Spirits of the Earth

@DragonSong

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Hurry.

That's what they'd said. How inconvenient. There would be no reason to hurry if the college library had simply been wise enough to keep a copy of Within Stone Eyes: A Study of Basilisks by renowned mythological beast researcher Vincent Doyle on their shelves.

Since they hadn't had the foresight to anticipate his needs now Keiran had to venture out to one of the city's public libraries, which apparently might actually have the book he desperately needed to finish his paper on basilisk hunting behaviors. The college had several books on the foul beasts, but not the one he needed. Perhaps he could have made due with another study on them, but he wasn't one to settle for less than the definitive text on all things to do with the basilisk.

Maybe it was his own fault for not realizing he was missing such a critical research material earlier in the day. It was getting quite late, but then again the library at the college, or at home for that matter, never closed.

Despite his frustration with the college's inadequate selection, Keiran had all the outward appearances of a young lord out on a leisurely evening stroll. Well, a brisk stroll, but his expression remained neutrally pleasant. It wouldn't do to come off as annoyed or frustrated. You never knew who you might run into out on the street.

In fact, he had to spare more than a few smiles and quick pleasantries with people that recognized him. One was even a professor at the college. Another was a young lady staying within the city to study much like himself. Her family was notable and Keiran paused longer than he's have liked to be especially polite to her, as his family was on rather friendly terms with hers, as far as political alliances went, and his father would have been terribly displeased if he had offended her by being too hasty.

By the time he reached the library he was actually beginning to worry he might have to delay finishing his work until tomorrow.

The horror!

Praise be to the divine when he tried the door and found it not yet locked, although he could see that the few people remaining were gathering their belongings to leave. Best he be quick! It would be terribly rude to impose upon the poor librarian because of his poor time management.

Ah, but as he looked around Keiran felt the familiar stirring in his heart of discovery. Why, this was actually very nice! In the six years that he had lived in Arca, never once had he visited a library that wasn't in one mage college or another. He knew that many students did regularly, but many of the students were also common born rather than nobility. Most nobles had private tutors and remained at home rather than venturing to a college, but of course that would have been too boring and stifling for him.

Looking about at the unfamiliar layout, Keiran realized that he would never find the book on his own before it was time for the doors to be locked. Oh bother, perhaps it would have been more pertinent to simply have waited until the morning.

Lyssa was, as usual, blissfully unaware of the late hour, nose buried in her choice of book for that day. This one was a series of journals that had been adapted into a single novel, written by an explorer and biologist, and paying very close attention to the different flora and fauna the author had come across in her travels.

So when she heard the door open- the first time it had done so in at least an hour or two- she started and raised her head a little fuzzily, trying to adjust back to the real world.

Oh. Was it so late already? She looked around, seeing the few patrons left in the library were gathering their things. She sighed, marking her place and laying the book gently on her desk. I suppose I'll have to start closing things up now.

Pushing her glasses up into her hair, she stood and stretched her arms over her head for a moment, bending her back. It was only then she remembered what had drawn her attention from her book in the first place. Flushing slightly at the belated response, she looked toward the door.

The young man standing there, looking around, seemed a bit lost. She tilted her head. He certainly wasn't a regular visitor- in fact she couldn't recall having ever seen him before. "Um, hello," she called softly, trying to catch his attention as she moved toward him. "Is there something I can help you with?" Perhaps he just needed directions.

The thought of simply leaving and returning tomorrow crossed Keiran's mind, after all, no matter how inconvenient it would be, he wasn't so crass or arrogant as to think he deserved some special treatment when it came to the scheduled hours of a business - library or otherwise. Before he could fully make up his mind or turn to disembark a young woman with some fascinating coloring approached him.

Given her greeting and question he could only assume she was the librarian on duty. Keiran smiled politely as he turned to her. "Why yes Miss, I do believe you can. My apologies for coming in at the last moment, but the librarian at my college suggested your establishment might have the book I am needing - Within Stone Eyes: A Study of Basilisks by Vincent Doyle."

He gestured to the other patrons who were already beginning to leave. "If it is too late I understand. I can always return in the morning. It would be extremely rude and presumptuous to demand you stay longer than necessary for my sake."

Keiran was sure the young woman was eager to go home after her workday. Although if he had not been a noble with no need to have an actual job, he thought that librarian would certainly have been one of the more tolerable professions he could have sought out. Still, not everyone was him and undoubtedly the librarian here worked to support herself, not just out of love for books.

Ah, a student. That made a little more sense. Lyssa offered a small smile. "Seeing as you want something specific, it shouldn't be any trouble," she told him. "I do have to close up soon, but I don't mind taking a few extra minutes. Doyle, you said?"

That sounded familiar... With a small "Ah!" she remembered a few works by Vincent Doyle had been sharing shelf space with the book she'd chosen that morning, in the Unusual Beasts section.

"Just this way, please," she said, beckoning for the newcomer to follow her as she set off into the shelves. Glancing back over her shoulder, she asked by way of polite chit-chat, "Are you writing a paper then? Or is this personal interest?"

It came as a pleasant relief when the librarian genuinely did not seem perturbed by his last minute request for a certain title. For a moment Keiran had worried she would oblige him but only grudgingly and with annoyance. While it was true this was his first time in a public library it wouldn't do to make a bad impression upon a person which he might have future need to ask for assistance.

"Yes Miss, Doyle." He confirmed with a soft smile and nod. It was a mild surprise when she seemed to know exactly where they should go to find what he wanted. Most of the librarians at the college had to look up the sections and locations of their books before helping him find them.

Often times Keiran didn't bother asking them anymore, he simply found what he needed himself. Except on a day like today when what he needed had been nowhere to be found.

Maintaining his pleasant but otherwise expressionless demeanor, the young lord followed as instructed, though his smile brightened slightly as he was asked the nature of his interest in the book. "A bit of both, actually. I am very fascinated with mythical and magical creatures, so focus many of my studies on them. Basilisks are particularly nasty - but still interesting - beasts. So while I am writing a paper for one of my tutors, I also find them quite worthy of study regardless."

Not to mention the forests of Ravensway were home to numerous basilisks. The animals were a menace, perfectly happy to kill and devour the family's prized kirins, or an unfortunate person that crossed their path for that matter.

"I see." Lyssa nodded, leading him to what she hoped was the correct section of shelves. "I'm pretty sure it's around here somewhere," she murmured, stepping into the space between two bookshelves and letting her fingers skim over the bindings. There was the empty space where her book belonged, so...

Doma, Dorian, Dowle- "Aha! Doyle, there you are," she said with no small amount of satisfaction, finding the cluster of books she'd remembered from that morning. Slipping Within Stone Eyes: A Study of Basilisks from its place, she turned and held it out to him with a smile.

"Your focus is in magical beast then?" she asked curiously. Flushing a bit, she ducked her head and added, "Forgive me, I don't mean to pry. It's just, we get a lot of students in here, and if I know what they're looking for sometimes I can recommend good titles." Her blush deepened a bit. "Ah, but seeing as this is your first time here, I assume you have no need of recommendations- I'm sure the college library has what you need. Sorry."

Why was she apologizing? Shouldn't she have done that? Gods, books were so much easier than people.

While the focus was on a particular book, Keiran could not resist allowing his eyes to skim over the titles on the shelves they passed. Some he recognized, many he didn't. How fascinating! They had books that he had never heard of and that certainly were not in the college's library. Perhaps he'd not given these public establishments enough credit.

They stopped at a cluster of shelves that made up the section on labeled Unusual Beasts and Keiran looked around at the selection with a brightening expression. Why, they seemed to have most of Vincent Doyle's collection of titles. The college only had two - Heart of Fire: A Dragon's Perspective and A Crystal Horn: Unicorns Unveiled. Quite a dismal case of neglect on the administrator's part. Obviously they catered to those of only the most bland and typical of study interests.

The book he needed was handed to him in very short order. It was a pleasant surprise when the woman showed an interest in what he was studying, but before he could so much as respond to her question she was fumbling and blushing through apologies.

For a moment Keiran could only blink and stare at the poor woman, but he quickly recovered and gave a soft laugh. His eyes sparkled slightly and a friendly smile curved his lips. "You should not apologize, you have been most helpful. Yes, my studies currently focus on magical beasts, and I would be most interested in hearing what titles you suggest."

Not to mention the college obviously did not always have what he needed, since he was here and not there!

Her heart fluttered a bit and she blushed, shrugging. "Oh, it's just my job," she murmured. Relieved he seemed more amused by her than offended, she offered a smile of her own in return.

"Can I ask what your interest stems from?" she queried, tilting her head a bit to one side. "If I know that, I might be able to think of a few books you may find useful."

She slipped out from between the bookshelves and began leading them back in the direction of her desk. There was the familiar sound of the door swinging open and shut and she looked up to see that they appeared to be the only ones left in the library. "Where are you studying?" she asked over her shoulder, a little curious as to why she'd never seen him in the library before.

Well yes, it was her job to assist visitors, but that didn't mean she couldn't receive a little recognition for doing so in such a quick and pleasant fashion. The librarians at the college would have needed to look up where to find the book needed, then they'd simply direct him to the appropriate section with an annoyed wave of their hand.

Perhaps they were busier and had more patrons, but regardless they certainly never asked after his studies or offered to recommend books - he doubted most of them would have known what he needed at any rate. Perhaps he should speak with the administrators about hiring more invested and knowledgeable staff, ones who appreciated the importance of libraries and books enough to take the time to show an actual interest in the students and the books they supposedly tended.

Putting the thought aside, Keiran followed the colorful librarian as they made their way back towards the front of the building. "My family breed, raise, train, and sell Kirin. I suppose at least some small part of my interest in such fantastical creatures stems from that. Not to mention that the forests of Ravensway are home to a myriad of mystical beasts. You can sometimes catch glimpses of basilisks, wyverns, gryphons, dragons and quite a few more. To call ventures into the woods eventful would be putting it mildly. The forests are one of the things I miss most studying so far from home."

He noticed that he appeared to be the only visitor left as they came closer to the front desk. "I study at Kia's Garden College."

It was one of the larger, more prestigious mage academies in Arca, also one of the oldest, most beautiful, and expensive to attend. When the occasional noble family did send a child to a college instead of rely on private tutors it was often Kia's Garden where they attended.

"Oh," Lyssa murmured, eyes widening a bit as he talked about his home forests. "That sounds fascinating." Her eyes were practically glowing. Moving around behind her desk, she shot him a sympathetic look. "That must be difficult, being away from home." She could understand that.

Kia's Garden. "You're a noble then?" she asked without thinking. It was of course possible that he wasn't, but something about him seemed to give off that sort of air. In fact, he sort of reminded her of an illustration of the prince in her favorite storybook as a child. "I probably should have guessed, you certainly look it."

A blush quickly worked its way over her face and she dropped her eyes. "Oh, um, sorry, that was rude. Not my place," she mumbled, busying herself trying to locate the log that kept track of books the library lent out.

"They are remarkable, and beautiful." Aside from the spectacular, and deadly, beasts that roamed in the densest parts of the trees it was truly very nice to walk under the heavy boughs. So far south in Serendipity the weather was warm and almost balmy much of the year. It rarely ever snowed. Keiran's smile faltered just slightly at the mention of it being difficult being away from home, but he recovered quickly.

He could go home anytime he wanted. It had been his choice to study and live in Arca.

Keiran gave a soft chuckle, not sure why she was apologizing - again. He was a noble and he didn't think looking like one, as she claimed, was a bad thing. The young lord smiled gently at his flustered host. "It is quite alright, you are not wrong. My name is Keiran, Miss - ah - might I know your name?"

She let out a soft breath, giving a smile of her own in return. His seemed to be almost contagious. "It's Ilycia," she told him, not quite sure why but feeling she should use her full name. "Most people call me Lyssa though."

Ah, there was the log. Hefting the massive tome onto the desk, she flicked to the current page and began making note of the book. "Keiran," she murmured, writing his name as she spoke. Glancing up at him, she asked, "Might I have your family name? It's not exactly required, it just makes keeping track easier."

"My apologies, Keiran Fairhall, Miss Ilycia." Keiran said lightly, still smiling as he moved to stand right before the desk, leaning over slightly to look at the massive log book she had produced. The book that he was borrowing was clutched lightly to his chest.

"I must thank you for taking extra time to assist me. I am truly appreciative. With this book I can finish my paper tonight, but I hope I have not kept you too long." He was very sincere, he truly was grateful for having the tool he needed to conduct his research, and she had gone out of her way to make sure that he, a stranger to her, had it.

"Fairhall," she mouthed, jotting the name down. Then she smiled a bit at his thanks, shaking her head gently. "It's really no problem, I'm usually here after hours anyway," she assured him, closing the book and looking up at him.

A bit too quickly perhaps, because she hadn't realized he'd been leaning forward and her head almost bumped his chin. Jerking back, she gave a nervous chuckle and a muttered, "Oops, sorry." The sudden movement shook her glasses free from her hair and they bounced onto the desk then skittered away from her reaching hand, clattering to the floor.

"Oh for-" She sighed, sliding the log back into its place under the desk and leaning over it to try and see where the spectacles had fallen. "I'll probably be the one here when you return the book," she told Keiran absently, leaning further over the desk until she was stretched onto the tips of her toes, frowning as she searched the floor.

"I can still be thankful - oh!" A little startled by the sudden movement, namely the head flying towards his face, Keiran took a quick step back, trying to avoid a painful collision. Lyssa's glasses went tumbling, first upon the desk then clattering onto the floor. He had attempted to catch them, but they slipped right by his fingertips.

Strangely the young woman leaned over the desk while trying to find the dropped spectacles, and managed to be fully over the piece of furniture so much so that her feet nearly left the floor!

"I hope that is so, Miss Ilycia. I look forward to hearing your book recommendations." Which was true, but also she was very polite and helpful. He could appreciate that, and he had seen many books that would be good to study that he'd not been able to find at the college.

Keiran set the book down on the desk and gathered up his robes a bit so that he wouldn't kneel on them as he got down on the floor to help her retrieve her glasses. He wasn't sure how well she could see without them, but since they had not been on her nose this whole time he assumed that she wasn't too blind without them.

"Oh, thank you," she said, flushing in embarrassment as he helped her retrieve her glasses. She gave him a quick, grateful smile as she took them and slid back to her side of the desk.

"You don't have to call me "Miss Ilycia"," she told him as she did, hooking her glasses onto the neckline of her clingy top and patting them absently. Didn't need them jumping away from her again. "Just Lyssa is fine." Her smile was a little less nervous and more friendly this time.

Already her mind was beginning to wander through the titles she thought might interest him. He'd said his family raised Kirin, so he probably knew quite a bit about them. But perhaps some other breeds of mythical equines? She was pretty sure there was a detailed tome listing the different types of winged horses around somewhere...

"You are most welcome." Keiran stood gracefully, smoothing out his robes as he did so. It had been a small thing, but he supposed many enough lords would not have stooped themselves onto the floor to retrieve something they themselves had dropped, let alone something for someone else. Other lords were stupid fools.

Picking up his borrowed book again, he gave her a slight tilt of the head, his smile still had not changed. "I would not have been so presumptuous as to call you Lyssa, which I assume is a nickname? Usually those are reserved for those more familiar with a person."

Ah, but his manners were still quite abysmal, weren't they? "Now Miss Il - Lyssa, the hour grows later by the moment and I have kept you for quite long enough. I know that it is past time for the doors to have been locked. Thank you once more for your help." Keiran gave a slight bow to her, regardless of her social station. "I will return this book tomorrow afternoon, I sincerely hope to see you again then."

She sort of smiled as she listened to him talk. She didn't interact with nobility much, and she wondered if his manner of speech was commonplace among his class or if talking like a character out of some grand novel was a trait specific to him. Either way, she liked it.

"You are most welcome," she told him with a nod, using his phrase experimentally. With another smile she added, "I'll be here. I hope to see you again too, Keir- er, Lord Fairhall." At his bow she bobbed into a semi-curtsy, but seeing as her skirt only fell to just above her knees she was afraid it wasn't quite proper.

Some nobles talked like that, but mostly it was Keiran's love for all things grand, elegant, and sophisticated. To him he was simply speaking correctly. Not that he looked down on common folk speaking with their casual slang and hasty mashing of words, many nobles had begun using such dialect, but it simply wasn't for him.

Proper or not, Lyssa's effort was rewarded with an even brighter smile, and a self-depreciating chuckle. "Lord Fairhall makes me think I should be looking for my father. Keiran is fine, have a fine evening Lyssa."

The walk back to the college was much like the walk from the college, although there were different people to greet, and fewer of them. Keiran spent half the night reading and referencing Within Stone Eyes: A Study of Basilisks, but managed to finish his paper before finally succumbing to sleep.

It was mid-morning before he even woke, and after refreshing himself with a bath and change of clothes, he turned in his paper and set out to the library with his borrowed book once more clutched carefully to his chest.

Keiran rather enjoyed the walk, stopping to chat politely with several people that he recognized from court or college. Stepping into the library sometime after noon, he felt happier than he had at any point of his walk, even as pleasant as it was. The day was beautiful, but books were always the more delightful experience for him. Immediately he moved towards the desk, needing to have the book checked back in and hoping to spend several hours selecting the next.

"And you," Lyssa murmured as he left, still smiling a bit to herself. Happily, she began packing up her things and took one last quick walk around the library, blowing out lanterns and closing up windows, before she made her way home to the lodging house where she'd been living for the past year and a half.

She read before bed as she usually did, finishing her collection of journal entries before she managed to sleep. Then she was up early, having the opening shift at the library. Maybe it was a little much, closing one night and opening the next day, but honestly she'd rather spend her time there than anywhere else. She slipped out of the house before her fellow tenants were even awake, the sun just rising.

It was a rather slow day, so when the door opened with its familiar creak just after midday, she glanced up curiously from her novel, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. An automatic smile spread across her face and she laid her book- this time a rather fantastical story that involved a small dragon and a fairly grouchy unicorn- on the desk when she saw who it was, sitting up a bit straighter.

"Afternoon," she said brightly as Keiran approached.

"Good afternoon, Lyssa. I trust the day finds you well?" It was always polite to ask after someone's day and wellness, especially when one was remotely acquainted with them. Keiran gave a pleasant smile as he set the book on the desk before her. "As promised I am returning this book. My paper is complete thanks to your diligent care. I expect my professor will be quite pleased with the content."

His papers were always well-received, because he was a dedicated student and never turned in less than stellar and highly insightful studies on whatever has caught his interest at the time.

Lyssa took the book and slipped it into the "returns" cart to be put back in its proper place later. "I'm glad," she said with a small smile, meaning it, as she noted the return in her log book.

Chucking softly, she replied, "The day finds me very well, thank you." Her eyes sort of crinkled at the corners as she smiled at him. "And you? Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"I am quite well, thank you. For now I have no research to conduct for a paper, but I was hoping you had a few book suggestions. Paper or not it is always good to read and take notes." Learning was a never-ending endeavor, Keiran hoped that in all his life he would never stop learning new things. There was certainly enough knowledge in the world to occupy a man for a lifetime or fifty, even one as studious as him.

There was also the fact that he was genuinely curious to see what Lyssa would recommend. He had rather high hopes that any tomes suggested would be of very high intellectual quality - and hopefully very interesting.

She positively beamed. "Actually," she began, reaching into the cart again and pulling out the book she'd been reading the day before. "I found this to be fascinating. It's a compilation of journal entries, so it's a bit different from traditional scholarly works, but there's some really interesting anecdotes about the wildlife she encountered."

She tilted her head then, pondering. "Have you read any of Dmitri Teve's work? He mostly works with dragons, but he has some interesting things to say about their cousins- basilisks and sea serpents and the like."

Keiran perked up with curiosity as she pulled out the compilation of journal entries. Scholarly texts were not usually so disjointed, but a book in this format was certainly not to be dismissed! "How delightful! It would be so exciting to be out in the world taking notes from first-hand experiences while all the information was fresh in your mind."

Not that a young lord should be out braving the wilds on such an expedition, but he thought it would be great fun to do it someday. Even if only once, just so he could have and treasure such an experience.

"I believe the college library has a couple of Dmitri Teve books on the shelves. Books on dragons, of course. Not to say that there is anything wrong with the study of dragons or the works of those that study them, but there are simply so very many books on them. Libraries become saturated with such books and leave no room on their shelves for books on less glorified beasts." There was a slightly sad lit to his voice when speaking of it.

Lyssa smiled at his reaction. If she were just a bit more daring, to be out in the world on such scholarly adventures would probably be her dream. It certainly sounded exciting.

She tilted her head slightly when he bemoaned the attitude of libraries toward works on dragons and nodded in understanding. It was true, even this library was a little dragon-centric as far as their magical beasts category went.

"Well, I believe we have all of Teve's books except for his most recent title- something about cockatrices. If you're still interested in basilisks, he has some interesting things to say. I'd recommend his works on sea serpents though, simply because they aren't many out there." She offered a small smile. "Would you like me to show you? We're having a slow day, and honestly I'm dying to get out from behind this desk."

"Cockatrices, you say? I hope you will be getting that book soon. When you do, you simply must tell me. The college library will undoubtedly neglect to pick it up since it has nothing to do with dragons and it would be so very interesting to read." Nothing excited him more than a new book to absorb. Especially a new book on a fantastical beast that was severely lacking in captivating field studies recorded.

