Shady

“Oh, I meant the art.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Talia dipped her head. “Would Mis-er- would Emery know where those are?”

“No m—“ she cut herself off and shook her head.

“I like singing,” Talia said, thinking for a moment. “And looking at art. And listening to music.”

Talia smiled a little more and dipped her head. “…do you have any suggestions, then?”

“Oh… I wouldn’t want to waste anyone’s time, ma’am.” She shook her head but smiled a little. “I’m easily contented.”

“… I think that’s about it.” Talia glanced up. “That I’m aware of so far, anyway. I’m happy to help however else I can, though.”

Talia resisted the urge to ‘yes ma’am’ again and instead dipped her head. “I’ll… try to keep that in mind.”

“Yes ma’am.” Talia forced herself to take a deep breath and risked a quick glance up then looked away again. “I’m sure you know him well.” Still seemed risky. Didn’t ...

“…yes ma’am.” She dipped her head, not looking up as she bundled more of the herbs together, face still warm.

Talia’s eyes went wide and she glanced away quickly, blushing. What was this lady doing? Slandering nobles? This was how you ended up on the chopping block. And Talia wanted ...

“That’s fair.” Talia nodded. “I’m sure they have more important things to do with their time.”

“That’s cool!” Talia said with a smile. “What sorts of dances do you have up here?”

“Yes ma’am.” Talia smiled and nodded. “We liked it a lot. Ky and I always danced a ton. Every single one if we weren’t hurt or sick.”

“…oh… it wasn’t, like…” she blushed a little. “Not like a noble dance or anything. Someone would just break out a lute and start playing and whoever wanted to dance ...