Intrusion

[Noémi Jourdain]

The offices were overwhelmingly grand, like the palaces Noémi might have once imagined as a child. She did not consider herself a daydreamer, but it pulled at some stirring inside her that she was loath to listen to, or to dwell on. The people here were immaculate, denizens of an entirely different world to the one in which Noémi had grown up in, and she felt the distinction like a brand on her forehead. It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling; the rooted fear that she might soon be discovered not to belong here, or anywhere. Likely it was why even in her first week, she already arrived before most else, and stayed beyond conventional office hours.

The shift in mood was a palpable thing as she passed through the wing, like whispering reeds at a river’s edge. The Ascendancy’s sudden presence created ripples, but only, she realised, in the way of something pleasant yet not unusual or unexpected. She watched with the same luminous curiosity as any other mere mortal for the way he casually strode among them, before she remembered the empty cup in her hand. She was still finding her bearings, and the last thing she wanted to appear was foolish. Or lost.

But she’d heard the question. The aid the Ascendancy had asked it to currently had the phone pressed to their ear, presumably to try the office. Noémi imagined such a visit superseded the Consul’s schedule -- which she happened to know, for the sheer efficiency of the fact Alexandrova was now her boss -- and he was unlikely to be kept waiting long.

She had intended to carry on the search for coffee, but her path took her closer instead.

“She’s in a meeting, with the Consul Bykov I believe.”