"Well I think I remember the way, but if it gives you an excuse to get up and stretch your legs, then by all means, I would greatly enjoy the personal escort. You are a marvelous conversationalist. I must admit I was delightfully surprised to find such a learned librarian here." Keiran paused, considering what he had just said, then shook his head. "My apologies, I did not mean to imply that you would not be well-educated simply because you work at a non-college library."

"Oh." Lyssa flushed slightly as she stood. Moving around from behind the desk, she shook her head and gave him a quick smile. "No, that's alright, I'm not offended. I think I know what you mean." she shrug as she started off toward the proper section of shelves.

"I think a lot of people work here because it's quiet, and honestly not too strenuous. Even among my fellow librarians it's rare to find someone who enjoys talking about books as much as you seem to." She turned her head a bit to give him another small smile.

"That is sad, but far too common. Even at the college libraries the librarians and workers seem to only be there because they find the work easy and want to be paid. Not to say that there is something wrong with desiring compensation for their time, but they could at least have librarians that were passionate about books and knowledge. Sadly they do not." Keiran sighed ruefully, it was terribly droll to be complaining like this to the poor girl. She didn't need to hear all his woes on his less than satisfying experiences with librarians.

"At any rate, it was so nice to meet you yesterday. I am so happy to have found a librarian that genuinely takes an interest in the books they keep. The college libraries have served me well enough the past six years, but I think I will be coming here more often now. Not only is your selection astoundingly more complete, but the service is much better." Come to think of it, the walk off of campus was kind of nice.

Coming to a stop next to the shelf with Teve's works, Lyssa gave him a friendly smile. "Well, I'm sorry your experiences at the college libraries have been less than satisfactory, but I suppose their loss is our gain. It'll be nice to have another regular." Particularly one who actually enjoyed discussing books. Most of the students were too busy studying to make conversation.

"Anyway, Teve's books are on the center shelf here." She tapped the appropriate book shelf, reaching up to adjust her glasses with her other hand.

"Yes, it would seem that way. Lucky for me that they did not have the book I needed yesterday. I might have taken much longer to find this place." If he would have ever found it. After all, Keiran rarely ventured beyond the grounds of the different colleges. He didn't have a need to venture beyond the comfortable, cushy world of the upper class usually, although he would never have thought of it like that.

They came to the same section as the night before, and he let his eyes move over the shelf that Lyssa tapped. He brought his hands up to lightly run over the spines of Teve's books, a smile tugging at his lips. Finding the book on sea serpents, he pulled it from the shelf carefully.

"I think I will take your advice. After all, my paper on the basilisk is finished. Perhaps I will make sea serpents the focus of my next one." Keiran offered a delighted smile as he turned back to the helpful little librarian that really sold him on this public library experience. More than just the books themselves, which were impressive, it was how friendly and knowledgeable Lyssa was that would keep him coming back.

Lyssa smiled at his choice. "I'd love to read your research when you've written that paper. If you'd let me, of course," she added quickly, cheeks darkening a bit.

Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she glanced up at him and asked, perhaps a little hopefully, "Is there anything else I can help you with today?" She knew he was probably busy, but she couldn't help wanting him to stay a bit longer. It was so rare she got the chance to actually talk to someone like this.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Peer review is very important and I am sure you will have some valuable feedback and insight to provide before I submit it to my professors." Keiran could have one of his fellow students read his work, and in the past he had, but he was interested in hearing what Lyssa would think of his research. Too bad he didn't have original research to show her.

Unfortunately that would require him to actually go out on his own research expedition. As tempting an idea as that was, Keiran just couldn't see his father permitting a potentially hazardous venture. It really was a shame.

"Actually you can. I am sure this book is very well-written and informative, but when conducting a research paper it is good to have multiple sources. Do you know of any other quality books on sea serpents?" Lyssa had said books on the creatures were rare, but hopefully there was at least one more that she could direct his attention to.

"Oh." Her face fell slightly and she bit her lip. "I'm afraid we don't anything that will offer more information than what that will offer you out here," she said, nodding to the book he already held.

then an idea struck her and her expression brightened a bit, eyes going thoughtful. "But... Actually, maybe I can help you with that. Follow me." She made her way back to her desk and rummaged around underneath it for a few moments until she emerged with an old key ring, a smile on her face.

"There are some rooms upstairs," she said, turning to Keiran. "Usually you need special permission to go in, but we're just looking for a book on sea serpents, nothing too magical or dangerous." Her smile widened and she nodded toward the stairs. "If you'll follow me?"

Keiran didn't let his small pang of disappointment show. Well, she had mentioned that it was a rare subject, and it certainly wasn't Lyssa's fault that there just wasn't a selection to choose from. It wasn't ideal, but he could probably write a paper with only a single reference book. Too bad he couldn't go out to do his own research. That would lend even more credibility to a paper.

Lyssa distracted him from his academic thoughts, bringing him back to the present. How could she help him with research without more books? Feeling curious, Keiran kept his ambiguous smile as he followed the petite librarian.

"Forbidden rooms? How very intriguing." He had no idea that the library had rooms ordinary visitors were not permitted in. As far as he knew, the college library had no such rooms. His curiosity was suddenly flared to life. Even so, he hesitated slightly, still clutching his current book protectively against his chest. "Are you certain that would be alright? I would hate for you to get in trouble on my account."

Lyssa smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure it'll be alright. The books that are...unconventional are marked, as long as we leave those alone everything will be fine."

Shaking her head, she added, "And it's no trouble, really. Honestly, I'm grateful for the excuse to get out from behind that desk."

"Well if you are quite sure, I have to admit that I am very curious to see these rooms." Books were little adventures without having to leave the safety of the library or one's home, but this was like a real mini-expedition.

Perhaps not as dangerous as venturing out to the wilds to study rare and savage beasts, but still fairly exciting for a nobleman that never left the comfort of civilization.

She grinned. "Follow me then." Swinging the keys idly from a hand that dangled by her hip, she led him up the stairs to the second level of the library, which was mostly a wrap around, indoor balcony lined with shelves, the occasional door visible through them.

Lyssa brought them to a door on the west end of the building and fiddled with the keys, trying to find the right one. Chuckling softly, she looked up at him and said wryly, "Is it embarrassing that I'm a little excited about this?"

With such curiosity and feeling a small thrill of adventure, how could Keiran do anything except follow Lyssa up the stairs to the second floor? Even as they made their way to the door she was looking for, he let his eyes drift over the books upon the shelves, scanning titles and breathing deeply of the unique smell of wonderfully old books.

"Not at all. I am a little excited myself. How thrilling to be going places we are not really supposed to go! I feel like I did as a little boy sneaking into the kitchen to filch pastries from Cookie." Ah, even a studious and good child could have his bad habits! Plus it was always Conrad's idea.

Lyssa giggled, raising a hand to cover her mouth. "Sorry, it's just- I would have imagined you as the obedient child, not the rebellious one," she murmured, eyes glinting a little playfully.

Finding the correct key, she drew in a soft breath and unlocked the door, pushing it open and then slipping into the room, standing aside so he could follow after her. "Well, here we are." Right where they weren't supposed to be.

It wasn't exactly a large room, but every single one of the walls was covered floor to ceiling with shelves upon shelves of books, with a long, rectangular table set in the center of the space. There were no chairs, and a few strange symbols scratched into the wood.

The librarian looked around curiously. She'd only really gotten a brief glance at the room before when she'd first been hired and her employer was showing her the ropes. She'd never had an excuse to come poking around again. With interest, she noticed that some of the books seemed to be chained to the shelves, as though taking caution against thieves.

It didn't occur to her the chains might be to subdue the books themselves.

"I was a very obedient child. My brother Conrad was the wild one. He was always trying to get me in trouble, but I am glad he did. Even a very obedient child needs to do something a little wrong now and then." Keiran was generally a stickler for rules, but it was exciting to bend them a little from time to time! Like right now, as they entered the once locked room.

Immediately he was looking around, stomach doing little flip flops as his eyes widened as he took in the shelves of books that were supposed to be off-limits.

There was so much here to study! Why was no one allowed to study these? That they could be very dangerous didn't really register right away. The thrill of so much knowledge at his fingertips where others were not allowed to search had him practically bouncing on his toes like a child in a candy shop.

"This is extraordinary! I wonder why these are kept locked away like this? They cannot be that dangerous. Can they?" It was hard to imagine knowledge being bad, but he knew in the back of his mind that some things were forbidden for a reason.

"I know some of them have detailed explanations of some pretty powerful spells and potions," she said with a shrug, moving further into the room. "I've never really wanted to look for those though." She had enough problems with her magic.

Giving him a quick smile, she moved toward the first shelf and let her eyes skim the titles. "Everything is alphabetized, so..." A, D, H, P... Lyssa was at the other end of the room by the time she called. "Here! S, there must be something on sea serpents here..."

"I can see how it might be wise to keep such books out of the wrong hands." Yes, not everyone held good intentions, and even good intentions could produce quite disastrous results. Just looking couldn't hurt, though, surely...

Keiran sighed softly, casting a longing look over the shelves before forcing himself to turn away from the temptation and walked to Lyssa when she called. Best that he resign himself to the fact that those books were not meant for him. He turned his attention to the books in the section that Lyssa was looking through. "Let us hope so. It would be a shame to have risked rebuking for naught."

"Oh, I wouldn't say it was for naught," Lyssa said with a smile, adding under her breath, "Mostly because I'm not fancy enough to talk that way."

Turning her attention back to the books, she murmured absently, "This is the most excitement I'm likely to get all week. Definitely worth it."

"Hmm?" Had she said something else? Keiran came up beside Lyssa, giving a soft chuckle as he ran his fingers over the spines of a few of the books. "We must both live such dull lives to have this be the highlight of our week."

At least he found this far more exciting than having tea or lunch with this person or that person whom he couldn't politely refuse.

She chuckled softly, stepping aside to give him room to properly look at the selection of books. "See, I'd expect this to be exciting for me. I mean, I'm a librarian. Dull sorta comes with the territory. But you..." She shook her head, giving a wistful little sigh. "It must be so fascinating to go to your college. I can't even imagine all the things you must be learning."

"Yes, I suppose there is much to learn at my college." Keiran loved to study, but he was well aware that his interests were dull. His older brother reminded him constantly.

"Did you never consider attending one of the colleges? There are many mage academies in the city, and all around Serendipity." He tilted his head and gave Lyssa a sidelong look. Nothing that the librarian had done or said indicated she held any magical power of her own, but being born with a gift wasn't strictly required. Some with no birth ability did gain some skill through hard work, study, and determination alone.

"Oh." She sighed, biting her bottom lip. "Well...I have thought about it. But- it's so expensive, and what with how odd my gift is, I told my parents not to bother-" She snapped her mouth closed, realizing she'd revealed a little more than she'd intended.

A quick smile and a wave of her hand in the hopes to cover it up. "Never mind. I'm sorry, I should be helping you look for your sea serpent book, not complaining."

"Nonsense, you are free to complain. I am curious what odd gift you possess." Keiran had turned from the books, momentarily losing interest in them and taking a great deal of interest in Lyssa.

"Having an odd gift would seem all the more reason to go. I know that Kia's Garden can be quite expensive, but there are other schools that cost considerably less. There are also scholarships for students with unique potential." To Keiran she seemed a bright young woman that would do well in such a learning environment and so there was no reason that she shouldn't be allowed entry to one of the academies.

Lyssa blinked at him, then offered a small smile. "I suppose you're right," she said after a moment. "But it's just that- I've been trying to figure out my magic since I was a teenager, and I can't find anything. Maybe one of the colleges would offer better insight, but I didn't want my parents to waste the money if it couldn't."

She bit her lip, glancing away, then looked back at him with bright, excited eyes. "Do you want- could I show you?"

Well that seemed a poor excuse to him. So what if the colleges couldn't figure out her magic? That still would have left her with all the wisdom and knowledge the scholars, libraries, and tutors could provide her with. If they couldn't help with her specific gift they still could have taught her so very much that had nothing to do with whatever natural talent had been bestowed up on her.

Of course he didn't say any of that, because Lyssa tempted him with a demonstration of her abilities. That was at least as exciting as any book. "I would love to see. You have made me so curious."

She flushed a bit and shrugged. "Well, It's really not much. I hope I didn't give you too high expectations."

Fishing a scrap of parchment and the rather nice pen that had been a present form her mother out of a pocket in her skirt, she crossed to the table and leaned over it. She thought for a moment, then scrawled the word, "rose" in large, looping letters.

A small glow lit around the parchment, then the letters wriggled and shifted, rising up into the air and suddenly forming a blood red bloom that settled back down onto the table.

Lyssa cupped the flower in her hands and turned to Keiran, shrugging and offering a small, almost nervous sort of smile.

"I am certain I will not be disappointed." Keiran tried to assure her with a gentle, encouraging smile as he followed her to the table to watch intently as she wrote a simple word onto the parchment. When the letters began to glow and rise off the page his blue eyes widened with wonder. He had never seen such a thing.

When she turned with the flower in hand he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to touch the bloom experimentally. "How marvelous!" He exclaimed softly as the rose was very real and he still wasn't sure he could believe what he had just witnessed.

"I have never seen anything like what you have just done." Keiran looked up at her with absolute awe. After all, how many people could create something out of nothing but a word on paper?

Lyssa blushed and grinned, ducking her eyes in a pleased sort of embarrassment. "It's just...I don't really do much, actually, it's not all that special," she mumbled, unable to wipe the smile from her face.

She shrugged, offering the rose for him to hold. "As far as I can tell, it's not a very common ability. But it's the only magic I can do, so..." She shrugged again, biting at her bottom lip.

"Not special?" Keiran asked incredulously as he took the flower, still being very careful with it. After all, it seemed quite real but he didn't know how fragile the magic might actually be. "Lyssa, this is extraordinary. I have never met someone who could do this. You should absolutely be a student at one of the colleges!"

Even if it was the only magic she could do, the research that could be conducted! Not to mention the sheer magnitude and implication of what could be done with such a gift. "What else can you create in this fashion?"

Her blush deepened and she rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. "Oh. Um, well... Everything I've tried so far," she said after a moment, eyes flicking down and then back up to his face. "How long the conjures- oh, that's what I call them- last sorta depends, but as far as I can tell...I've been able to summon just about anything."

Hurriedly, Lyssa glanced back at the paper and started to roll the parchment up, tucking the pen away in the pocket of her skirt. "Living things don't last as long, but I have a little carving of a wolf I summoned when I was fourteen. Still hasn't vanished."

It would have been impossible for Keiran not to be working over all the possibilities and applications Lyssa's gift could warrant. A slightly thoughtful frown tugged at his lips. The unassuming librarian had quite a lot of potential, but the gift was a bit unusual and definitely something that could be abused in the wrong hands.

He still thought attending one of the mage colleges would be a good idea for her.

"That is truly impressive." The minuscule frown had vanished, face once more assuming that neutral but pleasant expression so common to him. "How unexpected to find someone so delightfully gifted in such an unlikely place."

Keiran extended his hand back out, offering the magically conjured rose back to her. "If you are worried about the cost to your parents I would suggest applying for the scholarships, or for a sponsorship. Some wealthy families will pay for the tuition of very gifted students in exchange for the student's agreement to enter that family's service for a time after they've left the academy."

"A sponsorship?" Lyssa took the rose almost absently, running her fingers over the petals. "You know, I hadn't really considered that... It just seemed so unlikely, like with the scholarships..."

She trailed off, then lifted her eyes and smiled at him. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt anything to try." She found herself suddenly buzzing with a bit of excitement. "Thank you for your advice. And your time."

Her cheeks darkened with a bit of a blush. "I've never had a patron show such interest before."

"I have taken as much of your time as you have mine, more of it, since I am the one seeking your time and not the other way around. You are welcome for the advice, but I am curious why you are so convinced that you would be unlikely to receive a scholarship or sponsorship." Keiran could imagine a lot of families that might jump to sponsor Lyssa in exchange for basically making her an indentured servant after her schooling was finished. The margin for abuse of both her and her ability was truly staggering.

"If I could offer more advice? Be very careful before accepting a sponsorship, the contract is legally binding and you will not want to enter such an agreement with the wrong people." She seemed too sweet a girl to see misused.

Her blush deepened and she dropped her eyes. "I suppose I just always felt that I was too...unextraordinary. People only want to pay for someone who could be great, you know?"

Her brows drew together slightly as he warned her to be careful of accepting help from "the wrong people". She looked up at him, twirling the rose between her fingers absently. "I...I think I understand. Once again, thank you."

She was quiet for a moment, then ventured slowly, "If- if I can ask... Why have you shown such an interest? Offered such help?" It wasn't as though they were particularly friends, though she did certainly find his company pleasing.

"You could be great." Someone with a gift very, very few people had - so few that he had never met someone with such a gift - thought she wasn't extraordinary? Keiran shook his head slightly, not really able to wrap his mind around it, but he supposed she simply didn't have a lot of self-confidence.

"I find you interesting. You are competent, polite, and have a very rare, unique gift. Honestly the help I have offered seems rather minuscule a thing." After all, it wasn't difficult to suggest that someone with such a gift should seek further magical instruction at highly esteemed institutions, and no more difficult to point out financial means available to help her enter said institution.

"Well, I'm grateful all the same," Lyssa murmured with a small smile, nodding at him and almost dipping into a sort of curtsy.

She stared at him for a moment, running over what he'd said in her mind, the possibilities. Then she realized what she was doing and gave a quick shake of her head. "Oh, um- forgive me, I think I've lost track of time. I- I really should be getting back to the front desk..."

"You are most welcome." Keiran flashed her a rather dazzling and charming smile, giving a slight bow in return to the sort of curtsy.

Giving a soft sigh, Keiran took an almost regretful look around the room full of forbidden books, knowing they shouldn't stay any longer than they already had. Well, these tomes were considered off-limits anyway. Perhaps it was best they didn't have time to continue poking about.

"There is nothing to forgive, of course we should leave here. I would hate to have you in trouble on my account." He made a sweeping gesture with his arm to the door. "Ladies first."

"Oh no, don't worry about that," Lyssa hastened to assure him. Blushing though she didn't know why, she nodded and moved past him to open the door, peering around a moment before she slipped out.

"If..." She turned to face him and smiled a bit. "If you'd like, I  could put in a request for you to actually have permission to come back here. As long as you want, hours."

Keiran followed gracefully out of the room, already thinking of what to study in place of sea serpents since they had not found anything, not that they had actually spent a great deal of time looking. It had been so easy to get caught up in conversation with her.

"Oh? Would that be too much trouble? I am not sure if they will give permission just for some research for sea serpents. I can always study another creature." Or he could focus on something other than mythical beasts for a time. Keiran was free to pursue whatever caught his interest, his family could afford to send him to Kia's Garden for as long as he still wished to be there.

"It's no trouble at all," Lyssa assured him quickly, eyes positively sparkling. "In fact, I welcome the change. I much as I enjoy working here, it can become a little too...routine, after a while."

She led him down the stairs and back to the front desk, practically bouncing with excitement now. "I'll see what else I can find about sea serpents when I get off this evening, but I'll also ask about getting you a pass to look at the restricted resources."

"Well when you become a student you can really vary your routines." Keiran purposely said it in a way that suggested that it was something inevitable, and honestly, given Lyssa's gift in his mind her attending a college was just what should happen. It should have already happened, but better late than never.

He stood before the desk, smiling faintly at her excitement. "Thank you so much, you have truly gone above and beyond your duty to assist me with my studies, Lyssa. I appreciate it very much."

"You're welcome." Her cheeks and the tips of her ears darkened with a blush as she hesitated by the front counter. "It was my pleasure, truly.

She shifted from foot to foot, then offered a smile and a hopeful, "Will I see you tomorrow then?"

Keiran regarded the young, blushing woman with his smile increasing by just a fraction. She had blushed more than once when speaking with him, but the young lord seemed to remain oblivious to the darkened cheeks and ear tips.

"If you are not tired of my visits, then yes. Should I come in the morning or evening? I can plan my day accordingly in either case." Other than his studies he couldn't think of anything pressing he needed to pay attention to.

"I don't think I'll ever grow tired of your visits, Mister- Keiran." She stumbled over using his given name, but her tone was utterly sincere, eyes shining a bit. "I believe the evening would be more convenient, if it's really no trouble for you."

"Then I will come tomorrow evening to see about permission to study in the restricted sections." Keiran could find dozens of excuses to visit the public library now that he found such enjoyment in these little adventures away from the school grounds.

Flashing another of his smiles, Keiran bowed slightly to her again. "Have a lovely evening, Lyssa. I will see you tomorrow."

She nodded her head to him, smiling but a little confused by how flustered he could make her with a smile and a kind word.

"Tomorrow then." Her lips twitched up a little higher on one side, revealing dimples. "Travel safe."

It probably didn't help her confusion that Keiran seemed unaware of the fact that he flustered her at all. Although what seemed and what was could be different.

He gave a slight dip of his head and one last bright smile before dropping back into a more mild expression as he turned and left the library quietly. With nothing new to study he was free the rest of his day and tomorrow until he returned.

Hopefully once he came back there would be new material for him to research.

Lyssa would find that she had new visitors to the library the following evening. A pair of very well-dressed young women who were obviously very upper class, and only slightly younger than Keiran, came to the library and sat as close to the doors as they could. They barely made an effort to seem like they were actually there to study or read. Instead they spent the afternoon whispering and giggling, eyes darting to the door whenever it opened.

Lyssa fell into her routine after Keiran left, though she did stay a few hours after the library was officially closed to talk to the owner and do some of her own research on sea serpents.

In fact, by the time the next evening rolled around, she was bent over an old scroll at her front desk, spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose and fingers drumming against the wood of the desk as she tried to decipher some rather horrid handwriting.

