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rainbowfic2022-10-09 02:31 pm
thisbluespirit) wrote in rainbowfic2022-10-09 02:31 pm
Entry tags:
Nacre #6; White Opal #9 [Starfall]
Name: Study in Grey
Story: Starfall
Colors: Nacre #6 (False wall) ; White Opal #9 (gazing out the window)
Supplies and Styles:
Word Count: 1708
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Notes: 1337; Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver.
Summary: It turns out Governor Delver really was serious about that research.
Leaira had begun to think that Governor Delver hadn’t been serious about wanting to study while at Starfall when he disabused her of that notion by walking in alone, without any of his usual followers, and approached her desk.
“Imai Modelen,” he greeted her with impeccable politeness. “I would like to consult some of your books.”
Leaira, caught a little to the side with an armful of assorted volumes, moved back across. She put the pile of books down. “You will need to be a little more specific than that, Governor.”
He held up a hand and then pulled a list out of his pocket, which he handed to her. “I believe you should have these. If you have anything else on similar lines, then I would also be interested.”
“Thank you, Governor,” said Leaira, determined to be equally polite. “I shall see what I can do. It will take a little while, so if you don’t want to wait –”
He didn’t take her hint. He merely smiled down at her. “Oh, I can wait. Thank you.” He turned slightly to survey the available tables in the reading room. “Over there, perhaps?” He inclined a little towards her as he spoke.
“Yes,” said Leaira, still holding the list. “But – shouldn’t you have someone with you?”
He turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. “What do you think I’m going to do?”
“No,” she said. “Only – well – you’re a District Governor. It seems – odd.”
Delver gave a brief laugh. “Ah. I see. Stolley, you mean – to do my note taking for me? Or is it a bodyguard? Do you intend to finish me off, perhaps? Fetch me out something written in poisonous ink, or just lob a particularly hefty volume at my head?”
“There’s no need to be so –” she began, and then flushed, recollecting her resolution to be polite. She shook her head. “You’ll have to excuse me, Governor.”
He crossed to a nearby table. “So I will, or you’ll never fetch me any of those books.” He sat down, and before she left, he glanced up with a smile. “For your information, poor Stolley would be horrified by this as a way of spending her rare free time – and I hope I can survive in here for the duration of the afternoon, whatever your intentions.”
Leaira went in search of the books.
By the time she returned, he was standing, staring out the window, his hands clasped behind his back. There was a book open on the table behind him, at such an angle that she couldn’t quite make out the title.
“It’s not a very good view,” she said, unable to help sounding apologetic, although there was no reason she should be. Neither side of the library looked out on the mountains, only mostly other Starfall buildings, although you could see a little way down the valley from here.
He turned slowly. “I beg your pardon?”
“Nothing of importance, Governor.” She placed a pile of books, two thick with elderly binding, another thin and half the size, two loosely bound papers, and his list on top, now adorned with her annotations. “There are three I can’t retrieve for you immediately, but two of those are in the store – I’ll get them out when you’re ready for them. The other is in repairs.”
He nodded, but remained by the window. “Do you think it might snow?”
Leaira joined him. “It’s a bit early for that,” she said, but it did look grey and heavy outside. She cast an uncertain glance up at him. He seemed even more remote than before, as if he didn’t need the snow; he carried an aura of cold around with him.
“Yes,” he said, shaking himself, and the sense of leaden clouds gathering lifted, seemingly from both of them. “I’m sure you are right. What was it you were saying?”
“Your books.” She repeated her findings, and pointed him to the pile on the table. She had to stifle irritation. If he wasn’t actually here to study, she had better things to do than scramble around in the darker ends of the store looking for volumes some arrogant District Governor didn’t even want.
He caught sight of them and gave her a smile; a far warmer, more human smile. “I see. Thank you, Adeleaira.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, and then hurried back to her office, where she could carry on working her way through an auctioneer’s catalogue she’d been sent of a library in North Haven. If there were a lot of things of particular interest, she might even get to visit herself, and that would take her well out of the way of North Eastern’s Governor.
“Busy?” said Aimon at the door, about half an hour later, and she jumped, still frowning over the list; a pencil poised in her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I only wanted to let you know I was back.”
