12 Lolita

Macha opened her eyes. She saw Tyr with a towel in his hand. "Tyr...you took a long time to get back," she said in a weak voice.

He blinked with surprise when she spoke, but replied softly, "Yeah. There was bad weather." Her accent made her words come out soft. It had a nice sound to it that relaxed him.

She nodded and whispered, "Mmm. It is good you are," she paused thinking of the word, "safe. Sorry, I am sick." Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

Tyr did not expect the first words out of Macha's mouth to be criticism and then acceptance. Not one person mentioned his tardiness critically today. The only words people said to him were the generic, "Welcome back," or, "Pity you missed the deal." He did not want to be welcomed back or have people pity him.

Growing up, people treated him with extremes. Either they were like his mother and found nothing worthwhile in him, or they catered to him and coddled him. It was a nice change of pace to have someone treat him like a person.

A slow grin spread on his face. His features looked less harsh in the soft light let off by the lamps when he smiled. Tyr liked that Macha was honest with him and accepted him at that moment. "It's fine that you're sick. Rest up," he said as he finished wiping her body down.

****

Tyr spent the week resting from his trip and taking care of Macha. Her health improved after a few days and they conversed with each other whenever she was awake. He found out that she came from a different world and that this world differed from her own.

He found conversation easy with Macha and found himself talking to her about many things. Tyr shared things with her that he could not tell his sister or their friends. He did not feel like she judged him. She always wanted to know more about the things he shared and her smile made him feel good. Her favorite topic was his adventures and the different creatures that inhabited this world.

One day he had an idea. Fenrir used to be his secretary and now the position lay vacant. "Macha, would you like to be my secretary?" Tyr asked while they ate lunch in bed.

"What is a secretary?" Macha asked. She had not heard this word before. She often asked Tyr to explain words or ideas. The constant questions could be tiresome and she thought he was a saint to be so patient with her.

"A secretary is a person who would help me in the office. You would make tea, organize papers, greet guests, and do various tasks. I would pay you," he replied. He understood her language needed improvement, but any help would be better than no help. From what he saw, Macha was a quick learner and intelligent. He did not worry about her learning the language. The most important thing was he was able to tolerate her, and she did not cower in front of him.

Macha nodded her head with enthusiasm. She was thankful that he was willing to give her a job. Finding a job had been one fear that weighed on her mind. "Yes! I want to be your secretary." When she nodded her head, a lock of hair came loose and fell onto her face.

Tyr used his hand to tuck the stray lock behind her ear. He then became cognizant of the fact they shared the same bed for the past few days. Seeing she had more energy today, he felt awkward, so he broached the subject of her moving to a different room, "Uh, Macha. This is my bed. Tonight why don't you go to the spare room across the hall?"

The words took a second to process. Macha flushed a little with embarrassment. The thought did not occur to her that she slept in his bed. She realized it was odd for her to be sleeping in it every night.

While she was sick, she only focused on the pain and slept most of the time, but now that the symptoms had died down it would be strange for her to be sharing a bed with a man she was not in a relationship with. "Yes, sorry. Luna told me to sleep here. I did not know."

Macha began to get out of bed, but Tyr put a hand on her shoulder. "You can stay in it for now. Let's finish lunch first." He did not see a reason for her to rush out of the bed now. They had been sharing the bed for the past few days, it was not like a few minutes would make a difference.

After lunch, Tyr went into the closet to look for her clothes. He wanted to move her things into the spare room. After searching around, he could not find anything that belonged to her. "Macha," he called, "Where are your clothes?"

She walked to the closet and pointed out, "I do not have any. I am using your clothes right now."

Tyr looked at her. She wore one of his tops, but it looked more like a knee-length dress. He grimaced, "We can get you some clothes when you're feeling better. You can't wear that to greet guests."

****

Macha and Tyr strolled through the crowded marketplace. The buildings had awnings that jutted out from the windows to keep the light rain off of the pedestrians. He wore a long black trench coat that had a high fur collar. She wore one of his many black shirts and used a belt to tighten it around her waist.

Macha looked around at the various clothing stores. She saw some beautiful fabrics and dresses. One of the things she liked about this world was that their fashion varied so much. It seemed like anything went and there were no rules.

Tyr brought her to a boutique with many dresses displayed on mannequins. Macha looked around and her eyebrows furrowed. These dresses had many ruffles and frills. It reminded her of the lolita fashion back home. He looked around with approval and the salesperson greeted him with a wide smile.

"Hello Lord Valois! I hope your day is going well. You look wonderful as always. Would you like anything to drink?" the pudgy salesperson asked. It was his job to be able to recognize the nobility. He was pleased he did not offend such an important person today.

Ignoring pleasantries, Tyr declared, "My new secretary needs about fifteen outfits. One she can wear for formal occasions, one for traveling, and the rest for general office duties or recreational use. She also needs coats, sleepwear, hosiery, and shoes." He hated salespeople. They always sucked up to him and tried to be overly pleasant.

Lord Valois carried himself with an air of intimidation, but his order would cost a lot. The incoming profit made the man lick his lips, "Yes! Right away my lord! Leave it to me." The salesperson ran around the store picking out a few pieces here and there. He looked like he was on a shopping spree, smiling from ear to ear and shaking his hands with excitement.

Macha recognized this as a children's shop because she saw this fashion on the children all around the city. She looked around, unsure if she should say something to Tyr. Tyr noticed she looked a bit uneasy, but before he could order her to speak she stated, "Tyr, I am not a child. These clothes are for children."

He reflected on this and countered, "I know. These are the only clothes you fit into for now. I can't let you work looking like this. You're part of the face that represents the guild. Later when you have money you can get custom-made clothes that fit." He appreciated not having to ask her what she thought.

Macha frowned a little but accepted what he said. She thought the clothes the salesperson picked were nice, but not her style. Her favorite was a two-piece that had a white long-sleeved collared shirt with ruffles and a high-waisted black skirt with suspenders. The high-waist looked good on her and accentuated her curves. She decided to wear that outfit out of the store.

They walked a few more blocks and Tyr stopped under a red and white striped awning and gazed at her. His bright green eyes seemed to pierce into her soul and it made Macha uncomfortable. She considered him extremely handsome and his stare seemed like it was looking into the deepest parts of her soul. She looked into a shop window so she could pretend to ignore his gaze.

Tyr looked at her and wondered why Krystof had such a lecherous gift for inspecting women's figures. It really disturbed him that his childhood friend had such a disgusting talent. Macha looked cute in the new outfit and he was unsure how that made him feel. He originally viewed her as a child, but now he realized that she possessed a woman's figure. Tyr decided it was best if she wore this style of clothing. If she wore something more mature it would be distracting.

Macha's cheeks were rosy and when she looked up at him, Tyr wanted to touch her. He pushed the urge out of his mind as quickly as it had come. He then noticed that her hair seemed out of place in contrast to the outfit which made him frown. "You need a haircut. The clothes are fine, but you still look unprofessional," he said in a rushed voice.

The words were spoken quickly, but Macha understood most of it. She blinked and her head snapped back to stare at him. She could not believe he spent that long looking at her just to decide that she needed a haircut. She peeked at her reflection in the window and said, "Some makeup would help too. I used to wear makeup when I worked."

Tyr nodded in agreement. "We can get all of those things. I'll leave you at the salon while I go to the furniture store to pick out a desk for you. I'll pick you up after I'm finished." He had no intention of sitting in the salon and listening to the hairdresser, Takeo gossip.