Ami and I were told to work on the history tomes, as we usually did. We would take turns writing while the other would read, that way we could work together instead of in silence. It was my turn to read when the lantern at our table began running low on oil and we were running out of ink and paper, so we decided to take a break and get the supplies we needed. We went to the supply closet and then returned to our table, only to find our lantern missing. Apparently, our cousins were hiding it from us, and we heard giggles and snickering from our hiding kin.
We must have searched around the entire room looking for our lantern. If it had stayed missing, we would have gotten in trouble, so didn't want to just get a new one. After about half an hour, we gave up and went back to our table to pack everything up for the day. Obviously, no more work could be done. From somewhere above we heard "Haha! You're too old to play games anymore!" and our youngest cousin, Lesander, jumped down from the top of a book case. Unluckily, he landed on my left foot. Which sent me hopping backwards, right into another table. Which unbalanced the lantern sittin gon it. That, sadly, I was too slow to catch as it fell into a pile of scrap paper. And then.. The Fire started.
Yelling for someone to run and get some of our older cousins at the other side of the wing, I tried to stop the fire. I even burned my hands trying. But apparently whoever was at that unlucky table was also very bad at pouring oil into lanterns, because there was a puddle of it on the floor, and that really didn't help me stop the flames.
I told Ami to grab whatever she could move and take it out into the hall. As she ran across the room, arms full of books and scrolls, I heard her scream, and then a thud. Apparently, while our cousins were playing "Hide the Lantern" they were a bit careless and let some oil drip out. That, unluckily for Ami, was in a dark spot on the floor that Ami did not see. So she stepped, slid, and finally plowed into another table because oil and wooden floors do not mix.
The fire on my side of the room grew, spreading towards the smaller fire that Ami had accidently started. Luckily for us, no Magick Tomes were destroyed, as they can sometimes explode upon contact with flames. Some are even dangerous around the use of light spells. The two little firest met up and became one big fire, one that almost consumed the entire room.
A few hours went by as the fire was put out and the damage evaluated. The few wounds, burns mostly, were tended. As expected we were called before the Elders, who were furious with us for playing instead of doing our work. Not to mention for causing a fire that nearly consumed every book and scroll in the room.
Now we are not to leave our rooms for six months, unless we have lessons. Oh, and to start re-scribing some of the less-burnt tomes. Which we will be working on for at least another three years. But none of our other cousins have such a punishment. They merely had to clean up and haul the useless tables, chairs, and bookcases that had been consumed. I do not understand, how is that fair?
