Chapter 15

Your Door was Open

-~:{+}:~-

{Stairs, stairs, and more stairs! Ugh, this is worse that school. Hell, everyone refers to it as the "Prison School". Actually, I remember it was designed by a guy who designs prisons…}

Elise was basically exhausted when she reached an emptier area around the back of the top floor. She often liked to at least claim that she recovers from tiredness quickly, but it was just lying, and a bit of acting. Although not too obvious, she was out of shape. Roland was pretty entertained watching her weaken as they went up the stairs.

"Hmm. You alright there? You seem a little tired." He was trying to feign innocence, but he wasn't trying very hard with his acting.

"Pfft. I'm fine. Just dandy…"

{Why does he have to act like such a bastard… "Inclined to love me" my ass!}

At least she caught some of her breath before speaking again. "Though I do wonder why the place you live in is all the way up here."

"Well, it's out of the way, so less likely to be disturbed. It's also easier to see some things from the top floor that on lower floors." His expression shifted into a smirk when he motioned off to the side. "Plus it's right by the lift."

{Lift? What the hell!}

"You have got to be kidding me!" She had a look of surprise at this. Which turned into annoyance. Turning around and pointing a finger at the librarian, he just gave a small chuckle. "What are you trying to do? Kill me with exercise!"

{And he even bothers with an expression other than a scowl…}

Regaining his composure, he just shook his head, and gestured towards the door. "Here, just take the room on the left."

The door by the lift lead into a room was a bit on the larger end, but seemed small relative to the grander scale of the library. It also was pretty crowded, probably serving as a combination of kitchen, dining room, and a parlor like study, with even more books near the other end. There were other doors, presumably leading to bedrooms and such, with one open to reveal even more books. Evidence that Roland took his duty seriously, and probably enjoyed the book part, at the very least.

"Well, are you just going to stand in the doorway until your legs give out? Really, have a seat already." At this point, he sighed and Elise scrambled out of his path, heading towards the room specified earlier. She didn't quite make it when she heard a grumbling noise.

"Really, did the stairs take that much out of you?"

"I-I didn't have anything to eat for a while, now that I think about it…"

Sighing, he practically pushed her into a seat and began to busy himself making tea. Elise had found it interesting to watch, with herself staring before it was placed in front of her.

"Drink this. It should keep you're stomach quiet for a while."

"Uh, Thank you."

The beverage had an interesting taste, then again she never had any tea other than sweet iced tea and bubble tea, so wasn't much of a tea drinker. She quite liked it though.

"I've never had this kind tea before… It's pretty yummy."

Something about her word choice amused the librarian, but he shook it off.

"What, is tea uncommon where you're from?"

"Uhh, not exactly. It's common in a lot of places, but where I grew up, it's kinda unusual, except for iced tea."

"Hmm. Well, I can't say I know much about you're world. But I did you find out anything useful about this world?"

"Err-"

"You mean to tell me that you didn't learn anything important… You're not very good at this, are you?" Exasperated that someone was just pointlessly in his library, she tried to come up with some information.

"I did learn something about there being other countries!"

"Other countries... Well, there are other countries, but the Land of Mirrors is separated from them by the Mountains of Division in one direction, the Endless Sea making up the rest of the borders."

{Mountains of Division? Endless Sea? Whoever came up with these names isn't very creative.}

"Do people travel between countries often?"

"It's not unheard of, but uncommon. And it's near impossible for role-holders to just get up and have a vacation somewhere else whenever they feel like it. There are rules to follow..."

A bell on the wall sounded. There were bells meant to alert him of visitors when he wasn't in main library. He likely wasn't up here often anyways except to sleep and such. "Who could be wandering out here in the dark? I'll be back, just don't mess with anything."

About to head out, the sound of the lift working could be heard. Roland had an annoyed look on his face and stood in the open doorway, arms crossed.

{Does he know who's here? Seems like it…}

"And just what were you sent here to find now?"

Stepping out of the shadows, Elise jumped and nearly fell out of her seat when she saw who it was.

"The Red Knight!"

"That foreigner!"

Both were equally surprised by the presence of the other. Roland, not caring much for letting them sort out what was going on, decided to cut straight to the point. "Read, what are you doing in my library while it's dark out?" Unfortunately, he was blatantly ignored.

"You- you tried to kill me!"

"Well you were interfering with my job! You and that damn White Knight!"

"And I wasn't going to let a little kid get hurt!"

"And you should learn to stay out of affairs that don't concern you!"

"tch… Stop yelling in my library!"

Notes: This was a bit shorter than intended. I'm trying to give each chapter some significance, or give some foreshadowing at least. So, the return of the Red Knight then. Time to see what he's like in a less combative situation, shall we...

As always, reviews are appreciated.