Origins

Paige is the daughter of a rare book dealer. Her parents keep a rare bookstore called Little Alexandria in Soho, and she mentions it as casually as if it were the grocer’s on her own corner. She helps out her parents at the shop sometimes, and once promised her dad she would help him at the bookstore.

“My parents have a rare bookstore in Soho, they might be able to help you.”

“我父母在苏荷区开了一家珍本书店，他们或许能帮到你”

The shop has quite a name. The moment she mentioned it, Abrams said it was one of the first places he tried; Graves asked her outright whether she worked there, then wanted to know why its necromancy section sucks so much. Paige hemmed and hawed, and answered only that it was a complicated story.

“Why does your necromancy section suck so much?”

“你的魂灵法术部分为什么这么烂？”

Her own reputation, though, lives not in the bookstore but among children. To McGinnis she said frankly that she is a children’s storyteller; when others ask for her help, she begs off, saying she has a kindergarten class to read to. So her opponents poke fun at her one after another, telling her to go back to the library, calling her a kindergarten teacher. Ivy, though, really did go to her story hour, and took Manny along, and says she was so nice.

“I'm a children's storyteller.”

“我是个讲儿童故事的”

“And she was so nice when I took Manny to story hour.”

“我带曼尼去听故事的时候，她人特别好”

The showpiece of her story time is the dragon. She has said she had to stop pulling it out at the library: they were not too happy when she burned the stacks.

“Had to stop pulling this guy out at the library, they were not too happy when I burned the stacks…”

“我不得不停止在图书馆里把这家伙拉出来，我烧掉书架的时候，他们很不高兴”

Books are her whole world. Before setting out she takes stock of her luggage — her King Arthur, her Midsummer Night’s Dream, her Wuthering Heights — and recalls the time she planned on an Austen day, only for life to announce that it was Bronte Time. For Billy she sorted the books she carries into a breakfast book, a coffee book, a main book and a comfort book. When Lash joked about her having gone to college, she simply acted as if she had not heard.

“You think I brought enough books? It's probably enough, but I remember one time I planned on it being an Austen day but life was like, "Sorry lady, it's Bronte Time," and I was just not prepared.”

“你觉得我带的书够多吗？可能够了，但我记得有一次我计划读简·奥斯汀的作品，结果生活却像在说：“抱歉女士，现在是勃朗特时间”，而我却毫无准备”

She has read so much that she sees everything as if it were on the page. When she is angry, she wants to “go full Iago and ruin their life,” and says she hates them more than she hates Mr. Darcy; when she is downcast, she consoles herself that this is just the “dark night of the soul” part of the story, and every hero needs to face adversity. Her verdict on Lash is a dime store Mr. Collins; on Lady Geist, Lady Dorian Grey; faced with Viscous, she says she feels like George to his Lennie.

She has a quiet side too. When she is sad, all she wants is a blanket and a cat; seeing that Calico has a cat, she says she can’t stay mad at her.

“A blanket and cat sounds real good right now…”

“现在，一条毯子和一只猫听起来真不错…”

Old Friends and Foes

Seven: The Man Who Knew Bryce’s Name

Seven first asked whether she was the bibliomancer, and only once she said yes did he go on: then you haven’t outlived your usefulness. All she could answer was “Hooray…” Later, when she cautiously brought up that she has a brother, he supplied the name at once: “Bryce.” Startled, she asked how he knew, and he replied only: find me after the ritual.

“Good. Then you haven’t outlived your usefulness.”

“很好。看来你还没有失去利用价值”

He asked her whether she was scared — of him? Of the ritual? Of those who oppose them? — and she said yes, adding that she does not feel the need to limit herself to one thing. When it came to blows, she said as she brought him down: I won’t let my brother end up like you.

“I won't let my brother end up like you, Seven.”

“我不会让我弟弟落得和你一样的下场，柒”

Abrams: The Detective Who Won’t Show Her the Book

Abrams carries a tome, and when she asked for a look, he refused, telling her only that she would find out real soon, kid. She calls him Detective, and when they part, she tells him to stay safe.

“Cool tome, can I get a look at it?”

“这本书真不错，我可以看一下吗？”

She thought she had found a kindred spirit. When people insult her, she told him, they usually go for Mr. Darcy; he tossed back that Fitzwilliam’s a loser. She was thrilled, and pressed him: was he an Austen fan? Could they talk about Emma? He only told her to slow down, the ritual was about to start, and not one word of it was an admission.

