The bell rang as I turned back to the register. Forcing another fake smile, I welcomed in the potential buyer, rolling into the familiar sales pitch. Being a blacksmith in a time where Dragons were still at war with our Race was good. Business was frequent, and sometimes too much for me to handle alone. But I couldn’t afford to have a helper until the spring, which was months away.
This customer was different. His skin, tanned, but seemed to have a grayish hue to it. He listened quietly and followed me around the shop. He decided to go with a simple sword and a strong shield, paying in full rather then the half up front and the rest when I finished.
“I’ll stay while you work.” He said in a deep dark voice. It sent shivers down my spine, and I wasn’t quite sure why. It was a very odd sensation.
“If you feel like sitting around the shop for 6 hours, fine. I wouldn’t say no to you tidying up a bit either.” I said teasing as I closed shop and prepared to start work.
As I got the fire going, I noticed he had taken me seriously. He had taken a broom and began to sweep. I smiled a bit to myself and shook my head. Mr. Shadow, as he called himself, was making himself useful. Didn’t bother me.
In all honesty, under normal circumstances, I NEVER would have allowed a buyer to stay in my shop, especially not a male one. But his presence intrigued me. I couldn’t quite place what it was, but there was something about him that made me want to know more about him.
This was irritating me as I worked out dings and smoothed the shield’s surface. I hated having people around, especially when I worked. If he wasn’t so mysterious, maybe I wouldn’t be so curious about who he was.
Crossing my arms, I lifted my head to gaze over at him. He had finished sweeping hours ago, now he was wiping down the counter and windows. He had just finished the counter and looked up as I stared at him.
I was trying to figure him out from a distance. It was then that I realized that I couldn’t see his eyes.
Was that all it took for me to be so curious? I couldn’t see the man’s eyes so I decide to keep him around for 6 hours? This was insane.
“Mr. Shadow?” I called, setting down my materials, I needed to let everything cool before I could add the finishing spell, to increase the stamina and endurance of the weapons.
He turned tilting his head. “Are you finished then?” He asked lowly, his voice sending sharp little shivers down my spine.
“Not quite, but I need to break for about an hour, let everything set and all. Are you hungry? I’ll be making myself dinner, I’ll make you a plate.” I said, smiling sweetly to him. I could use my female charms, get a glimpse of his eyes and be done.
Every woman has done it at least once. She’s used her gender to get what she wants. One way or another, all women have done it. Some to higher extremes, but we were all whores on the inside. I would get what I wanted, and I was willing to go pretty far to get it.
I watched him as he considered my offer. I took off the apron, and one of two things would happen. I was small and pudgy, but rather developed in the chest region. Most men that came in never saw it because of the metal apron I wore in the forge. But when I removed it, most men tended to stare. So he would either stare and I would win this mind game, or this was going to be a challenge.
Man didn’t even look twice.
He nodded. “Food sounds all right to me.” he said with a shrug shifting his bangs from his eyes.
The movement was too quick for me to get a proper look at his eyes. I cursed inwardly, keeping my smile glued on as I led him through the forge and to my small house that was connected.
For such a tall guy, he walked quietly. Normally guys like him were loud and obnoxious. The warriors and men that bought weapons were loud, bulky and full of themselves. This man looked like them, he was built and tall, but he lacked the traditional attitude of most of my customers.
More and more, this man both irritated and confused me. I liked the people I worked with and knew to be simple, and what I expect them to be. But this guy, he wasn’t anything like I expected. He hadn’t brought someone to brag in front of, no apprentice or adoring whore. He was quiet, polite, and helped clean my forge when he didn’t have to.
I didn’t like this. I wanted him to be a simple customer, not someone I was so curious about. He wouldn’t know of course, because I was so good at keeping things hidden. Turning the lights on, I went to the kitchen humming.
Being a walking contradiction myself, I suppose I feel some sort of kinship to this man. I feel like I can relate to him. It was ridiculous to be thinking like this when I don’t even know the guy, but I’m a rather odd sort of person anyway.
I’m small, stout, and run a successful forge alone. My father had died a little over a year ago and none of my brothers had come to his funeral or my aid. So I just plowed on ahead. Being the stature and gender that I am, most found it odd that I could do such work and not give up. Even if they didn’t believe I could do it alone, orders still poured in. I was of course the best, so who could argue?
My name was Tiffanie Darkfire. Yes in the times of Elves and Dragons, I was an Elvin blacksmith female, living successfully alone. I have 3 older brothers, Kilik, Fayt and Elirc. They were all the tradition bulk muscle heads. I was rather surprised when they hadn’t come to father’s funeral, especially when that left me entirely alone, but I suppose sometimes you don’t really know a person until tragedy struck.
Back to the problem at hand. Mr. Shadow, who’s name I didn’t honestly know. I’d find out, one way or another.
“So, Mr. Shadow, do you have a name?” I asked playfully, trying to just appear a friendly host.
