The boy's eyes grew wider, and all he could say was, "Uhhhh..."

"My first week here," Evie elaborated, "you ran into me in the hall."

"Oh," he said, and then realized. "Oh. Oh, wow, I'm so sorry about that."

Evie set her collection of books on the floor because they were tiring her arms. "I know. You apologized after you ran into me."

"Oh..." The boy rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. He really needed to expand his vocabulary.

"Do you have a name?" Evie's head tilted to the side a bit.

"Uh, yeah."

Evie stared at him for a few seconds in silence before running a hand down her face and sighing very loudly. She proceeded to over-enunciate as she told him, "I would like to know your name?"

"Oh. I'm Wesley Moonbourne. Hi." Wesley stuck out his hand for her to shake.

Goodness, it was definitely a good thing he was in the library. Maybe by reading he'd figure out how to communicate better.

Evie shook his hand. "I'm going to call you Wes."

"Okay," he nodded his head as if approving the nickname. As if he had a choice, it was the best nickname for him. "What about you?"

"I'm Evie Ravenwell."

"The princess?!" Wes almost sounded a little bit panicked.

"Yeah, but before you freak out about titles, just call me Evie."

"Oh, okay. Hi, Evie."

"Hi, Wes."

They both sort of stood there awkwardly for a minute.

"So, what are you looking for?" Evie asked him.

Wes shrugged. "Just some stuff about like... fighting. And knights. Like, famous ones."

Oh, good. He found a new word. Evie looked at the titles and was a little confused. It looked like he had never done any type of research before because the books ranged from factual combat books to fictional stories about knights.

"Were you looking for mythologies or historical records?"

"Wha– you– oh..." Wes stuttered as he looked at his titles and realized he had picked up the wrong books. "I guess I looked in the wrong section."

"Don't spend much time in the library?"

"I don't think I've ever really stepped foot into one before..."

"Well, good thing for you that you met me, who practically lives in libraries." Evie took his stack of books from him, sat them and herself on the floor, and began rifling through them. "So all of these are the fiction you picked up and won't really help you, though some of them are a good read."

"I was wondering why I never heard of a Sir Aglogrenant before."

"That would be the reason."

"So... what should I be looking for instead?"

"Well, we'd have to go to the other end of the library probably, but there might be entire anthologies of historical stories dedicated to knights specifically. I think I saw some at home, but I can't be sure. Best place to start would probably be some basic history books like one on the War of the Priestesses."

"Why there? There weren't any knights." Wes looked up as though he was trying to recall his history classes, just to make sure his statement was right.

"Actually, there was the Bloodguard before there were knights," Evie said very matter-of-factly while she began returning the fiction books to their shelves.

"What's that?"

"Well, the Bloodguard were the warriors of the Verian high priestesses. A member would take a blood oath to serve and protect his high priestess, hence why they were called the Bloodguard. Several of Nevernia's Bloodguard ended up becoming the first knights of the kingdom, and that was very similar for the other remaining Bloodguard as well. Many of the armies the Seven commanded were made of Bleeding Hearts– initiates who wanted to become Bloodguard."

"Wow, you know a lot about this kinda stuff."

Evie shrugged. "I just like reading. I guess my brain stores a lot of random knowledge by accident."

"Well, it's really cool and really helpful. I appreciate it."

Evie smiled at him before leading him to the historical section of the library, picking out a couple tomes for him to begin his research with. When Wes was satisfied with the amount of reading he had accumulated, the two of them made their way down to Bedivern's desk to check out all of their books.

"Ah," the librarian said as the two approached, "it seems the bookworm has met the eager young knight. Got everything you were looking for."

Evie and Wes answered simultaneously with variations of yes.

"Perfect." Bedivern took all of Wes's books and stamped the inside cover of each before handing the stack back to him. He did the same with Evie's books. "There's an interesting amount of Valoran legends involving horses, isn't there?"

"I noticed that," Evie said. "Quite odd, especially with the amount of drowning that seems to be in the ones I skimmed briefly..."

