A Date With Destiny

“Right this way, Milady.” He sticks out his hand towards her with a classic wink. She gazes into his deep, yet carefree eyes. She hesitates for a moment still thinking to herself, wondering what she should do. She slowly reaches out towards his hand.

“HELLO, EARTH TO ELLEN!!! TIME TO WAKE UP!!”

"Ugh, Jess, do you have any idea what time it is?" Ellen said as she was rubbing her eyes.

"Yes, it's almost 10 am. I was worried that you were up all night reading again. So your loving roommate, Jessica, came to check up on you."

"10 am? Ah geez, I gotta hurry." Ellen frantically gets up to wash her face. Jessica picks up a book off of Lauren's bed. "Another romance novel?"

"Yeah, so what of it?" Ellen said while brushing her teeth.

"Honestly, Ellen, with all the romance novels you read you'd think you'd get yourself a boyfriend by now."

Ellen heaved an exasperated sigh, "Not this again. Look, I'm perfectly fine being single."

"The prince charming on the cover of this book says otherwise, Hun."

"Oh shut up, it’s not like guys like that really exist anyway. Most of them are just playboys that only want one thing." Ellen said as she snatched the book away from Jessica.

"And the rest?"

"Just a bunch of creeps and weirdos. Remember the last date I went on?"

"You mean that guy that wouldn't shut up about his ex?"

"Yep," both the girls began to shiver as they reminisced.

“Ok, so maybe that guy was a major creep factor. But seriously El, you can’t believe all guys are like that?”

Ellen remained silent as she began to pick out her clothes to wear for the day.

“Well, in any case, come downstairs when you’re ready, I made breakfast.” Jessica said as she left Ellen’s room while closing the door behind her.

“It’s not like I want to believe that. . .” Ellen said in a low voice.

After a while Ellen and Jessica are in the kitchen, eating a plate of toast with some scrambled eggs with a TV on in the background.

“So what’s your plan for the day, El?” asked Jessica.

“Well I’m running out of books, so I guess I’ll visit the library. After which I have to work on

my essay due on Monday.”

“An essay on what?”

“Basically about someone famous and influential and why they do what they do.”

“Any idea who you are going to write about?”

Ellen slumped her shoulders at the question. “I’m still working on that part.”

“Heh, you probably shouldn’t have spent most of your time reading those romance books.”

“And what is the great Miss Jess doing? Spending another night club-hopping or getting drunk on the couch again?” Said Ellen in condescension.

“Sorry to disappoint you El, but I got a date,” Jessica said with a brilliant smile.

“WHAT?! Who?”

“Some guy I met at the Oblivion concert. He was pretty cool, turns out he’s a musician himself.”

“. . . .I see,” Ellen said with a slight annoyance.

“Hmm? What’s wrong El, you jealous?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jess.”

“Well, I could ask my date if he has anyone he can set you up with.”

“What, no-” Jessica quickly silenced Ellen by turning up the TV.

“This just in, several paintings were found missing from the Louvre this morning. The stolen paintings include The Mona Lisa, The Birth of Venus, and the new arrival from the Yuan dynasty, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains. Authorities believe that this theft may be the work of Mystique, since his signature calling card was left on the scene.” The picture on the screen was that of a black cat winking with a Cheshire smile. The next shot transitioned into a picture of the silhouette of a man wearing a masquerade cat mask with a monocle on the right eye. The rest of his body was obscured by his cape. The only thing that could be seen were Mystique’s hands, which were covered in white gloves and holding a bag presumed to contain the stolen paintings.

“This was the only picture of the suspect taken at the scene of the perpetrator attempting to flee. Authorities ask that if anyone knows the whereabouts of Mystique, they are to-” Jessica lowered the volume on the TV.

“There’s never a dull moment in Paris with Mystique running around,” Jess said whimsically.

“I suppose so,” Ellen said, disinterested.

“Say, why don’t you do your essay on Mystique?” Jessica said with a smile.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Think about it. He’s famous, and he’s gotta be influential with all those fans of his.”

“You mean fans such as yourself?” Ellen said accusingly.

“Regardless, it’s not a bad idea.”

Ellen slowly wiped her mouth with a napkin then said, “One, nobody knows who Mystique is. Two, nobody knows anything concrete about him. Sure, some rumors are floating around here and there, but nothing concrete. Third, and most importantly, I have no way of contacting him for an interview.”

“You know, this agreeable attitude of yours is why you don’t have a boyfriend,” Jessica said teasingly.

With her face flushed and annoyed, Ellen abruptly leaves the table and makes her way to the door. “I’m leaving now.” With that, Ellen stormed off.

