Chapter Eleven
My warhorse caught onto my mood the moment I stepped outside, and he whinnied happily, playfully pushing me towards his equipment. He saw the new gear I had on and inspected it silently, looking me over for any injuries and appraising my new weaponry.
"Now we can both defend ourselves." I told my stallion happily. He whinnied happily and reared, running circles around me. I laughed and went to get his saddle from its spot by the fence. I quickly opened up his saddle-bags and found a way to store my smaller weapons inside; hiding the bigger items under the bags and the sides of the saddle, along with a large saddle blanket Brom had allowed me to borrow to hide the stuff.
Once my horse was saddled, I hopped up on his back and walked him outside Brom's back gate, closing it behind me. Karnus trotted quickly away from Brom's house and towards Mistress Odele's shop, where she sold linens, threads, clothes, and anything else that could be created through sewing, stitching, knitting, and all other forms of threadwork.
I tied Karnus to a tree near her shop and told him to be careful. I knew he'd be able to keep himself safe, but I was always cautious.
As I stepped into the store I smelt the scent of clean linens and flowers used in variation to give the shop a sweet smell. I smiled to myself and walked up to the counter where a young woman of probably only eighteen was sewing a small bag together. She looked up when I approached and smiled welcomingly.
"Ahh! You must be Ayla, the new girl that's living with the men at Garrow's farm! How are you my dear? Oh, no time for that! You must be needing clothes! I have the perfect dress over here for you! Ohh, and you could use some skirts because all girls need at least five of those!" she ranted on and on. I never even got a word in. I simply smiled and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, slowing her to a stop as she went back and forth across the room, choosing things and discarding them and going to look at something else. She gave me a look of confusion when I stopped her.
"I had something particular in mind actually." I told her quietly. She brightened up instantly.
"Well then let's hear it! Hats, gloves, scarves, bonnets, ties, gowns, dresses, skirts, blouses, sashes, shoes, bows, flowers..." she began to list off a million other things that could possibly have to do with my clothes. I stopped her again.
"Miss Odele, I simply wish to have clothes more suited for travel and fighting and lots of hard work. I grew up working in a forge, not sewing, so the normal clothes aren't for me." she began to deflate at this, but then cheered up instantly.
"Well, you learn something new every day! Now I'll finally be able to see how those types of clothes look on a woman who wears them daily. Spin around for me so I can take a good guess as to what you would wear." I did as I was told and was soon wrist deep in leather outfits that more fit my style, searching with a very-excited Odele.
In the end, we came out with four very durable and long-lasting outfits that I looked great in. The first was a light colored leather that had patterns made with a slightly darker brown leather for the top. It was strapless, and stopped just above my belly-button. The bottoms were the same white leather material, but in the form of Capri's that were extremely durable. I had light brown boots that came up to my ankle that matched all the outfits I had gotten. I had white arm-bands to go with this, ones that covered my entire forearm from wrist to elbow.
The second outfit was a dark brown leather tunic with gray fur at the ends of the shoulder-sleeves and on the bottom hemming. The shirt stayed away from my neck and went in two thick straps over my shoulders and to my back, where they crossed over one another in a pattern. The bottoms were leather shorts with gray fur lining the bottom that felt great and were very flexible. With this, I also got arm-bands in the same leather material with the gray fur edging each side of the cuffs. The leather on my arms made me feel very secure.
The third outfit consisted of a leather top that was of a deep woodsy brown and was plain in the back, but not the front. In the front it came down in varied patterns of designs and had an opening in the middle of it where leather bands had been put in an intricate pattern. The sides were laced up with very thin leather strips, and the bottom of the leather top curved to the sides, leaving the sides of my hip below the strings bare and exposed. With this, I had leather gloves of the same color that were thickest on the backs of my hands.
The fourth and final outfit was the most suited for the upcoming winter. It was made up of a thicker leather tunic of a mottled red color, much like the rusty color of my hair, but with hints of gold within in. It had white fur lining the edges, and had long sleeved that also covered the back of my hands. The white fur edged the upper collar slightly, and was at the bottom hemming and on the ends of the sleeves. I had leather pants of the same rusty color and white hemming at the bottom of the pants, by my ankles. With this, I got a cloak made of mixed gold and reds with white fur on the bottom edges and the edges of the hood.
By the time I was done, I was very pleased with my purchases. I paid Odele the money I owed her and gathered up the clothes, putting them into a bag she handed me, saying it was free without charge. I smiled and thanked her warmly, feeling happy.
I carried the bag back outside the shop, wearing my original clothes and holding the bag like a prize. I turned to where Karnus was tied up and grimaced. There was trouble just waiting to happen here.
