Episode 4: More Than You Know, Chapter 1
"Explain to me why your father, a scientist, would have the complete armour of the mythical hero Poiyaumbe," enquired Ezekiel lightly as the three made their way back to the door, Cassandra on his right hand, Stone on his left. "I thought your parents didn't believe in magic."
"They don't," shrugged Cassandra, one arm threaded through the thief's. "They believe in history though. Other disciplines, they're like a hobby to them. My father has an interest in history. My mother in music. A relaxing evening in for them would be her playing the violin while my father read some book on ancient Greek amphorae or the Mughal Empire or, you know, the plague, if he was in a cheerful mood. Science was his day job. His spare time he liked to spend 'improving his mind with an easier topic'."
"History is not an 'easier topic'!" Stone growled from the other side of the Philadelphian pavement.
"His words, not mine," replied Cassandra placatingly. "Anyway, he's probably started reading books on the history of Japan, come across the armour somehow and decided it would make a good historical and financial investment, and an interesting talking point to boot. They used to invite a selection of colleagues for dinner once every month, and sit and discuss the newest findings in their respective fields. I would be encouraged to stay up and join in the conversation, and ask intelligent questions of course. Occasionally
I got to try out that year's STEM project on them. My father called it 'running the gauntlet' because I would have to be able to answer all their questions."
"What kind of questions?" Ezekiel asked, pulling a face. "A kid against a panel of fully trained experts is hardly a fair match."
"I think that was the point," giggled Cassandra. She looked away and the smile faded. "Of course that all changed after... Well, just after."
"How long has it been?" Jacob asked, his brusque tone softening even if his eyes remained focussed on the road ahead.
"Years," sighed Cassandra. "Over a decade. I don't even know if they've moved or retired or anything."
"And they've never tried to find you?" Ezekiel frowned.
"They probably think I'm already dead," she shrugged, looking down at the cracks in the pavement. "I should be by now really."
Ezekiel wasn't sure if his friend heard the sharp intake of breath from the far side of him, but he certainly did. It angered him. The guy obviously loved her. That hadn't changed. So why was he leaving it to Ezekiel Jones to look after the woman they both cared so much about. Caring about others was still a novelty to the thief. What could he do?
"Want me to steal it from them?" Jones grinned at Cassandra. "With your background knowledge of the mark, and a little bit of recon, I can have the whole thing out of there in one night."
"My father is not a 'mark', Ezekiel," scolded Cassandra with a wry smile. "But you're right, stealing it might be the easiest way. At least then I wouldn't have to talk to them."
"We're not stealing from your parents," sighed Stone. "What if something goes wrong and we bump into them: it's hardly the homecoming you want."
"I don't particularly want any 'homecoming'," she shook her head, looking fixedly ahead. "The Library is my home now. You are my family."
"You know, I did this kind of thing alone for years," cut in Jones. "You guys don't have to be there. Besides, if either of you two amateurs are there, you'll only get in my way. Then I really might get caught."
"No, let's at least try a legal tactic before we deploy the thief," argued Stone. "If we can persuade Mr Cillian to give us the armour..."
"That's what we call a con, mate," chipped in Ezekiel. "Still illegal."
"Only under false pretences," pointed out Stone.
"So what? You're gonna tell him it's magic and it needs to be hidden away in an extra-dimensional Library so the bad guys don't use it to take over the world and bring about the apocalypse? You're right: that's not illegal. It is, however, crazy, and will not work."
"Change magic to precious or valuable or culturally important, and leave out the extra-dimensions, and it ain't as crazy as you think," countered the cowboy. "People loan pieces like that to museums, universities and libraries every day. If I go in there, alone, with my art history hat on, I can tell him enough about his piece, and a whole lot of others he might try to quiz me on, to convince him I'm for real."
"No, you can't," Cassandra interjected, stopping in her tracks and turning to face the two men. "You won't. Not if you just show up out of the blue. He'll be suspicious from the start. At least, not if you show up alone."
"I thought you didn't want to see them?" Ezekiel looked from one to the other of his colleagues. "You know, we can go back to my plan in a heartbeat."
Cassandra smiled at him and squeezed the arm she was holding. "We might have to, if this doesn't work," she said. She took a deep breath and watched Jacob's face while she spoke. "I think I should introduce you to my parents, properly. If they let us in, and you spot the armour, you can start talking to my father about it, maybe persuade him to let us arrange for it to be transported to a prestigious display of ancient artefacts of great cultural significance."
