Private Tales In The Hush

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The stacks felt like another world, quiet and cool and carrying that faint, dusty scent she’d grown strangely fond of over the past week. Serelai slipped into it with a soft exhale, letting the hush of it settle over her shoulders after days of noise, sweat, and too many drunk men thinking they were being subtle.

It had been well over a week now. It hardly felt real that it had already been that long since she and Lilette Blackbriar arrived in Elbion together, only for Serelai to be instantly swept up by the tide of the city. Every morning she had gone to the College and its endless forms, interviews, tests, reassurances, and the slow, grinding wait between each step. Being here in person helped, of course, but the process still demanded patience she only barely possessed.

The evenings had been easier in their own way. The tavern near the riverside had taken her in without much fuss, and the coin, though modest, felt like a small victory each night. The work was loud, fast, full of wandering eyes that she’d learned to meet with a razor smile. They made comments; she made far sharper ones. Watching their dopey, semi-stupored faces drop had become its own kind of sport. At least it paid, and at least it made her feel like she wasn’t entirely drifting.

Still, in the rare quiet moments, her mind drifted to the pale nun she’d stumbled upon in that vast desert. She wondered if Lilette was doing alright with whatever business she had with the College. She wondered whether she’d been eating properly. Whether she was avoiding temples altogether or had found comfort in one. The thoughts came in brief flashes, slipping away before she could linger on them for long.

Today was the first morning she’d managed to claw free of obligations. No forms to fill. No shift to run. No one demanding she present herself, justify herself, explain herself. Just a few hours to breathe... and to study. If she could find anything in these shelves that might give her an edge with the College, she’d take it gladly.

So she wandered the long aisles of the library, fingertips brushing the spines as she passed. Heavy tomes on theory. Narrow volumes on elemental structure. Treatises that looked dry enough to turn her to dust if she opened them. There was not a huge deal of interesting works here. She assumed all the good stuff was kept by the College itself under strict lock and key. The idle thought made her click her tongue once in protest as she continued browsing.

Her boots made soft sounds on the stone floor as she drifted deeper into the corridor, half reading titles, half lost in her own head. The city noise felt far away here, wrapped behind walls of paper and quiet.

Serelai let out a slow breath, turned another corner in the vast hall of the public library, and kept walking.

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Serelai drifted down the narrow run of shelves, the bestiaries growing thicker and stranger the further she went. It was promising, if only she could find something actually useful buried beneath all the dramatics.

Her hand skimmed another spine, thumb testing the grain.

I swear, if this turns out to be full of children’s stories dressed up as scholarship-

She collided straight into someone.

A soft, mortifying yelp broke out of her before she could swallow it. She stumbled back a step, already drawing herself up with the sort of indignation she’d perfected over a dozen tavern nights. Someone was about to be told off for not looking where they—

"L-Lilette?!"

Her voice came out far too loud for a library, the name cracking in the middle from surprise. Her cheeks warmed instantly, an unmistakable flush creeping across her pale skin. She blinked at the nun in disbelief, then a little wonder, then something far too soft to show in public.

Of course it had to be her. Of course she had to run straight into her like a fool.

She tried to gather herself, glancing around as if the shelves might help her recover an ounce of dignity. When she looked back, she caught the sight of reading glasses perched on Lilette’s face, delicate little things that somehow made her look... unbearably sweet.

The blush deepened.

"You..." Serelai cleared her throat, her gaze darting downwards as though studying her own boots. "You look ridiculous in those."

It came out as a weak jab, barely held together, her mouth twitching as though she couldn’t decide between a smirk or a nervous smile. Her eyes lingered on the glasses for a heartbeat longer than she meant them to, warmth flickering in her chest before she dragged her gaze away entirely. She swallowed once, quieting the flutter in her ribs.

"Honestly," she muttered, a softer note slipping in despite herself. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Serelai shuffled, eyes skittering anywhere but Lilette’s face, fingers brushing the edge of a nearby shelf as if it might steady her.

"Are you... Are you well?" she asked, low and a little awkward.

---

Serelai blinked at the mess between them, realising a heartbeat too late that she’d just stood there gawping while Lilette scrambled on the floor. A small curse caught behind her teeth. She dropped to her knees as well, gathering up stray pages and stacking books with a care that didn’t quite match the rush in her chest.

"Sorry, here, let me..." Her voice softened as she passed a volume back to Lilette.

"I’ve been... alright," she lied, as her shoulders tightened slightly. "Just... busy. The College is a nightmare. I don’t know when, if they’ll actually decide something."

A small sigh pressed out of her, brow furrowing as she slid another book onto the pile.

"But I’m... really glad to see you."

The truth of it sat warm and unspoken beneath her ribs, stirring more than she was possibly ready and able to name. She didn’t dare add the rest - I’ve missed you - even though the thought tugged at her.

She stood, brushing dust from her knees, and held out a hand to help Lilette up.

When their hands met, something in her chest stuttered. Lilette’s skin was impossibly soft against her own roughened palms, her freshly forming callouses catching lightly on that gentleness. Serelai drew a shallow breath before she could stop it.

Their eyes lifted at the same time, emerald catching quartz, holding for a moment that stretched just a touch too long. A quiet thrum passed between them, warm and fragile, and far too easy to fall into.

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