Heart Over Sword

After roaming the palace further and taking in its splendour and different rooms, Evanna decided to check out the front of the court, where she knew there were more gardens yet to explore and more possible ways to escape. However, her attention was drawn away from her goal when she saw an arched doorway the size of a house, leading to rows and rows of books. It was a library, and a grand one, of course. Her steps halted, and she eyed the enormous room; she tentatively stepped forwards, awestruck by its beauty. It was like nothing she had ever seen. Which seemed to be the same thought popping up in her mind that day. Every room she had seen was different and beautiful in its own way, making her wonder how long such a place took to be built.

Evanna tilted her head back as she walked through the archway. The library had a closed ceiling, but a wall-to-wall tinted window was in the usual brickwork’s stead. She could still see the sun shining brilliantly, but it didn’t cause any shadows nor bringing the room higher than average room temperature. Evanna clutched her arms as she suddenly shuddered from the different temperatures, it was nothing like in the forest, but it was close.

Lowering her head again, she searched the room, taking in the white trees occasionally scattered, showcasing how high the walls were and how truly magnificent the room was. Their wide branches reached out to one another, causing a sort of path in which Evanna watched a man walking across and grabbing a book from one of the bookcases near it. Her brows raised in awe, and she walked further into the depths of the room.

There was another floor, one that she couldn’t quite understand how to get to, but it had a balcony along the wall, so you could see from every angle of the ground she stood on. It was merely there so one could look at the books on such high shelves, but as she continued to gaze at it, spinning on the spot slowly, she stopped and saw a small area full of settees and armchairs. The whole room was like something out of a fairy tale book. Extraordinary and unbelievable.

Evanna couldn’t help but compare her small library, which was only of cold white bricks with a rug on the ground and a desk in the corner with a fireplace, in comparison to where she stood that would fit about three houses inside. She followed her gaze, her steps echoing across the marble surface, and found at the far left of the room, was a fireplace as wide as the archway that led into the library. Evanna’s lips were unknowingly parted.

The fireplace was of dark green marble with gold etched into it, flourishing out like their own branches of a tree that led to the ceiling. There were no books by such a beast of a fire roaring inside of it, and she found herself inching forwards to feel its warmth. Her hand glided along the edges of a single gold settee placed in front of it. But Evanna did not stop to rest; she felt a swell of excitement fill her chest from so many books. All elven!

She started roaming the aisles, her eyes flickering across different titles, all in Muranthian. There was also a section for Human’s, but these were books similar to what she had read before, and they were not nearly as exciting. So, she breezed past it. Her intent now was to see if there was anything that might help her and her situation. Evanna had no idea what she was looking for, though.

After some time of browsing the aisles, thrilled at coming across books with teachings of the elven magic, books that her mother would absolutely adore, she was reminded of her babysitters. The echoes of their clinking armour made her realise how quickly she must have been stepping through the aisles in excitement. When she stopped and turned, they visibly relaxed their shoulders with sighs.