The Woven Crown (Completed)

Chapter 17

"Harlow, please show our new guests to their rooms," said the leader of the hivers.

"Sure thing!" Harlow made a mock salute to her father and turned on her heel.

Ryla and Yulia followed Harlow down a twisting tunnel that bore deep into the rock. Sconces were set in the walls every few feet and the ceilings were quite low. That didn't stop Harlow from practically skipping down the hallway. They climbed one ladder, passed a few rooms, and then went down another. They passed door after door and turn-offs to other hallways until Ryla lost count.

Finally Harlow came to a stop in front of two doorways side by side.

"Here they are! The rest of the crew is on this hallway too. Make yourself at home. And if you need anything at all, let me know. I know where they keep the best pillows," she said with a sly wink.

Ryla's room was furnished plainly with a bed and a small washstand. There was a rug spun from different colored grasses on the floor. The patterns in the rug were reflected in the carvings on the bed frame.

Ryla was happy to see a bed again.

"Actually, is there a place I could get clean? It seems the chances for baths are quite rare," said Ryla.

Harlow smiled. "We've got the perfect place! Leave your things here and follow me."

"Won't we need our clean clothes?" asked Yulia.

"No, we have some extra changes of clothes here for visitors. You'll be more comfortable, trust me."

Ryla looked down at her travel worn tunic and breeches. She had to admit, in the humidity of the stone forest, she was becoming uncomfortably hot and sticky.

Harlow darted off down the hallways so that Ryla and Yulia had to move fast to keep up with her. Ryla started to wonder if everywhere in the Hive was a maze like this. Without Harlow as their guide, she could wander around these hallways for days without finding a way out. She couldn't even tell if the hallways they passed through now were the ones from before or new ones. They all looked the same to her.

After a few minutes of walking, they came to a doorway that led outside. Instead of coming out onto a ledge, they stood in a garden walled in on three sides by rock. Even though the plants looked stunted, Ryla could tell that at one time it had been beautiful.

"Father used to say this was the most beautiful garden in all Religo," said Harlow. "But ever since the Anguish, the plants have been dying off. They seem to do better than the rest of the kingdom at least. They're much hardier here."

She led them down a small stone path to a pool in a secluded corner of the garden. Steam rose off the pool in lazy waves. Ryla thought she saw bubbles.

"It's a natural hot spring," said Harlow. She bent down and removed a slate of rock from the ground beside the pool. Beneath it was a store of soaps and towels. She removed three towels and a handful of soaps and replaced the slate over the opening.

Without another word, she bent to untie the leather from her shins, unwrapped her skirt and removed the band of fabric from her chest. Without testing the waters first, she jumped into the steaming water.

Ryla stood in shock. She had often changed in front of Sage and other women servants, but they were always careful to be as modest as possible about it, usually turning from each other. Harlow seemed to have no such qualms.

For once, she wished she could be Yulia, who was not suffering from the same embarrassment.

"Come on in! The water feels amazing!" Harlow crowed as she floated on her back, spitting water into the air.