Aguamelon would have an unexpected adventure-filled day in the library
Aguamelon would have an unexpected adventure-filled day in the library. Accompanied by two mischievous siblings, she would have to make an effort to save the day.
Hello, Mentalina! Did you rest well? I hope so. It's a brand new day!
Mentalina remained silent. Although she didn't feel aversion towards ponies, she didn't feel a great affection for them either. However, the particular pony who was talking to her had been greeting her in the same way all week. She had ignored her at first, but now she was starting to wonder if she was actually a good person, just like her previous owner had been.
"You know, the leaves I took from you yesterday helped me a lot to recover. I hope it didn't hurt you to have them taken away."
Mentalina couldn't have refused. She also didn't have any way to prevent it. Losing leaves was common among plants of her species. And the ones she lost were so old and heavy that she was grateful they were gone.
"I really feel brand new. And as a thank you, today you'll have extra nutrient water," the pony said cheerfully as she sprayed water onto the stem and leaves of the plant.
Mentalina liked the attention to detail that pony took. Not many knew that she preferred the use of a sprayer instead of being directly given water. The other caretakers hadn't been as considerate with her.
"Well, it's time for me to start my work. I'll go greet your cousin. See you tonight."
Mentalina didn't understand those last words. She didn't have cousins. She knew the meaning of that word, but she didn't believe it applied to someone of her species.
Shortly after, the sentient plant sensed that the earth pony who had been taking care of her had left.
Mentalina had a feeling. Her previous owner had taught her that kindness should be reciprocated in the same way. If she took the whole day, perhaps she could surprise that considerate pony.
Aguamelon trotted slowly towards the library reception. She had just finished watering the last of Mindmet's flowerpots, completing all her morning tasks. Although she was used to carrying out her tasks alone, there were moments when she wished she had a loyal assistant to help her keep track of her daily tasks. She didn't think her memory was failing her, but she couldn't help but wonder if she had forgotten something.
"Should I double-check for the third time?" The anxious pony stopped to reflect halfway there. But she quickly dismissed the idea. Leaving a task unfinished would be a problem, but not arriving on time would be an even bigger problem.
She quickened her trot and soon arrived at the reception. She swiftly checked her appearance in the mirror near her seat. Her lemon-colored mane was as neatly groomed as always. But her light melon-colored coat looked a bit pale. She had been sick the previous day and after taking medicine at night, she had woken up feeling better. There wasn't much she could do about it except wait for her color to return to normal, so she ignored that detail. Finally, she adjusted her glasses and her pink bow. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. She was ready now.
The clock in the grand Golden Half library solemnly struck 9 in the morning. Aguamelon took her seat and rang the welcoming bell that announced the opening of that section of the library. Soon, all the ponies waiting for assistance would flood her with their requests and inquiries. The backlog of overdue books and search requests would continue until the end of the day.
Yes, that's how it should have been in the past.
Aguamelon smiled in an empty and silent room. There was no pony waiting. There hadn't been any pony waiting all that week.
The library wasn't going through a good time. Despite being the largest in all of Yeguadelfia, the number of visitors had dangerously decreased in the past year, and shortly after the partial closure due to maintenance of the main wings was announced, practically all visits had ceased. Only the youth wing was operational. And that was the one she was taking care of. Aguamelon leaned back bored at her desk. Apart from the occasional visits of some couples who came just to chat in the common room and the mischiefs of some foals, nothing relevant had happened. It wasn't so bad for her; she had access to the entire collection of books in the city, even the forbidden books section. However, the lack of visitors left her with a feeling of sadness. When she was a foal, she remembered how those halls were filled with the laughter of her classmates and their secret adventures.
The effects of the medicine she had taken last night were still present, combined with the tranquility of the place, and she soon fell asleep.
A dream of laughter gently crossed her face. There was a lot of ice cream scattered like snow among the trees. She soon saw her friends from Ponyville in the distance, having a picnic and playing poker with three bears.
"Hey, girls, what are you doing here?" she said as she approached them.
"We're playing poker here," replied one of the bears, who had a polar bear appearance.
Baffled, Aguamelon had nothing to respond to that. Then, a blue butterfly landed on her nose and asked, "Hey, shouldn't you be awake?"
"ACHOO!" Aguamelon sneezed loudly throughout the room. She quickly stood up and looked around in panic.
