"I think I know what I want," Ollie began. "I just don't know if I'm strong enough to succeed."
"Oh?" Ashlynn said, giving him a sideways glance. "Since you said 'strong enough' and not 'smart enough', I'm guessing you won't be holing yourself up in the library and learning to read?"
"Hey," the young man objected. "I didn't say I wasn't smart. Just, maybe, maybe not as smart as you, but if I wanted to learn to read I'm sure I could!"
"But you don't want to," Ashlynn countered with a light, musical laugh. "I'm not making fun of you. Words matter. If you're going to spend more time around me, you need to learn to listen to the words people choose because they'll tell you about what someone isn't saying as much as they tell you about what they are saying."
"That's a thing for nobles," Ollie said dismissively. "Common folk speak their minds and mean what they say."
