Page 34 of The Warlord's Princess
I sigh. “I understand your curiosity, but can you wait until the cold season passes and more shells can be gathered? No one is going around telling everyone you’re weak.”
“What if I were to spin the thread for you?”
“I’d need more bugs to make dye.”
She purses her lips, looking at the yarn in frustration, fluttering her eyes, which are filled with tears.
She wipes away their glassiness, but new tears take their place.
My eyes are watering too from the strong odor in the room, but I try to ignore the sting.
“I found the bugs a day away from the village. There was a nest of them. Dogan called them grensirs and said they burrow near tree roots.”
“Do any nest nearby?”
“Not that I’ve seen, and I’ve been all around the perimeter and know what to look for.” She wipes her eyes again, pressing them closed before blinking several times.
“Would you gather the bugs for me as well as spinning the thread?”
“I’m already taking a day to create threads and I simply can’t take two more to go bug hunting.”
I look at the threads, remembering Grixis’s request. If I’m to please him, I can’t give it away, but Nori’s offer is appealing because I’ll soon need more thread, and no one is better with repetitive tasks than Nori.
But how will I get more bugs? I blink several times, trying not to grind my palms into my eyes to soothe the stinging.
“Your problem presents you with an opportunity,” Nori says in her typical analytic tone.
“Care to tell me what that is?”
“As you said, you are thought of as weak, even by people of your own tribe. Perhaps if you were to request to go out into the greater forest to look for the bugs yourself, opinions would change.”
“But that’s dangerous…” My voice trails off.
“It is, which is why you would request that Ramsey go with you.”
“Won’t he think I’m weak if a beast attacks and I can’t defend myself?”
“Not necessarily. I can’t defend myself, and Dogan never held that against me.”
“But he likes you.”
Her brow pinches. “No, he doesn’t. He respects me, which is different.”
Is it possible she doesn’t know? She’s so smart, yet often overlooks obvious things.
“I’m sorry for making assumptions, but the fact remains that even if Dogan doesn’t like you in that way, he still cares about you enough to save you if anything were to happen. If I were to be attacked, chances are Ramsey would throw me a spear.”
She nods slowly, blinking her eyes again. “That is likely, but perhaps that is a risk you should take.”
My brow lifts. “You think I should risk being mauled?”
“The likelihood you will encounter a beast within that distance isn’t great, as the Tempest men know how to avoid and drive them away, and if you were to, there’s no telling if they would attack, especially if you carry with you terragulf urine.”
It all seems too much, especially since trekking into the greater island will cost me time, but as always, Nori’s advice is deeply logical.
I won’t be out so much time with her spinning threads for me, and my request to travel so far will likely earn me respect from some of the men, and even the women. Plus, I can bring a weave with me to work when we rest.
“I’ll speak with Ramsey tonight about it.”
