5.4

      Determined he left the table to go to the library to prepare for the next fight. He had to come well-prepared to the next council meeting if he wanted to destroy Jura again. He could feel the servants’ gazes on him as he paced towards the library, something they definitely hadn’t seen him do often. Some actually stepped a little further to the side of the hall to make sure they were undoubtedly out of his way.
      “Reyna, I need your help finding books!” he yelled as he barged through the doors. He heard a few loud thuds and a head peeped around one of the bookcases right in front of the door.
      “You startled me, Aidan.”
      “Apologies, let me help.” He went over and helped the lady pick up the books she had clearly just dropped when he scared her. Carefully he placed them on her trolley, waiting patiently for her to make time to help him.
      Reyna was one of the few servants who were allowed to call him by only his first name . Aidan didn’t know when it had started, but she had not tolerated him correcting her that she was supposed to call him “Brother Aidan”.
      “You’re not my brother and never will be. I will treat you with respect as long as you treat me with it. But titles and grovelling to get on your good side is not something I’ll ever do for you,” she had said when he was only six and it was one of the only things he could remember clearly from that aged. She had left a major impression on him and he couldn’t help but like her for that. For an unknown reason, she was also never punished by his father for not addressing his son properly.
      She was a woman in her late thirties who still looked like she was twenty. Her umber brown skin glowed in the sunlight that flooded the library through the many large windows, her black hair was perfectly styled into multiple small braids all over her head – box braids, she called it. Sometimes she put all the braids in a ponytail, but today, they were hanging loosely over her shoulders and on her back. Her usual floral dresses – a blue one today – always brightened Aidan’s mood, like the blossoming flowers in spring would do.
      “What can I help you with?” She sighed with relief, now that all her books were safely back on her trolley.
      “I need information.” Aidan gave her his best smile to get her aid.
      “Yes, I understood that. You came in her screaming you needed books. I take it you need them for information and not to throw them at birds or people. Or eat them. What topic do you need books on,” she said smugly.
      Aidan was a little taken aback by the response, but quickly pulled himself together before he burst into laughter. “I need anything on council records, how to debate and on psychology. And anything on Underconqueron.”
      “What do you need information on Underconqueron for?”
      “It’s almost time for the Ascension Rite and the council was discussing on how to make it more special, to keep them satisfied and happy.” He couldn’t say anything about the factory incident, the civilians of Conqueron only knew that Underconqueron existed to provide them with the more dangerous supplies – to keep Conqueron safe – and in return for that, they had a chance to become servants in Conqueron, if they performed well.
      Anything about rebellious behaviour, incidents or killing was strictly forbidden to the public and was only discussed within the council. Although Aidan was pretty sure some servants knew more than they were supposed to, because they were present in dining halls. Something that would perhaps come to bite them in the ass sooner or later.
      Reyna nodded and gestured him to follow her. “I know exactly what you need.”
      They walked past rows and rows of bookcases, all filled to the brim with knowledge. Ancient texts from thousands of years ago, before Conqueron even existed, modern literature and philosophical books on why humans exist. Anything you wished for could be found here.
      Every once in a while, Reyna would pull a book from a shelf and put it on her trolley. Aidan could see some of the titles. ‘Study of the mind’, ‘A guide for happiness’, ‘Psychology of the heart’, and a few guides to debating.
      “Now here we arrive at the fun part!” she smiled, flipping her braids behind her shoulders before continuing. The books became older and more fragile, as if they had just passed a threshold to a different dimension. He could swear there also wasn’t as much light here as in the previous area, although the windows were the same size and the curtains were drawn.
      “Here we have the “ancient” texts on Underconqueron and what the people there are like.” She pointed at one shelf with only three books on it. “It isn’t much, but it could help. There’s nothing more on the topic here, because there isn’t more to tell basically. They are there to provide our luxury, for which we are grateful, and in exchange they get a chance to Ascend to here. We keep them safe and happy as much as we can and they keep us out of harm’s way.”
      “Thank you, Reyna.” Aidan picked up the pile of books meant for him from her trolley and placed them on the nearest studying table.
      “Here are some notebooks and a pen if you need to write something down. I can imagine that this may be easier than using that DataPad when you’re reading from actual books,” she chuckled and put two notebooks and a pen next to his pile of books.
      Aidan gave her a thankful nod before taking a seat and deciding which topic he wanted to start with. Reyna pushed her trolley away, back to the front of the library again, to continue her work. Diligently, he picked the psychology books first. Better to get the most difficult topic out of the way first. Starting with ‘A guide for happiness’ seemed like the best choice here, and so he started reading, jotting down some interesting information or things that he needed to confirm in other books.
      A new path had opened before him and he’d be ready for the trial ahead.