Isadora just sat on the edge of her bed, a distant look on her face. Sleeping was not something she was looking forward to especially with the fresh memories of the nightmare. It still remained a mystery to her why Roselyn would blame her for her father’s death. She had never met the Arcadian king in the first place. How then could she have caused his demise? And as far as she could remember, there was no king who had died recently apart from Alexander’s father. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She picked a pillow and clutched it tighter, memories of Alexander holding hands with Roselyn surficing in her mind. She couldn’t notice how hard she clutched the pillow at the mere thought. It was but just a dream. That was the only fact that calmed her down.

And Alexander, where was he? Why did her heart race that way at the mere thought of him? Her gut feeling told her something bad might have happened to him. This feeling! What was it? Why did she feel like Alexander was calling unto her, to fill and compliment him? Strange, she thought.

"Alexander is The One!" She remembered Gareth’s statement.

"The One is like two beings that compliment each other to be The One," those were Zed’s words. "And you, you are part of The One!"

Alexander being The One, her being part of The One, complimenting each other, it all made sense now. Did that mean she and Alexander were The One? But how? Alexander was not of Crescian Royalty, so how? Either the prophecy was misinterpreted or Alexander was indeed a true Crescian royalty, something that was nearly impossible. Or possible maybe. Maybe she ought to find out.

The library! The idea struck her mind. It was the only place in the castle where old books about the past could be found. And since she was not in the mood to sleep, it would be good to kill some time there.

She slipped her feet into a pair of sandals and grabbed a fur robe that would keep her warm from the biting cold. When she stepped out of her room, the hallway was dimly lit with only a few guards on vicinity. Some literally sleep walked around the palace, others leaning on the palace pillars their minds far away, maybe reminiscing on a sweet dream or their good times spent with their loved ones. Being a knight, especially in Griffin’s elite squad was hard. Isadora couldn’t help but shake her head as she walked past sleep walking guards who never noticed her for once. If Griffin could get hold of them in this state, they would have a tale to tell the next day.

The library was located on the farthest side of the palace near the royal council hall where court officials and the king held their meetings. This particular hallway was not heavily guarded and it was no surprise to Isadora when she found no sleep walker strolling around. No one wanted to protect mere books. Lives were more important than books.

Giving the already unlocked door a slight push, her heart raced erratically for reasons unbeknownst to her, the creaking sound of the door filling the place; a sign that people rarely visited the place. She stepped into the now dark room, her chest heaving as if she had ran a marathon. Luckily, she spotted a few candles on a stand. There was a torch outside so she used it to light the candles, sighing when the room was filled with light.

Despite the bad condition of the tables and chairs, the shelves looked neat and tidy with stacks of books arranged fittingly, all looking brand new as if untouched for ages. How strange! Crescians relied solely on their powers unlike humans who relied on political knowledge and battle tactics. Libraries were therefore essential to the humans unlike Crescians. Isadora couldn’t remember even the last time she visited the library. She could only date it back to when she was a child, learning the basics of reading and writing. She had her mother to thank for that.

Pushing the thoughts at the back of her mind, she let her eyes search the extensive shelves looking for nothing in particular. What was she even looking for? The idea itself was crazy! Could she even find the book she had in mind? The One’s history was a complicated piece that was only held by great scholars and seers like Zed. How then did she expect to find one here? But she had to try.

She picked some intriguing books randomly, browsing through to only end up disappointed each time. The damn library only contained books about the great kings of Crescia who overthrew kingdoms in the past ten centuries. She cursed when the next book she browsed mentioned the same topic for the nth time. Such a prideful kingdom! She rolled her eyes, her gaze shifting to the adjacent shelve. For some odd reason, she felt drawn to this one, as if it was calling to her.

There was this particular book with a yellow cover that caught her attention. It was like it was calling on to her to pick it, drawing her closer as if spellbound. She lifted her slightly trembling hand before she pulled it from the sea of books so damn slowly that it almost hurt. Her heart was beating close to her ears with each passing second. Why did this book make her feel... strange?

’The Legend And Legacy Of The One’ The words were inscribed on the cover in a sylphy color making Isa swallow nervously. Was what she was seeing real or was her mind and eyes playing tricks on her? She had expected to find something but this...

She blew the dust on the cover walking closer to a seat, intrigue and suspense already filling her curious mind. She didn’t even dust the dirty seat. Drawing in a sharp breath, she turned the first page, a frown settling on her face at what she saw. Curiosity got the better of her as she turned the second page, third, fourth... a look of disappointment on her face with each passing second, until she got to the last page. Anger was an understatement of what she was feeling right now. The freaking whole book was empty, just damn white and blank pages staring back at her!