"Saying she likes to read is an understatement," He said with a soft laugh, "My mom does nothing but read in her free time. Whenever she's not in the eye of paparazzi or anyone she has to keep an image up around, she's pouring through books. I'm sure if I asked her, she would be more than happy to share some recommendations." With his free hand, Sam ran his fingers over several well-worn books, all that looked like they would fall apart soon. Gently, he pulled out one specific book and held it out to Holly, relaxing his hold on her hand in case she wanted to pull away. He had no desire to let go of her hand, but to carry books, she would probably need both hands. "I'm not sure what you think of fantasy, but this is one of my favorite fantasy books. Or, well, a collection of short stories. If you want to pass, I can put it back."
Sam wasn't sure why he was so nervous when it came to recommending books. He wanted to give Holly books she would like, and he worried that his favorite books might be ones she would hate.
"She sounds wonderful," Holly said softly, gazing around at the massive library around her. She could just picture the queen, warm and beautiful, sitting in one of the comfortable chairs in the area, maybe curled up reading. She smiled at the thought and took the book from the Prince's outstretched hand. She could tell that he was nervous recommending books, and so she squeezed his hand lightly. "I love fantasy," she said. "I'm sure I'll love this, too."
The squeeze of his hand assured him that Holly wasn't going to look down on his book choices, and he smiled lightly at her, gaining a little more confidence. "Here's another," He offered, pulling out a slim book with an ornate gold cover, painted with a fire-breathing dragon on the front. "I got this one when I went to one of the countries across the sea. It's one of their folk tales; about a shapeshifting warrior princess." Sam held it out to her, watching to see her reaction. The books she had were two of his favorite, and recommending any more was going to get a little more tricky. "Different than some of the stories from around here, but it's a really good book."
"A shapeshifting warrior princess?" Holly raised an eyebrow and took the extended book, tracing her thumb over the ornate cover, watching it glimmer in the bright sunlight. She flipped through a few pages, noting the beautiful artwork and graceful script, and smiled. "It's beautiful, and I've certainly never heard of a plot like this before. You said it was a folk tale?" She had always been interested in folk tales, and the fact that this one was about a girl instead, and it had a dragon on the cover, made it all the better.
He nodded, his eyes lighting up as he explained, "The merchant explained that the girl in the story, the princess, is seen as a spirit of sorts. One that protects the land as long as her story is told through generations. She's the heir to a long line of royalty, destined to lead and fight until her kingdom is attacked. Willing to do anything for her people, she makes a deal with a fire spirit, who gives her the power to transform into a dragon." Sam paused, a bright, almost childish smile on his face, "I won't give away any more. You'll have to read it for yourself."
The book was one he had read time and time again, going back to it whenever he was in a bad mood and wanted to read. Unlike other stories, it had a good ending, or what could be considered good compared to stories that lead to the characters dying. Being stuck as an immortal shapeshifter to protect the lands forever was a pretty good ending.
(I was gonna bump these, and realized I hadn't even responded. So……….)
"She can turn into a dragon?" Holly gushed, looking closer at the book. She hugged it closer to her chest for a moment, breathing in the smell of the book. It smelled like it was well-loved and often read. She wanted to read it even more.
Realizing that the Prince was probably watching her, she flushed and acted like she hadn't done that. "Do you, um… do you have any other books you'd recommend?" She asked shyly, meeting his eyes. "This one sounds so good that I might accidentally finish it all in one night."