There was no one there. Aguamelon sighed in relief and took a seat.
"PURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" echoed throughout the library wing, leaving Aguamelon completely frozen at her desk. It didn't take much imagination to know where that vulgar sound was coming from.
"Hehehe. Hahaha." laughter filled the room afterwards.
Annoyed, Aguamelon stood up and removed the prank from her seat. She already knew who was responsible. "KIT, LIA! I know you're there, come out right now," she exclaimed indignantly.
A pair of unicorn foals emerged from behind one of the flowerpots in the room. One had a red hat, and the other had a blue hat.
"Hello, Mr. Melon. How's your day going?" asked the foal with the red hat, laughing.
"Yeah, how are you? You look very handsome today!" added the foal with the blue hat, practically crying with laughter.
Confused, Aguamelon looked at herself in the mirror again. There were noticeable marker marks on her face that gave her the appearance of having a mustache and chin. That was the most basic prank in the book, and Aguamelon had fallen unsuspectingly for it.
"You two...!" Aguamelon turned around now genuinely annoyed. But the pair of siblings were already disappearing through one of the entrances of the room.
Once again, the room fell silent. Aguamelon looked disheartened at the other doodles on her desk and the walls of the reception area. She wasn't a unicorn to magically clean up that mess. It would take her a while to clean everything. The earth pony sighed wearily. When she was young, she played pranks on her elders too, but never on the library custodian. That was a serious violation of conduct rules. This time, those kids had gone too far, and something had to be done about it. She was the only one who could do something, quite literally the only one on duty in that place. As she lifted her gaze, she observed the large mosaic adorning the top of the room. There was the figure of a majestic white alicorn handing a golden book to an emerald-colored pony. "I swear by Celestia and Dayan Melody. I have to discipline them. I don't know how, but I must do it for the sake of those kids," Aguamelon told herself as she wiped off the marks on her face. Her determination grew stronger when she discovered that the marker the foals had used was one that didn't come off with just water and soap.
It was a peaceful morning for Dr. Kidney at the Golden Half library. He was enjoying a delicious cup of jasmine tea while reading the morning newspaper. There was no significant news that day, except for an announcement about an auction of antique coats and the disappointing pumpkin harvest results throughout the region. It was just another day.
"Could it be some kind of plague?" the doctor wondered, trying to fuel his imagination after reading the article about the poor harvest. Although he wasn't someone drawn to disasters, pumpkins had always been his favorite food for dinner.
Just as he was about to pour himself a third cup of tea, a pitiful sound caught his attention. Coming from the main entrance of the communal hall, there was a small unicorn wearing a blue hat, crying inconsolably. Without thinking too much, the doctor, being the only person present in the room, quickly approached the girl.
"What's the matter, little one? Why are you crying?" the doctor asked.
"Sniff, sniff... a boy said my drawings were... ugly!" the filly said between tears as she showed her sketchbook to the doctor.
"Oh," was all the doctor said as he looked at her scribbles. They weren't ugly, but the doctor wasn't sure what exactly the girl had drawn.
"And... sniff... the boy also tore up my other notebook. BOOHOOOO!" the filly cried, pulling out another notebook torn in half.
"How terrible! Okay, okay, it's over now, calm down, little one," said Dr. Kidney, trying to comfort the girl. However, the girl seemed to have an unlimited supply of tears to accompany her constant sobbing. Without much thought, the doctor did what any kind-hearted adult would do in such a situation to resolve the issue.
The doctor went to the gift items counter and, using his personal key as an honorary library member, unlocked it. He took a basket of sweets and a light blue notebook with golden edges from there.
"Here you go, little one. It's a new book for your drawings. And here are some pumpkin candies to sweeten the bad moment," said the doctor as he handed the notebook and the basket of sweets to the filly.
"Thank you very much... sniff, sniff," said the filly, trying to disguise her tears with a slight smile.
"Alright, now tell me, where is that boy who tore up your notebook?"
"He left a while ago... I had never seen him before," the filly replied.
"I see. Are you accompanied?"
"No, I came alone to do my drawings because it's quieter here," the filly answered, wiping her tears with a tissue.
"I see," said Dr. Kidney. The girl's story made sense and didn't raise any suspicion in him. The colt she mentioned was likely the same one the library caretaker had warned him about, saying he had been causing mischief during that week.