Yet when he brings her down, he says something else entirely: her dad was supposed to tell her to stay away from the Tome. And: I can’t let you have this book, Paige.

“Your dad was supposed to tell you to stay away from the Tome.”

“你爸爸本应该告诉你远离那本宝书”

Graves: The Kid Who Sounds Just Like Bryce

Graves goes about with a lich hand, and the first thing Paige said to her was that she shouldn’t be messing with that hand. Paige told her she sounds just like Bryce, and Graves shot back: whoever that is, they’re cooler than you. Later, bringing her down, Paige sighed that she just needs a hug. Graves’s own view is that Paige is way too positive for her.

“You shouldn't be messing with that hand.”

“你不应该乱碰那只手”

Vyper: The Woman Who Knows Her Brother

Vyper calls her “Red,” once confused her with a very different librarian, and wanted her to lie to a parole officer on her behalf. Paige refused: she was not lying to a police officer; she was not lying, period. Another time, after mistaking her for someone else, Vyper said: you are too pure for this world, and I kind of love it.

“I'm not lying period.”

“我没撒谎，绝对没有”

But when Vyper brings her down, something else slips out: her brother was way more fun to hang out with. Vyper seems to know Bryce; Paige, for her part, has not a shred of liking for her, and says only that she hopes she never has to see her again.

Haze: The Woman Watching Her Family

Haze told her that her family are people of interest, then reassured her: she is not who the OSIC is concerned about. Only after bringing her down did Paige realize she had been a Sandman, and she fretted that the OSIC might send a curator to her dad’s store, feared Haze would come back for her in her sleep, and gasped that she had picked a fight with the federal government.

“Your family are people of interest.”

“你的家人是值得关注的人物”

“Sooo that was a Sandman… that's fine, everything's fine, she won't come back and kill me in my sleep.”

“所以，那是个睡魔… ，没事，一切都好，她不会回来趁我睡着击倒我”

Haze herself sounds rather regretful: she would have made a good Curator. She urges Paige to let her brother go, saying she would be happier, and to go home while she still can.

“A shame, she would have made a good Curator.”

“真可惜，她本来可以成为一名优秀的收藏家”

Grey Talon: A Hunter Like an Elder

Grey Talon says she reminds him of his daughter-in-law. When Paige said lightly that she hoped he liked her, he answered: I did. Very much so. Paige once read a book on the Baxter Society, and told him his life is amazing; again he answered only that it certainly was. When they met as foes, she said she was sorry about his family, and that he was like her grandpa, if her grandpa were really into shooting people with arrows.

“You remind me of my daughter in law.”

“你让我想起了我的儿媳”

Mirage and Shiv: Her Romance Novel

When Mirage recognized the Arthurian collection in her hands, she blurted out: oh my god, you’re perfect. Then she sounded him out on whether he and Nashala were a couple; theirs, he said, is a professional relationship. Shiv, in her eyes, is a bad boy with a tragic past, only she finds Mirage better by comparison. Her wish to show him around New York she has had to set aside for now. This admiration has only ever been hers alone.

“Oh my god you're perfect.”

“哦我的天你太完美了。”

The Doorman: The Man Who Invited Her to Tell Stories

The Doorman invited her to host a storytelling event at the Baroness Hotel, saying hers is a rare gift, and only a fool wouldn’t delight in it. She tried to learn his real name; he declined, saying only that he is in New York to serve and not to rule. But once they are foes, he casts her as the Alice to his Cheshire Cat: you’re not the hero of your story, you’re a footnote in mine.

“You should host a storytelling event at The Baroness sometime.”

“你应该找个时间在巴隆妮斯酒店举办一次讲故事活动”

“Yours is a rare gift, only a fool wouldn't delight in it.”

“你拥有的这份礼物弥足珍贵，只有傻瓜才会不珍惜它”

When she brings him down, she apologizes instead: she knows he was just doing his job.

Billy: The Angry Man She Wants to Hug

When Billy dismissed Shakespeare as some snob that wrote in Middle English, she invited him to the Shakespeare festival anyway: everyone loves A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and he would basically be their king. He finally relented: maybe I’ll check it out. Earlier, though, he had told her bluntly: I hate you; I don’t want to know you. She answered that that’s what people say in the first act, but by the third they’re best friends. The friendship lives only in her hopes. When he brings her down, what he says is: stick to the library.

“Maybe I'll check it out.”

