From the outside, the library was a two-story building with a glossy dark brown and white color scheme. There was a cobblestone road that led up to the building with a sign in front stating "Kandel Library", the letters written in cursive. The library had its own unique charm, but it wasn't necessarily anything eye-catching. This was supposed to be the place where the human records were kept?

You glanced around, noticing it was much more desolate compared to other parts of town. There were trees in the back of the library, leading to a large forest filled with... bubblegum pink trees. You nearly passed out from whiplash when you spotted them during the carriage ride earlier. What's more, the leaves looked airy and fluffy -- similar to the texture of cotton candy.

Actually, Could they be cotton candy?

Eyeing those around you, you wondered if you could sneak a couple leaves into your mouth and test that theory. Playing it cool, your feet slowly shimmied towards one of the trees and--

--snap! The sound of a twig breaking behind you. Instantly, you fought for your life.

"NoofcourseIwasn'tabouttoeataleaf-" you quickly closed your mouth once you saw Joy's innocent expression. "Oh! Joy! What's up? Whatcha doing?"

"I saw you heading off by yourself, my lady. Ah! Were you looking at the trees?" she smiled, looking up at the fluffy pink tree you were about to snag a leaf from. As you pondered what excuse to reply with, she suddenly reached out and grabbed a handful of pink leaves, shoving them into her mouth.

"Joy?!" you cried out, alarmed. "Did--did you just eat the leaves?"

Joy smacked her lips softly a few times before shaking her head in disappointment. "Oh, they're not ripe yet, my lady. You must be feeling a bit peckish, yes? That's why you went over here for a little taste. I'm afraid you'll have to wait another month or so before they're sweet enough."

Mouth wide open, you were left speechless. So the leaves were edible?! Or are they only edible to Candi people? Also, what did she mean by 'not ripe' yet?

"W-wait, Joy, can I ask you a few questions?" you stuttered out, "Is everything in Candie Land—I mean, Kandel, edible?"

She tilted her head, "Edible?"

"Let me rephrase that; can I eat everything in Kandel? Like the leaves, the tree bark, the cobblestone," you turned and pointed, "even like the walls of the library?"

It took five seconds of silence from her to wonder if you just asked the dumbest question possible before she smiled.

"Oh, I see! Technically, yes, you could eat everything you just listed, but why would you, my lady?" she giggled, "While everything is indeed made out of sugar, Candi-made buildings and items would taste very peculiar. This is because the sugar used to build them is mixed in with other ingredients so it can hold its shape. But anything naturally-grown should taste fine, if ripe enough."

"No way..." you muttered, carefully plucking a leaf from off the tree. It felt like a feather on your hand, and then, you plopped it inside your mouth. It dissolved almost immediately, leaving a sweet but mostly sour taste on your tongue. Brain still processing what just happened, you slowly turned to look at Joy. "You were right... Let's give it another month to ripen."

She gave you an amused smile, "If you don't mind, my lady, could you tell me about yourself? Specifically your homeland?"

"My--my homeland?!" you stuttered, "Well, it's... very homey."

You wanted to turn into a pile of maple syrup right there and then, but for reference you were pretty sure Joy was the only one in your group of four who didn't know your identity as a human. Well, you could argue it was obvious you weren't a Candi person considering everyone in this land had incredibly rare hair and eye colors, and an overall glossy finish to them. Though, from what King Kane said, humans were a secretive existence in Kandel. Only the royal family really knew about them, that, and the librarian in the Kandel Library. Earlier, Joy even said she was happy that Kandel received a new visitor. She must've thought you were from the neighboring nations.

Plus when Mayor Twyx needed alone time with his dad, you told Joy that you'd all be going to Kandel Library so the mayor could pick up a few books for the king to read. She didn't question it in the slightest, but now that she was asking you where you came from, you found yourself in a sticky situation. It's not that you didn't think Joy was really sweet and friendly, it's just that you weren't sure how Candi people reacted to the concept of a 'human'. Min was willing to decapitate you the second you arrived, so what was stopping other Candis from doing the same?

