Selection

Anais was getting ready. She wore the clothes that she quietly sneaked from Carolina. Yes, she was wearing her maid's clothes. She would put it back, she had no reason to keep it. She just borrowed it for a while. She was heading to the publisher's shop to collect her advance. But it was really hard to do so because she didn't get any chance the whole week.

Her mother was out today. She had gone over to her meeting with the high class ladies to gossip and took Evie with her. Evie was learning her mother's ways to keep her head high above and glare down her nose at any losers littering in the high society. She felt bad for her sister. She was this sweet girl a few years ago now she was completely different, taking after her mother.

She quickly materialised through her usual routes. Her first stop was at the library which was near her house. She had to walk to the library because it wasn't possible to materialize inside the property. There were barriers placed. From the library, she materialized in Ezra's backroom spooking the shit out of Tomas, Ezra's colleague.

"God dammit, Anais"

He was busy eating Irish Stew with bread and spilt some on her arrival. Poor lad, what was she supposed to do if that was the only spot for materializing inside the shop?

She got a napkin out and threw it a Thoman and walked out the room. Climbing down the stairs she knocked into a room before entering it. When the woman present, looked up from her task, Anais smiled at her.

"Ezra"

"Yes? Have I met you before, miss?" Ezra was deep into her work. She was reading a manuscript, it seemed. She had her glasses perched on her nose.

Ezra looked at the woman before her yet her mind was still stuck on her work. She doesn't seem to recognize Anais. A maid's uniform is all she wore. Not changed her entire appearance.

"Have you?" She took in the conditions of the whole place. It was littered with pages and pages. Everything was in disarray. The table beside Ezra was so filled with papers and files, it was a matter of time before everything came tumbling down. She choose a small chair that was not overflowing with documents.

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"Oh, Anais, it's you" She finally looked back at the woman who seemed to recognize her after studying her for a minute. What can you expect from a person who was buried beneath work? The rest of the environment, she didn't mind. Ezra's back rooms were always in disarray unless Thomas decided to lend a hand. The sight was naught new.

"You seem too chilled for having a stranger appear inside your house"

"Well, who would attack a poor publisher like myself?" At that exact moment, Thomas came into the room and handed Anais a cup of tea. Ezra shook her head when Thomas tried to offer her one. Ezra preferred coffee from far away lands. She did not fancy tea. How scandalous!

"You sure you don't have any enemies?" She took it carefully and blew into it before taking a sip. Satisfied with the temperature, she placed it on the table before her.

"Well, maybe your mother" They both shared an amused glance over Thomas's head. The lanky male had seemed to himself a portion of the floor and sat with his legs crossed sipping tea with a slurp betwixt their lazy conversation. A man of free will.

"I agree" Anais took up her tea again and sipped quietly unlike Thomas whose pulls of tea were cutting the air sharply.

Thomas was a stoic scholar and a Diogenes follower. He believed in free will and rejected high society rules and etiquette. Well, he was rejected from high society before high society could reject him once he was caught masturbation in the public. But you get the idea. Thomas was a free man indeed.

Before he was cast out, he was in the position to descend into the leadership of high society. Yes, there was a leader of the high society. The high society of vampires consisted of six families. But you can guess he didn't fancy the status and would rather sit on the floor of a small publishing shop in a run down neighbourhood and slurp tea like a degenerate. He sure preferred the latter.

Anais didn't want to ask for money. It was weird to show up at someone's shop and ask for money especially if you knew them well. But what would you do if your relationship becomes one of a transaction, of business and profession? So, she simply asked

"How is the manuscript coming along?" And realised that she messed up. The manuscript was complete and taken care of.

She picked up her tea and sipped again to not have to talk again. Yet struggled to not let her hand shake from nervousness. This was embarrassing. She needed to get out more instead of holing up in that room of hers. She promised herself she would. Promise she can't keep.

"Oh, I've already sent it for printing but you have yet to choose a book cover." She finally got put her papers down and got up to retrieve something from a desk inside the armoire.

"Sorry Ezra, you know how mother can get. I didn't get an opportunity to come down here." Browsing through different files, Ezra finally pulled out a folder and passed it to Anais.

"Choose" She said before settling herself back in her seat but this time, she didn't go back to her reading.

There were about five different sketches to choose from. T'was an option too many. Usually, Ezra didn't provide this many options for it unnerved the authors. Sometimes, they would show only one rough sketch and would ask the authors if they would prefer any adjustments. She wondered if it was because of her privileges. She studied the woman with skepticism.

She had written a book on Prince of Wales, Edward VIII. The sketches show him in various positions. She asked Thomas, the free man's input. For a Diogenes follower, he had great taste in art. Both of them discussed various details and made quite a few adjustments. At some point, Ezra walked up to them and leaned against Anais's chair looking over at the sketches. She seemed to approve.

With all the work done, Anais was ready to return home. Too bad she was not offered any advance money and she was shy to ask for any. Weird time she chooses to go shy on people.

But she was a lady from a rich household, she wasn't in a particular need of money, she deduced. It could wait until the next meeting if she was given advance that is. She was promised the money after all.

So, with a promise to attend the next meeting, Anais materialised in the library. There she took a breather. She didn't want to return home yet. She loved the library. So, she went in search of a good book that would appeal to her interest and keep her preoccupied for a couple of hours.