— Thank you. — Ivy replied politely, slipping the ribbon back into her pocket and finally stepping inside, pulling the door shut behind her.

  Looking around, the girl couldn’t help but feel surprised. The place was spacious and empty. It smelled faintly of iron, grease, and rust. The scent stirred something strange in her — distant, almost forgotten memories, as if something familiar lingered there. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure how exactly she could help, given how empty the place was, but she walked forward anyway, stopping a step from the table and folding her hands behind her back, as if ready to serve.

  — I heard they take mechanisms for spare parts here. And not only that.

  The blonde braced her hands on the makeshift table opposite the peasant. There was nowhere for her to sit anyway. Before the human girl’s eyes were the woman’s bare shoulders and a truly deep neckline, revealing a rather full chest. An image impossible for an elf — they often wore light clothing, but it always fully covered the chest and even the shoulders. Wavy hair fell over her green dress, tightly hugging her slender figure. It ended almost at the same level as her hips. Below that were only black, semi-transparent tights — and she wasn’t even wearing shoes.

  — And not only that? Ha! You think they do anything else here?

  The elf scratched her neck, where a large, expensive necklace rested, then behind her ear, where even more expensive emerald earrings glittered.

  — Right here, hardly anything else gets done. Not on the floor, at least. Though, I guess, that depends on what people like. — Ivy shrugged, letting her attentive gaze run briefly over the other woman’s body. The curves were pleasant to look at, easy for the eye to catch on. She almost felt self-conscious about her own chest, which was much smaller. Though by human standards Ivy’s figure was good — and she liked herself well enough. The jewelry was no doubt a reward for work, but the woman could hardly be lower than the owner. — Well, for example... providing intimate services... Oh, pardon me — fucking elves. Maybe not just them. — The girl smirked, resting her hands on her hips. Once again there was no sheath there, and she felt almost naked. To hell with it. If they threw her out for slander, so be it. Why had the peasant even decided that elf hadn’t lied? Suppressing a possible sigh, she lifted her head higher and looked at the woman with deep dark eyes that seemed almost black.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  The elf hadn’t expected to hear that. Ivy managed to surprise her, throwing her into a brief stupor. A moment later she burst into loud laughter, completely unrestrained and unstoppable. It felt like the whole town could hear her. The laugh might have been pleasant if it weren’t so loud. Finally calming down and catching her breath, she looked at Ivy again.

  — Fuck, you really are almost as weird and batshit as me. Trying to take my place? No fucking way. Don’t even hope for it. I’m the number one idiot here. Miss psycho. Or something like that. Anyway, whatever.

  She licked her lips — something was stuck. Raising her hand, she started picking at her white teeth with a fingernail, continuing to speak:

  — So? What did you come here for, mutt?

  Ivy couldn’t help but chuckle in response, though she bit her full lip to stop herself from laughing just as loudly. For the first time that day, her heart felt a little lighter. She leaned her hip against the table and once again cast a quick glance around the room.

  — I need a job. — The dark-skinned girl answered simply, not wanting to play on pity or explain what exactly had happened. That would only annoy the elf; it was time to stop stepping on the same rake every time. — You wouldn’t happen to have one? Besides the door, unless — She cut herself off when her boot scraped the floor. The peasant swayed but stayed upright, then, following some sudden impulse, began examining the floor. — It’s dusty here too. I could clean up.

  — Well no fucking shit it’s dusty! The place needs repairs, that’s for damn sure, — she paused briefly, then continued, — You say you need work? What, like a bum? No money, no home? Damn. Well, look. If you really are a jack-of-all-trades and not just a bullshitter, you’ll do the repairs for me. There. Pretty much everything here needs to be done from scratch. You handle that, dirty little hamster?

  The elf folded her arms across her chest, waiting for Ivy’s answer. A strange human woman, showing up with strange jokes. Wasn’t that just perfect? At the very least, it was amusing.