"What a show off."

Helewis and Casey walked through the front garden of the Queeran Library of Magic, which was beautifully decorated with seasonal flowers, benches, and a dainty cobbled path that was less stumble-assuring than the roads in most of the city. The Library, though associated with Queeran, was located just outside the city limits, and it became clear that this was because it wasn't just a library, but a grand mansion.

"Are you sure we're even in the right place?" Helewis challenged, eyebrows stuck in a quizzical (and due to the size of his eyebrows, rather cartoonish) expression, that conveyed his disapproval of the supposed library. "This looks more like some rich person's house than a public library. And rich people are all-"

"Don't be so rude," Casey scolded. "Really, you need to work on that."

"Tiffin' make me!" Helewis shot back.

"Language," Casey reminded him patiently. "Now, be polite. These people are most likely all scholars of magic, and would not hesitate to turn you into something unpleasant."

Helewis's lips clamped shut. If there was one thing he feared, it was people who held more power than he did. Magicians and sorcerers were definitely up there on the list of people whose paths he should stay out of. Draegon had been a rare exception, and see where it had led him! Custody of this blundering fool, Casey, and now a Library of Magic, sure to be filled with magic doing experts of the same sort! This was a lesson, Helewis knew. No matter how desperate he was, he would never do business with a sorcerer- or a wizard- or a witch- or anything of the like- ever again.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Casey swept up to the overly grand front doors, and pounded the knocker three times.

"Is that some kind of code?" Helewis snickered, eyebrows still expertly positioned.

"It's called common courtesy," Casey corrected him, tapping him lightly on the head. Helewis flinched, then frowned.

"Pardon me for asking, you magic folks are pretty crifting strange."

"Best behavior now, Bronsky boy." Casey said, as he straightened his clothes and rearranged his cloak.

"Stop calling me that!" Helewis growled through gritted teeth.

The doors swung open, and standing in the doorway was a stunning ginger girl, dressed in a dazzlingly fashionable combination of leather and lace. A satchel rested across her chest, and her belt had vials with variously colored liquids strapped to it. A charmingly mischievous smile was carved onto her pale face.

"This is the Library of Magic?" Casey questioned, as Helewis was distracted by the appearance of this gorgeous girl who, unfortunately, appeared to be a bit too young for him. Not to mention the fact that pretty girls were never interested in wanted mercenaries.

"Absolutely," The girl replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "What brings you two here?"

"Just looking for some things," Casey said, confused. "Um, do you run this place?"

"No, my father does. But he's busy at the moment. I can show you around, if you'd like."

"What are you two saying?" Helewis demanded. "You're talking that wizard gibberish."

"It's not gibberish," The girl declared, speaking Kownian now. "It's the language of magic, and it's beautiful. Who's the quipnork over here anyway?" she asked Casey.

"He- ah, Heloran," Casey lied quickly. "My cousin. And my name is Casey Caster."

Helewis internally questioned Casey's identification of him, but didn't say anything aloud. He understood that the name Helewis could be connected with the wanted criminal, but Heloran? His cousin? The name sounded distinctly Sardish; he had the feeling Casey was trying to make him look like a fool.

Not only that, Helewis had the creeping feeling this spectacular young lady would see through lies like polished glass, just from the way she was studying him with beetle-like green eyes. It gave him chills.

"Pleased to meet you, Heloran. Casey. My name is Glissandra. Would you like a look around? I might be able to help you find the target of your interests."

"Absolutely not!"

Glissandra stepped aside to allow an older man to take her place. He was significantly less impressive, with hair that was starting to grey, and a few early wrinkles forming an incoherent map on his face. "Glissandra, go finish sorting out those tear fruit pits and wiffle flower seeds you spilled earlier."

Glissandra sighed as she stalked off, apparently not one to disobey her father, and the old man addressed Casey and Helewis.

"I am sorry about her. My daughter is a talented young sorceress, but one sackan of a handful."

Casey nodded. "No problem. I'm Casey, and this is my cousin, Heloran. We're just passing through, and I wanted to look around for a few things."

"The name is Dax Wendrake. Welcome to the Queeran Library of Magic. Do come in."

Wendrake stepped aside to allow Casey and Helewis to enter. Immediately, bookshelves rose up on either side of them like the trees of a forest. They were lined with books of all sizes and colors and bindings, and intricately carved antique book ends separating sections of volumes.

Casey's eyes lit up. "I haven't been to one of the libraries in forever," he half squeaked. "I'm home!"

Helewis, on the other hand, was feeling very uncomfortable. The floor was covered in a carpet of interesting texture, and as Wendrake closed the doors behind them, Helewis was getting the strangest feeling he wasn't in a mansion or a library or a structure of any sort, but a forest, with long shelves instead of trees.