Maybe you should lie and tell her the name of a fake kingdom far away? Hmm, what's a good name... Sugarland? Sugaria? Sugar-lollipop-balooza? Okay, these fake names of yours needed some work. In the middle of your intense thinking, Joy called out to you.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, my lady, I wasn't thinking," she quickly glanced around, as if checking for anyone listening in. There wasn't anyone else besides Mayor Twyx and Min, who were both busy chatting in front of the carriage. Then, she stepped closer and whispered, "We should keep your identity as a human a secret! It'd be disastrous if someone overheard our conversation and put the pieces together."

It took you five seconds to register what she said before you exclaimed, "Wait, you knew this whole time?!"

She blinked, "That you're an outsider, my lady? I wasn't aware at first until Min told me."

"What'd this motherfu-- I mean, Min, say exactly?

"He said to stay away from 'the human', fearing that you were dangerous." As you were about to curse out the silver-haired knight for trying to damage your relationship with Joy, your maid smiled apologetically, "Please don't worry, my lady, I don't agree with what he said at all. You're far from dangerous, just lost and confused after being thrown into a place without your memories."

"Well, I'm relieved you didn't believe him," you sighed, "but seriously, I'm not trying to harm anyone here. If anything, I'm the one who should be scared. Min literally pointed a spear at my neck the second I spawned in! But after the mayor took me in and even fed me, there's no reason for me to do anything to hurt you guys. It's like that one metaphor that I can't really recall..." You thought hard for a second, using all of your brain power that you could muster, "Oh, I remember! Never bite the hand that feeds you-"

It felt like firecrackers had gone off throughout your head the moment you finished reciting the metaphor. The pain of ten migraines were raging on at the same time, each one battling to take control and cause the most damage. You were brought down to your knees, crying out in sheer agony.

"My lady?! Are you alright?" Joy raised a hand to your face. "What's wrong?!"

Then, there was the shuffling of feet towards you, and you hazily saw the mayor crouched in front of you, concern plastered clearly across his face. Min followed behind him, staring down at you in surprise.

"Miss y/n!" Mayor Twyx called out, then he looked up at Joy. "What happened, Miss Joy?"

"I'm not sure, my liege... My--my lady, she was talking one second and then the next, she was clutching at her head in pain."

Twyx frowned, "Clutching her head in pain...?" he turned back to you, "Miss y/n, can you describe the pain to me? What were you talking about before this happened?"

"Y-yeah," you managed to say, "it feels like there's something massive pressing against my head. I--I was talking about this metaphor from my world before--!" you clutched your head even tighter, the pain spiked the moment you thought about it.

In the midst of all the chaos of Joy freaking out and Min trying to calm her down, Mayor Twyx stood there for a good five seconds. In those few seconds, he seemed to have come to a conclusion, suddenly getting down on one knee and putting a hand on your shoulder.

"Miss y/n, please listen and repeat after me slowly. 'I am in Candie Land',"

You fought to look at him through your headache, "Wh-what?"

"Please repeat after me, "I am in Candie Land,"

"I... am in C-Candie Land," you grimaced as you fought against your headache.

"I am in Kandel,"

"I, ow, am in Kandel,"

Min and Joy, mostly Joy, looked on in worry and confusion as the mayor spoke to you with a gentle tone.

"I am in Candie Land, in Kandel, in front of the Kandel Library."

The more you repeated what Twyx told you, the more you felt the pain from your headache starting to fade. You tore your focus away from your massive migraine and forced yourself to be present in the moment, enunciating the words that left your mouth. At first, you could barely force yourself to say anything, but after a few sets of migrations, the pain was starting to dwindle.

Finally, it disappeared entirely. Blinking in surprise, you looked up only to be met with the soft gaze of golden chocolate-colored eyes.

"Feeling better now?" he smiled, his hand still on your shoulder. You felt heat rising to your cheeks before you slowly nodded,

"Y-yeah... thank you."

And then, a pair of arms were thrown around you.

"My lady!!! Oh my gosh, are you okay now? Like really okay? You had me so, so, so worried!" Joy cried out, clutching onto you for dear life. Her sudden weight made you fall back, and even though Mayor Twyx hurriedly reached out for you, it was futile. The two of you landed on top of the soft and very saturated grass.