She waved him over, and said in an undertone, “Governor Delver is here. Be careful.”
“Him!” said Aimon. “Thanks for the warning. I shall shut myself in my cubicle.”
Leaira put down the list, and went to cast a watchful eye over the reading room. It was eerily quiet. Most of the researchers were having a meeting elsewhere, so her usual users and helpers were all absent. It was just her and the two visiting officials – Aimon at one end, in one of the little study booths; the Governor at the other, at the table, books spread around him.
To her surprise, when she glanced over at Delver, he didn’t look up. He had his head down over one of the papers she’d brought him, a growing sheet of notes in his own hand by his side.
She returned to her own work, but she was distracted. She’d assumed that Governor Delver’s request hadn’t been genuine; that for reasons she couldn’t understand, he’d wanted an excuse to spend some time in the library. But that was ridiculous in any case, wasn’t it? What was more worrying was what he’d requested – all works on some of the more esoteric nature of starstone; the sort of thing Osmer studied, but which outside of Starfall tended to be the province of people who’d try wild experiments in the hopes of gaining inhuman power. It wasn’t the kind of thing a District Governor ought to be reading.
She moved back to the desk and leant on it, watching him. This time, he did look up, and then gave a soft cough to gain her attention.
“There was a scholar here the other day,” Delver said quietly, when she reached his table. “Nivyrn, wasn’t it? He said he would talk to me about some of these subjects – I thought he would be here.”
Leaira straightened. “Not always. The researchers are having one of their meetings this afternoon. I’m sure he’ll be in later – he’s working his way through the Katerand far too hard at the moment. I can tell him.”
“Please do,” said Governor Delver, and glanced at the clock on the wall. “I believe I must go – Stolley will come in search of me if I stay here any longer.”
Leaira nodded. She put a hand on the books. “Will you be coming back? Shall I keep these to one side for you?”
“Would you?” he said, lifting his head. Then he raised an eyebrow. “I do believe you’re actually being obliging.”
She pulled up the books, ignoring that comment. “Governor Delver – isn’t starstone rather an odd sort of subject of interest for –” At his look, she hesitated, and then thought that she probably had a duty to persist. “A District Governor.”
“Don’t you think, rather, given how vital starstone in all its varieties is across Emoyra, that it’s something about which every Governor should be better informed?” He stood, unfairly using his height against her.
Leaira held her ground. “Yes, but these – these aren’t about usual practical application. They’re covering unorthodox usage and esoteric theories – not useful in any every day sense.”
“That depends. You forget where I’m from. Have you read your friend Nivyrn’s treatise on the ceremonial use of starstone in High Eisterland?”
“You’ve read that?”
Governor Delver gazed down at her. His mouth twitched. “You know, Adeleaira, I don’t think you have a very high opinion of me. As it happens, I can read, and often do – and you would clearly be surprised at the wide range of topics that I find of relevance in my position.”
“I’m sorry,” said Leaira, if not very honestly. She hugged the books to her and since she’d started being impertinent to a District Governor, she didn’t see the need to stop, not before she’d asked the question she really wanted to. “Why did you leave that box with me? It was a very – uncomfortable thing to do.”
He gathered up his papers and pen, and glanced down at his seat to check for anything else he’d left behind. “I’m sorry, Leaira,” he said – and why did he keep doing that, anyway? It should be Imai Modelen to someone like him, however important he might be. “You’re Starfall’s librarian. It’s your job to store, preserve and disseminate information. Who better?”
“But why?”
He drew himself up, distant again. “If I wanted to explain, I would have done. You will understand in time, I trust.”
“That makes even less sense,” she said in frustration.
He looked down at her and the closed expression was driven out by a rueful smile. “I’m sure it does. If it’s any consolation, Adeleaira, whatever you may think, I am not your enemy.”
She followed him, the books in her arms. “I’ve been here for well over two years and I’ve met all sorts of people, and do you know how many of them have felt the need to tell me they’re not my enemy? None! It isn’t reassuring.”
“Nevertheless,” he said, softly, “it’s true – please remember that.”
