Chapter 31

TheOrcMountainMakeover, it turned out, was just as overwhelming as the OrcMountainNewMateExperience.

Itbegan with an admittedly much-needed bath in a huge heated pool, while Jule, Rosa, and Cecily stood guard outside the door. And once Louisa had dried off, wrapping herself in the huge towel Cecily had fetched, Cecily began what felt like an attack on her wet, messy hair, plying it with a light oil, and then detangling it with a wide-toothed comb. And then, explaining her process as she went, she twisted it up with two long, pointed crossed hairpins, not unlike how Killik wore his daggers.

"There, that's better," Cecily said, stepping back to admire her handiwork. "It keeps it up out of your face, but still shows off this silver in front, too. Which is such a good Skai colour, and so lovely on you, don't you think?"

Evena few weeks ago, Louisa might have protested this statement, but now she felt her overwhelmed thoughts bizarrely catching, and twining toward… Ulfarr. You are lovely, Louisa. Mayhap the loveliest sight I have ever set eyes upon…

"Er, thank you, Cecily," she said, over the catch in her throat. "This is — very kind of you."

ButCecily only smiled, and gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "YouSkai really do just need good Ash-Kai guidance 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. "I didn't think to bring any coin with me, so —"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Cecily interrupted, with another wave of her hand. "Of course Sune's fathers will be happy to help out their new — friend."

Louisashot Cecily a careful look — she was quite possibly the first person who hadn't made that mate assumption, and who had included Ulfarr in this, too — and also, surely Killik and Ulfarr wouldn't want to pay for something so frivolous as clothes? ButCecily was already tugging Louisa up the corridor again, while Jule and Rosa followed closely behind. And if anyone noticed Louisa was dressed only in a large towel, they didn't seem to care, and several new orcs even nodded and smiled as they passed.

"Here we are!" Cecily announced, as she ushered Louisa toward yet another door. "TheGriskShop. The most wondrous place in all the mountain!"

Itwas a grand claim, given all the admittedly impressive rooms Louisa had seen so far — but once she'd stepped inside the shop, her feet faltered, her breath catching in her throat. It was — huge. Without question 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. And on the shelves, Louisa could see crates, tools, weapons, and furs, and bags of flour, and barrels of salted meat, and cooking-pots, and —

"Welcome to the GreatGriskShowroom-Shop!" said a bright voice, and Louisa blinked toward where a pretty, dark-haired woman was standing behind the counter, and beaming toward them. "Are you new to the mountain, sister? I'mKitty, and I'd be 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, Jule made another round of quick introductions. ThisKitty turned out to be from the Grisk clan, and she was apparently mated to two Grisk orcs — one of them a tall, messy-haired orc named Thrain, who worked in the Grisk forge just up the corridor, and had just come down to introduce himself, too.

"Killik, ach?" he said to Louisa, with a too-knowing wink. "I hope you like weapons then, woman. And chains."

Chains? Louisa was again nonplussed, but comprehension slowly filtered in as she stared at the orc's impish grin. He meant… he meant Killik liked chains in the bedroom. Right? And — she hadn't known that either, had she? This was something else they'd kept from her?

Butperhaps Kitty had caught Louisa's unease, because she cheerfully swatted at Thrain, and shot Louisa an apologetic smile. "Enough of that," she said firmly. "Now, let's get started!"

Sheexcitedly waved toward one of the aisles behind the counter, so Louisa drew in another deep, fortifying breath, and obliged. Following along with Jule, Rosa, and Cecily down the long, lamplit aisle, which indeed seemed to be bursting with clothes — dresses, trousers, tunics, shifts, underclothes, shoes, boots, and even jewelry. More clothes than Louisa had ever seen in any shop in her life, and she swallowed as she stared around at them, shaking her head.

"Uh, I'm afraid I — I don't even know where to start with this," she said. "I haven't followed fashions in years, and back when I needed to dress a certain way, I used 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? Killik didn't care what she looked like. He didn't want her here, in their lives, or their business, or their shops. This was ridiculous, this was only five more nights, Louisa should have stayed out with the horses after all…

"But that's what we're for!" Kitty's voice cut in, and she was beaming again, looking unnervingly sincere. "I love clothes, and I love helping our clients dress however best suits them. And that allows you to focus on doing what you do best, right?"

