“Did you find anything?” she asked.
“I’ve never seen so many clothes in one place,” he said. “They’re so beautiful. I don’t know what to pick.”
“They need to fit you well and keep you warm. And avoid bright colors. We need to go unnoticed.”
“Hm... too bad. I rather like this crimson coat.”
Seraphina laughed.
“The idea is for you to wear less crimson, not more.”
The words were out before she could stop them, and her laughter died in her throat. She couldn’t believe she’d just made a joke about how his clothes were stained with blood afterhe’d killed someone for her. She swallowed heavily and hung her head in shame, waiting for Rune’s reaction. She expected silence, as he rarely made his feelings known unless she pushed. Silence would be too kind.
Rune laughed, and to her shock, it didn’t sound forced.
“You’re right,” he said. “I’ll go with black.”
She relaxed, but the guilt didn’t leave. How could she have been so insensitive? He’d torn a man apart with his bare hands just yesterday. It wasn’t that it was too soon to talk about it in a casual manner, it was... They should never talk about it. And she should never think about it so lightly. Her insensitivity wasn’t only toward Rune and the sacrifice of his innocence so she wouldn’t soil her hands with a man’s blood, but also toward the victim. Hartmann had been vile. A coward. He was dead, and it was indecent to think about his demise with any amusement attached to it. If she did, then she was no better than him. Worse, maybe she was more of a villain than he had been.
She heard the rustle of fabric as Rune pulled something from a rack.
“What do you think about these pants?” he asked.
Seraphina turned to him, pointing at her face.
“I would love to give you my opinion, however...”
“Oh.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’ll find you a scarf. That one is... It doesn’t look good anymore.”
Seraphina chuckled. The strip of fabric Rune had torn from his shirt was nearly in tatters. She’d shifted it around and tied it as best as she could to cover her empty eye sockets. She knew it looked bad, but without it, the state of her face would’ve given any sane person nightmares.
She’d just made another joke that had killed the mood. She sighed and wondered what was wrong with her today. Many things were wrong, and they had been for years. She pulled afew dresses and walked over to where Rune was. She held one in front of her body.
“Can you tell me if this one is good?” she asked.
“It’s blue,” he said.
“Absolutely not. How about this one?”
“It’s yellow.”
“Of course it is.” She pulled another. “This?”
“If you like ribbons...”
She laughed.
“They look pretty on you,” he said.
She pursed her lips so he wouldn’t see how big her grin was. She kept searching, and they fell into a rhythm. She would pull a dress, and he would tell her what it looked like, sometimes adding unnecessary details that made her laugh.
“That one has ruffles,” he said. “Lots of ruffles. I think more ruffles than dress.”
“Pass.”
“This one has lace on the sleeves. And the collar. And the hem.”
“Also pass.”
