It was always harder to follow a schedule when the sun decided to go down sooner in autumn. Things that were done before the day ended suddenly went long into the night, and clocks never seemed to want to play nice. It seemed like only Avalon's pocket watch never tried to trick her. She kept it properly wound and cared well for it. The case was a polished silver, emblazoned with a coiled dragon around an opal set star.
Avalon tucked the watch back into her skirt pocket, and let the chain drape over the pleated material. She stepped passed the iron wrought gate of the old cathedral. It had been re-purposed into a library several centuries ago, and contained very few contemporary books. Avalon liked it that way, if she wanted to read something current she could just go to her school's library. The feel and age of the books suited the age of the library itself.
“Hello Mrs Lark,” she said as she shut the oak door behind her. It was cut out of the towering double doors to allow access without needing a group of burly men. The familiar warm air of the interior brushed her pink cheeks; her nose smarted from the rapid change to warm from chilly.
A woman, who appeared in her mid-thirties, leaned forward over the broad circulation desk that had once been the confessionals.
“Well! Miss Avalon Drake!” she said with a broad smile. Her dark, amber eyes glittered in the rustic lighting of the cathedral. The building hadn't been wired for the electric light yet, but there were plenty of candles to read by. “Right on time as usual, my dear girl, but still in such muted tones.”
“Mrs Lark, this is the most vibrant outfit I have,” Avalon answered as she brushed her hand over the pomegranate colored material of her vest and cropped jacket.
“You'd look so lovely in a midnight blue or crimson red.” Mrs Lark sighed, but her smile swiftly returned. “I have the key right here for you."
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