The Librarian's: The Beginning

Alvin

I sighed and leaned against the shelf, watching as a bolt struck the ground next to her. "You were saying?" I asked casually. "These aren't just trinkets, Alana."

I gasped and startled back, staring at the bolt in disbelief, then back to the statue. I ducked another bolt and darted uncomfortably close to Alvin for protection. "I don't understand. I'm a /libriaran. Not-... whatever you are."

Alvin

"You're right. You're an apprentice." I glanced over at her, Athena's gaze seeming to turn away from us. "Do you believe me now? You saw Excalibur, flying none the less, held the bad mitten racket of Charles Dickens' and believed you were a street rat, and now insulted Athena and were threatened for it. You can't deny it. Everything I've said is true, whether you like it or not."

I didn't know what to say. My mind struggled to keep up with today and the events. "I'm... going up for a nap." I didn't wait for an answer. I needed time to think. To figure out when I went crazy too. I walked into the elevated and pressed the button, preparing for the unnatrually long ride.

Alvin


I watched her wait for a long moment before I finally got in and the elevator gave a jump and started up. It had a big "no man left behind" policy. We reached the top and I pointed to the wood doors for her to go through and stepped out of the lift.

I wasn't pleased when he joined me, so I was quick to exit when the doors opened. I followed his fingers to the doors and bursts back out into the buz of library life. I felt like I could breath again. I made my way up to my room but there was no way I could call back asleep now, so I laid I my bed and got to work with memorizing that cieling. Maybe I'd be laying under a different one come tomorrow. I still hadn't decided yet.

Alvin

I watched her go, wondering if she was now to wigged out to notice that there would be breakfast on her table. I gave a slight shrug and went back to my quarters and grabbed something from the breakfast tray, leaving a note to leave it there so I could pick at it periodically, then went about my duties in the library like I always had.

I remained in my room for the day. My bags stayed packed but I made no move to call a cab. Instead, I sat hunched over mylaptop, researching the nameless objects he pointed out to me. I ignored my food, no longer hungry.

"I see that he's shown you the Archives," The Director said from behind Alana, watching her with a pleasant smile.

Alana startled, eyes flashing to her closed door. "How'd you get in?"

The Director just smiled. "I have my ways." She gestured to the computer. "You find our artifacts interesting."

Alana sat up, rubbing red eyes. "No, I find this insane. You believe him? All that babble?"

The Director raised a brow and gave a small smile. "Child, I've been here longer than Alvin has. It's not babble. Trust me."

As much as I wanted to believe her, I mean, their was a flying sword! /flying/, the rational side of me refused to bend. "... I think..." I said carefully, "I think its time for me to go home." Even though I had none...

"Which one?" The Director asked as she watched her. "You've had many, it must be hard to figure out where to go."

I reeled back, off set by her knowledge of me. "That wasn't in my internship file..."

The Director held out a file to her, her eyes on her face. "No, I was given this file." It was thick and full of everything that had ever happened in her life.

My jaw dropped as I flicked through it, the uneasy feeling returning. "Where did you get this?" I did not hand it back, determinated to keep my past from her. Though it was proabably already too late for that.

The Director shrugged. "I have my sources. Our background checks here are very thorough. Don't want the Archives falling into the wrong hands." She kept her hands folded in front of her as she watched her carefully.

"Who else has seen this?" I snapped, thoughts flashing to my wako partner.

"Only me," the Director said with a patient smile, though her patience was waning just slightly. She didn't like being disrespected. "We keep our files private."

"Gee, how kind of you." I tugged my hair back into a pony, thoughts everywhere. "You say you hand picked me? Why? Because you knew I had no place to go?" I glanced wearily to my computer, to all the information I was slowly stock pilig of the library and its objects.

"I don't enjoy sarcasm, Miss. Alana," the Director said in an authoritative voice that would make anyone cringe. "I hand picked you, because your application simply looked the best. You have so much potential and you have a love for learning. I need both to protect the Archives."

Ive been spoken to that way before. By my foster farther; the girl Britney. Things didn't usually work out too well for me when they used it, so I quickly dropped the tone, my eyes skitting downward. "...you're really serious about this." Not a question, a statement. My line of reason that this could not be possible was quickly sucubbing to the reason around me.

The Director seemed to relax a bit after Alana had checked herself. "Of course," she said as she watched her. "It's a very serious deal. If someone got a hold of Hitler's microphone, the world would be in chaos. If anyone was to find the dark vault...well I shudder to think of what might happen then." She looked her over before putting a hand on her shoulder. "It is a large responsibility that few get trusted with. And it' is very dangerous, as I mentioned before, Alvin's partner was lost to us thanks to the lost folio of Shakespeare. And...Alvin, though...a little upset about having a new partner, is not as bad a guy as he seems. He's like an onion. You have to peel him back a layer at a time."