She kept glancing up at the two young women, frowning slightly. They weren't exactly conducive to a studying environment, but they hadn't done anything disruptive enough for her to have to address it yet.

Keiran looked impeccable when he left his rooms that morning, but that was nothing unusual. The younger Fairhall son always took great pains to make sure that his appearance and demeanor was always just right. His every action and moment reflected upon his entire family. It wasn't in his nature to disappoint his House or bring any kind of embarrassment to his name.

By the time he came to the public library it was later in the afternoon. As soon as he swept through the door the two young women jumped to their feet and Keiran had to quickly mask his surprise at seeing them there.

No one he knew frequented the library here. Certainly not these two young women.

Immediately a pleasant expression came to him, even as they approached with their swishing silk skirts. Both girls dropped into curtsies, giving almost breathless greetings of "Lord Keiran".

"What a surprise to see you ladies here. I did not know you came here." His friendly mask hid the fact that he wasn't actually all that happy to see them. It wouldn't do to be rude to young women from wealthy and noble families.

"We don't, but a little birdie told us that you were spending a lot of time here the past few days. Won't you come share our table? We've missed seeing you in the college's library."

"Yes, it is so dull studying when you aren't there to help us focus." The second girl seemed to chirp as a mere backup to the first girl, who was arguably the prettier of the two. She also was from a more prominent family.

"I am always happy to help such lovely young women study, but I must first see if the materials I need are available. Please, excuse me Lady Vanessa and Miss Danielle." Keiran bowed to them both before carefully extracting himself, watching the giggling girls return to their table with a pensive frown before turning and heading for the front desk, a genuine smile pulling at his lips as he focused on the librarian.

"Good evening, Lyssa. I hope your day has been well."

When the door opened with its familiar ding Lyssa glanced up hopefully, as she had every time she heard the sound that afternoon. This time though, a smile spread across her face as she caught sight of Keiran.

A smile that froze when the two noisy girls blocked his path. She blinked, then dropped her eyes to her work, doing her best not to listen in as they simpered at "Lord Keiran".

She looked up at him with a small frown, having settled back into attempting to decipher the scroll, but her expression quickly smoothed into a bright smile. "Evening," she chirped, twisting slightly to wave the other librarian on duty over so he could take over the front desk work.

Rolling the scroll back up, she clutched it to her chest and slipped out around to the front of the desk. "So. I have something for you." Eyes glinting, she pulled a small card from her pocket, the words "Special Permission" printed in the owner of the library's rather elegant script, and underneath Lyssa had written "Keiran Fairhall".

"It's good for twenty-four hours," she told him happily. "Charmed, so once the time is up your name disappears. But better than nothing, right?"

Keiran gave a polite nod to the other librarian as he approached, but his real focus was obviously on Lyssa. The young lord's smile brightened as she came around the desk. When she pulled the card out his smile lit up his entire face.

"Better than nothing? This is fantastic. Thank you so much, Lyssa. You have been the most genuinely helpful person I have met in this entire city." There was nothing but sincerity in his voice.

At the nearby table the young women were watching the two of them, apparently torn between wishing to simply gawk at Keiran and now scowling at Lyssa, whom they had barely even been aware existed prior to Keiran speaking with her.

Vanessa, a willowy beauty with pouty lips and silver hair, frowned before whining in a petulant voice. "Lord Keiran, stop wasting good manners on the help and come study with us."

"Good manners are never wasted, Lady Vanessa." Keiran's lips had immediately twitched into a frown upon hearing the woman's voice. Honestly he'd half wished he could simply forget the two girls were there. Thankfully he was facing away from them when his expression had slipped. His typical pleasant demeanor returned immediately. "I am afraid that we will be unable to study together, ladies. I will be in the restricted section, as I have been granted special permission."

"Restricted section? Oh Lord Keiran you're so funny. We'll come with you." They both rose from the table, oblivious to the fact that someone could even tell them no to what they wanted.

Lyssa positively beamed at him, flushing at his praise but quite clearly genuinely thrilled with how pleased he was. "I like helping, think nothing of it. No trouble for a fellow bibliophile," she murmured.

Then the two noisy girls were speaking again and she dropped her head, not wanting to really look at them though she wasn't sure why. She stiffened a bit at being referred to as "the help" and frowned at the floor, but didn't say anything.

When the girls decided to invite themselves along, however, her head snapped up. Adjusting her spectacles, she said in a quiet but firm voice, "I'm afraid that's not an option, Miss. You see, K- Lord Keiran has special permission to visit the restricted section, and that is only for a day, and only under the condition that he is accompanied by someone to supervise."

"Miss?" Vanessa fumed, going slightly red with indignation, both at some perceived insult to her station and the idea that a librarian, some lowly working class girl, had just told her no. "Do you know who I am? Who my father is? I am Lady Vanessa of House Slorian, and if I want to go to this restricted section then I will! My father will buy this entire building and dismiss you if I tell him to! If I want -"

"Lady Vanessa." Keiran's expression was still that mildly pleasant neutral mask, and his tone was silky sweet. She immediately stopped speaking, turning to Keiran with doe eyes, obviously expecting him to be on her side. "I think you should leave. Now."

Vanessa was visibly taken aback, sputtering lightly before turning her scowl on him. "How dare you! My father will hear about this insult."

"I imagine he will. Tonight I will be writing him a letter describing at length your very unladylike and rude behavior. I will also be writing a letter to my father explaining in no uncertain terms that should your father approach him with the intention of discussing a marital arrangement between you and myself, that the answer is no." His mild smile and honeyed voice didn't change in the slightest. "Then I will write a letter to my brother informing him that should your father have the poor judgement to try to make a match with him that, while beautiful outwardly, you are quite unpleasant in all other aspects."

Both girls were staring at him, their faces pale and eyes huge. "You will never be a lady of Fairhall, and you have none but yourself to blame. If I ever hear you insult or threaten Miss Lyssa again I will personally see that you are expelled from Kia's Garden. Now return to the academy and do not ever come to this place again."

The thoroughly jilted lady seemed to struggle with the idea of being ordered out, but she raised her chin defiantly and glared at him. "This is a huge mistake. I would have been an excellent match for your family. Especially for you! A second son getting a lady like me? You would have been lucky to have me. Now you never will. Your father will not be pleased that our families will no longer be able to have friendly dealings."

"My father will not mourn the loss. If you can call it a loss." Keiran simply said, his smile widening a fraction.

Both girls glared at him as they stormed out of the library, trying to make it seem as if leaving had been their idea to begin with. As soon as they were gone he sighed heavily, expression becoming apologetic and unhappy. "My sincerest apologies, Lyssa. You should never have had to be exposed to their hateful and venomous attitudes."

Lyssa could do little more than stare, wide eyed, during the whole exchange. The lady's threat to have her dismissed made her pale, teal skin suddenly seafoam green and she swallowed thickly, eyes huge behind her glasses.

she sort of cowered away from the two women- but she was utterly shocked when Keiran stood up for her. Lips parted slightly, she blinked at him in quiet surprise.

Which was the expression he was met with when he turned his attention to her again, pale, wide-eyed, almost gasping. she shook her head quickly and stammered out, "D-don't apologize, it wasn't your fault."

Lyssa lapsed into silence, still sort of staring at him. she didn't quite know how to react to what had just happened.

"I feel responsible. They would not have come here if not for me. Please do not worry. I promise those were very empty threats she made. That girl is an annoyance and a bully, but little more. I imagine she thought that you would be intimidated into letting her have her way." Keiran's expression perked up. "Did you see their faces when I actually called them out on their poor behavior?"

It had felt pretty good to put them in their place. All people deserved to be shown a level of dignity and respect, regardless of their social standing, and Lyssa was a good person who didn't deserve to be mistreated by the likes of them.

Lyssa found herself giving a sort of incredulous smile at that, some of her normal color returning. "Do you, um...often have to deal with people like that?" she asked cautiously, not quite sure what she might say that could offend him.

"Far more often than I would like." His expression twisted into one of long-suffering. "Unfortunately the upper class is plagued with spoiled children who throw tantrums to get their way. Even more unfortunate is that more often than not such tantrums work. It only reinforces poor behavior."

He tilted his head slightly and drew his brows into a frown. "Or were you referring to the way in which I handled them? I do not make idle threats, nor do I make them lightly. Lady Vanessa has followed me about for far too long, fawning and thinking that I would court her. I cannot imagine a more unpleasant person to be forced to marry. Fortunately my father has shown little interest or rush in seeing me betrothed."

Keiran shrugged his shoulders slightly and made a dismissive gesture. "A thing to worry about another time. Will you be supervising my studying then? I sincerely hope so."

She blinked again, rather taken aback by how...trying the life of a nobleman seemed.

Shaking her head, Lyssa summoned up a smile and nodded quickly. "Oh, yes. I, um, I sort of have to- but it's my pleasure, really. Hope you don't mind." She brushed a maroon curl behind her ear. "I suppose we'd better get started then." She nodded toward the stairs.

"I do not mind your company at all. I gathered that I would require supervision, my question was more directed towards insuring it would be you supervising." Keiran smiled as he moved towards the stairs, eager to get started and feeling relieved now that the young women were gone.

"Do you suppose we will find anything of particular use?" He didn't know for sure there even was a book on sea serpents among the forbidden books.

"I imagine there must be something," she replied as once again she led him up the stairs and fished the keys out of her pocket once she'd reached the door. "Even I haven't had the time to go through every book in here though, so I'm not sure... Oh! But I did find this last night."

She turned to him with a smile as she handed the scroll she'd forgotten she'd been clutching to her chest over. "It's rather old, so some of the data is fairly archaic, but it's quite interesting- once you can decipher the handwriting."

Keiran took the scroll, giving a brief look over it. The handwriting was atrocious, but salvageable. He looked up at her, blue eyes shining and a smile tugging at his lips. "You found this for me? I feel as if I am stealing far too much of your time. You have been helping me so much. I hope you have not been neglecting your duties on my behalf."

Again her cheeks darkened with a blush but she just waved his concern off with a smile. "No, don't worry about it. I've sort of taken this on as a personal project- I hope you don't mind."

She ducked her head and pushed the door open, ushering him inside.

"A personal project? Helping me write a paper on sea serpents seems an odd personal project." Still, he did appreciate all the help she had given to him so far. "Not that I mind the company or the help."

Keiran stepped into the room, looking around with glee at all the hidden knowledge surrounding him. Too bad he couldn't spend as long as he liked simply reading everything there was to study in this room.

"Well, I don't have much else to do in my spare time," she admitted with a quiet chuckle, shutting the door behind her.

Looking around, she smiled and murmured. "Well. Where do we start..." She moved forward, fingers brushing over the shelves as she scanned titles.

"I see." Keiran filled his free time with studying when he could, but also was expected to participate in a certain amount of social pandering with other young men and women of nobility. Parties and balls were dreadfully dull occasions for the most part.

He walked over to a shelf, eyes roaming over the spines critically. "Well, if we each take a side of the room it might increase our chances of locating a promising book."

She nodded. "I'll start over here then. If I find anything that looks promising, I'll start putting them on the table." She gestured to the table with a hand, eyes already roaming excitedly over the bookshelves.

"Oh, and mind the books that are chained. They're usually spelled, you'll need me to get at them."

Chained books? If they were considered that dangerous he wasn't sure it was best for them to pull them from the shelf. Shrugging it off, Keiran began his search. After several minutes he would still not have found a book on sea serpents, but he did find one detailing the travels of one seafarer that sounded promising.

The book might not be about the beasts directly, but perhaps there was a brief account of them? It was worth taking a look, at the very least. Keiran set the book down on the table for them to examine closer.

"Even if we find nothing, this is still going to be the most interesting pre-paper research experience I have had." Normally he didn't have to sift through forbidden rooms in public libraries.

Lyssa chuckled quietly and glanced at the book he'd placed on the table. "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," she said honestly.

She laid a book of her own down- not about sea serpents specifically, more about their relationship to dragons and other land- or sky-dwelling kin- then looked around. "I don't know where I put my...oh."

She blushed and cleared her throat, retrieving her spectacles from the top of her head so she could take a closer look at the inscription on the inside cover.

Keiran glanced over and gave a soft chuckle as she lost and found her glasses in a single sentence. Hoping his amusement wouldn't offend, he turned his eyes back to the books he was supposed to be sorting through in their limited time.

"I find my enjoyment more often from my attitude in handling any given circumstances than the circumstances themselves. For instance, I could find absolutely nothing useful in this library and decide to be disappointed or annoyed that I had wasted time. Instead I can choose to focus my energies on the fact that I have met someone so pleasant to converse with as yourself." Always search for those silver linings! When you dealt with the type of people he did on a daily basis he thought the only alternative was going insane.

"Oh." Lyssa flushed and smiled at him. "Well, that is a rather healthy way of looking at things, but I do hope your search won't be entirely in vain."

"Oh certainly not. Even if I cannot find enough about sea serpents for an entire paper, just learning anything new and interesting will make the entire endeavor worthwhile." Keiran pulled a book detailing the ecosystem and species within the Tuor Ocean from the shelf and carried it to the table.

They had three books now, and he thought that it would be a good idea to begin skimming through them. Pulling dozens of books from the shelves would do no good if they had no time to study any of them.

Taking her cue form him, Lyssa sat and flipped open the book she'd drawn from the shelves, skimming through the introduction before she flipped ahead to the chapters that seemed the most promising.

For several minutes Keiran sat in silence, simply reading through his book with absolute fixation. Just the thrill of being there, in a restricted portion of the library, reading books very few others were given permission to study, was nearly overwhelming. His life hadn't been this exciting - ever. His older brother was the one that always caused exciting things to happen, not him.

"This study of the Tuor Ocean is remarkable. The attention to detail when describing all the various flora and fauna is sublime. It makes me wish I could see these things for myself." Imagine him sailing the seas studying such things! Or venturing outside of the safety of major civilization to study the creatures he was so fascinated by up close! It would never happen. His father would have scoffed at the very idea of a man of his station stooping to the level of a mere field researcher.

Without thinking, she glanced up and asked with a slight tilt of her head, "Why can't you? Surely you have the resources to fund an expedition."

Too late she realized that she was assuming a lot- just because he was nobility didn't mean he was ridiculously wealthy- and that he may take offense. She flushed and ducked her head again, mumbling an apology.

Keiran clicked his tongue softly. "No need for apologies. I am afraid I do not have the resources, my father does, and he would not approve of such...frivolity."

He sighed softly, running his fingers wistfully over the page before him. "My education has always been encouraged, but only insofar as safe studying within the walls of a prestigious institution. It is not proper for a young lord to gallivanting off across the world to play in the wild, the dirt, the mud. The only acceptable future for myself is to marry a girl of my father's choosing and support my brother once he becomes the head of our house."

Lyssa frowned a bit. "That sounds...stifling," she murmured. "I'm sorry."

She supposed she'd assumed that having money, a family name, would make life infinitely easier. It seemed the privilege came with a price.

Keiran started softly, as if suddenly remembering himself. The neutrally pleasant mask went back on, a familiar curving of the lips and he tilted his head. "Oh, but I love my family and will do whatever is best for my family. Personal ambition is quite unimportant next to the legacy of my house."

"But..." Her frown deepened and she dropped her eyes quickly, hoping he wouldn't notice.

She shouldn't stick her nose in here.

"I suppose so," she murmured, trying to focus her attention on the book in front of her.

"Try not to trouble yourself over thoughts of it, Miss Lyssa. I have always known my place in life." It was true enough, and Keiran had done his very best to conform himself into a perfect son, despite being born second.

Conrad had a penchant for rebellion and defiance of their father's rules and wishes. Such behavior from the heir had only pushed Keiran further in his attempts not to be the disappointing one.

"Mmm." She sounded unconvinced, but it wasn't her place to interject. With a little shake of her head, she turned the book around so he could see the page she was reading. "I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but there's an evolutionary theory about the relationship between wyrms and sea serpents in here."

It wasn't a subject to discuss with just anyone, or at all. Nothing could change the fact that as the son of a noble family there were certain expectations placed upon him - a crushing burden, but one he dutifully carried.

Keiran's entire face lit up as he put the heavy thoughts behind him to focus on what he was being shown. "An evolutionary focused paper would be very fascinating, and I had not thought of that before now. I wonder if there is enough evidence to be found to write on the subject at length..."

Lyssa perked up a bit. "I'm not sure about specifics, but if that's the angle you want to go with I know a few other good books on the evolution of magical creatures."

"That would be most helpful. Yes, I think this will make an excellent paper. A slight shift in my focus, perhaps, but certainly interesting enough to be worth the detour in my studies." Sea serpents were a very specific subject and there didn't seem to be a lot of material on them; broadening the focus of his paper would certainly help.

"Oh, good." She smiled and added brightly, "I can go find those books now then. Or..."

Her head tilted, eyes glinting impishly. "We could always wait a bit longer, if you'd like to stay here and see what other information we can find?"

"It seems wasteful not to use the time given to me - change of focus or not." There was no way that Keiran was going to pass up on this opportunity to study these books if he could help it. He might never get another chance, after all. "We should see what other inspiring topics we can dig up while we have access to these materials."

Lyssa chuckled. "My thoughts exactly." She read in quiet for a few moments, then said slowly, "Although... If you have a future project that brings you back here, I'm sure I could work something out..."

"Well we can worry about future projects when they become present projects, I suppose." The future...Keiran wondered how many more projects he might actually accomplish in Arca. He knew that his days of leisurely study in the capitol were numbered.

Conrad would have to pick a young bride soon and once his brother was finally wed their father would turn his eyes on him to do the same. He already had some suspects on who the girl might be. There were really only a handful of girls with the proper breeding and wealth to be deemed acceptable in his father's eyes.

"Speaking of the future, have you put more thought into attending one of the colleges? There are many respectable establishments, of course, but Kia's Garden is the best. I am sure with the proper scholorships or sponsors that you would be readily admitted." Yes, a nice change of subject.

"I've been...thinking," Lyssa admitted, hedging only a little. She blushed and dropped her eyes. "I wrote to my parents. They think it's an excellent idea, which surprised me a bit. I would have thought they'd want me home."

She chuckled a bit and ran her fingers absently through her hair. "Honestly though, I'm not sure who I could look to for a sponsor. A few of the scholarships as feasible, but the ones that would really help me are o far beyond my capabilities-"

She cut herself off with a quick clearing of her throat and smiled sheepishly. "Forgive me. I shouldn't complain."

"I have been thinking as well." Keiran's eyes had lit up with a bit of excitement as he leaned towards Lyssa slightly and dropped his voice just a little. "It seemed wrong to act without first speaking to you, but I would like to write to my father on your behalf. My family is wealthy, powerful, and influential. I am certain if I explained to my father how gifted you are that he could be convinced to sponsor you himself. I am sure that your contract can be made quite reasonable."

"You..." Her eyes got very big behind her glasses. "You would really do that?" she whispered, almost incredulous.

But a smile she couldn't control was threatening to show itself, excitement sparkling in her eyes. "I- Keiran, I don't know how to thank you for this..."

"You can thank me by accepting and excelling - I am certain you can. Your ability is remarkable and your potential is squandered sitting idle in a library, no matter how fine an establishment." Keiran did grimace slightly. "Besides, you will have to endure the contract. I am sure that father will ask for something reasonable if I press, perhaps a few years acting as a caretaker for the family's personal library..."

He shrugged his shoulders lightly. "The Fairhall estate is breath-taking. I am sure a few years living and studying in the southern reaches of Serendipity will be bearable in return for such an opportunity, yes?"

Lyssa was speechless, almost on the verge of tears. With a small, happy squeak she jumped to her feet and practically flew around the table to wrap her arms around his neck in an exuberant hug.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!"

Realizing she was being entirely inappropriate, she blushed almost seafoam green and jerked away from him, fixing her eyes on her feet. "Oh, um, sorry. I just- thank you so much."

Keiran could see the way Lyssa's eyes misted up with unshed tears and felt affirmation that he was doing the right thing to make this offer. That she'd jump up from the table and engulf him in a hug was a bit unexpected though! He froze in a bit of shock at her arms wrapped about his neck, and when she pulled away his eyes blinked owlishly at her.

"It is...quite alright." He cleared his throat quickly, unused to not being perfectly composed. "Your level of gratitude only confirms that you deserve it."

She couldn't quite meet his eyes, but she raised her head to smile at him gratefully. "I'm...glad you think so. I promise, I will do everything I can to make sure you won't regret this- I will earn what you've done for me, I swear."

Her eyes were glimmering with excitement again, and she had to slip her glasses off for a moment to surreptitiously dab at a few happy tears. Gods this was ridiculous, even she wasn't usually this emotional!

"I, um, I should...go look for those books on evolution. You can stay here, I'll be right back." She ducked her head again, for some reason finding it rather difficult to look directly at him. It was making her heart jump up into her throat.

"I am sure you will." Arguing that she'd already more than earned any good fortune seemed pointless to Keiran. His future refusals to accept any form of repayment would be all he could do. At least she seemed happy about this small thing - something not even fully concrete! He didn't think that he had ever made a woman so happy that she cried before, though.

Except his mother, of course.

"I, uh, yes..." It was unlike him to fumble over his words, but he really wasn't sure what to say. He wouldn't argue with being left there for a few minutes. Actually it would be a bit of a relief. As soon as Lyssa left he would be able to compose himself and smooth his robes once more.

That hug had truly thrown him off!

Lyssa beamed, resisted the urge to hug him again, and nodded as she slipped back out of the room.

