"'Fair and softly goes far. --Cervantes'" She read the quote aloud. Who the heck is Cervantes? The words brought images of soft noblewomen with pale hair, pale eyes, and pale skin to mind and being dark haired, brown eyed, and honey/olive skin this just pissed her off. What a way to start the day. Though to be fair, she thought as she shoveled the sugar in and walked to the table, being a fair noblewoman isn't what makes me mad. It's definitely the people who think that they need to be fair to be pretty. It's the thought that we have to be soft pretty little women to get anywhere in this world that pisses me off. That, and I was already in a bad mood... She stared bemused out the window, not even noticing the way the little mesquite leaves danced in the wind. Making a mental note to google Cervantes later and then thinking better of it because she knew she'd just forget, she tucked the tag into her pocket and patted it. Hopefully she'd remember the name and look him up, or I'll be reminded when I take the little square of dead tree out of my pocket later, she shrugged. Perhaps it's not that looks and manners go far, she thought remembering Roosevelts favorite saying "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far". Perhaps it just means that if you are fair, if you're open to other opinions and sides without just dismissing them, and if you're gentle and nice instead of mean then you will go farther in life. She decided this was actually a good saying, good enough to be worth pulling out her pen and scrawling the words on her wrist so she'd see it throughout the day. If I remember this I'll at least get along better with people today, she thought brightly as she got up to put her mug in the sink. It made a loud clink when she set it down and she glanced down at the sink, a frown shading her lips. Dang, I'll have to do dishes when I get home tonight. Fair and softly goes far, fair and softly goes far, fair and softly goes far, why doesn't that sound right? This Cervantes dude needs to work on his grammar. Or chick? I have no idea if Cervantes is a male or female name! She scrunched her lips to one side in thought as she grabbed the bags she'd need for the day. I guess I just assumed that Cervantes was a dude because I feel like women would know better than to believe bologna like being fair and soft gets you farther in life, though I suppose it can be true. Especially if you're dealing with other people who believe that. How do you even pronounce that? "Servant-ez, Curv-ant-tess?" She tilted her head, tasting the name and rolling it around on her tongue to see if it felt right. Because she was preoccupied she dropped her keys and thoughts of proper pronunciation fled her minds as she grumbled under her breath and bent down to retrieve the bits of metal that kept her belongings safe and let her access her mode of transportation. "Servant-ee-ez?"