"Oh, this is just the cutest shop! We should most definately get something here. Pretty please?"
"I don't know. Do we really need any of these things?"
Lady Aigumo smiles at the young couple that walks into her store. The girl looks absolutely woo'ed by the talismans, tapestries and ornamental carpets that are on display, while the man seems more reluctant to get anything that doesn't have some practical function in the house.
As they browse through her wares, the girl becomes more and more jittery as she finds so many little and cute things that she wants and should definately have. There were woven talismans that warded off bad spirits or increased the health of infants. There were little rugs with some fine patterns that could be placed on a table or cabinet and banners that would liven up any room.
As they ask for the prices of the wares, the boy grows more accomodating as he hears the low prices. The items were useless and their value only in how they'd break the monotony of their house, but he knew that his girl would get them one way or another. If it was cheap here, he'd rather avoid having to buy it for more at a later store at a later time.
Lady Aigumo smiles politely and tells them tales, stories behind the weavings that they browse. She laughs adoring and compliments them true, telling them how much nicer their homestead will become with these little ornaments. With her charm and their desire, the girl ends up buying three items while the boy ends up paying the bill.
And they left, to return once more.
…
"Hm, the stitching is good at least."
"Indeed, my lady. I have been told that Lady Aigumo here only uses the best threads, the softest of silk to avoid even the most gentle of skin such as yours to be annoyed by the seams. And she takes commissions, so you won't have to wear this tacky cloth."
The old hag looks at the kimono and her bony fingers rub over the seams to feel how soft is really was. She rubbed and rubbed again, and her cloven fingernails almost get stuck in the fragile stitching. Lady Aigumo's lip twitches but she remains silent. Both she and this noblewoman's servant remain silent, waiting for this stuck-up hag to come to a decision.
"Well, of course she'll have to take this on commission. That speaks for itself. You cannot possibly expect me to wear something with such poor dying and a thread count so low. Have Jeoffrey's from the capital send a long bolt of his finest cloth with the flower pedal motive, and Hendries shall take my measurements. This girl can do the seams, but that's it. I wouldn't trust her with anything else, looking at the quality of this commoner's garb."
Lady Aigumo smiles her most customer-friendly smile while the servant sighs warily. As much as Lady Aigumo wasn't contesting this disrespect to all tailors, Jeoffrey's and Hendries wouldn't be so easy. And as usual, it was up to him to make sure it happened as his lady wished, though. With her calm and her politeness, the noblewoman ended up commissioning her, while her servant worked out the details.
Lady Aigumo smiles at the servant, who blushes under her kindness. She whispered her condolances for having to put up with this hag, and hinted that she'd like to see him again. Perhaps he'd be the one to pick up the dress, once it was done?
The lady left, to return nevermore. The cloth arrived a few days later as promised, as did the measurements for the hag's body. The servant never did, however.
The town guard came by a few days later, asking Lady Aigumo for his whereabouts. She smiled and said she didn't know, the servant had never entered her shop a second time, or so she said. She smiled and lied, knowing that none could hear the servant boy's desperate murmurs from the basement.
…
"Oh my, you are absolutely a master artisan!"
"No, no. Such praise is too much for me. I'm not as talented as a master, I'm just lucky to have good materials to work with."
"But then, why would you buy from me? Certainly my weaving isn't even near the quality of your work." The spinster says. "Yours is so fine and so smooth, while mine is rough and bruised."
"Nonsense, my lady, my new friend. Your cloth is without flaws in its stitching. You are truly more gifted than me, spinning this quality from cotton where I make mine from silk." Lady Aigumo says. "My silk is running dry and has to be sold cheap, I'm barely making enough profit for my own upkeep. I need cheaper cloth but to maintain my quality promised, and none other than you can deliver such."
"Oh well, you flatter me so. I'm not sure if I'm truly that amazing, though. But you pay me more than most, and your rates are fair. I shall deliver your orders in the bulk that you ask. I'm glad to make your acquaintance, and for your patronage. I shan't let you down, my Lady, and I'll deliver true. I hope we'll do business many times, and pray for your success."
Lady Aigumo nods and the spinster left. She would return many more times, carrying rolls of cloth. She'd leave the shop every time, even if none would notice if she'd disappear. Her cloth joined the silk, creating a cheaper product to make the silk more dear.
…
"I say I say. This quality is quite outstanding, for its price. And you are honest that those are truly your rates?"
Lady Aigumo nods, and the merchant's eyes sparkle. She could read his thoughts, clearly as day, his expectancy of profit if he were to sell this fine silk anywhere else. He thought of her as a fool, a naïve girl to use as a tool. She sold her wares in such a small town without wealth, where the market was quickly saturated and the prices dropping just as quick. He thought of her as unknowing, unaware of the high rates for her work just outside her little pool of customers.
"So, how many of these products can you sell me, fair maiden? Ten? Twenty?"
"I have a whole box in the back, waiting for more room to be displayed. A hundred pieces or so, from how far I can count."
The merchant's breath eluded him, and there was pure gold in his eyes. But his mind forced his mouth to smile in a devious way, and his merchant ways returned. "Ah, that is quite impressive for a store as small as yours. But surely you know that products become cheaper when you sell them in bulk? Let's say, by 30%?"
"30%? That's surely too little to pay me, kind sir. I have to make a living too, I fear. I can lower the price by 10% at most, but would be making a loss on anything less."
"Just ten percent? That's taking quite the profit out of my earnings, but I understand your situation." The merchant lies. "Could you go to 15% by any chance? And I should probably see this box for myself, so that I may properly gage the wares. I don't accuse you of misleading me, my lady, but what if the items on display are your best works?"
"Of course, kind sir. Please, follow me. I shall show you that all my work is of the high quality that you see here." Lady Aigumo says, and she smiles politely. The merchant follows her into the back room to see this treasure trove of cheap woven silk that he had stumbled upon.
He would never find it, and he would never come back out. A hooded figure that could've been the merchant was later seen, riding his horse and carriage out of town. But he never returned, nor did his business.
…
Lady Aigumo's shop attracted many such customers in the few months that she was around, and she wove many such tales of customers both satisfied and overjoyed. It was not for long before people would start to notice the disappearances, though. Always men, and often ones that wouldn't be missed. But the disappearances piled up, and were soon too many to be coincidences.
Before the people's suspicion turned to Lady Aigumo though, she met a tragic fate. Her house burned down shop and all, a fire that spread quick and hot with all the flammable silk that she kept around. The people found her burned body, charred beyond recognition, in the smoldering ruins the next day. Along with eight others. They knew not who these bodies belonged to, nor did they make the connection with the nine men that had gone missing.
Too many of them were considered missing and too many had left, only two were truly declared abducted or killed. And without any clues and any further disappearances, their cases soon faded from the town's memory. Lady Aigumo's little shop would be remembered fondly, her silken stitching and talismans kept as treasures by the lucky few to have bought from her in time.
-Hobbies of Lady Aigumo: Weaving and spinning.
Give me a kiss. Don't worry, it will only sting a bit.