Shattering of a World: Thorns and Roses (Book #1)

Chapter 4

With her belly full and satisfied, Katrina parted ways with the guys and made her way to the bathhouse to cleanse the stink. It was a few blocks away from the girls' dorms, and it was for the women only, but of course, there was a bathhouse for the boys as well near the boys' dorms. However, the bathhouses a few blocks away from the dorms were only for soldiers, people training as soldiers, and those who worked at the castle. Thankfully though, there was another bathhouse the people of Stathmore could use. The dark brunette opened the oak door with barely any effort to see a lady at a desk writing with her quill. The bathhouse worker seemed too focused on what she was writing down to notice her presence, so Katrina took it upon herself to approach her.

When Katrina got close enough to the desk, her hands settled down on the smooth wood. "Hi," She said politely, getting the lady's attention. "I'd like to occupy a room for a bath."

"Of course," the bathhouse worker kindly replied. She then slid a piece of parchment toward Katrina. "Just sign your name here, and we'll have your bath prepared for you."

The lady got up from her seat and walked away, and as she did, Katrina started to write her name on the parchment that contained every name that came to the bathhouse. Whenever the dark brunette came here, it usually took some time for the workers to prepare her bath since water needed to boil for her and other women. However, Katrina didn't mind since she had time before curfew at the dorms. So she took the nearest seat in the lobby and waited patiently, being the only one there.

The more she waited, the more she drifted off into her thoughts of Tarion's possible family. If Katrina had been a mother herself, she would've done all she could to find her child, but what was strange was no one ever came to look for her friend for those twelve years. It was almost like Tarion might've just fallen out of the sky-that Bueyr, the God of the sky, created and controlled-as a star broken from the starry night, and his family was just waiting for him to return up there. There were many possibilities of what might've become of her friend's family. Whose to say which of them would be true, though?

"Your bath is ready, Miss," the same bathhouse worker spoke from a while ago, snapping Katrina out of her thoughts. She hadn't even realized how much time had passed as she was absorbed in her thoughts, but she supposed her thoughts did her a favor to pass the time. "You'll be in room six."

"Thank you, ma'am," Katrina graciously replied as she got up from her seat.

The dark brunette then strode towards the corridor, passing by each room and a couple of bathhouse workers until she came to her assigned space. As soon as she opened the door, it was like entering a cavern. Everything was smooth and rigid on the rocky walls and floor, with dirty colors of brown, gray, tan, and cream colors perfectly revealed. In the very middle of the room was a rectangular hole filled with fresh-looking water and steam levitating lazily. When it came to baths, it was undoubtedly too cold to wash off outside in the freezing and icy lakes, so the bathhouses were made, especially for those who couldn't afford to make an in-ground tub as the monarchs could.

Katrina stripped her clothes until she was nude, and then she made her way over to a set of stairs that had four steps in the in-ground tub. She brought her big toe out first towards the water, and at first touch, she felt the heat hit her hard, and it felt so good. After that, her foot was utterly underwater, and the dark brunette slowly descended her body down the stairs into the water. It wasn't long until Katrina sat down and relaxed, a sigh of satisfaction escaping her mouth as a small smile formed. Her cold skin warmed up with the water's touch, and the trainee's thoughts went completely blank as the heat coated her.

The room was quite dark, save for the soft glow of orange and yellow flames swaying side to side like they were drunk on the owner of the candles near the in-ground tub, making so many shadows stand out in their light. With both light and shadow pouring onto Katrina, she was about the only thing in the room that stood out the most. The only sounds made in the room were one of the dark brunette's limbs lightly splashing and moving in the water, slightly reverberating off the walls.

Katrina then started to undo her long chocolate brown hair from a messy side braid, untangling each strand until it flowed around her shoulders like a waterfall. She then dunked her whole body into the water to get completely wet, enjoying all the warmth while it lasted. Of course, the cold would come back for her, but that was the least of her concerns.