened at the thought of the poor girls awakening in the night. At the same time, she felt admiration for the prince and his devotion to keeping them happy and helping them feel safe.

"No, but thank you."

But Rin did not agree, feeling that there must be something, anything she could do to help them.

"Dinner is soon," Len pointed out, still tracing the lines of the letters with a shaky hand. "We probably shouldn't enter the room together."

The thought saddened Rin even more, but she nodded in agreement.

Setting the quill down, Len folded up some of his papers and stuck them into the book, closing it. "I'll practice," he promised.

"You better," she retorted with a smile. "Else you'll forget everything we've done today."

He nodded. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Will you get lost on your way out?" She teased.

He laughed. "I think I can find my way."

Rin glanced down at her own stack of books. Perhaps she could start one before leaving. "Until dinner, then."

Once he had gone, Rin couldn't help but feel a bit lonely in the sea of books.

I'm trying to make these chapters a bit shorter, as well, but it doesn't always work out. Do you guys like longer chapters or short? More chapters or fewer? Lemme know!

Thanks for reading :)