When in doubt, go to the library. [Open]

[Jeon]

Breath. In. Out. Calm. Jeon stares at the open book in his hands. He's standing in front of a row of books laden with dust. The light from the windows creates a golden haze: dust dances in its rays. He exhausted air from his nose and looked up and down the aisle. So many books. The covers bound in various colors seemed to be a painting. Chants gently echoed through the halls, their contrapuntal melodies blending in a stream. This was his safe place. After a couple of months on foot--mostly to get away from the city--searching for herbs he had finally come back to his place of residence. It still didn't feel like home to him. He lacked the motivation he needed to teach and put up a front with his noble responsibilities. Those last thoughts frustrated him. He slid the book back onto the shelf with a thud when it hit the back of the wood. His hand still pressed against the book, he looked down at his dirty boots: remnants of brushed off dirt ingrained in the pores. 

He scanned more books. While on his journey he was treated the music of rural populations. He hadn't studied much music theory, but he had decided that there was no reason to avoid it. He knew that there were some polyphonic treatise in this library somewhere. He finally spotted a book that looked like it covered what he was interested in. "Structure of music and harmony." How he loved to read the words of others. He could get lost in the minds of another person as long as they wrote well. 

He sat himself down in a corner with plenty of light gently resting on the book. He began to read in his solitude. 

[Deleted]

It was the night of the dinner. One night Aveline was promised freedom from her mother’s danger. She knew her mother would be there, she had to be. She would be busy. And Aveline could slip free and away from the castle to search.

She’d never been to the second district alone. She had stolen away earlier in the day, dressed as commonly as she could remember- a wrinkled plain skirt, an undershirt, her plainest scarf wrapped around her head, a coat that had been thrown down the stairs and stepped on a few times. She couldn’t afford to be noticed, not by someone who could report back to her mother. So she had gone to the library, searching for texts on law. Anything that could be used to help Roland.

Aveline was good at this at least- gathering books, searching through documents, and her little table in the library was overflowing with law books. She was returning to the table with more, from another section of the library, when she noticed a familiar figure. She froze, shock overcoming her. There was no doubt in her mind, as he grip slipped on the books in her arms, that this was Jeon and he was home. The books fell to the floor with a thud, knocking Aveline out of her stupor and causing her to jump.

[Jeon]

The sudden thud of books made him jump. His eyes shot toward the source of the noise: Aveline. He quickly stood up, shock on his face. He had no expectation of seeing her here; the friend from his childhood when he stayed at the castle. His feet swept the floor as he went to embrace her. She seemed to be in a state of shock. His absence must have been felt,”Ave, you’re pregnant”! He saw it just as much as he felt it when he hugged her. His smiled stretched across his face while hugging her. Thoughts of Roland passed through his mind. He had already been made aware of the trial and the circumstances of their relationship. They had only been married recently: everything seemed to be perfect when he left.


He dropped down and picked up the books, making note of their contents.


“Ave, do you need help”? He wasn’t too familiar with law, but he was of noble blood. His voice had to mean something among all this politics. He brushed the dust of the books and started to hand some of the books to Ave, while waiting for her reply.

[Deleted]

It was Jeon! Relief sinks in over Aveline’s expression, feeling her knees go weak as he stands. The books are immediately forgotten as Jeon approaches and she steps around them, reaching out for him. She sinks into his arms, hugging him tightly, losing herself for a moment and trying to forget. There was a glimmer of happiness there- something she hadn’t let herself feel in so long. She laughs at his exclamation, opening her eyes to look back up at him.

“Yeah.” she doesn’t want to let him go. “It’s- I missed you.”

Aveline eventually lets him go, hands folding over her stomach, watching him bend down to pick up the books. “I-” she laughs a little, reaching out to take the books again. “They uh- they don’t happen to teach you how to- how to free wrongly accused men under his Majesty’s judgement in Mage school, do they?” She’s smiling, but it’s clearly forced. There was great relief that he was here though, it was good to have an ally again.

