Kieran smiled sadly up at Carmela. He may not have known much about her, but at the very least he knew she was too cynical to believe what she had just said. At the very least he appreciated the effort that she had made to lift his spirits. The rational part of him knew not to keep those hopes up. He himself had been able to find his own records with ease, his mother’s name clearly attached to the entry about his birth.
“Possibly, but then I doubt he looked too hard. He must have remembered my mother’s name. Her name was right on the entry about my birth.” The sad smile faded from his lips. He schooled his features into neutrality, Carmela was doing her best to help him and he was appreciative. This time he would not ruin their time together. The last time they had spent time together he had thrown himself into such a downward spiral that he had not been able to shake the grey cloud over his head for a significant while after.
“My dear, you underestimate me,” Kieran said in mock offence, raising a hand to his heart in feigned shock with a grin playing on his lips. “Rumours and stories are the bread and butter of my existence. I can weave them around me like a cloak in much the same way as other fae can glamour their appearance.” It was a point that stung his ego somewhat, but he had not been blessed with magicks beyond being able to disguise his features to appear more human. He had learned to leech the colour from objects to transfer it to his skin, but that was the outer limit of his skill. Having been born to a woman who was fairly skilled at glamour magic it killed him not to live up to her legacy.
Kieran blew a raspberry. He had no idea about the actual rank of his father, all he knew was that the man had been young and a Lord of some sort. “I suppose he might have been a count? If memory serves I might have heard her refer to him as an Earl at some point.”
He let out a less than charming snort at the idea that his father could be some pale skinned, pale haired lord. “Although, who knows he could have glamoured himself to look that way. Especially because my mother used to be able to make some half decent glamour talismans.” Either way it was still a comical image; a man with pale flowing locks fathering a sapling with a dark shock of hair.
He was glad that Carmela seemed to be excited to help him dig through all the documents they would need to look at to glean any possible information. He smiled widely at her and hopped off the wall. Kieran made to offer her his arm but thought better of it and tucked his hand in his pocket. Surely Carmela would want to distance herself from any more unkind words being spread about her. Their first encounter would probably have caused enough trouble for a lifetime.
“Lead the way,” he said, gesturing for her to walk ahead of him slightly. While he knew the way to the Aurum Library, Kieran wanted to take things at her pace. They walked through long covered walkways, past courtyards and a multitude of closed doors. It forever astounded Kieran how many rooms there were, and he often wondered what hid behind those doors. Certainly there would be quarters for the countless servants, but how many of those rooms would be empty bedchambers for esteemed guests? The small romantic part of Kieran hoped that one day he might inhabit one of these rooms, an esteemed guest of the Queen. Free reign of the castle’s grounds, a roof over his head and a life of luxury. It was something he fantasised about frequently, but didn’t dare admit.
Perhaps it was unwise to fake optimism over the situation, as Kieran Frell saw right through it, and Carmela knew why. Some things were easy to pretend at, like interest in an anecdote, or an agreement with a belief that she did not hold. After all, it had been easy enough to act as if she believed the Seelie court’s biggest flaw was that everyone pretended too much, as Kieran had thought. But this, not so much. Carmela did not want to encourage any thought that Kieran Frell’s father cared much for him, let alone had any desire to seek him out again.
So, she let the topic change to rumors. “Oh, is that so?” she asked. “Could you say any old thing about me to serve your favor?” Carmela was more curious than anything - she didn’t expect a rumor about getting up her skirts to boost anyone’s status. It would be interesting to see if Kieran could somehow weave the story to make it sound positive, either for her or for himself. He did make his living off stories of his escapades.
Carmela would much prefer that Kieran spin stories about Luna to his benefit, but she was intrigued nonetheless.
“Count, earl,” Carmela repeated. “I don’t think he would have fallen in rank over the years, unless of course something terrible had befallen him. There are a few possibilities. He could have remained an earl, or he could have ascended in rank, either by his own doing or through marriage.” She then suggested narrowing it down by age and physical appearance. Eliminate the lowest rankings, and most nobles would no longer count among their list. She hadn’t thought about the possibility that Kieran’s father would have glamoured himself.
Carmela thought to take his hand, but declined, and Kieran put his hand back in his pocket. It was not proper, after all, for Carmela to imply that she had any interest in him. He was only a friend.
So, Carmela led the way instead. She led him past the courtyard, glancing at the groups of noble faeries socializing. It would be awful for them to spread a rumor about her and Kieran, wouldn’t it? Just dreadful. So, she did not look back to see if he followed her, instead opting to walk with her hands behind her back, her nose upturned as if she had no business to mind but her own. To her left, a number of doors led into the castle’s interior. Carmela could only guess how many rooms there were inside, and how many people those rooms housed. Servants, by the hundreds at least. Working hobs and humans lived in relatively shabby spaces, while the privileged noble fae lived in lavish quarters just up some flights of rounded stairs. She cast one glance up at the windows several feet above her, thinking how lovely it would be to live up there, to see the beautiful gardens right out the bedroom window.
If she were privileged enough to belong there, then surely, she would be coveted among the noblemen.
The Aurum Library was not far from the castle, located right in the city center from which Olia seemed to grow like roots to a tree. A beautiful structure it was, with ornate decorations that made it look as natural as the flowers in the palace gardens. Confident that she knew this place like the back of her hand, she led Kieran Frell right in, not even stopping to ask the library attendant for help. She simply walked right to the lowest floor of the library, zipped around the tables where various fae sat, and wiggled one thick archival book off the shelf.
“Oh!” she huffed, coughing when she unsettled some dust. “Oh, this was heavier than I thought.” She looked to Kieran Frell and nodded toward the nearest empty table before setting the book down with an ungraceful thud.
Oh, the dust was terrible, she thought as she patted her skirt.
“We will need some parchment, for a list of names,” she said to Kieran. “I believe you can ask the library attendant for some, though there should be some readily available around…..” she paused, looking for that one specific stand with a bunch of parchment and writing utensils. “-over there.” She pointed to the very stand she had looked for, which, for some reason, had been pushed into a dark corner of the room. Celestials, why had it been put over there, where no one could see what they were doing? Fools, these attendants were. Carmela thought to push the cart to some spot near a window, but decided against it, on account of her distaste in being chastised by some attendants who thought themselves better at their jobs than they actually were.
Carmela pulled out a chair and sat down, scooping her skirt under her so that she’d not wrinkle it. As she did with such jobs like these, she tied her hair back into a ribbon, so that her curls would not get into her face as she worked. She opened the thick cover to the first page and got to work. This one book alone must have had hundreds of names. Hopefully this investigation would be fruitful.
