“It’s a bracelet!”
“No, I know it’s a bracelet. And a pretty one at that. But I don’t understand what it has to do with me.”
“Pretty...” The mage’s eyes darkened. “Of course you’d think it’s pretty.”
Beth was at a loss. Kinna was mad, but she was sure that after she calmed down, she was going to tell her exactly what she’d done and how she’d caused offense via an object she was now seeing for the first time.
“The captain came to me and asked me to enchant it.” She dug her hand into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a dozen tiny stones that shined brightly. “He brought these, too, and he asked me to make them glow at night and attach them to the bracelet.”
“That... doesn’t make me less confused.”
“For you! He wanted me to enchant the stones and the bracelet for you! So it would be pretty at night, not only in the daylight.”
“Oh.” Her lips almost curled up in a grin, but she controlled her face muscles. “I didn’t know.”
Kinna made a noise that sounded a lot like a growl. “Of course you didn’t know. He told me it was a gift for you. A gift! Uthar the Hunter doesn’t make gifts. Huh. Since when? What did you do to him that he’s changed so much?”
“He’s changed? I haven’t noticed.”
Kinna took a step forward, opened her hand, and let the small stones spread on the floor. They bounced around, and some of them slipped under the bed.
“I’m not doing anything for you,” she said.
“But... he asked you. Not me.” Beth squeezed the bracelet in her hand. The precious metal felt cold and soothing.
“I don’t care.”
“He’s your captain.”
“I don’t care! I’m not enchanting any gifts for you.”
“What will you tell him when he comes to retrieve it?”
Kinna rolled her eyes. “That the spell failed, and the thing exploded.”
Without another word, she turned on her heel and rushed out of the room and the apartment.
Beth could finally let the smile take over her features. She looked at the bracelet, then knelt and started gathering the stones. They looked like they were diamonds. She spent the next half hour hunting for them underneath the bed, checking all corners and nooks.
What Kinna didn’t know was that the bracelet had worked. It had done its job. Sure, it wasn’t finished, and it wasn’t enchanted, but Beth knew Uthar’s intention, and she loved him for it. Warmth grew in her chest at the thought that he’d gone to the mage and asked her to make a spell for her. That meant he would do it again. And Kinna hadn’t listened to him this time, but she couldn’t disobey him forever.
Beth wasn’t going to tell Uthar about the bracelet. Not yet, at least. The mage hated her already. It would do her no good to run to the captain and tell on her. Kinna was angry today, but tomorrow, maybe she’d see that Beth was a decent person and appreciate it.
Chapter Eight
Beth was in the backyard, gathering the dry laundry and putting it in a basket. She was humming to herself, thinking how lovely it was to do these homely things. Aside from the stress of living with an orc horde that didn’t seem to really want her here, she was having a great time going through the abandoned apartments, finding little treasures, and bringing them home to brighten the place. The rest of her time she spent reading at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, or on the porch, from where she could see the orcs going about their business.
It wasn’t a bad life. She could get used to it. It would’ve been even better if Abby were with her. She held on to the hope that one day it would be possible. She had yet to tell Uthar about her sister. Sometimes it was on the tip of her tongue, as they spent the evening in silence, as they went to bed and she stared at the ceiling while he fell asleep, snoring softly beside her. She was afraid, though. What if he thought all she wanted was to take advantage of him? And he wouldn’t be wrong, either... Except, she was falling for him. Slowly and surely. Every day, when he wasn’t there to see her, she took out the bracelet she’d hidden in a drawer and looked at it. The first gift Uthar had given her. Or had attempted to give her. The way it had gotten in her possession was kind of special.
She hauled the basket onto her hip and went inside. Uthar was just about to walk out, and she bumped into him and nearly dropped the basket. He hurried to steady her with a firm hand on her arm, and took the basket from her before they had to pick the clothes off the floor.
“Oh! I didn’t see you there.” Beth chuckled. “You’re home early.”
It wasn’t time for dinner yet.
“I have a surprise for you.”
His grin made her heart flutter. She loved how awkward he was, especially since she’d given him the list.