the art of silence . open (MODIFIED and completed)

[ariadne]

[ooc: anyone but the queens are welcome to post in here. thank you!]

It was an average day for Lady Ariadne. This morning she had risen quite early to watch the sunrise over the horizon, a horizon of teal blue waters and no-longer unknown lands. The sunlight has refracted off the surface of the water to create dazzling beams of dancing colors. They had skittered across the waves toward Ariadne, who'd stood on the cliffs facing out to sea. A warm, sweet breath of hair had blown into her face, making its tired muscles jump to life in a smile. Her ebony hair had floated backwards with the breeze, and the smell of the salty ocean still seemed to cling to its strands like an invisible cape. Even after Ariadne had returned to her quarters to brush her hair and tail, the delicious salty smell remained there. It blended perfectly with the floral aroma of the pink rose garland that adorned her head.

Pleased with this, Ariadne really hadn't done much else with her appearance that day, save for slipping on a lilac colored tunic. The light purple contrasted nicely with her brown coat, at least she though so. It was then that she had finally headed to the library to begin her day of work. Since she usually left the library before sunset, there were plenty of returned books to sort and shelf. It was consistent work, but it was work that Ariadne enjoyed.

She wasn't sure exactly where she'd gotten her love of books and the written works. Perhaps it had been her tutor growing up that had inspired her, but even he had not relied so heavily on books as knowledge of the living world. But something intrigued Ariadne about stories that were no longer spoken of but lived solely in the parchment pages of books, scrolls, and tapestries. To her, parchment and ink was the most lovely form of art, as it was, after all, unique to each individual and each pen. She herself loved to spend her free time perfecting her own calligraphy. It was important, as she was in the midst of transcribing the adventures of Queen Lucy and Kings Caspian and Edmund when they'd voyaged out to the previously unexplored sea on the Dawn Treader.

Ariadne was of the steadfast belief that to lose information or to let it slip into oblivion was a crime against society, and so if she ever came across a tale, parable, or scrap of history that was unrecorded, she committed it to memory and applied it to paper as soon as the oppurtunity was given her. She found the best time to do this was the time in the mid-morning when the library was quietest. Her morning duties of straightening out the library so that it was organized had to be completed, of course. She couldn't very well have people come in to find dusty tomes and disheveled books. That wouldn't do at all. It was always the first thing Ariadne attended to, but now that they were complete, Ariadne had worked her way to a nook between towering bookshelves where a table her size could be found. She unrolled her parchment scroll and began printing what she remembered of the conversation she had Her Majesty Queen Lucy had shared the previous day immediately following their tutoring session.

The library was completely and utterly silent for quite a while, and Ariadne had half of her scroll filled. Suddenly she heard loud footsteps clunking through the aisles around her. They echoed about, and Ariadne looked up, trying to discern where they were coming from. It was difficult, but she followed the sound through the rows of books. There was nothing that irritated her more than loud footsteps when she was trying to work. One could at least be courteous and tip-toe. She turned a corner, trying not to bump the shelf with her haunches, and she saw a person from behind. She crossed her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows, looking down on the person's back. "Excuse me, but if you don't mind, I am trying to get some work accomplished. If you must remain, at least take off those cumbersome shoes!" She knew she sounded snotty, but quite honestly she didn't care at the moment. They had intruded on her.

[Edmund Pevensie]

Edmund breathed heavily has he clanked his way to the back of the library. The young king winced slightly as he accidentally made an extra loud clank stepping around a pile of books. Usually, he would take more care with his movements and make next to no noise in the library, but today, he happened to be dressed in full armour and on a mission. He was looking for a specific book. He knew exactly where it was too. It was near the back and the third book from the right on the seventh shelf.

Reaching the back of the gigantic room filled with tousands of volumes of information, Edmund looked up and saw the book that he was looking for. There it was, thick and heavy, just waiting to be picked up a king researching for a rule or law. Edmund smiled and reached up to grab it and was surprised to find that he didn't have to go in his toes to reach that shelf. The last time he went looking for htis particular book, he had to go on his toes to reach it. And the time before that, the young king actually had to climb on top of something to reach it. Well, it seemed like Edmund was growing. Very fast too. The book didn't seem as heavy either.

