The Scepter of Marahuyo

Chapter 014

Friday midday. My classes are done, and I stand in front of the most extensive library in Marahuyo Academy. It is separate from the mansion, and flowers surround the building. The vines also run through its walls but only on the outside. Inside, it’s only the smell of old books and wooden shelves. 

I walk to it and touch the wooden door. All I need is to push it. All I need is the courage to talk to Olivia. The door suddenly opens and hits me in the face. I groan while the mage says a quick sorry and runs.

I massage my nose while hoping that it’s not bleeding. The open door gives me a view of the inside of the library. It’s the same as before, the room that I felt the most comfortable in. I explore it, familiarizing myself once again with it. The chandelier, the tables, and chairs, the reception, everything, I take it all in.

“Holly?” I look to my right and see Olivia coming into the library. Her straight, jet black hair falls up to her waist and it accentuates the cream color of her skin. My heart warms. She’s also the reason why the library is a comfortable place to be in. Right now, I want to run to her arms and let her comfort me. I like the peace that her presence provides. I want her to assure me that the scene of her killing me is a dream. That this is not my second chance in life. That--

“Did someone haphazardly open the door again?! I’ve always told them to be careful.”

She comes closer and says, “Come. Let me fix that up for you.”

And so I run, away from my comfort. I hurry to the stable, choose a horse and in a hurry, fix the saddle and bridle. I need to get far away, so I let the horse run, not caring about all the townspeople on the way. I need to go. I don’t care where. I just need to leave this place and go somewhere where there is no need to face Olivia. And I know exactly where that is. 

So for two hours, I did not stop until I saw Pablo’s inn. I push the door hard and almost collide with the person I am looking for. Aaron. He’s holding a tray of food and a mug of coffee. 

He frowns at me after a while of observing my current state. 

“Sit,” he says and points at an empty chair beside me. “Wait here.”

So I wait while I watch him serve what he’s holding. He calls for Senyor Pablo and whispers to him, noting how Senyor Pablo glances at me and nods. 

Of all the places, why did I think of him anyway? He’s not supposed to be important to me. I never even had the chance to meet him in my previous timeline. And yet, here I am, looking for attention when I am too scared to face Olivia.

I cover my face with my palm and lean on the table. I am hopeless. Not good at being a mage. Not good in friendship. I don’t even have a family. And now, I am using Aaron’s affection so I can escape. Why am I so confused? Why--

“Here,” Aaron interrupts and offers me a cup of hot chocolate. He sits beside me, leans on his hands as if mimicking me, and stares. He just sits there and stares. 

I sip on it. “What is it?” I ask. “Thinking that I am not amazing after all?”

He shakes his head. “On the contrary.”

“You do understand that I am losing my mind?”

“And I know that you’ll get past it.”

I bite my lower lips. I don’t get where this confidence is coming from. I don’t understand it, but I don’t want to know for fear of being disappointed.

“Do you like me?”

He looks away, embarrassed. I can even see his ears getting red. In a few seconds, he looks back and says, “In fact, I do.”

I look away and sip on the mug. 

“You’re not gonna ask why?”

I shake my head. 

“Wait here,” he says and leaves. A few moments later, he comes back with cotton, alcohol, and a wet towel. He reaches to my face slowly, as if I’ll run away anytime. 

“You got dried blood,” he says and checks my face. “Where did you hit yourself?”

“When the library door opens and a mage comes running out.”

Aaron smiles. “So mages are really durable. Normally, you’d get a concussion.”

I keep quiet, and he continues to pat my face and cleans the places with dirt. Then dabs the minor wounds with cotton dipped in alcohol. His hands are gentle, as if I am some kind of glass that will break if he presses harder. I like it, but somehow I feel like I’m a damsel in distress being treated like this.

“Do I look like a lost puppy?” I ask, interrupting the silence between us.

"No."

"Then why are you being so kind?"

“You’re kind to someone you like.”

“How can you say that without batting an eye?”

He smiles and says, “Because you also ask me embarrassing things. I think I’ll return the favor.”

I turn my face from him and evade his hands. He senses my distress and stashes the towel and cotton away. 

“I’d like you to let it all out but thinking that you’re being like this because of a boy, I’m having conflicted feelings.”

“This is not about Ethan.”

His face lit up. 

“Why do you act like you’re not eighteen years old? This maturity, where did it come from?” I ask.

He laughs. “You’re not exactly acting like a sixteen years old either. I thought you’d be shallow.”

“I am.”

“You’re not.”

“You just don’t know me that much.”

He reaches for my hand and envelops it into his. “You don’t need these self-deprecating thoughts.”

“You never had a best friend, let alone a friend, how would you understand me?” I say, withdrawing my hand and grabbing the mug of hot chocolate instead.

“Yet, you come here, to me, to seek comfort.”

I let down my mug and look back at him. “I’m sorry. I--” I wrack my brain on how to say this without sounding like a bit of child whining about her best friend. “Olivia. I can’t face her.”

“Olivia, the librarian?”

“How did you know her?”

“Master Orson. And? You’re saying?”

“I think she’s going to, I don’t know, grow far away from me?”

“And you miss her already?”

I gulp the hot chocolate down. “See? You are acting like a real grown-up and you’re just eighteen.”

He smiles and takes the mug from my hand. “That’s only because I tend to watch you.”

I sigh, exasperated. “I try to talk to her earlier, but I ran away when she called for me.”

“Give it time. Stay here over the weekends and maybe when you come back on Monday. You’ll have the courage? She’s important, right?”

I nod.

“If she is then certainly, you’ll not let this continue.”

But I did. In my previous timeline, I let the gap between us widen. Maybe that’s the reason why Olivia’s able to kill me in the end. And Aaron, he’s not even there. 

To be continued…