[ he speaks as if from experience, but inej doesn't ask. instead, she watches him pour over the document, her brow furrowed, wondering what, exactly, he is trying to find . . . when he turns the contract over to her, so she can read it. and she shifts a little, to lean forward so she can see the text herself.
his explanation causes inej's eyes to flicker up toward his own, uncertain, before she looks down at the words with this new understanding. she mouths the words silently to herself as she reads before she finally settles back into the couch, looking . . . well, stunned.
she's lost track, of everything she has done for heleen in the name of paying her debt. most of what she has done has been humiliating. in the beginning, inej had been forced into working solely at the menagerie. but heleen had quickly discovered inej had other uses (and an attitude problem), and forced her into doing other work. anything was preferable to the menagerie. she would rather scrub floors for hours than deal with ten minutes of interaction with clientele of heleen's. so inej seized upon any chance she got to avoid that hell. as of late, the money hadn't been enough, and she had been forced back.
eventually, inej had just gotten herself into the mindset of survival. if she gets through this day, she is one step closer to finally seizing back control of her life and leaving this city for good. it made the days spent at the menagerie pass quicker. and her work at the bar gave her the chance to talk to people she didn't hate. like jesper, and kaz, and nina.
but if what kaz says is true: ]
So I haven't paid anything?
[ a bit numbly, as the realization washes over her, her hands settling in her lap. she normally carries herself with a steeled reserve, and maybe a little standoffishness (to some people, anyway), but right now, she looks woefully young and caught off guard. ]
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Date: 2020-09-28 05:27 pm (UTC)his explanation causes inej's eyes to flicker up toward his own, uncertain, before she looks down at the words with this new understanding. she mouths the words silently to herself as she reads before she finally settles back into the couch, looking . . . well, stunned.
she's lost track, of everything she has done for heleen in the name of paying her debt. most of what she has done has been humiliating. in the beginning, inej had been forced into working solely at the menagerie. but heleen had quickly discovered inej had other uses (and an attitude problem), and forced her into doing other work. anything was preferable to the menagerie. she would rather scrub floors for hours than deal with ten minutes of interaction with clientele of heleen's. so inej seized upon any chance she got to avoid that hell. as of late, the money hadn't been enough, and she had been forced back.
eventually, inej had just gotten herself into the mindset of survival. if she gets through this day, she is one step closer to finally seizing back control of her life and leaving this city for good. it made the days spent at the menagerie pass quicker. and her work at the bar gave her the chance to talk to people she didn't hate. like jesper, and kaz, and nina.
but if what kaz says is true: ]
So I haven't paid anything?
[ a bit numbly, as the realization washes over her, her hands settling in her lap. she normally carries herself with a steeled reserve, and maybe a little standoffishness (to some people, anyway), but right now, she looks woefully young and caught off guard. ]
At all?