At the Sainte-Genevieve Library, Ellen began wandering around the fictional books section with a few books already in hand. Perusing the section, she happens to find a book on the shelf called The Thief’s Guild. Ellen looks at the book curiously and reaches to grab it, only to grab onto someone else's hand.

“Whoops, didn’t see you there.” Ellen was greeted by a tall man wearing a gray baseball cap. Ellen was unable to make out the man’s face, but she could see that the man was wearing a bomber jacket and casual jeans.

“So, are you a regular, or is this your first time?” The man pointed at the stack of books Ellen was holding. Before Ellen had a chance to answer, the man began to skim through some of the titles she was holding. “Ah, so you're a regular romantic I see. So then what's your interest in The Thief's Guild? It's not exactly a romance."

Ellen was slightly taken aback by the man's forward nature. "Well, I was hoping the book could give me insight into a certain mindset. And yourself?"

"Me? I was looking for a bit of inspiration for my next project," the man said casually.

"I see, so I take it you're an aspiring writer?"

The man only smiled at Ellen's questions. Then he said, "Well, I do have a knack for making stories happen."

Ellen thought the man's response was peculiar, but before she could address it-

"So am I to assume you're a fan?" The man said, pointing to the newspapers behind Ellen. The newspapers contained headlines of the thief, Mystique.

Ellen's face flushed with embarrassment.

"No no no, it was my roommate's idea. See, I have to write an essay on somebody famous and influential and-"

"You choose Mystique as your topic."

"I was thinking about it, but not many know the real story about him, and it's not like I can just ask him for an interview."

The man stayed silent, thinking to himself. Then, he wordlessly pulled out The Thief's Guild from the shelf and gave it to Ellen.

“Well, I do wish you luck on your essay.”

“Thank you,” Ellen said cheerfully.

“Well, I better be off, take care.” The man said as he patted Ellen on the shoulder before walking past her.

Ellen soon realized that she never got the man’s name, but as she turned around to ask he was already gone. Not wanting to waste any more time, Ellen gathers her stuff and proceeds to look around the library further. Meanwhile, behind the bookshelf, the man with the gray cap opens up a purse and reads the first card he sees. “So Ellen is her name,” he said, showing a Cheshire cat smile.

Later that night in the library, Ellen is sitting in front of her laptop typing away on her notes. She takes a brief pause to look at her watch. Thinking that it is late, she decides to stretch and look around. She finds that she is the only one left. Ellen is double checking that she has all her things when she feels a sudden chill. She turns and sees that the window across the room is open. Ellen finds it strange that the window was left unattended, but walks over to close the window anyway. As she turns around, she is faced with a surprising scene. In front of her was the dashing rogue; the man that has been making fools of the Parisian police for months and has been taking Paris by storm.

The man was none other than Mystique. He was casually gazing over Ellen’s notes as if he was sitting there from the beginning. Ellen stood there paralyzed, her heart racing with fear and anticipation. Her thoughts whizzed through her head, Why is he here? What is he after? Why is he reading my notes? ...Wait, my notes!

“U-um excuse me,” Ellen said, trying to force the words out.

Mystique casually turned his head to face Ellen. After a few seconds, he put down the notes, got up from the chair, and introduced himself with a bow. “Good evening, Mademoiselle. Forgive my intrusion, as I just couldn’t help myself.”

“W-what are you doing here?”

“I figured with all the king’s horses and all the king’s men after me, I could retreat somewhere with a good book in peace. However, who knew I’d meet another late-night book worm such as myself?”

“You came here just to read?”

“Well, I also came for you, Ellen.”

Ellen stifled. “How do you know my name, and what do you want with me?”

“It’s quite simple, actually,” Mystique began to walk towards her. Ellen’s body began to tense up. She wanted nothing more than to run away and scream, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Mystique stopped in front of her; Ellen closed her eyes and braced herself. Then after a while, she opened her eyes and saw Mystique holding her purse.

“Huh, my purse, when did you?”

“You must’ve dropped it outside before coming here. As a gentleman, I thought it would be prudent to return it to you unharmed.”

Ellen stared curiously at the masked thief and slowly took her purse.

“Um, thanks?”

“Anything for a fan of mine.”

“Fan? Oh no no no, I’m just doing an essay on you for class. I had to choose someone famous and influential-”

“And out of the people you could’ve chosen you chose Moi? I have to say, I’m flattered.”

“It’s not like that! It was my roommate's idea and I had nobody else in mind so-”

“I was the only one on your mind?”

It became clear to Ellen that Mystique was teasing her, and her fear was replaced with annoyance. “Tell you what, my dear, how about I offer to help you with your essay?”

“Why help me?”

“Because given your notes, you can use all the help you can get. Plus, I’m bored.”

“I guess that would help me fill in the gaps of information.”

