Small Discoveries

[Mairosa]

Books, Mairosa decided, are liars. They always spoke about how blue the sky was. Endlessly, they would comment on it's hue, but none bothered to mention the simple vastness of the sky. They said the ocean was blue, a reflection of the sky, and that it was deep. They called it vast, but never did they tell her how so much water could exist in one place. She was familer with the soft touch of grass, and the bright beauty of flowers, but she had never known how much grass or how many flowers there truly were. Hundreds, and maybe more. Why wouldn't Rothruimess let me come here? She wondered.

What intrigued her the most, however, were the people. Unlike the flowers, every single person looked different. Stepping into Aladra for the first time was stepping into another world. A world with skies and oceans, grass, flowers, and people! Rothruimess did not tell her how many people there were. She counted a dozen as she was led around Aladra, far more people than she had ever met. Mairosa knew many names, of course, from stories Rothruimess told her and the books Egg brought for her. She knew the stories about Cryptite and King Magnus. She knew about the Slicer Asymptonic, and the first Guardians. She recalled the names of those close to Rothruimess, Artagan and Lazuli and Jedoi. She knew many stories of many people, yet, could not imagine them all in one place.

"Mairosa?" A gentle voice called. The child turned to see her new guardian looking at her in concern.

"I was thinking." She said, meeting her friend's eyes. The older woman nodded and began leading her again, after letting her admire the sky and the sea. Mairosa started after her when she stopped. Something was pulling at her dress, and she looked up at her guardian in confusion, pointing to the piece of wood snagging her gown.

"That's a fence, sweetie." She said as she bent down to untangle her. Mairosa whispered her thanks as she followed the woman. It was only a few steps before they reached the Aladra library, where she was introduced to Lydia. Her guide began speaking to Lydia in hushed tones, so Mairosa wandered off, scanning the books for anything interesting. She found herself in the fiction section, and looked around until a single word caught her eye.

Leasaur.

She picked up the book, Lokan Whispers, by Leasaur Istalri. Next to it was a story titled Royal Pains by Artagan Antioch. She grabbed that one as well, and held them for a moment before reading them. When she was finished, she found her way back to the desk, where followed her guardian out of the library, still clutching the books. As she exited, they vanished in a puff of smoke. She stopped walking. "They're gone!" She cried.

"Mairosa, hush, it's okay." The woman whispered. "Books here do that. There are more copies in the library."

"How do they do that?" The child asked, turning to look back at the library.

"It's magic." Her guardian smiled. Mairosa shook her head.

"No it's not. Magic feels different."

"Okay." She relented. "I don't know how it does that."

Mairosa followed as she was led to the docks, where she paused to excitedly point out fish swimming in the water. When the fish swam off, they boarded the Oakhart, and she listened as the woman explained how they were going to get home. The ship left, and after awhile began to fall asleep to the sound of the waves lapping against the hull.

"Do you think the Lost Library will be okay without me?" Mairosa asked, before she drifted into darkness.

 

[Lazuli73]

"Of course, sweetie. It's just a bunch of old, dusty book. The can't go anywhere," her guardian said, brushing Mairosa's dark ginger hair from her tired eyes. "Now sleep. We have a long trip ahead of us. Let the boat rock you to sleep."

Gazing over the port side of the ship Lazuli watched Aladra drift out of sight as they left it behind for open waters. Softy she sung a lullaby about the sea to lull Mairosa into a nap. Despite her blank memory the melody she thought she was inventing sounded familiar, like someone once sang it to her.

"Oh won't you come with me, where the moon is made of gold? And in the morning sun, we'll be sailing. Oh won't you come with me, where the ocean meets the sky? And as the clouds roll by, we'll sing the song of the sea."

Her eyes drifted down to the sleeping toddler, whose tiny head rested on her lap, Lazuli wondered if she could do it. Care for her. She couldn't help but question whether or not she was qualified to raise someone else's child. Considering Leasaur just packed up and left her alone, Lazuli figured she couldn't be any worse.

When they made port Mairosa was still fast asleep. Gently Lazili picked her up and carried her as far as she could before her arms started to go num. Chopping down a birch tree Lazuli built themselves a small, two-man row boat. Waking Mairosa she had her sit behind her and hold onto her waist as she rowed along the coast.

They made camp once, for Mairosa's sake, but they were in Makosa in less then two days. There Mairosa ran around the island, experiencing life for the first time. She chased chickens, rolled in the grass, swam in the surf, played in the sand, and frolicked in the wheat feilds. There was so much to see in the world; a book could only do it so much justice.

It was a shame Leasuar kept her locked away for so long. Catching her before she ran into the sea again Lazuli guided her to her windmill where they shared a hot meal with Johnny and Lazuli's pets.