Chapter 43: Chapter 42

As Rosetta and Lena approached Luthar’s smithy, the two of them slowed. A familiar sign hung from the door in front of them, with large bold letters reading ‘KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING.’ Rosetta gave a subtle glance over to her lady, an implied question of whether she was ready. The redhead gave her a nod, and Rosetta stood straighter, tilting up her chin by the slightest hair before giving the door a heavy knock. She was nervous, but even now, she still represented her lady. Appearances mattered. The knock carried over the crackling furnace and steady clang of metal that rang from around back, and Rose wasted no time before entering the small shop area.

The inside held the familiar smokey warmth that she’d become used to at a younger age, with a thick scent of metal and coal lingering in the air. As she stepped in, holding the door open for her lady, an older woman let out a small gasp of delight.

“Rosey!”

Rose met the eyes of her Aunt Greta, and a smile slipped across her face. “Hello, Aunty.”

Warm memories emerged of her and her two youngest siblings sitting around the hearth of her aunt’s home as the woman read them stories, directed them to whatever chores needed doing, or helped teach one of them to sow.

It was clear she’d been cleaning up the shop area, a challenging task in the eternally soot-covered smithy. The woman dried her hands with a ragged hand-towel before tossing it into a nearby bucket of soapy and soot-filled water. Like many in the town, she had a difficult-to-place accent — some kind of blend of the many cultures which made up the Empire, mixing together out in the wastes. Rosetta often struggled not to slip back into it herself when she visited.

The woman took several quick steps in their direction and pulled her niece into a sudden tight hug. Roses’s cheeks reddened at the contact, and she couldn’t help but wiggle a little in embarrassment. It was only then that Lena stepped through the door and Rosetta’s aunt realized her niece hadn’t come alone.

“Oh, hello, my lady,” she said in an apologetic tone, before finally releasing the embarrassed maid from her hold and giving the lady a somewhat clumsy curtsy. It was still a better curtsy than what Pearl could manage, Rosetta noted. The girl really needed some more guidance and practice.

“Good day, Greta.” Lena gave her a nod. “I hope you are well.”

“Quite well, thank you.” She paused, looking between them. “I take it this isn’t a social call, then?” Greta’s eyes flashed to Rosetta at the words ‘social call,’ an unspoken message passing between them — if her lady wasn’t here, Rose would be getting an earful about how she ‘needed to visit more.’ “What can I do for you, Lady Dyere?”

“Please. Just ‘Lena’ is fine. Any family of my Rose is family of mine.”

Rose jumped slightly, taken by surprise at just how casually Lena had called her ‘my Rose.’ Her aunt gave the both of them quick looks, and the maid wondered if it was as obvious to Lena what the woman was thinking as it was to her.

“Certainly, Lady Lena.”

Her lady looked her way, and Rosetta held back a smile at how close Lena was to a sigh. Aunty Greta wasn’t one to skip on manners.

“As for why we’re here,” the cute redhead continued, taking several steps further into the shop and looking around. “I was hoping to purchase a sword.”

Her lady’s eyes looked around the shop to find no weapons in sight. Rosetta couldn’t fully hold back the small quirk of her lip at the fact that she’d clearly been expecting to see a display of them somewhere. It was a common misconception, the belief that blacksmiths carried large displays full of weapons and tools. The cities likely had a few things premade to have on hand, but that wouldn’t include weapons. Her uncle had always said there were only three kinds of swordsmen in the world — sentinels, nobles, and bandits. At which point he’d usually spit on the ground and ask whichever big-eyed young boy that was pestering him which one the lad thought he was.

Rosetta now knew that to be an oversimplification, being that she was much older now than she was then. Particularly as one made their way closer to the border of the Empire to where the Deadlands began. Living out here in the wastes could be dangerous. Regardless, it didn’t matter in this case. Lena was technically a noble, if the most minor one possible. That didn’t, however, mean her uncle would agree to make her a weapon. The sword wasn’t their primary goal here, but it would be useful, and worked perfectly as a cover for their true purpose — contacting the elusive smugglers.

At Lena’s bold declaration of her intentions to buy a sword, Greta stopped and blinked at the girl.

“Surely, you’re teasing me. What use would a lady have for such a thing?” She chuckled and then blinked again. The woman’s eyes widened with a realization. “Or, oh! Of course, is it perhaps for someone else? A gift for your betrothed, mayhap?”

Rosetta stared at her aunt, thinking of just how much she’d love to ‘gift’ a sword to Silas. Was the question as innocent as it seemed on the surface? Rosetta truly wasn’t sure.

Lena turned, directing a level gaze toward the woman. “It is for myself,” she said coldly. Her arms crossed, and the look she gave the woman openly dared her to object. It was clear how Lena interpreted the ‘gift,’ at least.

Greta realized once again that she was speaking to a noble, and in particular, the daughter of the town’s Reeve. She gave Lena a hasty curtsy before apologizing, “Right, of course, my lady. I realize that I was being quite presumptuous.”

“If I may,” Rosetta interrupted, stepping forward and hoping to dispel the rising tension. She faced her aunt and spoke as formally as she could. “Lady Lena has been taking sword lessons for the past few months, and was hoping to get something crafted for herself, if possible. While the opportunity is available.” She cleared her throat, pausing to see if her aunt had any visible reaction. Unfortunately, the woman gave no indication of understanding just what she meant. “We’d appreciate it if you’d keep this to yourself, though, Aunty. It’s somewhat of a secret, as the lady’s father doesn’t want word of it spreading.”