“或许我会去看看”

Victor and Drifter: The Ones She Reaches Out To

To her, Victor is a Byronic hero stepped out of her high school diary. When she asked whether he wanted her help, he first said: you don’t even know me. She answered: you just look sad, and I know what that feels like. Only then did he say: that’s very sweet of you. Thank you.

“You don't even know me.”

“你根本不认识我”

Facing Drifter, she is frightened yet will not give up on him: he is a monster, she said, but she will protect him. He shot back: sure, let’s call it kindness and not you compromising your morals because you wanna win. Later, bringing him down, she said: I’m not going to be another one of your victims. His own version is this: you’re not the hero, Paige, you’re the victim.

“You're a monster but I'll protect you.”

“你是个怪物，但我会保护你”

“I'm not going to be another one of your victims.”

“我不会再成为你的下一个受害者”

Dynamo, Infernus and Kelvin: The Ones Who Know Her Family

Dynamo is a regular at her library; he always seemed so polite there, she says, and when she brought him down, she added that he’ll forgive her. He once told her it is wonderful that she uses her gift to show children the power of stories, and after bringing her down, he said he is going to feel terrible about that tomorrow.

Infernus and Kelvin both, unprompted, ask after her parents, as if they had long known the family. Infernus says to tell her parents he said hi, and that he is sorry about her brother; Kelvin says he hopes her parents are doing well. Kelvin is her hero: she knows full well what they say about meeting your heroes, yet she still says he is great, though the next book signing will be a little awkward; he, for his part, hopes that today’s enemies will be tomorrow’s allies.

“Tell your parents I said 'Hi.'”

“请代我向你的父母问好”

“I hope your parents are doing well Paige.”

“佩吉，希望你的父母一切都好”

Vindicta and Venator: The Ones Who Show No Mercy

Vindicta says it would have been safer for her in the library, and that sometimes you have to be willing to go for soft targets. Bringing her down, Paige said she doesn’t blame her for doing what she’s doing, but she needed to be stopped: your story deserved a better ending than this.

“Sometimes you have to be willing to go for soft targets.”

“有时候你必须愿意去攻击软柿子”

Venator is hunting her. Your brother is beyond saving, he tells her; and she is throwing her life away to save someone who doesn’t deserve it. After bringing him down, Paige said that guy is unhinged, and that the last thing she needed in her life was someone trying to hunt her down.

“I'm sorry, Paige, your brother is beyond saving.”

“佩吉，我很抱歉，你弟弟已经无可救药了”

Violet: The Artist Known Only Over the Channel

When Violet took up her brush to paint Paige, she said she was not sure she had ever painted a bibliomancer before, and that the books kind of function as their own characters. While she was at it, she did Paige a favor and toned her anxiety way down in the picture, and asked who wouldn’t want to just hide from the rain and drink hot cocoa with this girl.

“Who wouldn't wanna just hide from the rain and drink hot coco with this girl?”

“谁不想躲雨，和这位女孩一起喝热可可呢”

Of this kindness Paige most likely knows nothing. When she mentions the Artist, it is only ever in the tone of a dispatch: the Artist’s missing, careful, Artist, and the order to take out the Artist. She has never said a word to Violet herself. Violet, after bringing her down, did leave a few words behind: family’s not worth it, trust me; you seem cool, sorry we couldn’t work together. The fondness runs one way; to Paige, the Artist is still just a name on the channel.

Anecdotes

Apologies. After bringing down Rem, she said she felt really guilty, then consoled herself: you just read him a bedtime story! Rem’s own words: I want her to read to me every day, but not today.

“It's ok, Paige, don't feel bad. You just read him a bedtime story!”

“没关系，佩吉，别难过。你只是给他讲了个睡前故事而已！”

Dragons and Knights. Summoning her dragon, she says: I love dragons. Calling forth the Knights of the Round Table, she says: this is the best part of the story.

“I love dragons.”

“我喜欢龙”

I’ll Take Care of You. When she shields a companion, she tells them, “I’ll take care of you.”

Miss Shelly. Bebop asked her to come over and read to Miss Shelly sometime; he thinks she would enjoy it. When she mentioned Bryce, Bebop said: well, if he’s anything like you, I’m sure he’s a good person.

“Would you mind coming over to read to Miss Shelly sometime? I think she'd enjoy it”

“你介意抽空过来给雪莉小姐读读书吗？我想她会喜欢的”

Fairfax. To McGinnis she marveled that when she woke up today, she didn’t expect to be fighting the Occult Industrial Complex; later she hoped Fairfax Industries still plans on donating to the library.

Open Questions