Chapter 44: Behind the drapes

"Irin, this is my wife, Lerina; she will show you to your room," Janosh said, introducing the two women.

"We're not a fancy place, but it's clean and the food is good," Lerina said as she showed Irin to the room.

"I'll just be happy to sleep in a bed tonight. We've been on the road for so long, I think I've forgotten how it feels," Irin told her, and received a smile in return.

"That's something we can fix. This is the room, I hope it will be sufficient," the woman said, opening a door that led to a good-sized room. There was a large bed, two chairs and a small table.

"This is perfect, thank you," Irin said.

"Would you like us to bring a tub and hot water?" Lerina asked. At the thought of a hot bath, Irin almost swooned.

"That would be amazing, thank you," she replied. She was left alone in the room while Lerina made the arrangements. It wasn't long before a man arrived with a wooden tub, followed by a long line of servants carrying buckets of hot water. When Irin was alone again, she used her magic for the first time since healing Koth. She conjured up drapes to go around the tub. She wouldn't mind bathing without them, but she had a feeling it would cause Koth to have a minor heart attack. Koth came into the room with their bags as she finished.

"Perfect timing," she told him, and gave him a kiss.

"How so?" he asked.

"I was just about to take a bath and it would be nice to have a clean-ish set of clothes to wear afterwards," she said.

"A bath?" he asked, glancing at the draped-off area.

"Yes, a bath. You can have one when I'm done. Or do you want to go first?" she asked.

"No! No, no. That is... fine. You go first and I'll go and... do something," he said. Irin giggled.

"Koth, you can stay. I don't mind, and I've made sure your innocence will be protected," she told him. She was still giggling as she found her spare set of clothes and walked behind the drapes. Koth was left standing in the middle of the room, looking lost. The warm water was heavenly as Irin sank into it. It felt amazing, and the thought that Koth was just on the other side of the drapes while she was naked in the warm water, made her even hotter. She wondered if it would be wrong to make the drape vanish and drag Koth into the tub with her. Their interactions as a couple had been innocent up to this point. Irin hoped it was because she had been weak when they first took the step from friends to... As she thought about it, she realised she didn't know what they were. It didn't bother her; she knew Koth cared for her and that was enough. When Irin had got stronger, they had shared the shelter with the group of men. That had put a stop to anything more physical. Now, on the other hand, they had a room all to themselves and they were both recovered. She hoped it would lead to something. For far too long she had fantasised about Koth; it was high time her fantasies became a reality, she thought.

"Your turn," she told Koth as she got out of the bath and dressed. She felt refreshed as she walked out of the draped-off area. Koth was sitting on a chair, working on one of his projects. He looked up.

"Um, I don't know, Irin," he said, looking at the drapes.

"You'll thank me once you're done. I won't peek," she promised. She didn't know why he was so bothered by the thought of intimacy between them. He hadn't seemed to have the same hang-ups with the half-elf back in Behenoth, she thought. Irin pushed the idea that he didn't find her attractive out of her mind. He had told her he did the first night they had shared the shelter with the men. So that wasn't it. As Koth surrendered and walked behind the curtains, Irin sat on the bed and combed her hair. She needed a haircut, she thought. She usually kept it at shoulder length as it was less maintenance and it didn't get in the way. Now it had grown down to her shoulder blades. To distract herself from the sounds of Koth taking a bath, meaning he was buck naked on the other side of the drapes, she braided her hair into an intricate plait and tied it off with a piece of string she found in the packing. Not long after that, Koth came out. He looked better than he had done when walking into the draped-off bath area.

"Wasn't that amazing?" she asked.

"It was nice," he admitted.

"What's the plan going forward?" Irin asked. It was the first time in over a week that they had privacy to have a conversation without the risk of being overheard. Koth sat down next to her on the bed and Irin scooted closer so she was right next to him. He put his arm around her and she leaned against him.

"We'll have to find out when the next ship leaves for Osegas and see how much a passage for the two of us and the horses will cost. We also should do an inventory of food and necessities. It will be cheaper to buy it here than in the capital," he said.

"I've never been on a ship," she confessed.

"It's not that exciting. There's not much to do and if you're unlucky you'll spend most of the journey being seasick," he said.

"Are you just saying that because you get seasick every time you go on a ship?" she asked.

"No. Well, maybe. I've only travelled by sea twice."

"And you were sick both times?"

"Yes," he grumbled.

"Don't worry, honey, this time you have me. I'll heal you," she told him. He looked at her with surprise.

"Honey?" he asked. It was the first time she had used an endearment.

"You don't like it?" He gave her one of his rare honest smiles.

"I do like it," he told her, and bent down to kiss her. They started with the inventory of their things, taking everything out of the bags and sorting it, and taking stock of what they needed to get.

"We should get you a new robe," Irin said, eyeing the patchwork on the back of the robe he was wearing.

"That's not necessary; we can save the money for other things. You can barely see the patching," Koth objected.

"If you say so," she said reluctantly. If they stayed in town for a week or two, Irin decided to see if she couldn't earn some money to replace his robe. Or, if they were to set sail sooner than that, she would go to Alesseja's temple in the capital. She could get money there. Either way, Koth deserved a new robe. As they were repacking their belongings, there was a knock on the door. Koth answered it and Lokhue was standing outside.

"Ready to have a look at the town?" he asked.

"Ready," Irin said.