The Imperial/Fiction/The Library
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
This is one of three short vignettes written about The Imperial by Alumette. The were originally posted in December 2006 on the COHGuru fan forum.
- "The Library"
- "Angola Storm"
- "Queen of Peace"
Paragon City Library Main Branch, November 1933.
There she was again. His heart stopped in his throat. Something about her… her shiny, shoulder-length hair, spilling in sleek auburn waves about her face, her ivory skin, made her look like some kind of celestial being. But it was her eyes that got him every time. She had clear, jade green, almost golden, eyes that seemed always to be dancing. They were large, and surrounded by long dark brown lashes. If the eyes were the window to the soul, then hers looked out onto a perpetually beautiful, optimistic view. She seemed radiant.
“You still with us, Al?” his friends chided. They followed his gaze, elbowing one another in the ribs. They were coming out of the city’s gigantic, monolithic library. Its giant pillars, in the form of massive neo-gothic statues, gazed down upon them with powerful, unfeeling granite eyes. Alistair reluctantly pulled himself from his reverie and chuckled. His arms were full of books on magic, and adventurous tales of the city’s heroes. He looked at his pals. They will never really understand, he thought to himself. His eyes wandered again towards the lovely vision standing on the street corner. Somehow, he felt that she would understand. He felt a little self-conscious. It was all still so new. No one really knew how to go about it, least of all him. His friends thought it was a silly idea. He nodded towards them with his chin. “You go on ahead,” he said. “I’ll be there momentarily.”
His friends easily put two and two together, and wandered off, nodding and chuckling knowingly.
Alistair took a deep breath and took a step in her direction. And then it happened.
She turned, and looked right into his eyes.
Alistair’s breath caught in his throat and his heart skipped a beat. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears. His mouth felt dry as desert sand.
And then she smiled, a warm, tender smile that enveloped his entire being. He had never before felt more cherished; all from a smile, from a woman he didn’t even know.
He had no way of knowing, until much later, that it was a smile she’d never smiled before in her life. It was a smile that was just for him. He had no way of knowing that one day, that smile would be entirely his.
He took another step towards her, and felt his courage returning. He walked right up to her and said, “Good afternoon, Miss. Lovely day, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “Yes, yes it is.” She was nervous too. He noticed a gentle blush coloring her dewy cheeks, making them look like delicate pink roses.
He looked at the books under her arm. “Just visiting the library?” She nodded nervously, looking around. To be seen talking to a strange man unchaperoned would be unseemly. He was aware, too, of the difficult position in which he may be putting her honor. “As was I,” he said. He cleared his throat. A few passersby were giving them distasteful glances. He pulled his library card out of his pocket. “I found this card on the library steps,” he ventured, hoping she would be quick enough to pick up on his stratagem. “Is it yours? I mean, is your name…?”
She smiled, relieved that he had given them a pretext to be talking. “Yes, Eleanor,” she said. “Eleanor Pearl Heckler.”
Eleanor. Alistair thought it was the most beautiful set of syllables in the world. “It is an honor, Miss Heckler,” he said gallantly, handing her ‘her’ library card. “Careful you don’t lose that again,” he said with a conspiratorial twinkle in his eye.
“I’ll try my best,” she said. “Thank you, sir.” She placed the library card in her pocketbook “Perhaps we shall meet again at the library, by chance.”
“Perhaps,” Alistair smiled. Everything about her intoxicated him. “Good afternoon, Miss Heckler.” He tipped his hat and continued down the street. It felt as if he were floating, light as a feather. He could feel her eyes following him. Those eyes... the most beautiful gems he had ever seen.
He stroked her cheek through the glass of the picture frame on his mantle. “Perhaps we shall meet again at the library, by chance,” the Imperial said quietly, smiling.
He donned his cape and stepped out onto the expansive front steps of his estate, gazing up into the night sky. He knew she was out there, among the glittering stars. With an agile spring, he launched himself toward the sky and flew towards Peregrine Island. The City needed him.
