* "Hi everyone!" -The woman said meekly, with everyone looking at her.

The group answered with lukewarm greetings. Even Agnes spoke absentmindedly, as her mind was still occupied elsewhere. A few other servants, tending to their chores started to take notice of the group's gathering, which prompted Léda to usher them inside their tent. The inside of it was roomy, with multiple poles needed to keep up its roof. Its walls were made of green and yellow colored cotton, with a metal, spring bed laying every so often by the side, separated by curtains. A sizable chest stood in each "bedroom" and a large wooden table with chairs dominated the middle of the common area. Yet, it was the trio of wooden tubs and a smaller, separated ceramic one, all steaming invitingly, that captured everyone's attention.

* "Oh, my love, you outdo yourself."

Adrian exclaimed pulling her face in for a kiss before excitedly taking off his clothes and boots on the way to one of the tubs. He was closely followed by Erick who shared his enthusiasm but managed to keep his clothes on before disappearing behind the fabric, then Robert trudged in comfortably while happily exclaiming:

* "Now that's what I call hospitality!"

Léda of course had nothing to do with the facilities, but she was happy to be praised regardless. Harek was about to join when he felt Agnes tug on his sleeve.

* "Could we talk?" -She asked with a melancholic expression.

* "Sure." -Harek pulled out two of the chairs, then gestured to her after sitting down.- "Are you okay?"

Behind them. seeing as there was no need for her anymore Léda made a small bow and left.

* "Yeah, it's just...a lot of people are hurt Harek." -She began to plead.

* "Mhm." -He grunted in agreement, not knowing where she was going with this.- "Would have been a lot worse if not for us."

* "But I could also make it a lot better." -She insisted.

Laughter and cursing interrupted them with the sound of splashing and arguments in the voice of Erick and Adrian. Agnes continued at a quickening pace as if to outrun Hareks thoughts.

* "I could save many of them. I could make more bandages, I wouldn't even have to be there. We could just leave it there in boxes or have one of Fredericks's servants deliver them. I have all the materials I could want from Frederick, plus I'm sure he'd be delighted if I could save maybe even hundreds of his men. Not to mention-" -Harek cut in while holding up a hand.

* "We've been through this before."

* "Yeah but-"

* "There is no 'but'." -He answered, calm and stern.- "Even if you're not the one doing it, the cloth will remain with your mark on it. Someone would recognize it's different from the seal of the priests, words would spread. But you know all this." -There was no anger in his voice, only sad empathy.

Agnes was clenching her robes in frustration hard enough that her fingers were turning white.

* "I feel so useless...I could do so much more. How many families will lose their father because I did nothing?"

Harek knelt down in front of her, towering over her all the same, and held her face in one hand.

* "We must ignore their pain, to prevent ours. Remember?"

* "We did yes...but were stronger now, better. We're not alone anymore we could... We don't have to be cowards anymore."

Harek let go of her and rested on his knee.

* "You're no coward Agnes, only I am." -He sighed.- "Always will be. Too cowardly to risk you for anyone else."

The words of Frederick rang in her head, boiling over her frustration.

* "I'm not your-" -She stopped as her thought caught up with her.- "You can't just decide for me what I can risk." -She said in a muffled complaint.

* "You're right, I can't." -He said, then let go of her and looked toward the others laughing in the baths.- "But you're not the only one you'd be risking."

Images of Harek rapidly bleeding out in delirium from the night before flashed in her mind, grounding her immediately and redirecting her worry. Harek warmly smiled at her, then stood, walked to one of the beds, and undressed from his furs.

She wanted to scream in frustration but didn't want to explain what was wrong to the others so she opted to slap herself around and quietly scream into the hood she pulled over her head. After a moment of silence, Harek, now in his breeches, asked:

* "Better?"

* "Not really." -She said.

* "Nothing a good bath can't fix." -He pointed towards the separate tub.- "Always works for me."