"Won't they be just as suspicious of you turning up out of the blue?" Jones frowned. "Maybe even more so of Stone because of your sudden appearance?"
"Not if..." Cassandra hesitated and glanced at her feet. "Not if I introduce him as my fiancé."
Jacob's eyebrows rose and he studied her downcast face with such scrutiny that his burning lungs had to remind him to start breathing again. He detached her arm from Jones and dragged her a few steps away.
"Is it not enough to break my heart, now you have to rub salt in the wound too?" Jacob hissed, his grip tight on her arm.
"I didn't mean or want to do either!" Cassandra hissed back, wrenching her arm out of his grip. "This has nothing to do with us! It's just logic! They won't trust a stranger turning up out of the blue, and the only good reason I might have for showing up all of a sudden is something big happening in my life. It's a bit late to show up saying 'hey, guess what: I'm not dying now' nearly a year after I'm cured, and they'll want to know all the details of how that happened by the way. That's what they're like. And if you're with me, they'll want to know who you are, why you're there, what you do... The whole nine yards. We need a reason they'll accept, or they will get suspicious, even of their own daughter. They're intelligent people, Jacob. Very intelligent!"
"Intelligent enough to spot that we're actually in the middle of having an argument about getting engaged rather than actually getting engaged?" Jacob returned.
"Actually, we're in the middle of decidedly not having an argument about it!" Cassandra pointed out. "This is the first time we've even mentioned it since then. You know, I think this is actually the first time you've even looked at me since then! Not that it'll matter to my parent: they argue all the time. That's normal for them."
"Not for us!" Jacob retorted. "Not for most other couples I know."
"Flynn and Eve are the only other couple I know!" Cassandra pointed out. "They have their fair share of fights. So did we before we first got together."
"But not since," he replied, raising a hand to her cheek.
"And look where that's got us!" Cassie cried, brushing away his touch and hurrying down the street towards the current location of their own personal wormhole.
XXXX
"How are you?" Jenkins asked the shimmering rectangle on his desk.
"Still here," replied a weary Flora. "As old as the hills and feeling every pebble of it."
"Tourists?" Jenkins raised an eyebrow at the Cailleach's image.
"Teenagers," retorted the old woman. "Well one teenager, anyway. Not even that, really: she'll be twenty one in a month. I was a wife and mother when I was her age. Not that I held either title for long after though."
"You had no choice in the matter, she does," he pointed out. "Especially in this modern era."
"I knew my duty," Flora pointed out. "I had no choice in my first or second match, but I was a good wife to both, and times were hard then, especially on the young. I raised more than I lost, secured the lineage, and in that I was fortunate. This girl... Ah, she is a stubborn one. I worry if we refuse them this choice, she will make another of her own and leave. And she will not accept another's choice for her, like her mother did. She is a bright star. A throwback to my own days and before. Strong-willed. Intelligent. Powerful. We cannot lose her."
Jenkins peered closer at the screen and frowned. "There's more. I could always tell when you were keeping things from me."
Flora smiled, but her smile did not reach her eyes. "She is powerful, as I said. I can feel it. He can feel it: why do you think he's so drawn to her. The faerie blood runs strong in her. She has their beauty, she has their magic, and I fear she has their impetuous nature also."
"Is that all?" Jenkins' eyes narrowed.
Flora shook her head. "No, it is not. I feel... I think... that she has their years also."
Silence spread out from the mirror and filled the room like a fog. Jenkins' eyes opened wide and he stretched out a hand towards the glass, pausing an inch from the surface. "You know, now that Leo is here, and Charlene's come out of retirement," he began, pausing to swallow the tremor that had appeared in his voice, "I was thinking it was time that I retired. I can research magic anywhere. These new Librarians don't need a dinosaur like me under their feet. They have Flynn to guide them. He'll be back tomorrow, with his new bride, and can take over. Maybe I'll even just take a holiday for a week or two. If I decide not to come back, they can always send my things through the portal. I hear Skye is still beautiful this time of year."
"I am not dying yet, Galeas," smiled Flora. "Nor can you leave your post now. Your own duty calls you. As does mine. Ragnarok is coming. You must teach your apprentices all they need to know to protect their charge, as I must mine. Perhaps when she knows more, she will understand just how untenable this relationship is. At least for now."
Jenkins' hand reached out further and hovered over her cheek. "If you call me, Flora, I will come."
"I know," she smiled, stretching out her own fingers to hover over his. "But not yet. The task ahead is still too important."