[Jeon]

Nervous chuckle,"Sadly. . .no," his eyes looked around the room. He brought up one hand to rub his temple. "I've learned more about law from my dealings in the royal court than I ever learned in school. And even then. . .I am incompetent." There wasn't a lot of confidence in his voice. He hated the politics of it all; there was probably someone pulling the strings who wanted to get rid of Roland. He sighed. He didn't have any clue to what he could do to help with the situation.

"How about we sit down and talk . . ." he walked toward the table he had been sitting at previously and pulled out a chair for Ave.

[Deleted]

“You’re not incompetent!” Aveline reaches out to grasp Jeon’s arm, her expression steely. “You’re one of the cleverest men I know! It’s- I-” she falters a little, letting out a quiet sigh. “I really didn’t expect you to know. It’s- well.” her gaze turns to the books and her shoulders slump. “I don’t know what good it will do me either.”

She follows him to the table, sinking down in the chair next to him. “I thought you’d be at the dinner, if you were here.” she smiles a little at him. “Does his Majesty know you’re home?”

[Jeon]

Jeon sat in the chair next to Ave. "I assume that the king does not know of my presence, but he has his ways," he brought his right leg to rest on his left knee and slouched back into his chair. He had to push some hair of his face. The sun laid from his chest down to his toes. It was warm upon his skin: contrasted against the cold library. He didn't know what to say. He took in a big breath and sighed.

"Ave...I- I'm...sorry...If I hadn't left right after your marriage....I probably could have helped prevent this..." His eyes shifted to the right, while gently placing two shaking fingers to the side of his lips. 

[Deleted]

Aveline shakes her head immediately. “It’s not-” she chews on her lip, voice falling as she looks down. “This was my fault. I wasn’t brave enough to find a better way. If I hadn’t insisted on secrecy- I was too cowardly to find a better way. If I had been- I should have just told his Majesty. If I had, then…” her voice trails off, shaking her head again. “But- it I don’t know what my mother would have done then. Probably this too, and then I wouldn’t have…” she looks up to him, reaching out to grasp Jeon’s fingers.
“I’m glad you’re back.” she smiles, her voice soft. She turns their hands, looking at his books. “What are you studying here? At this hour?”

[Jeon]

While Ave held onto one of his hands he grabbed one of the books he had begun reading. "I heard a lot of music while I was gone and wanted to know theory behind it. I could only find approaches to sacred chant music, but that's a start," he tried to muster up a smile with the sudden change of topic. "When singing or playing some instruments it requires air. It would be interesting to see if music and magic can be combined." He smiled genuinely. He turned the book in his hand over, and blew off the dust. A large amount backfired into his face and he began coughing. He gave an awkward smile after that.

[Deleted]

Aveline finds herself smiling at that. “I- I’m beginning to understand this a little. From watching Roland.” she leans in to look at the books. She laughs at his cough, reaching over to pat his back. “I think- such a thing could probably be accomplished, in voice. If you sing your spells, that is. Or perhaps- hm. If spells are to be written, it could be possible to transcribe them into musical notes. Then you could play that. But I’d imagine that’d be horribly difficult.”

[Jeon]

A short laugh. "Only time will tell," he says smiling at Ave,"Magic is a complete mystery: its limits may surprise you and me." There was a lot of expression with what he said here. He leaned toward Ave while he said it and began to laugh as he leaned away. It was odd how quickly his mood could change. Learning and discovery were two of the pillars of his sanity, which was odd because he acted more insane while doing both of those things.

Jeon pulled a tiny flute like instrument from his bag. It had multiple pipes, but looked very simple to play. He glanced at Ave with a smirk and then twisted his hand while rotating it in circles. The pipes started making quiet music of their own accord: playful tunes. A gentle shimmering light started to flux around the pipes and the music from the pipes started to transform into the chirping of birds. From their they began to transform into a quiet hymnal chant. They sounded like the choir from the temple. Without warning the music got louder. It kept growing. It didn't affect Jeon until it starting getting so loud that they was beginning to pierce their ears. He had lost control at this point. He ended up dropping it and it spun in circles on the floor until it eventually stopped. Jeon glanced around the room to see if he disturbed anyone. The library was empty.