Scorn and Devotion

Chapter 30

Warnings - Panic attack, forcibly held down, alcohol, being spit at, mentions of injuries

We were brought into a lilac and coral-colored room. Both Timothée and I were shoved behind screens. It was easy enough to get my clothing off of me, they were nearly rags anyway. A billowy, blue, gown was pulled over my head. The dress was so light it felt like it wasn't even there.

I caught my reflection in a mirror as the gown was being buttoned up in the back. I didn't even recognize myself. My pale hair was snarled and knotted so much that it looked like a bush. My face was even paler than normal and gaunt. I could not even see the colors in my eyes; they simply looked like dark holes in my face. A ring of crisscross red lines surrounded my mouth. Black circles like bruises clung to my eyes. Bruises and superficial cuts covered my face and neck. I could see the rope burn across the skin of my chest.

"Let's go," one of the Fae demanded and pushed me along.

I was brought into a large cavern, with gorgeous jewels glinting in every crevice of the walls. Pale purple, dark red, vibrant green, and every other color imaginable glittered on the walls.

In the middle of the room was a large pool with a waterfall, that seemed to come out of the wall itself. The water sparkled powder blue and periwinkle. The smell was heavenly, like the most fragrant garden in existence.

I was so distracted by the sound of the water, and the scent of the cavern, that I didn't notice Timothée had been ushered into the room as well. He wore the same odd blue gown I did.

"Get in," one of the Fae ushered us to the edge of the pool. Stone steps lead down into the purple water. I took a tentative step in, expecting the stone to be slippery, but my feet gripped the rock well as I descended further into the water.

Once I was into my waist, a heady feeling overtook my body. A languid smile slotted itself onto my face. I felt so relaxed. The aches that had knotted themselves into every joint I had, were slowing coming undone in the refreshing water. The pain in my back, from sleeping on the stone floor, was ebbing away. The burning in my abdomen, where I had impaled myself on the Kelpie claw, also seemed to fizzle and die.

I went in deeper, anxious to have it reach my shoulder, where my wound from the first fight with the Fae was still healing. It had scarred, but I still felt an ache deep in my body, and the scar tissue felt painful and tight. All pain washed away as I went deeper and deeper in the fragrant water.

"I'm so warm," I heard Timothée moan happily, and I realized I was as well. That happy buzz all over my body, was the feeling of my freezing skin finally exposed to warmth. I hadn't even realized just how cold I had been until now.

"This is probably a trap," I said almost sleepily.

"I don't think I care," Timothée said, eyes heavy and half-lidded as he looked at me. His gaze was a bit too intense for me to handle and I ducked down under the water. When I came back up my hair felt heav,y like a weighted veil on my head.

I swam over to the waterfall area. I was determined to scrub myself clean. Who knew the next opportunity I would have to bathe?

The warm water smelled like the butterfly bushes from my childhood as I let it wash over my body. Even when some inadvertently got into my mouth, it tasted like the nectar from a honeysuckle.

I rubbed away at the dirt caking my arms and legs. The muck fell off easily, and my skin was as clean, as if it had never been there. I tried desperately to run my fingers through my tumbleweed of hair, but they just got stuck and pulled. It seemed whatever powers this water held, detangling hair wasn't one of them.