First Page of Friendship

“Remember,” a rough voice instructed, “Do not draw too much attention to yourself and if you see any guards, stay low. Looking at you, Emory.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Emory muttered annoyingly as they followed behind their father and a couple of other misfits joining them.

The group walked through the busy streets of a town, the sun shining above their heads. The wind picked up a bit as well, blowing the flag with the town’s rose symbol in the air and Emory’s dark hair over their green eyes. As they pushed their bangs aside, they looked around the several stalls and shops they passed by. If they had any coins to spare, they would’ve gotten at least one thing. Perhaps a fruit or piece of bread. But alas, they remain as they’ve always been, broke. But their eyes sparkled as the bold letters above a shop labeled “bookstore” came into view. They stopped in front of the shop as the group proceeded to keep walking further away. Though they mostly dwindled on taking things from the rich and trading it for coins, they enjoyed going through a book or two in their free time. They had several books back home but wondered if they would find anything new in there.

They wouldn’t mind if they were gone for a while, Emory thought as they looked back. The group now long gone, most likely broke off to do their own thing until the end of the day. With a deep breath, their hand reached for the doorknob.

A small bell jingled as the door opened.

“Welcome in!” a soft voice greeted them. Emory turned and saw an older woman at one of the shelves. She held a couple of books on one arm and held another with her free hand. She assumed she was the shopkeeper here.

They didn’t know how to answer so they simply smiled at her. 

“If you need any help looking for something, let me know,” The shopkeeper smiled back as she proceeded to place the singular book into one of the shelves. She went to the next shelf over and repeated the process with the other books. 

“Okay, thanks,” they managed to respond.

Emory began to walk through the store itself, examining each distinct book cover to see which one interested them the most. There were some books they had recognized, like the book of fairy tales. They also had the same copy of the book about the introduction to tarot cards. They kept staring at the covers, unaware of a tall figure standing a couple of feet away from them. With the sound of two bodies bumping into each other and a loud thud, the shopkeeper immediately rushed to the scene.

“Is everything okay?”

Before Emory could answer, a light chuckle came out next to them, “Yes, we’re alright.”

They slowly turned toward the new voice. He was a handsome elven boy. His messy, white hair obscured his eyes. He got up and extended a hand toward them, “Need some help?”

Emory felt their face grow warm as they stared up at him. They got a better look at him and could now tell that his eyes were icy blue. His outfit was neat and proper, with the same symbol of the flag sewn into his vest. It contrasted with their own ragged appearance, wearing a simple tunic and a fabric tied around their waist. With hesitation, they took the boy’s hand as he pulled them up.

“Thanks…for that,” Emory said bluntly.

“It’s no problem, really,” the boy exclaimed.

“I was standing in your way.”

“I should’ve looked where I was going.”

They both paused and looked at each other as they blurted their respective statements at the same time, and then they erupted into laughter.

“My name is Florian,” the elf introduced himself.

“I’m Emory,” it was only fair to be polite back.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he extended his hand out again, though this time it was for a handshake.

Emory did not hesitate to take his hand and shake it firmly.

They cleared their throat, “So, what’s a handsome guy like you doing here?” They didn’t expect those to come out of their mouth. Now they wanted to dig themself a grave, a deep, shallow grave.

“You think I’m handsome?” Florian’s face had a hint of blush on them.

“Well,” Emory began stammering, “Y-Yes. But that’s besides the point-”

“You seem good looking yourself,” he interrupted, now their face getting even warmer.

“Thank you,” they mumbled, “But anyways.”

They fixed their posture up as they cleared their throat once again, “What I meant to ask is… what brings you to this simple looking bookstore. You look…” they attempted to pick their next words carefully, “I mean this as respectfully as I can. You look as if you’re from nobility.”

“Oh?” Florian blinked as he looked at them with raised eyebrows. Now would be a great time to decide where to dig up that shallow grave, they thought. Perhaps they could let this new acquaintance of theirs to hit them hard on the head with a shovel before burying them alive.

Their thoughts faded away as Florian’s soft laughter made a return. They felt their heart beat fast as they swore they felt butterflies in their stomach.

“No you got it all wrong,” he exclaimed, “I’m actually a student here at the academy.”

“Oh…” Now Emory felt a little stupid, but not a complete fool. They remembered seeing a tall establishment loom over them as they arrived in town earlier. They could’ve mistaken it for a castle if they hadn’t heard a bystander comment on how lucky the students were to practice magic in there.

“I could see what you thought so,” he continued, “We are required to wear the uniform even when we’re out and about.”

“Really? That’s… strange,” Emory extended the last word.

“It is but I can see why it’s that way,” Florian shrugged, “But to answer your question. I come here all the time, ever since I was young. Unlike at the academy, all these books here are at a fair price. Besides, I prefer places with more variety.”

It was starting to make sense as Emory nodded along.

“I also wanted to ask you the same thing,” Florian looked at Emory expectantly, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”

They had almost forgotten why they were in this town to begin with. But they didn’t share the exact reason, “I’m just visiting, thought I should check this place out since I love books.”

“Well, that’s something we have in common,” that got a giggle out of Emory.

“Yeah,” they looked down somberly, “too bad I can’t afford to buy a new one at the moment.”

“I could buy it for you,” Florian proclaimed. Emory looked at him in surprise.

“No, it’s alright really,” Emory’s face flushed again.

“I insist,” he replied, “consider this a token of our new found friendship.”

Yeah, friendship. As much as they’ve already grown to admire the elven boy, it was too early to catch feelings. They also had to be cautious. What if his kind gestures were nothing but a facade? They had encountered people who were charming and were willing to lend a hand but turned out to be nothing but liars and traitors. Looking at those blue eyes again, Emory saw no malicious intent in them.

“Alright,” they sighed, their shoulders relaxed.

The two spent what felt like hours going through the books in the store. The shopkeeper, Madeline, assisted them to see if she had any books Emory had certain interests in. During those moments, they both also learned a little bit more about each other. Like how Florian is into astrology and alchemy whereas Emory preferred adventures and folktales. The sun that was once beaming on the town began to set as the sky became a lighter orange. Emory looked out the window and sighed.

“I should start heading back,” Emory looked back at Florian as he gave Madeline gold pieces for the books they picked out together

“Me too, the academy set a curfew for students to be back before nightfall.”

They both waved goodbye to Madeline as the bell jingled once again, the two now outside of the shop.

“Will we see each other again?” Emory asked, they hoped this wouldn’t be the last time they saw that face.

“I hope so,” Florian replied, “I enjoyed your company.”

“Me too,” Emory smiled.

“Here,” he gave them their new book. It was a brown hard cover with a silver drawing of a long tower. From the synopsis alone, it piqued Emory’s interest.

“Thank you,” they smiled.

Before Florian turned back, Emory spoke up.

“Hold on,” they dug through their pockets. Florian leaned forward a bit in curiosity.

“This is my token of our friendship,” Emory pulled whatever it was out and placed it onto Florian’s palm. He examined it closely. It was a blue iris flower.

“Where did you find something like this?” Florian’s eyes sparkled. There was no way they could’ve guessed this was his favorite flower.

“I picked it off the ground before getting into town.”

“Thank you, I’ll treasure it,” he held the flower close to his chest.

They both smiled at each other before turning to their respective paths: Florian back to the academy, Emory towards the docks where their father and group are for sure waiting for them.