Mermaids Curse

Bathing Incident

Amara didn't join the rest of the company for lunch that afternoon, for being a Mermaid and having little to no perception of time, she squandered it away in the depths of the hot spring in which she bathed. The young elf, whose name she discovered to be Lindir, had shown her to her room which over-looked the entire valley. The room itself was indeed magnificent, but she had no love for white walls, lavender drapes, and lukewarm marble. What she was drawn towards lay just outside her room upon a small stone overlook, for there sat a round, open spring that bubbled up from within the rocks itself. White pillars stood delicately and silver curtains floated around her as she watched over the valley, indulging in the hot, fresh waters and mild, fragrant air. She wasn't used to water being warm, but goodness could she get used to it. Everything here was so polar-opposite as to how she'd spend her entire live; she'd very rarely ever seen the sun and now here she was, bathing in water she didn't even know could exist and basking in luxurious smells and sounds. Although not everything was necessarily to her taste, she indulged herself nonetheless. It was a staggering improvement to the oozy walls and putrid smells of the caves.

She had found herself a large bar of sweet-smelling soap and a silver hairbrush that had been laid on the vanity in her room and was subsequently pampering herself. She brushed knot after knot out of her hair—leaving it, for once, silky-smooth to the touch—and completely coated herself in the soap, scrubbing harshly at her golden scales to make them gleam. It was disgusting how dirty her tail had become. However she quickly found out that the soap definitely didn't taste as good as it smelt. She ran the soap along her chest, just under her collar bone, feeling the hard bumps of the aqua crystals that lay there in a smooth pattern, partially submerged in her skin. They positively gleamed in sunlight, having spent so many years hidden away under her blouse and constantly covered in slime and grime.

She had just started humming to herself when she heard shouting and cheering a little way along from her on the ground below. She looked around to find the source, peering over the edge of the spring, and although she saw nothing from where she basked, her sharp ears determined where the rowdy noises were coming from. Carefully, and rather inelegantly, she clambered out the water, flicking her foot violently to banish the stubbornly lingering fin which tripped her up. She pulled her white robe tightly around herself for decency and set off to chase the echoing sounds of rough-housing. She slipped and slid across her outlook and hopped down a few stone steps that came off the side. She descended down a narrow, rather rocky path towards the noise for a few minutes before turning a corner that opened up onto another beautiful ledge, which this time overlooked the Elven gardens. She was still staring at her feet in concentration when a voice called out for her.

"Amara, over here!" Kili's voice rang out to her again and she finally looked up. She almost wished she hadn't.

There they were, the rest of the company, still a small way away from her and down another set of steps that led into the gardens. They too were enjoying a good wash, but in one of the large fountains.

Completely nude.

Amara gaped and blushed as Kili quite openly waved at her from his position on Bofur's shoulders. The young Mermaid couldn't seem to find any words as she stared hopelessly at the nude prince before her, eyes wide with bewilderment.

Suddenly Kili was pushed off Bofur's shoulders by his brother and they all cheered. Amara blinked at them all, not entirely sure where to put her gaze but still too curious not to move. She'd never seen anyone naked before, and although she wasn't entirely sure what nudity was all about, she did know it made her feel incredibly awkward and wasn't usually something that people (or Dwaves in this case) paraded around in... or not in.

Although feeling her retinas burn slightly from the sight of Bombur nude, she couldn't help but keep her gaze travelling; mainly out of curiosity of the male anatomy. She knew she shouldn't, but none of the Dwarves seemed to care or notice about her snooping gaze. Until, that is, she landed on Thorin Oakenshield. His gaze was already on her, and there was a look in his eyes that she could not recognise. His bright sapphire eyes bore into her topaz ones, and seemingly growing darker the longer she held his gaze. She gulped, for some reason she felt like a helpless mouse and he a hungry wolf.