Journey of the Half-Elf - Book 1

Chapter XXI - One Last Shop

"Here are your clothes." Ardith said as she entered the room and locked the door behind her, carrying everything in her wrinkled hand. "For your size, there wasn't a lot available, so for everything except the boots, there's two colours: Brown or white. I only have boots in brown. Is that alright, Gwen?"

"It's fine, Ardith. As long as I can wear them, I do not mind what colour they are."

"Right, try the bras and panties first." The old woman told her, handing them to Guinevere and moving both of the stools in front of her scarred shins. "Do you want me to look away?"

"Uh... yes, actually. I would appreciate that." The 16-year old replied with a smile, laying the four items on one of the stools. While Ardith turned around to face the wall, Guinevere gently unhooked her black bra and eased her black underwear down along her skinny legs, laying them both on the other stool as she picked up the new brown clothes.

For several seconds, the young woman observed herself in the mirror, turning her emblazoned back to it and looking over her shoulder.

"What colour are you wearing?" Ardith asked, her eyes still fixed to the wall.

"The brown ones." Guinevere responded.

"And do they fit well?"

"They do actually. They are neither too tight nor too loose."

"Ah that's good to hear. Right, try the white pair now, and then the other clothes."

After putting them on and liking their fit, Guinevere changed into each of the tunics, twirling left and right in front of the mirror to observe their simple beauty. As for the trousers, Ardith had picked up pairs of a size slightly higher, for she knew that her legs were sensitive, not to be gripped and squeezed for the sake of aesthetics.

The old woman fondly grinned at the girl she called Gwen, reminded of her younger days in the Elven City, the city that once bore the name Daenas Aruil.
In those days, there was no border, just the four cities that ran along it; between the Elves and the Dwarves allied with Humans, tensions had been growing higher and higher for centuries, but until the Great War, a number of alliances and friendships still held.

In the distant past, there was neither Elf-land nor Human-land — only two ends of a bounteous home, shared for over 3000 years.

But gone were the days of unity, never to return.

"Right, what colours do you like?" Ardith asked, picking up the brown leather boots and passing them to Guinevere. Not only were they polished from collar to toe, but they lacked a tall heel, only having an inch of height to support the feet.

"Hm... I like the white tunic, and the brown trousers." She replied, carefully easing her feet into each boot. "And with these brown boots, I think I look..."

"Like a lovely lady." Ardith told her. "To be honest Gwen, I think you'd look prettier without that bandana on your head. With your red hair down, men would faint at the sight of you."

"With this new body, I am sure no man would find me attractive." She dejectedly returned.

"Oh don't say that, dear. Remember, beauty is only skin-deep. True beauty lies in how you carry yourself, how confident you are.
Of course looks are important, but they are not everything.
That necklace... is it yours?"

"Oh this? It's a gift, given to me by the same woman who gave me the tunic and shoes."

"It's a shame what happened to that religion, you know. All the followers once believed in justice and fairness. The religion itself was founded over a century ago, after the Green Genocide ended. It's adherents fought against Elven oppression, sheltering the surviving Goblins and Orcs from being culled.