"I'd love to know what you think of them. I thoroughly enjoy a good symbolism discussion."

"You think there's symbolism behind the stories?"

"Well, in folklore there quite often is some sort of symbolism or lesson to be learned. Horses usually represent strength, freedom, or nobility... and I believe drowning is meant to symbolize rebirth."

"Fascinating... I'll have to keep that in mind while I'm reading about them!"

"Definitely." Bedivern handed the books back to her. "I look forward to seeing both of you again."

Evie and Wes said various thanks and started towards the door.

"Well, I'm gonna go get a start on these, I think," Wes began.

"I can show you a really nice place to read," Evie offered.

"Oh, I was just going to be in my room."

"No, c'mon! It'll be fun and scenic."

Apparently it didn't take much to convince Wes because he agreed to follow Evie with just that.

The day had proceeded to get a little bit colder, but not too cold that Evie wasn't able to handle it without outerwear. Wes, however, seemed to be especially shivery as they walked down the stone path at the back of the castle.

"Do you wanna go back and get a jacket?" Evie asked.

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You seem bothered by the wind."

"No, it's all good."

"I mean, it's kinda cold... you should really wear one."

Wes sighed a little sadly and finally replied, "I don't have a jacket that matches this outfit."

Evie was quiet for a moment, trying to recall the last time she met a man that actually cared enough about his appearance to match a jacket to the rest of his outfit. She wasn't coming up with anything.

"Then why did you wear an outfit you can't wear a jacket with? It is fall, you know."

"Well, I wasn't exactly expecting to go outside. I thought I'd be reading in my warm, comfy room."

"But this place is so much better than reading in your room, I promise."

"Okay, if you promise..."

Wes began looking around as the two of them entered the gardens, as if this place was foreign to him. Evie was glancing about too, but she was looking at the state of the flowers. Most of the summer flowers had begun withering away, leaving only the autumn ones growing strong and healthy. The loss of the summer flowers made the gardens seem a lot emptier now. Soon it would be happier to read in her room, and warmer too once the dead of autumn hit.

Evie led Wes through the rose tunnels which were still blooming and gorgeous. She thought she saw Wes move out of the corner of her eye, but she kept on walking until they reached Cassindrea's willow tree, the golden branches swaying in the cold breeze.

"Oh, wow," Wes breathed.

"Nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"I've been reading here the past couple weeks. Of course, it's been a lot warmer than it is today."

"This really is the most perfect reading place."

"I told you! People should really start believing me when I say things like that," Evie joked.

"Well, I believe you now."

Wes brushed aside the branches and approached the trunk, running his hands over the markings in the bark.

"I haven't quite figured out what those are yet, but I'm hoping to come across them in my readings."

"Cool," he grinned.

Evie just watched him examine the tree for a moment before asking him, "So how long have you been here?"

"I just moved here actually."

"Me too." Evie joined him by the tree. "Where are you from?"

"Bellbury," Wes replied. "My aunt and uncle govern the city."

"You're related to Teddy?"

Wes squinted for a moment. "Teddy?"

"Theodore Valennard," Evie explained.

"Oh, yeah. He's my cousin. That's why my family sent me here, so I could train with him. They're very proud of his position among the knights."

"So that's what Bedivern's comment was about? You're training to be a knight?"

"Yup," Wes said, then shrugged. "I'm training with Godfrey, though. I guess Theo's too busy to personally train me. My family just made it seem like I was going to be spending all my time with him..."

"Well, you know, he's not really allowed to personally train knights because his job is to train, like, all of them." Evie wasn't quite sure if this attempt at reassurance was going to work. "He's also supposed to be Cassie's guard, so he can't always be involved in training, and that wouldn't be fair to you or any knight if he had to miss training to fulfill his other duties. Like, right now, you wouldn't be able to work with him at all because he had to go to Valoran with Cassie, so you'd be losing out on so much valuable training time."

Wes sighed. "Yeah, you're right... Everyone in the family just puts him on such a high pedestal. He was my idol for years, and I never really met him. I guess I romanticized this whole thing in my head for too long."