Not at all bothering to find a chair to sit on, Edmund plopped onto the floor, tired from his mad dash from the training fields and opened the book on his lap. He methodically searched for the section he was looking for and found it within seconds. His eyes skimmed over the words irrelevant to his cause while his finger followed his reading.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted his reading. It was Lady Ariadne, Cair Paravel's librarian and Lucy and Susan's friend. Edmund didn't turn around when she spoke but he did frown slightly. It wasn't his fault that he was still in armour. He was in a hurry. And what was the point of changing out of them if he had to go back down there anyways. Not to mention Edmund would be gone after he found what he was looking for. The others were waiting for him.

"Sorry Lady Ariadne," said Edmund as he finally turned to look at the librarian. "I was in a hurry."

Edmund didn't particularly feel like elaborating. He was in a hurry. The sooner he got back the sooner the problem would be resolved.

[ariadne]

Would Aslan come and turn her hooves to stone? Ariadne felt as though he should upon realizing who she had addressed so rudely. It was King Edmund! It was such a blow to her honor that she had done such a thing. Being so irritated before had caused her to assume that the noise had come from a simple knave or servant. And after all, she had no qualms speaking to one of that status that way. She had every right to do so as the librarian and a centaur. But every drop of her respect was due to the Kings and Queens of Narnia, and she would never knowingly do anything to demonstrate otherwise.

Ariadne felt her cheeks grow hot, and she pressed the back of her cool hand to one of them to relieve it. Reflexively her front hoof pawed the ground before she bent forward as far as she could in a bow. Her black crutain of hair partially hid her face, much to her relief. Although she considered herself inferior to the king, she would rather not he see her blushing. The proud side of her wanted to maintain dignity. "My utmost apologies, Your Highness, for my rudeness," she said as her face was still lowered. Being a bit uncomfortable in the bent position she took the small liberty of straightening up. "I did not know it was you. Is there anything I can help you with, my liege?"

Ariadne used the title not only to make up for her blunder but because she always addressed royalty in a way. She even called Her Majesties Queen Susan and Queen Lucy 'my lady,' despite their friendship. It was something that had been bred into her virtually from birth. Status was very important to a centaur, as shallow as it might seem to a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve, or even a Talking Animal. One was always to treat superiors with unwaivering respect, but they held no such obligation to one of a lower rank.

Aria took note that the king was dressed in full armor and felt further chagrine at her complaint of noise. It made much more sense, now. She found herself wondering why King Edmund was still in armor, but realized it was none of her business. She did, however, notice the book King Edmund was holding and began to have perspective on the situation, though she said nothing. It really was not her area of expertise anyway, that sort of issue. True, she enjoyed dueling, but less with swords and armor. She preferred archery and racing above anything else. Yet she found herself hoping that King Edmund was not too upset by whatever was going on out there, more for her own sake than for that of the opponent.

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[Edmund Pevensie]

Upon hearing Lady Ariadne apologize for her rude behaviour, Edmund scrambled to stand up. He pushed the heavy book onto the ground and grabbed the shelf to support him as he straightened himself. His muscles were beginning to feel sore from his run and standing up in armour became harder than usual.

"You need not apologize Lady," said Edmund, switching from Sir Edmund looking for a book to King Edmund talking to a subject. "It is I who should be apologizing for breaking the silence in the library. I should have made more consideration for the other people who might be in here at this time. I apologize."

Edmund had to fight the urge to hang his head in shame and act like a little boy chastised by his mother. He might have done that if it was his mother telling him off, but this was a subject, albeit a very close subject who had every right to tell him off. If it was one of his siblings, he would've probably rolled his eyes and called them Mother Hen. Affectionately of course. He meant it the kindest way possible. Since Cair Paravel's librarian was neither his mother nor his siblings, Edmund kept his posture straight and accepted her comment with grace. And then apologized. Because that was what a good king would do.

"I was looking for a book on rules for tournaments," explained Edmund when Lady Ariadne asked if he needed help. "It's in this book somewhere. I have seen it before. I need to find if a certain move is illegal. The others are having a great debate over it and just as I was leaving to come to the library, it was beginning to turn into something slightly more physical."