{chapter eleven: 3} hector & sofya.
Sofya: *Her brother, for all his charms and niceties, could sometimes be the most aggravating prat in the world. Oh sure, his intent was to keep her safe, keep her out of harms way--but as at that moment it involved keeping her completely uninformed--she did not approve. Did he imagine she was deaf and ignorant of events? Did he think she couldn't handle herself? She was seventeen now, and more than aware of the fragile position their uncle was in and what it had done to her family name. These thoughts and others less polite chased themselves in circles as she decidedly changed directions, walking around the armory and ducking into the alley way behind it after a few minutes. Let the boys (and Leah--she remembered with a smug moment of delight for her cousin) continue their games of whacking each other with steel, she didn't want to interrupt them. No, what Sofya wanted was information. Which...she suddenly was presented in the sight of someone falling to the ground with obvious practice at hoisting-themselves-through-windows, and she straightened her back in surprise, less than fifty paces from him now. Opening her mouth to shout out, she thought better of it, even though her eyes stayed wide. Her question was hesitant.* What exactly are you doing--? Hector: *he froze in place for a moment as he heard a voice behind him as he closed the window. Turning around, he attempted to gather his wits and come up with an excuse. A feat that was only proving to be more difficult by how gorgeous the girl was. And redheaded- it's like someone up there knew his weaknesses. God, he knew they weren't exactly on the best of terms but did the Lord almighty up above have to be so cruel?* M'lady. *well, that was a start. Even if the word was not one he was accustomed to saying. He gestured to the armory* I was polishing some armor when I locked myself in, couldn't get out. *Yes, good, that was quite brilliant of him.* I'll just be on my way then. Sofya: *As he turned around, Sofya was surprised to realize he was so close to her own age--having oddly thought he was much older than that from the back. It was his build, he decided, trying to focus on the matter at hand--his build, and the tone in his arms, these were irrelevant facts. Her gaze cast up to the window, and then she looked back down, still walking a few steps forward, closer to him. While his story could be true, she thought it was still a story for a few reasons, the least of which being his expression and the words she couldn't help herself from uttering with a healthy skepticism.* You locked yourself in? ...from both doors? Hector: *It was too much to hope that she would be a dainty and ditzy little creature, he realized soon enough. She was not buying a lick of it, or probably a lick, but definitely not a swallow.* ...there's two doors? *of course there was two doors, but if he was going to play the fool, he'd better play it convincingly. He chuckled, channeling whatever nervousness he'd ever had as a young boy, into that little exclamation* I didn' think to look, terribly sorry m'lady. I'm jus' a poor farmer's boy, whut do I know? *How to turn weapons into nuts. And vice versa.* Sofya: *Both her eyebrows arched a bit at his remarks, amusement crossing her lips in spite of herself. She hadn't seen him here before--but then the court employed hundreds of servants, she didn't expect she'd recognize all of them. Regardless, this boy was, at the very least funny. And his grin struck her in an odd way, making her smile at him even as she continued to ask suspiciously* ...are you having a go at me? *She lifted a hand to her hair, not knowing why she thought there was more going on here than it appeared. Maybe she just wanted there to be. She wanted to prove to her brother she was useful, after all. And this boy...his exclamation had made her laugh.* I'm not so easy to fool, Mr... Hector: A go at you, m'lady? Never. *shakes his head, having to bite down on his lips to keep a remark at bay after having licked his lips subconsciously. No wooing on a mission, there would be time for that later...well, obviously, not with this pretty number but ah well. Chasing highborn tail was his uncle's thing. Actually, uncles, though he had never met the other one.* Hector, m'lady, and trust me, you look the farthest thing from a fool. *his lips twitched- oh he needed to keep his mouth shut. Whoops. Last one.*