Notes in Ochre

Chapter 18 - Part 4

"Briar, why did you..." I was, once again, met with a shapely broad chest and shoulders framed by delicate long black waves and the realization that I had, yet again, made an incorrect assumption. My cheeks colored as I lifted my head to meet Uther's smiling gaze.

"Hoping to chastise your sister again?" He teased lightly. I felt the heat creeping into my face, feeling utterly embarrassed that this was his impression of my relationship with Briar.

"Yes, I mean no. Of course not, I just thought it might be her. We only just met the Gremlins." I managed to bite out by way of an explanation. Uther tucked one side of his long hair behind his ear as he broke out into a wide boyish grin. I could tell he wanted to laugh at my silly response, and it was only a moment before we both started laughing. Once our laughter died down, he finally spoke again.

"Here, I brought you these," he said with a smile still upon his lips, as he held out several gowns that I had not managed to notice until now. My eyes opened wide as I extended my arms to gratefully accepted this wonderful gift.

"Thank you," I said, looking down at them in awe. "Where did you find these?"

"Many of these rooms were occupied by several previous inhabitants. Such was the case for my room, and these have been sitting in a chest unused for quite some time. They likely won't fit, but I thought it might still be better than something that's torn." Uther graciously left out ripe, and I felt immense gratitude towards him for that. I looked around my room and realized I had not explored it much yet. I still treated the space as though I were a guest here, and my mind had not fully appreciated that this may well become my permanent home.

"This is wonderful. Thank you, again." I replied warmly.

"Of course, I thought it was the least I could do. Ah, I almost forgot, here..." from his pocket, he produced a needle and thread. I extended my free hand and he gingerly placed it in my palm, sending a little thrill down my arm at our barest connection. I schooled my expression and managed to avoid raising my head to search his eyes for a response. I looked closely at the thread in the dim light of my room. It was mercifully gray, which meant it would mostly match anything. Where before I had never thought much of my needlework supplies, it now seemed like the greatest luxury to be holding this small bobbin.

"I needed this, as well," I said, finally lifting my gaze to meet his and feeling rather emotional. I had to stop myself before I asked how he knew, when I remembered how I stood before him. He smiled generously in return, some of the boyish grin still evident, giving the impression that he had read my very thoughts. There was something else there, though, in accompaniment and it was had not to notice that his smile was also edged with a little something more. I felt a small heat flush my cheeks once more in response.

"I stopped by your sister's room, just before I came, to deliver similar necessities." At this, I felt my heart stop. Where the silly organ had previously buoyed all the way to the moon, I felt it sink down into a bottomless pit. Of course he went to Briar first. I chided myself for forgetting that she was destined to be his love interest, and also my deceitful heart which refused to listen to reason.

"She took them, but she scowled at me and slammed the door in my face." He concluded, grinning devilishly. I tried, but failed to stifle a giggle at this and he shrugged in good humor. "Either way, I assumed that Mrs. Smith had likely not provided what you needed. Not that this oversight was necessarily intentional, mind you, it's just that sewing isn't much done in this place. Most use magic to alter, tailor and mend their garments. It's less resource intensive that way and frankly faster. You can learn how to do this from many who live here once you master the basics. There are Mages who specialize in imbuing charms into the clothes as they do it, which is a known fact, but there are some very good ones in residence. It could be beneficial to learn under their tutorage."

I nodded in agreement, storing away that bit of information for later. Hopefully Uther could orchestrate an introduction for me. As I moved to set the dresses down, the light from my lamp caught the silver comb on my desk, casting a small reflection, which caught Uther's eye. He walked over to examine the object as I put the collection of dresses on my bed and noticed a new shift was included. I could barely contain my excitement at the prospect of donning something more suitable as soon as he left.

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Author Note:  Thank you all so much for following my story!  I apologize that I've had to go down to one weekly posts, but I'm still hopeful that will change.  At least I figured out what's going on!  My baby is getting four more back molars and she doesn't really do well with getting new teeth.  Once those are in, that should hopefully be the last bump in the road for her sleep for a while (which means I will be able to sleep again too 😴). 

Love you all, and please don't forget to vote if you're enjoying the story! I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and a great rest of your week!  Until next time ❤️