“We can’t have a lady of your stature walking around in, well, rags fit for a gutter rat. These are my servants, they will tend to your needs. Aisling, come with me please; your ribs need medical attention. Marie, if you would be so kind to go with the ladies, and they’ll take good care of you,” Noelle waved her hand ordering her servants to attend to Marie.
Noelle and Aisling disappeared into the vast castle walls and before Aisling knew what had happened, she was undressed and up to her shoulders bathing at the base of a waterfall! It was refreshing and oddly filled with warm water.
The bath looked to be formed from large rocks, maybe it was dug or crafted from the rocks at the base of the waterfall itself, but she couldn’t understand how the water was heated to perfection. Nevertheless, the water was so relaxing that Aisling decided to just embrace the only act of real kindness she had known since coming to Eiru. So she closed her eyes and begun to subside and let the water wash away all the tension, anxiety and fear that had begun to course through her; it had almost consumed her very essence, but the warm bath could be just what she needed to wash it all away if even for a short time. She was being cleansed of all her worries, so at ease was she.
She had not noticed Noelle had joined her in the waterfall bath, that was until Aisling felt a touch that softened the pain from her broken ribs and a woman’s voice telling her, “Try to relax.” Noelle’s voice was honeyed and smooth like it was made from the finest champagne. Aisling didn’t even open her eyes; she was simply enjoying it all too much.
“I’m going to apply a treatment called Si needles; they boost your body’s natural ability to heal itself,” Noelle told Aisling gently.
What Aisling did not know was the water she soaked in had a blend of chemicals made from the rarest herbs and rocks in Eiru; it too was also designed to speed up the body’s natural recovery.
Aisling could muster enough sense to mutter through her extreme relaxation to ask, “How do you know who we are?”
Noelle swished around the water to sit behind Aisling, resting her Si needles on the edge of the bath. Aisling asked her question just before the pinch of the first Si needle was inserted into her lower back.
“All of Eiru knows who you are, as for your friend. Well, I’ve been listening to you; hacking your communication link, it wasn’t hard. I saw you when you first got to Eiru. I’ve been tracking you ever since, but you’ve proven to be very illusive,” explained Noelle.
“This is amazing,” Aisling groaned with delight as the pain and tension began to slowly evaporate.
By now, Noelle had inserted over a dozen Si needles into Aisling’s back.
“Great, it’s mainly used to treat our military after war,” Noelle replied, smirking as she slowly twisted out all the needles one by one and just like that, Aisling’s pain was completely gone!
Now that the pain was gone, it suddenly dawned on Aisling. She was bathing with a strange woman! She wasn’t sure of how to act; she wasn’t sure if she should stay in the bath or not, she was so unsure of how she should act or what she should do; her body became rigged and she was unable to speak or move. This made Noelle giggle to herself.
“Do you think I’m going to jump on you or something?” Noelle joked with a hearty belly laugh.
Aisling wasn’t sure how to respond, so she just remained silent, trying to think of what to do. Noelle chuckled to herself and carried on with the after treatment of the Si needles.
“You’re quite beautiful, but you’re not irresistible,” Noelle told Aisling, poking fun at Aisling to which Aisling suddenly took offence and forgot her discomfort.
She sharply stood up towering over Noelle asking, “What the hell does that mean?”
She barked in reply, “As I said, you’re quite beautiful, but me, now you see, I’m irresistible and I know it.”
Noelle snickered; Aisling now realised Noelle was deliberately riling her up and begun to see the funny side of it.
“You do have great tats though,” Noelle drawled as she put the Si needles back into their cases.
“Say what now?” Aisling blurted out loudly, covering her breasts.
“Your ink, your tattoos,” Noelle answered laughing boldly.
“You don’t have to be uneasy around me. Please just relax and let the blend do its work; people from the mainland are so repressed,” Noelle pushed and closed the Si needles case off the bath onto the ground before she too lay back and relaxed in the warm water. It wasn’t long until they both got to talking about other things including Castle Grey, vampires, Project Mortal and evil of the prince of all lycanthropes.
Marie was brought to a separate bathing room, also a waterfall style bath where more of Noelle’s servants were waiting for her. They allowed her privacy by turning their backs while Marie undressed folding her pants neatly and dropping them to her right next to her boots. On top of the pile, she dropped her brightly coloured bra and panties then carefully placed her rifle on the edge of the bath before quickly hiding her nudity as she sprang into the water, sinking into the comfort of her bath. She made sure to keep her weapon within arm’s reach; opening one eye once in a while to look at her weapon. This was the perfect time for her to try and wrap her head around what had happened to them thus far on their current mission and just how she and Aisling would get back home, more importantly how they’d get out of Eiru alive and can this Princess Noelle be trusted?
