Public Baths and Floral Scents

Upon waking, I almost panicked and readied myself for an attack, but then I realized I was merely unused to my new quarters. Yawning widely enough to warrant a smack from my chamber maids, I stretched until my joints popped. Looking around, I found that I quite liked the room. It was small, but much bigger than the one I had during my time in the Order. It was much more homely, as well, and less damp-looking. I realized with a start that I had now grown used to living in tiny and less extravagant quarters much unlike the ones I grew up in. Besides, as I was now, there were no maids to scold me as I bent low and touched the ground with my palms, knowing full well that my boyish undergarments stretched upwards and revealing enough skin to make a good princess faint in embarrassment.

I laughed as I stretched. Although I did miss some of the luxuries that a life as a princess had granted me, I also grew to love this freedom exponentially more than that silly desire. It hardly made any sense to pout about what I had lost, when I had an infinite array of possibilities to choose from once I had taken a step forward.

I let out a breath as I counted the measly amount of furniture in my room. A bed, with no canopies of course. A bedside table with a single drawer. A flimsy desk with a rickety chair, made of the same cut of wood that was almost a dark reddish brown. Oh, and a wooly rug that was more stained than a regular brown. At night as well, I could hear the steps and movements from the room above mine. I was incredibly sure that the walls here might just be as thin as the ones at the Order.

It was lovely.

Still admiring the room I now called my own, a knock came from my door, and then another. It almost sounded timid, the way the knocks were spaced apart. I snickered, already having a good guess about who it was.

Not even minding that I was still indisposed, I opened the door widely, a grin on my face. I was right. "What of it, Prince Albert?"

He glared at me, although his heart didn't seem to be in it. As I figured, a smile was plastered on his face seconds later, "Are you ready, Sir Eleftherion? Joren had me call for you. He guessed that the baths might be utterly crowded if we wait any longer, and I unfortunately cannot refute that."

I nodded after a second. Joren and Albert had adjoining rooms further into the student dorms, much to my dismay. But, I had worse problems now than friendly jealousy.

Baths. With the boys. What was the problem again? Ah yes, was I not a girl?

I flinched inwardly, knowing that I should probably come up with an excuse unless I wanted the boy to become even more suspicious of me. Knowing that I should hit myself later for not thinking about this earlier (I mean, did I not realize my room didn't even have a bathing chamber??), I could only force myself to calm down and think of a reply.

Laughingly, I said, "Unlike you, with your princely ways, I don't need to take a bath every day. I much prefer to drown myself in my lovely, natural scent!"

I cringed, knowing it was far from the truth. I already itched for a bath, preferably with scented flower petals and a few imported oils. I sighed.

Albert didn't seem to buy it either. "Even after fighting trolls, running through the forests, and all that?"

I frowned, knowing full well that he was right, but thankfully, someone arrived to save me from my predicament. I recognized him as my brother's right-hand man. The plain-haired attendant bowed at us both before announcing, "I apologize for the interruption, but the royal highness, Prince Clement, has requested your presence in his rooms."

I blinked at him. "Are you referring to the Second Prince of Montauk?"

The attendant shook his head. "He only mentioned you, sir."

I stood there for a while, thinking. And then turned towards my friend. "I suppose the baths could wait. It seems that I am being summoned."

The black-eyed prince looked confused, but upon coming up with some sort of explanation in his mind, he nodded his head. "I will relay this to our flame-haired friend. I will see you later then, Eleftherion."

I nodded. "See you, then!"

I followed the attendant across the straight hall, fully aware of the way Albert kept staring after us. I mumbled softly at the man, "You could have chosen a much better time to call for me."

I realized I might have spoken a bit too forcefully than a mere commoner should to a high-ranked worker of royalty. Surprisingly, though, the man only kept walking, before whispering back, "Your brother would not have wanted you to be stuck in that sort of situation."

I almost flinched, but I kept calm. Coming up with nonsense, I asked, "Are you referring to my noble brother?"

"... Yes," he replied. "Since the prince and your... brother were close friends, he wanted to take good care of you."

"How caring of the prince," I answered back jovially, although I was already fuming with anger deep inside. It seems like my brother wasn't as tight-lipped as I had thought. Refusing to speak to the attendant any more, I focused instead on our destination. The man had led me through the long halls of the student dormitory, where the lower levels were reserved for the first and second years, and the upper levels for the older students. He brought me up the stairs for a long time, and by the time I had counted at least seven flights of steps, he finally stopped climbing and walked through the hall. He gestured at the furthest door, the last one in a long hallway, much like the throne room in a castle. 'It seems like my brother has quite the suite.'

"Please, go ahead," the man told me politely. "I was instructed to stand guard."

I murmured, "As you should."

And then, I walked through the remaining steps to knock softly at the door, knowing this would be the first time I would be speaking with my brother as the princess, his sister. Even from the hallway, I already sensed the layers of protective enchantments that surrounded his room. If I concentrated more, I could also feel even more secretive spells...

"Come in," my brother's voice sounded muffled through the door. I found myself smiling.

Opening the much more extravagant plated door, I was showered by the lovely scent of sweet alyssum. My favorite flower. I was surprised to find the low-crawling plants draped around the floor. It felt like I had stepped into a garden rather than into a room. I gasped at the sudden beautiful scene, filled with the white and green colored plant.

Slowly, I gazed forward at the sole person inside the room, and closed the door behind me with a definite click. I found myself giggling at the prince's stupid, yet endearing antics. "I wasn't aware you knew of my floral preferences."

Prince Clement smiled. "Sweet Alyssum. Tiny flowers that exude a sweet, yet not too overpowering scent. Although low growing, it seeks the sun in all its life."

