Chapter 23 - Cold Baths

Evanna walked back up the stairs to her room with the newly replaced water in the jug. Opening the door, she found Cilv sprawled out on the bed lazily, stretching like a cat.

"What happened to you?" She smirked at Evanna's dishevelled appearance.

Ignoring her question, she walked towards the side table where she last left her glass. Grabbing the drink of water, she gulped it down thirstily; the bath and the little brawl she just had left her mouth extremely dry. However, instead of feeling better from rehydrating, she only felt pain shooting down her throat. Her hand shot out and lightly grabbed her throat, causing her to make a slight hissing sound.

Her mind then started to catch up with her. Images flashed across her eyes as she realised that she would have been in a far worse state if the elf had not intervened. She shuddered at the thought of almost being raped.

Telling the innkeeper about something that almost happened would have only brought shame to her, and she knew that he would not have believed her. There were three men, two of them huge, lying on the floor, three against one, the one being a woman, who would believe a woman able to defeat them.

Her anger began to flare at the thought of the three worthless scum in the inn below, getting away with trying to assault her.

HER! Princess Evanna Goodrich.

She scoffed at herself; her title meant nothing. They tried to assault a lady because they knew they could get away with it. They were to roam freely and possibly do the same thing again to another person.

It didn't matter if she did steal from them or not!

Her body started to shake from the turmoil within, her free hand clenched tightly. She knew, though, that if they were in any other place, the elf would have taken their lives. And she would have relished in it.

"Evanna…" Cilv's voice floated across her ears, bringing her back to the present from her jumbled thoughts. She jumped at how close Cilv was to her.

"Evanna, what happened? I have been calling your name for a couple of minutes now" All signs of jest were gone from her face as she looked over the princess's startled appearance.

"I-I, um, the-." She cleared her throat after hearing herself stutter. "The man from the market today showed up. He still accused me of stealing and took the law into his own hands. They wanted to.. They tried to…" Her voice broke at the end. Cilv gasped, grabbing her arms lightly as she checked her all over for any signs of injury; her eyes then landed at Evanna's neck.

Evanna covered her face then sighed before continuing, "I was fortunate to have someone turn up when they did", She concluded. Stepping away from Cilv, she walked to the front of the bed and sat down, holding the goblet of water in one hand.

"Did you want something stronger?" Cilv asked, glancing at the goblet in her hands; she did not know what to do for her. Evanna shook her head as Cilv came forward and sat next to her.

But before she could try and comfort the princess, Evanna stood back up. She walked towards the bathtub and started stripping, not caring this time about Cilv being in the same room as her.

"Evanna…"

Evanna climbed into the cold bathwater and ducked her head under the surface; the cold was a welcome feeling. It made her forget the feeling of their hands on her. She then felt some hands gently pull her by her shoulders so that her head came out of the water. She tensed at the sudden contact as her eyes gaped open, the water from her hair trickling down her face.

"Evanna, it is just me. I am sorry, I panicked, you just went underwater, and I.. panicked. I didn't know what to think" Cilv's calm voice started getting higher. Her face was worried as her eyes kept flickering at the princess's face and neck. Evanna was slightly surprised by how flustered and upset Cilv seemed to be. She was usually so composed and uninterested in the people around her.

"It's okay, Cilv. I am fine. I just-" She took a shaky breath in ", I just feel like taking another bath. I did not wash my hair earlier," She said, providing a lame excuse that both ladies knew was a lie.

"Those guys… are they still downstairs?" Cilv asked. Her nose twitched, and anger was now burning bright in her eyes.

The princess's face had a bruise forming just underneath her eye, along with red fingerprint marks on her throat. Guilt began to burn in her as she realised it was partly her fault. She should have come down with her. She should have killed those scumbag's lives when she heard Evanna and Maurice's conversation about the fairy in the market earlier that day.

"They were on the floor, last I saw them", She whispered back at Cilv, who abruptly stood up and turned around and started putting her boots on.

"Cilv.. What are you doing?"

She reappeared in front of the princess; an evil glint flashed across her eyes as she held two daggers in her hands.

"I'm going to end them."

The pair searched each other's faces. Time seemed to slow down at what she just said; Cilv waited for the princess to command her otherwise. When Evanna's mouth set in a thin line, she knew that she was given permission. She was slightly taken back but kept it to herself. She knew that what just happened had shaken her, and she needed justice.

