Page 46 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

She didn’t let him finish and instead shoved past him down to the hallway that led to the women’s quarters. She had been so excited to see Blár, but now all she wanted to do was hide.

10

Kolfinna didn’t havetime to weep into her pillow or do anything dramatic because Inkeri entered the room soon after she did, and the tiny sliver of privacy she had was gone. So she instead washed up like she said she would. She stripped out of her dirtied, bloodied clothes and put on a clean uniform. She brushed out her hair and cleaned her face with the basin water until she was presentable. She just needed to do something to busy her hands so she didn’t have to think about anything.

She so badly wanted to curl away somewhere and cry out her feelings. To sort through her thoughts and come up with an outline of her frazzled emotions. But Inkeri was there and she didn’t make a move to leave.

“Are you going to wear that to dinner?” Inkeri was combing her silken hair. She had also washed the grime off her body.

Kolfinna looked down at her clean, gray military uniform. It still smelled fresh from the dried, pressed jasmine petals she had placed in it like the rest of her clothing in her trunk. “What’s wrong with my uniform?”

“Nothing.” Inkeri shrugged with a slight frown. She had put on a simple, sleeveless black dress with a square neckline that showed a hint of cleavage. “Usually, after a mission, we get thewhole evening off and our group has dinner together in one of the more private rooms. It’s to help us bond and go over the details. And since Blár is back, we’ll probably have dinner with him.”

Kolfinna eyed the silk dress she was wearing. “And that requires you to dress like that?”

Inkeri’s cheeks reddened. “No, but I like to dress nicely.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her reddening ear. “It’s not often that we get to dress up.”

Kolfinna wondered if it was because Blár was there. She could already hear Ivar’s snide remark.All those ladies got their panties in a twist.

Maybe Inkeri also liked Blár? That thought further soured her mood.

“I think I look fine like this.” Kolfinna smoothed down the front of her uniform. If she wore anything else, she was sure she’d be uncomfortable. Facing Blár without first facing her messy feelings required her to wear a soldier’s uniform. Not something flirty that would confuse her. This was a battle in itself.

“If you say so.”

Herja bounced inside the room soon after, her cheeks flushed with color and a giddy grin on her face.

Kolfinna couldn’t look her in the eyes, so she busied herself with picking at the dried blood stains on her crumpled clothes from the mission while the red-haired woman cleaned herself and dressed in an emerald green sweeping gown.

“Can you help me with my hair?” Herja’s voice was high-pitched, girly, andbreathlesswith excitement.

Of course she was excited.

Bitterness filled Kolfinna’s mouth like vinegar-soaked tart berries. She didn’t want to go to any dinner where she’d have afront row seat to Herja and Blár flirting together. Or whatever they did together.

Inkeri helped her with her hair, both of them chatting freely.

“I invited Brenda over,” Herja was saying. “I’m sure a few more people want to join us too, but Blár said he’d rather have limited people.”

“Hm.” Inkeri finished brushing out Herja’s curls and began twisting and braiding them until she had an elegant bun in the back of her head. She rested her hands on Herja’s shoulder and inspected her handiwork. “There, you look great.”

Kolfinna’s own hair looked like a fluffy rat’s nest compared to hers. Even though she had brushed it, her curls had frizzed in the cold and didn’t look right. She hastily began to braid it right when the two women rose up to leave.

She followed after them, her fingers deftly working to tie her hair together, even as her heart sank and sank like an anchor, except it never stopped. It kept sinking and sinking and even as they reached the dinner room, her heart had not yet reached the bottom.

They entered a smaller room close to the dining hall, and Kolfinna was immediately overwhelmed with the smell of baked goods, roasted meats, and mouthwatering delicacies. Unlike the rest of the fort with its monotonous gray, this room seemed to be the exception. Stepping foot inside the private dining room was like stepping into a different fort altogether. Gone were the boring floors, replaced with shining marble with red-veined tiles. Gone were the slabs of gray walls and in their place were wooden paneling and silvery, embossed wallpaper. One of the walls opened up to glass doors and a stony white balcony, and another was comprised completely of glass and overlooked the courtyard down below.

There was a long serving table full of meaty broth, buttered bread, honeyed oatcakes, varieties of cheese and jams and fruits,roasted duck and chicken, and various other delicacies. Four smaller circular tables with silk tablecloths were scattered in the room.

Kolfinna had to pause and stare at everything for a moment. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought she was in a different place altogether. Why hadn’t anyone put this much attention to the rest of the fort? Or maybe that was just the Royal Guard side of her talking—the side that had gotten used to having fancy rooms as a default.

A dozen people were already inside, including Blár, Eluf, Ivar, and Gunnar. The four men occupied one of the tables and they didn’t seem to care much for their appearance compared to the two women by Kolfinna’s side because they wore their uniforms. They were clean, she was sure, but that was it. Nothing else.

Kolfinna would’ve been relieved at that, if it wasn’t for the fact that every woman was dressed in some sort of gown. She stood out like a sore thumb, even more than usual.

“Looks like a few people also finished their missions around the same time—” Inkeri started, but Herja was already bounding to Blár, a large grin stretching over her face. Her green skirts fluttered behind her with every bounce.

“She’s excited.” Inkeri gave a short laugh.

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