Zhi jerked her hand away reflexively as her eyes grew wide. She was unable to mask the horror in her expression, though Ida had long since learned not to take it personally. No one enjoyed the idea of someone else snooping around their inner thoughts, even when they had nothing to be secretive about.
"I'm sorr—. I mean, I didn't mean to—. It's rude of me to—," Zhi stammered, clearly struggling to recover from her reaction. "To treat you like you're some sort of repulsive—. No, I didn't mean to say that you're repulsive, it's just that—!"
"It's quite all right," Ida soothed, reassuring Zhi with a smile. "No one enjoys the idea of having someone see into their mind. Not even me."
"But you're a Noble Lady and—"
"And my social standing makes little difference in this situation," Ida interrupted, a hint of irritation creeping into her tone. "Now then, I believe we've come here to recreate a tattoo. Perhaps we should return our focus to the matter at hand."
Zhi hesitated a moment, her mouth opening and closing a few times as she struggled to decide if she should say more. Ida felt a little guilty for snapping at the poor girl, but also couldn't shake her irritation. The young nobility, particularly those who did not have any power of their own, often demanded such excessive groveling from those with a lower social standing. Ida, however, found it all distasteful.
Sampson cleared his throat and added, "Besides, you're fine as long as she has her gloves on. I've seen her working out in the field and she has to take her gloves off to see anything. She has to be skin-to-skin with the person."
Zhi glanced down at Ida's gloved hands, the tension in her expression easing slightly, then quickly turned her attention back to her case and pulled out a few pencils.
"Okay," Zhi said, picking up her pad of paper and choosing one of the pencils. "Let's focus on the task, then, and get to work. Tell me everything you can about this tattoo that you saw."
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Image sourced from Pixabay.
