Chapter 12

I tossed on my cloak and followed him. He took me by the hand. Butterflies tickled my stomach. That was a feeling I didn't know I could still have. It was a feeling I wanted to deprive myself of.

The city at night was quiet. There weren't many people out. Guards would casually patrol the areas. I saw them in the distance, and avoided any contact with them.

Down the street from the library was a tall tower like structure. It's location threw me off a bit. It had banners on it like the rest of the buildings but it was stone instead of painted black and gold. It resembled a castle tower. Carlo had keys to unlock the door. There wasn't much inside except a rounding flight of stairs. We went up to the top. Inside there was a large window, with a telescope.

"This is where the astrocartographers come to map out the stars. It's what my dad has been doing for a while. Looking through the telescope is fine, sure. But I prefer seeing it with my own eyes."

Carlo sat on the large windowsill, his legs hanging outside the tower. I peaked through the telescope before he signaled me to join him on the window.

I looked down and sat carefully.

"Wouldn't want to fall from this height."

"You're looking the wrong way, Lee. Look up, not down."

I looked up at the bright, shining sky. The stars were out, the moon was shaped like a cresent. There was an overview of the town, lanterns burning in and out of people's homes for lights. The golden statues of Vendov leaders shined under the light. The town itself was well run and much less impoverished than Lafayette. For a moment, I had wondered if I were doing the right thing. Vendov people seemed happy and healthy. Was his empire so bad? Perhaps it wasn't.

I remembered how he accused my father of a misdeed he did to him years ago. It had never happened. He just used it as an excuse to start a war and build his empire. My parents did spend money on foolishly lavish things, but they did not deserve to die by being burned to a crisp, along with the rest of their kingdom.

"Remarkable, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." I replied, drifting my gaze at the stars.

"I know we see the stars everyday, but do we ever really look at them? I think it's important to stop and appreciate the world we live in from time to time." Carlo said.

"I couldn't agree more."

"Since you've done so much reading, I bet you know all the constellations. A lot of them are based of mythical creatures that may or may not be real."

"I haven't actually, why don't you show me?"

"See that one way over there? The really bright triangle of three? That's a centaur."

"How is a triangle a centaur?" I asked.

"Well, that's just his bow. If you see that you can see the rest of his body. See it's head and legs." He pointed, using his finger to trace out what he was describing.

I could somewhat see it, but not in the depth of what he was talking about.

"You'll like this one. See over there? Lower? A bit to the right. That's a mermaid."

I enjoyed listening to him speak. He had such passion when he talked about things. He knew so much. I guess you gain a lot of knowledge about the world when you spend your entire existence surrounded by endless stacks of books.

He put his hand over mind. It was happening, feelings were rushing back. Feeling that I had exclusively for Samuel. Feelings I had to suppress. I couldn't love another enemy. I couldn't hurt myself like that again. I had a mission to continue. I had to kill Samuel.

"I should get back to reading." I said, slowly pulling my hand away from his.

"It's getting late. Are you sure you want to go back there?"

"Yes." I said, sprinting up and heading down the stairs.

I didn't want to hurt him. I couldn't. We were nothing alike. He was an enemy. If he found out, he could kill me. Or worse, turn me in to the Vendov soldiers.

We were walking back towards the library. Vendov town guards were approaching us head on. I wanted to turn around and walk the other way.

"Let's go this way." I said, turning the opposite direction.

"Why? They're just patroling to make sure everything is safe." Carlo said.

The two guards rode closer to us. They were mounted on their traditionally black horses with gold reins. They stopped their horses.

"Halt."

"Hello, sir. Is there a problem?" Carlo asked. I stood next to him, keeping my head down. My palms became sweaty. I couldn't let them look at me.

"What are you two doing out so late?" The guard spoke with a booming voice.

"Just looking at the stars. We're going home now."

"That's best. Be careful, there's rumors of rebels attacking." The guard said.

My heart sped up.

"Rebels? Here?" Carlo asked.

"That's what we've heard. That would be quite foolish to come into the strongest country in the world. Be weary, report anything suspicious."

"Will do. Have a good night."

The guard tilted his head as a farewell signal and went off with the other guard, returning to their nightly patrol.

Rebels? Here? Were they onto me? Was it Johnny? Thoughts raced into my head. She spoke of people who were still loyal to my family and my country. Perhaps I wasn't being careful enough. I had to be on high alert. Who could have known of my presence? I felt as if there were a pit in my stomach, and something was caught in my throat.

I needed to stay into the library.

My searching continued. Carlo became more attractive everyday. Not just his looks, his kind gestures were incredibly sweet. He brought me dinner every night. He didn't ask as many questions as he originally did, which I greatly appreciated. He even gave me keys to the library, allowing me to stay all night, and fall asleep there. I essentially had lived there. It was the closest thing I had to a home in a long time. Carlo didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. He enjoyed my company, as I did his.

I imagined his library was lonely. Perhaps he was just yearning for a pleasing acquaintance. Perhaps he wasn't romantically interested in me. He could just want some company, I thought. It would be understandable to want a friend. I couldn't get him stuck in my head, nor my heart.

He came in early one morning. I had fallen asleep with my head rested on an open page of a thick book. He opened the door and woke me with a jolt.

He was carrying baked goods, and a hand full of freshly picked flowers.