028. in a dimly lit library, hidden amongst the books. / @protgnst + ÉOMER
somewhere between the dining hall and the library, she had slipped out of her shoes : padded barefoot across a courtyard, little beaded slippers dangling precariously from her fingers. it is a path well-trodden, one she knows well, her attention only partly on the corridors and floors she crosses. with her free hand, almost idly, she unpins the most intricately braided sections of hair, sighing a little with relief as she runs her fingers through unbound dark curls.
all this way, and she has not crossed paths with anyone : her parents and brothers remain with their guests in the hall, and most of the servants at their own dinner. she does not think to find anyone within the library - - and does not, at first, see anyone at all. the familiar door pressed open and then shut again, a candle carefully lit (hairpins left upon a table, shoes still in her hand).
there is a book of poetry she likes, leftover from the earliest days of her father's line - - a rolling-sounding poetry like waves, like falling asleep on a boat borne up upon a swell.
it is only dimly lit inside, all candlelight and shadow, still and quiet and familiar. it has been her retreat in countless quiet escapes, when the noise or activity all became too much. even in the dim she knows it, does not think to check its corners for surprising figures. and so it is that she turns around a line of shelves and stumbles briefly into a broad figure, all that escapes her a surprised little squeak as the shoes still held in her hand hit the ground with a soft thud.
two little steps backward grant her space, a moment to recover and to assess, the surprise of finding someone else in this place still sweeping through.
"i am so sorry," she says quietly, as though unwilling - - even now - - to break the hush. "i did not expect to find anyone else here - - i was not paying attention." large eyes peer up at him, quietly assessing, the grey dark as distant stormclouds in the low light. "were you looking for something?" she asks. "perhaps i can help you find it."






