The room was hot, the scent of wood and parchment inundating the musty air, and on the sides, by wooden tables, in between marble pillars, sat scholars dressed in togas, writing. There was a hushed reverence, and Ceres felt giddy to be here.
In the center of the library an elderly man stood at a marble slab, hunched over a scroll as he read. His head was bald, making his large ears more pronounced, and he had penetrating blue eyes that sat over a long, beaky nose.
He looked up and smiled, and immediately, Ceres knew she would like him.
Thanos walked in behind her and placed his hand on the small of her back, heat collecting there as he gently pushed her forward toward the old man.
“Ceres, meet Cosmas,” Thanos said. “He is the royal scholar, among other things.”
“I am honored to meet you,” Ceres said with a nod and a slight curtsy.
“The honor is mine, my dear,” the old man replied, his smile widening as he took her hand.
“What other sorts of things?” Ceres asked.
Thanos rested a hand on Cosmas’s shoulder, his eyes filled with tenderness.
“Counselor, teacher, friend, father,” he said.
The old man gasped a laugh and nodded.
“Father, yes.”
Cosmas rolled up the scroll in front of him, but even though Ceres itched to know what was written on it, she didn’t quite dare to ask to read it, thinking it might not be acceptable.
“You would never have known it, but you should have seen Thanos when he arrived at the castle,” he said in a voice that sounded like it might crack any second. “He was such a scrawny little thing, one would never have thought he would grow up to look like a god.”
Ceres laughed. Thanos stepped behind the old man and tapped his ear. Ceres nodded, realizing the man was hard of hearing.
“Thanos may have told you, but he lost his parents when he was but a babe. Such nice folks they were,” Cosmas said, shaking his head, his lips tilting downward.
“I’m sorry to hear,” Ceres said, glancing at Thanos, but Thanos said nothing.
The old man picked up the scroll, but before he could put it away, curiosity overcame Ceres, and she pushed her hesitation aside.
“May I read it?” she asked, forcing her voice to be louder than usual so Cosmas would hear her.
Thanos’s eyes widened, and he had a look of disbelief on his face.
“What?” Ceres asked, feeling a little embarrassed from his stare.
“I guess…I just assumed you couldn’t read,” he said.
“Well, you assumed wrong,” she retorted. “I love studying everything I can get my hands on.”
Cosmas laughed and winked at her.
“Although this isn’t the largest library in Delos, it is the oldest and carries the writings of the greatest philosophers and some of the best scholars in the world,” Cosmas said. “You are more than welcome to study anything in here.”
“Thank you,” Ceres said, letting her eyes scan the scrolls. “I could live in this place.”
“Hold on,” Thanos said, his eyes narrowing, his expression filled with skepticism. “What is it you have you studied, exactly?”
“Mathematics, astronomy, physics, geometry, geography, physiology, and medicine, among other things,” Ceres said.
Thanos nodded, a look of wonder, and perhaps even a look of pride in his eyes, Ceres saw.
“Thanos, why don’t you give the dear a tour of the rest of the library, and we can study when you return?” Cosmas said.
“Would you like to see it?” Thanos asked.
“Of course,” Ceres replied, bubbles of excitement rising within at the thought.
Thanos offered his arm again, but just like before, she sauntered right past him, not taking it. He rolled his eyes.
First Thanos took her to the study room, then a lecture hall and a meeting room, before finally showing her out to the library gardens.
They walked in silence on the stone path, past statues of gods and goddesses, manicured bushes, vine-covered pillars, and endless beds of brightly colored flowers. A gentle breeze delighted her face, the scent of roses stirring into the air.
At the back of her mind, she remembered there was something she had planned to say to Thanos, but with him here, she couldn’t seem to recall what it was.
“I must admit, I was quite shocked when you started to list off all the philosophies you had studied,” Thanos said. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you at first.”
“Well, in your defense, most commoners aren’t schooled, and most royals think they know everything about everyone, so how could you have known?” she said.
He chuckled at the jibe.
“I’ll be the first to admit I am ignorant in many things,” he said.
She glanced at him sideways. Was he pretending to be humble? She couldn’t tell.
“How did you become learned?” he asked, clasping his hands behind his back as he walked.
“My father’s best friend was a scholar, and the scholar would let me sneak into the library and read. And more often than not he would even sit down with me and teach me,” she said.
“I’m glad there are some reasonable men out there, encouraging women to study,” he said.
Ceres glanced at him again, trying to assess if he were being genuine in his remark or not, thinking he couldn’t possibly be.
“Cosmas is one of those men. If you would like, I could have him continue to tutor you.”
Ceres was unable to repress an ear-to-ear smile.
“I would like that. I would love that,” she said.
They walked on a while longer until they came to a half-circle of marble pillars. Thanos bid her to sit on the stone bench, and after she sat down, he sat next to her. When she saw the city and the sea beyond, she sighed, for it was so beautiful.
“I didn’t realize your parents died when you were young,” Ceres said.
He looked out across the city, his nose wrinkling slightly.
“I don’t remember them, although I have heard quite a few stories about them from Cosmas.”
He paused and pressed a hand next to hers, resting on the bench, their pinky fingers touching.
She couldn’t help but notice how her stomach fluttered.
“I do often wonder what they were like, and especially what it would be like to have the love of a mother,” he said.
“How did they die?” she asked, her voice soft.
“It’s uncertain, but Cosmas thinks someone murdered them.”
“How horrible!” Ceres exclaimed, placing her hand atop his without thinking.
Realizing what she had done, she was about to pull her hand away, but Thanos grabbed it before she could and held it tight.
They sat like that for a moment that seemed to span eternity, hearts beating strong, breaths ceased.
She would not look into his eyes, she told herself, for she knew if she did, something would happen. Something terrible. Something wonderful.
He placed a hand underneath her chin and lifted it so she had no other place to look but into his eyes.
And all of a sudden it was as if all the air had vanished from around her and she felt warm, warmer than she had ever felt.
His dark eyes flicked to her lips, and some unseen force drew her to him, pulling her away from her resolve to stay away, pulling her away from Rexus and all she had ever held dear.
With a soft smile, he lifted a hand and stroked her cheek, and Ceres could not for the life of her look away. He leaned forward, his lips finding her throat, so soft.
She took in a staggered breath while her hands knitted through his thick dark curls. She found his lips, warm, soft, and she moved hers across his, slowly, tingles spreading through her, and all that had ever been and all that was, was no more.
“Thanos!” Ceres heard, a female voice, bringing her back to reality.