“So do we have a deal?”

“Deal.”

“Wonderful, it’s a date.”

Ellen blushed “Wait, a date?”

“But this place is much too drab for a date,” Mystique said as he opened a window. Then he continued with, “Be sure to gather your things.” Ellen reluctantly did as she was told.

“Where are we going?”

“I know this great restaurant called Luigi’s. Their Italian cuisine is to die for.”

“And how are we getting there?”

Mystique put his arm around Ellen’s waist and brought her close to his face. Ellen blushed again. “There is only one way to travel on this night.” Mystique pulls out a gun from his jacket pocket and shoots out a hook which latches onto another building. “Hang on tight, my dear.” Ellen clings on tightly to Mystique as he jumps out of the window. Ellen lets out a scream as Mystique swings them both into the night.

The pair managed to make an elegant landing on the rooftop of Luigi’s. Mystique laughed upon landing, while Ellen was trying to catch her breath.

“Is that how you travel around?” Ellen said, trying to contain her excitement.

“One of many ways, but the grappling hook is one of my favorites.”

At that moment a server approached. “Excuse me madam, table for two?”

Before Ellen could respond, the man behind her said, “Yes, my good man. Tell the owner we would like the usual.”

“Very good, sir.” As the server walked away, Ellen tried to get a good look at the man she thought was behind her. Instead of finding the mysterious thief, she was greeted by an older gentleman who wore a curly mustache, a monocle, and a derby hat. Before Ellen can question the man before her, the gentleman puts a finger to his lips and winks at her.

“Forgive the sudden change, my dear, but we can’t have you being seen with Mystique.”

Ellen nodded in understanding. With that, the two sat at the table designated for them on the roof.

“I didn’t know they had tables on the roofs of restaurants.”

“They don’t, typically, but I know the owner. He owes me for a favor I did a while back.”

“Wait, he owes you? What did you do?”

“Years back, Luigi was in danger of losing his restaurant because of some corrupt businessmen. So I decided to ‘repossess’ the deed to his restaurant.”

“You stole it,” corrected Ellen

“Semantics.”

After a few minutes, the server came out with some food for the two.

“Here you are sir. Two servings of spaghetti with our finest Italian meatballs, coated in our homemade pasta sauce made with carefully picked sun-dried tomatoes. In addition, here is a bottle of our most vintage Merlot, compliments of the owner.”

“Excellent,” Mystique gave the server a 100 euro banknote. “Tell Luigi he has outdone himself.” The server bowed and left the two alone. As the two begin to eat, Ellen realizes she hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast.

“Now that we’ve eaten, what would you like to know, my dear?”

Ellen stared, dumbfounded. She found it hard to believe she was in such a situation. Slowly coming to grips with the situation, she asked, “Why do you steal?”

“Why does a painter paint? Why does a writer write? It’s because that is their vocation.”

“Ok, but why? Do you steal for money or just for the sheer thrill?”

“Ah, you think I may be a kleptomaniac.”

“So you were reading my notes.”

“But of course. Now allow me to answer your question with another question. In my latest caper, why did I steal only those three paintings?”

“To show off?”

“Pfft hardly, if I wanted to show off, the great Mystique would’ve stolen everything in the Louvre without a care. No no, it’s a simple case that those paintings were absolutely fake.”

“Fake?”

“Exactly. What the public didn’t know was that the original owner of all those paintings was selling and circulating many forgeries on the black market. Obviously, this information is not privy to the public.”

“Wait, so the Louvre was housing forgeries without even knowing?”

Mystique shrugged at the question, “Who knows. For all we know, the owner could be a part of the scheme. Heck, they could even have the fakes stolen just to reap the insurance money.”

“Wouldn’t that mean you aided in the bad guy's scheme?”

Mystique shook his finger, “Not unless it was discovered the paintings were a fake. Let’s say the paintings were to be miraculously returned. That means an investigation would have to be opened, which would mean someone would have to check whether the paintings are authentic or not.”

“If you know all this, why not just tell the police and have them track it down?”

“Because my goal isn’t as noble as to track down the forgers. I want the original paintings in their full splendor.”

“So you’re just a petty thief.”

“Were you expecting Robinhood?”

“But you’ve helped out Luigi. Would it be a leap to say you are capable of some good?”

“From time to time if the mood strikes me, or if the reward is high enough. But enough about me. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“When you're not busy interviewing famous criminals and reading romance novels, what does dear Ellen love to do?”

Ellen thought for a moment. “Nothing much. I’m probably pretty boring compared to the women you’ve met.”

“Try me.”

“Well, I like to sing now and then.”

“Oh really? How about you hum a few bars.”

