Jean nodded, smiling faintly. “That’s better.” She lifted a hand, running it through her hair while she mulled over his question. This was it - the critical moment, the conversation she had to make count. “It’s...well, like I said. This is a special library, isn’t it? It has a lot of information in it. We needed a room like this, if you were going to build your train.” She laid her hands flat on the table, eyeing him sidelong. “So the library gave us one.”
Daniel shook his head, beginning to frown. “But...rooms don’t just appear. That’s weird.” His lips pressed into a fresh pout. “That sounds like magic.”
“I suppose...maybe it’s a little like magic,” she allowed, offering him a quick smile.
He didn’t echo the expression, though. His scowl grew. “Magic isn’t real. Mom said so.”
Jean laughed. “Well, it’s not exactly magic, I suppose. It’s just...very similar.”
“She said it wasn’t real. She’s not a liar.”
“Of course she’s not, Daniel. I know. But this is the library.” She held up a hand. “Things work differently here, sometimes.”
And then she snapped her fingers.
Daniel twitched, jumping at the sharp noise. His mouth fell open a heartbeat later as a tiny ball of smoke and flame shot from her hand. It twisted in on itself in a rush of heat and light, simmering until at last a dragon exploded out to sail gleefully around his head. He gaped, completely awestruck.
With one last circuit and a flourish of its ember-laden wings, it dissipated into a cloud of sparks.
“.....Wow,” Daniel breathed. He bounced back to the balls of his feet a second later. “Wow! T-That was...That was really-” He stopped, glancing to her and then away.
Jean slipped a finger under his chin, lifting his eyes to meet her own. “Never hold onto a question, Daniel. Always ask, if there’s something on your mind.”
He flushed to red in an instant, pulling away. “...Is that why you’re not old anymore?”
A laugh burst from between her lips. It started slow but built in intensity, until her whole frame shook from the force of her amusement. “Oh, I was wondering how long it would take you to get there,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I was getting worried you hadn’t noticed. That’d have been a problem!”
Daniel shifted from foot to foot, his blush deepening. She nodded, quieting herself. “That’s good, Daniel. Very good. That’s exactly right. Like I said, things work differently here. I don’t want to be old, and so I’m not.” She lifted a finger to trace her eye, dragging across the smooth, unblemished skin. “It’s a bit of a trick, but you’ll pick it up in time.”
Damn.
Jean froze, coming to a stop. It was too late. She’d said it, and there was no taking the words back.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed. He was still shifting from foot to foot, but his hands were clenched into fists at his side. He knew, then. He could feel how wrong it was. He was young, but even he had to see it.
And now, she found she couldn’t even look at him anymore. She stood with her arms crossed, gazing down at the floor. Her eyes were distant, like she was lost in thoughts of her own.
With every breath he took, though, his curiosity seemed to burn brighter. “Will you...” he began, clasping his hands in front of him. “Will you show me how, sometime? That dragon?”
Jean’s eyes snapped up to meet his at last. She stared at him, utterly expressionless. “I will,” she said at last, exhaling slowly. She rose, crossing to where he stood and offering him her hand. “I’ll teach you everything, I promise. Why don’t we talk, for a little bit?”
Daniel blinked, caught in indecision for a single heartbeat. Those doubts of his weren’t gone, then. But after a long, pensive moment, he nodded and took her waiting hand. They turned as one, facing a wonderfully carved door that he was sure hadn’t been there moments before, and emerged in the familiar sitting room.
“Well, then,” she said, guiding him to a chair. “Did you like the library? Did you have fun?”
He smiled up at her. This was a question he could answer, at least. His legs had to ache, and she could tell his shoes were starting to rub on his feet by the way he fidgeted, but it had been a good day. “Yes!” he said, regaining a bit of his earlier vigor.
“Would you like to spend some more time here?”
Daniel nodded, remembering the workshop. “Didn’t finish my model,” he mumbled, looking away. His feet kicked the empty air, bouncing off the upholstery with every stroke.
Jean smiled. “No, I suppose you didn’t. We can’t have that, can we?” Do it, you coward.
She sat down heavily in the chair across from him. Her hands came together, wrapping about each other and squeezing so tightly her knuckles went white.
“You see, Daniel, this library is just so very big,” she said. “It’s a lot for one old lady to take care of, you know?” She forced a smile onto her face, raising one eyebrow as she glanced over to the boy. “It’s hard on these tired old bones. I was thinking, maybe it’d be nice to have some young blood around here more often.”
The kicking stopped.
Jean’s blood chilled, but she kept her endearing smile in place. “Do you know anyone who might like that? Some bright young fellow with an interest in books?”
“...Wanna go home.”
Her heart ached. Of course you do. “Wasn’t that big bedroom nice? And all those books!”
The kicking resumed, with twice the exuberance of before. There was no other response.
She held one finger up teasingly. “You could play with models like that every day!”
It was too much. It was just one sentence, but with that, all of the confusion and fear and exhaustion of the day reached a head. Daniel launched himself out of his seat with an angry, terrified cry.
Jean leapt up as well,
