The Princess Thief

#SIX

About half an hour passed before Polina moved from her position on the floor, looking at her phone. She got up and jogged around the hall a few times, before getting into a self-defence pose. Polina went through the same series of kicks and punches Alistair did earlier. He could see the precision of her movements, the air being sliced in two by her body. Alistair had no clue as to why Polina would be practising martial arts. His list on why Polina could be showing suspicious actions doubled in size.

His muscles were stiff but he dared to change positions. He did so, being careful not to let the leaves make a sound. Polina continued to preform intricate punches and kicks into the air. Her face was set in concentration.

There was a buzzing sound from somewhere inside the hall and Polina stopped mid kick to answer her phone.

'Hello?...... Yeah, yeah, I'm practising now.........Why do I have to help, Blair? I thought you had it covered...........Fine, I'll meet you at the tree....... Okay........ Yeah, I'm alone, no one is in the hall........Yep. You owe me.' Polina was clearly annoyed as she packed up her belongings and went out of the hall. After looking around, she broke out into a lightning speed run. Alistair instantly came out from the bush. Without a second to think, he tore down the school, going the way Polina did.

Alistair memorised most of the school, so he turned corners with confidence. He couldn't see Polina at first, but he followed the quiet sound of running feet on concrete. Alistair got nearer to Polina and eventually had her in sight. He was careful to make sure he was far enough from her to go undetected, but he still needed to run fast. Polina was very fast, and the head start didn't help.

Alistair almost glided on the concrete, and jumped down staircases, not wasting time. He felt like he was running for hours, though he wasn't tired. It had barely been a minute.

Polina was in his sight. She slowed and continued on her way. Alistair took time to realise where he was. Polina had taken him to the PE classrooms. He walked past them and onto the tree-lined oval. Polina was walking through the trees, clearly puffed. The leaves cast a continuous shadow on the space beneath them, giving the impression of a haunted forest. It was significantly cooler in the shadows.

Alistair stayed a fair way back, careful to step soundlessly on the wet grass. He could see silhouettes in the distance, their faces muffled my low tree branches. Polina joined them and they started talking.

Alistair moved closer, the pure definition of stealth. The muffled voices became clearer and their faces came into view. Alistair's expression turned cold. He stared at the faces, willing there to be a mistake. There was no doubt that the people standing in the drizzle were Polina, Blair.......and Leo.

Alistair had to steady himself from the shock. He knew Leo. He was his friend from a way back. He used to come to the place with his parents, who were jewellers. The two were like brothers.

Now he was part of a secret group. The only way to be sure of what they were discussing was to get closer.

Alistair moved between the thick tree trunks, careful to stay out of view. When he hardly a metre away, Alistair could clearly hear the hushed voices.

'There has been a setback.' Blair said, clearly annoyed. 'I've heard news that the princess's bodyguard is within the school.'

'We can't just stop the operation. Do you know who the bodyguard is?' Leo asked, a hint of aggression in his voice.

The girls shook their heads. 'But don't worry. I placed recording devices in each of the rooms. If we listen to them, one of them is bound to reveal something.' Polina added, a sly smirk on her face.

'Okay. We'll go through every recording starting tomorrow. It may take a long time, but hopefully the princess, or the bodyguard will say something we can use in our favour.' Blair twirled a plait in her hand, smiling smugly. Polina but on her fake glasses again and winked, throwing in a knowing smile.

Alistair decided that it would a good time to retreat, so he noiselessly retraced his steps back to the school. The pieces clicked into place. Polina had been sneaking around because she was the one who had planted the recording devices. She had set off the fire alarm on purpose. Now he knew who were the villains in this mess.