"This way, Bronsky boy," Casey said, pulling Helewis along, down the rows of shelves. Instead of books, some of them held jars of strange objects floating in colored liquid, or little jars of different types of seeds and claws and teeth. Other vials held bubbling, sizzling, or sloshing liquid of various natural shades, or colored powder. There were glass orbs, inside which colored gas swirled, and there were little wells of greyish-blue ink. Helewis was intrigued by everything, until his gaze fell on a single black orb floating in a bluish liquid that he felt certain was an eye, and which seemed to follow him as he passed.

"What is this place, and what are we looking for?" Helewis demanded of Casey, his skin tingling as if bugs were crawling over it. He kept rubbing his arms, but there was nothing there. He had the feeling that they'd already gone farther than the limits of the mansion appeared to go, and the air of a natural forest still hadn't left the place, despite the weird and wacky contents of the towering shelves.

"This is a library of magic," Casey told him, walking briskly through the shelves as if he knew exactly where he was going. "And we're looking for a special potion."

"I thought wizards didn't use potions?" Helewis asked, squeezing between two particularly close together shelves, both filled with a wide array of peculiarly normal looking rocks.

"Normally, no." Casey said. "But the Orian magic can't do everything. We don't make potions, but that doesn't mean we can't use them."

They passed Glissandra, who was lounging on the floor and boredly flicking around what looked like little black seeds and brown fruit pits.

"Need any help, boys?" she asked, climbing to her feet and stepping over the mess of seeds.

"Nope, I've got it." Casey called back.

"He's a smart one," Glissandra said to Helewis, beginning to follow them. "How long have you two been together?"

When Helewis stopped and looked back, Glissandra was smirking at him.

"Oh, sorry, you're not a object yet, are you? I didn't mean to make assumptions."

"No, we're not an object. We're not together in any sense of the word!"

"Helirren, do hurry up, unless you'd like pink hair this time!" Casey called, encouraging Helewis to leave Glissandra behind and follow Casey's voice through the forest of bookshelves.

"You're not cousins," Glissandra said, still following him. "I'm not stupid. You look absolutely nothing alike."

"Keen observation, Glissandra, but I must implore you to stop pestering poor Helien." Casey said. He had stopped in front of one of the shelves of books, and was skimming over the labels (all printed in Orian, of course). "P...Q...N? Why is that here..."

Glissandra smirked. "He was Heloran before."

"Ah, sorry cuz, I get you mixed up with your twin brother, you know how it is." Casey removed one of the books from the shelf and placed it in its proper alphabetical location.

"Drop the act, Caster, she's not fooled." Helewis sighed.

Glissandra giggled, and Helewis's heart leapt.

"You're adorable," she said.

"What?" Helewis asked, cheeks growing uncomfortably red.

"The two of you." she leaned closer to Helewis, and whispered, "He's so into you. And you're so into him."

"I am not!" Helewis snapped, as she leaned back.

Glissandra ruffled Helewis's hair, as he looked between her and Casey, blushing furiously. "You can stop gawking at me if you like, I'm sure he'd appreciate it a lot more."

"Are you kidding me?" he challenged Glissandra. "Are you actually crifting kidding me? I tiffing hate him! And I'm not like that!"

"Language!" Casey called.

"Are you sure?" Glissandra teased.

"Positive!  I'm not interested in... that!"

"But you're interested in him."

"Glissandra, leave him alone," Casey said absently. "Cruisen?... oh sackan no..."

Helewis turned away from Glissandra, frowning, and picking out a book, beginning to flip through it.

"I don't know what you two are talking about," he mumbled.

"Hillen, dear cousin, put that down," Casey said, turning and plucking the book from Helewis's hands. He held a slim black volume in his hand, with a label that had something written on it in Orian. Even so, Helewis squinted at it, trying to make something out other than incomprehensible nonsense.

"Ah, interesting choice," Glissandra said to Casey in Orian. Helewis glared at her.

"It's for a friend," Casey replied, also in Orian.  "I'm teaching her magic."

Glissandra nodded towards Helewis.  "There's no question of his feelings for you. Just see the way he looks at you. Abject hatred, with an underlying admiration."

"You're sure about that?" Casey asked carefully, glancing over to see Helewis tapping his foot impatiently.

"Casey Caster, it was obvious from the moment I first laid eyes on the two of you. He's in a severe state of denial, that's all. Thinks he's straight or something." She snorted, looking over at Helewis.

"You're certain?" Casey questioned, looking hopeful. "An oracle said the same thing about Atlo Marine..."

Glissandra only laughed, shaking her head. "Ah, Casey Caster, the prince lover. I knew I'd heard that name before. You're a funny one. The gayest little ray of sunshine in all Ohruna."

Casey grinned, watching Helewis sigh impatiently. "Can't tell if that's an insult or a compliment, but I'll take it as the latter."

Thank you so much for reading!  As always, please leave a vote or a comment if you enjoyed!  You guys are fantastic!