Like a Princess, Scene v1

Kismet left the room briefly and returned with a small pouch. From it, she unwrapped several pieces of jerky, and held one out in front of Isella’s mouth. Kismet grabbed the washcloth from the bucket while Isella gnawed on the jerky. “Sorry if this is too hot.”

The Catheran wrung the rag. The cascade of hot water ran through Isella’s hair and down her body. The trails of water quickly turned brown with dirt, leaving lightened trails over her body in its wake. Although the water was indeed hot, the warmth was something she yearned for. Autumn had been colder than usual, and the rain more frequent. Warmth and comfort had become something of the past. The feeling of hot water running over her reminded her of the days when she lived comfortably in the Damire household. She soon forgot her embarrassment and sighed with content.

Isella closed her eyes in relaxation as Kismet massaged the shampoo into her hair tenderly. She was worried at first, having seen the Catheran’s claws, but she soon found herself forgetting she was even a captive. As Kismet began gently rubbing the dirt from her body with a soaped wash cloth, Isella couldn’t help by feel like some sort of princess. She watched the Catheran kneeling beside her give her body a long overdue cleaning. A hint of a smile showed on Kismet’s face, her eyes focused on where she was washing, almost like a mother lovingly tending to her child. Isella couldn’t help but reminisce of when she and her mother used to bathe together when she was younger.

Kismet noticed Isella staring at her. She looked back at her with her large yellow cat eyes. “Yes?”

Isella broke out of her trance, blushing in embarrassment. She quickly averted her eyes and spoke softly. “O-Oh, nothing. Sorry.”

“Seems like it’s been awhile since you’ve had a chance to bathe. The dirt is caked onto you.”

Isella nodded. “It has. And…thank you.”

“Orders are orders.”

She looked at the Catheran’s face once more. The small smile was still there. “For some reason you seem to be enjoying this.”

“I guess it reminds me of home.”

“I’m no princess.”

Kismet let out a small laugh. “I guess everyone really does know who I am.” She paused for a moment. “So, why did you run from the Damire family anyway?”

“I didn’t run. I was kidnapped,” insisted Isella.

“I doubt it’s really that simple.”

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

Kismet finished scrubbing Isella clean. “Close your eyes.” The Catheran dumped the remaining water from the bucket over Isella before refilling the bucket with clean water. “Sorry, this may be a bit cold.” She dumped the water over Isella to rinse her off. She clenched her body to fight the sudden chill.

Kismet helped Isella to her feet, and into the bathtub. She lowered herself against the right side of the tub and looked back at the Catheran who began to wash herself. Despite having lived during the Catheran invasion, she was fortunate enough to have never witnessed its horrors. The only Cathera Isella knew were the ones of stories and paintings, which often showed ill favor toward them. She always imagined them to be menacing and ferocious monsters with razor-sharp teeth that would tear into any flesh it spotted. At least, so preached the most common stories and paintings of Lokem and Rokan. However, gazing upon the Catheran that stood in front of her, she remembered the tales of the Cathera from her relatives, prior to living in the Damire household. They spoke of an intimidating, but beautiful race. Sometimes the Cathera were referred to as the “Children of Terra”, the mother goddess, and their world. Her grandfather shared with her what he remembered of ancient lore regarding the Cathera, which spoke of them as the guardians of Terra. Before her, she saw not a horror, but rather a mystic beauty that captivated her.



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