NOVEL NEXT New Chapter 17: Hot Bath
'A meal… and a hot bath…' It seemed unreal that I was actually getting the things I told her I cared about… Even if there probably wasn't any relation.
Before I knew it we were in the kitchen, and before I came to terms with how strange everything seemed she was giving me a warm broth that was thin and rich. It wasn't much, but at the very least it calmed my hunger, making my stomach stop trying to eat itself.
"How are you feeling now?"
"Why does that matter?"
She took a deep breath, lifting an eyebrow as she tilted her head slightly to the side.
'No… Seriously… Like, if I say I'm good now don't I still have to finish it?' I took a long slow breath as I closed my eyes and rubbed them again, still feeling achy and heavy. "My stomach doesn't hurt as much…"
"Still can't walk though?" She smiled softly, starting to get used to guessing what I was trying to say… Which only weirded me out more…
"Yea…" I said slowly. 'What's it been like 14 years… And she's only now starting to understand me?' I was starting to get used to her presence again, and the anxiety I felt from her getting close seemed to be fading as well, all of it replaced with a subtle weirded-out feeling.
She picked me up again, walking towards the door. "What do you know about poisons?"
"I know… Uhm… Everything?"
She paused, "Everything…"
I rested my head on her shoulder, relaxing my body and sinking onto her back. "Well, yeah. We have a book in the dojo about poisons and toxins. And I learned about them a lot when we were trying to build up my immunity. Which by the way… I told you that wouldn't help me get sick less… Uh… We arn't… Going to start doing that again are we?"
"So you're knowledge is limited to what was in the book then."
'She just totally ignored that second part…' I shivered from the cold breeze, tensing up slightly, and she groaned in response, likely able to feel me shaking.
"Sorry, it's just… really cold."
"Well, you arn't wrong."
"Am I ever wrong?" I smirked
"You've always been pretty smart, that's what makes it so easy to focus on training, I didn't have to spend much time on your education."
My smirk faded away. Her voice was still monotone and very matter-of-fact, but that didn't detract at all from the compliment I heard coming from her lips.
'What's wrong with her… I'm not actually like dying, am I? I should be fine… healing magic, survived, awake and healthy, no fever… No I'm pretty sure I'm good…' I slightly rolled my head on her shoulder, looking up at her stern face. "Having a good memory and being smart is different…"
"Yeah, but it certainly helps."
She glanced at me just once, a single time and that was all it took for my face to turn beat red, making me slowly grab her shirt and hid, leaning against the back of her neck. 'Something doesn't feel right… Why does she even care?'
My emotions were in constant conflict, preventing me from speaking. I was happy to get a compliment for once… But I was equally angry that it was from her, and more so that I was still happy about it…
"What's wrong? I thought you said I could never win against you?" Her voice had changed if only slightly, taking on a warmer and more childish tone.
I thought back to the argument we had about whether or not I was lucky. 'That must have stuck with her…' "Who said you won?" I groaned softly.
"Well, you didn't respond. That's the same as admitting defeat, you know."
A wave of heat and steam suddenly rushed past me and warmed my whole body. I almost squealed, but instead just let out a heavy relaxed sigh, too exhausted to express my excitement. We had entered the bathhouse.
She set me down in a chair and began to undo the many braids in her long silver and gold hair. 'Is she joining me then? That's a shame…'
I couldn't help but turn around, looking away as she began to undress. The idea of a public bath wasn't one I was very used to. 'It will be less awkward if we keep talking…' "We were never fighting to begin with... I never said I didn't have intelligence, just that it wasn't the same as having a good memory, I could have both."
"Ah, so you're saying we are on the same side then?"
My head began to ache again as my face suddenly relaxed all at once. 'The same side…' Hearing those words chilled me to the bone. I had always been working under the idea that I was the only one on my side. It wasn't so much as everyone was working against me as much as they were working for themselves.
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A hot splash of water sizzled in the air. "Siya?"
"Sorry… Just, just a little lost in thought I guess…"
"Don't tell me you're even too weak to take your own clothes off."
"N-NO! That's! I'll be just fine!" A heavy silence filled the air following my sudden outburst. 'Forget it… Nothing I do will make this less awkward…' Since the dress was my sister's, it was too big. If it had fit properly I probably would have had to try and fight with it, lifting it over my head, but since I was so skinny all I had to do was let the straps on my shoulders fall off and bring my arms up. My legs were a bit shaky, but with the wall for support, it wasn't something I needed, or wanted help with…
As soon as the dress hit the floor, icy cold hands grabbed my waist and picked me up, causing me to inhale sharply. "Mara What are you doing!" I yelled, frozen stiff by her icy touch. Before I knew it I was suddenly submerged in nearly scalding hot water up to my chin. It burned at first, but after just a few seconds I stopped caring about pretty much literally everything, melting into the water.
"Oh, I'm sorry, can you walk now? Were you going to climb the stairs on your own? You really are grown up now aren't you." She jeered, slowly moving back to the other side of the massive tub.
"I don't care enough to come up with a smart comeback to your sarcasm…" I took a deep breath and sighed, turning away again the moment I opened my eyes. "You're right… I was just surprised I guess…" I may have been the same gender as my mother… She may have been my mother… But that didn't make it any less awkward. Not just the bath… But all of it… I'd never go so far as to say she was acting like a real mom… But my older sister almost didn't feel like a stretch… Or… Maybe something else, honestly I didn't bother thinking about it for too long.