“I’m not that good. Besides, singing out here is a little-”

“You’re right, a magician must set the stage before he performs. The same must go for singers.”

At that moment, Mystique took out a radio from under the table and had it play. Although even with music, Ellen was still too bashful. Determined, Mystique pulled Ellen out of her seat and to the edge of the building. Ellen was scared, wondering what he was up to.

“Don’t worry, I’m just getting ready. The audience is about to appear.” Ellen raised her eyebrows at the statement, but Mystique only looked at his pocket watch.

“It’s almost time. I’m about to show you something amazing.”

Ellen tried to ask, but she was ignored. Mystique counted down.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” As soon as he said one, the whole city began to light up in the darkness of the night. The Eiffel tower shone beautifully. Ellen gasped as she took in the sight of the city lit up.

“Well, my dear, the audience is prepared to hear your voice,” Mystique said with a bow.

Ellen gazed at the city and thought it was so beautiful. Hearing the music on the radio, she put her hand on her chest and began to sing. This went on for a while. When she finally finished, Mystique greeted her with applause. Ellen gave a bow, and the radio changed to a different song. Hearing this, Mystique held out his hand toward Ellen. “Care to dance, my dear?” Ellen hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was ok for her to partake. But after a few seconds, she was holding onto Mystique's hand as he pulled her closer and they started to dance. They moved slowly, letting the rhythm of the music take them through the night. Mystique lead, and Ellen followed without missing a beat.

As they danced, Ellen asked, “Why Paris?”

“Why not Paris?” Mystique said, jokingly.

“I’m serious. Why? You’ve caused such a stir in this city in such a short amount of time. Not to mention, you’ve shown you can go anywhere and become anyone. But why Paris? Why become a thief?”

Mystique stayed silent as he dipped her. When the song ended, they released each other. Mystique headed toward the table, grabbed the bottle of Merlot, and poured it into the two wine glasses.

“How about a toast, my dear?” Mystique said, handing a glass to Ellen.

“A toast to what?”

“A toast to you, obviously, and that you do well on your essay," Mystique said as he raised his glass.

"And a toast to new friends," Ellen said as she raised her glass.

The two began to drink, and continued to have a casual conversation. Not about thieving or essays, but just a casual conversation. Before they knew it, time had flown by. Ellen checked her watch and realized how late it was.

“Mystique, it’s getting pretty late. I should return home.”

“Allow me to drop you off. I can’t allow a lady to return home unattended.”

Ellen tried to refuse, as she did not want to go swinging all over Paris again.

“Nonsense, my dear. Go get your things.”

Exasperated, Ellen did as Mystique said. All while Mystique shed his disguise.

“You got everything?” Ellen nodded as she prepared for Mystique to swing them away. Except this time, without any warning, Mystique picked up Ellen, bridal style. Ellen’s face turned bright red at the sudden development. Before she could say anything, Mystique winked at her and said, “Hang on tight, my dear, ‘cause this is my favorite way to travel.”

Ellen did as she was told as Mystique ran towards the edge of the building. As soon as Mystique leaped off the building, Ellen closed her eyes and waited for them to plummet. However, after a while, the wind began to blow through her hair. Curious, Ellen opened her eyes.They were no longer falling, but flying.

“Wha- you can fly?”

“Not exactly, but close enough.” It turned out that Mystique’s cape also served as a hang glider, which allowed them to soar through the night.

Ellen looked down on a bird's eye view of the city with all the lights shining, making the city look like a shining pearl from above.

“This is my favorite view of Paris.” Mystique said, breaking the silence.

“You asked me why Paris? Well, the truth is, I love this city. I love the people, I love the food, I love everything about this place. But it’s not perfect. Many people try to corrupt this city. Those forgeries I told you about were just the tip of the iceberg. This city has given me so much that I would hate if it were forced to change into something unrecognizable. So I merely wish to steal back what is precious to me.” Mystique stared into Ellen’s eyes with a genuine smile before saying, “That is why I do what I do.” Ellen stared at him in awe. She knew he was making a joke or trying to misdirect her. Ellen also knew this would be the closest she would get to a genuine answer. Ellen couldn’t tell if it was the Merlot in her system, but she felt a bit overwhelmed with emotion. “Well, since you're a gentleman for taking me home and helping me with my essay, Allow me to show my appreciation.” At that moment, Ellen brought Mystique’s face close to hers and kissed him under the night sky.

In the morning, Ellen woke up as the sun hit her face. As she got up out of bed, Ellen put her hand to her lips as she wondered if last night was a dream or not. She didn’t remember how she got into her room. As she thought to herself, Ellen saw it. At her window, there was a rose and a card with a smiling Cheshire cat. Ellen opened the card. She smiled and blushed as she read: Until next time, my dear, Ellen.