I sneaked past Lily with my amazing ninja skills and exited the main block by myself for the first time. A blast of cold winter wind blew across my tiny face.
"Blah—" I babbled, maybe I should have worn a little more before heading out here in the open, I thought as I looked around the surrounding area, trying to locate the storage block.
I shivered in the cold, "Brrr…" I grumbled again as another gust of freezing cold wind blasted onto my face…
So it's on the right side, right?
… Which side is that?
I was completely blank, I never fully understood my lefts and rights, it wasn't really important to me, I never had to learn how to drive as everything was within a short stroll's distance.
I normally use my right hand to uhhh...
So it's this side… Was it?
I wasn't fully sure if I was correct, but it was worth a try at least. I headed to what I assumed to be the right side, slowly trotting over there in my tiny fuzzy boots.
Waddling through the thick layers of snow, I sank, my foot thumping onto the hard ground beneath.
A wave of nerve shock whizzed through my body, numbing down, I let out a little squeak.
After a while of just trotting and a lot of thumping and getting my legs numb, I finally got there.
That sure was much harder than I expected. Waddling through the snow while having half my body in it isn't all that easy, ain' it?
As I expected, the door was already unlocked; it was always unlocked to my knowledge, as I overheard Lily and another maid talking about how they had to grab some equipment from the storage block.
And sure enough, when I pushed open the two large fan doors, I knew my assumption was correct.
Yes. I thought. It was something new I learned, now I just gotta etch this information into my head before I forget it.
I use my right hand to… I use my right hand to…
I wandered around the large storage house.
Inside, everything was well organised on high shelves and doors which led to small rooms. Inside these small rooms were more shelves, chests were aligned neatly against the edges of the wall.
Now then, I thought, I just gotta find where these pesky books are…
This was the hard part, finding where all the books are stashed in. I hoped it wasn't in any of the top shelves…
I wouldn't be able to get up there even if I tried.
I searched the block, opening every door and diving into every chest, and soon enough…
Finally, I located the room with all the books.
It was just a small room in the corner of the block. I was sure that this room wasn't originally designed for storage, as there was a small bed that sat in the back.
It seemed that this bed was long deserted; it was covered in dust and piled on with stacks and stacks of books. It really wasn't just the bed that was deserted; the whole room looked to be abandoned for a long while.
Hm? Perhaps mother and father just aren't that big of a fan of reading, I know I wouldn't be a fan if all there was in the world was textbooks and non-fiction...
I'd rather kill myself than read a book about human psychology.
I thought to myself as I ruffled through the books on the dusty bed, seeing if I could find one visually appealing.
Most of the books in the room weren't catching my eye that much; they either had a blank cover or just the title on its own, surrounded by some boring spirally patterns.
Sigh– What did I expect? Of course the covers would be boring like this, was I thinking there would be art of hot girls in school uniforms on them?
I searched the room, diving into more chests and shelves.
Hmm?
From afar, I saw a book, a rather thick one, with a dark red leather sleeve that covered the front and back as well as the sides.
That looks interesting… I thought, walking to where the book sat in a rusty metal chest.
Now then I gotta learn how to read I guess… I took the sizable book in my arms, lifting it up from the chest.
On the cover was a line of flaky golden painted words, "A Beginner's Guide to Incantations".
Well? Isn't that a fun coincidence… Just what I was looking for.
I knew the very basics of writing and reading, mother or Lily would occasionally read me 'bedtime stories' at night, I could very much translate basic words, these were already enough for me to learn how to read.
Nouns were the hard part, but with time I guess I'll be able to figure it out someday.
A door creaked, "Gryne, where are you?" A gentle voice asked from the outside.
I guess it's about time…
I pushed the door open, exiting the room with my newfound book in my arms. Lily was walking around the storage area, scanning the place thoroughly, even looking in chests and boxes.
"Oh, there you are, don't you scare me like that… You could have gotten hurt." She said as she spotted me, trotting over to me, she picked me up.
"What have you got there?" She asked as she pinched off a few pieces of dust that got caught in my hair when I was exploring.