None of it managed to take away from how good the hot water felt on my skin though. It surrounded me, soaking into my muscles and ripping the tension and anxiety away. It had been so long that I forgot the actual feeling, and being able to finally experience it again, I was not disappointed.
I clung to the edge with my back turned, finding the rim surprisingly comfy to lean on and feeling as though I would fall asleep at any moment if I wanted to. I didn't though, of course… The nagging feeling of another person so close to me when I was naked didn't exactly make me feel safe…
In the past, when I bathed in the cold spring I was in a secluded cave. It seemed very private. That was what I was used to on Earth as well. Even Mara had seemed to give me some privacy. She would always be within distance enough to pull me out, but she was usually looking the other way, guarding the entrance.
Still, if I was being honest, the fact that I was naked somehow bothered me less than her being in the same state within just a few meters.
"Siya, you're supposed to be relaxing. Stop thinking so much. You need to learn to turn your thoughts off every once in a while." Her words seemed to carry a strange gentleness to them that I had never heard from her before.
'How can she tell from just my back… Most of it should be covered in hair too…' I turned around, slowly sinking deeper into the water. "Yes Ma'am…" I still couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. Though, even with them closed tight I could feel the hot water burn away the fatigue as I submerged myself, dunking my head before clearing my hair out of my face and leaning back against the rim.
'I might as well wash my hair while I'm here, doing something will make it feel less awkward. Although, I'm sure it will just get dirty again… It will probably just make it feel worse having something better to compare it to again.'
"So, how do you feel now then?" She asked.
I began to let even my eyes relax, leaving them half closed and half open as I let my mind wander. "Like I'm melting…" I said softly, soaking in the pleasure of my first hot bath in over 14 years, unable to bring myself to even lift my arms.
"Already?" She let out a small groan
Gentle waves rippled through the tub, rocking my body back and forth. Without warning I suddenly felt Mara's hands around my waist again as she hoisted me up onto the side next to a towel.
"What the, what's wrong!" I yelled, awkwardly grabbing the towel and covering myself as my body met the cool air.
With one exaggerated step, she climbed out. "You said you were melting. I guess I should have known you would need the water to be cooler."
" Ugh! I meant that in a good way, not that it was too hot…"
Hot steam created a thick mist around us, but even that couldn't hide her intimidating figure, standing still, as if unsure what to do next. She was petite… When compared to my brothers at least. Still, her muscles were so toned that she looked inhuman, and her body was covered in even more scars than I could have imagined… Even more than mine…
I looked away again, feeling like I saw something I wasn't supposed to.
"Am I really so hard to look at…" She muttered with another groan before getting back in and walking to the other side again. "You should be more clear with your words if you want others to understand you."
I slowly slid back in myself, sinking down so low I had to breathe through my nose, wanting to hide. 'She's mad again… Come on… How was that my fault? Or… Maybe it was… Is it really worth getting mad over?'.
I managed to get over my bashfulness, but after I started to look at her, I ended up unable to look away.
Despite being a woman, she sat like a man, leaning against the edge of the tub with her arms tracing the top of its frame. Her hands were small, almost like mine, at least relative to her size… But even they had large muscles that protruded out from under her skin.
Her arms were large for her frame, but there was no fat in them at all. Her entire body looked like it was made from wiry steel cables.
"Why are you staring at me? You should know by now that you should just speak up if you have something to say."
I wrapped my arms around myself with a small groan. "Sorry…"
She grabbed a handful of her hair, gently moving it between her fingers as she let out a soft sigh. "Don't be…" Suddenly her voice was calm, and all the annoyance and anger in it was gone again. It wasn't warm like it had been before "Now, let's hear it then."
After finally allowing myself to look at her I began to feel incredibly insecure. Not only was I still recovering, and smaller than normal, but even when I was healthy I wasn't half her size. "Am I really supposed to look like you?" I asked without thinking.
She had the body of a warrior queen. The kind that somehow had an overpowering aura, while still being feminine. That being said, it also seemed impossible for me to achieve.
She squinted at me, looking closer. "Of course not."
'I guess… It was a little bit ridiculous to think I might be able to…' Hearing her say that filled me with a certain sense of relief, but I still couldn't help but feel embarrassed, and a little defeated… "Oh, ok." 'I mean, we have the same genetics… It's really not fair that I'm so much smaller…'
"Your training is to make you capable of surviving. You'll never end up looking like me."
"Oh..." 'Well… Fine, I probably wouldn't want to look like you specifically anyway…' I sighed. Lu already looked similar in build. It just seemed like one more thing that I was somehow left out of because of the hand I was dealt.
"You're too skinny, and you struggle to eat enough to fix that."
"Well, that's true… But I was still gaining weight right?"
She continued as if she hadn't heard me. "Your bones are too thin. And you're too short too."
"I mean, I'm like 14 or something right? I could get taller..." 'I'm not that old yet… Wait, why am I even trying to fight her on this.'
"Your breasts are way too small too."
My head fell to the side as I hugged my knees to my chest. "Was that last one really necessary…" I muttered
Without even realizing it I had started holding my breath so I could sink even deeper, submerging myself up to my eyes. 'It's not just wishful thinking to say I could still grow more is it?'
"You'll probably never look like me, but you don't have to. Focus on building your body in the way that you can best use it. Neither of your brothers looks like your dad."
"That answer is extremely unsatisfying and does nothing to help my new insecurities…"
She stared back blankly.
I just let out another sigh. "I mean… I'll do that…" 'I guess her advice was sound. I can only act on what I have control over, so there's no point in trying to control what I can't…'