“I’d like to recommend you to join the Librarians,” Evalyn said.
The sour look on Patty’s face made Lineah chuckle from her seat across the room.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, Patty,” Lineah said. “The Librarians are more than archivists and secretaries. They’re spies.”
“They’re even more than that,” Evalyn said.
“Librarians are most widely known for providing anyone information that exists within their archive… But they also gather intelligence for anyone who has the money to pay for it. They can be informants, spies, assassins, even mercenaries and body guards. They function a lot like the Adventurer’s Guild, but operate in more unseen areas.”
“I didn’t know that,” Patty replied.
“Most people don’t,” Evalyn nodded. “It’s a regulated secret only a few have access to. I’m telling you because I think you would be a good fit, and if you decide you want to join them I will get in touch with them on your behalf.”
She cast her eyes to Daryl and Alice.
“Naturally, I’m expecting everyone in this room to keep it a secret.”
Alice mimed locking her lips. Daryl nodded.
“I’ll…think about it…” Patty replied. She turned to Daryl. “Can you help me to my room?”
“Sure. Hang onto me,” the boy slid his arm around Patty’s back and helped her to her feet. She hissed with pain as she stood.
“You can stay here tonight,” Evalyn said quickly but Patty shook her head.
“I caused enough trouble and Assessments are tomorrow,” she muttered. “Night.”
With Daryl’s help, Patty stumbled to the door then motioned for him to wait.
“I almost forgot,” She looked over her shoulder but couldn’t see well past the gauze bandage. “Wulfsige Godwin is the name I heard.”
Three blank faces stared back at her and she nodded.
“Yeah. I’ve never heard of him either. Goodnight.”
The door closed as Patty and Daryl left. Evalyn turned away and chewed on her thumb. Lineah rose from her seat and stretched.
“I’m headed to bed as well. Don’t stay up too late, Alice,” she said with a wink.
Alice nodded.
“I won’t.”
Soon, the two of them were alone.
Evalyn cleared her throat awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. They hadn’t been alone since she kicked Alice out of her room.
“So-“ She fiddled with the medical supplies she used to patch up Patty. “Are you feeling confident about tomorrow?”
“Not really,” Alice said.
Evalyn had her back turned, but she could feel Alice’s eyes watching her.
“I don’t have a full grasp on what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
“I suppose you wouldn’t, huh. If there’s no magic in your world I suppose it would be quite hard to imagine.” She stuffed the medical supplies into a carpet bag and set it at the foot of her bed. The source of this chapter is g.com.
When she turned around, Alice stood behind her.
Evalyn jumped and Alice chuckled.
“You were really cool tonight, by the way,” she said.
Evalyn turned her head away and brushed her hair back with blushing fingers.
“Don’t say such nonsense,” she muttered.
Alice took another playful step closer and Evalyn back up in response. Her heel hit the bed and Evalyn stumbled backward, but Alice slid an arm behind her back and caught her.
Wary twilight eyes stared up at Alice as the creeping redness in her fingers made its way into her ears.
Alice grinned.
“I thought you were cute from the moment I saw you, but tonight you were just effortlessly cool. The way to used that meteor hammer, and how to controlled that massive fireball. You really surprised me.” Alice’s long lashes fluttered as her eyes took in Evalyn’s features. Her massive frame bent forward a little, drawing her face closer.
“It’s amazing. You’re so small, but you’re so strong…”
Her eyes lingered on Evalyn’s lips and the secretary pleaded her heart not to race.
“I want…” Alice's voice grew deep and Evalyn’s knees trembled with something between fear and anticipation.
An energy arced between them, carrying sparks of Divine power. The rational part of Evalyn’s mind tried to focus on its source, but another part of her leaned into the empty space where Alice left words unsaid.
The giantess let her go and stepped away. The spell was broken. Yet again a voice deep inside Evalyn screamed. It demanded to grab hold of Alice.
To devour her.
“How come you didn’t become a Librarian?” Alice asked.
It took Evalyn a moment to mentally grapple with her emotions.
“I... learned about them after I joined the Guild,” she replied. Her eyes trailed down, and she realized they were still holding hands.
Does she also desire to hold on? She thought. Why?
“I also believe I would be better suited for the Librarians,” she said. “But here I can help more people. That’s what I need to do to…” her voice trailed off.
“To…what?”
Atone.
Evalyn shook her head. “It’s not important,” she replied and squeezed Alice’s hand.
“You should sleep, you know.”
“I know…”
As Alice walked down the hall to the room she shared with Dahlia, she heard the voices of her party in the room.
“You looked really serious during the Trial tonight, Orbahn,” Dahlia said.
“Yeah, almost angry,” Felix replied. “What was that about?”
Alice stepped into the room and they all turned their heads to greet her. She stared at Orbahn but he shook his head.
He got to his feet and Felix followed.
“Let’s do our best tomorrow,” he said as he and Felix bid the girls a goodnight.
_____
The day of Rank Assessments arrived at last and the energy of the Guild peaked once again.
As if Lineah’s grueling daily training had been one long nightmare they could finally forget, the Adventurers clamored amongst themselves, They helped one another into armor, and stretched to loosen up their limbs.
Dahlia helped Alice put armor on over her uniform, which had arrived the previous day.
“I’m kind of nervous doing this test like this. I’ve only worn the training equipment so far,” Alice said.
The armor, made of hardened leather, covered her vitals but squeezed her and made it tough to move naturally.
“It’s because the armor’s new,” Dahlia said as she braided Alice’s white hair. “The training equipment is broken in, probably a little too much. You’ll get used to it.”
Once her hair was braided, Alice slipped a leather helmet over her head and moved her body around to test the fit.
This doesn’t feel real. She thought.
Dahlia handed Alice her cloak and fastened it with the Guild Emblem. Felix whistled.
“Now you’re looking like one of us,” he smiled.
A bell sounded from outside and the Guild members shuffled down the hall to the training yard.
Except, what greeted them was no longer the training yard as they knew it.
The large expanse had been altered overnight: Part obstacle course, part mountain terrain, complete with vegetation and flowing water. The expanse of the yard had been given unexpected height.
Alice picked her jaw up off the floor.
Across the yard, at the raised platform Lineah had used the other evening, the Branch Captain and Secretary Evalyn were speaking to several robed figures. They all appeared young and slightly uncanny, similar to Felix. When they smiled, Alice caught glimpses of sharp teeth. When one girl in a robe ran her hand through her hair, Alice caught sight of pointy ears.
“Who are the the people in the robes?” she asked.
“Mages from the Consortium,” Felix replied. “The Guild hired them to change the terrain. Probably other stuff for today too.”
“That’s possible?”
“Fae are naturally gifted with magic. Even if humans like Patty, Eve, or Orbahn learn how to use it they’ll go their whole lives without reaching the level of the fae. Case in point,” Felix tilted his head at the mountain now taking over the training yard.
“Still, the amount of magic Orbahn knows is more than enough for us,” Dahlia chimed in and elbowed their leader in the side.
“Right?”
Orbahn, who had been quiet all morning, was watching the group on the platform with the same frown on his face as the night before. Dahlia’s elbow to his ribs brought his attention back to his group. He nodded, but Alice doubted he heard a word they said.
From the platform, Evalyn caught them watching and waved. Alice and Dahlia smiled and waved back.
The bell rang again and Lineah called for the participants to gather near the platform.