“Give us just a few minutes to prepare some hot baths,” Kaylar said warmly. “Please wait here for a few moments.”
They watched him move deliberately away. Genya breathed out slowly. “Well, it is at least warm and civilized here,” she said softly.
Rosalea nodded. Then there was a clunking of a loud door. A young man entered, dragging along with him a very disgruntled Yelena who had clearly been crying. He let her go as he got close, letting her hang back.
“Hello!” he said in big bold tones, grinning at her. “Rosalea! You’re back!” He strode up to her. “I am Briar! I heard you forgot.”
Rosalea felt heat rushing to her cheeks right away as he stuck his hand out. She saw the three x’s on the space between his pointer finger and his index finger, and she looked back to his face. He looked so bright and carefree, she could not really imagine him being a criminal. She put her hand out to shake his, even though that was not the correct greeting between them.
He did not shake her hand though once he took her fingers within his; he just held it for a moment, lifting it up. For a moment, his face was hardened, his chin tilted up a little, a savageness in his eyes. “I am sorry that you got hurt,” he said. “I wish I’d been there.” The ice in his eyes made her believe the Xs on his hand made sense after all.
He took a breath, and softened like the bitter moment had not happened. “And now I know actually you are ex-Princess Rosalea! And this is your kid?” he looked down at the baby she was holding. Lio reached out and tried to grab him by the shirt, but she missed. He offered her his finger, which she promptly tried to put into her mouth, but he wriggled it and resisted.
“Yes, this is Lio.”
“She is cuter ’n a button,” he declared and grinned at her. “I am really glad you’re back. Yelena says you cannot remember anything, and she’s feeling a little bad. I’m totally callin’ dibs on bein’ your teacher again. And I was thinking,” he drawled out the hard “e” sound in the word as he took her hand and guided her to where Yelena was standing awkwardly. “That my dearest friend Yelena could be your terra teacher so she can make up for bein’ a little… rigid.” Rosalea could see on Yelena’s face that she wanted to die. She started to side-step to escape, but let go of Rosalea’s hand so he could catch her about both shoulders. “Come on, no escaping! You were just acting your element.”
That significantly and visibly sassed the girl. “I am not rigid!” she declared instantly.
Briar chuckled. “Well, I guess not. You let me drag you back here again,” he sassed, bringing even more color to Yelena’s face. He turned to Rosalea, “I was teaching ya plant vitae magic. Ya know, before. You were nice, so I know you ‘n’ I will like each other again in no time. I’m full o’ charm.”
Yelena huffed. “Yes, right, full of it. Are you done flirting? We should really take Rosalea to her room so she can have a bath and some rest.”
The young man blushed. “What? I were not flirtin’,” he complained as he sidled up to her, his more polished speech disintegrating into the roughest approximation of language Rosalea had ever heard. “I jis assumed that ya already knew ya were the only one for me!”
Rosalea could not help but smile. The exuberant energy Briar brought into the room made her feel very invited and wanted, and it was nice to see Yelena react to his teases. “I would like both a terra and a vitae teacher,” she offered. “When things settle a little, I have a lot I need to learn and remember.”
Yelena looked away, but she nodded. “I… am sorry for how I acted before.”
Rosalea thought for a moment about how she wanted to answer. “I… think the Ieshans can… really hurt people, when they think they need to. I… cannot remember if I have done anything to you, but even if I have, I think I would like it if we could be friends?”
The look of gratitude that she got from Yelena made her feel warm through her whole being. For once, she had found the right thing to say to help someone feel better. Briar nudged her, “See? What did I tell you? Rosalea is the nicest.”
“Oh, shush.” She pointed away from them. “Rosalea and Genya, we should go this way. There will be rooms next to each other you can both use. I am sure you want hot baths and a chance to rest”
They followed Yelena into a hall that was big enough to let the dragon pass through. Everything here felt over tall and grand because everything was sized to accommodate a rather big dragon moving around in it.
There were suites of rooms together. Kaylar was already there, “This way, Rosalea. Rhainnon and Oralee will help you. Hello, Yelena, feeling better?” When Yelena nodded, he smiled. “Good, can you help Genya? I am giving her the room next to Rosalea. Briar, we need to move some of Mero’s things so Rhainnon can take that room.”
Genya spoke up softly, “I can just stay with Rosalea. It would feel better that way and be less trouble.”
Kaylar smiled at her. “No, please, you are no trouble.”
“There’s a hot bath,” Yelena encouraged with her best smile, though it was obvious she was a little nervous about having to face Genya after her outburst.
