Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
1434
It was nighttime. Thomas laid in bed, restless. Thunder crackled outside and he found himself unable to go back to sleep. Storms had always kept him awake, ever since he was a child.
As a boy, his mother would read to him until he fell asleep. When she died, his nursemaid had basically told him to suck it up. Obviously, it hadn't worked.
He sat up, deciding to head to the library. Perhaps a good book would help him to sleep.
Walking down the hallway to the library, Thomas frowned when he heard noise from the library. It was late, he expected everyone to be sleeping already.
He popped his head into the library, only to smile when he watched Katherine jump in fright. She held a book in her hand and she wore only a shift.
She wasn't expecting anyone to be awake, meaning no one would find it improper of her to be undressed. "My lord!" She exclaimed in surprise, clutching the book to her chest.
"My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you," He apologized and moved closer into the room, "I could not sleep. I wanted to get a book."
"It would seem we had the same thought," She agreed, holding up her book.
"Is your chambers to your liking?" He asked in concern, looking toward the hallway, "If not, I will gladly have you given a better--"
"No, no, no, that's not needed," She assured him, a part of her trying not to smile at the kind offer, "It's the storm keeping me up. All the noise, the lightning, it's unsettling to me."
Thomas smiled at her assuringly. "You?" He asked her sarcastically, "Afraid of a mere storm? No chance."
"Why are you up, then?" She pressed him and walked closer to him.
"The same reason," He responded, even though Katherine had already assumed by the way he teased, "Reading calms my nerves during the storm. As my mother once used to read to me."
He walked closer to her and lightly grabbed the book out of her hand to read the title. She looked uneasy, which made him even more curious.
"The Art of War," He read aloud and he began to smile, "A woman of your caliber would be expected not to even know what this book is."
"It caught my eye," She confessed truthfully, "I've never seen it before."
"It is because it is the only one in England and perhaps the whole world," He informed her, much to her surprise, "It was written by a general named Sun Zhu. From a world far different than ours. A place where there's emperors and not kings. This book is centuries old."
"It looks it," Katherine remarked and Thomas laughed in response.
Thomas stared down at the book, admiring it. "These books are mostly mine," He informed her calmly, "Some of my most prized possessions. I should probably keep them at Bedford Castle to avoid them getting into the wrong hands."
