52 Cornered

After leaving the four each with their own access bracelet, the librarian quickly left them at the door to the study without introducing any of the contents to them. If needs for questions, there was a communications device within the room they could use to order any books, food or other materials they may need in their research.

Taking a quick look at the bands that now occupies their wrists, they scrutinized the metal chain that had small holes going around the centre. Only one of the dozen holes was filled with a small golden bead which represented accesses to their room and also the VIP section of the library.

It didn't take them long in the slightest when it came to exploring the room either. The librarian had referred to it as a 'study' and that was exactly what it was. Despite the high price tag and the nice materials within the room, it was nothing more than a mini library with a dramatic view of the city.

Aside from the sight of people scurrying through the streets below, the interior of the room was bare. None the less, it was a large space with three tables taking up the centre and wall-length desks taking up the two long sides of the room. With the floor to ceiling window taking up one of the shorter walls, the other was occupied by two doors. In one of the rooms was a sleeping area with two beds while the other contained a bathroom which was fitted with a toilet, sink and a bath which could easily hold two or three people.

The space was clean and smelled like knowledge, yet that was as far as it went. The shelves above the walls were bare and the tables were empty bar a few ink wells and stacks of paper. It was like moving into a new apartment with nearly nothing but walls and some luggage to your name. The space was well designed to be roomy yet have a lot of functional value. For a long project, there was an amazing amount of space to be used yet for comforts such as sleep? That was simply an afterthought. Truly a place fitting for a dedicated scholar.

Under the instruction of Chance, the three tables were pushed against one of the long edges of the room, intending for them to go unused for the most part. This left a large space on one side of the room empty, while the other was simply, what seemed to be, an astronomical amount of desk space for just four people.

"Ok, from now till the auction is study time!" Chance declared while taking off his mask for the first time since he put it on. "We're staying here till the auction, then we will be leaving this hell hole ASAP. No matter what happens, you need to remember not to even open the door without having your mask on. Earlier I found out that there are bounties placed on our heads, issued from the royals no less.

"This is no doubt related to the escape from the fracture. With even Rob able to find a way around the contract, no doubt Sir was able to. And even if not, there are so many people in there that saw us, no way we wouldn't be brought up at all after leaving."

"That's what Robin was talking about!" Rykar interrupted as he drew the attention of everyone in the room.

"Robin? What were you doing with him? What did you talk about?" With his interest piqued, Chance asked with a raised eyebrow yet there was only an awkward silence which answered. Still masked, he couldn't gain anything from their faces and so took their silence as an unwillingness to speak.

"I mean, it's on you if you want to tell me or not. Just keep in mind that it's best you don't blindly believe whatever he said. It's rare that he would say anything that doesn't have a plot behind it, much less to any of us right now." Looking between them again, he was about to continue with the plan for the next few months but was halted once again when Rob strode forward.

"I was trying to tell you before but there wasn't time. I never meant to hide it." Even without seeing Rob's face, Chance's heart began to tense up when he saw the tears beginning to leak from the bottom of his mask.

Giving him time to breathe and organize his thoughts, Chance didn't prompt him to say anything more, simply waiting for him to collect himself enough to continue.

Thirty seconds and many deep breaths later, Rob managed to shakily begin to recount the events which transpired since they had split up after leaving the underground. When he mentioned Robin being hit by the arrow, there was a frown on his face but from then onwards, he betrayed no anger, sadness or frustration even as Rob ended his recounts.

Not knowing what to expect, Rob tensed up, shutting his leaking eyes as Chance walked up to him. The outburst he was expecting never took place, instead, a hand shook him by the shoulder while another patted his wet collar, ridding him of a few tear drops that were yet to soak in.

"I'm sorry, I should have gone down with you but never expected anything like this." Sorry and blame were all Chance spouted for the next few minutes while the boys finally let up their pent up emotions, breaking down on the spot. He did their best to console them, knowing that this was a huge deal, even for Rykar who had comparatively more experience with these matters. The unexpectedness of it all took them all by surprise.

It wasn't until the day had turned to night that they were forced to reel in their emotions due to a knock at the door. Giving them a moment to place their masks back on and tidy themselves up, Chance opened the door to find a librarian, similarly dressed to the first, with a trolley of food alongside him. Not sparing any words, he gave a polite nod to them before leaving the trolley in his care as though afraid of disturbing the occupants from their studies. 

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Food was another experience all together. The awkward silence that accompanied the meal made it difficult to enjoy any of the new flavours and textures that they were experiencing, yet no one made a move to break it.

With the food out of the way, Chance took the moment before clearing up to finish the speech he had started earlier. "I know that so much has happened in the last few days, more so for you two than for any of us, but we all have to look forwards. I want to try and stay positive but the reality is, we have enemies at all sides.

We have the backers of the auction house trying to get a read on us and as soon as they find out were nobodies with connections to an unexplained supply of essence fruit, were f*cked.

We have Sir, along with the entire camp and half the city, looking for us with a fortune put up as the bounty. Hell I might have even turned myself in if we didn't have such good prospects right now.

And to top it off, we now have a witness to what happened back in the sewers. That's the least of our worries though, without identities or bodies, it's a dead end without any proof. The thing to do now is not run into him or anyone he describes us to…

This leads me to what we will be doing in the near future. For the next three months we won't be leaving the library for any reason. We will literally be following all the rules stated for the underground. What is unknown is the most dangerous, you wouldn't put your hand in a hole if there might be a snake in there."

Their time spent in the library was vital. Not only did they need a place to stay where they could feel safe and secure without arousing questions, they need time with the twins. The biggest and most glaring flaw in their current group was the fact that the twins had little to no weal world experience or knowledge besides their mother's stories. Their short negative interactions with almost everyone around them hadn't helped this in the slightest.

Over the next three months, there would be three grand focuses. Firstly, Chance would finally be teaching them to read, write and count while also going through books himself, in order to know more about the world around them. After the grilling from the twins concerning bubbles, fragments and worlds, he realized just how ignorant he was in terms of the world he was living in. Aside from stories of ascending and practical skills, like stealing, pickpocketing and fighting, which would help with his immediate situation, he didn't have much else to offer in terms of knowledge.

Secondly, a crash course in fighting was also desperately needed. Being no grand expert himself, at least Chance and Rob were able to hold their own in the majority of situations. They didn't have many ways of offering training to the twins besides learning on the go. From the next day onwards, they would have regular sparring sessions to get them used to being in altercations and, more importantly, being beaten up.

Thirdly, they would spend a portion of their time strengthening themselves via meditation. Rob still had no idea how to work the technique, while the rate of advancement the twins had shown within the fragment had baffled even Chance. Though not as insane in the case of Loki, they had both seen sharp increases in their strength which demonstrated itself on the fields.

Despite the anxiety and slightly nauseous feeling still haunting him, hearing about the method of getting stronger once again slightly brought Rob back into the moment.

Still trying to fight off the remaining shadows within their minds, all three wanted to busy themselves immediately despite the tired looks in their eyes. With Rob asking about the meditation method and the twins putting on their masks and preparing to leave the room, Chance quickly halted their actions and forbade them from anything apart from sleep until dawn hit the city.