I wonder if these people know how often Lio wakes up screaming? They might want rooms further away. Still, it felt nice that people wanted to be near her. She hoped she did not end up disappointing any of them if she was different than how she used to be.
Rosalea entered the room that had been set aside for her. Rhainnon was there, and she approached with a soft smile. “So, I can take the little one for a while,” she said, holding her arms out. “Then you can have a bath in peace for a little while. Can she have soft foods? Apple sauce?”
“She has not had it yet, but if she likes it,” Genya put in, sensing Rosalea was unsure. “She can have anything that is mashed finely enough, especially if it is a single food so it does not upset her tummy.”
Rosalea was very hesitant to hand Lio over, but a hot bath sounded good, and she believed in the good will of those around her. She slowly lifted Lio away from her body, and let her little one inspect Rhainnon. Rhainnon made cute noises, and the baby reached out for her fingers and made cute burbling noises right back. After a moment of introducing herself, Lio let her pick her up. After a little while longer, Lio let Rhainnon carry her out of sight of Rosalea.
“I will return in a little while,” the dragon said. “I will bring some foods I know you enjoyed, and I hope that both of you have plenty to eat.” Rosalea moved into the room, bowing slightly to the maid who greeted her. She sat on the corner of one of the beds and stripped her wet boots off, which stuck horribly around the ankles as she struggled out of them.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Let me help you with the back of your dress,” Oralee said once Rosalea had bare feet. “What is your liana’s name? Will they let me take them for a bath?”
“Fen,” Rosalea answered. Then, based on Fen’s opinion, “She says she would like very much to get clean again herself.”
“I am glad to hear it,” Oralee said as she pulled away the muddy dress and held it away from herself like it was trash.
The warm water was extremely soothing as Rosalea climbed into the tub. It smelled floral, and it felt like warm silk against her skin from the herbs that were in it. I am grateful we did not have to keep wandering to look for this castle. I hope that they understand Ieshans are looking for me, and I hope it does not make it unsafe here.
***
As Kaylar went to the kitchen area to find Rhainnon, he heard her thinking, Did the Ieshans just… make her into someone else? When he came within view of her, the overwhelmed, wide-open eyes she gave him made his heart ache.
He did not know what to say to her yet. “How are you doing?” he asked neutrally.
“Feeling… not that prepared for what just happened. I told myself a lot not to expect, you know, nothing bad. But… “ she gratefully put her hand down on the chirping big cat that followed her everywhere she went.
She did brighten a little as Lio grabbed onto the small spoon with applesauce and enthusiastically tried to put it in her mouth. Her little blue eyes were bright, and it seemed like she was looking all about herself as if that would help her understand where she was. Kaylar laid down, making sure he was not obscuring any walkways, and they were silent for a little while. “She’s a cute baby,” Rhainnon said to break it.
“Yes,” Kaylar agreed. “She’s surprisingly friendly and adjusted,” he lowered his head slowly to let the little one inspect him. She did so without any sign of fear, though plenty of infants had cried at first sight of something as big and frightening as a dragon. He had known of children that screamed and ran in terror from their fathers when big beards were shaved off, but some were curious and quiet. Lio seemed to be of the second variety.
“I have never imagined what it would be like to be utterly erased from someone’s life,” Rhainnon said abruptly. “She didn’t recognize me at all. She didn’t hug me back, and she had to think about whether she trusted me with her baby.”
“A lot happened to her,” Kaylar said as he tried to think of a way to mollify the upset feelings that Rhainnon had about the oddness of the encounter.
“We were the kind of good friends that she was willing to risk encountering a dragon. She taught me my magic basics, and she helped me not be afraid to have Uryan magic in a way my father just never could. It’s so weird that I’m a stranger to her. Suddenly, suddenly everything makes perfect sense to me. You know, how she wouldn’t talk about things; how she was always withdrawn with her own life. She lied to me, you know. She lied to everyone, trying to put a past behind her that wouldn’t let her go. It just… just reached out and grabbed her right out of the forest and then made her into someone else.”
He could tell where she was going after Yelena’s outburst. He decided to put a stop to that, “You know, Rosalea is not the only Ieshan to be a young mother, but she is the only one that you know with a baby that survived.”
Rhainnon frowned as she comprehended that. Then she bowed her head, her forehead against the top of Lio’s head for a moment. “Why… are they like this?”
“They think the Gods want it.”
“Then Gods are cruel,” she said in such a flat tone that Lio made a worried noise that obligated several cute noises to reassure her.
