These Gilded Seas

Chapter Twenty-One: A Mother's Warning

Madam Amaia forces me into her dark room, guiding my shoulders with both of her hands. We navigate around a bed and through a second door. As we enter the next room, I glance behind me to see an illuminated lump in the center of the bed. Josef must be there. It's a good thing Eero didn't wake him up. The man needs his rest.

And the last thing I needed was Josef storming naked into the hall.

The second room turns out to be a bathing room where a single tub and a warming area sit. There's a bucket filled with water over the kindling already. Madam Amaia lights the tinder quickly and turns back to me with a very dangerous expression.

"Undress," she hisses.

I swallow. Madam Amaia's not someone I want to argue with, but if I take off my uniform, she'll see my blade. I'm surprised Eero didn't feel it when he was carrying me.

When he was carrying me. Oh, Divine. Why did I let him do that?!

"Skatter, if you don't take that filthy dress off, I'm going to tear it off your unwilling limbs." She points a short finger at me in warning. "Now, Ari."

Grimacing, I untie the belt of my dress and loosen it from my shoulders. Once she's sure I'm listening, Madam Amaia turns around to tend the fire, giving me some privacy.

The dress falls to the floor with a breathy thump, taking layers of dirt with it. The front bodice was cut nearly through, but it's nothing the matron can't fix.

"Done," I whisper, covering myself with my hands and trying not to shuffle around on my feet. The bitter cold of the room causes goosebumps to erupt across my bare skin.

As she turns, Madam Amaia's eyes drop instantly to the dagger I've tied to my thigh. It's held on by some fabric that I cut from the skirt I wore when I arrived. Her eyebrows tilt forward in an unreadable expression. She opens her mouth, only to close it an instant later. The words seem to tumble through her mind for a minute, and all I can do is stand and wait patiently for them to settle.

"I assume that's for protection," she finally says. I nod. It's not a lie, really. "What a sad world we live in," she continues with an angry scoff, "that young girls can't even walk around without feeling like they need to carry weapons." She dumps the bucket of water in the tub with a violent flourish, and the steam curls towards the ceiling.

Leave it to Amaia not to ask questions. Why did I think she would when the woman has been nothing but kind and accepting?

Gently, like I'm made of sand and might crumble through her fingers, Madam Amaia inspects my body. Her papery fingertips crazy against my face and neck, lightening when I wince. She frowns and moves down further slowly. Soft clicks spill out of her lips as she finds bruise after bruise. Then, her hands reach my mother's dagger, and the old woman unties it and sets it on a table beside the tub.

Finally, looking a bit less angry, Madam Amaia stands upright and nods. I've apparently passed her inspection. An exhale of relief leaves my lungs.

"I'll need to fetch another bucket of water from the well," she says. "Will you be okay here by yourself?" I nod. "Good. Don't worry about Josef. The man could sleep through a hurricane and not budge." With a tender smile, she pats my cheek and leaves, taking her bucket with her.

I sag against the edge of the tub. I'm not used to this level of caretaking, to this sort of attention. Back in Hygge, the royal family gets treated like any other merfolk. I may have been coddled when I was younger, but no one else has since Mama. Why would they? I'm not a child anymore.

I don't need to be cared for like one.

But Amaia's gentle tendings bring tears to my eyes.

The woman barely knows me, has never asked where I'm from or why I ended up here, has fed me, clothed me, kept me company for nearly a week, and now she's awake in the middle of the night to make sure I'm okay. To personally check all of my wounds and make sure I'm not going to fall apart.