Page 64 of The Widow and the Orcs

“There, that’s better,”Cecilysaid, stepping back to admire her handiwork. “Itkeeps it up out of your face, but still shows off this silver in front, too.Whichis such a goodSkaicolour, and so lovely on you, don’t you think?”

Evena few weeks ago,Louisamight have protested this statement, but now she felt her overwhelmed thoughts bizarrely catching, and twining toward…Ulfarr.Youare lovely,Louisa.Mayhapthe loveliest sightIhave ever set eyes upon…

“Er, thank you,Cecily,” she said, over the catch in her throat. “Thisis — very kind of you.”

ButCecilyonly smiled, and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “YouSkaireally do just need goodAsh-Kaiguidance in these matters,” she said airily. “Now, let’s go get you some new clothes!”

Louisasmiled and nodded back, and allowed herself to be chivvied toward the door, even as a new, uneasy question surged in her thoughts. “Uh, but what about payment?” she asked. “Ididn’t think to bring any coin with me, so —”

“Oh, don’t worry aboutthat,”Cecilyinterrupted, with another wave of her hand. “OfcourseSune’sfathers will be happy to help out their new —friend.”

LouisashotCecilya careful look — she was quite possibly the first person who hadn’t made thatmateassumption, and who had includedUlfarrin this, too — and also, surelyKillikandUlfarrwouldn’t want to pay for something so frivolous as clothes?ButCecilywas already tuggingLouisaup the corridor again, whileJuleandRosafollowed closely behind.Andif anyone noticedLouisawas dressed only in a large towel, they didn’t seem to care, and several new orcs even nodded and smiled as they passed.

“Herewe are!”Cecilyannounced, as she usheredLouisatoward yet another door. “TheGriskShop.Themost wondrous place in all the mountain!”

Itwas a grand claim, given all the admittedly impressive roomsLouisahad seen so far — but once she’d stepped inside the shop, her feet faltered, her breath catching in her throat.Itwas — huge.Withoutquestion the biggest shop she’d seen in her life, with its rows and rows of fully stocked shelves, extending backwards behind a long front counter.Andon the shelves,Louisacould see crates, tools, weapons, and furs, and bags of flour, and barrels of salted meat, and cooking-pots, and —

“Welcometo theGreatGriskShowroom-Shop!” said a bright voice, andLouisablinked toward where a pretty, dark-haired woman was standing behind the counter, and beaming toward them. “Areyou new to the mountain, sister?I’mKitty, andI’dbe happy to help you find whatever you need.”

Louisawas feeling decidedly stunned again — not least because this woman was dressed in a highly orc-inspired ensemble that flaunted her pregnant bare belly — and thankfully,Julemade another round of quick introductions.ThisKittyturned out to be from theGriskclan, and she was apparently mated to twoGriskorcs — one of them a tall, messy-haired orc namedThrain, who worked in theGriskforge just up the corridor, and had just come down to introduce himself, too.

“Killik, ach?” he said toLouisa, with a too-knowing wink. “Ihope you like weapons then, woman.Andchains.”

Chains?Louisawas again nonplussed, but comprehension slowly filtered in as she stared at the orc’s impish grin.Hemeant… he meantKillikliked chains in thebedroom.Right?And— she hadn’t known that either, had she?Thiswas something else they’d kept from her?

ButperhapsKittyhad caughtLouisa’sunease, because she cheerfully swatted atThrain, and shotLouisaan apologetic smile. “Enoughof that,” she said firmly. “Now, let’s get started!”

Sheexcitedly waved toward one of the aisles behind the counter, soLouisadrew in another deep, fortifying breath, and obliged.Followingalong withJule,Rosa, andCecilydown the long, lamplit aisle, which indeed seemed to be bursting with clothes — dresses, trousers, tunics, shifts, underclothes, shoes, boots, and even jewelry.Moreclothes thanLouisahad ever seen in any shop in her life, and she swallowed as she stared around at them, shaking her head.

