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"Come on, Etie! We need to go to The Dragon and find the book!" Enthused Alfred as he walked down the long cobblestone street towards the bookshop.
"Yes I get it, but you don't even know what it's called! How are we possibly meant to find it?" Sighed Etie as she fixed her yellow and orange checkered jacket.
"He described the cover of it to me - I will know it when I see it, trust me!"
"Fine but can we at least run there?! May as well get a workout." Asked Etie as she pulled up her socks and got into position.
Before she knew it, Alfred was already halfway down the street. "HURRY UP UNLESS YOU WANNA BE LEFT BEHIND!" He shouted in the distance as his voice trailed off.
As fast as lightning, Alfred and Etie arrived at The Dragon. The hottest bookshop in Firene with seven floors. It was a bookworm's dream. However, looking for a specific book was more of a bookworm's nightmare.
"Has Boucheron not tried finding this himself?" Enquired Etie as she looked around at the towering shelves.
"Whenever he tries he just finds a different book he likes and reads that." Alfred laughed as he began walking towards the stairs. "Shall we?"
Etie climbed up the steep spiral staircase and looked around at the shop walls; it was beautiful. The decorations ranged from hanging pothos plants to intricate portraits of The Divine One draped across the warm brown walls. The wooden floorboards were covered in a wide array of multi-coloured rugs, some of which were ragged and falling apart. The space felt inviting yet practical. A myriad of people from all walks of life stood around the aisles quietly discussing their favourite books and giving recommendations which made for a respectful and positive atmosphere.
As they ascended the staircase they were greeted with a stern-faced librarian. "Hey, did you have a copy of a book with a bright yellow colour and some grey castle in the background?!" Alfred spluttered as he slammed his hands on the table; he meant business. He would do everything he could to find this book for Boucheron's birthday and nothing was going to get in his way.
"Good Morning, Sir. Can I take your name?" She stated as she looked directly into Alfred's eyes.
"Uh... Yeah sure! It's Alfred." He said hesitantly as he turned to look at Etie behind him. She shrugged and started doing jumping jacks.
"No exercising in the building." She snapped as her eyes darted to Etie. She immediately stood up straight and stopped what she was doing. She seemed genuinely intimidated by this woman.
Alfred started laughing. Hysterically. He couldn't fathom the idea of Etie even remotely finding somebody like this scary. For him, it was to be expected but her? No way!
The entire floor of people started staring at them both, visibly annoyed at the prospect of them even daring to make that much noise. Etie began to furiously blush as she attempted to hide her face in her jacket and hide behind Alfred in his ridiculously large trench coat. At least it made a good hiding place.
"Don't think I didn't see the sweat dripping down your face, boy. This isn't a gym, it seems like you two got lost." She snickered as she started sifting through a dusty binder full of papers detailing the contents of the shelves and how many books are left. "You two are quite an odd pair. There is one single copy of it left in here. It's on the fourth floor but I couldn't tell you where. It's called Castle of Sand."
"Yeah, we get that a lot, you wouldn't think I'm a prince... Thank you, we'll try and find it!" He smiled as he waved and walked towards the next set of stairs.
"Hey, wait for me!" Whispered Etie as she sheepishly shuffled behind him.
"Why are you so nervous?! We're in a bookshop, not Gradlon." He jested as he repeatedly poked her in the shoulder.
"This is uncharted territory! What do you expect from me?!" She retorted as she batted his hands off her.
As they reached the top of the stairs all they could see was bookcases towered to the ceiling with rusted ladders littering the narrow pathways. There were subtle pink fairy lights covering the shelves alongside various types of potted flowers. Sunlight spilt into the room through the large windows which seemed to be the only light source aside from a few candles scattered around the place. The pungent smell of coffee filled the air which was uniquely difficult for their nostrils to handle; They were two loyal tea lovers, after all.
"We need to get this done quickly. Céline will kill us if she smells coffee on our clothes!" He said, "Oh dear brother, you are betraying our beloved country." Mocked Alfred as he smirked and began sifting through the thick stack of novels in front of him.