"Ouch, I think I just got my migraine back. Maybe a little warning next time, Joy?" your voice was muffled as the maid was still hugging you with all her weight.

Hearing this, she quickly got off and stood up.

"I-I'm so sorry, my lady! I, I overstepped my boundaries!" she sputtered out. Meanwhile, you just stood up and cracked your back.

"No worries," you smiled tiredly, "I was just teasing you." Joy stared at you for a few seconds before shooting you a sweet smile, one that made Min look at her with wide eyes. Then, he turned to the mayor.

"My liege, now that the hu- Miss y/n, is alright, we really should be getting inside. The sun should be setting in a few hours," he stated, cold as ever. Mayor Twyx nodded, his gaze falling onto you.

"Yes, of course. Are you fine with walking there, Miss y/n? I can carry you, if needed."

You frantically shook your head after taking a second to process what he said.

"N-nope! I'm totally okay, mayor! No need for that, haha," you rubbed your head awkwardly, ignoring the heat on your cheeks. He gave you a small smile and a nod before turning around.

As you trailed behind Mayor Twix and Min with Joy to your left, your thoughts couldn't help but trail back to what happened earlier. However, the slight pain that flickered in your head discouraged you from thinking about it any further.

It was alright. Everything was alright. You were sure you'd find some answers in the Kandel Library for the questions that had been piling up in your head.

The moment you stepped inside, an overwhelming feeling of curiosity and wonder hit you like a truck. The interior was filled head to toe with books, yet designed in a way that reminded you of a vintage, aesthetic cafe. It was beautiful, to say the least, and you couldn't help but look on in awe.

"Whoa..." you muttered, slowly spinning around to get a 360-view of everything. "This place is amazing! I don't think I was much of a reader back on Ea--" you paused, not wanting to risk another migraine, "--I mean, my homeland, but I would totally get into reading to spend all my time here."

Then, you caught sight of the receptionist area. Towers of messy books were stacked around it in a circle-like shape; while a pair of criss-crossed legs rested on top of the desk itself. As your eyes trailed up, you saw a torso, crossed-arms, a neck, and a book in place of where the face would be. What the?  Blinking wildly, you saw Mayor Twyx walking up to the receptionist desk. Then, he called out to the book-headed figure.

"Haze?"

No response. The mayor blinked before trying again, "Haze, are you there? It's me, Twyx. I need to talk to you about something important." Once another silence followed after that, Min scoffed and walked up to him. You wondered what he was planning to do, not having any good expectations considering it was Min--yet he still managed to throw those expectations out the window.

The knight pounded his fist on the desk, sending both the books and the figure flying upwards for a good second. Then came a crash!, and the person had fallen out of their chair. As both the mayor and Joy stared at him with an exasperated look, you had your jaw open. There's no way this man just disrespected the librarian like that.

"Min?! What the hell was that for??" you called out, debating if you should chuck a hardcover book at his head or not.

The knight looked over his shoulder, raising a brow. "I'm giving the librarian a little wake-up call. What's it to you?"

"Does the word 'gentle' not exist in your dictionary?" you shot back, "first you hold a spear up to my throat, and now you indirectly knock out another innocent person?" The more you got to know him, the less of a knight and more of a barbarian this man was starting to become.

Min opened his mouth to fire back, but someone beat him to it.

 
"Ouch," a muffled voice cried out. An arm reached out to remove the book on top of their face, "can't a librarian get any sleep around here?" The voice was masculine yet boy-ish at the same time. 

With a low yawn, the figure stood up and stretched his arms high over his head. Then, he blinked several times and stared forward, a wide smile appearing on his lips. "Oh? Good evening, Mr. Mayor. I don't remember getting any heads-up that you'd be here today." His eyes glanced to his right, where the grumpy silver-haired knight was, "Ah, greetings Min! Were you the one who banged on my desk and sent me flying?"

The knight crossed his arms, "Yeah, you were sleeping on the job as usual. I had to wake you up."

"Oh, but you see, Min, I wasn't sleeping. I was actually wide awake," The librarian smiled, "did you not see the book on my face?"