I grinned, and then ran towards him. Surprising him with a hug, I breathed in his calm and comforting aura. I murmured, "You grew taller."

"You, too," he replied, his chest shaking with laughter.

For a long moment, we only hugged each other, basking in each other's presence. Unfortunately, though, I knew that time was short, and people would start to wonder why we were both late to our first day in the Academy. I sighed as I pulled back first, observing his face in a way I hadn't been able to last night.

"I missed you," I told him shortly.

He gazed at me fondly. "I missed you too, sister."

"Well!" I said, promptly letting go of him and looking around his much more beautiful and larger rooms. Further on, I realized he had a network of rooms, and I was sure he had his own bathing chambers. "You called for me, brother?"

"Yes, indeed I have," he replied with a little, shy cough. "I was worried that you might have felt lonely, or that..."

I tilted my head at him, wondering why he looked so flustered. "Yes, brother?"

He sighed, dragging a white-gloved hand across his immaculate face. "It's just that... Don't you feel bad about sleeping right next to the other boys? It had bothered me all night."

I frowned a bit. "... Bad?"

He hastily shook his head. "I meant that... It isn't proper for a girl, much less a princess, to sleep so close to other people of the opposite sex."

Chuckling, I said, "Not to worry, brother. I have rather grown used to sleeping outdoors, much more in the presence of any other human beings, female or male."

"That's not what I-" he started, but I cut him off.

"If you are worried for my safety, then I urge you not to. I am perfectly capable of protecting myself, and I hardly think any one would want to make use of me, as I am only a boy in their eyes," I told him gently, yet curtly. Then, I pretended to look hurt, "Unless... you think of me as such a woman? Do you believe I am much like a common whore?"

He blanched in shock, probably at my meaning, or simply at my choice of words. I mean, should a young girl even know of such things at this age? Surely, not. However, I'm not really a girl now, and I'm fully aware of what a young boy would already know at this age. I watched as my brother stumbled over his words. Finally getting as much enjoyment as I could at his flusterment, I then laughed to break the tension. "I'm sorry, brother. I was only teasing you. I am fully aware of your concerns, and to tell you the truth, if your attendant hadn't chosen to interfere earlier on, I would have found myself bathing publicly with my male classmates."

Despite my reassurances, he only paled even more. "E-Elle... I think you should stay here. Yes, yes! I believe that is the only answer to this problem. You must stay here, and I shall order Lamonte to rearrange the second bedroom fit for-"

I quickly took hold of his arm, surprising him by my touchiness. Ah, but I cared very little now about customs and such. I then told him with a smile, "It isn't much of a problem, brother. I could always make excuses. Imagine what the students will think about you housing a Saulian commoner in your royal rooms."

Thankfully, he calmed down to actually think a bit. Sadly, his brain still works far well into the protective direction. He said, "Well, how about you have a room here beside mine? I can talk with the professors to have it arranged."

"And for what purpose? And what rank do I have to warrant such a privilege?" I asked, sighing softly in annoyance. "It will only bring about unwanted attention, brother. It won't be long when they figure out that I'm not the son of a fallen king pin family from the western parts of Saule. It won't be long when they connect my relationship with you to the curious disappearance of the lost princess of the Kingdom."

I watched as my brother glared at a carpet of sweet alyssums. I took a deep breath and was about to speak, when he beat me to it. He asked softly, "Then... what am I supposed to do?"

I couldn't help the smile that crept up my face, knowing that he only ever acted like this in order to keep me safe. I sighed at him endearingly. "Brother, how about this? We will announce that we were close friends in the past, and that will make my visits a bit less suspicious."

He looked at me with dissatisfaction at first, before slowly nodding his head. He then asked, "And about your baths?"

I thought about it more, and learned it was a much smaller problem now that I've shared it to him. "I'll have to borrow yours if I can't get a few moments alone in the public baths, but it won't be long before I find out the best times to do it."

He furrowed his brows in worry. "I don't think-"

"I know," I said. "But I haven't got much choice. Besides, isn't the Academy highly meritocratic? If I do well in my studies, won't I be awarded with better rooms?"

The boy was silent for a long while, thinking endlessly for better solutions, but then nodded despite his reluctance. "They do practice that, and I wouldn't put it past you to immediately show great results, but... I won't dare think you would be mildly comfortable, living like that, even for a year or so."

Smilingly, I reassured him, "I'll be fine, brother. Now, might I use your bathing chamber just this once? I could hardly stand my stench."

He glared at me softly, but I responded with an even sharper look. "Don't be like that. You owe me for telling my secret to your attendant."

"Ah!" he uttered out. "Do you mean, Lamonte?"

He looked at the closed door, as though he could imagine the man standing guard by it. He then looked at me. "If you can ask for my trust about you acting like a boy, then I would want to receive your own trust for putting our fate on my attendant. Besides, Lamonte is a firm supporter and friend of mine since young. He would never betray me."

"..." I dared not say anything about trusting our attendants and teachers too much. As I've lived through many betrayals, I would think I wasn't one to judge. If so, I had to prepare... But, for now, I sighed in agreement. "Alright, brother. But, please do tell me that he is the only one who knows?"

My brother nodded. "Of course. He is the only attendant I trust, and even he does not know about your true identity nor about the... written messages that you left me. He only knows you are the princess and my sister, and knows nothing about why you have left."

I took in a deep breath. I wanted to ask more, but dawn was already breaking, and I desperately wanted a bath before I leave for the class sorting. I sighed, and then hugged my brother again, "Do me a favor, my prince, and fetch me some clothes. I shall take my time with a much needed bath."

He laughed once more, and bowed flamboyantly in my direction. "As you wish, my princess."

Seconds later, sunken deep in a tub filled with my favorite flowers and scents, I allowed myself a brief moment of luxury.