He walked out, leaving Leaira standing with the books and no more answers than she had before. The sky outside the window behind her lightened suddenly, as if the Governor had taken the threat of winter with him.
Story: Starfall
Colors: Nacre #6 (False wall) ; White Opal #9 (gazing out the window)
Supplies and Styles:
Word Count: 1708
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Notes: 1337; Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver.
Summary: It turns out Governor Delver really was serious about that research.
Leaira had begun to think that Governor Delver hadn’t been serious about wanting to study while at Starfall when he disabused her of that notion by walking in alone, without any of his usual followers, and approached her desk.
“Imai Modelen,” he greeted her with impeccable politeness. “I would like to consult some of your books.”
Leaira, caught a little to the side with an armful of assorted volumes, moved back across. She put the pile of books down. “You will need to be a little more specific than that, Governor.”
He held up a hand and then pulled a list out of his pocket, which he handed to her. “I believe you should have these. If you have anything else on similar lines, then I would also be interested.”
“Thank you, Governor,” said Leaira, determined to be equally polite. “I shall see what I can do. It will take a little while, so if you don’t want to wait –”
He didn’t take her hint. He merely smiled down at her. “Oh, I can wait. Thank you.” He turned slightly to survey the available tables in the reading room. “Over there, perhaps?” He inclined a little towards her as he spoke.
“Yes,” said Leaira, still holding the list. “But – shouldn’t you have someone with you?”
He turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. “What do you think I’m going to do?”
“No,” she said. “Only – well – you’re a District Governor. It seems – odd.”
Delver gave a brief laugh. “Ah. I see. Stolley, you mean – to do my note taking for me? Or is it a bodyguard? Do you intend to finish me off, perhaps? Fetch me out something written in poisonous ink, or just lob a particularly hefty volume at my head?”
“There’s no need to be so –” she began, and then flushed, recollecting her resolution to be polite. She shook her head. “You’ll have to excuse me, Governor.”
He crossed to a nearby table. “So I will, or you’ll never fetch me any of those books.” He sat down, and before she left, he glanced up with a smile. “For your information, poor Stolley would be horrified by this as a way of spending her rare free time – and I hope I can survive in here for the duration of the afternoon, whatever your intentions.”
Leaira went in search of the books.
By the time she returned, he was standing, staring out the window, his hands clasped behind his back. There was a book open on the table behind him, at such an angle that she couldn’t quite make out the title.
“It’s not a very good view,” she said, unable to help sounding apologetic, although there was no reason she should be. Neither side of the library looked out on the mountains, only mostly other Starfall buildings, although you could see a little way down the valley from here.
He turned slowly. “I beg your pardon?”
“Nothing of importance, Governor.” She placed a pile of books, two thick with elderly binding, another thin and half the size, two loosely bound papers, and his list on top, now adorned with her annotations. “There are three I can’t retrieve for you immediately, but two of those are in the store – I’ll get them out when you’re ready for them. The other is in repairs.”
He nodded, but remained by the window. “Do you think it might snow?”
Leaira joined him. “It’s a bit early for that,” she said, but it did look grey and heavy outside. She cast an uncertain glance up at him. He seemed even more remote than before, as if he didn’t need the snow; he carried an aura of cold around with him.
“Yes,” he said, shaking himself, and the sense of leaden clouds gathering lifted, seemingly from both of them. “I’m sure you are right. What was it you were saying?”
“Your books.” She repeated her findings, and pointed him to the pile on the table. She had to stifle irritation. If he wasn’t actually here to study, she had better things to do than scramble around in the darker ends of the store looking for volumes some arrogant District Governor didn’t even want.
He caught sight of them and gave her a smile; a far warmer, more human smile. “I see. Thank you, Adeleaira.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, and then hurried back to her office, where she could carry on working her way through an auctioneer’s catalogue she’d been sent of a library in North Haven. If there were a lot of things of particular interest, she might even get to visit herself, and that would take her well out of the way of North Eastern’s Governor.
“Busy?” said Aimon at the door, about half an hour later, and she jumped, still frowning over the list; a pencil poised in her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I only wanted to let you know I was back.”
She waved him over, and said in an undertone, “Governor Delver is here. Be careful.”
