Waiting in the library, Celaena hastily swallowed and brushed any crumbs away from her face. She was eating the bread she had pocketed last night at dinner before Arobynn arrived. Dinner was the one exception to "no food" rule. Civilized people dined together, he claimed. She rolled her eyes, but she was immensely grateful for the exception. It guaranteed her at least one meal, and it was the easiest time to sneak food. She just took it from the table and discreetly pocketed it for later.
The library was her favorite room in the manor. The dark wood panels and an achingly high ceiling calmed her. A ladder attached to wheels and a rail could be moved around to reach any book on the towering built-in shelves. There was a fire place opposite the entrance that was flanked by a leather couch and two matching leather chairs, just like an autumn version of the parlor. At the back of the room there were two desks: one large, official looking desk facing one smaller, simpler writing desk. Celaena appreciated the cozy, studious comfort of the room from her place on the window seat at the front of the room.
She idly thought about how long it would take to read all the books in here. She wondered if Arobynn had read them all. The books were mostly drier topics like history, economics, and philosophy, but there were also shelves dedicated to classic literature and she had even spotted a few adventure books she used to love. Still loved, she suspected, if she ever had the time and energy to read again.
Seeing the adventure books and classic novels made Celaena think Arobynn must have some humanity in him. For the week she had known him, he had been nothing but a strict, cold task masker. He had kept his word about not treating her like a child, but sometimes she wished he would show her just a little sympathy. There were times she wished for... not even a hug, just maybe a pat on the back, a hand on her shoulder. A nod of approval. But she supposed that was childish. Still. Seeing these books, thinking about Arobynn choosing to buy an adventure novel that she also loved, it made her feel like he had a hidden side of himself. A side she hoped to see one day. She had a hard time imagining him buying the books she liked, but... they were here weren't they?
The knob on the library door turned. The library doors were normally left open, but Celaena had slammed them behind her in frustration after her dismissal from the parlor. Also, the door opening usually gave her enough warning to swallow whatever she was furtively eating.
Celaena rose from her window seat to face Arobynn as he entered. He raised his eyebrows as she met his eyes, silently daring her to question him about "Ben" again so he could berate her. Again. She would not. She was not a child. She clenched her jaw, lifted her chin, and went to sit at the smaller writing desk.
Celaena felt him watching her sit before followed to his own desk. Arobynn's gray eyes never seemed to miss anything she did when they were in the same room. Even when they weren't, she suspected.
"Where did we leave off yesterday," he quizzed her, settling down behind his desk.
"The Gallo family," Celaena answered promptly. "They're an Adarlan sea merchant family who own three ships. They're mostly based in Meah, but they also have a house in Rifthold. Lawrence Senior is the patriarch. He inherited one ship from his father, Izaak Gallo. Bought another ship after marrying Aryana Rivera, who also came from a sea merchant family, but we haven't talked about them yet. There are three Gallo children: Izaak, Lawrence Junior, and Brynn. The oldest son but youngest Izaak is married to Evonna Nelson, whose family we haven't talked about. Larry Junior is engaged to Agnes Gibson, whose family we also haven't talked about. Brynn, the youngest and only daughter, is woefully single."
"Woefully?" Arobynn raised an eyebrow.
Celaena shrugged. "If you're twenty-two and both your brothers are paired off but you're not, I'm betting she's woeful about it." Arobynn's gray eyes seemed to glint silver in quiet amusement, but he didn't smile.
Her temerity was a bit of a game she played with herself. Celaena wanted to see if she could make Arobynn smile. She found it to be just as, if not more, challenging than the one Arobynn set for her before she could eat. And it was just as dangerous. Celaena knew she toed a fine line between wit and insolence with some of her comments. If Arobynn decided she was being too disrespectful, he hit her. But if she was right in what she was saying, he usually let her get away with it. Sometimes Celaena though Arobynn knew the unspoken game she was playing, but she was never sure. Regardless, she hadn't succeeded yet.
"What are the names of the three ships?"
Celaena bit her lip. "Deena, Yana, and..." she trailed. The first two were easy. Izaak the older had named his first ship for his wife and Larry Senior had done the same. But the two Gallo boys didn't own any of their own ships yet so they were out of wives to name boats after. Celaena knew it wasn't named for Gallo's daughter... she resisted looking at her notes. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to visualize what she wrote yesterday.
"And Louvis," she said confidently as it came to her. Arobynn nodded in confirmation. Not approval.
"And why Louvis?"
Celaena deflated. She should have expected this. "I don't know."
"Find out."
Simple instructions, nearly impossible task. Arobynn was nothing if not consistent in his teaching style.
This is how lessons went. Arobynn instructed her in the prominent families of Adarlan and their businesses. Who was related to whom, who sold what to whom, and who cheated, lied, or stole from whom. He would tell her the basics, then task her with discovering for herself the nuances of various relations. Celaena would pick through the meticulous genealogies Arobynn had amassed, and every hour he would ask for a report on her progress.
Celaena sighed and turned towards the books filled the histories of families in Adarlan. It always gave her a twinge of guilt that she would never know this much about families in Terrasen. She wasn't even sure there was a Terrasen anymore.
She shook those thoughts out of her head. Time to focus on the task at hand. Louvis. Right. Not another wife and not his daughter. Mistress is the obvious next choice but... Celaena eyed the genealogy books warily. Finding a mistress in a book of relations? She supposed it could be the sister or aunt of his wife or something like that. She pressed her lips together. Only one way to find out.
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Hiiiiii Readers! This is a long one because I'm probably taking next weekend off for Thanksgiving. :) The chapter is coming to a close soon! Probably one more part until I switch to Chapter 2. Shout out to my few loyal readers who have kept up this far! I'm having so much fun with this and I love sharing it with you!!!! <3 <3 <3
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Assassin in Training: A Celaena Sardothien Origin Story
Fanfiction"She wanted to give up. Kings could kill old men and little girls, destroy countries and magic. Why did she want to live in a world like this? But she did want to live. She might want to give up right now, but she did not want to die. She wanted to...
