No one had spoken to me like that in… Well, I couldn’t remember the last time. The nerve of that party planner. I had important work to do here.
Shaking my head, I surveyed the library.
A few enchanted candles burned softly, and the scarlet-colored blossoms on the Wyrmwood Tree had come to life, their ruby-red petals glowing in the moonlight. The tree was night-blooming only, and the library was never open at night. The view belonged to me and the bookwyrms, who were now scurrying about the library and shooting me expectant glances. Stevenson, in particular, glowered at me from the feeding platform atop the tree. I could feel his reproachful glance.
“I’m coming,” I told him. “Stop being impatient.”
He huffed at me in annoyance.
I made my way into the storage room and prepared two buckets, one filled with fruits, the other with nuts, then returned to the main room. I shook out my wings. Giving them a wag, I flew up to the landing platform near the top of the tree.
At once, the bookwyrms gathered.
As always, Zora gave my leg a friendly head rub in thanks before she went to eat. Edith, the littlest of the bookwyrms, scampered up my body, circling my neck and nuzzling my chin and clicking to me in thanks.
“Go on now,” I told her, giving her a gentle pat, “before Stevenson eats everything.”
Stevenson, who was already dangling a cherry above his mouth, gave me a reproachful glare.
Edith bounded off, joining the rest of the pack.
I chuckled at their antics then turned and looked out the tall window at the back of the library. On the grounds behind the library was a stone-lined veranda that looked over the reflecting pool at the back. Fireflies bobbed across the landscape, playfully shooting small balls of fire at one another as they danced. The moonlight reflected on the pond. Night-blooming moon lilies shimmered opalescent under the silvery glow.
The library was beautiful at night.
And yet… Miss Windsong’s voice found me once more.
But this time, it was her reprimand that echoed through my mind.
Had I been too hard on Elder Theodonna?
I frowned.
Really, who was anyone to judge me? There were so few of us who had been here since the very beginning, when the town was in its infancy. So few of us remembered those years when there were but a few small cottages and lots of forest. No one here even remembered Witch Eyreaway anymore, and I was still contending with her mischievous ways.
My problems were more than five hundred years old.
Their problems were…
Simple.
Unimportant.
What had I overheard them debating, how to move the work tables in the library to make room for a buffet?
A buffet?
Ridiculous.
But the half-elf’s words still lingered. The elders were representatives of the town. They kept things in order and were to be respected.
And I had been…
Annoyed, my pointed tail flicked from side to side. I brushed off my hands, then flew up through the magical barrier in the roof that allowed the tree to grow in the sunlight but kept out rain and pests. I lifted above the library then made my way to the edge of the roof where I perched for a moment, looking down at the town below.
The citizens of Moonshine Hollow made their way up and down the streets unaware of my presence. The flower fairies that had come out to tend the night-blooming flowers paid me no mind as they zipped along, golden dust following in their wake. I caught the sound of music coming from the various taverns across the village, and I could smell the bread and meats cooking at the local eateries, the scents of garlic and herbs perfuming the air. Beyond that, I caught the earthy scent of the river and the bloomberries ripening in the fields.
Moonshine Hollow had been in its infancy when I was first sent to the village. The library had been little more than a cart. What was the one-hundred-eleventh birthday of this building in comparison to the grand scheme of things?
