Old Religion

Chapter 2

Aline

My satchel felt heavy against my shoulder, its contents making small tinkling sounds as my feet pounded against the forest floor. The castle was surrounded by a thick forest ring that prevented its inhabitants from looking at the cities' roofs and gave them 'privacy'. I always thought it was their subtle way of saying they were not part of the rest of us, always separate, always better.

We got to the edge of town and I allowed myself one last look back. I had to admit the castle looked magical when lit by the moon, an imposing silhouette both magnificent and mysterious. It had taken me months of careful planning to get the inside layout right, and even though I planned for every possible thing that could go wrong, I never expected him.

It was supposed to be an in and out job. No complications, no distractions, no plan B. He had slipped past my defences, taken me by complete surprise. No one new about my night time adventures, except Nanna, and I liked it that way, it was the only way.

He looked oddly familiar, a face I had certainly seen before but I could not quite place where.

As I lead us through the dark streets of the northern side of the capital I kept verbally scolding myself for being so stupid. I should have just cut his throat and be done with it. I had never really hurt anyone before, but how hard could it be. Just a clean swipe of a knife and I would be done. What if he recognized me, what if he found out who I was and reported me to the authorities, or worse, my father. The chances are he would, if he knew who my father was. My thoughts were on overdrive and that made my head hurt.

We made our way towards the upper cities' library, the streets were quiet and damp after the day's rain. The echo of our feet was muffled buy the closely knit building walls, making our steps in every respect silent, with the exception of the splashing sounds he made when ever he stepped on a puddle. Couldn't he be more quiet? He was going to wake up the whole block, and yet I still could not find it in myself to ditch him. It's because he is carrying the food basket. I lied to myself.

We got to the library and I lead us to the back entrance. I checked the street for people and seeing none I approached the door. It was locked, but with an appropiate placed kick on the bottom left corner of the door, the lock rattled and unlocked itself. I had discovered such a trick one night a couple of years back, when I arrived late and the library was closed, throwing a temper tantrum I had kicked the door and it had clicked open. Now it was the place most of my nocturnal walks ended in.

"Why are we breaking into the library?" he asked out of breath after our short run.

"We need to lay low for a while, see if there is any commotion after our break in." "Why? Got any better ideas?!" I responded a little harshly. The truth is, this place made me feel safe, it had been my refuge for years and I could almost navigate the labyrinth of bookshelves with my eyes closed.

"No, just asking, no need for the attitude." he grunted and followed me inside. The library was one of the oldest buildings in the capital, and in my opinion, the most beautiful. Its walls were completely made out of carved stone blocks, giving it a majestic air and solid structure. Inside, the centre of the building was hollow, allowing you to look up at the vaulted ceiling three floors above and enjoy the ceiling mural depicting the night sky. The stars and constellations were painted with gold paint, shining with the moonlight lazily flowing in through the intricate stained glass windows. It felt magical, and we both stood at the entrance a few seconds to take in the sight. Even after all these years it still took my breath away.

I herd him sigh next to me and the moment was shattered, annoyance crawled into my veins.

"Come this way." I instructed. The library had a grand marble main stair case that coiled up to the top floor through the centre of the building. Not many people knew that in the east corner there was a small rickety wood stairway that climbed all the way to the roof. It was probably only used by the old librarian when she wanted to navigate the library and stay away from the crowds of scholars and kids that gathered in the weekends. I always used the small stairway, it was safer in case someone was giving the library a nightly visit.