Late-night assignment

[Noémi Jourdain]

Late nights were not unusual, though they rarely came by actual request. It wasn’t a problem, and she had not complained. Noémi preferred to keep busy anyway; her life was built upon the diligent foundations which saw her from poverty to the Custody’s beating heart, and such hard work left little room for idleness. Sometimes, sleepless in the shadowy early hours, she feared that the moment she stopped would be the moment she fell all the way back down to those humble beginnings. Crushed so underfoot, she was not sure she’d have the strength to make the journey twice.

She paused for Alexandrova’s interruption, and while not expecting thanks, accepted it graciously, if a little surprised at the pleasantry. The hours were not an inconvenience, and she did not deign to question the urgency of the task set; she was content to see it through – she assured Aleandrova as much, before she departed.