LIGHTNOVELONLINE 2.5 Business and Pleasure
Taylor and I worked for the shop owner, who we found out was named Bertrum, helping him around the shop, from selling to cleaning. It was honest work and was fun. If I ever got a job, I would hope to work for a shop like this. I knew it would not be exactly like this because we lived in modern times. We also found out that Bertrum wasn't as bad as we first thought. A few times, I used my tail to dust of shelves, which made Bertrum laugh. It must have looked a little odd, using my tail as a duster, but if it worked why not use it?
After a while, we were starting to get exhausted. We had still had some customers in the shop, but Bertrum allowed us to take a break. Taylor and I decided to take a walk around the town. There was so much life around. It was amazing to see how people thrived, even without technology.
As we were exploring, a woman waved us over, smiling. Taylor and I walked over to her.
“Good day, girls. You are new around here. I hope our fair town is treating you nicely,” she said. It was nice to have someone greet us so warmly.
“It is quite an amazing place. It’s a little busier than the village we were in a day ago,” Taylor said. The woman grinned as if pleased by the statement.
“That’s good to hear. Yes, our town is quite busy. You see, we are part of a trade route, so you have traders and visitors come from all over to sell and trade goods. Now, what are you girls wearing?” the woman asked, looking us up and down. It was strange to have this question asked when back at home what we were wearing was normal. I mean, I understood the confusion, but It was still weird.
“They are clothes from where we come from. It’s a very distant place.” I said. As she looked at me, she had a perplexed look on her face. I guess it was hard to believe that some other place had such different clothes.
“Well, they look so strange and are sure to make people worried. Why don’t I get you some clothes that don’t make you stand out so much?” she said. I continued to look at her, but I couldn’t help but feel a sort of familiarity with her. Like I had seen her before. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.
“I am sorry, ma’am, but we don’t have any coin. We are actually working for a man named Bertrum for some supplies for a long journey,” I said. She looked at me and shook her head.
“Nonsense, I will help you for free. Us women have to stick together. And don’t let my husband push you around. He’s a good man, but my does he have a temper,” she said. From the way she was talking, I guessed that she was talking about Bertrum. It was kind of ironic that we were now getting clothes from his wife. I wondered if she had anything that would accommodate our tails. But as people of us seemed to be natives here, it stood to reason that a trade town would probably have clothes for all races.
Following her inside the shop, I was surprised to see just how many racks of clothing she had. There was everything from workwear to dresses. Given the women, we had seen thus far, it wasn’t hard to guess what she would be giving us. I wasn’t against dresses, but at the same time, traveling a long distance in a dress was not my idea of efficiency. However, I was proven wrong when she brought us to a section of pants.
“These, my dears, should serve you well on your journey. They’re not as beautiful as dresses, but they will protect you better from the elements and help you to blend in better.” The woman said. Then she turned around and said, “By the way, call me Evaline.”
That was when it hit me. The woman reminded me of Eva, mom’s designer friend. All that was missing was the snake tail. The resemblance was uncanny.
It took us a few minutes to find the right outfits for us. Luckily, Evaline did have pants with tail holes, so they wouldn’t need any tailoring done. As we were finishing up getting dressed, we could hear Bertrum hollering for us. I guess we had exceeded our break time.
“One second, girls, I will tell my husband you were with me,” she said as she closed up the shop for a moment. I wondered if that was normal. I never heard of owners leaving their shops during business hours. But then again, it was different here. Plus, her husband’s shop wasn’t that far.
“Woman, did you give them girls clothes. How are we supposed to make a living if you go giving things away for free?” Bertrum asked. I felt small for a moment. Like I had done something wrong. I didn’t ask for free clothes, nor did I like handouts. The only reason I took her offer was that we stuck out, and we didn’t need unwanted attention.
“Don’t, you start with me Bertrum, you know these girls stuck out like a sore thumb. What if someone decided that they didn’t like their clothes, or worse. You’ve heard the rumors of girls going missing. The king’s knights have been through our town three nights in a row looking for the missing girls,” Evaline said. Bertrum started to argue but then scratched his head and sighed.
“You’re right, as usual. I guess you girls did help me out quite a bit. I guess I can help you with those supplies you needed,” he said. I wondered what made him change his mind, then thought it probably had to do with his wife. He went back into the shop. After about ten minutes, he returned with some cloth and other things, plus what looked like a backpack.
“You will have to make do with what I got here. I am sure it will give you what you need for your journey. I am sorry that I can’t be more helpful.” He said. I wasn’t going to complain when he didn’t have to help us in the first place.
“It’s starting to get late. Why don’t you girls stay for dinner with us? We don’t have much, but what we do have, we are willing to share with you two,” Evaline said. Bertrum looked like he was about to say something, but a stern look from her kept him from saying whatever it was he was going to say.
That night, Evaline served us some roast and potatoes. For a simple meal, it tasted amazing. It felt like I hadn’t eaten in months. I know that we had just eaten fish last night, but it was nice to eat a decent meal. When we were out on the road, I knew that I would have to do some hunting so that we didn’t have to worry about eating.
After dinner, Taylor and I sat outside Bertrum and Evaline’s house, just admiring the activity. There were people out in the lamp-lit road dancing while bards played music. It was like going to the renaissance festival. After a while of sitting there, Taylor got up and offered me her hand. Curious, I took it as I stood up. She dragged me to the crowd. Then she turned around and grabbed my waist. The next thing I knew, we were dancing. It was the first time that we had ever danced. It was nice. For a while, everything that had happened melted away. It was like we were back at home again, going to one of the school dances.
We seemed to dance for hours. By the time we finally went back to Bertrum and Evaline’s house, they were fast asleep. As we laid there on our makeshift bed, I felt Taylor’s hand brushing against my side. The next thing I knew, she was on top of me. There was a momentary pain from where I had been stabbed, but I ignored it as she leaned down and pressed her lips against mine. I returned her kiss with passion. It had been a while since we made love, and with the events that had happened, it left little time for passion. Before I knew it, we were removing our clothes. I hoped that neither Bertrum nor Evaline decided to come to check on us.
Slowly, Taylor began kissing her way down my body, paying attention to each section as she went. I had to bite my lip to try and keep from making any noise. As she reached my core, I dug my nails into the wood floor. Her hot breath against my flesh was sending waves of ecstasy throughout my body. With just a flick of her tongue, my body threatened to melt.
By the time we both came down, I swore I was going to faint. Taylor had just shown me just how much she had missed me. If I knew how passionate she would be after everything that happened, I would need to get myself stabbed again. Smiling happily, I dozed off to the sound of her purring.
