Away ⥃ Nishimura Riki

.Nine.

SEULHYUN MUTTERED incoherent words as her head ached from the bothersome sounds around her, closing the door behind them as it creaked. The noise faded into the background once the door shuts. Her hazel eyes roamed around the broad room as the owl flew freely above the wooden bookshelves. Thin rays of sun glistened on the plank floors as little to no light entered the room. The only source of light was the dancing light above her.

An enchanted light. She looked upwards, studying the way it floats in the air as it swiveled slightly above her as if waiting for her to move. It isn't difficult to manipulate light.

Someone must have enchanted the light to follow wherever a person is in the library. The latter chuckled at the sight. The light was very playful as it jumped in the air, mimicking a horse.

The brunette skipped to a random aisle in search of a specific book. She pulled a book out of its place, reading the title and put it back again since it wasn't the book she was looking for. She continued to browse through all of the books in that aisle, crouching down to read the books on the lowest shelf before sighing. At this rate, it will take forever to find the book she needed.

She silently cursed the person in charge of this library. Why didn't they put small boards on the bookshelves to identify the different spells and potions?

"Love potions." Her brows knitted together. "Shouldn't this be placed in the restricted area?" She muttered to herself. Love potions dwell with love, a very strong emotion and it should be stored somewhere safe because if it falls onto the wrong hands, a disaster will happen.

"Correct." A silky voice spoke out of nowhere causing the girl to jump. Seulhyun searched the room, peeking out of the aisle and saw a lean figure sitting on top of the same shelf she had been searching through.

"Why are you here?"
The prince raised his brow. "What do you mean why am I here? This my abode." He answered, jumping off the shelf, landing beside the girl.

Seulhyun fought the urge to roll her eyes as she placed the love potion book away. "You're a prince, someone who is pampered with care. You think I'll believe that a library is your abode?" She stared at him dead in the eyes which he responded with a smile.

"There's no way you sleep here."
"But I do spend most of my time here." Prince Sunoo retorted.

"Still not your abode." She deadpanned.

"Also," Prince Sunoo shifted the topic as he pulled the love potion book out, "for your information, this library is a restricted place." He told, emphasizing the 'is'. "You should feel honored to be able to step inside."

Seulhyun scoffed, "Wow. I'm so honored." She feigned excitement, her hands pressed together as her eyes looked at him innocently.
"You're horrible in acting."
"I didn't try."
"I know."

The girl exhaled in annoyance as her head began throbbing again. Too noisy. "Why are you here?" Her lazy tone made the prince hum. The blonde-haired vampire leaned to the side to get a better view of the girl's face. She was pale. Her lips had barely any color and her eyes looked lifeless.

"What have you been doing?" His jolly demeanor disappeared as his voice became stern.

"Nothing much." Seulhyun responded, her attention was fully on the array of books in front of her. "Just some research."

Her hand grabbed a book with a leather cover, the silver title had faded. She flipped through the pages, reading the content of the book, unaware of the change in the vampire beside her. "Hey, can you tell me what this book is about?" She passed him the book.

With a sigh, Sunoo reluctantly skimmed through the book. Its pages were slightly torn as the cream page turned brown at the sides. It was clearly an old book. "You've got the right book. This has the recipe of the potion you'll be brewing."

"But that's not I was searching for."
Sunoo frowned. "Then what are you searching for?"

"How to build a barrier around the castle." She told, shoulders slumping as she felt her eyelids droop becoming heavier with every activity she does.

"You're in the wrong aisle!" Sunoo exclaimed suddenly, taking the girl off guard. His piercing voice rang in her ears, and she winced at the sound. Did he have to shout? She was literally next to him. Noticing her displeased expression, Sunoo zipped his mouth. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She brushed off as she walked out of the aisle, "So, which aisle is it?" She asked, leaning on one foot while Sunoo moved to the other side of the room. He walked deep into the library as his figure decreased in size. Seulhyun had a difficult time tracking his position as he moved swiftly past the narrow aisles. She bumped into a few shelves before catching up to the prince.

"Can you move slower? I can't keep up."
Her complaint was ignored as the prince smiled triumphantly as the brunette became wide-eyed seeing his position. "Why are you up there?!" Seulhyun questioned, her voice laced with panic as Sunoo was standing on the edge of second floor, one of his hands held a book while the other gripped the railing. Does he want to die? First, he sits on top of a bookshelf and now he's putting himself in a risky place.

"I found it." He told casually and jumped down languidly. He's gone mad. It was as if he has done it multiple times before. Should she be concerned?

Sunoo extended his arm towards the girl, passing the book but the latter remained still as she looked at him with horrid all over her face. "What?" He asked.

"You ask me 'what' when you just did-" Her voice slightly raised as she pointed at the second floor, "that!"
The blonde-haired man giggled, finding humor at her flabbergasted face. "Don't laugh!" Seulhyun scolded, "If you were injured, I would've been punished!" His laughter grew louder as he listened to her. The girl shuts her eyes, exasperated by the man in front of her.

Calming himself down, Prince Sunoo shoved the book into the girl's hands. "That book was placed over there so I had to climb the railing in order to get it." He explained, pointing at the shelf hanging in the middle of the wall.
"You could have used the stairs?"
"It's too far away."

The brunette was speechless as she watched the prince walk away. "Also, your brewing room is ready. It's right above your sleeping chamber." He informed as she lost sight of him. Seulhyun sighed.

"Are you always so reckless?" She asked.
"Not really, Niki is more reckless than me."

Niki? Did he mean Prince Nishimura Riki? Their names sound similar. She heard the door opened and close, meaning Prince Sunoo had left. She shrugged. "Whether they are the same person or not, it doesn't matter." It won't matter to her anyway.

After all, she didn't have any plans to associate herself with that prince.

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