Ines stared at him, her chest heaving. His words, "you cannot imagine without experience," echoed in the silent library. He was wrong. He was so, so wrong. And she was so tired of him being so wrong, so calm, so judgmental.
The last thread of her composure snapped.
"I am struggling because of my lack of experience!" she cried out. The words tore from her, loud and sharp and brimming with a hysterical frustration. The Icy Lady was gone, replaced by a furious, cornered writer.
Carcel's stony expression finally cracked. He blinked.
"That is the entire problem!" she continued, her hands balling into fists at her sides. She was practically vibrating with pent-up energy. "Lately, I can't even imagine anything new for my writing. It's completely blocked. That... that page you found... that was the last idea I had. It was all I had left! And now it is gone, and I have nothing!"
