“Just fuck off before I choke you with the countless folds of my dress.”
“Ah, that reminds me, I brought something for you.”
Brought something for me? What kind of petty insult or humorless joke will he throw my way this time? How will he offend my honor?
He tosses a bundle into the bushes in front of me. It’s tied together with a string.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Have a look.” He stands over me, one leg raised on a tree trunk, hands on his belt—pretending to be a hero saving a maiden. A childish grin sits on his face like a jarl on his throne.
Picking it up, I instantly feel the quality leather. My jaw drops. I understand what he has offered me.
“Pants?”
“Pants,” he confirms.
“But… why?”
“You said you wished you had pants.”
“When you tricked me into stealing berries?”
“I think what you mean to say is ‘thank you.’”
“Silly bastard,” I say as I unfold them. They even seem to be my size. I am begrudgingly grateful, not that I will give him the pleasure of knowing it.
“You are a rude woman,” he states simply.
“Where did you even get these?”
“The farm.”
“Who gave them to you then?”
“I took them.”
“Took them? Are you going to get me accused of theft yet again?”
“When you stalked the night as a thief, surely you wore pants?”
“Well… yes.”
“So there you go, thief, put them on and let’s keep moving.”
By Freya’s golden locks. I don’t even care if the pants are stolen. I just want to get out of this dress, to be able to move without every bush being a hurdle to be conquered.
“Put them on? Right here in the open?”
He looks around comically.
“I mean, there’s countless trees around, but it’s just us. You can do as you please.”
“I’m sure you’d like that.”
I head to the closest tree large enough to hide behind. But wait. A thought strikes me—what is he expecting in return? Everyone knows how men function. Nothing in this world is free. Especially the favors offered by men.
“What do I owe you for this?”
