Work Text:
The Rest Is Still Unwritten
By Alasse Fefalas
Eve felt the nausea hit her even before she had opened her eyes. Immediately, she reached out to grab onto something before she lost her balance completely. Her head was pounding as if she'd been struck too hard against a wall.
Blinking her eyes open, she slowly looked around. "The Annex," she thought. "I'm in the Annex."
She was in one of the back rooms they had converted into her changing room. Eve caught herself in the reflection of the dresser mirror in front of her and frowned. She was dressed in her white tethering gown. Her red scarf was on the dresser, along with her gun and phone. There were some hair accessories littered around them, and a small tiara atop a black velvet bust.
"I know this scene," she whispered to herself. The pounding in her head had dulled to a small recurrent throb. "It's the day of the tethering rehearsal! But... how did I get here?"
Still slightly disoriented, Eve almost jumped when a loud knock came on the door.
"Cassandra?" Eve called out as she walked over.
"Um, no," came the reply. It was a female voice.
Eve knew that voice. Tensing, she opened the door cautiously. "Hello, Nicole," she greeted cooly.
Nicole smiled at her. She was holding a large book in one hand. "You must be Eve Baird, Guardian. Are you this frosty to everyone you meet?"
"Depends on your intentions," she replied. "What do you want, Nicole?"
"Despite your... prejudice towards me, I can assure you that this is the first time we are meeting. Well, first time I'm meeting you, anyway. Though I don't think I could say the same for you." Nicole gestured into the room. "May I come in?"
With a sigh, Eve took a step to the side to let her pass, closing the door behind her.
Nicole held out the book she was holding, turning it so that Eve could get a better view of it. "About five hundred years ago, Flynn came through a portal to give me this book."
Eve took the book and traced the symbol on the front - a pair of mirrored N's sitting on a circle. It was well worn, but was still in pretty good condition considering it was 500 years old. "The book of your life," she said as she opened the book and flipped through the pages.
"Yes. He told me I was going to have a long life, full of adventure and loss and triumph and he was right," she chuckled. "And everything I did, I did for the Library."
"Instead of against it," breathed Eve. She looked up from the book and smiled. "You became the Library's Guardian."
"Indeed," nodded Nicole. "And it helped that I knew what was to come."
"So... why are you here?"
"A hundred years ago, Jenkins found me while I was in the midst of retrieving the cornerstones of the Library. I knew he was coming, of course, and why." Nicole gave Eve a wry smile. "He thought I was working against the Library, seeking to destroy it. But I was protecting it. I gave him my three cornerstones to be kept safe in the Library as a show of goodwill, and went out in search of the fourth. Jenkins didn't trust me, so he came with me on the search. When we found the fourth stone, we kept it here, in the Library."
Eve was surprised. "So all four cornerstones are safe here, even today?"
"Yes. The Library is safe," assured Nicole. "But that wasn't why I came here."
Nicole flipped the pages, to about slightly more than halfway through the book. Rather than the neat lines of text that Eve had seen earlier, most of the text was muddy and unclear, like this part of the book had been dipped in water.
"These parts of the book, I've never been able to read them," explained Nicole. Flipping to the page before, she pointed to the last clear paragraph before the muddy text. "This paragraph used to only say, 'Nicole hid the cornerstones when the Library's Custodian came for her. She was not seen again for another 100 years.' But now, it details how I went searching for the last cornerstone with Jenkins."
"The last line is still the same though," noted Eve. "So what did you do for these past 100 years?"
"Judson once told me about the prophecy - the ultimate battle between good and evil. I knew I had to follow the book to make sure the prophecy was fulfilled." Nicole gave a small shrug. "So I made a potion to put me to sleep for the 100 years here, deep in one of the hidden rooms in the Library, where I knew I wouldn't be disturbed. Not even by Flynn or any Librarian before him."
Eve put the open book down on her dresser and crossed her arms. "So you're telling me that all this while, with the whole Library uncoupling from reality, the ley lines getting supercharged, the ultimate battle between good and evil going on, you were... sleeping?"
