After a while, Mr. Lexaeus came back. "Your father sends his apologies," He said to me.
"So I can stay?" I asked.
"Of course, you can. We told you he wasn't actually going to make you go back," Zexion remarked. A wave of relief rushed over me.
"Would you take her somewhere else? She's been a nuisance since you brought her here. I need silence so I can focus," Mr. Vexen snapped.
Mr. Lexaeus nodded. "Come here, Alexus. Let's find something for you to do."
"Okay," I replied as I made my way to Mr. Lexaeus. He left as I trailed behind.
"Is there anything you would like to do?" Mr. Lexaeus asked.
"I'm not sure what there is to do around here," I sighed.
"We can find something. I'm afraid we don't have much for children. Do you like to read?" Mr. Lexaeus questioned.
"Yes. I like adventure stories the most. Or fairy tales," I smiled.
"I'm afraid our books are mostly science books," Mr. Lexaeus stated. My smile fell into a frown. "Let's go to a bookstore and change that. Wait here. I'm going to let someone know where we're going."
I became excited. I hoped that the bookstore had a lot of bright colors. My eyes had become tired of the neutral scenery. I wondered if he would let me pick out any book I wanted. Mama only let me get used books because the new ones were always too expensive. Mr. Lexaeus came back and stuck his hand out to make a dark corridor. I was still terrified of dark corridors, but from what I could tell, Mr. Lexaeus was a nice man who wouldn't let anything happen to me. "I-I'm a little scared," I admitted.
"Will it help if you hold my hand?" He offered. I nodded and took his hand before we walked into the dark corridor together. We came out in an alleyway. "Before we go anywhere, you need to know that you can't tell anyone about magic and what you've seen. You need to act like you belong here."
"Okay. I think I can do that, but why?" I wondered.
"The people here are like you used to be. They have no idea magic exists. That is the order of things. If the people who live here were to discover magic, everything would be plunged into chaos. It's important that we don't mess with the order of things. Can you promise me that you won't reveal anything about what you have seen?" Mr. Lexaeus asked.
"I promise. I won't tell anyone." I agreed.
"Good. Follow me." He said, stepping out of the alleyway. I trailed behind him to the bookstore.
JustAFemaleGeek: I think of Lexaeus as a gentle giant. I think that Zexion can relate to Alexus a lot since his parents died when he was young. Vexen cares in his own way. More of a tough-love sort of thing.