Barbara was passing through difficult times. I read on my mother it was common in women her age, the transformations, the young girl blossoming into a woman. Or maybe it was hearing my voice in her head and getting selected for the Labyrinth expedition. Nevertheless, she ditched the other classes for the day and rushed with me to a private study cubicle room in the library.

Once she locked the door behind her, she took me out of her pack and set me on the desk. Then she started to spin in circles (no room to walk or run) as she rambled in full panic mode.

"I'm not going crazy. Okay, I am looking after a monster. The monster ate my panties. I'm not going crazy. If people knew I had a mimic with me, my life would be ruined. Mr. Collins can't find out that I'm cheating in his class with a mimic. Matriarch delivers me. I'm in deep trouble. I'm locked in a room with a mimic.

I sighed.

"I'm hearing voices! Who are you, voice from beyond?"

I needed a spell that wasn't currently inscribed because it was considered Mind magic and flesh people are prejudiced. I called my mom to help and the [Lost Sage's Encyclopedia] appeared on the desk next to me. Creating tiny legs under me, I stood upright and mom opened up, showing me the spell. I opened myself and copied it onto a page.

"The cursed book appeared again!" The girl crouched in a corner.

I took her MP to cast the spell. {Still Lake Heart} was a superior version of {Calm Emotions} that could make a person completely rational for a short while. Best of all, they would remember what happened and the conclusions they reached. The halfling stopped hyperventilating and mumbling nonsense.

She nodded.

I was still angry at her because of that.

Barbara got back on her feet and dusted her robe, "I'm not so sure. I'm a first-year student."

"That's exactly what a book hell-bent on conquest would say to make me drop my guard."

She opened her dumb mouth and stared at the book. "She's your mother?"

"I don't snore! I'm a lady," she declared as she poked her nose upward.

"Okay, so your mother is no longer cursed and she is sleeping. Maybe she needed to come here to give birth to you. She was acting very strange that day she blew up my window."

She sat at the desk and held me in her hands. She opened me and flipped my pages. It seemed to relax her. "You are a mimic."

"I think I can do that," she smiled and almost giggled. "And what is your Class?"

"I never heard of that Class."

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She brought me to her lips and kissed my cover. "You are so sweet, Nethe. I'm sorry for suspecting you."

I dropped the spell and she dropped me. I clattered on the floor as she jumped to a corner of the cubicle, three handspans away from the chair.

"You are a mimic. Mimics eat people."

I sent a mental sigh, showing her how tired I was of this charade. Then I remained inert on the floor, waiting for her to gather her wits. She was young and needed time to process what was going on.

*

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*

A knock on the door and Miss Dorlaminn's voice from outside, "Miss Ambrose, are you okay?"

As if awakening from a dream, the halfling girl stood and straightened her robes. On the floor, a small book. On the desk, nothing. Mom had gone back to sleep. Barbara looked at me, then unlocked the door and met the [Librarian].

"I think I'm okay."

"You think?" The older woman said. "Were you crying?"

"Yes."

The half-elf's face was soft, almost maternal. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and said, "Do you want to talk?"

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"You can trust me. I'm here to help. I may not have the Matriarch's infinite Wisdom, but I'm closer to Her than you would believe. My great-grandmother was a [Princess] from Fulgen."

Barbara smiled. "That's nice. Have you ever been to the great Forest?"

"I'm afraid I haven't. It's rather hard to gain entrance. I'm coming inside. Once I enter, I'll no longer be a member of the Academy faculty and just a friend. Why don't you try telling me what it is that troubles you? Maybe we can solve your problem together."

Barbara nodded and fully opened the door, standing with her back to the wall so Dorlaminn could enter.

"Oh, dear, you left your book on the floor," she said as she scooped me up.

The halfling girl held her breath as her eyes went wide. She stared at the tiny eye at the bottom of my spine and shook her head mouthing, "No!"

The [Librarian] placed me on the desk carefully. She leaned on the far wall, leaving the chair empty. "Okay. Tell me what is on your mind."

"I made a {Familiar Contract} by accident during Mr. Collins' class," she confessed.

Dorlaminn smiled. "you did? That's excellent news! What creature did you summon?"

The little traitor pointed at me. The half-elf looked at me and tried to {Appraise} the book in her hand, sighing when she came up empty. She picked me up and examined me carefully. I kept my eyes open and without a movement. Mimics were good at standing still.

"Is this a creature?" She asked Barbara. The girl nodded. "Is it dangerous?"

"No. Nethe eats only paper and vegetable fibers. I think he's a mimic. Oh, he fancies ink as well."

In Dorlaminn's defense, she took it in stride. I mean, she was holding what was allegedly a dangerous monster in her hand. She ran a finger over my cover, probably trying to tickle me. Of course, after the anecdote about killing tables, I wouldn't react even if it was the last thing I did in my life. "Of course Nethe does. Hi, Nethe. I'm Daisy Dorlaminn. Pleased to meet you."

I stayed mum.

"His full name is The Netherbane Syllabus," Barbara corrected. "He's a grimoire."

"Good. How long have you had him?"

"Almost two months. Do you remember when my dorm room exploded and I had to change rooms?"

"I heard something to that effect. Did he have something to do with the room exploding?"

She shook her head. "No. He spawned after that, almost at dawn. The poor thing was so hungry he ate my uniform shirt. Not the robes, he hates wool or vellum."

That warning drew a giggle from the [Librarian]. "And you feed him paper and ink."

"Yes, sometimes I rummage through the rubbish bins to check for discarded drafts or loose pages."

"Does he eat other books?"

"No, Miss. There was this one time I forgot to feed him at night and he entered my wardrobe. But he only ate some old linens," she lied just a little bit.

Daisy handed me over to Barbara. "It seems you found a splendid familiar, Miss Ambrose. Mr. Syllabus seems to be well-behaved."

> > Contested Charisma test failed.

I squirmed in delight.

"Nethe, that's how the tavern table died," Barbara whispered, as if she was proclaiming my doom.

My eyes swiveled to see what the half-elf was doing. The woman had a grin from knife-ear to knife-ear. "So it is true. A real book mimic." I didn't like her "eureka" tone. Neither did Barbara, as she clutched me close to her chest." Don't worry, my dear. I gave you my word."

Barbara sighed and then tittered to ease her tension. "Nethe said you're a first-rate [librarian], Miss," she smiled as she passed on my compliment.

"He can speak?"

I protested.

"Yes, it can. Nethe asked to not call him either male nor female. But before we made our contract, he used to write on his pages, " she opened me on a random page, showing two blanks to the half-elf.

> "Good day, Miss Daisy Dorlaminn.I'm The Netherbane Syllabus, and it is my pleasure to meet you. Thank you for looking after this adorable lost cause of a girl I found myself bound to."

That drew a peal of laughter from the older woman. "You are most welcome, Mr. Syllabus. I was just doing my job, however."

> "Please, call me Netherbane or just Nether. Would you agree to leave 'Nethe' just for Barbara? Can you believe she wanted to name me 'Grimo'? What does she think I am, a [Filth Golem]?"

"Absolutely, Nether. I agree with everything you said. Look, I think I have a sheaf of book pages that the [Scriveners] messed up. We keep them to use for sketches and scribbles. Would you like some? A few of them have exotic inks."

I crumpled both pages into frowned eyebrows, shading them with some ink to make them look angry.

> "I'll let you know that flattery won't corrupt me, Miss [Librarian]! Yes, please!"

Daisy grinned. "Well, Barbara, let's feed your little hungry Syllabus here. This way."

She opened the door and led us to the "employees only" section of the library.