"Pardon my manners, my lady," said Zechariah. "I am called Zechariah, a humble scholar and scribe."
"And a storyteller," she said. Her speech, unlike Zechariah and Ahlund's, had little accent to Justin's ears. "Please, just call me Leah." She looked up at Justin expectantly.
Justin hesitated. He had never been very comfortable with his stature. In a weird way, people of below-average height sometimes intimidated him-especially girls. Looking down on them made him feel like a lanky, goofy giant. Like Lennie from Of Mice and Men. This rather small woman was no exception. It felt so wrong, in fact, to be looking down on royalty that he bowed a little just to try to even the playing field, but it probably looked as awkward as it felt. "I'm Justin," he said.
Leah grinned unsurely at his bow