“Uh,I’mafraidI—Idon’t even know where to start with this,” she said. “Ihaven’t followed fashions in years, and back whenIneeded to dress a certain way,Iused to just rely on dressmakers to tell me what to buy, and…”

Hervoice trailed off, her stomach twisting, because again, what was she even doing here?Killikdidn’t care what she looked like.Hedidn’t want her here, in their lives, or their business, or their shops.Thiswas ridiculous, this was only five more nights,Louisashould have stayed out with the horses after all…

“Butthat’s what we’re for!”Kitty’svoice cut in, and she was beaming again, looking unnervingly sincere. “Ilove clothes, andIlove helping our clients dress however best suits them.Andthat allows you to focus on doing whatyoudo best, right?”

BesideLouisa,Cecilynodded too, and gave a reassuring pat of her hand toLouisa’sarm. “Andof course you’re terrible with clothes, you’reSkai,” she said comfortingly. “Now, tell us, do you spend your days doing typicalSkaithings, too?Trompingaround in the mud and forest?Doingdirty jobs no one else wants to do?Killingthings, maybe?”

Louisaopened her mouth to protest, but then winced and closed it again, because she did do all that, damn it.Andaround her, all the women laughed, andCecilygave another encouraging pat to her arm. “Believeus, we know,” she said. “Sosomething close and comfortable you can move in, then.Darkcolours, since they’re easier to keep clean.Anda pair of decentSkaiboots, not like those clodhoppers you came in with.”

Kittygave a decisive nod, and had turned to start tugging items from the nearest shelf.AndsoonLouisawas caught up in a dizzying whirl of dresses, trousers, underclothes, and boots, trying on outfit after outfit over the slim black shiftKittyhad given her, while answering an astonishing array of enthusiastic questions.Isthis one itchy, do you prefer trousers over dresses, do you mind this hemline, can you reach your dagger beneath that tunic?

Throughoutit all, the women also gaveLouisaan overview of orcish clothing customs, and how they differed from humans’ — and how, in particular, the orcs cared very little about modesty.Andapparently ensembles likeKitty’swere standard among herGriskclan, and in theSkaiclan, orcs and women often wore just aloincloth— a thin leather waistband, with more leather hanging down in front and in back, just enough to cover the essential parts.

“Theyreally are quite comfortable,”Kittysaid brightly, as she thrust out several loincloth options towardLouisa. “Whydon’t you try on a few, just to see what you think?”

Louisawas far too dazed to argue at this point, so she obligingly tried on the loincloths beneath her shift, and kept the one that seemed the most comfortable.WhileKittyandCecilycontinued sifting through their piles of dresses, trousers, tunics, and boots, now instructingLouisato try on her favourites again, and then to move around as much as she could.Untilshe was twisting and jumping and even jogging up and down the aisles, while the women chattered and laughed.

Bythe end of it,Louisafound herself clad in a knee-length, close-fitting black dress — more like a long tunic — together with a pair of tall slim boots, made of soft black leather.Beneaththe dress, she was also wearing the loincloth she’d chosen, and around the waist of the dress,Kittyhad fastened a chain belt — apparently forged byThrainhimself — forLouisa’sknife, along with a new, perfectly sized leather scabbard.

Itwas unlike anythingLouisahad ever worn before, but it was all surprisingly comfortable, and easy to move in, too — the boots were almost like walking barefoot, and none of it itched or pinched or poked, or dug into the softness of her breasts or her waist.AndonceKittyandCecilyhad given her one last look-over — and gainedJuleandRosa’spraises, too — they finally marchedLouisadown the aisle, to where a tall, silvery looking-glass stood at the very back of the shop.

“Whatdo you think?”Kittyeagerly asked, waving toward the looking-glass.Andfor an instant,Louisacould only seem to stand there and stare at her reflection, as her heartbeat skipped in her chest.

Shelooked… different.Sodifferent.Sosimple and straightforward and…right, somehow.Likea woman who knew who she was, a woman who got things done, a woman whose clothes served her life, and not the other way around.AndmaybeCecilyhad even been right about the silver in her pinned-up hair, because against all the black it looked almost striking, almost like it was meant to be there.

AndasLouisakept numbly standing there, staring at herself, there was again that jolting, incongruous feeling of… peace.Thatpeace she’d felt at the camp, and in that bed withKillikandUlfarr, too, stroked into truth by their hands, their voices, their hunger.

Youare wondrous,Louisa.Youare so good.Soperfect.

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