Late-night assignment

[Noémi Jourdain]

Noémi had never seen such opulence beyond a photograph or screen, let alone been invited into its midst. She was mostly quiet throughout their walk, although was an interested party in the history and wonders that surrounded them – she was curious, as anyone would be, to marvel at things most would never get to see first-hand. At least not those with her humble beginnings. But beyond the captivation of her attention, she had very little to add to the conversation. As the minutes trickled by the chasm of their stations began to cut a little deeper. This was utterly ordinary for him. It could never hope to become ordinary for Noémi.

The suite into which he finally led her was palatial, and if it stole a little of her breath she wondered if it might be a drowning rather than wonder. Understanding the Ascendancy’s vast wealth and power was one thing, but being confronted with it was something entirely different. Nikolai was an unfaltering host, and Noémi was a demure and polite guest while she collected her composure. His charm smoothed the cracks of her discomfort, but surrounded by the beauty of his world she could not imagine a way she fit that did not end with the crush of reality’s heel.

Distraction came in the form of bottles and glasses that leapt to swift attention, and a fire blossoming like magic in the hearth. Noémi marveled at the crystal flute suspended perfectly in midair, wrapping her fingers carefully around its stem. “It feels just like La Belle et la Bête,” she said, a little wonderingly, only for her eyes to take a quick glance of his. “Though even as I say it aloud, I fear you may find just cause to declare it an awful comparison. Forgive me.” A little teasing laughter suggested she did not fear to have truly offended. Certainly she had been talking of magic and not beasts. The smile softened, but left the twinkle of its trespass in her eyes. Away from the office, formality fell away like a robe from shoulders. She did not choose to think of him as the Ascendancy.

She sat, champagne in hand. She did not generally drink. A woman alone, especially in a city like Moscow, learned to abide by the sorts of self-imposed rules that would help keep her safer. Given her early line of work, Noémi quickly learned the value of having all her faculties. Though she never regretted the ways in which she survived, she had no wish to become trapped in that underbelly life, as she had witnessed happen to so many around her. That was not the danger here, but lunch had been a long time ago, and she didn’t want to make an embarrassment of herself should it all rush straight to her head at the first sip of bubbles.

“I will be honest, Nikolai. The luxury is overwhelming. Even this glass, it is so delicate I feel I might accidentally break it between my fingers, yet if I were to set it down it would make for so slovenly a picture I could not dare.” As she finished confessing, her gaze swept obediently about the room (though that seemed too small a word), but did not stray long before finding him again. She spoke true, but also seemed capable of finding her own equilibrium in a place so out of her depth. If she was moved, it was not with the pink-cheeked wonderment of spring-time youth. If she was mesmerised, it was with him.

“It is beautiful and intimidating. A dwelling fit for a god. It dazzles me with the legacy I have known of the Ascendancy all my life. But I see nothing here that tells me anything of you. I find myself surprised that you would care for my opinion on it.” She had the sense, as in the office, that he was testing something of her, but if she was both astute and perceptive, she was no politician, and she did not try to second guess where the motivation lie. The weight of judgement was not too heavy, and she was curious for his reaction.