Min looked at him like he was crazy, "Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"Well, if I'm being honest, ye-"

"Haze," Twyx cut in, drawing the attention of the man in a low dark ponytail. The librarian glanced back with a smile.

"Oh, my apologies, mayor. You'll have to forgive me for trying to pacify your knight over here." he said with a teasing tone, "So, what can I do for you?" Then, he noticed you and Joy standing in the back. "Oh! Is that you, Miss Joy? Haven't seen you in a while, hope you've been doing well."

"I have! Thank you, Master Haze." She bowed. Haze hummed in reply, his eyes meeting yours. He stared at you and you stared back even harder, determined not to lose the battle. Once you won, he stated, "How strange, a new face I've yet to see. And a pretty one, at that." His wink combined with his dimples made it a deadly-combo to the average person. From behind the librarian, you could see Min roll his eyes. You weren't sure if he did that towards Haze's wink, or him calling you 'pretty'. Probably both. However, while you definitely weren't touch-starved enough to fall for someone you met three minutes ago, you'd 100% be lying if you said the librarian wasn't attractive in the slightest. 

His hair color was akin to a layer of brown gloss over the night sky, complemented by umber-colored skin, and dark ruby eyes. He wore a red tunic shirt that left just enough exposure for his chest and a pair of black pants underneath. A necklace with a silver ring in the middle was around his neck, and two smaller silver rings pierced on his helix and one on his lobe. He carried an aura of playfulness around him, and his smile was both confident and debonair. Haze was also around the mayor's height, yet shorter than Min, who was taller than both of them by two or three inches.

By the time you snapped back to reality, you realized he was asking you something.

"-ame?" Haze said. You blinked, "What?"

"What's your name, lovely stranger?" he repeated, his playful grin apparent. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Oh! I'm, um, y/n. Nice to meet you, Mr. Librarian?"

"Haze," his grin widened, "I'm Haze Lyndt, nice to meet you, y/n. Although, I suppose Mr. Librarian would suffice just as well. Did you move into town recently?"

You laughed and scratched your head, "Well, that's kind of a complicated question. Mayor Twyx?" you turned to the mayor for help, only to see he was already staring at you. Then, he faced the librarian.

"Haze, we're here today regarding important matters," Twyx said, "can I speak to you privately?"

The librarian cocked his head to the side, "Privately? Well, I don't mind, but the four of you are the only ones in the library at the moment. Besides me, of course. Business is slower in the evenings," he smiled, sitting down. "So feel free to just tell me here, mayor."

Twyx debated Haze's words for a moment before nodding slowly, "Alright. What I'm about to say is purely confidential, and cannot be told to anyone else." He turned around, "This applies to you three as well. Please keep this to yourselves, Min, Miss Joy, Miss [name]." As Min and Joy nodded, you perked up.

"I don't see why I would willingly tell other peo- I mean, Candis, since it could possibly jeopardize my life. But, of course." You said, eyeing Min. He returned your stare with a prickly one, but quickly went back to normal once he saw the mayor looking at him.

Twyx stayed silent for a few seconds. Then, he spoke, "The reason you've never seen Miss y/n isn't because she recently moved to Kandel, it's because she came from an entirely different world. A world called Earth. She's a human, Haze, and we need to access the human records held in the Kandel Library to find information to get her home."

There was complete silence for a moment. Then, it was broken.

"Miss y/n over there is a... human?" the librarian asked, staring at you with an indecipherable expression. "I don't think I heard you correctly, Twyx."

"It's true, Master Haze." Joy suddenly spoke, "She arrived via Snowflake Lake, although we don't know how or why. Isn't that right, my lady?" the maid turned to you.

You nodded, meeting Haze's ruby-colored stare. "Yeah. It sounds crazy, but I woke up in some random body of water that turned out to be what you guys call 'Snowflake Lake'. Then Min pointed a spear at my throat and knocked me out. Next thing I know, I'm in the guestroom of Mayor Twyx's incredibly fancy mansion. We went to visit the king, and he told us to come here--to this very library for some answers." You softened your gaze, "So, Mr. Librarian, I'm really hoping you know how to get me home... because I can't remember anything about how or why I got here. I'm missing so many of my memories, and it honestly feels so, so bizarre. Like there's something wrong with me, but I can't quite put my finger on it, you know?"