"It would be better to go to the caretaker, Aguamelon, and inform her about your case," the doctor suggested to the girl.
"Don't worry. I'm already going home," the filly said hastily. "Take a gift as a thank you for being so kind to me, sir."
At that moment, a drawing magically slipped out of the filly's notebook and landed in Dr. Kidney's hands. It was a somewhat distorted drawing of a white pony with a red mane and a face divided between white and black.
"It's not necessary, little one, but I insist..." Dr. Kidney didn't finish his sentence as he realized that the innocent girl he had comforted had hurriedly left without saying goodbye. Feeling somewhat confused, the doctor sighed, tucked the drawing into his coat, and proceeded to close the gift counter. He then stored his heavy key in one of his pockets and returned to his seat.
Nothing else happened that morning. At noon, he decided to leave. He didn't find caretaker Aguamelon at her station, so he left a written note on her desk. As he exited the library, for some reason, he felt lighter. He simply thought it was due to the new hat his wife had bought him. With a slight smile, he walked towards his workplace.
Kit trotted as loudly as possible through the closed corridors of the Golden Half library. There was no one working on the renovations or any adults nearby, so he didn't care about making as much noise as he wanted. This was his territory now. No, it had always been his. His wealthy family was a joint owner of the library grounds. And now that the current owner of the library had handed over the remaining papers of the property to his family, practically everything was his.
The young colt with the red hat stopped and looked at the gigantic plant pot in the middle of the hallway. He snorted, annoyed that even those antiques were still there. He passed by it with a trot that reflected all his childish arrogance. He could already imagine the electronic games that would replace it and the commercial stores filled with toys and sweets.
Then a leaf, as large as a book, detached itself from the plant pot and smacked him in the face.
"You stupid plant!" Kit angrily insulted the pot.
Obviously, that provocation received no response.
"I'll chop you up and sell you as fodder!" the colt announced, preparing his horn with a sharp light. In an instant, the magic shot out, directly towards one of the smaller green leaves of the plant. It was a clean cut, and the tender leaf fell to the cold floor.
Emboldened, the young unicorn marched arrogantly over the fallen leaf. That plant had no way to defend itself, or so he believed.
Suddenly, a breeze came from one of the corridors. Perhaps it was the accumulated dust in the place, but a sudden tickle began to fill the colt's nose. "Achoo, achoo, achoo."
Attacked by that sudden allergy, the spoiled white-haired colt had no choice but to retreat.
"Burrrp," the rude burp echoed in the room where Kit had entered.
"You're dirty!" Kit shouted at the young unicorn mare with purple and cream mane who was reclining on one of the tables in the room, eating candies.
"So is your tail," Lia retorted indecently.
"So is yours," Kit replied, sticking out his tongue.
"Your mouth too... so what?" Lia responded with a cold gaze.
"...I don't know," Kit surrendered with a stupid look in the face of his sister's gaze.
Both colts burst into laughter. As a sign of reconciliation, Lia handed her brother the candies from her basket, which he immediately started eating. Lia, on the other hand, leaped onto a pile of books and began casually leafing through them with her magic. Taking as many pages as she pleased, she magically stuck them together until they took the shape of a pony leg. With that paper limb, she connected it to a pony body made of the same material at the other end of the room. It was a sculpture that would horrify anyone who loved books. But in Lia's eyes, it was as beautiful as a noble unicorn prince.
"You're done. It looks awesome! But isn't its tail too long?" Kit asked, examining the back of the sculpture.
"Its tail is perfect," Lia replied with a mischievous smile. Kit didn't argue with her; he didn't like it when his sister got weird.
Lia paid no attention to her brother as she observed the face of her artwork. She added more black and red tempera to the divided-face sculpture's head and stepped back to admire her work with satisfaction.
"Hey, were you able to get into the forbidden room?" Lia suddenly asked.
"No, the Mr. Kidney's key doesn't work," Kit said, throwing Dr. Kidney's heavy key onto the table. It had been stolen from him that morning.
"That's too bad! Now what do we do, Kit?" Lia innocently asked.
Kit didn't have an answer to that. Several more minutes passed, and there was no response. Growing bored with her brother's slowness, Lia started throwing darts at a picture of a pony that was stuck on the wall.
Kit seemed lost in his own thoughts.
"Ahem," Lia huffed, throwing another dart at the wall. Kit seemed to have the same alertness as a plant.