"Well, I can tell you right now that once you get to hang out with him, you won't be disappointed. He's nice and fun to be around, and I think you guys will get along so well once you get the time to get to know each other."

"Thanks," Wes smiled. "I really appreciate that."

Evie grinned back at him, and the two just stood in silence for a time, listening to the sounds around them. The rustling of the willow branches, the roaring of the Serine River, the animals calling out to each other. Evie absentmindedly ran her hand over the bark of the tree again, feeling every marking in the bark as if they were telling her their secrets.

"Actually," Wes began, "I am pretty cold, so maybe we head back and do some reading in the warm castle."

Evie laughed softly. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

The two of them began their trek back through the gardens, but it was not a quiet one this time. Wes started off by innocently asking her while in the rose tunnels, "Uh, so, what was it like living in Wystwillow?"

"Oh," Evie had adopted his favorite word, "it was... it was really nice. It was small compared to here, but that was nice. There was enough city to find things to do in it, but whenever we wanted we could slip out into the fields and farms surrounding us and have our own adventures."

"We?"

Evie took a moment to gather herself before answering. "Me and my friends."

"Oh..." Wes rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I didn't think about how difficult this might be to talk about."

"Actually, you're the first person to... ask. About anything." Evie pressed her lips into a thin, sad line of a smile. "Everyone is scared to talk to me about it. They're scared to even mention my parents or Wystwillow."

"So you don't mind talking about it?"

Evie began twirling a piece of her hair. "I mean, it's hard to talk about, but that doesn't mean I don't want to talk about it. It's just a little difficult, you know."

Wes nodded quietly. "So... do you wanna tell me about your friends?"
"Yeah, I–"

Both Evie and Wes heard what sounded like faint sniffles coming from the other side of the hedge that they were passing. Wes looked to her instead of immediately reacting probably because he had no knowledge of this place. Evie, however, knew on the other side of that there was a small pond with a stone bench next to it. She didn't say a word or even gesture for him to follow her, but Wes stayed close to her as Evie turned around the corner.

There sitting on the stone bench with her knees to her chest was Gena. Evie's heart sank as she saw the upset look on Gena's face.

"Gena?" Evie called.

Apparently the maid didn't notice Evie and Wes's presence because at the sound of Evie's voice she sniffled, wiped her face quickly, and sat her feet on the ground. Gena turned away as best she could. "Yes?" Gena's voice wavered despite attempting to keep control of it.

"What're you doing out here?"

Another sniffle. Gena shook her head, looking at the ground as she spoke, "Oh, nothing."

Evie tried to get Gena to look at her, but failed even as she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." There was a crack in Gena's voice. Evie's face fell a little bit, and Gena stood up. "I, um, have some chores I need to attend to."

Gena never looked at either Evie or Wes as she almost ran out of the gardens as though she couldn't get out of there fast enough. Evie just watched her leave, unsure whether following her would actually make things better. Wes stayed next to Evie, watching silently. He didn't ask any questions, just observing the whole thing. Evie pressed her lips together, staying just as quiet as she tried thinking of what to do.

Wes finally asked her, "Do you want to go after her or...?"

Evie didn't respond, just racking her brain of how to make things better. She had no clue what was wrong, but there had to be something to cheer her up. Wes stared at her waiting for a response, but she was thinking and thinking and thinking.

"Evie?"

Evie moved her gaze, but before she met his stare, she caught a glimpse of a patch of white lilies growing nearby. Wes's eyes were raised as though he was concerned about her, but Evie had found the solution. She smiled at Wes and simply said, "Wes, I've got an idea."He stared blankly at her, blinking once before running a hand down his face and shaking his head slightly. Evie took his hand and led him in the opposite direction of the palace, instead going deeper and deeper into the royal gardens. 

Chapter Intro: Ballerina — Yehezkel Raz
The Willow Tree: willow — Taylor Swift
Chapter Outro: Hugging You — Tom Rosenthal