“Of course.” he answered, looking around, looking very bored honestly.
I waited for him to tell me. He didn’t say another word. Trying not to get frustrated, I asked “Well, what would it happen to be?”
“None of your business really.” he answered without any hesitation.
That right there pissed me off. Friendly attitude gone, my eyes narrowed and I turned to face him. He was about to meet the real me, rather then the friendly shop owner I tried to portray.
“Listen, I’ve put up with your presence for hours, I’ve let you in my shop, which I never allow, and I’m offering you a free meal. Least you can do is tell me your name.” I said in a low irritated voice.
I heard him chuckle and saw the smirk. “I didn’t think you were as nice as you were trying to play. Makes me wonder, if you never let anyone stay, why let me?” he asked, looking far too amused for my tastes.
“Because, you paid in full and I’m curious.” I answered bluntly.
Rather then ask me what I was curious about, he smirked wider. “Curiosity killed the cat, watch out.”
“I’ll take my chances, I want to see your face.” I said, no longer beating around the bush.
“Oh, don’t you see it now?” he replied, amused by my irritation, which only irritated me more.
“I think you know what I mean.” I hissed out, arms crossed tightly. It pissed me off that he was so calm and enjoying this. It irritated me that he had the upper hand in only a few short sentences.
“You want to see my eyes, don’t you Little One.” He chuckled.
I twitched. Making fun of my height? That was low, pun not intended. I approached him, irritation building with each step. “Really, I REALLY think you know what I’m talking about. What’s wrong with your eyes, why do you keep them hidden?” I asked, demanding answers as I stood in front of him.
“Remember that cat Little One.” he said lowly, leaning down to my level.
I just pushed his bangs up, leaning in to see what I’d been waiting for. All I wanted was a glimpse.
Then I saw them, and had to take a step back. “You’re a…” I stopped, afraid to say the words out loud. I would have preferred if the Devil himself had tore threw my floor and appeared.
“Blood Demon.” he finished the sentence for me and stood at his full height, which must have been at least 7 feet.
“Y-You’re not allowed to cross into this territory. There’s a war!” I protested, sinking back. I hadn’t been prepared for this.
The eyes, the black eyes with red pupils was a symbol of fear and terror. Their kind had raped and pillaged our village mercilessly for hundreds of years. Now there was a war, my kind was fighting back against the Blood Demons.
“Did I do anything to you? Did I demand anything from you?” He asked dangerously quiet as he watched me. He looked, irritated.
“Well, no, but…” I trailed off watching him. He made a valid point. He hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. He had just come to make a purchase and stuck around to watch it get finished.
“There shouldn’t be a but. There are exceptions in every instance, and I’m the Blood Demon who’s the exception. Not all of my race is as terrible as we’re portrayed, but you Elves are so stuck up your own ass that you don’t care to look.” He growled, banging his fist against my wall. “Sorry.” he said seeing the damage he left. “I’m so tired of this reaction from everyone I meet. Why do you think I hide my eyes? Because, until a person sees them, I’m treated civilly, as an equal.” He continued, sounding almost bitter.
That caught me off guard. I had never stopped to think about it like that. Well, as its drilled into our heads as children that all Blood Demons are the enemy, its hard to believe the opposite as an adult.
But here it was. He was standing in front of me. Confiding in me, sharing a part of himself he probably hasn’t shown anyone else before.
I don’t know why, but I felt myself soften slightly. I felt, some sort of secret connection to him. It was weird. I didn’t like it. I shook my head, trying to shake the feeling. I kind of understood how it felt to be judged before you’ve been spoken to.. With my gender and my small stature, I’m always underestimated and taunted. It wasn’t as bad now that I was an adult and successfully running my father’s forge, but still, I knew how it felt to be an outcast in a society you wished you could belong to.
“I’m sorry.” I said simply, not sure if there was anything else I could do at this point. I had been an ass, I had started trouble when I shouldn’t have.
He looked at me and shook his head. “Not your fault its how you were raised. Just remember this sort of thing if you’re to meet someone new. Don’t let old fears keep you from meeting someone worth knowing.” he said looking at me.
Now that I looked at his eyes, they weren’t so frightening. More sad then anything. I wondered about him, and that only made me more curious.
The Blood Demon caught my stare and returned it with his own. My cheeks flushed, for getting caught staring, and for the new attention. I tried to hold the stare as I squirmed. I wasn’t used to attention. No one really paid much attention to me, just to the merchandise I was trying to sell.
Why would he stare at me so? Especially now that I had looked away. But I could feel his eyes on me still. It was odd, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. I didn’t tell him to stop, so there was something about it I rather liked.
“You know…You’re rather pretty.” he said quietly, still looking at me.
The surprised squeak I think made him chuckle. I couldn’t help it. I made odd noises in general, especially when I was surprised. “W-What was that?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, you know what I said. Little One.” He added with a grin.