"Ahemmmmm," Lia huffed more forcefully. Finally, Kit noticed the photo of the pony that his sister was throwing darts at.
"Ahaaa, I've got it, Lia! Let's take the keys from the caretaker lady!" Kit said cheerfully.
"Yes, yes! What a great idea!" Lia responded with a smile.
"But... she's already mad at us," Kit paused, worried.
"Don't worry, I'll handle that," Lia said with an even bigger smile.
In one of the library's hallways, Aguamelon returned tiredly to her receptionist desk after finishing organizing all the cleaning supplies she had needed to clean up the mischief Kit and Lia had caused in the morning.
"These kids... where could they be?" Aguamelon wondered to herself, wiping some sweat off her forehead with a towel.
Then, a pitiful sound caught her attention. At the other end of the hallway, one of the colts she had been thinking about was crying inconsolably.
"What's wrong, Lia? Why are you crying?" Aguamelon asked, concerned, as she approached Lia.
"Sniff, sniff... my brother said that my drawings were... ugly!" the filly said between tears, while an anything but innocent smile hid inside her.
In one of the study rooms at the Golden Half library.
"Gifts, think about gifts! Think about the wonderful gifts you received on your birthday!" Lia thought desperately, sitting on a bench, trying to distract herself to avoid falling asleep in the middle of the sermon she was receiving.
In front of her, the supervisor Aguamelón kept talking about friendship, respect, discipline... and other topics that didn't matter to her.
"What nonsense..." thought the young filly, adjusting her posture.
Bored, completely bored. How did an adult mare become so boring? Lia wondered while pretending to pay attention.
"I feel so sorry... could it be that her parents were just as boring?" Lia thought. A sudden chill ran down her spine as she imagined how miserable her life would be if she had also been born into such a boring family.
"Rubberlia, are you listening?" Aguamelón asked, seeing Lia shake her head.
"Yes, friendship is magical!" Lia exclaimed involuntarily.
"I wasn't talking about friendship but about the respect you should show to others, especially your elders. It's part of..." Aguamelón continued speaking, futilely. After just one sentence, Lia had once again stopped paying attention.
Lia rolled her eyes with disinterest. This was getting tiresome. Where was Kit?
Before being dragged into the torture she was experiencing, Lia and her brother Kit had planned to carry out the biggest mischief of all: stealing the master keys from Supervisor Aguamelón and entering the forbidden section of the library.
It was a daring plan, but Lia was confident that she could distract Aguamelón enough while her brother stealthily entered her private office and took the keys from her desk. Kit was skilled at cutting objects; opening the desk drawers shouldn't be a problem for him. However...
"That fool..." Lia thought, worried that Kit might be taking too long. Her brother had a good talent with magic, but sometimes he was too absent-minded.
"Uff," Aguamelón sighed, stopping her speech. She turned around, poured herself a glass of water, and proceeded to drink it immediately. For a moment, Lia was relieved, thinking that the torture had finally ended. However, suddenly, Supervisor Aguamelón turned around and, with a very serious look, said something Lia hadn't been expecting.
"I'm sorry, Lia. I didn't want it to come to this, but you leave me no choice. I'll have to talk to your parents about your misbehavior. I hope you understand it's for your own good."
Lia blinked and then exploded.
"UNDERSTAND WHAT!?" exclaimed Lia indignantly. In one leap, she left the seat where she was and stood firmly in front of the supervisor. The entire facade of the innocent girl she had maintained up to that moment disappeared in an instant. Very surprised, Aguamelón tried to respond, but before she could say a word, Lia continued.
"EXCUSE ME, MISS AGUAMELÓN. PERHAPS YOU DON'T KNOW, BUT MY PARENTS ARE THE CURRENT OWNERS OF THE GOLDEN HALF LIBRARY. THEY ARE THE PONIES TO WHOM 'YOU' OWE 'YOUR JOB,' AND CERTAINLY, THEY ARE VERY BUSY TO WELCOME A STRANGE PONY THAT NOBODY KNOWS. SO, PLEASE, COULD YOU END THIS THEATRE OF THE GREAT MORALITY TEACHER AND LET ME GO?" the young filly finished with a piercing look and an air of superiority totally inappropriate for someone her age.
