~ Marie ~

On the first floor, they headed down a hall and out a set of large glass doors. They stepped out onto a terrace that wrapped around the side of the hotel. The terrace was lit with softly glowing lights and had a few tables set up along one side. Beyond the terrace was a large garden filled with an array of flowers. Adrian led down the stairs and onto a small path between two bushes before turning left. He took her into a small enclosed space that was surrounded on all sides by a high stone wall.

The inside was an explosion of reds, pinks, and whites. Roses grew along each of the walls. In the center of the space was a water fountain that had lights inside the water, which illuminated the space.

“Why don’t you look around?” She wasn’t sure what he was expecting her to do. Marie could see everything from here. Why would she need to take a closer look? He let her hand go and went to sit by the fountain. Not only did it provide light, but the edge of the fountain was also wide enough to provide seating. Marie debated for a moment. She might as well walk around. Who knew when she might get to move around freely.

There were actually two levels to the garden. The lower level was closer to her with the roses growing at ground level. The higher-level roses grew out a slightly elevated area that was bricked off. Marie examined each of the roses. According to the books she’d taken from the sorcerer’s house, roses were supposed to be good for purification. She’d need to check to see again to see if it was even usable for her but she might try to use it in the future.

Halfway around she stopped to study a large, deep red rose. She lightly touched a finger to the rose. Marie traced the soft petals before she continued her walk. Roses might be useful but they were also dangerous.

She was almost back to where she began when Adrian spoke.

[Stay right there. Someone is coming.] Marie stopped in the corner and looked down. A man entered the garden and scanned the area. He grinned as he strolled.

“Adrian! I was wondering if you were going to show your face this year.” Adrian stood and shook the vampire’s hand.

“Jackson! So you've come to try your luck again this year?”

“Haha. Of course. Why does anyone else come to these things?” The man looked around the garden. “I didn’t think I would ever see you back here. Not after… Well, your last visit could have been better.”

“Yes, well, there are some things that can only be done here.”

“Haha. True. Though with you here, I think my odds of winning have actually gone up.” Adrian chuckled as he shook his head.

“How's Amelia?”

“She’s around. You know how headstrong she is. Sometimes I forget who’s the vampire.” The man laughed again. The man walked over until he stood right in front of her. “And who would this be?” Jackson took her hand and placed a kiss on the back.

“This is Marie.” Adrian stood just behind the vampire. [It’s fine. You can look up.] She took his offer and looked up into bright green eyes framed by light brown hair that almost bordered on blonde. Jackson smiled at her before letting her hand go.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone. I need to find Amelia anyway.” The man turned back towards Adrian as he spoke. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Adrian nodded. Jackson whistled a tune as he walked away.

[He's an old friend. His companion was the one speaking to you back at the ballroom.] So that’s why the woman chose to speak to her. [There's another place I'd like to show you before we go back to the room.] Marie took his offered hand. They went back to the hotel. They headed to the elevator and this time they took it up to the third floor. Adrian led her to a set of heavy wooden doors that had ornate designs of butterflies and birds carved into them. He pushed the door open and Marie had to reign in her excitement.

The library was a large room with a high ceiling. The back of the room had another set of stairs that led to a higher level with more shelves. Everywhere she looked, every bit of space was covered in books.

[I’m not sure if they have a specific order to how the books are arranged. They might be ordered by the date they were obtained.] She could hear the amusement in his voice but she ignored it. It wasn’t often that she was able to enter a place like this. While they looked for someone to speak to, they walked around the area. They stopped here and there, to look at the shelves to see if they could figure out the order on their own. After checking several places, they came to the conclusion that there was a vague kind of order. Books of the same subject were mostly grouped together, though there were a few mixed in here and there that didn’t look like they belonged.

Adrian had her wait to one side while he spoke to someone. They spoke for several minutes before he came back and led her to the stairs. They moved along the wall before he stopped them in the middle of the room. Here he let go of her hand and gestured to the shelf in front of them. [They allow people to take books up to their room to read. Just know you can’t keep them.] He chuckled inside her head before moving away. She frowned in his direction before looking back at the shelf he had pointed out. The shelf contained books on a variety of different magical beings.

Marie brushed her hand over each of the spines, as she read each title. There were a few that were already in her collection but most of them were ones she’d never seen before. She glanced in the direction Adrian had gone. He didn’t say how many she could take. Marie looked back at the books in front of her. Trying to figure out why he brought her here was still her number one priority. The only time she might get to read might be just before she’s supposed to sleep. How many should she take?

Two? Three?

If she cut out a little bit of sleep, she should have enough time to read. Marie walked by the bookshelves, reading the titles and stopping here and there to pull a book out only to push it back in. Back and forth she paced, trying to make a decision. It took a bit to whittle down her choices but eventually, she found the three books she wanted to take. Now that she had what she wanted, she needed to find Adrian.

Marie used her height to search the level below her. She found him standing on the left side of the library. Since there wasn’t anybody in the library besides them, she decided it should be fine to walk over without looking down.

He was reading a book when she stopped beside him. The area he was in seemed to be focused on magic, specifically potions, and magic over concealment. For his safe house? He closed his book and held it against his chest.

[Done?] Marie nodded. They took their books up to the room. Once they got inside, he headed towards his room. Adrian told her he was going to make some calls before he disappeared. Marie wanted to change but since he hadn’t told her if they were done, she sat down on the sofa and picked a book to read. The book on the Belasko was her first choice. She knew general information about them but she wanted to know more specific details.

She felt something tap her on the shoulder. Marie looked around but didn’t see anything. Adrian chuckled behind her. He moved around the sofa and stopped to the left of her. The interruption was irritating at first but then she remembered that she wasn’t here to read.

“We should eat.” Oh. It wasn’t anything important.

“I’m not hungry.” She settled back into the sofa and opened up her book. A large hand blocked the page, preventing her from reading.

“I’ve been a vampire for a while so I no longer need food to function.” Marie wished he would get to the point so she could go back to reading. "You still need to eat. If I need to, I will make it an order." She pressed her lips together before answering.

“Toast.”

"If you won't take this seriously, then I will order whatever I think you'll eat." She was being serious but this might be the solution she was looking for.

"Go ahead." Adrian looked at her sideways for a moment.

"You want me to order for you?" He narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms.

"Yes." With his hand gone, she returned her attention to the book. She didn't bother paying attention to what he said on the phone as he ordered up room service. If she let him pick whatever he wanted, she wouldn't have to go through this every single time he wanted her to eat. Problem solved.

His hand blocked her sight again. He walked away and sat down across from her. On the table was a flour tortilla cut into several pieces. There weren't any utensils so this must be eaten with her hands. Marie glanced up at Adrian. He looked back at her with a neutral expression. She looked away. She had the distinct impression he was laughing at her. She might as well try it before this thing got cold.

This was a little more difficult than just grabbing a slice of pizza. The tortilla was firm but not as firm as she thought so she had to grab it further up the piece so it didn't rip. She pulled but the cheese stayed connected to the other pieces. Marie pulled more but the cheese just stretched. She used her fingers to disconnect it and placed the extra bit of cheese on top of the piece she grabbed. Marie brought it to her face and took a bite.

There was meat in it. She could also taste a bit of onion and green peppers. This tasted alright. Marie took another bite.

"How's the quesadilla?"

"Fine." If they served this someplace close by, she might order it but she’d make sure to cut the pieces more thoroughly. The rest of the meal was done in silence. Afterward, they went to their own rooms. She made sure to take all her books with her. The first book was almost done and if nothing else happened, she could finish the other two.