A light knock on the door to my room woke me and as I turned my head I heard someone clear their throat. "Ailis, are you alright in there?" Jace called out, standing just outside.
"I'm fine. Hang on." I called out, heading towards the door. My hand had just brushed the doorknob when the door slowly opened and Jace poked his head into the room.
"Sorry for barging in like this but you didn't answer before and I was a little worried." Jace told me as I stepped back to allow him in. Closing the door he turned to see me moving towards the rug. "Is something bothering you?"
"Everything is fine." I replied, sitting on the rug. He raised an eyebrow and I sighed, tilting my head to the left as my eyes narrowed. "What? Are you worried I might do something drastic like take my own life?" I asked and his eyes widened in shock, his feet moving fast as he hurried towards me. "I was kidding, Jace. Besides it's not like I can die twice." I muttered as he knelt beside me.
"That wasn't funny, Ailis. You shouldn't joke about things like that." Jace scolded and I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms as he frowned at me. "I'm serious. I didn't ask Liliana to save you for you to destroy yourself." He added and I growled, eyes going cold at the mention of her name.
"Hey I never asked to be brought back! You just came along when I was scared. If I'd known I would end up like this...maybe I would have taken death instead." I snapped, rising to my feet with Jace not far behind me. We glared at each other for what seemed like hours until he shook his head at me.
"I thought I was saving a scared, dying woman that needed my help. Maybe I should have just ignored your cry for help and left you there to rot." Jace whispered, just for a moment unable to hide the hurt in his voice. In the blink of an eye he vanished leaving me alone and shocked at his behaviour.
It wasn't until I entered the library, some hours later, that I found him standing in front of the bookcase closest to the door. As soon as he heard light footsteps he turned his head slightly only to narrow his eyes, turning back to the bookcase in front of him.
Rolling my eyes in his direction I walked straight past the telepath, not making eye contact. I reached a row of books way in the back of the room, my eyes moving over the spines until I settled on one. A large leather-bound book with the different colors of
"Planeswalkers? I've heard the word used before." I muttered to myself, carefully taking it down. Opening it I started to read, holding the book in one hand while I used the other to flick through the pages. "Huh says here that anyone can be a Planeswalker, it just takes a spark to ignite within them. That sounds pretty cool." I whispered, unaware that Jace was listening to my every word.
Ailis goes from being angry to thinking Planeswalkers are cool. What a strange girl.
I wonder if I could be a Planeswalker? But I suppose you kind of have to be a living person for that to happen. A girl can dream...
Pretty soon I returned the book to its place on the shelf, thinking about what I'd learned. "My parents never taught me anything interesting like that. Guess they only wanted me to be a good wife and mother, not like that's going to happen now. Plus I really suck at cooking." I muttered, just about leaping out of my skin as Jace appeared beside me. "Oh for the love of...can you not do that? It might not kill me but it still freaks me out okay?" I complained and Jace actually gave me a tiny smile, his earlier anger apparently forgotten.
"I didn't mean to startle you but you seemed...absorbed in that book." Jace said, pointing to the book I'd just returned. "If you're really interested you could borrow that book for a while. I'm sure Liliana wouldn't mind, she barely comes in here anyway."
"That's sounds pretty cool. Oh and I wanted to say I'm sorry about snapping at you and sounding so depressing. It's just taking me a while to get used to be being...like this." I told him and he nodded, a faint smile curling his lips.
"I should be apologizing for getting angry." Jace replied and I shook my head at him, moving back towards the bookcase. Before I could reach for the book again he grabbed it, handing it to me with that same smile. Grateful I took it from him and just for a moment our hands touched, leaving me slightly confused at the strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I quickly took the book from Jace who stared as I hurried from the library, hopefully not seeing my two very red cheeks. I finally stopped running when I reached my room, ducking inside just as I heard footsteps.
Please don't be Jace. I don't know why I acted that way in front of him.
"Ailis, are you decent?" Liliana called out, not waiting for an answer before she opened the door to find me standing in front of the fireplace. "I see you have one of my books. Is that the book on Planeswalkers?"
"Y..yeah it is. I should have asked but Jace said it was okay to borrow it and I thought he was going to..." I stammered until she held up a hand and I closed my mouth, slightly embarassed at myself.
"It's fine. Just be very careful with that book, it's the only one I have." Liliana asked and I quickly nodded, holding it very carefully. "Oh and before I forget...why are your cheeks red?"
"I ran the whole way here. Wait a second why wouldn't I be decent?" I quickly answered, hoping Liliana wouldn't pry. But I was in for a rude shock when she laughed, waving her hand in front of her.
"Need I remind you that Jace is a Planeswalker like myself? He needs someone powerful at his side which means he wouldn't be interested in you. Besides he's already spoken for or hasn't he told you that we're a couple?" Liliana answered and I took a shaky step back, only just keeping the leather-bound book in my arms. "I really should be going. Take care...Ailis." Liliana said, a cold smile on her face as she left me standing there.