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Contrary to popular belief, Gideon Nav knew what a book was, so she didn't feel out of place in the central library. Not at all.
The library was brightly lit and modern, and not at all the dusty archive that Gideon imagined when she heard the word library. She wandered aimlessly among the tall shelves for a bit. Thankfully, the list Dulcinea had texted her was clear enough. She had even put all four books in alphabetical order by the author to make it easier for Gideon to find them. Dulcinea loved bothering people and then writing “I'm so sorry to bother you </3” at the end of the messages. No one who she asked for help was ever actually bothered, though. Gideon, Palamedes and Camilla, and Protesilaus all gladly did her bidding. Dulcinea's text also specified the books were romance, as if Gideon didn't know Dulcinea only read romance and Sextus’ letters. And Palamedes’s letters probably were like nerd facts desperately trying to pass for romance literature, or love letters masquerading as nerd facts—one of those.
Gideon wandered through a few more interesting-looking sections before landing back in fiction. She pulled out her phone and started to browse the shelves with Dulcinea's list in hand. A couple of middle-aged women who were also perusing the books gave her questioning glances, but she paid them no mind.
The library was better organised than anything in Gideon's life, so within minutes she had gathered up four paperbacks. Gideon held one up. Judging by the poor condition of the dog-eared book, Dulcinea preferred the popular stuff. The stock photo lady wearing a flimsy nightgown on the cover was gorgeous at least, which Gideon approved.
Pleased with herself for completing the task so fast, Gideon smiled. She'd swing by the hospital today before the visiting hours ended, and Dulcinea would be entertained for at least a week. She was a pretty fast reader. Gideon vastly preferred comics to prose, but each their own. She had long since given up trying to get Dulcinea to go out with her, to the hospital canteen or something, but she still liked to make her smile. That was something she and Palamedes had in common.
Gideon started to head for the checkout, ready to leave this place. She still had her library card from when she was like seven, which was good because she wasn’t sure how getting a new one worked, and didn’t want any hassle. On her way, she spotted curious movement out of the corner of her eye. Gideon turned to look just in time to spot a petite girl putting one combat boot into a bookshelf, hoping to reach a book on the topmost shelf. Even when half-climbing the shelf, she reached her hand out in vain and the book remained out of her reach. Gideon watched her struggle for a bit with amusement and a bit of worry that the girl might fall.
The girl had cropped black hair and was wearing a long black dress, which seemed a pretty impractical choice for trying to climb up a bookshelf. Three books, presumably from lower shelves, were on the ground next to the girl’s bag. The purse was designed to look like a little coffin, which was definitely cool, but there was no way she was storing any books in that little thing. Gideon wasn’t one to leave damsels in distress, even if the damsels in question were mean-looking goth chicks. She approached the girl. Gideon balanced Dulcinea’s books under one arm and with the other one, leaned to the shelf looking cool and casual.
"Need a hand?” She asked.
The girl aimed her heavily made-up eyes, smudged with eyeliner and dark eyeshadow, toward Gideon and looked her up and down. Gideon squirmed under the scrutinising gaze, feeling like she was a naughty child in front of a school teacher again, which was not a hot feeling for her. Up close, Gideon could see that her earrings were shaped like human teeth, which was both creepy and kind of cool. After what felt like an eternity, the girl finally nodded, more to herself than to Gideon, as if confirming that Gideon had passed some evaluation.
“I suppose you’ll do,” she said in a tone that reluctant did not begin to describe.
She pointed her short black fingernail toward a book, a heavy textbook-like tome and Gideon retrieved it for her. Instead of thanking her, the girl handed Gideon the books from the ground and then promptly took her to a different shelf and had Gideon take down a book from there too. They repeated this scenario for fifteen whole minutes. Several times when Gideon took down a book, the girl looked at it for a moment, and then shook her head and Gideon had to put it back before they moved to the next shelf. Gideon had so many questions. Mostly, who did this chick think she was, bossing Gideon around like this, but also, why did this library have such tall shelves and no clear stools or ladders to help the vertically challenged?
Eventually the mystery girl was satisfied, and Gideon handed her all her books. The girl’s skinny little arms buckled under their weight, but did she not ask Gideon to carry them to the checkout. Gideon would have done that if she only asked, but the girl just kept her prideful little head held up high. Gideon looked at the girl’s book pile and realised a mistake.
“Whoops, my bad,” she said, taking back one of Dulcinea’s books from the girl’s book pile.
The girl gave the books Gideon was holding a weird look.
“Is that… good?” She gestured with her pointy chin since her arms were occupied, at the topmost book Gideon was carrying. It was called Whispered Promises by the River.
“It's for a friend,” Gideon said, feeling a bit defensive, “I don't really know much about this stuff, it all seems very… straight.”
“It does,” the girl said, scrunching her nose at the thought in a cute way that also made Gideon’s hopes go up. She had been told she just assumed every cute girl was gay, but this was like an actual sign, yeah? Gideon smiled a bit wider at the girl.
Even if she had taken the goth girl’s books from several shelves, she had not really looked at them. She did so now. They were all big, heavy, and clearly nonfiction, so Gideon guessed the girl was a student. The books were of a medical nature, anatomy perhaps, but Gideon could not be sure of even that.
“So, how is your stuff?” Gideon asked a bit lamely, hoping to keep the conversation going. “None of this sounds straight, I guess, but I have no idea what it does sound like.”
“That does not surprise me,” the girl said.
“Oh come on, you are supposed to thank me, not insult me.”
The girl blinked at her in wide-eyed confusion, like she had not even realised she might come across as rude. Her dark eyes were very pretty.
“Thank you,” she said earnestly.
A bit too earnestly. Gideon’s face started to grow hot in front of such an honest expression, and she wished she was wearing her cool sunglasses. The girl reacted awkwardly to Gideon’s awkwardness and like a couple of fools, they stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, the girl turned away, unable to handle the tension any longer.
“I also need that one!” She suddenly declared, pointing at a well-worn book at the very top of a tall shelf. She almost toppled over after trying to balance her stack of books on one arm.
Gideon set Dulcinea’s books on a nearby desk and obediently went to fetch the book the girl wanted. It turned out to be a dictionary, which didn't seem to line up with the rest of the books, but what did Gideon know? She had never been one for academics. When she turned back, the girl slammed shut one of Dulcinea’s books next to the pile of her own. She looked embarrassed.
“Interested after all?” Gideon asked.
“Of course not,” she snapped.
“Really? Cuz if you are, my friend can give you recs. She said all of these are pretty spicy.” Gideon waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
An aggressive, almost violent blush spread on the girl’s pretty face, and even her heavy makeup couldn't hide it. She hastily snatched the last book from Gideon, placed it on top of her stack, and picked it up with trouble. Without saying anything, she hurried away. Gideon watched her go, feeling disappointed in herself for not asking the mystery girl out. Gideon couldn’t believe she had fumbled that badly, but since she was practically running away from Gideon, Gideon was a good sport about it, and did not follow. She waited a bit before heading out.
Two days later, Dulcinea texted Gideon a picture of a hastily written note she had found between the pages of One Flesh, One End. It was a phone number and the name Harrowhark.