“Him!” said Aimon. “Thanks for the warning. I shall shut myself in my cubicle.”
Leaira put down the list, and went to cast a watchful eye over the reading room. It was eerily quiet. Most of the researchers were having a meeting elsewhere, so her usual users and helpers were all absent. It was just her and the two visiting officials – Aimon at one end, in one of the little study booths; the Governor at the other, at the table, books spread around him.
To her surprise, when she glanced over at Delver, he didn’t look up. He had his head down over one of the papers she’d brought him, a growing sheet of notes in his own hand by his side.
She returned to her own work, but she was distracted. She’d assumed that Governor Delver’s request hadn’t been genuine; that for reasons she couldn’t understand, he’d wanted an excuse to spend some time in the library. But that was ridiculous in any case, wasn’t it? What was more worrying was what he’d requested – all works on some of the more esoteric nature of starstone; the sort of thing Osmer studied, but which outside of Starfall tended to be the province of people who’d try wild experiments in the hopes of gaining inhuman power. It wasn’t the kind of thing a District Governor ought to be reading.
She moved back to the desk and leant on it, watching him. This time, he did look up, and then gave a soft cough to gain her attention.
“There was a scholar here the other day,” Delver said quietly, when she reached his table. “Nivyrn, wasn’t it? He said he would talk to me about some of these subjects – I thought he would be here.”
Leaira straightened. “Not always. The researchers are having one of their meetings this afternoon. I’m sure he’ll be in later – he’s working his way through the Katerand far too hard at the moment. I can tell him.”
“Please do,” said Governor Delver, and glanced at the clock on the wall. “I believe I must go – Stolley will come in search of me if I stay here any longer.”
Leaira nodded. She put a hand on the books. “Will you be coming back? Shall I keep these to one side for you?”
“Would you?” he said, lifting his head. Then he raised an eyebrow. “I do believe you’re actually being obliging.”
She pulled up the books, ignoring that comment. “Governor Delver – isn’t starstone rather an odd sort of subject of interest for –” At his look, she hesitated, and then thought that she probably had a duty to persist. “A District Governor.”
“Don’t you think, rather, given how vital starstone in all its varieties is across Emoyra, that it’s something about which every Governor should be better informed?” He stood, unfairly using his height against her.
Leaira held her ground. “Yes, but these – these aren’t about usual practical application. They’re covering unorthodox usage and esoteric theories – not useful in any every day sense.”
“That depends. You forget where I’m from. Have you read your friend Nivyrn’s treatise on the ceremonial use of starstone in High Eisterland?”
“You’ve read that?”
Governor Delver gazed down at her. His mouth twitched. “You know, Adeleaira, I don’t think you have a very high opinion of me. As it happens, I can read, and often do – and you would clearly be surprised at the wide range of topics that I find of relevance in my position.”
“I’m sorry,” said Leaira, if not very honestly. She hugged the books to her and since she’d started being impertinent to a District Governor, she didn’t see the need to stop, not before she’d asked the question she really wanted to. “Why did you leave that box with me? It was a very – uncomfortable thing to do.”
He gathered up his papers and pen, and glanced down at his seat to check for anything else he’d left behind. “I’m sorry, Leaira,” he said – and why did he keep doing that, anyway? It should be Imai Modelen to someone like him, however important he might be. “You’re Starfall’s librarian. It’s your job to store, preserve and disseminate information. Who better?”
“But why?”
He drew himself up, distant again. “If I wanted to explain, I would have done. You will understand in time, I trust.”
“That makes even less sense,” she said in frustration.
He looked down at her and the closed expression was driven out by a rueful smile. “I’m sure it does. If it’s any consolation, Adeleaira, whatever you may think, I am not your enemy.”
She followed him, the books in her arms. “I’ve been here for well over two years and I’ve met all sorts of people, and do you know how many of them have felt the need to tell me they’re not my enemy? None! It isn’t reassuring.”
“Nevertheless,” he said, softly, “it’s true – please remember that.”
He walked out, leaving Leaira standing with the books and no more answers than she had before. The sky outside the window behind her lightened suddenly, as if the Governor had taken the threat of winter with him.
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