Chương 32: The Second Floor

For the next few days, the work in the library advanced at a steady pace. Six sets of hands were definitely better than one. And with the workflow better defined, what had once felt like a futile effort now felt doable, each section of the main floor falling into place under Lira's guidance. Shelves were cleared, dust reduced to something breathable, and books were moderately sorted. Lira wasn't satisfied with how the books were organized yet.

Her helpers couldn't really tell which book went where, but at least they helped her separate the ones too damaged to keep in the shelves, and farming books were no longer in the same place as genealogy. It was enough for now. The main floor no longer looked like a war zone. To her surprise, her secret alcove remained undiscovered by the other maids. The tapestry serving as its door blended so well with the wall that it seemed like normal decoration rather than an entrance.

Lira had snuck in there to hide the magic primers just in case, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Elin and Tessa had started working on the ground now that they were done with the shelves, organizing books and placing the damaged ones into separate piles. Sera would follow behind them with a broom and a mop and would carefully sweep the ground, now that there was less risk of dust falling from above. Maren was still sorting books onto shelves with Lira's help. And then there was Braka.

The girl had proven herself unexpectedly efficient when given the right task. Once removed from the books, she had taken to dismantling and repairing furniture with relentless focus. Over that span of days, she had restored five tables, thirteen chairs, and even managed to piece together a few usable shelves from what had once been little more than splintered wood. Armed with a hammer, nails, and some glue, the girl had shown herself to be a decent craftswoman.

She technically didn't build anything from scratch, but she was able to fix mismatched chair legs, combine broken tables into one, and use wood from furniture to repair a shelf. The problem was that she was so efficient that now she was running out of material.

"I've used everything worth fixing down here," Braka said, wiping her hands on her apron as she looked around the new public reading space she had single-handedly created. The space was still wide open, needing at least double the number of tables and triple the number of chairs. Lira thought for a moment and remembered seeing additional furniture on the upper floors when she had first explored the tower. Broken pieces and discarded items, things deemed not worth the effort. She nodded.

"There is more furniture," she said.

"Let's check upstairs." The two of them made their way to the staircase, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone as they climbed. Halfway up, Lira glanced at her.

"You're good at this," she said.

"Where did you learn?" Braka shrugged at first, as if the answer were obvious.

"Home," she said.

"My father's farm." Lira waited, sensing there was more. Braka continued after a moment, her tone casual. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"We didn't have people to fix things for us. If something broke, we fixed it ourselves. Fences, tools, and roofs when they leaked. Cutting wood in winter, storing it, and shaping it so it lasted longer." She paused briefly, running a hand along the railing as they climbed.

"You learn fast, you have to."

"That makes sense," Lira said. Braka let out a short breath, something between a laugh and a sigh.

"My brother inherited the farm," she added.

"and with his new wife and a kid on the way, I wasn't needed there anymore." Lira tilted her head slightly.

"So you left?" Braka nodded.

"I tried to find a husband at first," she said bluntly.

"Didn't work out." She didn't seem too hung up on the idea.

"I went to the local lord asking for work," she added, "and he sent me here." Lira was surprised that a girl as pretty as her would struggle to find a husband. She might be a bit masculine, with broader shoulders then most, but her face was cute and her hair was well cared for. She remembered reading that smaller fiefdoms would sometimes struggle to find husbands for their daughters because of the restrictions on travel among commoners. Most of the boys she knew growing up were probably some variation of cousins.

Lira's wandering thoughts halted at the abrupt change in the air. Dust… dust was everywhere. She had almost forgotten how oppressive it could be. Unlike the first floor, this space didn't benefit from her reckless use of wind magic. Lira paused at the top, instinctively drawing in a slower breath. She raised her scarf over her mouth.

"Cover your face," she said. Braka did the same without question. The upper floor was not a single open space like the main library, but a series of rooms branching off from a narrow corridor. Each one was packed with a chaotic assortment of objects: broken furniture stacked haphazardly against walls, shelves leaning at awkward angles, boxes filled with yellowed papers, and piles upon piles of books left in uneven towers that looked one wrong touch away from collapsing. Some of the wood had warped with time.

Other pieces were cracked, splintered, or missing entire sections. A few chairs were little more than frames. Tables lay on their sides, legs snapped or loosened. And the dust was everywhere; it coated every surface in undisturbed layers, muting colors and softening edges until everything blended into the same dull shade of gray. Braka stepped further in, nudging a broken chair with her foot. It creaked in protest but held together.

"…There's a lot here," she said, her tone shifting, interest replacing her earlier neutrality. She crouched slightly, inspecting the joints, running a hand along the wood beneath the dust.

"Some of this is still good. It just needs work." Lira watched her for a moment. The girl stood, glancing around with a faint spark of anticipation.

"I can fix a lot of this," she said.

"More than what we had downstairs."

"Try to make a reading space of at least forty chairs," Lira decided.

"Other than that, focus on shelves. Try to use the ones that match what already exists." She eyed a fancy chair with colorful fabric draping over it. Yeah, not everything here would be a good fit for her library. There was potential here, yes. But it was also a problem. It was too much. Two floors of this. She looked at the stacks of old books and wondered at the lost knowledge hidden here.

Could there be more magical primers, something more advanced than the two she had already found, something dealing with higher concepts she wouldn't be able to attain on her own? She exhaled slowly. One step at a time.

"I'll leave you to it," Lira said.

"Make sure not to drag too much dust to the main floor." Braka waved her off, already pulling apart a damaged table.

"Yeah, yeah." Lira picked up a stack of books, brushing off what dust she could before heading back down the stairs. She had already started a pile of damaged books below, ones she was considering repairing with magic if it proved feasible. But for now, adding intact books from upstairs could help fill the empty gaps in the shelves. She worked next to Maren for a while, sorting the books. After an hour or so, her eyes landed on Braka, who was discarding some rotten wood.

She added it to the top of a random assortment of junk cleared from the main floor. There were also bags and bags of dust waiting to be disposed of. It needed to go.

"Keep working," she said to Maren.

"I'll be back." The girl gave her a smile and kept working. Lira looked at the stacked junk. This required manpower. By that, she meant men power. It was time to find Dalwin and borrow a few of his footmen.