The door scraped open, and Veronica tensed, waiting to see who or what would come into the room with her. It wasn’t as though she could do anything about it - she was tied to the chair, after all - but at least her legs were free, so she stood a good chance of being able to kick whatever or whoever it was that came in. (She wasn’t sure why she kept thinking in terms of “what” as well as “who,” but she wasn’t entirely certain that she was being held by a human or humanoid entity. It had been one of the many scenarios she’d thought through in the unknown number of hours - days? - she’d been in the room.)
Another lantern preceded the person coming into the room, momentarily blinding Veronica and keeping her from seeing who carried it right away. By the time her eyes adjusted to the additional, much brighter light, the lantern had been set on the table next to the one that had already been in the room, and the wick had been turned down so the light wasn’t quite so bright. The lantern-bearer had taken the chair opposite Veronica and was watching her curiously, letting silence fill the air.
Veronica blinked back the tears from the light, then blinked again in disbelief. She was facing the head of another of the Library agent teams, Lady Ruby, sitting resplendent in velvet and jewels. Of all the people Veronica had expected to see, the reclusive Lady Ruby had been near the bottom of the list. She rarely spent time in the shared parts of the Library, preferring to stay in her own universe or at the corner of the main reading room she’d claimed for her team. Veronica had secretly envied the throne-like chair Lady Ruby kept at her desk, because the cushions looked so very comfortable, but she knew she’d never hear the end of it from her team if she brought something so ostentatious into their space.
Rumours about Lady Ruby abounded, naturally - she’d been an agent for longer than many of the other agents had existed, and her name featured in some of the lore of the agents’ work - but one of the main ones that cropped up over and over was that she wasn’t truly a human, regardless of how she appeared. This was the closest Veronica had ever been to the storied Lady, and looking her in the eye, Veronica could understand where some of the suppositions came from.
“I imagine you have many questions, Ms. Smythe,” Lady Ruby began after letting the silence stand for just a fraction of a second longer than was truly comfortable. “Rest assured that, if all goes well, you will be released safely back to the bosom of your beloved Library. If things don’t go well…” she trailed off meaningfully. “Let’s not think about that right now. So, I will answer your questions if you have them.” She sat back and watched Veronica expectantly.
Veronica was, first and foremost, a reporter - her life ultimately came down to questions, particularly those that the person answering didn’t want to be asked. She knew that Lady Ruby probably had a list of the questions Veronica was most likely to ask, and she was not about to play this woman’s game. The anger, which had receded when she had seen who had come into her cell, surged forward again, and Veronica grabbed it with both hands.
“So, are you a dragon, or just one of the fae?” She cocked her head, waiting for Lady Ruby to respond and wishing she’d had her hands free to take notes on the answers or, at the very least, start one of the voice recorders she usually carried with her. Her bag was nowhere to be seen, which had been yet another flame in the fires of anger burning in her - she had been through a lot with that bag, and she was hardly about to let it go without a fight.
Lady Ruby’s jaw dropped, just enough to show her honest astonishment before she reeled it back in. “I beg your pardon?” She looked bewildered. “Given your circumstances, seeing me, the first person you’ve seen since you’ve been in here, and that’s your question?”
“Well, I’d always wondered,” Veronica replied with the best shrug she could give with her arms bound. “I figured, since I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, and you want me to ask you questions, might as well get the most burning ones off the list first. So? Dragon? Fae? Some other thing I hadn’t thought of?”
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Lady Ruby cocked her head, studying the bound woman in front of her, before throwing back her head and laughing. “Oh, I knew I would like you, Ms. Smythe,” she said, delicately touching a lace handkerchief to the corners of her eyes before replacing it up her sleeve. “Well, a bold question deserves an answer, I think. I am what you would call a dragon, though it’s not the word my people use for ourselves, of course.” She watched Veronica as though daring her to ask follow-up questions.
Veronica burned for something that would allow her to capture the scoop she’d just gotten. She almost forgot about her situation as she leaned forward eagerly, about to launch into a series of questions meant to tease more details out of this enigmatic figure, when she felt the arms of the the chair dig into her wrists as she flexed her hands. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she leaned back and forced herself to relax. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted (even if she had a perfectly good reason to be distracted), now was the time to get the hell out of this room and back to her desk and her team.
“A dragon, then. Does that mean I’ve become part of your horde? Is that why I’ve been stashed in some little room off the main reading room of the Library?” Veronica tried to hide the excitement in her voice, even as a little part of her kept chanting “a dragon, I’m talking to a dragon!” incessantly.
Lady Ruby raised an eyebrow. “One, that’s a rather tasteless and offensive joke, about my ‘horde,’ Ms. Smythe,” she sniffed. “And two, well done trying to get some information about where this delightful chamber is. Unfortunately for you, I’m not going to give you any more information than you can glean for yourself. But well done for trying, I am impressed.”
Veronica slumped, feeling a bit defeated and fighting the urge to apologize for the horde comment. This person was holding her against her will - she shouldn’t be concerned about being offensive towards her! Still, part of her burned with embarrassment, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to forget that particular feeling anytime soon.
“OK, so you won’t tell me where we are. Frightening, but that’s your call. Can you at least tell me why you’re holding me and what you plan to do with me?” Veronica straightened her spine as best as she could in the chair, wincing against the aches shooting up her back. “Oh, and any chance of getting a more comfortable place to be held? This chair is not great for sitting in for long periods of time, especially with my arms bound this way.”
Lady Ruby eyed her critically. “Yes, I can see that you aren’t in the most comfortable of positions. To be fair, your comfort was not the primary concern of those who brought you here, just your containment. You were misbehaving quite a bit, after all, breaking into the Records Room after closing. I might ask why you were doing so, but considering what your team is working on and what that delightful Mr. Mayflower has helped my team with since you unceremoniously kicked him out of your team, I have a pretty good idea of what you were looking for.”
Veronica fought to contain her concern at the mention of Beale’s name. He had gone to Lady Ruby’s team? She knew he was planning to work with another team to investigate The Children of Darwin, but why that team of all teams? Judging by the smirk on the dragon’s face, Veronica knew she was failing to hide her worry, so she gave into it.
“I do hope you’re treating Beale well,” she said, allowing her voice to shake just a bit. “He doesn’t know anything beyond what your team is discovering. Please don’t allow my actions to change how you treat him.”
Lady Ruby tsked impatiently. “Oh, my dear, I would never. He’s being treated with exactly as much dignity and respect as he’s showing the rest of my team.” The words fell between them as they both considered what that could mean, and Lady Ruby’s smile turned mischievous. “Take that as you will. No, based on what I know you and your team was researching, I have an idea of what you were looking for in the Records Room, and I simply couldn’t let you find the information without having the appropriate context.”
Veronica’s ears perked up. “Context? Does that mean you’re going to tell me why someone might try to destroy a universe from within?”
“Of course, my dear. And once I explain, I’m sure you’ll understand.” Lady Ruby settled back in her chair. “If we’re both fortunate, then I may meet my ultimate goal here today, and get you to join us on our crusade.”
