Trapped In Hisstory

Chance and his knight were on their way to the library, and the historian almost gasped aloud when he recalled what happened the day he went to read about the Lockharts.

'To die in such a manner, how cruel was the one behind their deaths.' he thought. The thought that their deaths were not even once investigated angers him. 'The King is selfish, ruthless, and all other words to describe him as a crap.' 

Then a curious thought came to his mind, 'Which king?' he thought.

1890. King Cadell was still the king at that time, but it is also the year that Charles became the King. Chance already knew how ruthless King Cadell Howard could be and it is not a surprise anymore if he was the king being referred to in the book.

But still, it is also possible that King Charles was the one who did not want to investigate it. 'But for what reason could it be?' he thought. 

He started biting the nail on his thumb again as he thought about it. 'I will still be alive here by then, that means...I will be able to witness the fire incident. The one where the whole manor went up in flames.'

Chance suddenly felt shivers down his spine. 'When that time comes, c-can't I warn them?' he asked himself. The thought of him just being there, doing nothing even though he knew the fire will happen, bothers him. Useless and slave to destiny.

If ever Charles was the one who did not order an investigation, 'Does that mean I will also do that..?' he thought. He is in the body of King Charles, after all. 

Another thought came into his mind and it made him nervous, 'Maybe the King said in the book...was the one who wanted the Lockharts to die.' he thought. He shook his head trying to remove it from his head. He should not be too negative. Charles may not have been the King at that time.

All of a sudden, he felt a warm touch on his hand and when he looked, he saw Alec's hand on his wrist with the knight staring at him, causing them to stop walking, "Stop biting your nail, Your Highness." the Valorian knight said.

He looked at his thumb that was raised near his face and realized he was biting onto his nail, "Oh, s-sorry." he muttered and put it down. Old habits die hard, he thought.

They arrived outside the doors of the library where he first spent his days after coming to the 19th century. There was no one guarding outside the library, unlike the other rooms where there is always a knight standing outside. It was good, he thought, no one to pose and greet him, and any fancy stuff just for entering a room. He felt free.

"Finally, we are here." the Crown Prince said and Alec immediately opened the doors of the library. 

The Crown Prince's face was filled with delight when the heaven of books came into sight. 'I have been long away from all of you, my babies~' he said inside his mind as his eyes wandered around the library.

"Your Highness, should I go get Edmund?" the knight asked.

"Oh, Edmund," he thought, and remembered the guy who helps him find the books he wanted. "All right, thank you," he said as a response.

Alec was about to go around finding him, but when he turned, he had already spotted Edmund. "There he is, Your Highness." the knight said, and Chance followed the direction where Alec was looking at.

The librarian's desk is empty, but as Chance lowered his gaze, he saw Edmund lying on the floor, unconscious. "Edmund!" the Crown Prince exclaimed and rushed on to where he was.

He tried to shake him and continued calling his name, but there was no response from the man. "Oh my, what happened to him? Alec, call a do-

Chance was cut off when he felt a movement in his hands and saw Edmund moving, rubbing his eye as it slowly opened. He sat up from his lying position and looked at the two of them. "Oh," he muttered.

"May the Goddess...bless...you, Your Highness...and Your Excellency." he greeted, slowly and obviously still half-asleep.

'Excellency?' Chance thought. "Oh, Edmund! Do not scare us like that!" he said, scolding him. "We thought something had happened to you! Why are you on the ground?" he asked.

Edmund scratched the back of his neck and bowed his head in shame. "I apologize, Your Highness. I suddenly sleep at times that I am unaware of." he answered. "I had forgotten that you were arriving today. I was used to not having anyone around except His Highness, Clayton." 

Chance turned his head and looked around. "Clayton is here?" he asked. What a coincidence for them to meet again.

"Yes, besides Your Highness, only Prince Clayton enters here in the Royal Library." the librarian said. "But he does not want me to serve him so I mostly do not do any work besides organizing books," he said.

Chance looked at him, and the librarian was still sitting on the ground. He stood up and lend his hand to help Edmund get up. Edmund stared at it in a daze to see that the Crown Prince was extending his hand. Edmundtook it, and Chance pulled him up to stand. "Thank you, Your Highness." Edmund said, and bowed.

The librarian started walking and glanced at them, gesturing for them to follow him. Edmund guided them to the table, the spot where Chance always sits down and reads a few weeks ago.

"What books do you want me to find, Your Highness?" Edmund asked. His usual monotone went up a little, showing excitement in his tone, happy that he can give help.

Chance could feel how glad Edmund  is to serve, but unfortunately, he does not need help in books today. "Erm...Edmund, I do not need any help today, I apologize," he said, feeling bad to turn down a person who was excited to help him.

Edmund  saw the look on the Crown Prince's face and he smiled, "All right, Your Highness. Please do not hesitate to call me if you need help." he said and bowed before turning away to go back to his desk.

Alec Valorian pulled out his seat, and Chance sat down on it and gave him a thankful look. He suddenly remembered when he and Alec were inside the library for the first time. Not exactly Alec's first time, but his first time as 'Charles'. He had already fallen asleep, but Alec still stood straight without showing how tired he was. 'A blank face indeed.' Chance thought and he could hear Carmilla's voice inside his head, giggling.

'Come to think of it, a lot happened back then here. I studied, I met Fate and Charles's brother.' he thought. Speaking of Fate, he wondered when the spirit would appear again. 'Will Fate appear in this library?'

Hopefully, the spirit would come so they could talk about the dream he had back in Canopus. But Chance has a feeling that Fate will not show up today. He sighed and stood up. "Stay there, Alec." he said because he knows that his knight will still follow him around even if they are just in one room.

Alec did as he was told and just stayed still in his spot. Chance went to a specific rack where he hid his notes. He made sure that it was hidden because it would be dangerous if someone were to see the notes he has about the kingdom and notes about how he went in the 19th century, 'They might think I am crazy if they see all this past future crap.' he thought.

From one of the racks, he pulled out a book. It was a book he had made, more like a journal. Since notebooks have yet to be known, he made his own notebook, compiling all the papers where he had written important information. "There it is." he muttered as he flipped through the pages fast with his thumb.

Since he pulled out his self-made notebook, a gap was made in the shelf of the rack, revealing who was on the other side. He saw his brother, or rather, Charles's brother, sitting alone. In the same spot where he first saw him.

'Why doesn't he just go to a table and read there?' he thought.

He stared at his brother from the gap and saw his beautiful face, his caramel blonde hair looked exactly like his mother, Lady Melanie the Concubine. His emerald eyes also came from Lady Melanie, definitely a copy of his beautiful mother.

'Should I greet him?' he asked himself. He wanted to go over where he is but hesitated, "I might ruin his mood again...' he thought, knowing that Clayton does not really like being near him, or even by just seeing his brother's face.

He was about to walk away from the rack and turn to go around the other rack to chat with Clayton when his eyes caught something. He glanced at the other door of the library and saw that it was slightly opened. 'Is there someone there?' he thought.

He squinted to see it more clearly and was surprised to see who it was.

'The son of the Duke and the Duchess?'