Another silence. Haze's eyes trailed up and down your frame. Then, he stepped out of the receptionist area, and begun walking towards you. The whole time, he didn't break eye contact.

"Miss y/n, you're... human?" he quietly said once he was in front of you. Without looking away, you nodded. 

"Yeah, I am." 

The librarian's gaze was intense yet mesmerizing. His eyes held glimpses of emotions you'd never be able to understand, and he slowly reached his hand out, only stopping once his fingers were inches away from your face... as if he wasn't sure if he could touch you or not. "I'm... so sorry."

You blinked, "for what?"

He simply smiled, but it wasn't his mischievous or teasing ones from earlier, it was a smile with a hint of sadness and... guilt. Suddenly, it was like a switch had flipped, and the sadness you saw had disappeared completely. "That you lost your memories, of course. The thought of losing my memories is the same as losing myself," Haze said, "What a truly, horrifying experience it must be. I'm sincerely sorry that you're going through that right now."

Taken aback by his words, you simply stared at him with your mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Oh! W-well, no, it's not really all that bad. Sure, it feels weird, but I can just make new memories, y'know? And once I get back to Earth, I'm positive I'll remember everything again. But thanks for the... compassion," you scratched your neck, glancing at the Candis who were eyeing the two of you confusedly. Man, that caught you off guard. 

Haze smiled, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, "Anytime." Then, he turned around to look at the mayor. "You said you needed to access the human records? That's an area that even I'm not allowed to touch," he chuckled, "And trust me, I've tried."

"How do you know what a human is then?" Min asked, raising a brow. You blinked, although you'd never admit it to him in a million years, he did have a good point. If Haze wasn't allowed to read the human records, where did he get his knowledge of what a human was? Had most people in Kandel heard of what a human was? Were stories of past humans told to Candi children in the form of lullabies?

Haze grinned, "That's, well... how about I tell you that story over a cup of tea sometime?" The knight immediately made a disgusted face at his comment, one that you couldn't help but snicker at.

"With you? Immediate pass." Min replied, crossing his arms. "So, are you planning on showing us the records or wasting more of our time?"

"Ouch, cold as ever, Sir Min." The librarian chuckled, "but before I do, there's a password you folks have to tell me. I know the mayor over there is the crown prince, but rules are rules."

"Password?" you asked, "Oh, you mean the code word the king told us? Mawa?"

The librarian stared at you as if he wasn't expecting you to actually have the answer. 

"Is that your final guess?" Haze said, giving you an endearing grin.

"Yeah?" you looked at him funnily, "Man, no offense, but how are you the librarian? I thought librarians were supposed to be peaceful, calm, and relatively normal. You, on the other hand, are... anything but normal. Once again, no offense." 

Mayor Twyx had an amused smile on his face from your words, "I agree with Miss y/n. Although we've been friends for many years, you often say things that leave me puzzled. Though, I suppose that's your charm."

You looked between the two of them, "Wait, you guys are close friends? I really can't picture that. Mayor Twyx is so polite and nice, and the type of guy who would rescue a stranger and give them the spare guest room in his mansion. Meanwhile, you're the kind of person who works as a librarian and sleeps on the job."

Haze chuckled, "You wound me, Miss y/n. But yes, the mayor and I have known each other since childhood. I consider him my closest confidante, but I believe he doesn't feels the same way." The librarian said, crying crocodile tears.

You could tell Twyx wanted to roll his eyes, and he probably would've if he wasn't a mayor and a prince. "I would share your sentiments if it weren't for you constantly losing track of the time."

Haze grinned, "Ah, my sincerest apologies then, my lord. Now, Miss y/n, do you hear that?" 

You raised a brow. What was this guy on about? 

"No? Hear what-"

"-Ding ding ding! Seems like you guessed correctly," he cut in, causing you to facepalm. To your left, Joy gave you a sympathetic yet amused smile. "Now, follow me, everyone. I can't wait to see what the human records room looks like."