Chapter Twenty-One
Alex couldn't help but stare at the book his friend was entrapped in. Queen Ariel held it in her arms preciously, as if it were Melody herself. Alex had wanted to go inside the book instead of Mr. Andersen, but he knew his uncle and the other grown-ups would insist he stay away from danger.
"It didn't work, did it?" Alex found himself saying out loud. "If Mr. Andersen was successful, wouldn't they be out already?"
"Not necessarily," Uncle Archimedes put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Maybe time is different inside the book. Magic can be unpredictable at times. Or so I've heard. The only thing we can really do now is wait."
No! Alex shouted in his mind. Standing still was the last thing he wanted to do.
"What about Mr. Andersen's idea of finding another Elemental? Can I help in the library?" Alex asked.
"Splendid idea, my boy," Uncle Archimedes said. "Since Mr. Andersen is on a different mission, you and I should do the research he suggested. That is, if your Majesty would be so kind as to direct us to the library."
"Certainly. We appreciate all the help we can get." King Eric smiled. "In fact, I'll join you."
"I think it's best I stay with my father," Queen Ariel whispered. King Triton was a distance away from them now, walking along the shoreline.
"Can we take the book with us?" Alex asked. "Since it's been spelled, it might have some sort of clue that could be useful."
Ariel hesitated, not wanting to part with the only link to her daughter.
"I promise; I'll take really good care of the book. I don't want anything bad to happen to Melody either."
"Of course, you don't," Ariel said. Alex noticed how the queen was about to hand the book over to Eric, but the king made a small motion for his head for her to hand it to himself.
Alex accepted the enchanted item and held it close.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
The royal library in Eric and Ariel's palace was one that put Atlantica's to shame.
"Woah," Alex couldn't help but look around in wonder. Books were everywhere! From floor to ceiling they were piled high. The spines were a rainbow of color. And the smell! It was subtle and earthy; a relaxing scent that put Alex at ease.
"Where do we start?" King Eric asked out loud.
Alex's glee shrunk slightly as he realized the daunting task in front of them. They needed to find one specific answer from one book hidden in a thousand.
"King Eric, I wonder, does your library contain any books on Atlantica or the ocean? Being who I am, it's possible I could notice something your historians did not."
The king laughed. "Do we have anything on the ocean? Two walls of books, at least. There are also records and inventories about treasures and various artifacts that have been found or lost at sea. I think it might help if you have a look at those as well."
"What about me?" Alex said.
"Well, if Saleen was considered a myth, maybe you should read other myths," Archimedes suggested. "If anything, it might provide some clues to where Saleen might have gone or any weaknesses she may have."
"Fine," Alex muttered, not thoroughly thrilled with his assignment. It made sense, but at the same time reading works of fables seemed less important than going through actual records.
King Eric showed him the mythological section in the library and a brief explanation on how things were organized. Once again, Alex was impressed with the human library. Instead of only organizing things by author, the humans organized the library according to subject and then by title. In Atlantica, things were only organized alphabetically by author. Most merfolk authors only wrote about one subject, but King Eric explained there were some authors who wrote on a variety of subjects. Or, sometimes, they only wrote one piece.
As interesting as it was, Alex only half listened as King Eric talked. The rest of his attention was focused on a ladder, leaning against a bookshelf. The ladder was set on a track so someone could glide across the bookshelf without ever having to get off to move it.
Once the king and his uncle were gone, Alex waited a good five minutes to make sure they were far enough away. Then, he jumped on the ladder and quietly laughed as he slid back and forth across the long bookshelf.
Melody would have loved doing this.
The thought sobered up Alex quickly. He turned his attention to the book spines and began to pull out books that might be useful. The titles were bland and just said "Folktales Gathered from the South" or "Legends of the Oriental".
"Why can't there be a book called 'All Questions Answered Inside'? Or 'All About Saleen'? Or even 'Myths that could be Real'?"
Alex sat against the bookshelf, his selected stack next to him. He began to read with conviction. When that became too long, he just read through the chapter titles. Every book he grabbed turned out to be a dead end. Once again, he combed the bookshelf for something that might be useful. Book by book Alex glanced through the table of contents and the index, but there was nothing helpful. A servant had to come by with a lantern as the sun had begun to set. Alex continued to search by the small candle's light. One book held his interest, even though it had nothing to do with what he was searching for. The story was about a god, kidnapped in his infancy and forced into becoming a mortal. The demigod spent his life trying to attain god status, only to turn it down in the end. The reason being he wanted to live out the rest of his days with the woman he loved.
I bet Melody would like this story.
"Something useful has to be here," Alex said out loud. His eyes felt itchy suddenly. The itchiness was making them water. Stubbornly, Alex rubbed his eyes and wiped the water away.
I'm not crying, he consoled himself. It's dusty in here.
His attention was soon diverted with a loud BOOM! noise he heard nearby.
A life goal of mine is to one day install a ladder like that. Or, at least, glide across one. Sadly, I haven't found a library that has something like that.