Karnus was still tied to his tree, but was baring his teeth and stomping his hoof at one of Galbatorix's Soldiers who was curious as to how tightly the saddlebags were tied. The man was obviously looking for trouble, and Karnus knew it. He kept the man at bay with flailing hooves and that terrifying temper of his, but the man was slowly edging nearer. I hurried down the road towards my warhorse.
"Excuse me sir! Is there any particular reason you're trying to steal my saddlebags?" I asked him as I approached. His head and Karnus' shot up at the same time. Karnus sighed with relief, and then straightened back up to keep an eye on the man. The soldier straightened slightly and assumed a dignified expression.
"You are mistaken young Miss, I am merely trying to calm down this animal. He was causing havoc in your absence." the man lied smoothly.
"Nonsense good sir! My horse would never do such a thing. He is merely protecting what is rightfully mine, and I suggest that it stays that way." I said warningly. The man grimaced and then turned to stalk off, muttering to himself. Karnus and I both rolled our eyes as I tied my bag of things to the back of my horse's saddle. I untied his reigns and hopped up onto his back, turning him towards home.
"I'm sorry all this stuff on your back makes things weird Karnus, but I had a bit of shopping to do. They'll be out of your mane in no time though." I assured him. He snorted and picked up a trot as we left the gates of the small town, heading for Garrow's farm.
We managed to gallop back to the farm and were cantering down the dirt path in no time at all. When we got to the barn I took the large saddle blanket and wrapped all my weapons and clothes inside of it, tying the top off. I took off Karnus' bridle and saddle and brushed him down, giving him hay to eat and a bucket of water to drink from. I hauled the bag over my shoulder and carried it up to the house with no one the wiser.
When I got inside, I carried the bag over to the back corner of the living room and set it down carefully. I took off my small backpack and put it next to my pile, feeling accomplished. I looked out at the sun and saw it was nearly noon, though I still had time. I quickly made a lunch of sandwiches for the boys and munched on an apple. The boys came in less than two minutes after I made them some lunch and were obviously surprised to see me.
"Hello Ayla; we didn't expect you back until the afternoon." Garrow greeted me cheerfully.
I nodded. "I got finished early, so I came back and made some lunch. I'll have to clean up around the house once you guys get back outside. How is the harvest coming along?" I asked Garrow. He took another bite of his sandwich before answering.
"We're about halfway done as of right now. A few more days and everything can be pulled in the root cellar to be prepared for the Winter." he said pleasantly, smiling in a good-humored manner.
I smiled in response and took another bite out of my apple, the corners of my eyes watching Eragon and Roran, who were casting strange glances in my direction. Eragon looked nervous about something, but I pretended not to acknowledge this.
After a moment, Eragon actually volunteered a conversation of his own with me. "I'm going hunting in the Spine starting tomorrow. I'll be hunting for almost a week to get us some more meat." I glanced at him in some surprise and he ducked his head shyly, eating his sandwich.
"That sounds wonderful Eragon; some fresh meat would do us good. You hunt with a bow and arrows, yes?" I asked him, feeling curious. He nodded and stood from his chair, obviously to go and fetch them. He brought back a simple yew bow that had seen many good years. With it he held a handful of goose-feather arrows that had been crafted with a special care in them. I admired the bow with an appraising eye and looked at each of his arrows, finding only one or two small problems in his arrows.
"The point on this arrow is loose, and probably won't penetrate the skin and fur as easily, and this one has a barely noticeable crack in it, see there? Yeah, it'll shatter on impact if you don't fix it or get a new arrow. Otherwise these are perfect for simple hunting, along with this wonderful bow. I'm impressed. Are you any good with it?" I asked him, looking up with bright eyes. Eragon seemed to ease out of his discomfort quickly after that, talking to me about past hunting trips.
After a few minutes of Eragon and me talking with Roran and Garrow watching, Garrow intervened. "Alright you two, you can discuss hunting and archery after the sun has gone down. We still have much work to do." he said, clapping Eragon and Roran on the shoulders. The boys joined him in going outside, but Eragon poked his head back in the door afterwards.
"Could you prepare some small meals for six days that can fit into my wood-framed pack? It would be really helpful." he asked me. I smiled to him.
"Of course I could, and shall. We can talk more when you're done with your work." I told him, smiling. He smiled too, before his head left my line of sight. After a moment, he poked his head back in the door to look at me. I raised an eyebrow at him and he blushed a little.
"You know, you're not as different as I thought you were. I'm sorry for judging you." he said, looking abashed. I smiled and walked towards him, patting him on the head like a puppy.
"Don't concern yourself Eragon; I didn't take it personally. Get to work and we'll talk more later." he nodded and scurried off into the fields with a wave in my direction. I smiled to myself as I began to clean. Such a nice boy.