The atmosphere in the narrow room was tense. Aguamelón did not respond immediately; she remained still, with wide-open eyes for a moment. Then, she took her glass of water and finished drinking from it without looking away, closed her eyes, and sighed.
"This is very disappointing, Rubberlia, truly very disappointing," Aguamelón finally responded with a grave tone.
"Do I disappoint you? What are you talking about? Who are you to...?" Lia said but was interrupted.
"I thought I was wrong, but now I know I am right," Aguamelón continued in a thoughtful tone, then turned her gaze back to Lia. "I will talk to your parents early tomorrow; you and your brother must also be present."
"YOU...!" Lia exploded in anger again. But before she could finish her words, a sudden object whizzed past her side, interrupting her.
"OW!" Aguamelón shouted in pain; a tiny dart had hit her right flank, and she quickly removed it with her tail. "A sleep-inducing dart? But where...?"
Supervisor Aguamelón did not finish her words; suddenly, she staggered as if an invisible force were pushing her. With a growing dizziness that began to take hold of her, the young supervisor tried to approach Lia while dragging her limbs that were starting to fall asleep.
"Lia... go to the first aid kit... quickly! I have..." Aguamelón spoke interruptedly with a great effort to stay conscious. Lia watched with panic as the supervisor gave her last words before collapsing on the floor.
A chilling silence enveloped the room. Lia, who until a moment ago had been furious with Supervisor Aguamelón, now only observed her with a stunned expression, still unable to understand what was happening.
"Wow, the supervisor is really tough! That dart would have put a manticore to sleep in a blink," exclaimed Kit, entering the room carrying a large blowgun.
"Wait, what?! Did you shoot that dart?" asked Lia astonished, seeing her brother with the weapon.
"Yes! Incredible, right? The supervisor had one in her office, also spears, swords, and crossbows. Can you believe it? Crossbows!" Kit exclaimed excitedly.
"Is she...?" Lia asked shakily.
"Asleep like a snail!" Kit happily replied.
Lia wasn't joyful; she was in panic. Her small but agile mind was trying to process everything that was happening; her imagination was already running wild with the terrible consequences of her brother's irresponsible actions. Playing pranks with markers on the supervisor was one thing; attacking her with a potentially deadly weapon was another.
"WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN SHE WAKES UP? WHAT IF WE GET ACCUSED?! IF OTHERS FIND OUT!" Lia shouted to herself with growing panic.
What was happening now was precisely what Supervisor Aguamelón had warned her about at the beginning of her sermon that could happen if they continued with their pranks and dangerous games. Although Aguamelon believed that Lia would never go this far, she couldn't say the same for Kit. So Aguamelon warned Lia that she needed to control her brother more or reprimand him if he went too far.
Of course, Lia was not willing to heed such advice and downplayed them by saying that her brother was more responsible than she was and that it was the supervisor who was underestimating him.
Certainly, that was true; she had been underestimating him too...
Lia exhaled successively, her mane swaying with her breath. In front of her, Kit aimed the blowgun in all directions, fantasizing that he was in the midst of a hunt.
On the floor, the body of Supervisor Aguamelón remained motionless.
"CALM DOWN, EVERYTHING IS FINE, IT'S NOT SERIOUS, MOM AND DAD SHOULD NOT FIND OUT ABOUT THIS. NO ONE SHOULD FIND OUT ABOUT THIS! AND NO ONE KNOWS. EVERYTHING IS FINE!" Lia repeated to herself, showing a false calm smile.
"Lia, are you okay? You look a bit shaken, sister," worriedly said Kit, noticing the sweat dripping from Lia's forehead.
In response to Kit's innocent words, Lia's false smile broke. A face so full of fury appeared on her that made Kit jump back.
"AM I OKAY?! AM I OKAY?! YOU, YOU...!" Lia snorted like a volcano about to erupt. But she restrained herself, turned around with a face twisted from the effort of keeping her emotions under control, then closed her eyes for a moment and let out her fury in a long sigh.
"Uhmm, sister...?" said Kit, scared, looking at Lia's back.
"Nothing, everything's fine!" Lia replied with a forced smile, but with her emotions still suppressed. She still wanted to scold Kit, but she knew that wouldn't change anything. Kit was her dear younger brother, her soulmate, her flank companion, her golden horseshoe. She really cared about him a lot, and it was precisely on occasions like this, when things went wrong, that she had to behave like an older sister and be there for him. Yes, because that's what older siblings who truly care about their younger siblings do.
