“Well, sort of. I think I fell asleep and dreamed what you told me.”
He took in a deep breath, opening his mouth to say what I thought weighed on his mind. His eyes held a fear and sadness in them, and I thought for sure he would tell me we made a mistake, and I wasn’t his heart song. But a male guard, dressed with a thick, heavy vest and leather pants ran up from within the mountain. His skin was darker in tone than Marren’s with a little more coppery red. And his hair was shorter, sticking up in points along his head.
“Master Marren, a matter needs your attention.” He glanced at me while he spoke the word “matter” and then back to Marren.
I raised an eyebrow. What are you planning?
His smile suggested more than I would find out at the moment. He gave me a quick kiss on my cheek. “Lead your lady to the steaming pools. Tell Okelo to sit with her.”
Who is Okelo?
My new second in command. I think you two will get along well. Gvgeyu.
I sighed, watching Marren’s back fade into the darkened hall. I shifted my attention to the guard standing off to the side, patiently waiting for me to follow him. I grinned and started stepping after him.
I followed the guard, who made little to no attempts to carry on a casual conversation with me—despite my efforts—to the steaming pools. Marren had made a gross under-estimation of the stench. The powerful sulfur made my stomach clench as we got closer. At one point, I retched into some bushes off to the side of the dirt path. The guard seemed unsure of what to do, judging by how wide his eyes were. I assured him I was fine and continued on the path until we reached a boundary of trees and bushes that gave way to a small ring of grass and flowers just before the pool itself. The waters were murky, making the depth unclear. I didn’t know if I had to wade in the pool or swim.
“My lady, Okelo approaches,” the guard spoke, bringing my attention to him from the pools.
A few feet up the path, came a woman carrying a large sack on her back. I started forming reasons for her not to bathe me. I knew Marren meant well and wanted to pamper me, but I couldn’t take the guilt. I couldn’t do much for him, and he seemed so turned off by my body for some reason. The last thing I needed was for something else to make me feel awful.
The guard excused himself, giving a slight bow to me then stood straight and tall toward Okelo, not moving until she nodded toward him, giving him permission to leave. She was Marren’s new second in command. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to his old one. I didn’t want to be jealous of the fact Okelo was a woman, but I couldn’t help it.
She was beautiful, with full curves and perfect, smooth skin. Not a flaw, not a scar, which made me wary of taking off my clothes. Even her long hair held sheen mine lacked. I wanted to pout and throw a fit. More importantly, I wondered if Marren was trying to make me jealous.
“My Lady Relena. I’m Okelo.” She moved to untie the bag on her back.
“Before you do that, I want to tell you I am perfectly capable of bathing myself.”
She paused and gave a smile that threw me off.
“Of course, my lady,” she said and continued to move the bag to the front of her body.
The bag moved, and I thought a little hand stuck out. Then a grunt, and realized the bag wasn’t full of soap but a bag full of a baby. A beautiful and completely human looking baby.
My eyes shifted between the baby and Okelo several times before I said, “I thought that was a bag of soap.”
She giggled while gazing at her child, then her eyes shifted back to me. “This is Serid. He’s quite the handful. Would you like to hold him?”
“I—uh, I don’t have experience with babies.”
She shrugged. “That’s not a problem. If you don’t mind, I will feed him while you soak.”
“Of course,” I said and undressed then stepped into the pool. I was surprised at how warm the water was and how deep it quickly became. The reeking water went up to my shoulders, and I wasn’t even at the deepest point yet. The odor got stronger, and my stomach clenched, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. I relaxed as my muscles soaked up the warmth and soothed away the aches and stiffness.
I kept finding myself get pulled toward Serid, which was difficult to understand, but my curiosities got the better of me. I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know more about the child.
“Who is the boy’s father?” I admit that was the wrong question to start out with, but I didn’t want to believe he belonged to Marren.
A darkness clouded Okelo’s face. I knew then just how grave of a mistake I had made by asking that question. She seemed to force back tears while staring at her son. She cradled him in her arms and used the thumb on her hand to gently stroke his temple. He laid still, though his eyes focused on his mother.