She knew exactly where she needed to go to find the proper texts, but she took her time, trying to compose herself. Gods, she didn't know what was wrong with her, she shouldn't have lost control like that. It was hardly professional.

Some ten minutes later she returned to the restricted room, carting a stack of five heavy books in her arms. "I- I wasn't sure which you might need, so- I brought these," she puffed. "There are a few others I could grab, if you like."

Keiran spent half the time she was goon smoothing over his robes in an absent-minded fashion. He still couldn't get over the fact that Lyssa had hugged him like that, seemingly out of the blue! In the social circles that he belonged to such a spontaneous display of affection was highly out of the ordinary. Girls never hugged him - that was far too forward.

At least they had been alone with none to witness it. Although it hadn't been unpleasant, just shocking. Such a sweet girl, Lyssa.

When she finally returned, he blinked in surprise at the hefty books stacked in her arms. Keiran immediately stood and took them from her, looking sheepish as he set them on the table. "Heavens no, Miss Lyssa, you did not have to carry so many large books up here for me, and you have done more than enough for me for one day."

Flushed and still beaming, she replied happily, "I don't mind, really. Much as I love working here, it's considerably duller without you around."

She chuckled a little awkwardly and took her seat again.

"Is it? I imagine you get much more reading done when not being pestered to help with my pursuits." Keiran mused, but he had managed to regain his easy smile. "If it is truly so dull why wait for acceptance into Kia's Garden for a little break? I would be delighted if you came by the campus tomorrow for morning tea. Afterwards I could give you a tour of the grounds."

"Really?" She visibly perked up, her pointed ears actually twitching a bit. "I have an evening shift tomorrow, so that would be wonderful."

Blushing and smiling, she nodded at him as she fixed her glasses to perch properly on her nose. "Thank you for the invitation."

"It is my pleasure, Lyssa. I find your company delightful, and it will be good to familiarize yourself with the college before you begin studying there. There are extremely talented and knowledgeable tutors who will be at your disposal very soon." Keiran was very excited by the prospect of her attending his college. Not only was she a talented, competent young woman, but he truly did find her manner a pleasure to engage with.

Her being a student would mean that she would be even closer and he could seek out her company more easily in the future.

She blushed a bit at "delightful" and smiled shyly, nodding. "I suppose you're right. Thank you, it will be nice to see the place I hope to be spending much of my time in the future," she laughed lightly. Of course she'd seen the colleges before, but only ever from the outside.

"You will be spending much of your time there. Do not doubt it. I am certain that my father will sponsor you." If Nathan Fairhall ever learned just what Lyssa could do he would more than sponsor her, he would get his claws into her and never let her go. Keiran had no intention of being specific about her abilities, only that she was far too talented not to attend college.

Pushing the thoughts aside, he pulled one of the books she'd brought over in front of himself and opened it, flipping through the pages idly. It was hard to focus on studying now that he knew that he was having company for morning tea - which was strange because knowing he would have company at any time never bothered his studying before. Keiran wasn't even aware of the way he was smiling to himself as he thought about how well everything was going.

Lyssa couldn't seem to stop herself from glancing up at him every so often, and she noticed the small smile happily. It was nice to think that he was helping her because he wanted to, not out of some sense of obligation to her for her aid in his research.

She shook her head briefly, trying to refocus on the task at hand, but now she was practically fidgeting with a kind of anxious excitement, which really wasn't like her.

Keiran could only pretend to read for so long. The words were blurring on the pages as his eyes refused to focus, he could read a paragraph and then be completely unaware of what he had actually said. Giving up, but hiding his frustration, he slowly closed the book and looked up at Lyssa with a sheepish smile.

"Miss Lyssa, forgive me, but I think that I will retire early today. Let me help you put these books away before I go." He stood and began neatly gathering the forbidden books they had been studying at the start.

"Oh, of course." She was a little surprised- she'd expected him to stay as long as he could- but her own nervous energy didn't let her linger on the thought too long. She jumped up and began helping him put the restricted books away.

"Would you like to officially check out these?" she asked, gesturing toward the books she'd gathered from the library proper.

It wasn't so much that Keiran wished to leave. He simply found it impossible to pretend he was reading, and without the premise of studying he didn't have much excuse to stay. Simply being there for the sake of being there was illogical. Staying just so he could be near Lyssa just seemed silly, and he was certain she would tell him as much - she had her own work to do.

Once the books were away he smiled and nodded at the suggestion. "Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you." Before she could grab the heavy books he gathered them up and lifted them into his arms. Keiran wasn't going to let Lyssa labor over them a second time!

"Oh." She almost pouted at him, laughing, "I could take at least one or two of those."

Before he could protested, she snatched the top two volumes out of his arms and hurried to the door with a chirped, "Come on then, I'll get this squared away." She led him back out of the room and down the stairs into the main room of the library, pausing a moment to lock the door behind them before she hustled herself along.

"Lyssa?" Max, the other librarian on duty, glanced up with a small frown as she approached the desk. "I didn't know you were still here- your shift ended an hour ago."

Her skin flushed green and she ducked her eyes. "Oh, I must've, um, lost track of time," she mumbled. Well that was embarrassing.

Keiran opened his mouth to insist that he could carry them, but before he could so much as form a single word she'd snatched two away from him and made off with them. He clicked his tongue in a disapproving way, but couldn't help but smile as he followed her with a soft laugh and gentle accusation. "Stubborn."

They made their way back down to the front desk and he paused behind Lyssa as they encountered another librarian. He blinked when he found out that she was supposed to be off work.

"Ah, forgive me Miss Lyssa, I seem to have kept you longer than appropriate." It was surely his fault that they had both lost track of time. He wasn't even sure how long they had been up in the room alone together. How embarrassing!

She managed to toss him a wink and a crinkled nose over her shoulder at the "Stubborn" remark before she was confronted by the real world.

"Don't apologize, I should've been paying more attention," she said quickly. Still blushing, she slipped around behind the desk and said to Max, "I'm just going to check him out, then I'll be on my way."

Her coworker rolled his eyes and smirked at her, but didn't say anything. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him as she set about logging the books Keiran would be taking. "Alright, you're good to go," she chirped cheerfully, giving him a bright smile as she finished. Her blush has refused to die down completely, tinting her teal skin sort of deep aqua.

Keiran's smile only grew at her wink and crinkling nose. How very childish was his behavior? It hardly mattered, there was no one but the two of them to see or hear.

Well, at least until they had come to the front desk, then his expression became more serious. Even though she insisted he wasn't the one at fault, he gave her an apologetic smile as she moved around the desk. Max was mostly ignored - his blue eyes were entirely focused on Lyssa.

He smiled deeply as he pulled the books back into his arms, hoping that once back in his room that he would find reading easier. "Thank you again, Miss Lyssa. I appreciate how helpful you have been. You said you are no longer working? Could I perhaps walk you home? A young lady shouldn't be walking the streets alone this time of the evening."

"Oh..." She hesitated, biting her lower lip.

Well- why not? There wasn't any harm in it, right? And she liked spending time with him, talking with him.

She smiled and nodded gratefully. "I'd like that very much. Thank you, Keiran. Just wait one moment so I can grab my things." She ducked behind the desk and rummaged around in the space beneath it for a few moment, reemerging with a bag draped over her shoulder.

"Alright." She pushed the ledger toward Max and started, "I've done this morning, but I can go over the entries tomorrow when my shift starts-"

He laughed and waved her off. "Lyssa, go home. Gods, girl, you need to rest."

She smiled sheepishly and slipped around to the front of the desk again. "Do you, um, mind if we go out the back way? It's quicker to get to my lodging house."

"Of course, take your time." Keiran waited patiently for her to fetch her bag, flashing a radiant smile when she reappeared. He couldn't help but chuckle softly when the other librarian laughed and basically shooed Lyssa out.

He gave the man a polite nod. "Have a nice evening, sir."

If his arms hadn't been full with the heavy books Keiran would have offered Lyssa his arm as she came back around the desk. "We can go any way you like, Miss Lyssa. I am but your humble escort."

That had her blushing again, as silly as the reaction was, and Max chuckled as he bade them a polite good evening and she murmured, "This way then."

She led Keiran back through the rows of shelves to the back door of the library, an unassuming little entryway that might be mistaken for a closet at first glance.

Seeing as his hands were full, she pushed the door open and held it for him. Of course, being stationary too long had its consequences for her.

The strays knew her, waited for her, and she was barely a step outside the door when three cats and a rather bedraggled looking pup were at her feet, meowing and whining and rubbing up against her legs. She laughed sheepishly, casting Keiran an almost guilty look. "Alright, alright, hold on," she told the animals, digging into her bag to pull out a few scraps of bread and some apple slices, leftovers from her own meals.

Keiran followed after her as they moved through the shelves to the back door. When she opened it for him he gave her a rueful smile. A gentleman would usually hold the door for a lady, but he supposed there was no help for it.

Ducking outside quickly, it took no time at all before he had to stop in his tracks, looking down around his feet to make sure he wasn't stepping on any little furry critters.

"Oh my." He murmured, a little shocked at the sudden mobbing from the city's unfortunates. Of course his expression softened at the look Lyssa threw him as she began pulling out scraps for the hungry animals. "Unfailingly generous, I should have expected no less. Do you feed them often?"

Her blush deepened and she nodded. "I, um, think that's why they...congregate here. They sort of expect me now."

She gave another awkward little laugh and disentangled herself from the strays with a few pats and scratches. "Alright. It's just this way." She nodded down the side street that would lead to her lodging house and started walking.

"You are probably one of the few people they can depend on, it is no wonder they flock to you." Strays were hardly welcome to beg from most people. He had no doubt they were far more often shooed away than actually shown kindness and compassion.

Keiran stepped around the animals, again wishing his arms weren't so preoccupied. He'd have stooped to pet the friendly critters himself before they left. As it was, he followed Lyssa, examining their surroundings as they walked. "So tell me about this lodging house, Miss Lyssa. You rent a room there?" He honestly wasn't sure how it worked, having only ever lived in his family's home or the dormitories.

"Yes." She nodded and flashed him a small smile. "It's rather like a dormitory at a boarding school, I suppose- each tenant has their own room, and there are a few common spaces, like the kitchen. My landlord lives in the house beside us."

Her brow furrowed a bit and she trailed off- she was actually a bit behind on her rent, but hopefully her landlord wouldn't choose tonight to harass her about it.

"Oh, I see." Keiran frowned slightly. "Do you like living there? After father has agreed to pay your tuition you will be able to move into the women's dormitory at the school." All students were provided a room if they wanted one. "If you wish to, of course. It is not required to attend."

He had not thought about whether or not she would live at the college before then. Keiran had really just assumed she would. While he supposed it didn't matter much either way he hoped that she would be living in the dorms.

Lyssa shook herself, focusing on the present, and smiled softly. "I like it well enough. The people are nice, and the rent is reasonable." She flushed, then admitted, "I certainly wouldn't say no to living in the dormitories though, if I was given the opportunity."

Her house was in view now and she pointed it out to him. "It's that one just up ahead, with the yellow flowers in the window boxes, see?"

Keiran smiled when Lyssa seemed very open to living at the college. While he was sure this lodging house was fine, he thought the dormitories would be better. Or perhaps subconsciously he just wanted her to live so close to him. "You can move in very soon. Maybe even as soon as the day after tomorrow, Miss Lyssa."

He looked to the house that she pointed out, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. It wasn't the grandest home, but it had a quaint charm to it. "I like the flowers, but wait until you see the gardens at campus tomorrow."

She giggled a bit at that and smiled up at him. "I'm sure it doesn't even compare," she noted wryly. The lodging house was hardly a hovel, but it certainly wasn't nearly as well upkept as what she had seen of the college campuses.

As they neared the door she found herself slowing down unconsciously, a little reluctant to part. With a soft sigh she turned and murmured, "Well...here we are. I suppose you must be on your way, hm?" She smiled a little wistfully, sort of wishing she had an excuse to keep him- but that was just silly, and selfish. He must have plenty of his own tasks to attend to.

"Well the gardens of campus are quite lovely, but they pale in comparison to the wonder that is Hall of the Wild Rose." Keiran was vastly proud of his family's estate. It was one of the most gorgeous places he had ever seen, but of course his opinion might be slightly bias towards his family's ancestral home. "Perhaps I will have the pleasure of showing you my home one day."

If she signed a contract with his father she would undoubtedly be living there for a short period in repayment for her tuition. Hopefully he would be able to be there to show it to her for the first time.

They had come to a stop in front of her house and he shifted on his feet, feeling slightly awkward. She was right, he should be on his way. There really was no reason for him not to go now that she was safely home. "Ah, yes...I suppose I must."

Keiran smiled at her softly, but didn't move to go immediately, giving another look up at the house. He was just procrastinating, dragging his feet from some unfounded reluctance to leave.

Lyssa smiled brightly, watching the way his eyes lit up when he spoke of his home. It was some of the most genuine emotion she'd ever seen on his face, and somehow sparked an answering happiness in her chest.

"I would like that very much," she said softly, twisting a lock of hair around her finger absently.

Noticing the way he seemed to be hovering, she offered slowly, hesitantly, "Would you...like to come inside? I- I could make a cup of tea, or- of course I understand you're busy, it just doesn't seem right not to offer, what with everything you're offering to do for me-"

She was babbling. Realizing this, she flushed and snapped her mouth shut.

"Tea?" Keiran always enjoyed a nice cup of tea, but it was the invitation itself that caused curious tingling within him. It was so strange, almost like a giddy happiness akin to when he was a child and got away with swiping an extra pastry before dinner.

Either way it was an excuse not to leave, which he really didn't want to do. Why he was so unhappy with the idea of leaving was the truly perplexing thing. "Tea sounds lovely, but I am not sure if I should. I know you feel as if you owe me something, but you have already allowed me to escort you home and I would hate to feel as if I am intruding in your personal space."

There were other reasons not to accept the invitation no matter how appealing it was. "I am also concerned how inviting a man into your home at this hour might...appear." Keiran blinked, realizing what he said. "To outside observers, of course! I would never accuse you of inviting strange men...I mean to say that I know you are a lady of high moral f-fortitude!"

He actually stammered and clicked his mouth shut with a blush.

Lyssa slumped a bit- she knew he was making good points, and she hadn't really expected him to stay, but she had hoped, a little.

A frown stole over her face and she opened her mouth to correct herself, to say it wasn't because she felt that she owed him necessarily but because she wanted to do something nice, something to say thank you for how kind he'd been to her.

Whatever words she'd been trying to say died in a choked squeak and her eyes went wide. "O-oh, um, I d-didn't think about that," she stuttered out, cheeks positively emerald with her blush. "I- I suppose it is getting late, I've lost track of time, I didn't mean to impose or- or put you in an awkward situation..."

Great, now she couldn't even look at him, eyes fixed on her feet as she stammered out apologies.

"No, no!" Keiran said quickly. "It is not an imposition. I simply do not want to be the reason for unfounded and unpleasant rumors. It would make me feel terrible to be the cause of ill talk. I do enjoy your company very much and wish that I could come in for tea without it being troublesome."

He felt as if he was floundering here, it was very uncharacteristic for him to walk into social blunders like this. "I...should go. I fear I have made a bit of a mess of everything this evening. Please, your company was a delight, as it always has proven to be in our short acquaintance. I am still very much looking forward to our plans for tomorrow."

Keiran bowed to her, a slightly awkward affair with the heavy load of books. "Good night, Miss Lyssa."

"I- um, a-alright. You haven't made a mess of things, really," she tried to assure him, hands fluttering helplessly as her instinct was to pat his shoulder or something, but she was feeling far too awkward to do so.

She bobbed into a little half curtsy and nodded quickly. "Thank you, Keiran. For...walking me home. And everything else." She smiled a bit, hoping the expression was reassuring.

It was kind of her to try to reassure him that he hadn't made a mess, but Keiran still felt as if he had horribly blundered somehow. How else could you explain his uncharacteristic flustering?

"It was my pleasure, really. I am sorry about...tea." He wanted to smack himself in the face. He decided the best option was a very hasty retreat before he said anymore stupid things. Especially since he was supposed to be the smart brother. Ugh! "Tomorrow then!"

Keiran didn't flee. It was perfectly normal to walk this fast.

"No, don't be sorry." She offered a shaky smile- why did she feel so gods damned awkward? With a small wave she murmured, "Tomorrow."

She hardly noticed that Keiran seemed to be walking a little faster than normal, quickly turning and hurrying into her lodging house. She leaned back against the door and closed her eyes, shoulders slumping as she let out a long breath.

"Long day, Lyssa?"

She snapped her eyes opened and straightened up, smiling at Merik, a fellow tenant. "Um, yeah. You could say that." She hurried back to her room.

When Keiran returned to campus he went straight to his room and began writing a letter to his father asking for Lyssa's sponsorship. He probably spent an hour or more on it, trying to ensure that each word was perfectly scripted and his handwriting was meticulous. The last thing he needed was to have his father write back scolding him for poor penmanship or a poorly worded request.

Once satisfied Keiran had the letter sent out. Even with how late it was he attempted to begin reading one of the books Lyssa had found for him, but he still couldn't focus. Finally giving up he went to bed.

Despite sleeping poorly because of being filled with nervous energy, Keiran was up early and went through his lengthy morning routine of getting ready to be presentable. By the time he went to wait at the main entrance for Lyssa he was perfectly composed once again, having regained his air of serenity. Which convinced him that the previous evening had truly been a simple case of having an "off" night.

Probably the fault of those bothersome young ladies that had been so very rude at the library.

Lyssa took a good deal of time preparing herself the next morning, trying to figure out what she could wear that would be "presentable"- she settled for a sleeveless bodice that laced up the front and actually almost touched the longer, fluttering skirt she paired it with- and messing about with her hair for what felt like hours before she finally gave up and let it just curl down her back as she normally did, holding it back from her face with a simple band.

Gods, why was she so nervous? Sure, she'd never really been on one of the college campuses before, but that shouldn't make her so damned jittery. She gave a brisk shake of her head, told herself she was being silly, and set off toward Kia's Garden.

Her purposeful steps slowed to shy shuffling the closer she got to her destination, but she persevered until finally the main entrance was in sight. She spotted a figure waiting- Keiran. Her heart jumped up into her throat and her steps stuttered.

Oh dear... Shoving that ridiculous reaction from her mind, she hurried forward. "Um, hello." She smiled as she got closer.

Lyssa was hard to miss as she came into view. Even in Serendipity, where many of the residents were quite colorful, the sweet young librarian stood out. Not everyone had an intriguing hue to their skin, after all.

Keiran had somehow managed not to pace or fidget while waiting, but he felt his breath catch slightly at the sight of her. Part of him had worried if she would really come. Especially after he'd embarrassed himself so thoroughly the night before. It took a real effort to push that memory and those thoughts from his mind. She had come, that was all that mattered.

"Good morning, Miss Lyssa. I am so glad you are joining me today." He smiled brightly, offering his arm to her. "Tea is almost ready."

"Morning." Some of her nervous energy faded her when he greeted her so warmly and she smiled. For a moment she didn't quite understand the gesture of him offering his arm, then it clicked and she flushed as she took it.

She tried to keep her touch light, like she was handling one of the ancient scrolls at the library, and glanced up at him. "S-so, where are we headed, exactly." She winced internally at her stutter.

Keiran's smile brightened even more when Lyssa took his arm. Escorting young ladies was an expected duty, but with the sweet girl beside him it didn't seem such a bothersome chore. "Well it is such a beautiful day that I thought we might have tea at one of the garden gazebos. I hope that is alright."

He lead them down the winding stone paths through the grounds. The campus was littered with gardens, but he had picked the most beautiful one for tea with Lyssa. For some reason he felt nervous about making a good impression. "I sent the letter to my father, but I doubt I will hear back from him until late tonight or early tomorrow. As soon as I receive his reply we can submit it to administration and enroll you."

"That sounds lovely, Keiran, thank you." She smiled, rather pleased they would be outside- it really was a gorgeous day, it would have been a shame to spend all her time cooped up indoors, especially when she'd be working the evening shift at the library anyway.

"Oh..." Her eyes were wide as she looked around, drinking in everything she could. "This is beautiful," she murmured wonderingly, a small smile tugging at her lips. Her eyes snapped back up to Keiran and her heart suddenly gave a nervous jump up into her throat. "Oh, thank you!"

She smiled, but her nerves had suddenly kicked into overdrive. This was really happening- of course his father could always choose not to sponsor her, she had to remember that, not get her hopes too high.

"I am so glad you agree." It really was a gorgeous day and he was pleased that he'd made a good choice in having tea out in the gardens.

The gazebo was brilliant white, clean and inviting, and surrounded by deep maroon blossoms. Keiran hadn't consciously chosen it because the flowers matched Lyssa's hair very well, but they really did compliment her breathtakingly well.

In the center of the octagonal structure was a table draped with a white tablecloth and two matching chairs. Servants were laying out fine china for them, a beautiful little ornamental tea set and matching glass platters held a small assortment of pastries and cakes. He moved forward to pull out a chair for Lyssa, smiling gently. "Have a seat and help yourself, Miss Lyssa."

Again, Lyssa murmured an almost nervous, "Thank you," as she took her seat. She cast curious glances at the servants and murmured thanks for them as well- she'd never actually been waited on before, she wasn't sure what the protocol was.

Her eyes flickered over their surroundings and a soft smile curved her lips. "This is so lovely. How can the students ever bear to be inside when this is all so close?"