However, even with such noble feelings for her brother, things wouldn't magically resolve.
"Okay, let's do this. Help me take the supervisor to her room, alright?" Lia said, already determined with a plan in mind.
Kit looked at her confused.
"Why?" he asked somewhat puzzled.
"Leaving her here would look suspicious," Lia responded somewhat impatiently.
"Suspicious, why?" Kit repeated.
"Because she's passed out here since you shot a dart at her..." Lia responded somewhat impatient and annoyed.
"Ahh, right..." Kit replied with the expression of someone remembering some distant memory. "... wait, was that wrong? Why?"
By that point, Lia's patience had already reached alarmingly low levels. With a twist of her horn, she magically grabbed a pencil from the desk and snapped it in half. The raw crack of the pencil breaking echoed in the room.
Kit, nervous, swallowed.
"Haaaaa, yes, you're right! Let's go! We need to take the supervisor to her room right away!" Kit exclaimed with a fake smile, as if everything were under control.
"Exactly. Let's go," confirmed Lia, calmer and also with a smile.
The pair of siblings jointly lifted Supervisor Aguamelón's body with their magic and placed her as best as they could on a rolling desk. After several struggles, accompanied by Lia's shouts of caution, Kit and his sister managed to maneuver the desk with the unconscious supervisor into the hallway. And although they had accidentally bumped her head several times during the transfer, the unconscious Supervisor Aguamelón hadn't reacted.
"Phew, finally. Now we just have to take her to her room," Lia exclaimed hopefully.
"Uhmmm," Kit responded dejected.
"What's wrong now?" Lia replied tiredly.
"Well, it's just... uhmmm," Kit hesitated, unsure of how to talk to his sister.
"Come on, if you have something to say, just say it already," Lia exclaimed impatiently.
"Well... where is her room?" Kit asked, looking down the ends of the hallway.
Lia opened her mouth and froze. She didn't know either.
"Ufff, I'm tired...!" complained Lia to the sky, large drops of sweat sliding down her forehead as if she were participating in a marathon in the middle of the Golden Half library.
"Me too, the supervisor is really a handful," added Kit, no less disheveled than his sister.
Both siblings trotted exhaustedly in the middle of one of the dimly lit corridors of the Golden Half library. They had just "dispatched" Supervisor Aguamelón in one of the rooms in that wing of the library. It wasn't the room where Aguamelón usually slept, but it was the most comfortable they had been able to find so far.
No matter how much they searched the library, they couldn't find the supervisor's room. After much searching, they had no choice but to leave her in a guest suite fit for royalty.
"I hope it works..." thought Lia, lowering her head, dragging her hooves.
Lia had set up a small trap for Aguamelón when she woke up. It wasn't something new for her; she had already devised similar stratagems to get rid of those who bothered her or her brother. If everything went well as always, she wouldn't have to worry about anything that had happened.
However...
"Everything will be fine! Trust your lucky star, Ruberlia!" Lia tried to comfort herself. Aguamelón's stern gaze still lingered in her thoughts, along with the doubt of whether this trick would work again this time.
Suddenly, from the brightly lit other end of the long hallway, a refreshing breeze arrived accompanied by the unmistakable sound of falling water.
Both siblings looked at each other, and immediately, they remembered with joy what awaited on the other side of the hallway.
"The last one is a rotten egg!" neighed Lia before sprinting away. She left her brother behind and all the fatigue she had felt until then.
"Waittttt!" Kit responded, also starting to gallop.
Lia and Kit ran towards the bright light of the hallway. After a few seconds of mild blindness from the brilliant sunlight surrounding them, the white walls of the magnificent room they had entered welcomed them.
A large glass dome rose on the ceiling of the room, displaying the clear blue sky of the afternoon. Statues of wise unicorns holding candles surrounded the walls of the vaulted circular room, accompanied by beautifully crafted wooden balconies. The walls descended in tiers across the four floors of the library, reaching the marble floor where a large cup-shaped pool spilled water on all sides.
It was a truly beautiful room, a testament to the library's glorious past. Any visitor would be dazzled by the magnificent architecture that surrounded them or by the striking pool made from a single piece of jade crystal, shining as if pouring forth the vibrant sunlight.
