Chapter 0736

Nina

My mother pushed open the large double doors, revealing the library. With the walls lined with seemingly impossibly high bookshelves, a glass ceiling and tall stained glass windows, it almost felt as if I was walking into something out of a fairytale.

"What did you want to bring me in here for?" I asked as my mother and I stepped into the room.

My mother smiled and took my hand, leading me through the winding bookshelves. It felt almost like a maze in here, and as I looked up at the dizzyingly high shelves, I couldn't help but wonder just how many books were in here.

"Now let's see..." my mother muttered to herself as she began perusing the shelves. "Hmm..."

"Mom," I said, running my finger along one of the pristine books; not a speck of dust was to be found, even though the title was something about ancient burial rites, which I doubted was read very often. "How many titles are in here?"

"Oh, hell if I know," my mom said with a chuckle. "But I'm sure, whatever book you want or need, it's here."

I let out a small laugh. "God, I wish I knew this was here when I was spending a fortune on textbooks for my classes."

My mother smirked, then let out a small "Aha!" and pulled a particularly worn-looking tome off of the shelf. She held it out to me, and I took it. The cover was plain and unadorned, with only one word on the spine.

"Ancestry?" I asked, glancing up at my mother.

She nodded. "I was perusing the books myself and stumbled across it," she said. "Take a look. I think you'll find it quite interesting."

Shooting my mom one last quizzical look, I sat down on a nearby bench and opened the large tome on my lap. I was met with pages upon pages of dense writing, with the occasional hand-drawn portrait scattered throughout. Dozens of men, women, and children were depicted in these portraits. And all of them, no matter what age or gender they were, shared... very similar features with me.

"Is this...?" I slowly looked up at my mom, who was still standing over me.

She nodded once again. "This is your family history, Nina."

"Wow." As I scanned the pages, I couldn't believe my eyes. My mom was right; each and every one of the people depicted in this book were related to me somehow. The entire history of my family was written right here, in the palms of my hands.

Slowly, I looked back up at my mother with a mixture of shock and confusion written across my face.

"This is amazing," I said. "But what does this have to do with what we were talking about earlier?"

My mom sighed and sat on the bench beside me. She leaned close and flipped through the pages until she came to a specific page.

"Princess Cornelia," she said, tapping the yellowed page with her index finger. "Your great-great-great grandmother."noveldrama

I quirked an eyebrow as I looked down at the portrait of the woman. She had a very regal appearance, with a high forehead, a narrow nose with a prominent ridge, and brown eyes that almost seemed to pierce into me from the page. She wore a high-collared gown with ruffles around the neck, and wore her hair up in a tidy bun.

"Cornelia," I said softly, tracing her portrait. I furrowed my brow as I began to read. But then my mother stopped me, and pointed to another portion of the page with the headline: "Poison."

"Look here," my mother said. "Princess Cornelia, who suffered from a disease that rendered her legs mostly useless, was a master apothecary and herbalist. She could name every plant with ease."

I knit my eyebrows together even more as I read. "And she... she suspected that a member of her staff was tasked with assassinating her family," I murmured. My eyes widened as I continued down the page. "Oh my god. She found the assassin and poisoned them first with deadly nightshade, thus..."

"Saving your entire lineage," my mother whispered.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come as I stared down at Princess Cornelia's portrait.

"So you see," my mother explained, "despite Cornelia's physical disabilities, she was a genius. She saved an entire line of people thanks to her quick thinking and skills with herbs and poisons."

"And she was a princess," I whispered.

The common room was dimly lit by a flickering fire in the fireplace as my friends and I all sat around, lounging on the plush furniture after dinner. I was curled up in the crook of Enzo's arm, flipping through that ancestry book while the others chatted, played games, and listened to music.

Glancing up at Enzo, I tapped on the page. "Look at this," I said, pointing to a portrait of my great-great uncle Henry. "I didn't know that any members of my family sailed across continents."

Enzo smiled slightly, his face tired and weary from a long day of training. "Maybe you'll wind up in that book one day," he said.

Before I could answer, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Enzo and I both looked up to see Matt standing over us. He softly cleared his throat and nodded his head toward the door. "Can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Sure," I said, standing. Enzo stood along with me and stretched.

But when Enzo started to follow us, Matt suddenly stopped him. "Oh, uh... Is it alright if I just talk with Nina?" he asked.

Enzo looked a bit taken aback. He exchanged glances with me, to which I shrugged, before he nodded. "No problem." He turned on his heel and returned to the others.

Matt and I slipped out of the room and into the dimly lit hallway. When the door was shut and we were out of earshot, with the sound of our friends' voices and music playing muffled now, he turned to face me with a bashful look in his eyes.

"What's up?" I asked, folding my arms and leaning against the wall. His face didn't look beat up anymore; the bleeding from his nose hadn't returned.

"I, um..." Matt's face turned slightly red and he cleared his throat, looking far more embarrassed than I had ever seen him. "I don't know how to say this, but... I kind of... Sort of... Have a bit of a crush on Daphne?"

My eyes widened and I leaned forward. "You? A crush?" I whispered. "Are you gonna do anything about it?" Matt paused for a moment before he finally shook his head, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I don't know," he admitted. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. You're kind of... a genius when it comes to love."

I laughed out loud. "You must have me mistaken for someone else," I said. "But if you need help, I can help you."

He nodded vehemently and seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "I was hoping to set up a date for her tonight. I really like her, so I want to do this right, you know? She's so sweet and shy, and I want it to be really romantic."

As Matt spoke, I couldn't help but grin. Without a moment of hesitation, I took his hand and began pulling him down the hallway.

"Come on," I said. "Let's do this."

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