Keiran's smile deepened at her thanks as he moved around the table to sit across from her. The servants gave smiles in response to her thanks, but merely moved away once everything was placed on the table.

"Well they do not have to stay indoors when they do not wish to. There are very few structured lessons here. Most learning is down with only a few students interested in the same area of study and a tutor. It is not uncommon for these small lessons to be held outside on prettier days." He gestured around them, for the gardens were far from empty. Keiran wouldn't call them crowded, by any means, but there were small groups of students and staff walking or sitting together dotting the grounds within view.

He plucked a small raspberry tart from a tray and took a bit, humming happily. There were a handful of strawberry and blueberry tarts as well, plus a few lemon and honey cakes. "I was not sure what you liked with your tea, so I had a small selection..." Keiran gave her a slightly sheepish smile.

"I see." She smiled happily at the thought- yes, it really would be amazing to be allowed to study here.

His sheepish smile made her blush a bit and she murmured yet again. "Thank you." Her hand reached automatically for a strawberry tart and she took a bite. Her eyes widened a soft sound of pleasure managed to slip passed her lips, eyes sliding closed.

"What- who makes these?" she chuckled in something like wonder.

Keiran filled both their cups from the tea pot as Lyssa reached for the strawberry tart, and he smiled widely at the sound she made upon tasting it. He set the pot aside and tilted his head with a grin. "Kia's Garden has a large kitchen with highly skilled cooks and bakers that prepare meals for both students and staff."

He paused thoughtfully before adding, "The school is well-staffed with servants. As I am sure you know, many very privileged young people attend this college who are used to a certain level of attendance. It is actually not uncommon for students to bring with them family servants from home to serve them while they study. There is an entire dormitory for them separate from the students."

Keiran shrugged his shoulders. "I know you will not have your own servants to bring, but those employed by the school will always be happy to help you at any time."

"Oh." Lyssa blinked at that, then gave a little shake of her head with a bemused smile. "Well that's...not what I'm used to." She laughed a little awkwardly. "I think- I'll probably do my best to take care of myself. It's what I've always done."

She shrugged and sipped at her tea, closing her eyes for a moment to enjoy te flavor.

Yeah. None of this was what she was used to.

"I am sure that you will, but it is always good to know that there are people there to help at any time." Keiran knew it wasn't the type of lifestyle that she was used to, but he sincerely hoped she would grow accustomed and comfortable to life at Kia's Garden.

He nibbled on his tart and sipped his tea, feeling more relaxed than the previous evening, but still held a pinch of nervous jitters. Keiran still wasn't sure just why he wanted so badly for Lyssa to love it here.

"After tea we can tour the grounds a bit, I am so looking forward to showing you the school's library." Not that the public one she worked at wasn't lovely, it was, but the one here was certainly a bit more opulent and grand. For some reason he preferred hers. Although he suspected that if Lyssa was at the one at the school he would go back to favoring it.

"Really?" She perked up a bit at the mention of the library and her smile brightened a few degrees. "That would be lovely, thank you, Keiran."

She shifted in her seat a bit and took another sip of her tea. She was feeling anxious, fidgety, though she really wasn't sure why. She thought she would've relaxed some once she was actually on the grounds, but for some reason just sitting here was making her even more nervous.

"I, um..." She trailed off, cleared her throat, then tried again. "I don't suppose- we won't um r-run into many other students will we?"

Lyssa winced at her stutter and dropped her eyes. Well, that was certainly some of her nerves- those girls from the library went to school here right? Maybe that was why she was so jittery.

"It is my pleasure Miss Lyssa." Keiran smiled, waving away her thanks as he took a drink of his tea, giving a soft hum of appreciation for the subtle flavor.

He noticed the way she seemed uncomfortable, as if worried about something, but he couldn't fathom what might be troubling her. Although, while his composure had thankfully returned, he still felt nervous fluttering in his gut - all in all a very peculiar sensation that he wasn't familiar with until very recently.

"Ah, is that was has you uncomfortable?" It would make sense and he felt foolish for not realizing it sooner. "We may run into some of them, but you will be their classmate soon. Those young ladies from yesterday will not trouble you again, I promise."

"Oh." She blushed even deeper at how easily he switched to attempting to reassure her. "I, um- I don't want to be a bother. I mean, I suppose...it is their school. That is...your school. For...people like you."

Her cheeks were deep emerald now and she dropped her eyes, feeling distinctly out of place.

"People like me?" Keiran questioned gently, keeping any offense out of his voice. He thought he knew exactly what she meant - wealthy, privileged, high society people. It stung a little that she thought that way. "Lyssa this will be your school too, and you have never been a bother to me."

"I just...I feel so inept here," Lyssa mumbled. "Everything's so beautiful, and elegant. It's not the world I was born to, Keiran." She shrugged helplessly and looked up at him, then tried to force a smile.

"But I- I really would like to learn. I'm just...scared I guess."

"You are far from inept, and there is nothing for you to fear." Keiran said with a concerned frown. He felt terrible, had he pushed too hard for this? Suddenly he felt selfish, because having her closer, attending school with him had been what he had wanted.

Feeling almost desperate to reassure her, he reached across the table to gently grab her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Keiran hoped that his sincerity would be obvious as he flashed as charming of a smile as any he'd ever given to anyone. "Miss Lyssa, I assure you, you are just as beautiful and elegant as any other young lady that has, is currently, or will ever attend this college."

Her eyes went wide behind her glasses and her blush went from emerald to nearly pine green. "O-oh, I- I'm not- I mean..."

She nearly choked on her own tongue and had to duck her eyes, though she gave his hand a soft, grateful little squeeze in return. "I... Thank you, Keiran. That's- that's very kind of you to say."

"I only say it because it is true." Keiran said warmly, letting his hold on her hand linger for a little longer before gently pulling away. Well he wasn't lying. Lyssa was a very beautiful young woman, and her personality only made her even more lovely. Despite his feigned obliviousness to the attention of young women Keiran wasn't completely hopeless to recognize attractiveness.

It just served him better to ignore such things. After all, attraction played such a small role in choosing companionship. His father would be far more concerned with the breeding of his future wife than whether or not Keiran felt attracted to her - physically or emotionally.

"As soon as you are ready we can begin exploring. I will show you anything you wish to see." He smiled, clearing his throat softly.

Lyssa took a moment to collect herself, then cleared her throat again and nodded quickly. "I, ah, I'm ready. I think." She gave a nervous little laugh and moved to stand, though she snagged her toe on a leg of her chair in her haste and nearly fell back into it, sending the depths of her blush plunging into the emerald spectrum again.

Keiran stood when she began to, and it was truly an instinctive reaction when he reached for her as she nearly fell back into her chair. He managed to pull his hands back before actually grabbing onto her, and turned the action into smoothing his robes. Lyssa was acting so nervous around him, and that only made him feel jittery and nervous in turn - she had seemed such a vivacious and confident girl at the library.

"Yes, well let us go to the library then, I think you will quite enjoy it." He held his arm out to her, attempting to regain his usual confident and casual air.

"Oh!" The young woman immediately perked up at the mention of the word library, blush fading in favor of sparkling eyes and a small smile. "That sounds lovely, thank you."

She hesitated only a moment before taking his offered arm, not quite sure of the "proper" way a young lady should accept an escort.

There wasn't much to know about accepting an offer of escort. Keiran tried to give a soothing smile as he brought his other hand over to gently pat her hand as he tucked it against his elbow and started leading her away from the garden.

"You seem a bit ill at ease, Miss Lyssa. Is there anything more I can do to make you feel more comfortable here?" He was sure that she would feel better once she saw the library, but he still felt guilty for her discomfort and nervousness!

"Oh, I'm fine!" Lyssa tried to assure him quickly, offering a small smile. "Really. I just...I'm not quite used to places like this, that's all."

Internally she berated herself for being so obvious; Keiran was doing such a kind thing for her, and she didn't want her nerves to make him think that she was ungrateful.

"I see...well I hope that you will soon feel perfectly at home here and if there is anything I can do to help you feel more at home, do let me know." This was all his idea, after all. Keiran truly did wish to see Lyssa attending this school along side him. She was kind, helpful, intelligent, and her magical gift was quite extraordinary. A young woman like her belonged in a fine school like this - she deserved it.

The library wasn't far from the entrance he led her through. The building was old, but finely maintained, and vastly regal. As he drew her through the gilded doors into the library, she would see a towering three storied giant, elegant, sweeping balconies surrounded the inner circle of the second and third floors. You could see all the way to the artistically painted ceiling. Each floor had various study nooks richly furnished with comfortable chairs and tables for the students to use.

Students speckled throughout these places, most very engrossed in their own studies and not even glancing up at them. "Welcome to the library of Kia's Garden."

Lyssa's eyes widened and she could have sworn her heart actually skipped a beat. She gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth as she looked around with massive, sparkling eyes.

"This is beautiful," she breathed reverently when she found her voice. "My gods... You all can just...come here whenever you like?"

Keiran couldn't help but smile faintly as she saw the library for the first time. It was much larger than the one Lyssa worked at, but he found he enjoyed both very much. She probably had something to do with his fondness for the other building.

"Yes, and so can you. This will be your library too, Miss Lyssa. All students are welcome here, and the library is open almost always." Some students, like himself, could spend much of the night studying in here. They had to keep it open for the night owls.

"Oh, you'll have to drag me away," Lyssa laughed softly, shaking her head with a wondering little smile. She glanced up at him, cheeks a tad flushed and eyes glinting. "And Keiran- you really don't have to call me Miss Lyssa." He'd said she could use his first name informally, after all, surely that went both ways.

"Apologies, it is a force of habit. I was taught to always call a woman Miss, unless of course she has a more formal title such as Lady, Baroness, or so forth." He really couldn't help it much of the time, but he could try. Keiran gave her a somewhat wry smile. "I am glad you like the library. I had truly hoped you would."

"I love it," she assured him, squeezing his arm a bit in her excitement as she beamed up at him. "Thank you, for this. For everything. Truly, Keiran, I-"

Her voice cut off as she realized she was starting to choke up a bit. Embarrassed, she looked away, clearing her throat. The amount of purely selfless kindness he'd shown her was almost too much to believe, and she knew she'd be forever grateful for it.

"Is, um... Is there anything else I should see?"

"Your happiness is all the thanks I could ever ask for, Lyssa." Keiran told her gently and sincerely as she looked away from him, seemingly on the verge of emotional upset - of a more positive kind. He tried not to draw too much attention to the fact, of course.

He gestured to the vast library. "Would you like to take a more thorough look? If you would rather explore on your own at a later time, I fully understand. I know you have a home in the city, but would you care to see the dormitories? If you wish a room would be provided for you to live on campus. My father will have included funds for room and board within the sponsorship, I am sure."

A soft green blush dusted her cheeks and Lyssa ducked her eyes. "W-well, um. Thank you." She gave a sort of nervous little chuckle. "I think if you let me look around we'll never leave. I'd...love to see the dormitories, if that's alright."

"Before I discovered your library I rarely left." Keiran pointed out with a soft chuckle. It was true enough, he spent countless hours pursuing these books. While he had found the lack of the book he needed annoying before, now he was a bit grateful. If he had never gone in search of that one particular book, he would never have stepped foot in the other library.

He would never have met Lyssa, and that would have been a terrible shame. She truly was a delight to him.

"I think you will find the dormitories to be more than sufficient." Leading her by the arm still, he took her from the library building and pointed out two large multi-level buildings that looked almost like inns in their size, or perhaps manors in their splendor. "There on the left is the male housing, and on the right is where most female students reside."

They approached the female's building. "While the men and women are housed separately you are free to enter either."

"Oh." Lyssa raised a hand to her mouth, eyes going, if possible, even wider.

What in the name of all the gods had she been thinking? Did she really think she was cut out for something like this?

But Keiran's touch was comforting, and she took a few deep breaths in an effort to ground herself. She'd asked to be given a tour, that's all this was. Just a tour. Calm down, nothing bad is going to happen. It's just a building. A massive, fancy building...that you might be living in...oh gods.

She swallowed thickly and clung a little tighter to Keiran's arm. "They're lovely," she murmured when she'd found her voice. "Like- like little palaces."

Keiran brought his other hand over to gently pat her hand reassuringly as she held to him tighter. He knew this was all overwhelming for her. Honestly, with his privileged upbringing he couldn't truly imagine what it must be like for Lyssa.

"Oh, well...yes. I suppose like little palaces." It wasn't in him to tell her that these were not nearly grand enough to truly even compare to a palace.

He led her up the steps and into the female dormitory. If she had thought the outside grand, well, the insides were all marble and gold gilding, with vases and art decorating the grand entrance, which had a sweeping double staircase leading up to additional floors.

Of course there were also a few ladies in very fine dresses milling about. Thankfully not the two girls that had given Lyssa trouble before, but they did look at them as they came in. All of them recognized Keiran of course, and they offered him smiles before glancing curiously at the unfamiliar, and obviously lowborn, girl clinging to his arm.

Patting her hand reassuringly once more, Keiran led her over to them. "Ladies, always a pleasure to see you. May I introduce a friend of mine?"

"Of course, Lord Keiran, we're always happy to make acquaintances with someone you call friend." The most well-dressed of the young women spoke, offering a gentle smile to Lyssa as the other two women murmured agreement.

"This is Miss Ilycia Alcherein, a librarian from one of the city libraries. She will be a student very soon, sponsored by my father." He actually puffed up a little proudly. Truly, the young lord felt that his family was doing not only Lyssa a great service, but anyone that might benefit in the future from her gained knowledge and power.

"How nice to meet you Miss Ilycia, we so hope you enjoy our school. I am Lady Nadine Sikorsky, this is Lady Melody Tomes and Lady Ruby Folks." Each girl nodded her head in turn.

Lyssa's jaw dropped as they entered the dormitory and she had to make a concerted effort to close it again when she noticed the young ladies milling about. Her grip clenched rather spasmodically on Keiran's arm, then she forced herself to relax.

She tried for a small smile when she was introduced, teal cheeks deepening to an almost aquamarine color. "A pleasure to meet you," she said softly, not quite sure what to do. Should she offer her hand to shake? None of the other young women had done it, but was she expected to? Her hand sort of fluttered absently by her side, then fisted in her skirt.

She suddenly realized how very out of place she must look, not just feel. The young women before her were dressed in what she supposed to them were simple enough walking gowns, but they were still some of the finest garments she'd ever seen.

Not to mention Lyssa felt most comfortable in the fashions of her hometown, usually two piece affairs that bared her midriff, shoulders exposed and skirts barely falling to her knees.

Gods, what must these people think of her?

Nobody seemed to expect anything specific of Lyssa, and the women smiled pleasantly at her. Obviously they were not nearly as concerned with her appearance or manners as she herself was - and definitely not at all like the girls that had insulted and threatened her at the library.

"Miss Ilycia you simply must join us sometime for tea and cards. A group of us gather a few evenings a week to have a pleasant time in the Rose Room. It is a formal sitting room here in the dormitory. No boys allowed, of course." Nadine tittered softly and gave a sly look at Keiran. "You see, we also spend the evening gossiping about the astute gentlemen that attend lessons with us. Can't have the boys hearing what we really think."

Keiran chuckled softly and shook his head before looking down at Lyssa. "Thank you kindly for being so welcoming to my friend. I can tell she is still nervous about coming to our college."

"But of course, Lord Keiran, it is our pleasure. Sadly we can't stay and chat with you longer, but we've lessons to attend now. Perhaps you'll join us in the library later, my lord?" Nadine said as she leaned towards him just slightly.

"Perhaps! For now I must continue the tour I promised." He said, graciously avoiding making concrete plans for the night.

"Quite right, well good day Lord Keiran." They brushed past them, heading out the front doors.

The young lord smiled a little wider as he beamed down at Lyssa. "You see? Already receiving invitations to ladies events."

Lyssa had to made a concerted effort not to drop her jaw at how...friendly the young women were. Given previous experience, it was not at all what she'd been expecting.

"Th-thank you, m'lady," she murmured at Nadine's invitation, trying for a small smile. It was only when the ladies had left that she found she could breathe properly and she blinked up at Keiran with wide eyes.

"I, um... I wasn't exactly expecting that," she laughed a little breathlessly, pressing a hand to her heart and taking a few deep breaths. Gods, she wished she could just calm down.

"What were you expecting?" Keiran asked, confusion etching across his handsome face and knitting his brow slightly. The young lord sighed softly, giving her a rueful smile. "Forgive me, but those girls from before, they do not represent most of the students here. Yes, there are some that would look down on others, anyone they think is of lesser bloodlines than they, but that is not the majority."

"O-oh, that wasn't what I-"

That was exactly what she'd meant, but she didn't want to admit it. She didn't want him to think she'd made a snap judgment, but truthfully the encounter in the library had rattled her deeply.

She sighed, worrying her lower lip. "...I suppose I was nervous they wouldn't think I was...good enough," she admitted in a mumble. Then she chuckled dryly. "I just barely think I'm good enough, how could I expect it of these people?" She looked up at him with a wry smile.

"These people..." Keiran looked at her rather...sadly. He was one of 'these' people she seemed so hesitant to put faith in. She had a bad experience, this was true, but he didn't think that she would think so poorly of everyone else of a higher upbringing.

He shook his head and took both her hands in his, squeezing them gently. It was a rather intimate gesture, but they were friends, right? "Lyssa, it pains me to know you think my peers will mistreat you just because you are not of rich or noble heritage. I assure you, you are more than good enough, though I think I have said it already. Please do not let those awful, unladylike, young women sour your entire opinion of the students here."

Oh dear.

Lyssa's eyes widened slightly as she realized how her statement must have sounded. "Oh- oh no no, no, I don't- I didn't mean-"

Cheeks very warm, she ducked her eyes and bit her lip, cursing herself internally. She let her hand remain in his though, and returned the squeeze gently. "It's not y- their fault, Keiran, that isn't what I meant." She frowned a bit. "Those ladies at the library aside... I'm just different. People who grew up a certain way treat me differently; I don't blame them for it, it's just how things are."

She shrugged and tried for a small smile as she glanced up at him. "That's...sort of why I was surprised by you, at first. Before I came to the city...everyone was the same. I didn't have to worry about birth and rank and- but life is different here. So when I met you, and you were so kind to me, just for being the way I am-"

Her blush redoubled and she dropped her eyes again. "I'm just...trying to figure things out."

It's just how things are.

It wasn't as if Keiran didn't know, he was fully, sometimes painfully, aware of how the world worked. He was bound by rigid societal expectations. The pressures of being the son of an influential lord were immense and inescapable, after all. Occasionally the young noble found it all unbearably suffocating, but expressing such discontent was unthinkable. He had a duty to uphold the honor of his family and he could not accomplish his responsibilities while showing such faulty emotions.

"I...see." There was a brief moment of hesitation, where that carefully sculpted mask of assurance slipped, before Keiran cleared his throat and went on more confidently. "Yes, I understand. It must all seem overwhelming, and I am sorry if I have made you uncomfortable. I assure you that is not at all what I want."

It was then he realized that their hands were still touching and he released hers with a soft, sheepish smile. "I have been so kind to you because you are a kind and extraordinary person, Miss Lyssa."

Dear gods.

She really had a talent for putting her foot in her mouth, didn't she? All his compliments aside, she couldn't help feeling foolish.

"Keiran."

Before she could second guess herself, she took his hands back in hers and smiled up at him gently, giving his fingers a soft squeeze. "You haven't made me uncomfortable. Really. I'm just...a little overwhelmed, is all. I'll get used to it."

A soft blush dusted her cheeks once again and she cleared her throat as she drew her hands back, adding quietly, "And...thank you. For the compliment that I still think is a little undeserved--" she smiled wryly-- "and for...well. Just for being kind, I suppose. Thank you."

"You never have to thank me for kindness, everyone is deserving of that." At least until they proved otherwise. Even when people did prove unworthy of being shown kindness Keiran hated being pushed to forcefulness – with words or actions. His elder brother was the one for bold, brash force and impulsive decisions; it didn't suit the youngest Fairhall in the slightest.

Keiran found himself at a lost once again, unsure what to do next. "Was there anything else you wanted to see? You have seen the entrance hall, but we could find an unoccupied room so that you could see what you can expect if you decide to live on campus?"

“Oh. Um...”

Lyssa bit her lip and glanced around the hall, then back to Keiran. “Is that...alright?” She couldn’t deny she was curious about this place where she might be living, but she certainly didn’t want to intrude In other people’s lives.

Well. More than she already had.

"Of course it is alright, why would it not be?" For a moment Keiran didn't understand, but then he realized what she might think he had meant. "Oh, yes. I mean a vacant room, one that no one is currently living in. We would not go into someone's room while they were not present and inviting us, of course!"

That would be beyond rude and certainly an intrusion on the occupant's privacy. He cleared his throat and gestured to the staircase. "There are empty rooms on the second floor, near the end of the hall, I believe."

Keiran gently led her up the staircase and down the hall. All the doors held little plaques stating the name of the occupant. He found one with no nameplate and sure enough the handle turned easily. It was unlocked and the door swung open to reveal a spacious room with rose wallpaper. The center of the room sported a large canopy bed with quilted comforters matching the wall and a large wooden wardrobe and matching dresser with a large mirror nestled against the wall. A pair of double glass doors led onto a small balcony.

"These rooms are honestly quite modest in their most basic state. Each occupant obviously adds their own touch to make it homier." Keiran mused, glancing around as he glided inside without a care that someone might disapprove.

Quite modest.

Good grief.

