I’d say he was amused rather than annoyed by the look on his face. “No, sir. Actually, I’d prefer ‘pretty please’ but I’ll settle for a simple ‘please’, thank you.”
He shook his head. “That mouth is going to get you in trouble one of these days.” He paused in the doorway. “Are you... well? Killing your first vampire could be shocking.”
“I’m fine. I’m good at suppressing trauma with vampires at this point in my life.”
He peered over his shoulder. “You’re sure? I’m not going to come back and find you crying, am I?” He cringed like he didn’t do well with tears and the like.
It wasn’t my first encounter with a vampire. It’s not like I was sad to have killed one either. “Viper, I hate vampires. I’m not going to cry over killing one. I’m sort of proud, actually.”
He nodded and the door shut quietly behind him. I laid there until I smelled my own body odor. I needed a bath. It had been days and the sweat and blood didn’t help. On stiff legs, I hobbled to the washroom and stood at the edge of the copper tub. We had a tub in the house but only used it when the river was too cold. We had to fill it with buckets of water, then heat it with a fire. It took hours. Most of the time I used a bowl of water, a washcloth, and soap to wipe myself down.
I twisted the knob that read “hot” and watched in amazement as clear, clean water rushed out of the tap. Even if I missed home, this alone might be worth staying for. After leaving my clothes in a pile next to the tub, I lowered myself in. With a pleased sigh, I rested my head on the copper rim and closed my eyes. The steam curled around me. The hot water soothed my aches, and my eyelids grew heavy. This was exactly what I needed after getting beaten at The Sorting Rite and after running who knew how many miles today. I didn’t have bloodon my hands from killing that vampire, but the water seemed to wash away the death.
I felt myself slipping into a light sleep, then a door opening and closing startled me awake.
The water was still warm but had cooled and my fingers were pruny.
“Aesira?” Vander called.
I glanced at the door, I’d forgotten to lock it. I quickly dunked under, scrubbing at my scalp, then popped back up and reached for the soap. I lathered it in my hands and rubbed it into my hair.
Vander’s footsteps moved quickly in the bedroom. The front door opened and closed again. Maybe he had something else to do.
I rinsed my hair and found a glass bottle on a table next to the soap bottle and pulled the cork. It was an oil and smelled like the woods. We used this type of thing to soften hair at home.
I poured it onto the ends of my hair and worked it through. I hummed an upbeat tune that the band played in the longhouse most weekends.
The washroom door suddenly flew open. I squeaked and found Vander lumbering in the doorway.
“Oh.” His breath whooshed out and his eyes blew wide. “You’re... bathing.”
“Yes!” I sunk further into the water, peering over the lip of the tub. “Do you mind giving me privacy?”
He quickly shut the door. “Sorry,” he said from the other side. “I couldn’t find you, and I worried you... left.”
“Left? To where?”
“Home. Then I was going to have to find you and bring you back before anyone knew.”
“The sun has already set. I wouldn’t leave now.” The light from the silver moon reflected off the bath water. I laid back to rinse my hair and stared out marveling at the crescent shape.I’d never been able to leave my windows unshuttered at night. “What would happen if I did leave to go home?” I wondered if it would surprise him that I hadn’t even thought about it. I wouldn’t put my family at risk. There were old stories of the guilds punishing entire families for ducai who refused to join. Everyone knew it wasn’t a choice.
The crickets and the hoot of an owl outside grew loud in the silence. I watched a star streak across the sky... I didn’t know they moved like that. “You’d be brought back whether you wanted to or not and punished in front of everyone. It would leave a permanent mark on your reputation. They would call you a coward behind your back or to your face. If you did it again, they would punish your family.”
“You wouldn’t report me to Commander Locke if I did run away?”
“No.”
I smiled despite myself. “Why?” I sat up and squeezed the moisture from my hair.
“For one, it would make me look like a fool, and I’d be punished, and two, I’ve seen it happen to apprentices before. I wouldn’t wish that public humiliation on you or anyone.”
“Is that why apprentices are supposed to be with their trainer all the time?”
“In part.”
“I was surprised you left to go speak with the Commander without me.”
“It’s not a hard rule, and it is up to the trainer how strictly it’s followed. Trainers are solely responsible for their apprentices and anything that happens. If an apprentice causes a problem or breaks a rule and their trainer isn’t there, it’s on the trainer. If something bad happens to you and I’m not present, it’s my fault.”
