Anne didn't like being made to sit and wait for her tea like a child, but she knew protesting would get her nowhere. She bowed her thanks to Ophelia and let her do the work, studying the way she reached for the leaves, the specific kettle and cups she used. The assassin had no idea how long she would be staying in this house, but she supposed she would need to know how things worked if she wanted to get anywhere with her plans.
She found it odd that Ophelia spoke so openly. She responded interestingly; men protect things they hold dear? Not Rolf? Perhaps Anne was looking too closely at the girl's word choice. After all, despite what the assassin had studied for this job, she couldn't have gotten a chance to speak to Ophelia before this moment. She wrote it off as nothing to worry about and nodded along with the conversation. She was now talking about the neighbors, and Anne had noticed how... quiet they'd seemed. She cast a glance towards the door, remembering the merchant from the previous night. All the other townsfolk seemed to bustle about, ignoring her. It was so unlike where Anne had grown up, and she wondered which setting she preferred.
With the tea no in front of them, Anne took a sip as she looked back to the child, Milo. She listened to Ophelia, noting the embarrassment in her voice. Anne turned to look at her and shook her head. "My mother and father were ill-prepared to have children," she started. "By the time they bore a daughter, they were both young and inexperienced. They had no idea what to even call her, so they referred to her as girl for a long while, years even. It was only at the age of three, when their little girl had to be taken to a medic, that they had to pick a name for her. The doctor needed something to write on his forms after all. They chose the name Gretchen after overhearing it in the plaza that very day. Isn't that something? My sister was named entirely on a whim, and it has been the name that has stuck all this time." She turned back to the toddler playing. "I'm sure you and Rolf will find a fitting name one day, even if it might take years. For now, yes, I think Milo is a bit more fitting than boy, wouldn't you say?"
Anne paused, wondering why she had said what she did. She hadn't talked of her sisters in years, not wanting to somehow get them involved in her lifestyle. She'd just given out her sister's name, and true, Ophelia had no surname to work with, no features or anything. There was no chance Ophelia would ever meet Anne's sister. Even so, Anne could feel the anxiety bubble inside her, the irrational what if? She tried to push it away. Perhaps her sister's story was something Ophelia needed to hear, and if that were the case, Anne would do what was needed to gain her trust.
Anne turned back to her tea, taking long sips and loving the warmth they brought. She had never understood tea, never understood the allure of leaf-flavored water. It tasted a bit like dirt, she thought, too filled with the inedible tastes of nature, but the way it warmed her mouth, the way it sent warmth down her throat and to her whole body; this was a waste she could ignore for this simple pleasure. She thanked Ophelia again for the tea.
She finished her tea and motioned towards the door. "No one told me anything about these parts," she admitted with a shy smile. "In truth, I think they only sent me because the king owed my cousin a favor, and I was a woman. I don't know much about this area. What is there to do here? Your home looks incredibly tidy, and your child content, but if the neighbors are so against socializing, what occupies your time when your husband is not home?" She looked around the house, trying to answer the question herself. "I was thinking, as I made my way here, that I have not had a female companion in some time. Women are always in the company of men now, and I have to say, it is very pleasant being with a woman for a change. It reminds me of my childhood, of my sister and I getting up to all sorts of troubles together. I'm sure you are much more tame than we were, however, so I wonder how you might like to spend your afternoons? Please do not worry about chores; that is why I'm here. Your husband wanted you to enjoy yourself, like... a vacation. I am here to help in any way I can."
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