I grimaced at the name. “My name is Tiffanie, please use that.” I asked shuddering.
“Don’t like your nickname?” he teased moving nearer.
“Not at all.” I answered crossing my arms again and turning my back to him.
The touching was a new thing, and I cried out slightly as I felt his arms slide around me. He pulled me back against his chest and I felt the muscle beneath me. I was so shocked by it, I didn’t even struggle. There was a weird sense of pleasure almost from his closeness. I never knew being close to someone could be comforting like this.
He pulled me close, arms wrapped tight around me and he buried his face in my hair. I stood there blinking. He was just breathing in my scent, just standing there holding me and smelling my hair.
“You smell nice for someone who works in a forge all day.” He whispered against my neck.
My eyes widened and I didn’t know what to say. “Thank you?” I said unsurely.
“Tiff? Are you in here?” I heard a familiar voice call.
In the doorway, my oldest brother, Fayt, stood. I just hung in the arms of my mysterious Blood Demon, watching my brother, knowing this was about to end badly.
The Blood Demon picked me up in his arms. He then said, in a friendly voice, different from how he had spoken so far, “Darling, who’s your friend?” He almost cooed.
For a moment I blinked at him, then my brother, then back at him. He was hiding his eyes. My eyes widened as I caught on to what he was doing. But oh gods, why in front of this brother?!
This brother, Fayt, well he’s a little bit different. He had been in love with me since I was 10 years old. I don’t know why, but he did, and he had a horrible jealousy problem.
He visually twitched. “…’Darling’?” Fayt questioned, eying him suspiciously, obviously pissed.
“Uhmmm….” I wasn’t sure what to say but tried to get him to set me down.
Shadow must have caught on, because he set me down. He still kept a hand on my shoulder and kept the smile on his face.
“Tiffanie.” Fayt hissed, glaring openly at Shadow.
“This…Is…” I started, not sure how to introduce him.
“Dmon love, its ok, I realize this is an awkward way to tell your brother, but we couldn’t keep it secret forever.” he purred wrapping his arms around me from behind.
He was way too comfortable with this lie, and I wasn’t sure why I didn’t deny it. I played along with it. But I kept it going. “Fayt? This is Dmon, Dmon, this is Fayt, my eldest brother.” I finally said after a few moments of awkward silence.
“…Hello.” Fayt finally said, being more civil then I expected.
Thrown off I stood there thinking. Then it occurred to me. “Kilik’s here too?!” I asked, talking about his twin, who was younger by a few hours.
As if on cue he walked in with many bags. “Were you coming back?” Kilik grunted. He dropped the bags and saw me with Dmon. “Oh lookie here, baby sister grew up and got herself a man!” he teased coming over and snatching me up in a hug.
I giggled and hugged him back, glancing at Dmon. The Blood Demon genuinely seemed to pout when I was pried from his arms.
He was taking this lie awful serious. I shrugged off the nagging feeling and returned attention to my brothers. “So what brings you two to town?”
“Father of course, where is the old bat?” Kilik asked ruffling my hair.
I stopped and my heart froze. “That’s not funny Kilik…” I said seriously. “Not funny in the slightest.”
“….What are you talking about Tiff? We really just came to see dad.” He said blinking.
“…You never got the letter?” I asked looking at him.
“What letter?”
“Dad’s been dead over a year. I sent you Fayt and Elirc each a letter, but no one came to the funeral.” I said as I wiggled free of his.
I saw it hit them, it hit them hard too. Fayt sunk to his knees with a look of disbelief and grief frozen on his face.
“…No…” Kilik whispered walking back a few steps. “You…You didn’t hear from us? Why didn’t you send someone!? Why didn’t you make sure we were there!?” he started yelling at me.
I shrank back, I’d always been afraid of Kilik when he yells. He frightens me when he loses his temper. “I sent countless letters and I had no one to send! I was alone Kilk! I had to keep the shop running so I could keep the house and pay for father’s funeral expenses. Don’t yell at me! Maybe if you came home to visit more, you would have seen him before he died!” I yelled back.
Dmon seemed to step out of the background to save me. He put a hand on my shoulder and looked at Kilik. “Try not to yell, you know this had to have been quite an ordeal for someone as young as her to deal with alone. Why don’t you take a time out, sit down with your brother and see if you can snap him out of his stupor?” He suggested and led Kilik back to Fayt, who was on the ground bawling his eyes out.
It was strange for me. Someone took the reigns from me and was taking care of me in a sense. I stared at Dmon, confused and somewhat bothered by his willingness to help me. What had happened in these 8 hours that I had known him, that would make him like this, I don’t think I’ll ever know.
The scary part though, was I think I wanted him to stay. I didn’t want him to leave, even when I finished his work now.
I believe I may be in trouble, because I was starting to believe this lie we had made.
As I watched him lead my brothers off, I knew I was in trouble. I had to get him out of my life, quickly as he had made his way in.
The only question now, how to do it?