“Sometimes, they can be. When you weigh the needs of the many against the few, sometimes the few lose. Still, I cannot be sure that they are correct in their beliefs about what Gods want.”
“And neither you nor Yelena can do anything to help her?”
“Of course we will try, but I suspect a large number of people were required to do the spell that extensively thorough, and it has probably reinforced practically every day since they cast it.” Rhainnon gripped the spoon she was using with Lio hard enough that it quivered in her fingers. “You became friends with her once. She is still basically herself, you will be able to do it again.” When she looked a little cross, and he felt her thinking doubtful things about it, he clarified. “After all, Yelena was certainly out of line trying to ambush her like that, but she still saw through the problems and tried to do the one thing that would make everyone feel better.”
Rhainnon sighed. “Having her apologize like that made me so angry. But. When they walked up, she seemed like she wanted to be friends. So.”
“It works sometimes. Do you think… if Yelena apologizes, you can give her some grace?”
Rhainnon breathed out slowly. “I have a feeling that if I say no, I am going to hear a horrible story about a lost baby and how Yelena is a little insane now.”
Kaylar did not refute it.
“You make me feel guilty about arguing with her all this time.”
“I think there is balance. A bad thing happening to you does not exclude you from being difficult to others.” Kaylar reassured her.
Rhainnon breathed out slowly, but then she nodded. “I… can imagine it, a little. That I still see Rosalea.” She wiped applesauce away from Lio’s cheek with her finger. “They are both hurt and a little sick. After their bath, I want to try to help them both… All that suffering, and if she could have just known to call for you, we could have gone to get her.”
Kaylar empathized as he pressed his nose to her side gently. “I know. We should try to focus on what we have. I did not have to go to war to get her, which is pretty shocking. She has a cute little one inclined to warm up to you and like you. Even though she had to think about it, she still trusted you with Lio. She treated Yelena with kindness even though she did not know her or why Yelena would be wound up. These were traits she had before. She is also stubborn; she might find her way back to herself.”
Rhainnon smiled a little, and then took a deep breath in and sighed. “That’s fair. I… I will try to think of it as behind me somehow, and yet part of the situation still, somehow. Different, but not gone. And… Yelena… I will try to be more patient with Yelena. You like her a lot; she can’t be that bad, no matter how arrogant she obviously is.”
“I appreciate that,” Kaylar thrummed.
***
The water had burned with warmth against the coldest parts of her skin, especially on the numbness in her toes. Then, it was soothing. The heat penetrated her stiff muscles and relaxed them. Rosalea sank down in the water, bracing her feet off the far side of the tub, and she closed her eyes. I really am exhausted.
She didn’t mean to fall asleep, but she dozed.
There was fire. Some shadow was within the fire, reaching out to her, and she did not know if she wanted to reach out and take the hand or flee from it as fast as she could.
The dream cut over to something else, a memory of a lot of pain, and for a moment, she thought she was remembering or dreaming about having Lio, but a moment later, she realized that it was all radiating from her hand.
She jerked awake. Yelena was moving around the room. “I brought your food and Genya’s here. She’s been anxious to come check on you. You look tired.”
Rosalea nodded. The smell of the fresh bread was enticing. “I am ready to be out of the tub. Where did Rhainnon go with Lio?”
“I will go get her. You are about to get out? Oralee has left you some clothes here,” she pointed to a rack near the tub.
“Thank you.” She waited until Yelena left to get out of the water, and she was fumbling with the side buttons when Genya entered. The woman looked brighter in almost every way.
“Here, let me get that for ya,” she said, helping to clasp them. Rosalea nodded gratefully and looked down at her left hand. “Are your hands still hurting ya?”
“No, but I fell asleep and had a dream about it.”
Genya gathered her hair in her hands, straightening the wet strands against Rosalea’s back. “It used ta be so long. Ya must have cut it,” she said, resting her fingers against Rosalea’s shoulders. Rosalea looked back at her. “Ya don’t remember, I see.” Genya sighed and pulled Rosalea close as she could. “The dreams are good. Ya obviously had something happen ta your hand. If ya can start dreaming about it, it can come back to ya.”
Rosalea breathed out slowly, leaning against the woman a little, rubbing her left finger tips against the hard scar against her palm. She felt Genya tremble. You loved me like I love Lio. I want to remember.
So many people here thought and felt things about her that all seemed so strong.
But Rosalea did not feel anything about any of them except relief that she seemed to be wanted. It felt awkward to be loved by Genya when she could not return the feeling.