Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Maggie hesitates, half inclined to let go and just get away from this woman. But she's had enough of feeling bullied and insecure on this topic, so she stands her ground, however uneasily, meeting Melli's gaze and keeping her hold on the book.*

I ... I want te learn. I dinna want Bard te have te teach me everything, all the time. *she speaks quietly, a little shakily at first, but her voice steadies as she goes* And I dinna wish te learn from someone who'll try te make me feel a fool for not knowing.

*Maggie glares at her* Why would he when he could just tell me what he wanted himself? *she asks in return, quite fed up with all this*

And why should it even matter te ye? I . . I just wanted te try te be better for him! 'Twas hard enough for me te come in here te try te figure this out for myself - what good does it do ye te humiliate me o'er it? Just leave me be. *she tells her, exasperated, and then belatedly adds* Please.

*Maggie blinks at Mell in surprise.* P . . . pardon me? *Baffled and still uneasy, she clutches the book to her chest like some sort of protective shield*

*Mell studies her face, trying to gauge whether Melliandra is being sincere or just manipulative. She had quite enough of the latter from Kara on her last visit. She nods slowly* Aye . . . at least, so far as I've e'er encountered.

*Maggie watches her go, thoroughly confused by her behavior. She'd gone from invasive and condescending to kind and downright considerate in the blink of an eye . . . just like their last encounter, where she'd been attacking one moment, lighthearted and sociable the next. Maggie hasn't the first clue what to make of her*

*She shakes her head. At least she's letting her alone now . . . Maggie looks down at the book again, her cheeks turning pink. She moves over to the study table furthest from view of the entrance the library and settles herself in a chair to get to work*

*Maggie, meanwhile, struggles to make sense of what she's studying. She keeps at it for quite a stretch of time, but between her tenuous new reading skills, her embarassment, and her lack of knowledge, its not quite providing the enlightenment she'd hoped it would. She sighs inwardly after a while and glances up and over to where Mell is, and chews her lip thoughtfully*

*Maggie reddens as their eyes meet* Ehm . . I . . . *she starts, then stops, looks down for a moment. Maybe she can just pretend that didn't happen. And continue struggling to get somewhere with this on her own. She rubs at her temple with one hand, then looks up again. Or she could ask for help and invite this strange woman back over and risk being made a total fool of*

Melliandra ... *she glances over to the writing table where, some time ago for her now, she'd sat and stumbled her way through a letter to Bard after he'd told her not to love him. She remembers what she'd told herself then. There are worse things te be than a fool.*

*She meets Mell's eyes again* Ye . . . ye know about . . . these things . . . do ye not?

*And Maggie does, predictably. But to her credit, she doesn't look away, and she nods* . . . Aye . . . .