Eyes very wide, Lyssa took a cautious step after Keiran into the room, looking around with something approaching wonder. The room she rented at her lodging house was half this size, at most, and she certainly didn't have her own balcony!

"It's lovely," she murmured, turning in a small circle. "How many rooms like this are on campus?" Almost as soon as she'd asked the question she blushed a bit and cleared her throat. "I mean...do you suppose? It's hard to believe even so grand a place could support as many students as attend in such fine quarters."

Keiran tiled his head, tapping his chin thoughtfully at the question. "Well I believe there are around four hundred rooms, split evenly between male and female housing. You must understand that a number of students do live off campus as well, in private family homes here in Arca, for those that have them. Also, most students do not spend more than a couple years attending college here. Most have private tutors to help them in their own homes all over the country. I have attended for what is considered an unusually long time."

Dropping his hand he smiled at her. "You have to understand, many of the students do not have significant magical potential. They attend for culture and socializing, for meeting other young people of high social standing. Most students are more interested in finding potential spouses than learning the arcane arts, which is also why their stay is so short. They go home to get married and begin their duties as members of the nobility."

Lyssa suddenly found herself frowning, head tilted slightly to the side as she listened to him. "That seems...rather boring," she murmured without thinking. "Why come to a place like this unless you wanted to really learn? Gods, if I had the option I'd never leave."

Keiran wasn't offended, in fact he actually laughed softly. "Agreed. If I had my way I would probably spend the rest of my days with my nose firmly stuck in a book. My father has indulged my love for scholarly study an abnormally long time, but I know the reasons. Sadly it will not last forever, but I enjoy it while I can. Even when I must return to Ravensway, our family does have a nice library, and I can continue my research in my spare time."

He knew it would be considerably less spare time, because he would be expected to marry and father children, when not helping Conrad manage the affairs of the house. It was not a bad life, and Keiran knew he should be less obstinate about putting off the whole thing.

Those were thoughts to contemplate another time.

"I am not sure what else you might wish to see, but I also would not wish to keep you so long you become late for your work." She wouldn't have to work in the other library once she was a student, but her enrollment hadn't been ensured yet.

"Oh!" Lyssa's eyes widened slightly and she raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh no, I completely forgot-- I just got so distracted--"

With a nervous chuckle she wrung her hands in her skirt, glancing back to the door. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Keiran. I got so excited about today, I completley forgot to be keeping track of the time! I should-- I should go, I'm truly very sorry."

That was not quite the reaction he was expecting. Well he thought she might be worried about the time at being reminded, but Lyssa seemed slightly over anxious. Keiran felt like it probably was his fault in some way. Maybe bringing her to this dorm was a bit overwhelming. She had never lived in a place like this, after all and here he was trying to talk her into it.

"No, no, it is quite alright. I understand completely, you must not slack on your duties, of course." The young lord hesitated a moment, a brief look of self-doubt clouding his face. "Would it be alright if I visited you later at the library? If I get news from my father, that is, I would like to share it with you."

"Oh, of course!" Lyssa beamed up at him. She was still fidgeting a bit with nervous energy, anxious to be on her way so she wouldn't wind up any later than she already was for her shift. "I'd like that very much, Keiran. Thank you."

She hesitated a moment, then reached out to grip his hand gently, giving it a quick squeeze before she stepped back with another smile. "Really. For everything. Thank you."

Keiran was surprised for only a moment when Lyssa grabbed his hand, but quickly recovered with a brilliant smile as he felt that brief squeeze. It was so odd, how familiar with him she had become. A noble lady would probably not have simply taken his hand like that. It was endearingly pleasant, though.

"I shall see you this evening, then. Please do have a lovely rest of the day, Lyssa."

It was past dusk when Keiran slipped into the public library to the sound of the little jingling bell. He tried to hold to his usual neutral-but-pleasant expression, but there was a faint crease to his brow that suggested something was bothering him. The fact that he lingered by the door, simply standing there and staring thoughtfully at nothing in particular was probably another sign that his mind was troubled.

Lyssa was in for an earful and a half when she turned up late for her shift, but since it was her first transgression-- and she was by all other accounts a model employee, according to the head librarian-- she was let off with a warning.

So she threw herself into her work, and she was so involved with her tasks that she didn't actually notice Keiran's arrival, at least until she was sent to clean the bell on the door that alerted of a new customer and caught sight of him lingering. "Oh!"

Smiling, she moved toward him. But once she got closer, she noticed the...odd expression he wore, and her steps grew a little hesitant. "Um, Keiran? Are you alright?"

The young lord actually jumped slightly when Lyssa spoke to him, as if he hadn't realized the librarian was approaching him until she was right there in front of him. Keiran immediately flushed and tried to recover, a somewhat subdued and sheepish smile replacing the worried brow.

"No, no...I mean, yes. I am fine." He couldn't help the frown that tugged at his lips as he heard himself fumbling over his speech. It was very unlike him to struggle to speak eloquently. Whatever the strange phenomena, it only seemed to happen when speaking with Lyssa. It was very peculiar! Keiran didn't have the time or energy to devout to that line of thinking.

"I trust your day has been mostly well? I do apologize for over keeping you this morning." He did truly look contrite as he apologized!

"Oh, that's not your fault!" She waved him off quickly, offering a bright smile. He still seemed a little...off, but she didn't want to push it, chance making him uncomfortable. "I should have been paying more attention. I was just so caught up in-- well, everything."

She chuckled a little sheepishly and twisted at a lock of her hair, chewing lightly at her lower lip. "Could I help you with anything? Or...are you just here for a social visit?"

"Yes, but I could have reminded you of the time, or not insisted on showing you so much when you were pressed for time." Keiran let his voice trail off as he simply looked down at Lyssa and observed her with vested interest. His eyes followed the movement of her fingers as she played with her hair and chew on her lower lip. They were such simple actions, and yet for some reason it made his heart skip curiously.

"Ah, well you did say it would be alright if I came to see you here this evening, so I suppose this is somewhat of a social visit?" He would not object at all to spending time with Lyssa socially outside of the library or tours of campus on a crunched time frame.

Keiran cleared his throat and glanced away, smiling somewhat. "I did have news, of course. Father has agreed to sponsor you, pending your agreement to sign a contract to work for the family once you've finished your studies. He is prepared to make you a rather fair offer, six months of employment with the family for each year you spend at the college. So if you study for two years, you would come to Ravensway and work in our library for a year keeping our personal collection well maintained."

That was all good news as far as the young lord was concerned, but that was not all there had been in the letter. It was the rest that had thrown him off his normally very composed course.

Lyssa's eye widened. Her jaw dropped.

Then she sprang forward, wrapping her arms around the young lord exuberantly with a sharp little squeak that might have been "oh gods!" or possibly just "eek!"

She pulled away quickly, seeming to suddenly realize what she'd been doing judging by the color to her cheeks, but she couldn't stop smiling. "Oh, Keiran, thank you, thank you so much!" She pressed her hands to her mouth, beaming.

Unable to keep the excited energy internal, she laughed and spun on her heel, her skirt flaring out around her. The other librarian on duty looked up from her desk and hissed "Shh!."

Lyssa winced and froze, then offered a sheepish, blushy smile to Keiran. "Um, come on. We can talk outside." She reached to take his hand without thinking, pulling him toward the door so they could slip around to the side of the building.

That was a very enthusiastic response! Keiran's eyes went wide as the young mage threw her arms around him in an excited hug. It was too shocking and too brief for him to really respond. A moment later she had pulled away, blushing and thanking him. All he could manage to do was smile, his own fact a little warm, and sputter out a quick, "You're welcome."

It made his heart do funny things in his chest, watching her laugh and spin around with just how happy and excited she was. Keiran struggled to believe that he could have done something to make anyone so happy, let alone such a sweet young woman.

They were quickly reminded that they were in a library, the other librarian hushing them. That caused his face to get even hotter. He was disrupting Lyssa's workplace. It was such inconsiderate behavior on his part. Embarrassment welled up inside of him, but he couldn't really be brought down in that moment. Keiran was still smiling bashfully as she grabbed his hand and pulled him back out of the library and towards the side of the building.

"Is it alright for us to just leave the building? I would hate to cause you more trouble with work today." After all, he had already made her late!

Lyssa shook her head. She just couldn't stop smiling. "No, that's alright. Moira's a bit crotchety, but we aren't busy, she won't mind watching the front desk for a few minutes."

Once they were out of sight of the main street, she leaned back against the wall of the library. Her hands were shaking slightly-- some combination of nerves and excitement, she assumed-- as she raised them to cover her face.

She took a deep breath, then dropped her hands again, fidgeting a bit. "Keiran, I-- I don't know what to say. I don't know how to thank you for this." Her eyes were suspiciously over-bright, and then she was leaning forward again, wrapping her arms around him and holding tight.

It was less exuberant than the first embrace, though warmer. She let the hug last a few moments, though she was prepared to pull back at the first sign of discomfort on his part.

"Oh, I see. That is good, then." It was a bit of a relief to know he wouldn't be causing her trouble with his visit this evening. Then again, the visit wasn't over. Keiran would have to withhold judgment on whether he caused her trouble or not until he managed to safely leave.

The young man watched her shaking hands as they covered her face, his expression falling just slightly with worry. Was it all too much? Of course she was excited, and understandably so, but he hated to think that he was overwhelming her with all of this. Lyssa was unused to the type of lifestyle that his classmates enjoyed. It had never occurred to him before that moment, but what if she actually ended up disliking the upper-class environment?

"You do not have to –" Keiran had been going to insist that thanks were unnecessary, but his tongue got all tied up on itself as he felt her arms slide around him once more. This hug was different. It was less energetic, but suddenly his heart was racing and he could feel the color and heat within his cheeks.

What did one do in such a situation? He truly wasn't sure! Women didn't throw their arms around him in hugs. His interactions with women were stiff, formal, and polite. This was definitely not that. Was he supposed to return the embrace? Keiran was hesitant and unsure as he brought his arms up to gently squeeze Lyssa in a hug.

"I really am pleased that I could do this for you. Your happiness is all the thanks I need." That was why he had made the arrangement, after all. Why he had wanted to make her happy? Well that seemed rather obvious. Of course he liked her. Lyssa was very intelligent and kind.

The returned hug was brief, as he let his arms fall away even as he sighed and let the weary resignation leech back in. "I had hoped that I would be there when you started your lessons."

Her excitement was taking up so much space in her mind that it actually took her a few moments to truly register what he'd said. Once she had though, she frowned in confusion and tilted her head at him slightly.

"You mean...you won't be?" Almost the moment the words left her mouth she was blushing again and dropping her eyes. "I-- I mean, I'm sure you're busy, I don't mean to impose or anything, you've done so much already," she babbled quickly.

 "Oh no, you are not an imposition at all." Keiran tried to reassure her quickly. "I really wish to be there when you begin your lessons, but my father had other news for me in his letter. My older brother, Conrad, has been engaged to be married. I must return to Ravensway to attend the wedding, of course."

Hopefully he could return quickly to his studies. He wasn't sure how long his father would demand he remain at home, though. The sole reason he had managed to avoid an arranged marriage so long himself was because Conrad had not been wed yet. Once his older brother was married there would be no more using that as an excuse.

"Oh, well that's wonderful!" Lyssa smiled and clasped her hands in front of her body. "Pass my congratulations along."

She suddenly realized that might be overstepping her bounds and ducked her head, adding in a sheepish mumble, "I-- I mean, if that's alright, of course. I know I don't really know your brother or anything, I just thought..."

Gods, what was wrong with her? The excitement and nerves must be getting to her, that was it.

Keiran couldn't stop the grimace at her reaction, but he quickly changed his expression into something closer to his normal neutral. An engagement wasn't always a happy occasion. Unlike commoners that married for love, his brother's marriage was all about money and politics.

"No, it is quite alright. Well wishes are always welcome." Nobody could argue over people wanting to send them good intentions. "You would probably like my brother."

Most women seemed to. That made him frown again.

She smiled, relieved she hadn't seemed to offend. "Oh, I'm sure I would, if he's even half the man you are," she chuckled, eyes glinting.

Once again her mouth seemed to be moving faster than her brain. Her eyes went round and she blinked, then added quickly, "I mean-- well, you know, i-if you think I'd like him, then I'm sure I would," she tried to backpedal, forcing a quick little laugh.

 "Half the man...?" Keiran's brow had knit in confusion as he repeated the words as if not understanding them, and that was because at first he really didn't. When realization of what she'd said dawned on him, which was about halfway through her trying to explain what she'd meant by it, his blue eyes widened immensely. Also his face grew hotter than he could ever actually recall it being.

"Oh, I mean, yes I really think you would. I think Conrad is probably twice the man I am, in many ways anyway." After all, Keiran was a scholarly mage where Conrad was more of a warrior. Women seemed to prefer men of that caliber, which had always been fine with him.

The very embarrassed young mage coughed lightly into his hand before smiling wanly at Lyssa. "I really do wish that I was not leaving the city just as you have been accepted into the college."

Lyssa shook her head quickly, smiling though her own blush was flaring in response to Keiran's. "Oh no, that's alright, really! You've already done so much-- I'm sure I can manage a few days on my own," she laughed lightly.

If she was being honest, she was nervous about attending the college without him. But that was ridiculous, wasn't it? surely she could manage on her own; she'd been doing it for years before they'd even met.

Although...it wasn't just the absence of a guide that had her chest tightening. "I'll...I'll miss you though," she added with a slightly wistful smile.

There were so many thoughts racing in his head, although he still thought his heart was racing faster than even his mind. It was not likely to only be a few days he was gone. Keiran might end up caught up at the family estate for weeks. Despite only knowing Lyssa for a short time, the thought of not seeing her at all for that long did make his stomach lurk in a not at all pleasant way.

Especially when she said she would miss him.

"I think I shall miss you as well, I have not made another friend quite like you in all my life." Keiran said, feeling his blush returning just as it had started to fade a bit. "Although, I will likely be gone some weeks, not mere days, considering travel time, preparations, helping with some traditions, and just generally visiting with my family for the first time in quite a while."

"I...see."

Even she could hear how plain the disappointment was in her voice, so she forced a quick smile to try to cover it up. "I mean...that's nice, isn't it? If you haven't seen your family in a while, I'm sure you're anxious to spend time with them!"

The note of disappointment had not been lost on Keiran, and he shared that disappointment heavily. He did not wish to leave her for so long, although he did not doubt she could manage just fine on her own without him.

"I am and I am not eager to see them again. It is very...complicated." A noble family was not like a commoner family, he imagined that Lyssa's experience of family was far warmer than his own memories growing up in a rigid household with many rules of decorum that didn't allow for the same closeness he had observed in lowborn families.

It was not a lack of love, exactly, but the rules were stifling and the displays of affection were muted by the calls of duty – not something easily explained to someone who had not experienced it firsthand.

Simply showing someone would be far easier.

The notion jarred him suddenly. What if he did show her? Lyssa would sign a contract agreeing to work for his family once she left the college. It might be a good idea for her to see his home if she was going to work there some day. There was also the far more selfish reason that if she were with him there would be no cause to miss her.

"Ah, Miss Lyssa, I had a sudden thought, and I understand if you decline, but would you like to go with me? If you have never attended a noble wedding, well they are quite the affair, truly something to behold. I would be honored to have you as my guest." Keiran blushed again and looked away, not even aware he was wringing his hands nervously. "It would also allow you to see where you might live for a time after your studies have finished. Of course you would have to briefly delay beginning those studies."

Lyssa's eyes went-- if possible-- even rounder. "Go...with you?"

Her mind was suddenly whirling, turning over the idea. If she had been so nervous just meeting a few noble ladies who'd one day be her classmates, how on earth was she going to manage meeting Kerian's whole family, her patrons, at a wedding of all places?

But... Oh gods, she wanted to go.

Smiling a little nervously, she reached out to take his hands in hers, noticing he'd been wringing them. Seemed he was a little on edge too. The thought made her just a tad bolder-- as did the knowledge that they shared a nervous habit. Silly perhaps, but she found her smile growing all the same.

"I would love to go, Keiran, if you're sure it's alright," she murmured, nodding happily.

Well Lyssa taking his hands in hers did make Keiran stop fidgeting, but his blush increased tenfold. It was not like he was unaware that his librarian friend was far more liberal with physical touch than he was used to, but it still shocked him slightly each time.

"Of course it is alright for me to bring a guest." Perhaps the words were rushed out a little too quickly, he wondered if he sounded inappropriately eager? "I am also certain that father would like to meet you, given his impending financial contributions to your education. Conrad might be a little surprised that I would invite someone, but only because he will be shocked I did not bring a book instead of a person."

Keiran managed to chuckle at himself, squeezing her hands gently as he started to calm slightly now that it was settled that she would go with him. He made him feel suspiciously better not to be leaving her behind.

"Oh, but if you are to go with me you will need to pack and prepare. The wedding is still almost two weeks away, but I must leave by tomorrow evening so that I can help with arrangements. I am sorry for the extremely short notice, but I was not given much notice myself." Keiran had not known his father was evening pursuing a marriage for Conrad, and frankly he was a bit shocked at who his brother would be marrying.

Well. That certainly wasn't very much time at all.

But she wasn't about to complain. With another smile, Lyssa gave his hands a quick squeeze before releasing them, leaning back against the wall behind her. "Alright then. I'll have to tell Moira, but I'm sure I can pack tonight. I'll meet you in the morning-- oh goodness, where should we meet?" Her eyes widened a bit more.

"What on earth am I supposed to wear?"

She'd never been to any event even remotely similar-- and judging by the reactions of those two nasty women Keiran had so deftly dismissed from the library, her normal attire likely wasn't going to be up to snuff.

Keiran felt bad about the short notice, but he was happy that she had agreed to go with him. It would be nice having good intellectual company on the trip and once they arrived. He had not actually formulated a solid plan for this little adventure.

"Oh, well I suppose I will pick you up at your residence. I remember how to get there from walking you home. As for clothing..." The young lord looked Lyssa over, tapping his chin thoughtfully for a moment before sighing. "Well your normal attire will be fine for traveling, but I suppose we will have to get you a proper gown for the wedding itself. My seamstress in Ravensway will be happy to help with that, I am certain of that."

"O-oh-- are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose..." Lyssa bit her lip and shuffled her feet slightly, clasping her hands in front of her body.

She truly didn't want to put Keiran's family out more than she already had, but honestly it was probably the only way she could find something to wear that wouldn't scandalize them. The lesser of two evils, she supposed...

"Oh quite sure, it is really little trouble at all." Keiran didn't dare say that he was sure she did not have a gown appropriate for a noble wedding, that would have been very rude. Besides, even if her current clothing was perfectly fine, well, he was quite curious to see her in some finery.

The young lord thought she looked quite lovely as she was, but all dressed up she would probably shine even brighter. His face actually flushed a little once again at the thought.

"Ah, are you almost finished with your work for the day? I would enjoy walking you home again, if you did not object, of course. I know that I will be seeing you in the morning, but I..." Keiran blushed harder, eyes fluttering down and away. He wanted to prolong his visit, to not leave for as long as he could appropriately accompany her. Those words couldn't choke out of him.

He was being silly.

Lyssa's cheeks heated and she cleared her throat, though she was smiling as she looked up at him. "Well, I-- I just have to clock out, really. If you don't mind waiting a few moments for me to do that...yes. Yes, I'd like very much if you could walk me home."

She hesitated a moment, then cautiously reached out to brush her fingers over the back of his hand, almost as though she was intending to take it in her own, before she quickly pulled back again. "I just, ah... Thank you, Keiran. For everything."

There was that peculiar little stutter in his chest again as she agreed to let him walk her home. They would both have much to do to prepare for a departure the next day, but he still found himself wishing to procrastinate.

He really was being illogical and nonsensical!

Then again, the little jolt that went through him as her fingers brushed over his hand was also quite illogical. Suddenly he wished he could talk to his brother. Conrad would have been able to help him make sense of all the odd little feelings Lyssa invoked.

Soon he could do just that.

"It is my pleasure, Miss Lyssa. I am happy to wait if it means a chance to walk with you." Keiran cleared his throat and glanced back at her shyly. "I will be right here, when you finish inside."

The young librarian beamed and reached out to pat his hand lightly again, then whirled away to dart back into the building.

It was a quick enough process to sign or for the day, though Moira harrumphed at her about it, and then she was quickly bidding her coworker farewell and slipping back out and around to the back of the library.

"Alright." Just a little flushed and breathless, she smiled at Keiran again as she clapped her hands and rocked back and forth on her heels. "Are, ah— are you ready?"

Another little jump in his chest, a soft skipping as she patted his hand before running back inside. Yes, he would definitely need to ask his brother about all this. Conrad was so much more knowledgeable about personal interactions, especially with women.

Keiran waited as patiently as he could, but it was impossible not to fidget anxiously while he stared in the direction Lyssa would reappear. It was all a bit alarming, wasn't it? The mage prided himself on his extreme control on his emotions and reactions. He didn't get anxious or fidget or become flustered. Except now he did, but thankfully only around the pretty librarian.

A sense of relief shot through him when Lyssa returned and asked if he was ready. For a moment his intense blue eyes just took her in. Her skin was flushed and her breathing was abnormal, things he had noticed about himself at times when she was near.

Clearly this was not just something affecting him.

"Yes," Keiran breathed simply, offering her his arm so that he could escort her properly. This was perfectly natural. A gentleman should offer to walk a young woman home when it was possible.

Was she imagining things, or...was he a little breathless too?

No. No, that couldn't be right, she was just overly excited.

