The Choosing (26 page)

Without a word the group headed down between the two rows of stalls.  Ashton walked straight into the first stall and closed the door behind him.  Garret walked half way down the same row and disappeared into a stall of his own.  Sara led Seth by the hand to the back of the room.  She led him to the next to last stall in the room and kissed him gently before allowing him to enter the stall.  Watching him close the door behind him, she stepped into the stall directly next to his, the last stall in the room.  Sara waited until she heard Seth step into the water.  Knowing he was undressed and relaxing, she too quickly removed her clothes.  The walls between the stalls were made of the same semitransparent glass as the doors, and being such you could see through them a bit, kind of like looking at a colored silhouette.  It was a view lacking detail, thus granting privacy into each stall.  Sara walked to the wall she shared with Seth.  Assuming the closer she got to the wall the more definition he would be able to see through the glass.  She tapped the wall lightly with her fingertips and heard his bath water slosh around.  Assured she had his attention, she stepped as near to the glass she could without actually touching it and turned around painfully slow allowing him a less than perfect view of every angle of her naked body.  Hearing Seth sigh loudly Sara giggled and turning, climbed into her tub.

Seth looked around the small stall.  The tub was a large copper caldron with a tube protruding through the top lip and out through the back wall.  Another tube came out of the bottom of the tub and had a knob on it to close or open it.  Above the tub as promised one of the copper tubes climbed down the wall, and turning at a right angle ended abruptly just above the tub with another of the knobs.  In the back corner of the little stall was a series of shelves easily within reach of the tub.  Upon the shelves rested several bowls with salves and creams, small bars of soaps, bottles of differently scented perfumes, and a pile each of washing cloths and towels.  Plucking both a bar of the soap and a washing cloth he rested them on the side of the tub.  Seth then quickly undressed and stepped into the tub.  As his body displaced the water it flowed quickly out of the upper tube through the wall preventing even a drop to overflow onto the floor.  Seth was thinking to himself about how great an idea it was when he heard a tapping from behind him.  Turning in his tub he could see Sara’s fingertips resting on the pain of glass that separated them.  Seth watched as Sara stepped up to the glass.  He could see her, though the image was clouded and dull, and lacked detail and definition.  Without realizing he had done it Seth inhaled sharply and held his breath.  Sara stood naked before him, and though the vision lacked intimate detail, enough clarity remained to keep his attention fixed.  She turned then, ever so slowly allowing him to see her fully exposed making up with his imagination the details he could not decipher through the glass.  Hers was a body of perfection.  Seth tried to breath and found he still could not as she paused once again this time facing away from him.  He watched in silent reverence as she bent slightly at the waist to give him a better view of her retreating form.  However instead of retreating she again stood erect and continued her painfully slow show.  Seth could not help himself.  He watched trying to take in every bit of her, unable to look away.  As she finally finished her blood stirring game and stepped away from the glass, Seth’s ability to breathe returned once again and he exhaled loudly.  This was responded to by a giggle from the other side of the glass.  The melodic sound his angel made when she purposely pushed his limits.  Seth smiled to himself aware of her little game.  She enjoyed his torture, and he could easily admit to himself he enjoyed it just as much.  Pulling the cloth and soap from the edge of the tub, Seth began to wash away the dirt and grime of the road.

Sara enjoyed teasing Seth.  She enjoyed enticing him with her body.  It wasn’t that she was over confident about her body, not even that she found herself attractive.  She imagined herself the plain picture of the girl next door.  She did not think herself anything special, but Seth seemed to be intrigued by her.  If he thought well enough of her body to pay it such close attention, then she saw no reason not to give him something to look at.  She knew that he wanted to wait, wanted to do the right thing by her.  Seth was very old fashioned, and she adored that about him.  Though his body showed no signs of having the same intentions his mind had, Seth had been able to refuse her advances each time she had applied herself.  She knew all too well how to arouse his body, she had been raised in a brothel after all, and Seth was a man much like every other man.  Even so, though his body might scream for hers, he had yet to step over that line, and said he would not do so until they were joined.  So it would be that though Sara did not have the same old fashioned opinions, she would not expect Seth to give in to what she wanted.  However, if he planned to make her wait, she would do her best to make him think twice about it.  Smiling to herself, thinking about how she might tease him the next four nights that they would be sharing a bed, she began to wash herself.