BesideLouisa, Cecily nodded too, and gave a reassuring pat of her hand to Louisa's arm. "And of course you're terrible with clothes, you're Skai," she said comfortingly. "Now, tell us, do you spend your days doing typical Skai things, too? Tromping around in the mud and forest? Doing dirty jobs no one else wants to do? Killing things, maybe?"

Louisaopened her mouth to protest, but then winced and closed it again, because she did do all that, damn it. And around her, all the women laughed, and Cecily gave another encouraging pat to her arm. "Believe us, we know," she said. "So something close and comfortable you can move in, then. Dark colours, since they're easier to keep clean. And a pair of decent Skai boots, not like those clodhoppers you came in with."

Kittygave a decisive nod, and had turned to start tugging items from the nearest shelf. And soon Louisa was caught up in a dizzying whirl of dresses, trousers, underclothes, and boots, trying on outfit after outfit over the slim black shift Kitty had given her, while answering an astonishing array of enthusiastic questions. Is this 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 gave Louisa an overview of orcish clothing customs, and how they differed from humans' — and how, in particular, the orcs cared very little about modesty. And apparently ensembles like Kitty's were standard among her Grisk clan, and in the Skai clan, orcs and women often wore just a loincloth — a thin leather waistband, with more leather hanging down in front and in back, just enough to cover the essential parts.

"They really are quite comfortable," Kitty said brightly, as she thrust out several loincloth options toward Louisa. "Why don'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. WhileKitty and Cecily continued sifting through their piles of dresses, trousers, tunics, and boots, now instructing Louisa to try on her favourites again, and then to move around as much as she could. Until she was twisting and jumping and even jogging up and down the aisles, while the women chattered and laughed.

Bythe end of it, Louisa found 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. Beneath the dress, she was also wearing the loincloth she'd chosen, and around the waist of the dress, Kitty had fastened a chain belt — apparently forged by Thrain himself — for Louisa's knife, along with a new, perfectly sized leather scabbard.

Itwas unlike anything Louisa had 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. And once Kitty and Cecily had given her one last look-over — and gained Jule and Rosa's praises, too — they finally marched Louisa down the aisle, to where a tall, silvery looking-glass stood at the very back of the shop.

"What do you think?" Kitty eagerly asked, waving toward the looking-glass. And for an instant, Louisa could only seem to stand there and stare at her reflection, as her heartbeat skipped in her chest.

Shelooked… different. So different. So simple and straightforward and… right, somehow. Like a 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. And maybe Cecily had 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.

Andas Louisa kept numbly standing there, staring at herself, there was again that jolting, incongruous feeling of… peace. That peace she'd felt at the camp, and in that bed with Killik and Ulfarr, too, stroked into truth by their hands, their voices, their hunger.

You are wondrous, Louisa. You are so good. So perfect.

"I — thank you," Louisa stammered, glancing between Kitty and Cecily, and waving a shaky hand at her hot-feeling face. "You are definitely much better at this than I am, and it was so kind of you, but you shouldn't have — you didn't need to —"

Andoh, gods, she wasn't going to start weeping, not over some new clothes — but she was already sniffling, blinking hard, shaking her head. But beside her, Kitty looked a little weepy too, and she frantically waved it away, and yanked Louisa into a tight hug. "Oh, I'm just so glad," she said. "You deserve to feel comfortable in your own skin. And you look fabulous, too."

Louisagave another weepy, grateful smile, and then willingly joined all the cheerfully chattering women as they headed back toward the front of the shop. And for a brief, wonderful moment, that whispering peace shimmered with something almost like… hope. She could face this. Prove this. And maybe she could someday even belong here, with these lovely women, in Killik and Ulfarr's home…

Atleast, until they reached the front of the shop. Where a tall, lean orc was stalking swiftly into the room — and then, in a jolting movement, he stopped. Stilled. And stared at Louisa, with shock and menace and fury flashing in his eyes.

Itwas Killik.