A Thief In The Night

The silence is deafening, the dark night so quiet that all that can be heard is the gentle crash of the waves on the beach quarter of a mile away.  The old house does not even creak and groan in its usual cacophony of sounds, nor are there any revellers returning from the taverns and eateries.  The air is so still that it is as though the world is holding its collective breath for some monstrous event.

Selene crept through the now very familiar house, being sure not to step on any loose floorboards, lest she give her position away.  Her satchel, strapped to her back carried all the paraphernalia for her to complete her trade.  Sliding a hair pin out of her shiny black hair, she picked the lock in only a matter of seconds.  The simple silver ring, laced with lapis lazuli, that she had come to find lay on the other side of the room, sitting on a jewellers workbench.  Selene removed the fake ring from her finger and swapped it with the original. Selene had been preparing for this night for months, painstakingly researching the defences, and then forging a new ring herself and wearing it so that no one would find the sight of her wearing jewellery odd.

Selene made one last check that the new ring had been placed exactly where the original had been, and then backed out of the room, ensuring that she relocked the door behind her.  She then made her way back to her apartment on the other side of the city.  It would be some time before the theft will be noticed, as the jeweller working on the ring was called away on business and would not be returning for many weeks, and by that time, Selene would be long gone.

Selene was a very light sleeper and slept with one knife under her pillow and another in the bedside cabinet.  There had been no need for these precautions as yet, but luck favours the prepared.  Tomorrow, Selene would give her notice at the tax office and in two weeks she will be out of this vile city.  She had never been a fan of cities, too many people and too much pollution – she could not see the stars, how she couldn’t wait to escape!
Selene had gone out to dinner at a local café- a gift to herself for a job well done – she was still wearing the ring.  She was walking home via the shortcut when she sensed that she was being followed.  Knowing that her assailants must not know her skills, she quickened her pace.  The followers also quickened theirs and Selene made a desperate run to safety, straight into a blocked alley.  Selene reached into her satchel and strapped her blade to her wrist – better that they didn’t know she was prepared, and began crying hysterically and pounding on the brick wall, as they rounded the corner into the alley.

Fear of death is not something Selene suffers from, and when she turned to face her two adversaries, still keeping up the act of abject terror, they sneered to each other and advanced on her.  The major issue with Selene defending herself is leaving witnesses – there can be no one to spread the tale of this brawl – that meant either killing these men (not something that she was afraid of doing, but the tactician in her objected), or allowing them to survive, but never able to tell the tale of their defeat.  Selene decided that incapacitating them for the remainder of her time in the city would be the best option and began to plan her attack.