"Oh Etie, you are a Firenese retainer! You don't need coffee to energise you, tea is the answer! " Etie said, imitating Céline's voice perfectly as she reached across to assist him.
"That was amazing! Maybe you should ditch Firene and become an entertainer!" He giggled as he split from her to tackle a different area of the bookcase.
As the clock ticked on, the pair made their way around the majority of the floor with no luck. The left corner of the room awaited them as their last resort. As they approached, Etie saw a yellow book out of the corner of her eye. It was in the hands of a tall man sitting on a navy blue armchair below a stained glass window, surrounded by a myriad of flowers from all different countries on Elyos. The window was detailed with a beautiful, shimmering silhouette of none other than Queen Lumera.
"Alfred!" She whispered as she tugged on his coat and pulled him down towards her. They kneeled behind the white bookcase before them and poked their heads around the side. "That man has the book!" She said as she pointed in his direction.
"What?!" Shouted Alfred as he flung upwards to get a better look at the man.
"Get down and shut up you idiot!!!! We need a plan!!!!" Sighed Etie as she covered her face in embarrassment, somehow for the second time that day.
Alfred apologised, quietly, as he carefully bopped back down beneath the top. He couldn't help but think up a million awful plans in his head to try and get that book. He wanted to spoil and surprise Boucheron on his birthday as a thank you for all the incredible things he does for him, like buying him new weights for his last birthday. He wanted his retainer to be happy and treated well under his care because, before any other fancy titles, they were primarily best friends.
"...I can't think of a single good idea." Whined the frustrated prince as he continued to try and rack his brain for something more useful.
"I mean... We could just ask him for it?" Suggested Etie as she also tried to think of more ways to approach it.
"Do you not think I've already thought of that?! What if he just says no!" Exclaimed Alfred.
Just as they were about to give up, they heard the sound of crying. This wasn't the sound of a child crying, this was undoubtedly an adult.
It sounded exactly like Boucheron. That cry was not hard to identify considering they have to hear it so often.
In their confusion, the duo stood up and began to look around for him; he couldn't be that far and certainly couldn't be that hidden.
As she scanned the room, Etie brought her eyes around to the armchair and there he was... Boucheron was sitting in it. This whole time, he had been the one in possession of the book. Etie sighed and poked Alfred on the arm.
Alfred looked at Etie who nodded towards the cosy corner. His puzzled expression swiftly turned into shock. "What?! Boucheron, you have the book?!" Shouted Alfred as he ran over to him, not paying even the slightest bit of attention to the people around him.
"Huh, my Prince...? Etie...?" Blubbered Boucheron as he grabbed a handkerchief and began to blow his nose. He looked completely bewildered at the prospect of the pair being within a 10-foot radius of a place like The Dragon.
Boucheron was wearing a pair of tailored grey twill trousers, paired with a white button-up shirt with pink flowers as buttons. His hair was combed back out of his face and he was wearing a bracelet designed to look like a real daisy chain around his left wrist. He looked like he was comfortable and in his element, lost in the world of the story. He frequently came and sat in this spot, the environment relaxed him
"You got the book?! Awww, I was gonna get it for your birthday!" Sulked Alfred as he sat on the floor in front of him.
"What? That's so nice, Prince Alfred. You don't need to do things like that for me." He uttered, trying to hold back the stream of tears being held behind his eyelids.
"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?! You're one of my favourite people in the world!"
"Alfred... You're the best! Ohhhhh I don't deserve a friend like you!" Boucheron cried as the pages of the book got wet.
"Nooooo, you're gonna make me cry too!" Alfred bawled as he stood up to hug him.
Alfred and Boucheron had been best friends for as long as they could remember, but they rarely stopped to properly appreciate each other. Giving him this gift meant a lot to Alfred, he wanted to thank him for always being there beyond the normal duties of a royal knight.
"Oh you two, you're both such a mess." Beamed Etie as she leaned against the bookcase and watched them cry in each other's embrace. It was oddly charming to see them so vulnerable together in Boucheron's happy place.