"The trick to using the Elixir of Deathless Sleep properly is to give a specific duration. Anything vague or words that can cast doubt when mixing it can put you to sleep forever. You'd still be alive, but not really. Even if you're not immortal," she explained. "But, if used correctly, you'd sleep through wars and the changing of worlds."
"Okay. 100 years of undisturbed sleep." Eve raised an eyebrow. "So when did you wake up?"
Nicole smiled, and Eve knew she was finally getting somewhere. "About two days ago, the Elixir had run its course and I woke up. I checked the Library's archive to find out what had happened here over the years." Eve could see the sadness in her eyes even as Nicole tried to hide it. "Losing Judson and Charlene... I never would have thought it was possible."
"We all thought so too," said Eve gently as she reached out and gave Nicole's arm a light squeeze. "It's not your fault you weren't there. You said it yourself: 'you'd sleep through wars and changing of worlds.' You couldn't have known."
Nicole gave her a pained smile. "Thank you," she whispered. Taking a breath, she nodded towards the book she had brought. "You asked me earlier why I'm here. There's only one clear line in the next paragraph."
Frowning, Eve picked up the book again and read the next line, "Nicole's story continues when she meets Eve Baird, Guardian."
"And that's why I'm here," answered Nicole. "I thought after we met, those texts would clear up."
"What did you think I was, a paywall?" snorted Eve.
Nicole's face scrunched up in confusion. "A... what?"
"You know, those things that restrict access to websites..." Eve trailed off when the look on Nicole's face didn't disappear. She shook her head and waved a hand absently. "No, nevermind. Anyway, why did you think meeting me would trigger anything else?"
"Because it stops there. I literally have no other clue," said Nicole. "I've read this book front to back so many times over 500 years but this muddled bit I could never read."
Eve studied her. The frustration on Nicole's face was as clear as day, and she could understand why. This book was supposed to be the book of her life. If she herself was given something like that to follow, she'd be annoyed and frustrated too if there's something she couldn't read.
She didn't know how she could help Nicole though. It was true that when they met, her story continued. Eve was the one who insisted they work with Nicole to get the stones. When she got Jenkins to open that cage, Nicole's story continued.
And then it hit her. "This book was taken from before," she gasped.
Nicole raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"The future... in my past... or... my timeline? Urgh, I hate time travel," groaned Eve. "Anyway, this book was about your life in my timeline. The previous timeline, whatever." Eve flipped through the book, searching for a specific paragraph, grinning when she finally found it. Pointing it out, she said, "Flynn came through the portal here, right before you took the potion to become immortal."
"Yes, that's when he handed me this book," said Nicole.
"And when you decided to help the Library instead of destroy it, that's when you became the Library's Guardian," explained Eve. "You changed your story."
Nicole paused to think. "But other than that one paragraph, nothing else changed."
"I'm no Librarian but my best guess would be that whatever stayed the same was needed for the prophecy to come true." Eve flipped to the page with the last clear paragraph again. "But whatever you did here wasn't for the prophecy, it led to events after it."
Nicole pointed to the unclear paragraphs on the page. "So these paragraphs were written before? And when I helped the Library, it... became a muddled mess?" Nicole gave an unamused snort. "That does sound like my life right now."
"Look, the Nicole I knew wasn't really a... nice... person to be around," sighed Eve. Closing the book, she passed it back to Nicole. "But you're different. I like you better."
"Thanks, I guess?" replied Nicole in amusement.
"What I'm saying is, is that maybe it's not so bad to not know what's coming. I know you've been using this book as sort of a roadmap but look at it this way: you're now just like the rest of us who have no idea what's in store for them in the future. Except maybe your future might be a little longer than everyone else's," laughed Eve.
"Well, from what I hear, it seems you and Flynn would be joining me and Jenkins pretty soon," said Nicole with a glint of mischief in her eyes.
"Oh. Well. Yes," replied Eve awkwardly. The last time she met Nicole, she was still in love with Flynn. So much so that she kidnapped him to her dystopian world first. She still didn't know where this Nicole stood in terms of her endearment towards him. "With Charlene and Judson gone, we needed a Librarian and Guardian to anchor the Library."
