Capítulo 12: Suspicion
"Are you hungry? I'll get you something to eat." Rosetta smiled as she attempted to strike a conversation, but Jasmine knew that she was trying to find an excuse to leave, to escape the awkwardness that was starting to loom.
"What's the rush? Walk with me." She continued taking steps forward. She was in the mood for a walk and didn't want to do it on her own.
Rosetta could only comply, since she had been instructed to fulfill every single one of Jasmine's wishes and requests—except running away. It made her curious about the young woman. Who exactly was she?
Was she Dairon's woman? She had never seen any female near Dairon, let alone a human. Although she was curious, she loved her life so she did not dare to ask any question. If she made the lady uncomfortable, Master Dairon would have her head.
"How do you guys travel around here?" Came the unexpected question from Jasmine.
"Travel to where?" She feigned innocence, despite knowing what Jasmine was asking about her. May the gods help her!
"Around the island.. and to other parts of the world." Jasmine asked as though she was merely curious. Her eyes were bright and seemed to have a golden sparkle to them.
"Well… we don't usually go anywhere. We have everything we need on the island and we will walk to get it." She fumbled for words, trying not to sound like she was disrespecting Jasmine, at the same time not giving too much information that could displease her master.
"What about when you want fish?" She used a different approach.
"Master Dairon does not permit us to go fishing, lest we contaminate the sea." Came yet another reply that did not do anything to help Jasmine.
"I see." She had hoped to be told about boats or ships but she couldn't ask about it directly. She looked around and although the island was beautiful, it didn't do anything to lighten her mood.
"You went to take a walk, what a great way to spend your free time." Came a voice in front of her, announcing the return of Dairon. He had a scroll in his hand, which he gave to Rosetta. "Keep it in the library, second shelf on the fourth tier."
Rosetta bowed and left, making Jasmine wonder whether she could remember the exact instruction, and whether Dairon would remember it when he went to look for it later. When she realized that she could no longer have a walk with Rosetta, she looked up at the man before her in displeasure.
"Are you upset about having to walk on your own? I'll walk with you." He turned to continue walking in the direction where she was heading with the maid earlier, and it was too late to turn back in the name of being tired.
"Do you have a specific destination in mind?" He tilted his head to ask.
"Should I? I haven't been to this island before." How did he expect her to know places?
"Then I'll show you to a place." He offered and led the way, which she did not reject partially because she was curious and because she still wanted to walk anyway.
After walking for a while, they came to an ancient building which she hadn't seen from the windows of the mansion.
"Where is this?" She asked as she stood by the door, where he was waiting for her to go in first.
"A hideaway. Go on."
She walked in, and immediately felt her knees start to tremble. "I don't think I would want to hide here or anywhere close by."
He laughed at her reaction which was expected. "It's not a place to hide, luckily." He grabbed a lantern at the side of a wall and turned it on, then returned it to its position to use it as a source of light. She followed suit and turned on two more lanterns.
"This is an ancient library." He explained, seeing her look around curiously.
"It looks nothing like a library." She almost trembled when she heard her own echo. The room was empty and there was not a single book in sight, not a single shelf either. It looked more like a haunted tower.
"That's because it's enchanted. It has all the existing books and you can access them immediately." He explained, earning a frown from her. He decided to demonstrate so she would stop looking at him like he was an idiot.
He pointed at a series of characters she had never seen. "Books about nature. That's what the symbol means."
"Oh." she nodded, watching him press his hand against the wall. In the next second, a bright light encircled his hand and he took out a book. From the wall. She was still in disbelief when he opened it.
"Do you want to give it a try?" He grinned in satisfaction. He had brought her here because he knew that she loved reading, and the books in his mansion's library might not be enough. Not to mention, there were some that she couldn't read because they were protected by spells. On the other hand, she could find any book she had heard of here, including those from her world.
She nodded at his suggestion.
He took her hand, taking her by surprise.
"Let me show you." He explained, and she could only let him hold her hand and place it against the wall. "Think about the book you want to read."
He let go of her hand, while she thought about the books she had read earlier, as a test to know whether it really worked.
A light illuminated a square section around her palm, and she smiled. Her next words turned into a gasp when the section turned into stones and dust to fall by her feet.
He looked over immediately and was shocked when he saw the hollow that had just been formed. "What happened? Which book did you want?"
"I don't remember anymore." She looked at her hand in disbelief, then clenched it into fists as her heart raced. Perhaps the book she wanted was not available?
Dairon looked at the hollow once again and couldn't draw any conclusion. Nothing of this sort had ever happened.
He tried again and when he managed to take out another book, he glanced back at her. "Would you like to try again?"
She shook her head. "Not anymore. Let's go back."
"I'll return these then." He explained that the books couldn't leave this building, then stuck the books in their slots and they disappeared into the walls.
She was resting by a pillar, and when he was done, he led the way out. They were just a few steps away when they heard a cracking voice behind them. They turned sharply to see the pillar where Jasmine was a moment ago, filled with a web of cracks as it started to fall.
"Look out!" He pulled her aside and the particles that were left of the pillar fell at their feet, having shattered into smithereens.
Her heart accelerated as her mouth gaped in disbelief.
He looked at her in disbelief, and then crouched down to pick up one of the rocks. It was scorching hot, and it scalded his palm before he dropped it. His palm was red.
"Are you alright?" She worriedly crouched beside him to examine his hand. "Forget enchanted. I'm starting to think that this building is cursed." She mumbled. Just as she wondered what to do with his hand, it started healing on its own, reminding him that he was not a mortal who needed medical attention for the slightest injuries. She was relieved, and she cautiously poked one of the rocks.
"Don't." He warned, but her finger had already come into contact with it. The words of scolding stuck at the tip of his tongue as she picked the rock up. She did not drop it, and neither did she complain about it being hot.
"Why did you do that?" Initially, he was merely suspecting that she had broken the pillar but now he was sure of it. "Why would you break the pillar?"
"What?" Her eyebrows knitted in disbelief. "I didn't do anything! I only…" She was shocked that he could even suspect her of such a thing. "This is an old shack. All I did was lean against it. I swear, I didn't do anything else."
She stood and stormed out of the library, wondering why she was even explaining herself. It was obvious that she couldn't have done anything else. He was being unreasonable by accusing her.
He watched her walk out and walked back to the spot that had tumbled when she tried to take a book. He sprinkled water on the hollow, and his eyes darkened when he heard a hiss sound.
Bardumond's suspicion crossed his mind. He had never met a demon before, but from the stories he had heard, they were fond of destroying things. Was it possible for Jasmine to be a demon?
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