She sighed and then weakly nodded. Her eyes followed Harek walking towards the bath. The surface of his hair-covered body was tattered with scars of different varieties. Some were perfectly healed, some still quite unseemly. For a fleeting moment, she wished she could join him. And why couldn't she? They already...She shook her head in embarrassment. They did, yet he never said anything. Whether it was because he regretted it or didn't even remember it...She wasn't sure which would be worse. One day she would bring it up, but not today, not now. Her cheeks burned, and she felt exhausted, ugly, and generally like a mess. A bath might be exactly what she needs, she thought.

After pulling away the curtain and taking off her damp, less than pleasant-smelling clothes she stepped on the rug on which the tub sat and wished they had something like this for bathing themselves. Having dirty feet right after climbing out of a barrel was one of her most hated parts of being on the road. The still-hot bath relaxed her muscles and she had to stop herself from sinking in too fast.

* "Oh for fuck sake, fine! I'll get out." -Erick's voice jolted her as he called across the curtain.

* "You can stay I don't mind." -Hareks voice boomed.

* "But I do! These tubs might be big, but not that big. Move aside, Adrian!"

* "What, why me?" -Sounds of splashing and cursing followed.

* "You might like cuddling hairy men but it's not for me, and there's no way I'll share water with Roberts's nasty toes."

* "Fine, fine."

After some splashing and shuffling, silence set in, as they each enjoyed the hot bath. Slowly, Agnes reached out for the bar of soap sitting on a plate on a small table next to the tub and began to wash herself. From the neighboring sound, she assumed the others were doing the same.

* "So..." -Adrian's voice could be heard.

Silence, then a slap and painful yelp.

* "Ouch, it was just a question!" -Adrian said.

* "None of your business." -Harek murmured.

* "Ass..." Erick added and Robert chuckled.

Agnes was about to go underwater to start washing her hair but instead kept her ears peaked to listen. After a moment Erick asked:

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

* "So, future wife huh?"

* "Oh yes, keeping on the topic, you would think after sampling enough brothels to fill a book; which reminds me I should probably do, it's invaluable experience after all; they can't show anything new to me. But! And that's a big but. It goes to show you what the hubris of man can do.

* "What the fuck are you on about?" -Harek asked confused.

* "He's talking about-" -Silence, then laughter. He must have gestured something dirty, Agnes thought.- "He gets weirdly theatrical and uses big words when he does that." -Erick added, groaning.

Agnes decided it was the perfect time to submerge. She held her breath and tried to float, clearing her thoughts. She felt bad for leaving Patrik behind so she promised herself she would bring him here after the bath. Shortly after a minute or so, she came up and took a deep breath.

* "You're disgusting." -Erick said.

* "Don't knock it til you try it as all I'm saying." -Adrian answered defensively.

* "Well, you're a matching pair that's for certain." -Harek added.

* "Oh no, this wasn't Léda. We're waiting until marriage." -The future groom answered casually.

That made even Agnes shake her head in a confused whiplash.

* "You're what?" -Came the question in multiple voices.

* "Yeah, she had some bad experiences so she wants do to this properly." -Adrian continued, relaxed as ever.

They all looked at each other in baffled silence, which eventually Erick broke:

* "Wait, but didn't you just...?"

* "Oh no, no that was before I met her."-Adrian answered while washing his armpits.

Harek couldn't resist and asked in a teasing tone:

* "So like a week ago?"

* "Yeah, something like that." -Adrian answered, completely missing, or ignoring his joking tone.

* "But...she's still working?" -Erick continued.

* "Oh, not for long it's just a temporary debt situation. With my share, I can take care of it no problem."

Robert spoke with a genial tone:

* "Good for you kids." -Then with a stern look he added.- "Be careful not to get ripped off."

* "Yeah yeah of course, she's not like that." -He said, his voice accompanied by the sound of water splashing.

* "Sure buddy." -Erick quipped.

Harek groaned then added:

* "I'm with Adrian on this one. The way she looks at him, she loves him, no doubt about it."

* "Thank you!" -Adrian said.- "Strangely insightful of you."

Harek grumbled and shrugged.

"Yeah, it really is." Agnes thought. "Does that mean he knows?" She sank lower into the water and wished she could disappear beneath the surface.

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* "But you, a father?" -Erick said.- "I just don't see it."