"Ah, yes. The eternal union."
Eve could feel her awkwardness level jump up by 10 levels. "Yeeeeep."
Nicole caught her eyes and asked directly, "Do you love him?"
Eve smiled gently. "I do, in spite of myself sometimes. Everything he does somehow just... makes me love him more."
"I know what you mean," chuckled Nicole.
It was Eve's turn to know. "What about you?"
"Do I love Flynn?" Eve nodded and Nicole continued, "Of course I love him. I've never stopped loving him."
Eve had expected the answer, but the emotional weight behind Nicole's confession shocked her. "Nicole, I--"
"But," started Nicole heavily, cutting Eve off, "what I realised in my 500 years of living was that my love for him now is different from what I felt before." Nicole took Eve's hand. "Your other Librarians - Jacob Stone, Cassandra Cillian, Ezekiel Jones. Do you love them?"
"Absolutely," nodded Eve. "I won't let anything happen to them."
"And that, Guardian Eve Baird, is how I feel about Flynn," explained Nicole as she released Eve's hand.
Eve stared at her hand Nicole had held. Her fingers were tingling. It felt like short, small bursts of electricity were running through her hand. It seemed like it should have hurt but all she felt was power running through her whole hand.
"What is this?" breathed Eve.
"Just a small truth spell between the both of us. Quite useful if you're in tight spots."
Eve rolled her eyes. "So you used magic on me to tell the truth?" she asked sarcastically.
"No," replied Nicole in amusement. "I used magic with you. You see, you pick up a few things when you've lived as long as I have."
Eve crossed her arms. She was still annoyed that Nicole used magic on her. "And using magic is one of them?"
"Well, yes. But also a few tricks of the Library. You see, being in the Library doesn't mean that you're just surrounded by magic. You absorb it. You can wield it. The only downside is that you can't do it alone. That's another reason why Librarians have Guardians."
"But we're both Guardians," said Eve, confused.
Nicole shook her head. "It doesn't necessarily have to be a Librarian and a Guardian. It just needs someone else who has been exposed to Library Energy long enough."
"Dare I ask how you found out?"
"Charlene did the same thing to me after the cornerstones fiasco," she chuckled. "Though, it did help Jenkins to trust me."
A chime from her phone pulled Eve's attention away. Stepping over to the dresser, she picked up the phone to read the message that had come through.
Turning back to Nicole, she said, "Cassandra's on her way to help me get ready for the tethering rehearsal. You're welcome to join us, if you like." Eve smiled gently and continued, "I'm sure Flynn would be happy to see you."
Nicole contemplated the offer for a moment. After a while, she shook her head. "I'm an immortal, and you already have three Librarians as witnesses. I have no place in a tethering ceremony."
Eve was surprised at how disappointed she was that Nicole wasn't coming along. This version of her was so much more likeable than the previous one she knew.
"So, what are you gonna do now?" asked Eve.
"Well, now that I'm free to do whatever I want to, I guess I'll catch up on the things I've probably missed in the past... 13 years?" said Nicole, shrugging.
"Ooh, that sounds like a rough ride. Spoiler alert: at least the phones get better," laughed Eve.
Nicole gave a hearty laugh. "I noticed!"
After their laughter had died down, Eve gave her a sombre look. "Are you sure I can't convince you to come to the rehearsal?"
"Yes, I'm sure," answered Nicole. She reached out and squeezed Eve's arm gently. "Perhaps we can meet up together afterwards."
"Sounds perfect," smiled Eve. "I can introduce you to the others too."
Nicole returned the smile and walked over to the door she had come in earlier. Opening the door, she turned back to Eve with a grin on her face. "See you later, Guardian."
As Eve watched Nicole close the door behind her, her phone chimed again. Cassandra texted that she was reaching soon. Eve shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had plenty of time to think about the past (or was it the future?) afterwards. For now, she had a full dress tethering ceremony rehearsal to attend.
Fin.
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A/N: Hello everyone. It's been literally years since I wrote and uploaded something here but I just really needed to write a redemption fic for Nicole after doing a whole series rewatch so here it is! My writing is so rusty after two long years, lol. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!