The 'Celestial Chalice Room' had been created to be a recreation spot for visitors, a worthy corner for chatting with friends or spending time away from work, casually reading a book on one of its benches.
Although, at that moment, for Lia, it was the best place to take a good bath.
Without even thinking about removing her clothes, Lia, with a grin from ear to ear, plunged into the pool of the fountain, splashing water in all directions.
Her brother quickly caught up and did the same. Laughter and splashes of fun filled the 'Celestial Chalice.'
"Ahhh... I really needed this," exclaimed Lia, lying back in the water, speaking in the same way as a salaried worker who finally reached her vacation.
After laughing and playing with the water, Lia finally felt relaxed. Taking a good bath in a pool always cleared the mind, as her mother used to say, and she was right.
She gradually began to remove all her clothes with her magic, placing all her garments on one of the pedestals of the pool. Contrary to common sense, Lia's clothes were barely wet, and this was due to the expensive materials from which they were made.
Yes, Lia and her brother belonged to a very wealthy social class.
Suddenly, water splashed Lia, and she turned her gaze to the other side of the pool.
"SHARK! SHARK! SHARK!" Kit kept diving into the water, creating playful waves.
"Hey Kit, I want to relax, so... DON'T BOTHER ME, OKAY?"
"Huh? Yeah, okay, whatever you say... SHARK! SHARK! SHARK!" responded her carefree brother.
Lia rolled her eyes, put on sunglasses, and once again lay back in the water. Her gaze fixed on the ceiling of the room. There was no point in thinking about her brother; all she wanted to do at that moment was to rest...
A cloud began to slowly cross the sky, beyond the glass roof... the splashing sounds were distant.
Peace... so much peace... Lia thought as her senses began to numb.
Another cloud started to cross the sky... the splashing sounds were even farther away.
"Peace, enjoy every moment of this peace..." thought Lia, finally closing her eyelids.
There were no more clouds in the sky, nor any concerns related to her brother...
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed beside her. "SHARKKKKK!" someone shouted, causing Lia to scream and submerge in the water for a moment. When she emerged, she found her brother laughing by her side.
"I told you not to bother me!"
"Ah, yes, but it's getting late; we better go somewhere else."
"What do you mean late? I just..." Lia stopped and looked around surprised. Kit was right. The sunlight was angling several degrees on the walls of the room, indicating the advanced hour.
"How much time has passed?" Lia wondered aloud, still not understanding what had just happened.
"Like two hours, I think. Hehe, you fell asleep like a log again! You're starting to resemble grandma, even when you snore, hehehe," Kit teased his sister.
"Wait... was I snoring?"
"Yesss, like a jackhammer, hehehe."
Lia blushed. Days ago, she and her family had gone to the theater, where accidentally, in the middle of the play, she fell asleep. Soon, her snoring caused quite a ruckus, almost exposing her to her parents. Fortunately, her brother covered for her, taking the scolding himself.
"Was it really loud?" Lia asked fearfully, her ears drooping.
"Oh yes! LOUDDDDDD! Hehe," laughed Kit.
Lia didn't smile or get annoyed; she just looked disheartened in another direction. This was a problem she couldn't solve on her own. Those snores were something that truly bothered her. They had started to arise recently, and she hadn't paid them proper attention. However, if everything was as her brother described, these snores were becoming increasingly intense and frequent.
How would she explain this to her mother, known for having the highest standards of good manners throughout Yeguadelfia? Lia didn't know where to begin. Most likely, she would have to tell her father first, but knowing him, that would likely end up in a hospital.
A concerned Lia lay silent and dejected on the edge of the pool. As Kit left the water, he stopped laughing and watched his sister with concern.
Kit didn't like to see his sister like this. After several minutes of silence and great mental effort, Kit, who was unconsciously rummaging through his pockets, finally had an idea.
"I got it! I got it!" exclaimed an excited Kit, spinning in a circle and wagging his tail.
"Hmm? What's going on?" replied Lia, snapping out of her thoughts.
"Are you hungry?"
"Well, I guess a little."
"Then... What if we go to the cafeteria and try the special pastries there! Then we can go to... the forbidden section! How about that?" proposed Kit, very excited, playing with the library's master keys.
A smile appeared on Lia's face at that moment. "Mmm, yes! Sounds great."
With a leap, Lia exited the water, invigorated by what could be the best idea Kit had had all day.