As promised, just a few moments after Garret had gotten in the tub small hands reached under the stall door and collected his soiled and dirty clothes.  He washed his hair and body quickly but thoroughly and laid back in the tub letting his head fall back.  The water was relaxing and he eased every muscle in his body allowing the warmth to sooth him.  Fully relaxed Garret closed his eyes allowing his mind to wander.  It did not wander long, and soon Garret drifted into half sleep.

Again Garret stood among an army on a battlefield.  This time he stood watching the black masses of the enemy swarm towards him.  The enemy was upon him in minutes and he hefted his sword high and thrust it forward giving the signal to attack.  “For Valdadore!”  The battle cry echoed across the plains as steel met steel.  The nearest of his enemies sprinted at him in a mass.  All of them looked otherworldly with blackened armor and weapons gleaming wetly with blood.  Their teeth snapped as they ran at him as if they were some breed of savage animals starved into attacking wildly.  Onward his enemy came and Garret let his head roll back on his neck.  Whispering something into the sky, his words lost in the sounds of battle, Garret’s eyes gleamed with energy and his body exploded.

Garret sat upright with a gasp.  Shaking his head to clear it he looked around unsure of where he was.  Absorbing his surroundings he recalled the memories temporarily displaced by the dream.  Looking down he saw his clothes folded in a neat pile below the door.  Realizing he must have slept for longer than he originally thought he had, he quickly got out of the tub and dried himself.  Dressing quickly Garret stepped out of his stall.

Ashton watched Garret come out of his stall and smiled to him in greeting.  Ashton too was refreshed and redressed in his now clean clothes.  Each walking halfway the distance between them they spoke quietly about the giant copper tear hanging in the center of the room.

Sara, her body and hair already washed, sat on the edge of her tub spreading one of the available salves over the entire surfaces of her legs and another more sensitive region of her body.  Allowing the salve to sit until it began to burn, she then quickly wiped it away with her damp washing cloth, wiping the hair away with the salve.  Feeling her legs to be sure the hair had been eradicated, and assured it was, she then quickly rubbed a cream lotion over her legs to make the skin soft.  Sara then dismounted the tub and toweled her hair dry and redressed.  Finished dressing, Sara brushed the tangles from her hair with a brush from the shelves in her stall and pulling it over her shoulder she braided it loosely and tied it at the end with the leather strap.  Feeling she had made herself as pretty as she could for Seth she stepped out of her stall just as he did.

Seth had washed up quickly, and to be sure he smelled clean for Sara he washed his body again, three more times in fact.  Seth had no idea what all the creams and salves were on the shelves, but he was able to find a small sharp blade and a mirror which he used to scrape away the prickly facial hair that had sprouted across his face in a little over a week since he had left home.  Only managing to cut himself twice he was impressed with himself.  Once the bleeding stopped Seth washed the blood away, and quickly dried and got redressed.  His clothes smelled exceptionally clean, and he stepped out of his stall feeling terrific.

Sara and Seth smiled at each other as they both allowed their stalls to close behind them.  Taking Seth’s hand with one of hers, Sara reached up with the other to feel his smooth face with her fingertips.

“Smooth….I like it.” Sara said with a grin and a giggle.

They walked hand in hand to meet the others and they all decided to find Sasha so they could take their packs and equipment to their rooms.  Exiting the bathing room they walked back down the long corridor towards the dining hall.  Rounding the corner into the dining hall they could hear voices around the corner.  The voices came from the very counter where they had met Sasha earlier, and she was there again speaking to a man that was apparently another customer.  They waited patiently for the conversation to end, and when it did the man handed Sasha some coins and turned and left the inn.  Sara motioned for the boys to remain where they were, and releasing Seth’s hand she walked to the counter and greeted Sasha.  The three boys were still some distance from the counter and so were unable to hear the women’s dainty conversation but they watched as Sara spoke pausing periodically as Sasha responded with a nod.