Clearing her throat, Lyssa nodded and took his arm, pressing as close to his side as she thought might be deemed reasonably appropriate. "Well, let's be off then, shall we?"

When her hand came around his arm for a moment Keiran was simply frozen. He had done something similar a thousand times. It was a perfectly innocent gesture he had made many, many times for different ladies at formal occasions. Had he not walked her home with her hand on his arm before? It was hard for him to remember in that moment.

Realizing he was just standing there and staring down at her, the young lord flushed and mentally kicked himself.

"Right, we should be going. Yes." Embarrassed by his fumbling, Keiran started walking back down the streets he remembered from the last time he had taken Lyssa home. He recalled be a bit flustered then too, but it seemed even worse tonight. Was it the thought of taking her home with him? Perhaps that was having a greater impact on his nerves than he had anticipated.

"I hope you like my home. Despite staying away for long periods I still long for it." He was just saying something to say something.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll like it!" Lyssa beamed and gave his arm a soft squeeze where she held it, pressing a little closer against his side for just a moment.

She was quiet a moment, then asked a little hesitantly, "I take it it's been...a long time, since you've been home?"

Why did it feel so nice when she squeezed his arm and move closer? Keiran wished she had stayed so close, for a moment he could truly feel the warmth of her next to him and it was a pleasant sensation.

A soft frown tugged at his lips at her question, his thoughts turning inward. "Almost two years. I do not visit my family often, though perhaps I should."

He shook his head to dispel the gloomy thoughts and smiled down at her. "Do you visit home often?"

Her expression fell slightly and she shook her head, looking down at her feet. "I...I actually haven't been home since I came to Arca," she murmured. Forcing a bright smile onto her face, she added quickly, "But I write home every week, sometimes more often if I can manage it. It's just...money is a little tight, and--"

She snapped her mouth shut, then shook her head with an almost nervous little laugh. "Sorry, I don't need to bore you with this. Ah, what's your home like?"

Not since coming to Arca? Keiran tried to recall if she had mentioned just how long she had lived in the city, but the answer eluded him. Her reaction had him frowning again, pensively this time as he considered it. Was she embarrassed about mentioning the money?

"My home is..." The mage searched for the words for several moments, "beautiful. The woodlands are wild and lovely, not the estate itself, of course. Father keeps the grounds immaculately landscaped. Or the groundskeepers do. Father does not do manual labor himself. The grand hall is extravagant, but natural. It is a remnant from the days when there were still fae courts. Ravensway is far south, so even the deep winter is mild and never overly chilly."

Lyssa smiled a little wistfully as she listened to him. "It sounds wonderful," she murmured, sincerity shining in her tone and eyes. She giggled a bit as she glanced up at him. "A Summer Court for the modern age, I suppose?"

Her gaze flicked down, over herself. Rather spontaneously, she blurted, "My mother used to say we were descended from them. The Summer Court, I mean, the Fae. It's just an old family legend, but..." She shrugged, smiling a little crookedly. "I always liked the idea, when I was a girl."

"The fae bloodlines still run very heavily in my family. It is a fact we pride ourselves on, and why we have kept the great wild hall of our ancestors instead of favoring a newer construction. I can certainly believe that your fae blood runs strongly as well." Lyssa did not look truly human, not like any pure human. It was obvious that some form of non-human ancestry was present.

That was true of many Serenians.

"Oh, I'm sure we have some fae blood." She glanced down at herself and giggled quietly. "Probably more than a little, I should think. But I suppose the idea of being a long-lost faerie princess of some sort is appealing to almost any little girl."

She shrugged and crinkled her nose. "Silly, but my mother could always comfort me with those stories, when I was...I don't know, lonely, I suppose." She flushed a bit and cleared her throat, adding, "I, ah, didn't have many friends as a child. I preferred books."

Smiling again, she chuckled, "I still do, honestly."

She wasn't entirely sure why she was babbling on about this-- some combination of nerves and excitement perhaps-- but she couldn't seem to stop her own tongue.

"Your mother sounds lovely." A barely perceptible tightness entered the corners of his lips and eyes as she spoke of her mother comforting her with tales of being a faerie princess. His mother was...well he had not truly spoken to her in a very long time.

"Our mutual preference for books over people may be why we seem to get along so well." Keiran blushed again, eyes darting down to look at her for a reaction. It made sense, that two bookworms would make for good companions for each other. If he was to make a friend, well Lyssa was exactly the type of person that would appeal to him, was she not?

Lyssa giggled again, blushing herself, and nodded as she glanced up at him. "I suppose you're probably right," she replied with a quick, soft smile. With a little shrug, she added, "Lucky we found each other then, yes? It really seems like such a marvelous coincidence, in a city like Arca, leading very different lives..."

The implication of her words suddenly seemed to hit her and she added quickly, "Not as if-- I mean, lucky as in serendipitous, not-- not fated or some such...ahem."

Keiran could not help but stare down at the woman on his arm as she fumbled over the idea of fateful meetings. A smile split the young noble's face as he allowed himself a soft chuckle. It was not at all that he disagreed with her assessment or thought her silly.

"Our meeting was a most fortuitous coincidence, Miss Lyssa. One I am most grateful for because you are a very charming young woman and I think I would be very privileged to call someone like you my friend." He meant the words, too.

Her blush abruptly deepened by approximately ten shades of blue-green and she squeaked, "O-oh."

Embarrassed even further by her reaction to her own embarrassment, she found herself chuckling quietly and shaking her head, eyes on her feet. "I-- well, thank you, first of all. That's very kind of you to say."

She couldn't quite risk peeking up at him, but with as much sincerity as she could muster she added quickly, "And the feeling is very much mutual, Keiran. I...I don't have many friends, but I'd be incredibly happy to count you among them."

"I am you friend, Lyssa." Keiran said quietly, his smile had softened and there was still a flush to his cheeks, but he was looking ahead once again, making sure he did not lead them astray in his...distraction. He had only been to her residence once, but he could see it approaching and actually had to be mindful not to start dragging his feet to procrastinate their parting further.

They were going to see each other in the morning, for Kia's sake.

Her smile brightened, just a bit. She may have said something else, but then it was clear that they were quickly approaching her lodging house and she blinked, slightly startled that the walk had gone by so quickly.

Goodness, I need to get a hold of myself!

"Well, I suppose this is my stop," she joked lightly, pausing outside the front door. "I'll see you in the morning then--?"

Before the question was even fully out of her mouth, another voice from the other side of the door called, "Lyssa? That you, lass?"

The door swung open to reveal her landlady, looking just a bit harried with her bun slightly disheveled and her kirtle smattered with flour. "There you are. A package came while you were out and-- oh." The older woman drew up short as she finally noticed Keiran, her eyes widening slightly.

Then, rather abruptly, they narrowed, and she glowered at Lyssa. "You, miss, know the rules. No gentleman callers in your rooms. I don't care what you get up to out in the world, but under my roof--"

"Mrs. Havish!" Lyssa cut in desperately, cheeks flaming. "He's a friend, he was just walking me home!"

They stopped at the front door and Keiran smiled at her sheepishly. He was being a fool. There was no reason to be so discontent with parting from the librarian. Friend or not, they would see each other again shortly. It was not as if he was whisking away from Arca without her - at least not since she had agreed to come with him.

The sudden voice calling from inside the building startled Keiran, causing him to jump slightly as the woman appeared. He had not expected that! Suddenly he felt embarrassed to have their goodbye interrupted.

Not nearly as embarrassed as he was a moment later. The young lord's cheeks flamed red at the suggestion that he was a gentleman caller. Oh dear!

"Yes, simply a friend walking the young Miss home!" Keiran's objection echoed Lyssa's immediately, his hands coming up defensively as he tried, and failed, to will the heat out of his face. Really, the idea of him intruding into a lady's room!

"Oh. Well. That's alright then." And just like that Mrs. Havish was all smiles, beckoning the two of them into the building. "You're welcome to come in here if you like. Just no funny business! I've got my eye on you."

Though it was clear that now she was joking, Lyssa still blushed harder, unable to even look in Keiran's direction. "Madam, you said a package came?" she tried to change the subject desperately.

Glancing almost fearfully toward her companion, she added in a softer tone, "You don't have to stay if you don't want to-- she seems to be about thirty seconds away from forcing a cup of tea into your hands," she chuckled a little awkwardly.

Keiran hadn't planned on entering the building. Of course now that the opportunity presented itself he was somewhat curious. He had been invited in, and it might be rude to turn it down. Yes, he definitely followed them inside because it was the polite thing to do and not because he was reluctant to leave.

"On my honor, no funny business." The young man blushed, eyes darting to the landlady, before turning back to Lyssa.

"Tea is always a welcome diversion." Drinking his tea would be just one more reason to linger.

"Oh?" She couldn't stop her smile from widening-- she knew it was silly, but a part of her was almost excited for him to see where she lived.

Well. Not exactly where she lived, Mrs. Havish had made that very, very clear.

and just like that her blush was back. Clearing her throat, she slipped inside and held the door for him, glancing around the small common space that all the tenants shared. It was really just a sort of living room with a kitchen tucked into the back left corner-- where of course her landlady was already bustling about, a telltale pot set to heat on the wood burning stove.

"Package is on the table, lass," the older woman called, and Lyssa nodded, crossing the room to the small table where what appeared to be some sort of small crate rested. "Do you know what it is?" she asked curiously, peering at it.

Her landlady grinned at her, eyes glinting. "Why don't you open it and see?"

Lyssa rolled her eyes, glancing back toward Keiran again a little sheepishly. "Um, sorry, I'm being a terrible hostess. But, do you mind if I...?"

"Squeak!"

Her eyes widened and her voice trialed off, gaze snapping back to the wrapped crate. "Um...is there something...alive in here?!"

Keiran stepped into the living area, looking around with curiosity. It was definitely not like anything he was used to, but it was quaint. He smiled as he saw Mrs. Havish put a tea kettle on. Lyssa had warned him tea would be coming.

He smiled as Lyssa moved to the table, towards the package she had apparently received while at work. Maybe it was none of his business, but he was definitely curious what had been sent. If Lyssa didn't mind opening it while he was there, then surely it wasn't rude. Especially when the crate squeaked.

"It would seem so." Now he simply was dying to know what was in there! "You should open it quickly if there is something living inside."

"I should say so!" the librarian exclaimed, darting forward to quickly begin unwrapping the crate. "Mother should know better, why on earth would she-- oh goodness!"

Her rather sharp tone melted into cooing awe as she lifted the lid of the crate and saw what was inside. Two tiny, fluffy creatures blinked up at her, curled around each other with their feather wings all tangled together, tails entwined.

"Oh, you precious little things," Lyssa breathed. Wary of startling the poor little animals, she carefully peeled a letter from the bottom of the crate lid, reading it quickly under her breath.

"Dearest Lyssa, your father and I took a few days to explore La'marri recently, and stumbled across a woman who was quite knowledgeable about drakarys micro. She said they've become quite fashionable pets all over the continent, and I know you've been missing Bluebelle..."

A soft blush rose to her cheeks as she realized she was speaking the letter aloud and she quickly rolled it up, tucking it away. The rest was mostly advice and instructions about how to care for the little creatures, which she could look at more in detail later.

Laughing a little incredulously, Lyssa shook her head and peered into the crate again, carefully offering her fingers for the tiny dragons to sniff. A closer inspection revealed that the lining of the crate was in fact an old blanket from her bed at home-- probably trying to get the animals used to her scent.

Eyes wide, she glanced up at Keiran, shaking her head. "Well, um...if it's alright, it seems we may have a bit more company on the trip?"

Drakarys micro.

That certainly got Keiran's attention, as much as his friend's sudden cooing. As a lover of all creatures mystical, well of course he knew about them! Not that he had ever thought of joining the fad of owning the small draconic creatures, but he certainly was curious to see them.

Risking rudeness, simply because he acted before thinking, Keiran was behind Lyssa peering over her shoulder into the crate as she dipped her hand down to let the little creatures sniff at her.

"Hmm, well I do not think they will be too much trouble. May I?" It was obvious just how interested he was as he gestured at the crate with a sheepish smile. They were not his, but he wanted to see them too. Oh what a fascinating turn of events!

"Oh, sure! Here, hold on a moment." Lyssa held her hand down into the crate until the two little creatures had decided she was safe enough to venture onto, where she scooped them up and cradled them against her chest.

"They must have just been weaned," she noted as she shifted her grip, cupping one baby in a hand so she could hold the little thing out toward Keiran. "They're so small!"

The tiny dragon cheaped and leaned forward to sniff curiously at the nobleman, while the one still held against Lyssa's chest curled back against the librarian's warmth. Both still seemed a little wary, but they were friendly animals by nature and curiosity was obviously beginning to outweigh natural fear.

"They are so cute and so young." Keiran gushed lightly, holding out his own hand for the little creature to sniff as she held one towards him. A huge, bright smile was on his face as he observed the curious little dragon. "I had heard of these little beasts but this is the first time I have had opportunity to see one."

Magical creatures were his other passion after books. It was the family business, after all. The Fairhalls bred and sold Kirin, they were magnificent beasts. These little creatures were also quite amazing.

"I think I am a little jealous." Keiran joked, grinning at Lyssa as he gently rubbed under the little dragon's chin with a single fingertip.

Lyssa chuckled delightedly as the baby dragon in her hand reached out with his dexterous front paws to grab for Keiran's finger, chirping curiously.

"Well, all the more reason for us to spend time together then," she joked, glancing up at her friend. "According to what I've heard, teacups have to been with their handler nearly constantly for the first few days, to ensure the bonding process goes smoothly. So any time you spend with me you can also spend with them."

The tiny dragon cuddled against her chest seemed to be ready to brave further reaches, and stretched his neck out to sniff her collar curiously, then clambered up onto her shoulder. She giggled. "That tickles, little one," she cooed, stroking his head delicately with two fingers.

Keiran did seem to seek out reasons to remain in Lyssa's company. Getting to spend time studying these cute little critters was certainly a convenient excuse. He wished there wasn't a need for an excuse. Was there a need for reason? Why couldn't he just spend time with her for the sake of being in her company?

He smiled at the way one climbed onto her shoulder and made her giggle. It was such a nice sound, hearing her laugh. She had a radiant smile too.

"Well we will be traveling, so I will very conveniently be in your close company for the next couple weeks while we visit my family. I hope my consistent close proximity will not have a negative affect on your bonding experience." As curious as he was about the tiny dragons, he didn't want to interfere with a crucial period of time with their new Mistress.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine," Lyssa enthused quickly. "I'll need to do some reading while I pack tonight of course, but I think it's meant to be helpful for them to interact with the people their handler will be spending a lot of time with, so they can get used to scents and such."

Her eyes were positively glowing with excitement, and she was unable to keep a smile from her face as she watched the little dragons climb their way back to snuggle against her chest, apparently quite happy to fall asleep there. She laughed again, quietly, and traced a delicate fingertip over the crests that graced their noses.

"Mother scent a letter with advice from this Caliope woman— she's the only real expert we have on the mainland, can you believe it?— and I'm sure I have a book about local Yoreiqi fauna laying around somewhere..."

"Yes, well I suppose we will be spending a lot of time together on the trip." Keiran mused with a shy glance before watching the little dragons move back to Lyssa's chest to snuggle and sleep. He quickly cast his eyes away with a blush.

If they were not traveling together would they still have been spending a lot of time together? He did not know for sure, but the young lord hoped that they would.

"I am also very interested. I wonder if there are any books on them. Maybe they would make a good subject for one of my papers." Keiran did love finding new creatures to study and learn about. That these ones were so cute and friendly did not hurt at all.

Lyssa's smiled widened and she adjusted her grip to better hold the tiny dragons. "As far as I know there's been no specific book about drakarys micro written yet. Perhaps you could write the first."

One of the little creatures in question yawned and buried his head under his companion's wing, and the young librarian melted into more coos and murmuring. Glancing back up at Kerian, she gave him a sort of apologetic wince and mumbled, "I think I should probably help them get settled, they seem tired. You, um... You could have a cup of tea, if you don't mind waiting a moment?"

"An entire book? I am not so sure, that would likely require studying them in their natural habitat and Father would never permit it." There was no way Nathaniel Fairhall would let his son go tramping about one of those uncivilized island nations to study anything, let alone tiny dragons kept as designer pets.

"Oh." Keiran blinked and looked wide-eyed back to where the tea was heating on the stove. He had forgotten all about tea! "Ah, I could certainly wait for you to go settle them, if I am not imposing. It is growing late."

They both had to pack for leaving in the morning, after all. Not that he wanted to leave.

"Oh. Oh, you're right, of course!" Lyssa flushed. She hadn't even been considering the time. "I shouldn't keep you, I'm sorry. I'm sure you have plenty of your own packing and such to do..."

She cleared her throat, ducking her eyes to look down at the teacup dragons again. She couldn't help smiling; they were just so adorable, snuggled against her chest and crooning softly to each other they way they were.

"Yes, packing. I was quite happy to have been invited in for tea, though, please do not mistake my suggestion to leave as, ah...Well good night, I suppose, Miss Lyssa." Keiran was flushed and stumbled over his words before making a somewhat hasty and embarrassed retreat. He did need to pack for the trip, and so did she.

Sleeping was nearly impossible, but Keiran did his best to at least look as if he hadn't been up fretting about the trip all night. Getting his suit and robes to look impeccable was no harder than normal, nor was ensuring every strand of that blue hair was in place. It was much harder to hide the shadows under his eyes, but even a young lord of his caliber could only do so much no matter how fine the material he was working with.

His driver was quite surprised to know that they were to pick up an additional guest, but Keiran had the forethought to send a letter back to his father that he was bringing the girl the family was sponsoring as his guest to the special occasion. Dutifully the carriage pulled in front of Lyssa's lodging house and the carriage master knocked on the door primly.

The carriage was certainly fine, and the horses pulling it were definitely well-bred beasts, but it was the Kirin being led by a long lead behind it that was the real eye-catcher.

Lyssa had spent much of the evening switching between reading up on her new companions, desperately trying to figure out what she should pack, and cuddling the teacup dragons.

By the time she was supposed to meet Keiran the next morning, she'd just barely managed to get a modest carpet bag packed and herself dressed in what she desperately hoped was appropriate attire: a loose-sleeved blouse and a skirt that cut just below her knees, swaying a bit with every movement she made.

She was waiting in the small parlor when she heard the knock, nervously tapping her foot with her bag resting beside her feet and a soft cloth sling crossing the front of her chest, two sleeping teacup dragons curled in the fabric (as she had read the night before that keeping the younglings close to her as often as possible would help the bonding process). She started slightly at the knock, then took a breath to compose herself.

"Yes, I'm coming!" she called, gathering up her bag and hurrying to the door. Expecting to see Keiran, she was a little startled to find the carriage master when she opened the door, blinking. "Oh, um. Hello. Good morning."

Offering a small smile, Lyssa's gaze was still drawn past the man's shoulder to the carriage that waited. Her eyes widened and her breath caught. "Oh my gods..."

The kirin was beautiful! She'd never seen one in person before, and the creature was absolutely breathtaking.

"Good morning, Miss Lyssa." The carriage master was a slender, tall man with a serious expression that was only slightly softened by the light blonde hair and hazel eyes. He cast a glance back to the carriage when the young woman made her exclamation. "That would be Romulus, Master Keiran's mount and a pride of the Fairhall stables. Allow me to take your bag, Miss."

It was less a request, as made obvious when he took the luggage from Lyssa's hand and gestured for her to follow him to the waiting carriage. He stepped up to the door and opened it for her. Keiran was sitting with one leg thrown over the other, a book was in his lap. Politely he closed it and offered his guest a hand up. "Good morning, come, sit next to me. I am afraid this will be a rather long ride, but the company will make it a much more enjoyable trip than the last time I made it."

With no other real option, Lyssa allowed him to take her bag with a polite nod and murmured thanks, then darted for the carriage.

She smiled happily when she saw Keiran, taking his hand gratefully as he pulled her up into the coach. "Thanks." She settled herself carefully beside him and tipped her head to the side, joking lightly, "I hope I can live up to your expectations then."

The cloth across her front wriggled slightly, and a small, fuzzy head popped out to look around, chirping sleepily.

"Oh. Easy, little one." Lyssa smiled and stroked the teacup dragon gently with two fingers until he'd subsided back into the makeshift sling. She glanced up at Keiran a little apologetically. "The, um, books I was reading said I'm supposed to keep them close to me as much as I can the first few days. Helps them bond."

"You have yet to fail to exceed my expectations, Miss Lyssa." Keiran replied cheerfully, more than confident that this was going to be a more pleasant then usual journey home. There was a wedding to attend and his friend was coming along as his guest, it was going to be quite the little adventure - for both of them.

The young lord tilted his head to look down at the tiny head that poked up out of the makeshift carrier with a smile. "It is quite alright. I am delighted to have their company as well. They are exceedingly cute."

There was a soft rocking as the driver climbed into his seat after loading Lyssa's luggage. A moment later the carriage was gently swaying as it began the long trip back to Ravensway.

Lyssa beamed, though she was blushing a bit from his compliment. She patted the teacup dragon's head gently and the tiny creature subsided back into the cloth pouch with another yawn, shifting against his sibling.

"So." She looked up at Kieran again, eyes bright and excited. "Exactly how long is this trip again? Oh, I do hope I've packed properly— I've never really done anything like this before, I'm a bit nervous..."

She realize she was babbling and snapped her mouth shut quickly.

