You stepped into the cottage and slammed the door shut, sliding against it and onto the floor.

The day had been so exhausting for you. Running around all over the town, bumping into people and meeting fictional characters.

At least you were back in the cottage now with new clothes. You managed to find a place that was giving away free items to the homeless peasants.

You found a few cute dresses and undergarments which was lucky. You also got some necessities like pads, tampons, a toothbrush and a few other things.

You put the things away and sighed in exhaustion. The sound of a meow made you turn around and gasp. You completely forgot about Marlin!

You quickly fed the cat and pet his head apologetically.

It was already night and the moon was hiding behind the clouds. Yawning, you stood up and trudged to the guest bedroom. Maybe tomorrow you could explore more of the town.

Once you entered the guest bedroom, you flopped onto the bed and sighed.

You recalled that the love interests met Sabina at a ball being held in the castle and everyone in the kingdom would be invited. You wondered when the ball would be because you thought it would be fun to watch the plot unfold before your eyes. Maybe you could even meet your very own lover there!

You fell asleep feeling giddy, mind filled with thoughts of your possible future.

———

The feeling of something heavy on your stomach made your eyes flutter open and you groaned.

"Aghh, get off of me ya' fat cat!" You rolled over so Marlin fell off your body and onto the bed next to you.

Slowly standing up from the bed, you trudged over to the closet and put on the clothes you had gotten the day before. Hopefully now people would look at you like a normal human being.

After feeding Marlin and doing what you had to do in the bathroom, you exited the house and outstretched your arms, spinning around a few times. This was real. You were free.

You remembered the way to get to the town so you happily made your way in the direction, having a slight skip in your step.

When you arrived, it looked exactly the same as yesterday. The bustling streets and happy voices filled your senses.

As you walked down the streets, you were happy to find out that no one even spared you a second glance anymore.

You checked out the buildings and made small talk with a few people. Some people seemed pretty friendly but just like anywhere else, others had unnecessary attitudes.

A crowd of people outside of one of the buildings caught your attention. You walked over to them and listened in on their conversation.

"Oh my gosh, have you read chapter thirteen? I never expected that Lara would be the murderer!"

They continued to talk about the book that they were reading. 'So this building is a library..'

Your face lit up with glee. Ever since you came to this dimension, you hadn't been able to read any novels.

You pushed the door open and closed it behind you. The inside of the library wasn't that large, more on the small side. It was to be expected though, especially since this wasn't a library meant for royals. This was more on the poor side of the town.

You asked the person who was working at the counter where the romance novels were and she pointed to the correct shelf.

You walked over and clasped your hands together happily when you saw the many novels that adorned the shelves.

You looked for one that caught your interest so you pulled out a red, hardcover book. It was titled "Whispers Under the Moonlight".

You read the back of the book to see what it was about and it seemed pretty interesting to you.

You turned around to walk towards the counter to check out the book but you accidentally walked right into someone's chest.

"O-Oh gosh, I'm so s-sorry!" The person yelped, frantically waving his hands everywhere.

You only laughed and waved your hand in front of your face. "It's okay, it was mostly my fault anyways haha. Sorry about that!"

You finally got a good look of the person when you took a step back. He had peach skin and bright orange eyes that looked everywhere except your eyes. He had dark brown hair that looked really soft; you were almost tempted to run your hands through his brown locks.

He stood at about 5'6 and he wore an oversized, long-sleeved grey shirt with black pants that were baggy.

'Holy shit it's Fionn Lewis. What's he doing here though? He's the palace librarian so he should be at the palace right now.'

His bright orange eyes caught sight of the red book in your (s/c) hands and he lit up. "Oh, I love that book! It's not appreciated enough.." Fionn pouted.

You watched the way that his face morphed into different expressions in such a small amount of time and it made you giggle. He really did care about books.

"Oh, really? It looks so interesting though so I'm surprised it's not popular." You replied to his comment, examining the novel in your hands.

He nodded his up and down quickly and he almost looked like an excited dog wagging it's tail. "I-If you'd let me, I could give you some recommendations.."

You were surprised that yet another character from the novel wanted to spend time with you besides Silas. Of course, you couldn't deny his request.

"Sure, I need some books to help me pass the time anyways."

His face seemed to light up and it reminded you like a kid seeing candy through a shop's window.

You spent the next few hours chatting with Fionn and bonding over your common interest of romance novels and books. Based off the way he seemed to hang onto every little word you said, you could tell he probably didn't have someone in the palace to talk about things with. You were at least happy to know that he would soon meet Sabina and she could cure him of his loneliness.

You hadn't realized how much time had passed during your time in the library with Fionn until you glanced out the window to see the sun starting to set. Fionn looked out the window as well and nearly gasped. "O-Oh I'm sorry for t-taking up your time!"

You clicked your tongue and shook your head, leaning over to flick him right in the center of his forehead. "Stop apologizing so much! It's not good for you.. You're basically undermining your self worth."

His eyes widened and the orange sky from outside the window illuminated both of your faces. His pink lips parted and he tried to find the right words but none came out.

"What- What is your name?"

You just realized that despite spending time with him for hours, you hadn't exchanged names. Secretly you already knew almost everything about him, but he didn't need to know that.

"I'm (F/n) (L/n). You?"

'What a pretty name...' He had never heard that name before so he assumed you were probably from somewhere foreign. As strange as it sounded, he wanted to know more about you.. Where you're from and more.

"I'm Fionn Lewis, I work at the p-palace as the librarian." Usually when he would tell people that, all they cared about was if he had met the prince or how much money he made. It made him feel as though he was not his own person, but rather a title.

You smiled warmly and looked out the window; the orange sky shone in your eyes. "It must be nice to do what you love. If I were you, I'd be more than happy with having a countless number of books to read all day."

His orange eyes widened and a light pink hue dusted his cheeks. No one had ever put it that way. Finally, someone could see him for him and appreciate just how special his profession was.

He looked out the window as well, taking in the beautiful view of the sky.

"...Yes, it is nice."