"Make sure no one sees you, and there is no evidence", Is all the princess said in a monotone voice. Cilv nodded her head then left the room briskly, closing the door quietly behind her.

Evanna relaxed her head on the back of the tub, sighing as her muscles started to relax. She did not even know how they were relaxed; after all, she was lying in cold water. Yet, it calmed her. The fact that Cilv left to get rid of the dirt downstairs did not seem to bother her. It actually made her feel better.

As she closed her eyes and leaned further down into the water, she started to think about the elf who saved her. He left so abruptly that she did not have time to think, only blurt out a quick thank you. If she could, she would have asked for his name, to put a name to his face, a name to her rescuer. Now she would only think of him as that white-haired stranger who helped her.

An elf, no less, an elf who despises humans, he acted when she was in need, a human, was in need. She knew she would never forget what he did for her. Her thoughts then went into the direction of questioning how he could even take out all three men.

It took Ronan, Ger and Axel to take two of them out in the market, yet he was able to in less than five minutes. She knew that elves were meant to be very skilled in combat but seeing the bodies on the floor still left her in shock. In comparison to what she has been taught, it is a very different experience to believe what was in front of her.

Sighing, she started to untangle her plaited hair before going back under the water to let it flow freely across her back. Once again, she leaned back against the tub. Evanna could not help it; her mind then started to visualise how he looked.

Although it was a swift interaction, she knew he was an extraordinarily handsome man. From the single glance she captured of him from close up, she saw how chiselled his features were. From his strong jawline, full lips, high cheekbones to his mesmerizing blue eyes that sharply contrasted against his thick dark eyebrows and long white hair.

Evanna bit her lip, just thinking about his lips. She gasped, shocked at where her thoughts were leading her. She blinked, stopping her thoughts from getting carried away about a stranger she would never meet again. Although, other than his deadly good looks, the last impression she got from him was that she felt safe yet on high alert around him. His aura surrounding him screamed dangerous, but his actions proved honourable.

Evanna finally shook off her thoughts about him and decided to actually wash her hair, along with her body. She felt like the bar of soap was wiping away her internal pain, the lather cleansing her, removing the foreign fingertips she felt linger on her skin. Once she was finished, she stepped back out of the bath and walked across to the chair, grabbing a towel to dry herself.

She hoped she would not catch a cold, the temperature in the room had dropped, and she just took a cold bath. Changing back into her outfit, she decided to change the positioning of the dagger her mother gave her. It seemed that having it behind her back made her forget she was wearing it. She repositioned it so it was now hanging on her thigh, where everyone could see it.

She began to feel frustrated. If she remembered about the dagger earlier, then the mess she was in may have ended differently had she threatened them with it.

~ It is not your fault ~

A soft voice spoke in her head, her eyes widened. Great, now she was going crazy, she thought to herself. Shaking her head, she wandered over to the bed and lay down. Looking up at the ceiling, she absent-mindedly placed her hand on her necklace, tracing her fingers around the gemstone on the chain.

The power underneath it made her feel calm and safe, as though her mother was there with her; she said that she would know whenever she was hurt. Evanna wondered to what degree. A punch to the face and stomach and being strangled is not comparable to say something like being stabbed.

While she was lost in her own thoughts again, the door swung open, making her jump and reach for her dagger. She calmed herself down and removed her hand from the sheath on her thigh when she saw it was Cilv.

"Is it done?"

Cilv nodded her head, and Evanna visibly relaxed, releasing a breath she did not know she was holding until she received her answer. Cilv walked forwards and started removing her boots again, but she stood facing Evanna instead of lying on the bed. Sensing her gaze, Evanna looked up to meet Cilv's eyes, removing her hand from the gemstone.

"There is something I need to tell you," Cilv said, and for the first time, Evanna could see a slither of fear behind her eyes. Not liking where this was going, she sat up and eyed her suspiciously.

"I.. um. Today was my fault," Cilv stuttered. Evanna could not understand what she meant. Frowning, she continued looking at her,

"I do not understand, Cilv. What is your fault? You weren't with us in the market…"

Cilv gulped lightly, "What happened to you, in the market.. earlier at the bar.."

Cilv looked down at her hands then back up at the princess, who still looked confused. She bit her lip then went over to her bag, bringing out the jar with the fairy in. Evanna gasped at what she saw then looked back up to Cilv's guilty face.

"You..took it? You stole the fairy."