1.2

Nina remained silent on the long drive to Gregor's house. She could no longer ignore the fact that she had been sold, and her life was starting over. With a pang she realized she'd probably never marry Toby Wilkins like she'd promised, and he'd forget about her and court that snobby blonde Maria from his music lessons. Nina managed to mope about that for a full ten minutes before growing bored and staring out the window.

The fog was lifting slowly, making wispy skeletons out of the trees that rushed past. Old telephone lines fell and raised in her window as they sped on, dotted with the silhouettes of sleepy birds. The car was quiet, only the soft whisper of the hover-generating engines providing a soft background noise. Gregor was silent.

Nina watched him cautiously out of the corner of her eyes. He did not move. His eyes were closed and his hands rested, folded, in his lap. The cane lay in the backseat. Growing more bold, Nina turned her head to stare at him openly. He was not a handsome man, but she could not quite call him ugly. She had never seen a face like his in her life. Every feature appeared to have personality of its own. His nose was long and stern, humpbacked, the kind of nose you would expect to scold you for laughing too loudly. Conversely, his mouth was soft and gentle, a latent humor hovering at the corners even in sleep. His cheeks were sunken and forlorn, his ears crooked and mismatched. She could not remember what his eyes looked like, she had not been courageous enough to look straight into them. Nina could not decide whether she liked the looks of Gregor.

She rubbed the penny in her hands restlessly. How long would they keep driving? She was beginning to grow hungry. The neverending line of trees and telephone lines looming out of the fog, combined with Gregor's motionlessness, gave her the illusion that time had stopped. Drowsy with boredom, she did not notice at first that Gregor's eyes had opened. He was watching her impassively, unmoving save an occasional blink. Slowly it dawned on her that she was not, after all, alone in the car. Guiltily she realized she had been staring rudely. She dropped her eyes in shame, to be met by a peal of laughter. Blinking in confusion, she looked back up. He had turned to face her and was smiling warmly.

"Do I scare you, little dove?" he asked.

Nina thought for a moment—it would be so rude to say yes, but it was ruder still to lie. Hesitantly, she nodded.

"That's very good. You should never trust a stranger. Particularly not one as odd as I. Soon we will be good friends, and you will not be afraid. But for now, dovelet, fear me. It might do to tremble a bit."

Baffled, Nina tried to force a shiver. Gregor was laughing at her again.

"You are a delight, aren't you, little one?"

Realizing she was being made fun of, Nina frowned and turned to face the window. Gregor was still chuckling softly.

"Don't you talk, child?"

At this she blushed. She kept her face firmly pointed at the window.

"Nina? Nina, answer me."

Nina remained silent and motionless. Gregor took her chin in his hand and gently turned her face towards his. He saw tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.

"Can't you talk, dovelet?"

Her lip trembling, Nina shook her head. He let go of her face, shock apparent on his. Quietly, she began to cry.

Gregor watched her for some time. When she had finished crying, she curled up into a ball, clutching her penny tightly, and dozed. He should have been angry. He had, after all, been cheated—a girl-child with a disability should have been sold for far less—but Gregor did not become angry. Instead, he remained thoughtful, watching her sleep. They sped on into the growing day.