From The Ashes

Chapter Four

We burst through the front door of the Henley family's two story cabin. 

"We're here!" Artemis announced to no one in particular. Her parents are supposed to be at the bakery still to prepare for tonight.  As we're rounding the corner to ascend the stairs to Artemis's bedroom, her mom, Dana, pops her head around the corner. 

"Oh, good. Artemis honey, I need you to help me with something in the kitchen. Your dad is freaking out at the shop and I need to get this done before I can get back to him," she said.

 "Mom, we don't have time. I only have a few hours to work some magic and turn this warrior into a princess!" Artemis protested. I rolled my eyes at her and turned to Dana, taking in her appearance.

 Artemis had the same facial features as her mom, but gets her coloring from her dad. Artemis also inherited Dana's curly hair, which she likes to say is a blessing and a curse, but Dana is a shade darker than Artemis's caramel tanned skin, and has dark brown hair and eyes. 

"Its okay Dana, go ahead and take her. I need to shower before she starts anything anyways," I say. 

Artemis pouts at me, but turns to her mom. "Alright, but we need to hurry."

 Dana just laughs and leads her away. "Don't forget to shave...everything!" Artemis yells back to me.

 My cheeks start burning but as I look down at my legs, I realize she's right. Its important to look your best tonight, not like a half shifted she-wolf. I sigh and climb the stairs the rest of the way to her bedroom.

 As I enter, I am enveloped in Artemis's unique scent of Jasmine and spice. Its been a comfort to me ever since we became best friends and the familiarity of it eases some of the tension in my shoulders. I pad over to the closet to grab a spare towel and see two dress bags hanging inside.

 "When the heck did she have time to get these?" I wondered to myself. I didn't stop to ponder long, though. When Artemis was set on something she could be down right brutal if things don't go according to plan. 

I walked across the hallway and into the master bathroom. The walls were a pale beige, with darker brown tile flooring throughout. There was a tile shower encased in glass walls on one side of the room, and a bathtub bigger than my bed on the other. Meeting the two in the middle, was a large double vanity stocked with all kinds of beauty products, lotions, makeup, and Goddess knows what else. I eye the bathtub, wishing for a moment that I could climb in and relax, but if I did, I'd be there all night. 

I sigh in resignation and turn the knobs for the hot water in the shower. While it heats up, I undress and pull my hair out of the sweaty ponytail. I glance and the ends, which are beginning to split, and make a decision.

 I pull out a pair of shears and snip about an inch and a half off my hair. Once I let it loose, I see it now falls closer to the middle of my back than my bottom, but I'm okay with that. The only reason I've kept it so long was because my mother also had long hair. In a way, it felt sort of like a tribute to her. 

I put the shears away and hopped into the stream of water and rinsed the sweat from my body. I combed the tangles from my hair before washing it with a vanilla and sandalwood scented shampoo and conditioner, then got to work on shaving my legs and armpits, and finally ended with scrubbing my body down with an orange and ginger scented body wash.

 It was a plethora of scents, but they seemed to go together nicely to lighten my anxious mood. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped the fluffy, dark grey towel around my dripping frame. I heard the door creak as Artemis entered the room.

"Thank the goddess, you're already done showering. Start drying off and apply this, while I take a quick one", she said as she handed me a body lotion.