Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia

Prince Rikers sniffed at that. “Excuse me,” he said, then handed me the Forgotten Language book and walked away.

“What was that about?” Himalaya asked.

“I think Folsom just reminded the prince that he was a book critic,” Bastille said.

Folsom sighed. “I don’t want to make people mad. I just … well, how can people get better if you don’t tell them what you honestly think?”

“I don’t think everyone wants to hear what you honestly think, Folsom,” Himalaya said, laying a hand on his arm.

“Maybe I could go talk to him,” Folsom said. “You know, explain myself.”

I didn’t think the prince would listen, but I didn’t say anything as Folsom walked after Rikers. Himalaya was watching after the determined critic with fondness.

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” I asked her.

Himalaya turned, blushing. Bastille immediately punched me in the arm.

“Ow!” I said. (My Talent never seemed to work when Bastille was doing the punching. Perhaps it thought I deserved the punishment.) “Why’d you do that?”

Bastille rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to be so blunt, Smedry.”

“You’re blunt all the time!” I complained. “Why’s it wrong when I do it?”

“Because you’re bad at it, that’s why. Now apologize for embarrassing the young woman.”

“It’s all right,” Himalaya said, still blushing. “But please don’t say such a thing. Folsom is just being kind to me because he knows I feel so lost in Free Kingdoms society. I don’t want to burden him with my silliness.”

“But he said—gak!”

“He said ‘Gak’?” Himalaya asked, confused. She obviously hadn’t seen Bastille step forcefully on my toe in the middle of my sentence.

“Excuse us,” Bastille said, smiling at Himalaya, then towing me away. Once we were at a safe distance, she pointed at my face and said, “Don’t get involved.”

“Why?” I demanded.

“Because they’ll work it out on their own, and they don’t need you messing things up.”

“But I talked to Folsom and he likes her too! I should tell her about it so they can stop acting like lovesick crocodiles.”

“Crocodiles?”

“What?” I said defensively. “Crocodiles fall in love. Baby crocodiles come from somewhere. Anyway, that’s beside the point. We should talk to those two and settle this misunderstanding so they can get on with things.”

Bastille rolled her eyes. “How can you be so clever sometimes, Smedry, but such an idiot other times?”

“That’s unfair, and you—” I stopped. “Wait, you think I’m clever?”

“I said you’re clever sometimes,” she snapped. “Unfortunately, you’re annoying all the time. If you mess this up, I’ll … I don’t know. I’ll cut off your thumbs and send them to the crocodiles as a wedding present.”

I crinkled my brow. “Wait. What?”

She just stalked away. I watched her go, smiling.

She thought I was clever.

I stood in a happy stupor for a few minutes. Finally I wandered back over to Sing and Himalaya.

“… think about it,” Himalaya was saying. “It’s not the Librarian part that’s a problem, it’s the evil part. I could start a self-help program. World-Dominating Cultists Anonymous or something like that.”

“I dunno,” Sing said, rubbing his chin. “Sounds like you have an uphill battle.”

“You Free Kingdomers need to be educated about this as much as the Librarians do!” She smiled at me as I arrived. “Anyway, I feel that we should organize the rest of these books. You know, for consistency’s sake.”

I looked down at the book in my hands. “Do what you want,” I said. “I intend to take this someplace safe. We’ve probably wasted too much time as it is.”

“But what if there are other books in here that are important?” Himalaya asked. “Maybe that’s not the one your mother wants.”

“It is,” I said. Somehow I knew.

“But how would she even know it was in here?” Himalaya asked. “We didn’t.”

“My mother’s resourceful,” I said. “I’ll bet she—”

At that moment, Sing tripped.

“Oh dear!” Himalaya said. “Are you all right—gak!”

She said this last part as I grabbed her by the arm and dived for cover behind a stack of books. To the side, I could see Bastille doing the same with the prince and Folsom. Sing rolled over to my hiding place, then got to his knees, looking nervous.

“What are you all doing?” Himalaya asked.

I put a finger to my lips, waiting tensely. Sing’s Talent, like all of them, couldn’t be trusted implicitly—however, he had a good track record of tripping right before dangerous events. His foresight—or, well, his clumsiness—had saved my life back in the Hushlands.

I almost thought that this one was a false alarm. And then I heard it. Voices.

The door to the room opened, and my mother walked in.

* * *

Oh, wait. You’re still here? I thought that last line was going to end the chapter. It seemed like a nice, dramatic place.

Chapter isn’t long enough yet? Really? Hum. Well, guess we’ll move on, then. Ahem.

* * *