Robert and Harek sat in their own tubs, washing themselves with soap and a towel in the water while Erick and Adrian shared the third. Erick's slightly curly black locks were now completely straight, slick with soapy water reaching down to his shoulders, while water occasionally dripped from his signature goatee beard. In contrast, Adrian's otherwise meticulously kept stylish golden hair looked rather unappealing in its straight, thin threads. Harek was in the middle of roughly washing his beard, while Robert comfortably sat back and relaxed, having already washed his balding head, careful not to get his beard too wet.

* "To be honest with you I didn't either." -Adrian said while trying to comb his hair in the water.- "But with them...it just fits. Everything comes so easily. I don't know how to explain it."

* "You don't need to." -Robert murmured.- "That's how it was with my Maria. Ring bless her soul."

* "So you will leave us and settle down somewhere finally?" -Erick asked with a smile and faint hint of sadness in his voice.

* "I would have to eventually, but I planned to stick around for a bit. At least until we get to Bodorka and then we see what happens. Now that we're in...'higher' circles we might get some big payouts coming. If I can get enough to buy a house in one of the cities that would be perfect." -He leaned back and looked up the ceiling absentmindedly.- "We'll figure it out when we get there. Worst case, I thought I might bring them with us, for a bit at least. Léda could help around the camp, you Harek and Agnes are educated, could teach Matthias when you have the time and if you want to."

He trailed off, clearly having thought about this conversation before but hadn't fully worked it out yet.

* "The road is no place for a kid Adrian." -Robert said.

* "I know, but they already are on the road. Near combat even. And before that..." -He shook his head with a dire expression.- "This is better than what they had trust me."

* "Well,-" -Harek yawned and stretched.- "If the others are fine with it, I won't say no."

The other two voiced their agreement as well and Adrian slouched back into the water more relaxed.

* "Thank you."

* "Yeah she seems nice." -Agnes spoke up to join the conversation.

Adrian jerked towards the voice on the opposite side of the curtain, splashing water on Erick.

* "Oh you're here too!" -He said in a surprised voice.

* "...Yeah where did you think I was? I'm trying to relax in my bath but you guys are making it difficult."

* "Sorry." -Came the collective murmur from the other side.

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After even Robert got out, Harek decided it was time for him too. The water was lukewarm at best and he didn't want to catch a cold. He and the others enjoyed the warm silence for some time before gradually leaving silently one by one, broken by the occasional soft snoring from the other side. Wrapping a large towel, which he had to pinch at its corners for it to reach around, he found three sets of clothes on the desk.

A smaller white linen shirt with minimal fringes and embroidery along with folded-up linen breeches and long socks with shining boots, and a much more decorated red white, and green shirt with colorful floral embroidery and motives. along with a deep green and black skirt and slippers with a silvery buckle. They both were Agnes's size by the look of them, and it didn't take much for Harek to figure out the reason for sending two.

* "Nice of him to give her a choice I suppose..." -He grumbled, and for a moment wished she'd pick the prettier one.

Next to it was a simple large white linen shirt with a new clean pair of breeches and socks, along with a pair of shining black military boots. As he lifted his new clothes underneath he found a beige-colored waistcoat with glossy and matte lines covering it vertically, and a long dark green coat with golden decorations at its edges and bottom.

* "Oh...no choice for me huh?" -He said quietly, then with a sigh dressed up.

It fit well, surprisingly well. It was rare he could find a piece of clothing that was comfortable without a tailor or Agnes modifying it. He didn't have a mirror to check, but he imagined he must look good. It felt nice.

He grabbed Agnese's clothes and headed towards her bathroom. He stopped before the curtain and looked around to make sure no one could see inside if he moved the fabric, then stepped inside to find Agnes still blissfully sleeping with her arms to the side of the tub, leaning back.

He placed her clothes next to her towel on the table and then checked the water temperature. It was still quite warm. Must be because of the ceramic, he thought, then before he left, his eyes lingered on her naked body a moment longer than he intended. He hated himself for it.

A night filled with blood and regret and one with guilt and passion flashed in his mind.

* "I'm sorry." -He whispered to a girl who couldn't hear it and to his conscience, who wouldn't.