“Oh, of course, of course. I wouldn’t dare.” Greta emphasized the point with a wave of her hand. “Why don’t I get Luthar in here? The man could use a break, at this point.” She walked to the door to the back before loudly yelling out, “LUTHAR! Little Rosie and her lady are here!” She waited a moment, and the loud clang of metal being shaped continued. With a sigh, she said, “I swear that man is half deaf. I’ll go grab him,” and made her way through the swinging door.

As the woman disappeared, Lena muttered something under her breath about ‘betrothed’, followed by a glaring pout at the door. Rosetta carefully kept her face neutral, fighting the urge to either chuckle or smirk at the girl. Almost as though she had sensed it, Lena turned her gaze toward her. As nonchalantly as she could, the maid kept her face steady and casually looking at where her aunt had exited, giving nothing away.

It took only a few moments before the loud clashing of metal finally stopped and her uncle trudged heavily into the room. Pausing as the door swung loudly behind him, the sweaty red-faced man brushed away the water dripping from his forehead, leaving behind a smear from his stained and dirty hands. He was fairly average in height, but wide and muscular from his work. Rosetta noted how his hair seemed to have thinned a bit more since her last visit, the receding hairline more noticeable now. As was typical, he had his black and white speckled hair pinned back and out of the way in a ponytail.

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Looking over the two of them, the bearded man gave a grin.

“So the lass finally shows up, does she?”

At first, Rosetta thought he was talking about her, only to notice that his eyes had locked onto her lady instead. Lena raised an eyebrow toward the man.

He belted out a laugh. “Yeah, I know about your bits of training, lass. You didn’t think you could keep something like that from the one blacksmith in town, did ya?” Luthar smirked. “Demetrios mentioned it to me a few months ago. Said that if you stuck with it like you seemed you might, that you’d probably come by eventually to have something forged.”

Rosetta quietly wondered why the man hadn’t deemed to mention it to his wife.

Her lady gave him an exhausted sigh. “Then I hope we can skip past all the unnecessary explanations and get right to it. I’d like to buy a sword. How much do you want for one?”

“We’ll get to that.” His eyes roamed over to Rose and seemed to pin her down into place. “But first—” With several heavy steps, he moved right in front of her and pulled the girl up into a hefty bear-like hug.

“H-hey, don’t—” the maid complained as the man’s thick arms tightened around her.

A voice rose from the back, Greta having reentered the room without anyone’s notice. “Put the girl down, you big brute. You’re messing up her beautiful dress.” She smacked him hard on the shoulder, shooting the man a meaningful glare.

Luthar gave Rose a toothy smile but thankfully complied, allowing her feet back to the floor. She took a moment to gather her breath and try to straight her dress, confirming that he had indeed left a few black smudges. She was fairly confident she could get them out, at least.

That didn’t stop her from giving him a firm glare, much like her aunt’s. “At least take your apron off first, next time. It’s covered in filth,” Rosetta scolded the man.

Luthar gave the room a loud hum as he looked her over. “I sometimes forget that you’re all grown up now. You know, once upon a time, you were the one getting dirt and mud all over me.”

“Yes, Uncle Luthar, like over a decade ago, when I was still little. I have a lady to look after now, you know, as I’ve been telling you for several years now. I’m not the young and messy spitfire that I used to be.”

The maid glanced at her lady hesitantly. She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation right now with her love there to listen in. So embarrassing… Lena mostly appeared to be lost in unfamiliar territory, glancing between the three of them with no idea of what to say or do. As much as her aunt and uncle had helped to raise her, Rosetta had to admit that this was essentially an instance of them introducing her partner to her family. It was too bad the thought hadn’t occurred to her on the way there. She’d have relentlessly teased the girl over it.

“Ha! You’ll always be our Little Rosie.” Rosetta gave him a look, and he continued, “I’m merely saying, you never come visit your old Aunty and Uncle Luthar anymore. It gets lonely around the house sometimes, you know, without you little ones running about anymore. Come and let a man have a nice hug once in a while.” Rose admittedly felt bad for how true his words were. The married pair were never able to have children of their own, unfortunately. They’d made do with helping to watch and take care of Rosetta and her siblings, instead. They were like a second pair of parents for her, ones she rarely came to see anymore.

Greta gave him another smack. “Stop pestering the dear girl. She’ll come visit when she comes to visit. And what do you mean, lonely? I’m still here, aren’t I, you rude cad?” the woman scolded with another smack. Rose felt like the scowl she was giving him could sour milk.

“As if you count, you old hag,” Luthar said with a grin, shooting the maid a sly wink.

Aunty Greta scowled, and for a moment seemed to tower over the man, despite being an inch or so shorter. “We’ll see who the old hag is when the two girls here are gone and it’s time to start cleaning again.” Luthar’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and he seemed to be about to change his tone, when Greta spoke over him instead, “None of that, now. Stop messing about and help the two girls here with what they came here for.” She cleared her throat, glancing over to Lena. “Sorry, I mean Rosie and her Ladyship. I mean no disrespect, Lady Dyere.”

Finally reaching a topic she was much more comfortable with, Lena spoke up. “No, no, truly, just ‘Lena’ is fine. I really would like it if we could see each other as family.” She cast an uncertain glance over at Rose, who immediately picked up on the source of her hesitation.

It was perhaps best if she brought this up instead of her love.

“Aunty, Uncle, there’s another reason that we’re here. Lena and I…” she glanced over, and Lena reached out a hand, intertwining their fingers together. A silent offering of support. Rosetta took in a breath of air and stared her uncle in the eye.

“We are running away together.”

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