"Well the carriage ride will consume two days, as long as the weather is clear. We will remain in Ravensway for two weeks or so. I have family duties to help prepare for my brother's wedding, of course. The wedding itself will be a spectacular event." Keiran let slip a frown as he stared across the seat to the far wall. "I do hope they will be happy. Father is not pleased with this match."

Realizing what he said, the young lord shook his head and took up his famous genial smile. "There is no reason for you to be nervous. Truthfully aside from a brief meeting with father and the wedding party, you will have extensive free time to simply enjoy the beautiful estate grounds, pursue the vast library, and view this much like a vacation. It is a chance for you to see the place you will live and work for a time after you finish schooling."

"Oh." The librarian blinked at him, then shook her head and looked down at her feet, trying not to stare. Quickly, she enthused, "Well, I'm excited for the opportunity then! I don't suppose many people are lucky enough to get the time to know their patron before accepting their services."

She glanced up at him with a smile and leaned back in her seat a bit, trying to make herself comfortable. They were going to be here for a while, after all. After a few moments though, she cleared her throat and ventured cautiously, "If I can ask...why isn't your father happy with the match?"

"No, I do not think most do have the chance. It will be a nice trip, try not to think about the business side of it overly much. First and foremost you are going as my guest and friend." Keiran smiled reassuringly at the colorful young woman sitting beside him.

"Ah, that." He let out a soft sigh, knowing he should not have said that. It was a family affair, but Lyssa was not of the society elite that would take any scrap of rumor or knowledge she could to try to gain an advantage so talking about it with her was not really much of a problem. Unless of course she repeated any of it to the wrong person. "You must not think too hard on it, and do not repeat it. I was surprised when word was sent of the engagement, because the woman is a girl I have known since we were children. She was a circus performer of a sort, not of noble blood at all! Apparently she has gained some favor with a High Lady who was adamant about arranging a match to my brother. Father is unhappy because as his eldest son, Conrad's marriage should have been a great opportunity, financially and socially, to further and strengthen our position. It is not at all what father would have chosen or planned."

Keiran frowned and looked pensively at the book in his lap. Lord Fairhall had probably tried to deflect the match to him. A second son having a less than ideal marriage was not as large a blow to the family. He was not sure how he felt about it, to be honest.

"Once Conrad is wed there will be no reason for father not to begin making arrangements for my own marriage. He will be sure to gain as advantageous a match as possible to make up for this less ideal one." The young lord was not sure how to feel about that either. To marry a young lady of prestige was his duty to his house, and though he had known this all his life and thought to have made peace with it, he felt uneasy about the prospect now that it was looming before him so clearly and so close to reality.

"Oh. I...see." Lyssa dropped her eyes and began tickling absently at the two tiny dragons tucked against her body. Both were drowsy, the motion of the carriage and warmth of her body lulling them to sleep.

Before she could stop herself, the words were out of her mouth: "You really can't marry for love?"

The second the words were out she snapped her mouth shut, eyes going wide. Almost frantically she snapped straight upright and babbled, "I'm so sorry, that was incredibly inappropriate-- oh gods, please just forget I said anything, is that okay? Oh no. I mean, I-I did say it but I didn't mean it-- okay I did mean it but you don't have to answer--!"

Keiran's eyebrows immediately shot up at the question. It was a very personal question, but also one he couldn't blame her for asking. People from her social station didn't marry in the same way. If he was correct, marrying for love was quite common among lower class people. Property and inheritances were much less of a concern in those types of unions.

"It is alright, Miss Lyssa, please calm down. I am not offended. Curiosity is a good thing." He smiled faintly at her, trying to be reassuring. The last thing Keiran wanted was to make her uncomfortable.

"Marrying for love is very uncommon for nobility. There are a great many factors involved in choosing an acceptable spouse. When I marry there is a great deal more to take into consideration than when a farmer and a baker marry, for example. It is in my family's best interest that I marry a girl of similar social and financial standing so that we may all benefit from the union in some way. Perhaps it seems a cold way of doing things, but that is simply the way things are done for us. Love is an afterthought, unfortunately. All I have ever hoped is that I would be able to get along amicably with my future wife, whoever she may be." Perhaps it was a sad thought, but it was all Keiran had.

Lyssa continued looking down, stroking her new pets' heads absently while they slept. "I...I understand," she said quietly after a moment.

She glanced out the window, then said suddenly, "My parents are mages-- I think I've told you that? Both of them. And my mother is--was--of noble birth." She smiled slightly, still looking out at the passing vista. "They met at school, in Arca, actually. Mama used to talk about it all the time. She said Papa wasn't from a particularly wealthy or well-known family, but he was talented enough to enter school on a scholarship."

She glanced down at the dragons again, soft smile still in place. "I guess I never really thought about... I never met my maternal grandparents, y'know? They disowned her before I was even born, just for marrying the man she loved..."

Keiran was certainly taken aback at this revelation. Yes, he recalled that Lyssa had mentioned that her parents were mages, but learning her mother had come from a noble family was definitely a surprise. What wasn't a surprise was hearing that the woman had been punished with disownment for her crime of loving an "undesirable" suitor and marrying him.

"A most unfortunate and sad reality for your mother. I am not surprised to hear they disowned her for marrying someone they did not approve. I am sorry your family had to go through that." He truly was. Just because Keiran understood, and on the surface accepted, that this was simply the way things were done did not mean he was thrilled about it. What would his life be like if he could entertain the idea of having a future with a woman he truly loved?

That seemed so benign a thing to contemplate and yet it was completely unthinkable...

"I don't know." Lyssa smiled, the teal of her cheeks deepening to a grassy green. "I think she's...really happy with her choice. I know sometimes she misses her family, and I know Papa wishes he could give her a bigger house, or maybe some of the other things she grew up with... But she's happy."

The makeshift pouch across her chest wriggled, effectively distracting her. "Oh! Someone's awake," she chuckled, reaching into the pouch to let the tiny dragons sniff her fingers. The more adventurous one, the smaller of the two, climbed up onto her hand and cheaped happily, looking around.

"Oh! Yes, I did not mean to imply she was not happy with choosing your father, only that it was unfortunate and sad that her family cast her out because of it." A slight blush came to Keiran's cheeks as he realized what he had said and how it might have sounded or seemed. That had not been his intent. He could find sympathy for Lyssa's mother and the difficulty of her choice. It must have taken a lot of courage to choose love over family.

Thankfully a tiny dragon provided a much needed distraction and change of topic. "He seems a curious and brave little fellow. Or she does. I truly am pleased to have the chance to see such creatures in person."

"He," Lyssa confirmed with another quick smile. "They're both males. Brothers. I think my mother was afraid if she got me an unrelated male and female they'd start breeding once they reached maturity," she chuckled quietly.

The little dragon chirped and climbed up onto her shoulder, rearing up on his hind legs and beating his feathery wings to keep his balance as he peered out the window curiously.

"I still have to name them," the librarian noted as the second dragon crawled up into her palm, yawning adorably.

"A reasonable concern to have when you have a male and female of most species." Although the small dragons were quite valuable, so a breeding pair would produce very valuable offspring. Keiran sincerely doubted that profit had been on anyone's mind when the decision was made to purchase the teacup creatures.

"Ah, yes, names are quite important. Did you have any ideas yet? I am sure you will give them both fine names." He smiled as he watched the yawning beast.

"Well..." she mused aloud, lifting her hands so she could bring the tiny creature closer to her face and kiss the top of his head. The teacup dragon sneezed, a tiny smattering of blue and green sparks flaring from his nostrils, and she chuckled. "I was thinking something like Viren for that one--" she nodded to the dragon still looking out the window, blushing a bit as she added, "It's the surname of one of my favorite authors. They explored everywhere on the mainland, wrote heaps of journals about it. For this one..."

She looked down at the dragon she held, staring into large teal eyes. A small smile twisted at her lips. "What about Teve?" she mused, stroking his head and smiling wider as he began to purr, pressing up into her touch.

"I think those are brilliant and lovely names. How clever to use authors to name them." Keiran couldn't help but flash a bright smile at the names she thought about giving to the dragons, and he could not approve more strongly of her choice in naming conventions.

"Viren and Teve, what wonderful adventures they will have. I am sure to their little selves any trip out the door will seem a grand journey." He hoped so. They would have a good life, with such an attentive caretaker to love and nurture them.

Lyssa grinned, big and bright and blushing. "Alright then. Viren and Teve it is." She patted their little heads, then shifted to the side slightly and settled them just beside her, shifting her bag by her legs so that it offered a step down onto the floor of the carriage if the little creatures wanted to explore.

For now though, they seemed content to sniff about the carriage seat beside her, chirping and batting at each other playfully. "They certainly seem to be enjoying this first adventure," Lyssa chuckled as she glanced back up at Keiran.

Quite abruptly, she found herself unable to meet his eyes. It was silly, she knew, but something about his approval— even in something as small as this— lit a warm glow in her chest that made her feel flushed and nervous. She dropped her gaze down to her lap, fiddling absently with the purse resting against her hip until she'd managed to pull out pen and paper.

"That is a most promising sign." Observing them, the tiny dragons did seem quite at ease. That was good. The last thing Keiran wanted was for the small creatures to be uncomfortable or unhappy. He was even more concerned with Lyssa's enjoyment of the trip. Would she like his home? Could she be happy living there for a time in the future?

She was blushing again, and fidgeting with her bag. Keiran noticed that she blushed often in his presence. Some people were quick to blush.

"I hope you enjoy our little adventure as well." He cleared his throat and glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye. Keiran had no idea that his own face was quick to redden when in the presence of the kindly librarian.

"Oh, I'm quite sure I will!" she hastened to assure him, glancing up with a small but genuine smile. "I'm already enjoying myself immensely. Your kirin is gorgeous, did I already say?"

She couldn't remember if she'd voiced her admiration of the creature when she first got into the carriage. Still smiling, she dropped her eyes again and seemed to doodle absently on her bit of paper for a few moments, drawing a sort of spiral with a looping tail at it's end. Into the tail, she scrawled in that same looping style the word yarn.

The moment she lifted her pen, the drawing-word lifted from the page, twisting and shimmering in the air until it solidified into a smallish ball of sky blue yarn. She caught it easily in one hand as it fell and tossed it toward the two little dragons, who set about pouncing and pawing at it with great aplomb.

"Do you use kirin for lots of things, back home?" Lyssa asked, looking back to Keiran. "I mean...well, do you ride them like horses and such?"

"You did not say it to me. Thank you, he is one of the prides of my family's stables." Keiran smiled quite proudly at the compliment to his mount. He was endlessly fond of the mystical beast that had been his faithful companion for several years.

It was fascinating for him to watch Lyssa doodle on the paper and produce an actual ball of yarn simply by drawing a squiggly ball and writing the word. An outrageously marvelous and dangerous magical gift, depending on how it was used. In the wrong hands the young woman beside him could be compelled to do terrible things with her abilities. Still, he smiled as he watched the little dragons play with their new toy.

"Oh yes, they make terrific mounts. Horses are quite intelligent animals, but they are not nearly as clever as the kirin. Romulus is extremely loyal to me. I have cared for him several years now, and he serves as my mount in exchange." The animal was clearly very dear to him.

Lyssa sighed a little wistfully, her eyes a little distant. "That sounds wonderful," she murmured. Watching the two teacup dragons play with their new toy, she continued almost absently, "I've always loved animals-- I guess you know that, you saw me feeding the strays behind the library. But we could never have horses where I lived as a girl, and a creature like a kirin..."

She shook her head and smiled at him. "A bond like that...it just sounds incredible. To be able to trust another creature so much, to build a relationship across species based on that trust--"

Rather abruptly she realized she was rambling and flushed, biting at her lower lip. "Well, um. Ahem. As I said, he really is lovely."

Inside the carriage, with just the two of them, that pleasantly neutral mask that Keiran wore so carefully had fallen away completely. The young man smiled fondly, admiringly, at Lyssa as she spoke of her love for animals. It was something they shared in common. He was endlessly passionate about creatures great and small. Beasts of magic and myth were his specialty, but he held a fondness for all those exceedingly mundane as well.

"Thank you, when we stop next I will have to introduce you to him and then you can praise him directly. Romulus will undoubtedly preen at the attention." Kirin could be quite vain and proud creatures, after all.

Perking up, Lyssa enthused, "Oh, really? That would be wonderful, I'd love to meet him properly!" Her eyes flickered toward her own tiny charges where they still played with their new toy and her lips quirked up on one side.

"Is he amiable with other creatures? If we're going to be spending the next few weeks on your estate, perhaps I should try to get Teve and Viren used to the scent of kirin."

Keiran tilted his head and smiled down at the teacup dragons when Lyssa asked about getting them used to the scent of kirin since they would be around a lot of them soon. "Romulus only shows aggression to threats. Teve and Viren are not dangerous to him, and we will introduce them so he knows they are friends."

"Thank you." She smiled at him again, finally lifting her eyes from the tiny dragons just as the smaller of the two, Teve, managed to get himself so entangled in the yawn that he toppled over onto his side and cheeped indignantly. His brother rushed to aid him, gripping the thread in his tiny teeth and tugging, the thinnest, highest growl Lyssa had ever heard thrumming from his throat.

"Oh, goodness." She chuckled and bent to untangle the two teacup dragons, who licked her fingers and butted their heads against her palm in thanks. Shaking her head at them, she straightened up again and glanced out the window of the carriage.

"It's beautiful," she noted quietly. "The valley, I mean. I haven't really been outside Arca since I arrived-- I didn't realize how much I'd missed the sight of trees."

Keiran smiled in response to her thanks, and even managed a soft chuckled as he watched the antics of the tiny dragons. They were such cute little beasts, and they already seemed to adore Lyssa - not that he could blame them. She was an extremely kind and warm person.

As she commented on the scenery, the young noble glanced out the carriage windows himself, taking in the view for a moment quietly. "Yes, the countryside is very lovely. I can not wait to show you the forests of Ravensway."

"Oh, forests." Lyssa smiled almost wistfully as she looked to him again, her eyes shimmering gently in the light that filtered through the carriage windows. "I miss forests. I would be absolutely delighted to see those where you grew up, Keiran. Thank you."

A soft tap at her foot caught her attention and she glanced down to see Teve, evidently the ever more adventurous of the two brothers, gnawing playfully at the toe of her shoe. She chuckled again and shook her head at him, tucking her feet up onto the seat of the carriage so her knees were drawn toward her chest in an effort to remove the target of his interest.

"Did you...have the opportunity to play outside much, as a child?" she asked almost cautiously after a moment, letting her chin come to rest on her knees as she tilted her head at him slightly. "You speak so fondly of the lands of your home, but I just realized that--well. I'm sure the children of nobility have more...responsibilities than someone like myself."

Lyssa would be delighted to see the forests where he grew up. Keiran felt that warm, bubbly feeling in his chest again. It plagued him frequently when in the librarian's presence, but he found it extremely pleasant. He wanted to keep feeling it.

"I suppose that would depend on who is defining the word play. The weather is beautiful and the forests are majestic, I spent many afternoons taking my lessons under the boughs of the forests of my family's estates. Such fine scenery did make my responsibilities lighter, if only slightly." He turned pensive as he thought back on his childhood. The bulk of his memories were of lessons and being taught how to support his brother when Conrad became the lord of the family's holdings.

Keiran shook off the thoughts and smiled faintly at Lyssa. "What about your childhood? I imagine it was quite different than mine."

She chuckled softly again, lips curving up on one side into a small, crooked smile. "Yes, I imagine it was." She tilted her head the other way, trying to think of what to tell him.

After a few moments contemplation she laughed again, the sound sort of wry and self-deprecating. "Well, I...I was rather a solitary child, I suppose you might say. My parents are both mages--fairly powerful ones, actually--and I really spent most of my time with them. Reading, working in Father's garden, helping Mother in the workshop. I think they were a little..."

She cast around again for a right word, a small frown tugging at her brow. "Not disappointed, exactly. Almost perplexed by...well, me. I didn't have any hint of a magical gift as a young child, so I don't think they quite knew what to do with me. If I wasn't helping one of them around the house, I was essentially left to myself." She pulled herself back from the reverie and smiled at him again with a small shrug. "Our house was sort of at the edge of town, right up against the woods, so I did spend quite a bit of time there. Mostly I'd just find a nice sunny rock or a climbable tree and sit with a book for a while. I didn't exactly have many friends."

It made sense that Lyssa's parents would be powerful mages, given her own ability. Keiran smiled unconsciously as he thought about a younger Lyssa reading in the woods by her childhood home. He thought that if they had met much earlier they would have still become fast friends, given their mutual love for books and trees.

"That actually sounds quite nice. I was too busy with studies for many friends, or really any of them. Conrad is the social one, he is quite well-liked by many. He is much better with people than I am, he isn't at all shy or quiet like I am." He was looking forward to seeing his brother again.

Keiran had a somewhat wistful, far-off expression as he thought about his younger years at home with his family. He really should visit them more often - if his father even allowed him to leave. It was the heavy weight of family duty weighing down upon him. His father had let him do as he pleased for several years, and Keiran knew that his time was running out. All he could really hope for was that his father would find a wife for him that he could get along with.

Lyssa couldn't keep the small smile from her face. "You love him very much," she noted softly, with a warmth to her voice that even she herself hadn't entirely suspected. Suddenly feeling awkward again, she cleared her throat and once more glanced out the window. "Your brother, that is. I--ahem."

She glanced down, toeing at the floor of the carriage absently with one foot. Viren batted the ball of yarn into her ankle, and she nudged it back to the two tiny dragons with a tiny twitch of a smile at the corners of her lips.

"I think...I would have liked to know you. When we were kids," she mused quietly after a few moments. Glancing up at Keiran through her lashes, she added with a crooked smile, "If nothing else, we still would have shared a mutual love of books, right?"

"I do." Keiran agreed, smiling faintly at her apparent embarrassment at saying it out loud. He would never deny that he loved and looked up to his brother - in some ways. They were very different men, with his penchant for being a scholar and mage and Conrad's skills as a warrior and leader, but they held a strong brotherly bond.

The young lord let himself glance back out the window, watching the passing scenery quietly for a few moments as Lyssa played with the tiny dragons. His eyes were drawn back to her when she spoke again.

"I would have enjoyed having your friendship as a child, I think we would have gotten along very well over books and animals." Keiran smiled a bit wistfully and looked back out the window. He wished he'd had a friend like her back then. Well, there was nothing for it now. "At least we got to meet each other at the library and become friends now."

Her smiled widened and she nodded. "And I'm very glad we did." She meant it, with all her heart. She wouldn't say she'd been friendless in Arca, but she hadn't met anyone that she connected with as quickly and easily as Keiran. Despite the drastic divide in their upbringing and social classes, whenever she talked to him she couldn't help thinking that they were more alike than they really were different.

It was a surprisingly pleasant thought. While she said it didn't bother her--and most of the time it didn't--she truly had been a rather solitary child, and it was a habit that had stuck with her into adulthood. It was just nice to have a friend like him.

Laughing softly to herself, Lyssa leaned back in the carriage seat and curled her legs up to the side, adding, "Not to mention I never would have been able to go on a trip like this if we hadn't. So count me doubly glad, I suppose."

"I am glad you are here." Keiran's smile was the kind that morphed his entire face and had his eyes closed, with the corners just faintly crinkling. It was far from the normal pleasantly neutral mask he wore, something very genuine, and this time he didn't try to hastily control the display of emotion. He felt safe to let the mask slip, when it was just the two of them.

It was his sincere hope that Lyssa enjoyed the trip, and that she would be well-received by his family. Keiran was sure that Conrad would be welcoming. His father would undoubtedly be polite, this was the young woman he was sponsoring after all, but he knew his father was also a rather cold and calculating man.

"Lyssa, I wish to advise you about the upcoming meeting with my father and the subsequent wedding." Keiran's eyes had opened once more and his expression turned more serious. "This gift of yours, it is remarkable, but I would refrain from discussing it with anyone that does not need to know, at least, not until you are in a more secure position. Once you sign a contract with father you will have the protection of House Fairhall, but before that others might try to manipulate or exploit you. Your gift could be very valuable to some with less than good intentions."

Keiran did not wish to scare her, but he also did not want to see her come to harm because she was unaware of the potential dangers. "I am sorry. Perhaps I should have told you this before inviting you to come."

Something in her chest went warm and tight at that smile in a way she hadn't been prepared for and didn't entirely understand. It was... Perhaps she was being presumptuous, they really hadn't known each other all that long, but she just suddenly knew with a solid certainty that he didn't smile like that very often. She'd seen his polite, neutral mask, of course, and she'd seen real but subtle emotion from him slip through it, but that...it was something else.

"I-I'm glad too," she managed to stammer out, feeling suddenly flustered and distinctly lacking eloquence. She managed to shake it off a bit as his expression sobered, and she sat forward to listen when he spoke in a different tone. The sort of tone that said he was broaching a serious subject.

She frowned a bit as he warned her against speaking about her gift--not because she didn't want to take his advice to heart, but more... "I--I will keep it in mind, Keiran," she assured him, "but I just can't imagine--I mean, surely I can't be of that much interest to the sort of folks your family will be hosting?" She laughed a little, sounding caught between incredulity and self-consciousness. "The most I can do is summon up a pretty bauble or two. I know it's...unique, the way I do it, but it's not all that powerful."

Perhaps the most ridiculous part was that she genuinely believed what she was saying: that she was unextraordinary, despite what he had already seen of her gifts. She just simply couldn't understand how someone might find her "valuable".

But she smiled at him and added, "But I won't talk about it with your family's guests, if you think that's best. I promise."