Chapter 10: Sew-off

"Ok, now. Remember to be fair. No cheating, no stealing each other's patterns," Orion spoke, as Ossilo and Simone stared at him. "Begin."

The two went to their models, Ossilo to a fairy, and Simone to Orion, and began to take their measurements.

Seeing as it wouldn't be fair to Simone to be made to make something big for Orion, when Ossilo would only be making a dress for a fairy, they had agreed that Simone would only do a shirt. Using her magic.

After the two were done taking the measurements, they went back to their workstations, and began to cut and sew. Ossilo was using fairy dust, to even the fact that he couldn't sew with magic, and Simone was having the needle move by itself, as she stitched a pattern on one of the shirt's sleeve.

When they were done, Ossilo with his soft yellow blouse and skirt for the fairy, and Simone with her black shirt, they showed off their craft to the spectators.

"Is that a protective rune?" The witch who had been their first customer asked. "Why, Simone, good thinking."

"I really like this," the fairy who had modeled flew in circles around Ossilo. "It is so sunny!"

"Now, customers, vote," Orion spoke. The customers went to the two buckets that were placed before Ossilo and Simone, and began to drop river stones inside. A dwarf stopped before Ossilo, and narrowed his eyes.

"Do you have brown wool?" He asked the Naga, who took out a bushel of the stuff.

"Yes, sir. Would you like to place an order?" Ossilo asked, and the dwarf nodded.

"I better see protective runes on my clothes as well," the dwarf then dropped his stone in Ossilo's bucket.

"But I don't know a thing about runes," Ossilo protested. "If you want runes, you should support Simone."

Simone turned to stare at the Naga. She had not expected that the man would say such a thing. Suddenly, she felt guilt well up inside her for having tried to ruin the spot of the stand.

"No, they want color, and I will never give it to them," Simone shook her head, and glared at the dwarf when he bent to take back his river stone. "You leave that where it is, or I will summon a wart on your nose."

"Ok, ok. Just keep your magic to yourself, old girl," the dwarf then stepped to the side, to let the others place their stones. Simone lowered her head, when she saw that she barely had any stones in her bucket. She knew that not everyone liked black. A witch came to her bucket, and dropped a stone inside.

"Maybe I can interest you in a collaboration between the two of you? With you working your magic on the clothes, and Ossilo here doing the stitching?" The witch asked, and Simone huffed.

"Can't I stitch. Is that what you are trying to say, Missy?" The hag grumbled. The witch pulled out her black, yellow and red robe, and showed an intricately stitched sleeve to the hag.

"Do you see this? Do you see the patterns? I have been buying my clothes from you for as long as you were in business. But you have never made something like this," the witch then handed the robe to Simone, so she could inspect it.

"Fine make," Simone had to admit. The moons on the sleeve were a nice touch. She couldn't make such moons with black thread alone.

"Simone, why do you love black so much?" Ossilo asked, and the hag turned to him.

"We are dark creatures. We should be wearing black," Simone insisted.

"We are not dark creatures, we are just not human," Ethinir told her, in his black dress pants and his red silk shirt. "We deserve to fit in with the rest as much as anybody else."

"But..." Simone tried to protest, but she came up blank. Was she mistaken? Did she deserve to wear happier colors than black?

"Ok, let me just count the tally," Orion then took the two buckets, and began to count the stones.

"Why is he even counting. It is obvious Ossilo won," Simone spoke, head bowed.

"He needs to be fair, as the ruler of the forest," Ethinir told her. "He is peaceful now, no longer a tyrant."

"Has he ever been a tyrant, Ethinir? Before he searched me out, I didn't even know I was under someone's rule," Ossilo said, and then turned to stare at Orion with a fond smile.

Ten minutes later, Orion was done. He went to Ossilo, and patted him on the shoulder.

"You won," Orion told him simply, and the denizens of the forest cheered. "But Simone put up a fight, and I will be glad to wear the clothes she makes me."

"But not the ones I make you?" Ossilo asked, head tilted to the side.

"I will wear a mix of what you make me, so, talk it out about who makes what," Orion told them. "I am a supreme overlord. I must wear black."

"Ha, see? He is fair," a dwarf called from the crowd. "Now, I better get some brown pants and a tunic with runes on it!"

Simone looked to Ossilo, who offered his hand to her.

"We can work together, right, Simone?" The Naga asked, and Simone nodded.

"We can, Ossilo. No competition will ever stand in our way!" And the two began to work. Between their quick fingers, and even quicker minds, they managed to make outfits for twenty clients each, before the sun set.

Ethinir stopped playing the harp, and gave his voice a rest. His admiring crowd looked at him with pleading eyes, but he just sat on the grass, and looked at the sky.

"We have to close up for today," the elf spoke, a grin on his face. "But you know where to find us tomorrow."

The crowd left, some with clothes in their hands, most without. They were all thinking the same thing. They would be back tomorrow, after they had done their chores. And they would each get their outfits. Some spare ones added to that, as well.