RISE

6 - A Lovely Surprise

Elvorix started setting up Aaron's phone for him while Aaron put away his purchases. Aaron liked to take his time and make sure everything was put away neatly and organized as much as possible. He was much more comfortable now that he had some of his own things, but he sighed heavily, wishing he had some of his personal items from home. He wondered if his parents would get rid of his stuff or keep it. What about his apartment? Had they reported him missing yet, or staged his death? It must be so hard for them to deal with. It had been less than two days, so Aaron hoped they were taking some time to recover.

Aaron walked back to the sitting area where Elvorix was still setting up Aaron's new phone. He explained to Aaron what features were the same as his other phone and what features were different. Most of the text was defaulted to Hellspeak, but Elvorix was able to have almost everything translated to English, and had transferred all of the data from his old phone to the new one. He explained the contacts he had loaded into the phone; Mother and Father were the Queen and King (Aaron thought he might change those), he had a list of Elvorix's friends including Alice and Azariah, but not Zeck or Ezgalog. Elvorix's contact name was "Love of my Life", which made Aaron laugh, even if he wasn't sold on the idea quite yet.

"There's another hour before dinner," Elvorix said with a nonchalant shrug. "If you'd like, I could show you to the baths . . ."

Aaron froze, suddenly panicking. He thought about suggesting a quick shower (for himself, alone), but the shower in the room had glass walls with nothing to obscure the view. He hadn't had a chance to bathe in a few days, so he did want to get cleaned up before dinner, but it didn't seem like a good time to be doing anything intimate.

Elvorix stared at him expectantly, but Aaron couldn't think of a reason to deny him. "Oh, yes, that would be lovely . . ."

Elvorix's feathers fluffed up and he gave a small, pleased grin. "Perfect. I've had the human slaves adjust the temperature to something comfortable. We can put some salts in it as well, it will help you relax. You seem . . . tense."

"A hot bath sounds like just what I need," Aaron answered, trying to keep the shakiness out of his voice. Elvorix smiled again and stood up, grabbing a linen-lined basket that he put their soaps into and lead him out into the hall.

The bathroom was just down the hall, the only other door except for an open archway that was dark on the other side. Inside, the bathroom was humid and warm, and smelled like rainwater and something sweet. It was illuminated by warm yellow glows around the walls of the room behind deflectors so there were no harsh lights. Live plants were placed strategically around the room. The centerpiece of the room was an enormous bath, cream-colored marble raised above the ground, surrounded by an elegant column at each of the four corners. Steps led up to the edge and then down again into the steaming water. The tub was large enough to comfortably sit at least ten people, or five or six demons with their wings. There was soft background music playing, as well; a gentle melody of notes reminiscent of meditation music. There was also a quiet sound of running water. On one side of the tub, three small fountains continuously added water to the tub, which must be draining at an equal pace somewhere that Aaron couldn't see, perhaps at the bottom of the tub.

"Wow," Aaron breathed, taking in the sight.

"I'm glad you like it," Elvorix said behind him in a soft, seductive voice. "It's my favorite place in all of Hell - well, truthfully, you might hear me say that about a few other places, heh. But, this is where I go when I need . . . anything, really. If I want to be by myself, or I need time to think. Occasionally, if I have a particularly interesting guest . . ."

Elvorix trailed off suggestively, giving Aaron a teasing grin. He set the basket of their soaps on the ledge of the tub and walked to a side of the room where a rack stood with fluffy towels, two robes and matching pairs of slippers, and an assortment of bath additives. Elvorix selected a glossy black jar with a corked lid, and poured the contents into the tub. The scent in the air took on notes of citrus and eucalyptus. Aaron had never felt more relaxed, and he wasn't even in the tub yet. He supposed this wouldn't be a bad place to be with his husband for the first time, after all, even if it was sooner than he'd hoped. Still, at the back of his mind, he wished Elvorix would have a sudden desire to wait a few more days, or weeks.