Blind Frame of Mine

Chapter 2

Phoenix stopped moving altogether. Despite her advanced abilities of stealth and silence, the man in the middle of the room still spun around after his expletive. Phoenix could have sworn her heartbeat was audible as it pounded in her ears.

"What are you doing here," the man demanded and swiveled his head toward her face as though he could see her, but she knew that was impossible.

Most people kept their heads pointed down, so their ears were more exposed to any sound bouncing off the ground or walls. His stance suggested he either didn't pay attention to his surroundings or he could see.

Phoenix is the only person she has ever known who could see; well, aside from her mother. But his eyes were different too. They were a stark blue against the orange appearance of his hair due to the fiery blaze reflected on the ceiling of the cave. His hair was probably a dirty blond color, but it was hard to tell.

She was frozen. She was lucky she was quiet as she entered because she might be able to leave without him realizing if she just stayed silent for a little bit.

Unless he can see you, her internal voice countered, because then you are screwed. Sometimes she hated the logic instilled into her thoughts by her mother, though it has saved her ass in other situations.

She didn't move but neither did he. He let his eyes look her up and down slowing on specific parts of her. She fought the heat that suddenly bloomed on her face.

What was this feeling? She had never felt it before.

He smiled seeming pleased by something though she didn't know what. Then his eyes got to her face and they froze. Quickly she let her eyes unfocus, though in her head she reviewed what her short glance at him had revealed.

His clothes were made of thick wool that was woven in an intricate way that must have been expensive.

She never really understood why people paid more for specific types of clothes it's not like they were going to be judged by others on what they wore. However, she had once broken into a high-end maison and seen a woman's dress. She couldn't help herself and she touched it. It was fabulously soft and fuzzy. Though, it was as her mother always said, "L'habit ne fait pas le Moine." Phoenix understood her, but often reveled in new clothes as they felt as though she was switching identities, physically forgetting anything she wanted to forget. Clothes were just one of the tactics her mother taught her about espionage.

No matter how hard she tried, she suffered from her greed and wanted for a lifestyle in which she could live how she wanted, with more books than she could steal from her neighbor's father. It was rare to even find braille books and that made them expensive. What she wouldn't give to be able to read at her leisure. She would also share the wealth with Jackson and Jenny and her husband because they were as close to family as she had.

Phoenix immediately disliked this man because he had what she never could.

This man's clothes didn't seem as comfortable as the wealthy lady's dress though, just expensive. The clothes also weren't dirty like that of an average miner not that anyone cared as long as one's movements weren't restricted by thick coatings of dirt, no one really washed their clothes for any other reason than smell, and that was rare in the maisons surrounding her aunt's cabine because water was too expensive. That didn't stop her aunt from having Phoenix 's cousin's clothes washed more frequently with money that could have gone towards food. But Phoenix 's aunt was too motivated for Silencio to marry richer than she was, so she tried as best as she could to appear wealthier than she ever was. That also meant the use of expensive perfumes that were quite potent and made Phoenix 's very sensitive nose sting from prolonged exposure.