Sara left the boys in the dining hall hoping they would be far enough away to remain out of range to hear what she was going to talk to Sasha about.  She was a bit embarrassed as it was just asking a stranger what it was she planned to ask, she did not want the added embarrassment that would come if the boys could hear her.  Walking towards Sasha Sara greeted her and came to stand mere inches away from the woman.

“Hello Sasha.”  Sara greeted.

“Hello again M’lady.”  Sasha replied

“It’s Sara.  Sorry I didn’t introduce myself properly earlier.”  Sara said unused to the title Sasha had labeled her with.

Sasha nodded in understanding.

“You said you could send someone to the market for us if we needed?”  Sara asked already knowing the answer to her question.

Sasha nodded in response.

“I was wondering if you might have someone pick up something for me?”  Sara asked in a voice barely over a whisper, and continued without waiting for a response.  “I have nothing to sleep in, and I plan to share a bed tonight.”

Again Sasha nodded in understanding.

“I would like to get something a bit provocative, yet not too revealing if that is possible.”  Sara said still barely above a whisper and unable to meet Sasha’s eyes as she said it.

“That can be arranged, would you like something for your man as well?”  Sasha asked mimicking Sara’s muted tone.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’m not sure if he has anything.”  Sara stated.  “Though I wouldn’t mind if he didn’t.”  She added as an afterthought smiling as she said it.

“Consider it done.”  Sasha stated with an assuring tone.  “Would you care to see your rooms now?”

This time it was Sara who nodded in response, and the two of them turned and walked towards the boys who waited patiently.  As Sasha passed the boys she asked them to follow, and before Seth would comply he made sure Sara’s hand was firmly in his.

Sasha fist led them to the room Sara and Seth would be sharing, and opening the door for the young couple, allowed them to enter and closed the door behind them.  She then continued to lead Garret and Ashton to the room they would share.

Seth and Sara walked through the door and stepped directly into a dream.  The room was beyond comprehension.  The floors here were covered from corner to corner with an amazingly soft rug.  The room had various luxurious pieces of furniture throughout its expanse, but both of them instinctively looked towards the bed.  The bed was an enormous mass of satin and stained wood.  Each corner of the bed was a massive post that rose from the floor to nearly touch the ceiling.  The footboard of the bed was carved in a scene depicting nude silhouettes of people dancing in couples, their bodies entwined together in various vertical positions.  The headboard was a large frame of stained and polished wood surrounding a large oval piece of some sort of metal polished to a mirror finish reflecting the bed back upon itself.  From the tops of the four posts was stretched a white satin canopy that fell in tendrils around the entire expanse of the bed partially hiding the mattress and bedding from view.  Pulling back the satin tendrils revealed pillows made from the softest down feathers piled high across the head of the bed.  The blankets and sheets were all satin and silk wrapped around an overstuffed down mattress.  The bed somewhat resembled a cloud and Sara could hardly wait to see if it was as soft as it looked but restrained herself.  Looking around the rest of the room revealed a large writing desk completely stocked with various types of parchment and ink along with small blocks of colored wax.  Also opposite the bed there were several overstuffed upholstered chairs.  To either side of the bed was a small stand each containing several candles and a small vase of flowers.  In one corner on the same wall as the bed stood a small woven partition where one could undress or dress unseen and in the corner opposite of that there was a small room built into the larger one with a single door upon it.  Opening the door revealed a small private privy.  Most inns had a privy room the tenants would share, but this inn spared no expense.  Seth and Sara both dropped their packs at the foot of the bed and sat on its edge sinking deeply into the mattress.  They were there many long moments leaning into one another, just enjoying each other’s company.