Pretty Dress for a Pretty Girl

I felt more like a tourist than anything as I walked with Gharret and Leigh through their relatively small village. Don't get me wrong, the village proper was spread out over about half a mile of storage buildings, housing, and, of course, the Hall. I hadn't really asked for the name of the building as it wasn't really very important for the time being.

But then there was the farmland which, oddly enough, only spread out toward the south of the village and covered roughly a mile or so in that direction. To the East and West were unused plots that everyone seemed up-in-the-air about, since developing either into more farmland would just create waste.

I jotted down the need for more preservation methods as Gharret discussed ideas for those plots of land. Better to have too much (and be able to trade) than not enough (and starve).

To the North was a similar situation, though it was undeveloped. Occasionally, trees were harvested for lumber, but that direction remained fairly untouched and was often used for foraging and hunting.

I wrote down herb and medicinal cultivation, though that would fall under the category of improving healthcare within the village and I had yet to meet any such person who labeled themselves as 'doctor' so far.

A thought popped in my head as we headed for the fields and I found myself looking over everything. Not anywhere did I see any cotton or flax being grown. I frowned and picked at my sleeve before putting it closer to my face and holding it up to the sun. There weren't any visible fibers.

Gharret and Leigh had both stopped talking to stare at me quizzically.

"What…are you…," Leigh began, but I had dropped my sleeve by then and looked to them.

"What is this dress made out of?" When I didn't receive a response, but more blinking, I pinched the fabric and held it out. "What is the material? Is it cotton? It can't really be wool…" Gharret seemed to catch on first.

"Oh. It's the Snake Queen's shedding from last year."

…Oh…

.....Oh god....

The urge to vomit rose as the idea that I was wearing left-over SKIN was crawling up my spine. But then again, my boots and bag were both made from skins, so…what should I be fussing over? Some skin-on-dead-skin contact never hurt anyone.

Somehow I managed to convince myself that this wasn't gross, but all the videos I'd seen of snakes shedding their skins displayed massive, dried-out, mildly crunchy husks. Why wasn't this one? It felt soft and almost sheer and was quite breathable. It was comfortable and waterproof, though I wasn't sure how sturdy it was, as a fabric.

"That sounds…special. I take it she's a white snake?" I asked. There weren't any patterns or impressions of scales in the slightest. I never would have guessed that I was wearing snakeskin. I glanced at Gharret and he nodded.

"She's crazy pretty. She's said to be a direct descendant of the Goddess and once produced three whole clutches of eggs in one year," Leigh said, hypnotized by a memory. "And smart, too! But we mostly meet with her emissaries when they come to trade."

Gharret nodded in agreement, then glanced away, looking troubled. I frowned a little in his direction and reached, gently gripping his forearm to catch his attention. He glanced at me with a 'Hm?'

"Something's on your mind," I said with a slight smirk. He shook his head as I huffed before he rolled his eyes and relented with a shrug.

"She knew you were coming. About a week before you arrived, her emissaries had arrived with that dress stating that you were due any day and that we should be prepared…"

A chill ran up and down my spine at the thought. How could she have known that I would drop through a portal and land right outside this very village? Is it possible she created the portal? If so, that would indicate magic was already discovered in this realm but kept very secret. However…

If she wasn't responsible for the portal, then who was? And if she knew about it, was it possible that she FORESAW the event? Like…divination? Looking through a crystal ball? For some reason, that was all I could imagine: a beautiful half-snake woman with glistening white scales wrapped around a table as she swirled her hands mystically over a glowing crystal ball.

That might suggest another form of magic, but also something that hadn't really been harnessed yet. Certain individuals might just be born with a talent, but…I'm getting off-topic, either way.

My primary issue was going to be figuring out how she KNEW.

I was startled out of my thoughts when a heavy hand landed on my head. I snapped my eyes open – when had they closed…? – and stared at Gharret's blank expression.

"Lost in your thoughts, again…," he droned, but smiled and ran his hand over the top of my head. "I'm just making sure you're okay…" I nodded once, then smiled a little as he dropped his hand. Taking him as mine might end up being easier than I suspected.

"Another thing I need to write down, that's all," I said with a shrug and put the tip of my pen to my notebook. 'Discover and/or harness magic', and 'Meet Snake Queen' were two additions.

On that note, however…did they not have fabrics? Could they not weave their own, either? This was a good climate for flax and I had seen a few samples of wild flax growing in untended spaces…so why have I yet to see anyone wearing linen in this horrible heat?