There is a knock at your door.

You ignore it, you're busy, but the knocking continues. It's not like you could pretend you aren't home, either, since every light in your hive is on. With a sigh, you put down the books in your arms and go to open the door. You immediately regret doing so once you realize who's on the other side.

A female troll much shorter than you looks up at you. A thin smile spreads across her lips upon making eye contact with you. Your face does the opposite, your expression instead contorting into a half-frown, half-sneer. You move to slam the door in her face, but she sticks her boot in the door and forces it back open, easily overpowering your weak self, and strolls inside.

"sQ gQQd tQ see yQu again, anguilla," she says in that strange low voice of hers.

"What do you want, Quixre?" you ask, but she doesn't answer, just continues walking towards your library. Your eyes widen in realization and you race after her. "Oh no, I have told you countless times that you are not under any circumstances allowed to--" You stop short, noticing the trail of mud Quixre tracked in on her boots. "1 JUST C1EANED TH1S F1OOR!" you shout, already exasperated with your unwelcome guest.

You sprint after her again, catching up with her just as she's walking into your library, and attempt to block the doorway with your thin frame. "Did you not hear me the first hundred times I've told you before? NO. ADM1TTANCE."

Quixre rolls her eyes, which irritates you even more. "wQuld yQu relax? i just want tQ lQQk arQund," she says, slipping right by you. She stands in the middle of the room for a moment before spotting the section of shelves she's looking for. You hover over her shoulder as she examines the books on the shelves, making sure she doesn't touch any. "Qh ang, yQu always have the best sci-fi nQvels," she remarks casually.

"Alright, you've had your look around, now why don't go crawl back into your cave, dirt girl," you sneer, hoping that insults might drive her away, since you aren't strong enough to physically throw her out.

"why dQn't yQu make me, fish bQy?" she hisses, sticking her tongue out at you before she turns back to perusing the books. "QQh, here's Qne i haven't read befQre!"

Your heart sinks at that sentence, and even more so at the action that follows it: Quixre removing a book from the shelves. "Put that back this instant!" you demand her. She just looks at you, still smiling as she pulls out another book. "I just finished reshelving those! Put them back!" A third book is taken down. "TH1S 1S NOT A LEND1NG L1BRARY!" you shout at her, which of course only provokes her to remove a fourth book.

You are so angry you could scream. In an act of desperation, you lunge at her. Your attempt to get the books back is in vain, however, as Quixre easily holds you back with one hand while she tucks the books into her messenger bag. You stop your useless flailing and go try to block the doorway again as Quixre turns to walk out. There's no way you're letting her walk out of here with your books again.

But instead of pushing right past you like she did before, she stops abruptly, and for a second you think she might still have a sliver of decency left in her and give the books back. "Qh, ang," she says, and there is a faint flicker of hope in your heart as you see her start searching inside her messenger bag, "what was the name Qf that bQQk yQu've been lQQking fQr?"

Your feeling of hope turns to confusion at that, until you think you understand what she's getting at and your hope returns even brighter now. You stumble over your words as you try to remember the whole title of the book--who comes up with these obnoxiously long titles anyway--but you end up trailing off in the middle of your sentence once you realize that Quixre is holding the book in her hand. It's practically ancient and falling apart, but the cover is recognizable.

"Is that..."

"yep, first editiQn, with the extra chapter, tQQ," she says, "catch!"

You dive for the book as she throws it into the air and manage to grab it before it hits the floor. You look back at the doorway but by now you can only see the tail of Quixre's dark red coat disappearing down the hall. You hear her calling over her shoulder, "thanks fQr the bQQks, ang!" before the front door slams.

The frustration hits you hard again as you realize you let her go, but at least you got a book in return. And such a valuable book too! You had almost given up looking for it. Careful not to rip the pages, you open it.

And find blank pages.

"WHAT? 1T'S A FAKE!?"