27| Wear It For Me

Bjorn stood still, stunned. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"What?" She didn't know how to wear basic clothing?

Regardless of their cultural differences, he was sure they had something akin to pants and trousers, though not as loose as what was worn here in Grime.

Then again, had she really asked him to dress her up?

As if reading the confusing thoughts on his face, Mel spoke up, "We were not to wear men's clothing back at home, so I'm unfamiliar with how this works." Her voice grew quieter as she talked and then she looked away and frowned.

Why was she even telling him this? And to ask him to dress her… he must think she was asking him to perform servant duties.

'I keep acting out one thing and then deciding another thing. Embarrassing!'

Understanding crept onto Bjorn's features and he sighed, rubbing his face with a palm. "You can forget about such nonsensical rule. That isn't just for men, you can wear it too. It's more convenient than wearing a dress when going out into the wild. Provides more movement too."

"Oh, I see." She regarded the loose clothing with skepticism. This big thing was supposed to give her free movement? She moved just fine in her skirts, what was he saying?

Bjorn sighed and turned away from her, leaving the room. "I'll go get a helper to help you change your attire."

Mel watched him walk out of the room and she smacked herself for asking him such a foolish question, but a slight bout of shame consumed her. He hadn't even batted an eye or even considered it.

She had considered that he didn't find her appealing, but to be faced with that constant reminder was disturbing, and it sucked some of her spirit.

True to his word, a young helper came in to assist Mel with wearing the attire. When the girl was done, Mel stood still, surprised and wishing there was a mirror she could use to see her form. What did the clan even have against mirrors anyway?

The clothes felt light and oddly comfortable, but the airy spaces in the fabric unnerved her a little. Despite being completely covered, she felt somewhat naked. All the clothes she had ever worn were fitted to her body.

Shortly after, she bid Anne and Eustace goodbye and was escorted by Lori to the hunting party outside. Mel had been surprised to see Lori wearing something similar to hers, along with nearly all the other women there. A large horse was waiting for her right beside Bjorn’s and she paused, eyeing the saddle and luggage heaped on both sides of the horse’s body. She would have questioned if the creatures could carry such heavy things but the horses were quite well muscled and large, so her worrying wouldn’t really make sense.

A few bears were amidst the riding party. Some people were on the bears as their rides while other bears carried bags and sacks a little heavier than what the horses were taking along. Lori mentioned the bears carried the bulk of their supplies along with utensils and materials for storage that they would need in the wild while the horses were mostly carrying their luggage.

The whole environment was new to Mel and the serious atmosphere she had been expecting was replaced by the joyful attitude of the bear kin. It would seem they barely had any issues when hunting. She had expected them to be grim since they would be hunting wild beasts compared to the foraging back home.

Mel glanced up at the towering horse. It neighed and tapped its front hoof on the ground, startling Mel. She had ridden horses once in a while back at home, but none of them was ever this intimidating.

Nervousness set in and Mel stared at the creature, wondering how she would get up there without the horse throwing her off to her death. Would she even be safe riding that? It was just as equally menacing as Bjorn’s stead.

Lori smiled at Mel and was about to offer her help when Bjorn walked up to them, his heavy boots resonating against the ground. He was wearing a similar hunting attire to what he had worn the first time Mel met him.

“I’ll help you up,” he said, casting a side glance to Lori as dismissal. “We’re leaving now.”

Lori blinked, a little taken off guard. She didn’t know if she was sure about her reason but she was getting the feeling that Bjorn was being less open with her whenever Mel was around… or better yet, ever since he had been wedded to the young lady from Sprite, he had been aloof with her. Well, he was always aloof, but this time it seemed to get worse, and this reminded her of the time she had rejected his advances in order for him to woo her further, and he had just… stopped.

Lori forced a smile and turned to Mel for a brief hug. “Take care, Mel. We’ll chat soon. I’ll go mount my horse.”

Mel nodded with a smile and watched as Lori walked back to meet with her husband. She looked back at Bjorn, a little nervous to be left alone with him…and disappointed.

She should have asked Lori to help her up on the horse. Why would Bjorn even want to volunteer since he didn’t particularly like her?

“Alright, thank you,” Mel said, extending her hand to Bjorn and readying to place one of her legs in the stirrup for her to properly mount the horse. One second after, she realised that may not be possible and it would still take considerable effort to climb the horse. Even when she sat down, her feet may not reach it.

“You should know by now that that wouldn’t work,” Bjorn said, easily reading the dilemma playing out on Mel’s face.

Mel nervously laughed, redrawing her hand to her side. “Yes, that might be true.”

“Excuse me.”

Mel stared at him, wondering what he meant by that, along with thinking of how he was going to get her up there when he reached down and wrapped his hands around her waist. Mel’s heart leapt to her throat and her muscles nearly jumped out of her skin when his warm hands came in contact with her, closing off the space that had previously existed between the clothing and her skin.

It felt as if he was touching her directly and it left her flustered.

His silken hair came into view as he lifted her up and placed her in the saddle. Her heart rammed against her ribcage and she sat still stunned. His hands were large and they unsurprisingly covered the whole area of her waist, and her waist wasn’t exactly that small or tiny like some other women from Sprite.

“I’d suggest you position yourself well,” Bjorn’s voice snapped her out of her clouded mind and she looked down to find his head levelled with her waist as he looked up at her. She averted her eyes but he continued speaking, “We will be going on a full trot for most of the journey and while it isn’t a full run, you are likely to fall out of your saddle if you’re seated like that.

Mel’s spine straightened, just realising the truth in his words. She needed to sit properly.

Bjorn’s brows creased in light worry. “Wait. Can you even ride a horse?”

“Of—of course, I can!” she nearly shrieked, immediately keeping quiet as a few heads turned their way. “Please, excuse me,” she mumbled, abashed.

Bjorn looked at her as if he was waiting for something. Mel then proceeded to swing her other leg over the saddle and right herself in it, taking hesitant hold of the reigns. They hadn’t even given her time to get used to the animals and now she was riding one?

“Let go of the reigns,” Bjorn said, walking away from her and towards the horse situated beside hers. She did as he instructed, glad to even do it as she couldn’t see how she could even guide the animal when it looked so defiant and stubborn. But it had been calm throughout so that had to be something. Bjorn climbed his stead and took hold of his reigns. He then used his other hand to grab hers, pulling her horse closer to his. “I’ll help you with that.”

“Ah… Thank you,” she said softly.

Bjorn looked back at the hunting party and nodded. He kick-started his horse and tugged lightly on the reigns of hers. The horses picked up their hooves and started walking. The was a fun low chatter within the hunting party as they began their departure. A lot of the clan members saw them off, especially Mel in particular and this subtly improved her mood. She would have to try associating with others when she returned. Getting to know her people would be best, and she needed new friends aside from Lori.

She glanced back at the others. A few of the hunters noticed her looks and they smiled warmly at her. Others were not so receptive and she turned to look forward. She really needed to try her best and she hoped to the high heavens that she wouldn’t fail.