The Wanderer

Chapter 9--Part 1

Kalysta stretched lazily, as her eyes fluttered open. Confusion clouded her mind, until she glanced over and saw Saskia and memories of the last couple of days flooded back to her, reminding her of where she was. Hearing very unlady-like snores coming from her companion, a grin began to form across her face. She sat up quietly, trying not to disturb Saskia.

Reaching for her bag she had been using as a pillow, she rifled around in it until she found what she was looking for-a small bar of lye soap that Saskia had given her yesterday. She remembered seeing a secluded area about twenty-five feet downstream where the trees hid the stream from sight. It had been awhile since she had gotten a chance to bathe and she was going to take the chance while she had it. Saskia would be okay sleeping here until she returned.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she pushed her way out of the hidden glen and made her way downstream to where the shrubs where thick and the trees bent together in awkward positions, their limbs weaving together above the stream. Glancing around to make sure no one was near, she slipped off her boots, shoving them in her bag. She hiked her skirts up and reached to pull the back part of her dress between her legs and tucked it up in her bodice, creating makeshift breeches that allowed her to wade into the water and still have her hands free.

She pushed her way through the dense shrubs and into the secluded pool. Another smile formed on her mouth when she saw the small ledge of dry land on the side. She had not thought there would be anywhere convenient to put her stuff down where it would not get wet and had almost resolved herself to stringing her bag up in the canopy above, but this would work much better. Kalysta made her way over to the ledge and sat down, careful to keep her skirts out of the water.

After quickly laying her things out on the ledge, she disrobed and sank down into the water getting her whole body wet. She found that if she stayed near the edges, the water was only a couple of feet deep, but if she made her way into the middle of the pool, it was deep enough that she could cover most of herself with water, but still keep her head and shoulders out of the water. She briskly lathered her hair and moved on to scrub the rest of her body. She rinsed the thick lather off by dunking into the water again.

Her hasty bath finished, she made her way to the edge of the stream. She did not have the luxury of a towel to dry off with and there was no way she was going to stand around and allow herself to air dry in the middle of the forest where someone could come by at any moment. Kalysta tried her best to wring out her hair and shake the extra water droplets from her skin. Satisfied that she was as dry as she could muster at the moment, she quickly redressed, managing to keep the dampness of her clothes to a minimum.

Feeling thoroughly clean, she grabbed her stuff and made her way back to where she left Saskia. When she got there, she dropped her bag down, noticing that Saskia was still asleep. Feeling a little bit hungry, she grabbed her bow and made her way out to catch some dinner.