บท 358: Long, slow day

The day passed achingly slowly. Simone tried to concentrate on her work, but every time she did, Shayn would lean over, crowding her as he pointed something out or explained something she already knew.

"I'm well aware of topography symbols, thank you," She reminded him for the tenth time. Why did he still insist on treating her like a moron?

"It's a lesser-used one, I just wanted to make sure you understood," He defended himself.

"I understand perfectly well, thank you. If you'll just give me a little bit of space to complete my notes…" She hinted, and he finally leaned away.

She didn't know if this was better or worse than the last mapworker she'd had to compile with. He'd also invaded her personal space, but to a very different purpose. He'd lay his hand alongside hers while pointing to the same thing, or try to put his arm along the back of her chair to get closer to her.

A stern talking-to and frank discussion about her lack of interest in him had eventually been needed to stop the man from 'accidentally' touching her at every opportunity.

At least Shayn intently avoided physical contact with her, even if he did crowd her space on occasion.

Truth be told, he had probably been strongly affected by the hushing they had received from her coworker, and was endeavoring to not have a repeat incident.

Which was worse, a condescending man who likely hated her, or one who liked her far too much? She tossed the idea around in her mind. The other man had been older, and far less attractive.

She glanced at Shayn's face, his green eyes meeting hers in question, and she shook the thoughts loose to focus.

He was arrogant, and rude, and condescending, even if he did have entrancing eyes. She didn't like him at all, she reminded herself. She dove back into the work, determined to ignore him as much as she possibly could.

"I think that's about it," He said finally, drawing her attention up from the pages.

"There's much more to do," She protested, "But if you want to leave early and let me work alone, I won't tattle."

He gestured to a window, and she noticed that it was much later in the day than she had thought.

"Oh."

"You get a bit absorbed in your work," He observed. "But I suppose that's better than being self-absorbed, like I am. Where do you live?"

She flushed at having her words thrown back at her, followed up by a very personal question. "Look, Shayn–"

"If you're going to change or anything, you'd better do so now. It'll be easier if your home is on the way. We'll need to leave soon." He advised.

"Leave?" She blinked.

"For my party. If I show up without you, Finn will have my hide." He frowned. "Though that may be the lesser of two evils compared with the matchmakers I'll have to deal with if you do show up with me."

"I'd hate to make your life miserable," Simone's voice dripped with sarcasm, and she made a face.

"Not just me. They'll make you miserable too. I'd wager my salary on the women swooping in to get all the gossip as soon as they can get you alone." His expression turned rather amused at the thought.

She gulped. "Including Her Highness?"

"And worse," Shayn grinned evilly.

"The General?" Simone's eyes widened further.

"Sure, him too, maybe, but mostly my sister. She's the one to watch out for. Maybe if you make yourself look pitiful enough she'll think you're not good enough for me and leave you alone." Shayn advised.

"Not GOOD enough for you?" Simone raged, standing up from the table. "I'll be back soon."

She stormed off, fuming about the man she'd be spending most of her days with for the foreseeable future. The scope of the work was much larger than she'd anticipated. He and his brother had collected enormous amounts of data to incorporate into the records. It would take ages to do properly.

And, no matter how bad he was, she refused to cut corners to make the work go faster. He wouldn't have the victory of making her be sloppy at her job!

She stormed out the back door and up the stairs into the apprentice dormitories. Most library apprentices found other work and aged out of the dorms, or married and founded their households within the city. She was the eldest who still stayed there at an ancient-feeling twenty-one years old.

Making her way to her room, which she had to herself after years of sharing with one or more other girls, she dug through her things. She had no fine party gowns, only serviceable library uniforms and a few plain dresses for the days when she wasn't working.

Throwing self-pity to the wind, she decided there was nothing to do about it and put on her prettiest dress: a light blue that complemented her eyes. With her spare time she'd added embroidery with a bit of yellow thread that accented her blond curls.

It would have to do. She looked in her small looking glass and quickly redid her hairstyle. She shook out her sensible bun, sweeping it partially up into a twisting updo, fluffing out the underside so that the curls cascaded around her shoulders.

She looked at the vase next to her bed. On her way into Klain yesterday, she'd snatched up some wildflowers from a field she passed on a whim. She plucked a few of them from the vase and placed them strategically into her hair.

Simone wasn't sure how formal or informal the party was, but hopefully she would suffice. She owned no jewelry and had nothing better than what she wore now. It seemed a poor showing for an event with royal guests.

With a deep breath, she descended the stairs and reappeared in the library below. Shayn was leaning against the table again, tapping his fingers impatiently.

"Let's go," She said curtly, and he whirled around.

"Where have you–Oh!" He stopped short as he took in her altered appearance. He looked about to comment, but snapped his mouth shut before opening it again. "Is your home so close to the library?"

"Not that it's your business where I live, but I reside in the apprentice dorms." Her eyes dared him to look down on her poverty. She felt safe enough telling him, given that he was unlikely to be able to invade her domain. He would be noticed trying to sneak into the women's area.

Not that he would ever want to. He seemed to dislike her every bit as much as she did him.

"I see." He blinked at her. "Well, let's go." He'd packed up his things, and shouldered the bag now.

"Oh! You can leave those at my workstation so you don't have to carry them every day," She offered, pulling a key from her pocket to unlock a cabinet beneath her table. "I can lock them up so they remain safe."

"How kind," Shayn handed her the bag, and she looked at him to detect sarcasm in his words. There seemed to be none, but she didn't know him well.

"Do you need to change or anything?" She asked, ready to be on their way after she locked the storage compartment.

"No, I'm already looking far better than I have in quite a long time, as you likely already guessed." He raised his eyebrows, inviting either compliment or contradiction.

"I didn't recognize you today until you spoke," Simone admitted blandly, refusing to elaborate on whether that was good or bad.

"Struck by the good looks that were hiding under that shaggy beard and long hair?" He refused to let the matter drop.

In fact, she had been, but she couldn't let him know that!

"You'll need to stop flirting if you want to convince your family not to engage in matchmaking mischief." She regarded him with a reproving glance as she started towards the front door. "I even decided to follow your advice to look as pitiful as possible to convince them I couldn't possibly deserve someone as wonderful as you, but that won't do any good so long as you act infatuated with me."

"Pitiful, my foot!" He took several strides to catch up with her. "I'd bet anything you went back to your room to find your prettiest dress, and do your hair up nice, and put flowers in it just to try and show me what I'm missing out on! To make my family oooh and aaah and drive me insane trying to convince me you're a wonderful girl!"

"You seem to suffer from a mild gambling addiction," Simone glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "That's twice in one day you're betting this or that. You'll lose everything if you're not careful."

"And I wasn't flirting," Shayn added with frustration. "If I ever decided to, you'd clearly see the difference."

"I'm sure." Simone rolled her eyes.