Chapter 8: Hag and sabotage

It hadn't escaped the hag of the forest that her orders were not as they used to. It had all begun yesterday, when the fairies, her usual customers, hadn't come to ask her for some fabric.

They all looked so lovely in black. Everyone looked good in black. It was Simone's belief, that black could solve any problem. From chubbiness to pale complexion.

So, as any self-respecting merchant, she went and saw what the competition was capable of. The Naga was wearing white, which Simone found jarring. The vampire wore black, and the elf wore his beige colors.

That one had never become a customer. Instead, he traded medicine and songs for the fabric and clothes he needed. Simone had never liked him, and, if it wasn't for Orion's order not to attack one another, she would have cursed the elf.

Simone made her way to the stand, and got in line. The Naga was getting the order of a witch before her, so, Simone began to listen in.

"Think a bit, beige will suit you," the Naga said, and the witch appeared thoughtful.

"I don't know. Won't it make me look fat?" Simone nodded to the wisdom of this question. Beige indeed made people look fat. Black was better. Black hid the fat.

"Nonsense. Let me make you a dress on the house? You modeling for me will be enough payment," Simone snorted then, and the vampire's eyes zeroed in on her.

"Simone, a word?" Orion called out to her, and the hag dragged her feet towards the vampire.

"I wasn't doing anything wrong," Simone defended herself.

"You are here to sabotage me," Orion hissed at her, and waved his finger at the woman. "See here, Simone. That won't fly. Either be a good hag and don't get in the way, or find a new forest to drape in black."

"I am the oldest being in this forest, you upstart," Simone snapped, and took out her staff. "I can curse you with warts!"

"Spare me the drama," Orion spoke, as he took out a negated rune stone from beneath his tunic. "I have covered all of my bases."

Simone then looked to the Naga, who blinked at her.

"What of him? Did he do the same?" Simone got an evil grin on her face, and Orion placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Simone, listen to me, and listen well. I can offer you a partnership. You are a good seamstress. Just, don't do anything you will regret," Orion told her in a sweet tone, which hid the poison underneath.

"Regret? Simone regrets nothing," and then, Simone cursed the waterfall to be stinky and a part of a swamp. The customers began to cover their noses, and Ossilo looked ready to cry.

"My silk. It is going to get ruined," Ossilo began to place the bushels back into Orion's bottomless bag, and all the while, his hands shook. This had been a dream come true for him.

People who didn't think him a monster. Him being able to create things with his two hands. To know a hard day worth of labor and be with his lovers in the evening.

Orion placed a hand over the hag's mouth, and dragged her to the now stinking swamp.

"You ruined a patch of my forest," Orion growled, and Simone shuddered. She had not thought that, if she spared the Naga and the elf, Orion would still be angry.

"Curse yourself with foot fungi!" Orion demanded, and Simone blinked.

"Foot...fungi?" She asked. How cruel could this man be? He was heartless, a monster.

"Curse yourself with foot fungi, or get the waterfall the way it was," Orion commanded, and Simone weighted her options. Foot fungi was dangerous. What if her nails began to grow over each other because of the infection? What if she couldn't stand her own stink?

The hag sighed, and then returned the water back to its previously clear state. Ossilo turned to look at the water, and then dropped the bushel of silk he was holding.

"This is the official silk stand," Orion spoke, loud enough so all the customers could hear. "If anyone tries to disturb the peace, I will make sure Simone here curses you all with foot fungi!"

The customers shuddered, and some even backed away from the stand.

"Now, you may continue to place your orders. Ethinir, dear, do sing something for us?" Orion's mood did a turn for a better and milder disposition, and then he took the hag to the side.

"I am trying to be peaceful and run a business here, Simone. Do you know why?" Orion asked, and the hag shook her head.

"Because there must be something more than violence in this forest. A way to get the unwashed vermin, I mean, the kind villagers, to trade with us. Soon, we will all be holding hands and singing about unicorns that poop multicolored poop," Orion clapped the terrified hag on the back then. "Nothing will stop me. Not you, not trolls, not ogres, nothing."

And just like that, Simone was left before the waterfall. She weighted her options carefully. For, if she didn't care about the forest, which she did not, then this was an opportunity she couldn't miss.

To become the right-hand woman of the ruler of the forest was enticing. To see him in black every day, as the Naga took over the rest of her customers, would be petty revenge.

Simone went to Orion, and poked his hand.

"I will join the dark side," she told him gravely. "But you must keep on wearing black, supreme overlord."

Orion looked down at his clothes. His black clothes contrasted well with Ossilo's white robes and Ethinir's beige clothes.

"Deal, hag. We will rule the world before long, peacefully," Orion then left the hag, who had not heard the last part and was now smiling wistfully.

Soon, she would be known all over as the best black fabric supplier. Her customers will come back to her in droves. Yet, for now, she simply had to put up with the Naga. For it was the supreme overlord's wish.