“Oh, my god… Oh- Oh my God,” Olivia whispered. “That’s one of them, is he not? A-an orc.”

“Uh-huh,” I hummed while my eyes were wide open and pinned on the monstrous figure standing in the distance.

He looked a lot like the orcs I’d once seen in the past, but this orc seemed to be even more notable for his tall and broad physique.

“That creature is even more hideous than I thought orcs would be. And I haven’t even seen him close up! What- what must we do now, Gyda?” Olivia hissed, grabbing my arm, making us halt our steps. “We could still run home, hm? Or…no. Of course, we cannot do that! It would greatly displease our mothers. They both have high hopes we will bear them a grandson!”

“There’s nothing to do but follow the others,” I answered, looking at the women ahead of us. “The orc doesn’t seem to hurt them. He kept his hands on his back the whole time I’d observed him,” I whispered back.

By the looks of it, he gave directions on how to enter the mountain. Following the other women, I understood we were to walk up a steep path and enter one of the caves to go inside the mountain.

“Oh-okay,” Olivia agreed. “Yes. Yes.” She breathed in. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I panicked a little bit.” She sniffed.

I grabbed her hand. “We’re in this together. Side by side. Okay?” I touched her cheek and wiped some of her spilled tears away.

She smiled. “O-okay.”

Olivia then bit her lip and I could tell she was thinking about something. “What is it?” I asked.

“Uhm… Y-your hair. We need to let it down,” she then said.

“Oh, yes.” I turned around. “Could you please untie it for me?”

“Of course…”

My eyes were on the orc again. He wore a pair of brown leather pants but at the top he was naked. His muscles were huge. He could easily fight a bear and win. My heart started beating faster at the thought that I was to meet one up close. Even share my time with him. Let him touch me. Carry his child…

I thought about Fiona’s story and curiously looked at the place between his legs but there was nothing to be seen down there. Or maybe he just stood too far away?

“Uh- Olivia?” I asked as I waited.

“I’m so sorry for this, Gyda…” she replied, pulling at the ribbon in my hair.

“Sorry for what?” I asked.

I felt the familiar weight of my hair pulling at my scalp after she untied the ribbon. Shaking my head a bit, I waited for her answer.

“It’s just that…women with the prettiest hair get treated the best, you know?” she whispered.

“Huh? What do—”

I then heard the sound of something cutting. Something slicing through layers.

My head suddenly felt different, the scalp less heavy. It felt airy and light, as if a blanket had been pulled away from my head. And it suddenly hit me what had happened. What she’d done...

“What the—”

“I…I’m scared, Gyda! I want to be treated the b-best,” she said with a breathless voice.

“Did- did you just cut off my hair?” I asked in disbelief.

No answer came. I turned around, finding an odd expression on Olivia’s face.

“Did you just cut my hair?” I asked again, looking down and finding a pile of long, light-brown strands of hair, decorating the ground.

My hair.

I picked up a few strands and that was the moment I felt panic start to rise inside of me. Not to mention anger.

Olivia still held the knife in her trembling hand. Has she gone mad?

“You—” I screamed, but I was unable to find words. My heart raced in my chest when I tried to process what just happened. I immediately thought about my mother. She would kill me if I returned home without my hair!

“Please don’t tell my mother I did this. Or your mother. Please! I… I don't know what came over me! I don’t know why I did it!” she said hysterically. “I just knew I wouldn’t stand a chance with you beside me!”

“You—” I hissed again, receiving the attention of a few of the other women. “You bitch!”

Without thinking, I struck my hand against Olivia’s face, slapping her cheek. She dropped the knife as a reaction. I picked it up, ready to give her a taste of her own medicine. Grabbing her dark curls into my fist, I tried to ignore her cries as I put the silver blade against her scalp.

I wanted to do it. But I couldn’t. Even though this she-devil had done me wrong in one of the worst possible ways, I just couldn’t do it. This wasn’t me. Maybe I was too weak.

Instead, I pushed her away from me. “Get out of my sight. I don’t want to continue walking with you. You treacherous bitch.”

Olivia broke out in tears and fled from my sight. The women who had stopped to watch the show didn’t say anything and continued their walk as well. They must’ve thought I was insane. To be honest, I felt a little insane after what had just happened.

My hair hadn’t been cut short for over twenty years, and now, it was gone… Just like that. Cut off in only a few seconds.

I felt…weird, almost naked without it.

My head felt strange as well. It felt a little sensitive, as Olivia had pulled at my hair quite harshly when she cut it off. But it also felt light, and even free. A literal weight had been taken from me.

I shook my head a few times, strangely fascinated with the feeling before I stuffed the knife into my bag, and squatted. I collected my hair and then stuffed the remains of my biggest physical asset into my bag as well. Maybe I could braid it and take it home with me. God only knows why.

I let out a few tears before I wiped them away and took a big breath. This wasn’t the end of the world.

“It's okay,” I told myself. “I’ll survive this. It’s only hair. It can grow back.”

It was hard to digest what Olivia had done. It’s an awful feeling when someone you trusted betrays you.

I stood up and rubbed my fingers over the blunt hair ends. My new hair wasn’t even reaching my shoulders. Or maybe one side did while the other side was shorter. I probably looked ridiculous right now. That bitch just had to cut it asymmetrically.

A tap on my shoulder snapped me out of my thoughts.

I looked up.

“Are you okay?” a woman I’d never seen before asked. “I didn’t see what happened, but I did hear what you two were fighting about, and…wow. I have no words for it. Did she just cut your hair short, right here and now?”

“I can hardly believe it, but…yeah?”

“Why?” the stranger asked.

“Cause she believes orcs pick women for their beautiful hair and the one with the prettiest hair gets the best treatment,” I replied. “And in her mind, that was me.”

“If that’s true, that’s the dumbest shit I ever heard. Still, she was your friend, right? What the hell’s wrong with that cunt?”

I don’t know why, but I started laughing. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was this stranger’s tone of voice or the way she looked when she insulted Olivia. I didn’t know. I just knew I had to laugh because of her.

“I mean, if that’s true, then I’m fucking screwed! Have you seen my hair? It looks like hungry rats have been chewing on it every day,” she said, pointing at her head.

It only made me laugh harder and I almost felt guilty because her hair was honestly not pretty at all. Though, I suppose it was still better than my current haircut.

“I’m glad you can smile again.” The girl stuck out her hand when I was done giggling. “I’m Amira.”

Amira was short and chubby with frizzy brown hair and the prettiest green eyes I’d ever seen. Her big breasts bulged out of her dress, and her dress was so short I could see her ankles. Mother would have called her tasteless, but I called her a potential friend. At least for now. I figured it would take some time before I was able to trust a stranger after what had just happened. She looked kind, though. And she was funny.

“I’m Gyda,” I said, shaking her hand.

“Nice to meet you. First time too?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Wanna walk together? I promise I’m not packed with a knife. Or a pair of scissors. But you can walk behind me if you want.” She chuckled.

“Yeah… I’d like that,” I answered. “Walking with you, I mean. You don’t have to walk ahead of me.”

“Great! I’ve been walking alone the entire road. These other gals are avoiding me as if I got the plague.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I replied.

She bent over to pick up the pink ribbon that still lay on the floor. “It’s okay, sugar. I’m used to it. I’m from the poor side of town, so nobody wants to have anything to do with me.” She stood up straight again. “Shall I try to fix this…uhm…disaster?” she asked, pointing at my hair.

“Do you think there is anything to fix?”

“Heh…” She pulled a face, making me smile again. “I can try. I mean, I can only improve it, as there’s no way to mess this up any further.”

“Well, then please do,” I replied, smiling.