The little scratching monsters talked about being special and gemstones, [ she said. And they had been little monsters, throwing her in a sack. She scowled briefly at the memory, then shrugged at him. He hadn't been the one to treat her like a pile of potatoes. ] I don't care if you dress it up nicely -- but someone needs to explain what I'm supposed to do now that I've been conscripted.

[ She's not inclined to be charitable on account of any sense of why me he might have. She's feeling it herself, about being dragged her, and why me is just making her grumpier. ]