She was a curious little thing; a pretty little head surrounded by finery. Thin, aristocratic fingers plucked at the pastry in front of her, as she considered their offer. A pink tongue darted over light blue lips—it gave her the look of one who was perpetually starved for air.
"Remind me again, Loren, why we're asking Miss Princess to go out into the desert and dig around in ruins with us?" questioned Rheuben. Loren opened his mouth to answer, but the little knave in front of them cut him off.
"Uh, uh, uh!" she said, smiling sweetly. "I'll tell him, and then after I let him know he can decide to stay if he wants to." She flashed Loren another sick-sweet smile. "Rheuben," she began, setting down her treat and looking him in the eye. She folded her hands in front of her, resting the elbows on the desk and her chin on her hands. "My family has a very long and very proud history in various and sundry mercenary and attorney pursuits. I suppose that doesn't bother and trouble you much, since you're here, and I want to assure you that I dislike those haughty Neriakians blue-bloods as much as you do. In addition, I want you to know my lineage and history because it's important for you to realize, dear, that I am not some upstart rogue or thief, hiding in Qeynos from those scary, full-blooded dark elves who want to 'purify' me, and by that I mean kill my whole family. We have lived here for six generations, a very long time with our lifespans. This office is only small because I am so young—only fifty!—and my family wants me to earn what I will inherit, which is considerable." Her smile deepened, and she dipped her chin to look up through her lashes at him.
"Surely you have no complaint about my mixed blood or heritage. My family is not so bigoted as to exclude the purple and long-lived from our arranged marriages." She knows just where to hit him, though Loren. Her family has probably been around longer than his. "Unless, of course, you think I am personally not adequate to the task, but surely my list of references and former employers has convinced you otherwise." She blinked twice, still smiling, and then lowered her left hand to her lap, and her right again to pick at the pastry.
Rheuben was as speechless as Loren had ever seen him. Perhaps his temporary fall from grace had taught him something, however, because he at last shook his head, and doffed the close-knit cap he had taken to wearing. Sweeping it to the side and bowing, he smiled and offered, "In that case, milady, we would be honored to ask you to join us, and take at least equal share of whatever we find along the way."
She smiled, and winked at Loren. Turning back to Rheuben, she dipped her head once, perhaps half an inch. "Very well and good. I have other terms we might talk about in a meeting later, of course." She resumed nibbling on the pastry.
"That was perhaps the most humorous thing I have ever witnessed," whispered Kiera in awe, as they were shown out the door.