Page 10 of The Chaosweaver's Daughter
She still thought he was rude.
three
Nesrina and Kas do some work.
Morningbroughtaletterfrom the queen. A servant’s departure must have awoken Nesrina, because a small tray sat on the table near her door. They’d brought her a muffin, a hot cup of tea, and correspondence.
With the windows open, she welcomed the late spring breeze into her pervasively pink chamber and sat in the tower to look over her schedule. It appeared she had several hours before meeting with the children. Next, she opened the note, peeling away the queen’s seal to find a swirling script:
Miss Kiappa,
We cannot thank you enough for agreeing to join our household. You’ll find the children’s daily schedule attached. Do make yourself at home and enjoy your free time. The grounds are yours to explore. Ehmet and I think you may particularly like the library. Please, borrow any books you desire.
Kindest regards,
Queen Hevva
With a smile, Nes folded up the parchment and tucked it away in one ofher desk’s many drawers. For all the stories her father told her of his time at the palace, it remained untenable, almost fantastical. And now, here she was, in Serkath. She had her own room at Kirce Palace; she had a note from the queen; she’d dined with the king and his family; and, she was about to take a luxurious bath before exploring the palace library. Her father’s tales didn’t seem so foreign after all.
Anenormous,carvedsetof doors stood ahead, and Nes let out a happy sigh. With her remaining breakfast in one hand, she stepped inside.
She’d belonged to a small circulating library in Napivol for many years, until her father passed and they could no longer justify the expense. It was one story with eight hundred books, tops.
This was a drastic departure from the thatched roof business back home. The palace library was two stories with thousands of books, easily. Standing at the railing, it was easy to imagine her papa in the room, researching mythology in one of those little reading nooks at the ends of the balcony. Maybe he’d sat in those deep leather chairs tucked between a fig tree and a parlor palm, spending the afternoon critiquing an author he found daft.“Nolenedexperience. Speaking on what he does not know,”he’d have complained.
Down on the ground floor, tables, chairs, and colorful rugs peppered the ornate parquet. Maybe Papa had stood at those massive windows and looked out upon the city. He’d mentioned the room, in his old stories, but he’d never described the view. Then there were the books—of course—endless, breaking up the vast space and lining every inch of free wall.
Inhaling the scent of old texts and the promise of new knowledge, she made her way to the spiral stairs. First, she’d tour the library in its entirety, try to establish how it was organized, then she’d dive in and explore thetexts. Having a plan, no matter how small, always put her mind at ease.
On the ground floor, Nes found herself in a short corridor. The door to her left surely led back to the stacks, so she pushed through and looked up, ready to begin her perusal. Rather than walnut shelves stocked with tomes, she faced a tower of black fabric topped with stormy eyes and a disheveled mass of hair. Biting back a sigh, she lifted her chin nearly ninety degrees. The infuriating duke towered over her, blocking her path forward.
His height was even more impressive than she’d initially thought. Most people—aside from children—had her beat by several inches, but he dwarfed her. She was fairly certain she was eye level with his nipples. Her cheeks heated, and her breath squeezed out her nose.
“What are you doing here?” His voice was rough, rolling through her, and sending the strangest shiver down her spine.
She stood up a little taller in response. “I—”
“You can’t—” he interrupted with a half sentence and a vague gesture at her muffin. “Hmph.”
“Oh.” Unsure of what to do, or say, Nesrina stuffed the rest of her breakfast into her mouth and stared wide-eyed.
He watched her chew for a single, heart-stopping moment, before returning to the table where he’d apparently been working. Without another comprehensible word, although he offered a fine sampling of grunts andhumphs, he hastily gathered up his papers, slammed his book closed, and faced her again with everything tucked to his chest.
Like a child clutching a dolly.She bit back a laugh that would surely have covered the duke in bits of crumb. Instead, Nes swallowed the last of her muffin and continued to study him with open curiosity. Was he so perturbed that she’d brought food into the library?
With an almost imperceptible, terse nod, the duke hurried from the room.
Well... good.She hadn’t intended to spend time with anyone anyway. The pull of books had her straightening her dress and wandering off to explore the shelves, her heart hammering in staccato.
Nesrina’sfirstdayoftutoring went surprisingly well, for a while. She earned the twins’ immediate love by suggesting they have their lesson outside. The day was stunning, and she couldn’t help but propose the uncouth idea to the ten-year-olds, who responded with shrieks and little hops of delight.
Out on the west lawn, they began with the basics. To set the tone, Nes offered to make them silly hats to help with the learning.
“I don’t see how this will help,” Prince Ataht pointed out, before asking for a knight’s helmet, complete with a working visor he insisted on keeping closed.
Adella and Nes both wore straw hats. The princess chose a wide-brimmed concoction covered in huge plumes of otherworldly feathers and flowers. Nes made herself a practical bonnet, aside from the absurdly long brim.
Today was about play to help dispel the children’s fears around their abilities. To go along with the hats, she wove them little figurines to enjoy while they conversed.
