Late Night Thief's
Locking the door behind her, Belle let out a long tired yawn into her palm as she put her key in her pocket. Why does she always decide to grade all her 10 classes mid terms in one night? Hell she probably spent more time tonight grading than some of her students did writing their assignments. Looking down the dimly lit hallway of the staff offices, so familiar to her, she pulls out her phone’s flashlight and simultaneously Googles what to eat at 4:00 p.m. Her brown boots clicked down the long hall, at a leisurely pace, while her mind juggled her options.
“Feck me, bein’ tired and hungry at the same time is the worst combination,” Belle groaned, as she kept scrolling, turning the corner and passing the Silver Lining University Library.
“Huh, Rosy’s Diner is never closed at this time now what am I gonna—
THUD!
The sound of a book falling in the library broke the silence and ceased Belle’s irritability from hunger.
Belle’s sensitive Elf ears caught the noise the moment it occurred. She scrambled through her pocket for her library keys, thinking, “This better not take too long. It’s not even me shift today.”
The library is closed at this hour, and yesterday at 8 p.m, the main librarian waved her goodbye. Whoever or whatever was in the library now had no reason to be there. Pressing her key into the key hole, she could hear two frantic voices, scrambling to be quiet. She swung the door open with a slam and flicked on the lights on the right wall. Her sky blue eyes would scan the room for the source of the noise and the two ruffians she overheard through the door.
“Whoever’s there, I hope ye realize that breakin’ into one of the largest universities in the universe is a feckin’ shite idea!” she yelled, her Irish accent echoing through the vast library aisles. “Especially for a book—now that’s just down right pathetic,” she added with a chuckle, while walking down the library aisles.
“I just hope it’s not a bunch of dust fairies in here, those little book eaters are a pain to deal with when left unchecked” she thought to herself, rolling her eyes.
She would then spend the next hour wandering through the wide array of books and seemingly endless aisles. Moving from one row to the next, she searched every table, desk, and computer, but found nothing. As her frustration grew, she stomped her boots against the floor, the sound reverberating angrily through the empty space. By the time the clock struck 5:00 p.m, her hunger was gnawing at her again. Finally, she collapsed into a seat in the middle of the library lounge, leaning her head back with a long, exasperated sigh.
“I guess those bastards sneaked back out right under me nose,” she thought, looking at the ceiling.
Up on the ceiling, two faint figures, clung to each other with amateurish Elven illusion spell.
“Is that what I think it is” her sharp, experienced ocean blue eyes spotted.
Woosh!
After quickly rubbing his hands together upon being discovered, the figure unleashed a sizable Consuete fire spell from both of his palms. The force of the blast propelled him off the ceiling, causing him to land on a nearby shelf. Another figure clung to his hip as they both landed.
Belle’s eyes widened as she dove off the couch into a barrel roll, the spell, flying over her head, reducing the furniture to ashes behind her.
The two figures ran from shelf to shelf, trying to escape, Belle however, wasn’t going to let them out of her sight so soon.
Narrowing her eyes as she ran, Belle noticed the taller figure resembled a man, while the shorter one had the build of a slim young woman. Slung over there back was a blue sack, filled to the brim with books. Both dressed entirely in black, from sneakers to mask. However, with Belle’s keen eyes, she identified the man as an elf and the young woman as human.
“No wonder he had such a sizable, Consuete fire spell it was an Elf. No human could do such a thing that quickly” Belle hypothesized, in her head.
“Oi, I don’t want to wreck ye or this precious library so stop runnin',” Belle asked in a yelp.
Ignoring her plea, the male thief leapt further away, casting an Elven Earth Spell that sent the tall wooden shelves to topple over like dominoes. Each one crashed into the next, creating a chaotic cascade as he grabbed the Woman thief by the hip nearing their window exit.
“Na ah, not on me watch!” Belle roared, avoiding the incoming shelves.
Belle noticing the shelf’s falling to the ground with a resounding thud, used this outcome to her advantage like bouncing off a trampoline. Propelling herself into the air, mid-flight, she casted a Consuete Air Spell to adjust her trajectory toward the two thieves as they leapt for the window. Timing her move perfectly, she grabbed both of their legs mid-air, yanking them down and slamming them into the ground with a force that left them stunned and utterly surprised.
Standing on top of the two theif’s aching body’s after landing, she yanks off their masks. Revealing two familiar students.
“Nina and Lepkin, I should’ve known. Yer’re already failin' for always gettin' distracted, either kissin' or skippin' class—and now this? A damn shame, it is.” Belle said, shaking her head in disappointment.
“Alright, we get it, Professor, ye caught us! Now would ye kindly get yer bloody foot off me and let us go? We’ve learned our lesson, I swear it!” Lepkin yelped in pain, his Irish accent waverin’ from his injuries.
“Yeah, seriously. Can you please? I’ve got track practice tomorrow,” Nina added with a sigh, wincing alongside her boyfriend.
“Ah, ye can forget about track Nina. The pair o’ ye just earned yerselves an A+ in breakin’ the law,” Belle said with a laugh, dialing 911.
