Princesa (gxg)

9: Hideaway

My head leans back against the edge of the tub. Water rises to just above my chest. It's warm, although I wish it were a tad cooler. It smells of lavender from my soaps, but there is a sharp bitterness to it. The color was turned a rusted gray as the dirt and blood dissolved from my skin.

I close my eyes, remembering the battle. The men I slaughtered riding past them. The blood I spilled.

I never would have imagined I would become a warrior. It was always talk of princesses and crowns and balls and gowns. I could never play with boys. They were always too rough for me. I couldn't ever run around the yard because I might fall and scrape a knee or tear my dress. I was so fragile. There wasn't a thought in my mind that led to me sitting in a bath covered in bruises and blood.

"You did good today," a voice says from the doorway.

Kiley leans against the frame, boots crossed as she twirls a dagger in her hands. She's unlaced her shirt and removed her wrap, letting it flow open freely. The buckles to her britches have been undone as well, and they ride low on her hips just begging to be torn away.

"I could say the same," I reply, sitting up and draping my arms over the side of the tub.

She eyes me carefully, taking in a shuddering breath. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"What? Bathe?" I smile teasingly.

Her face is serious. "Fight. We have our army. You don't need to be on the frontline."

I sigh, beckoning her over to me. She slips the dagger into her boot and comes over, standing in front of me and gliding her fingers over my hand.

"I do, Ki. The kingdom needs to know they have a real leader fighting for them. One who isn't afraid to die."

"Are you?"

"What?"

"Afraid to die?"

I kiss her fingers, looking up at her. "I think we're all afraid to die. But there are some causes we will fight to the death for without fear. This is one of them." She looks at me uneasily. "I'm afraid of losing you most of all. Or leaving you behind. It doesn't matter if just one of us goes. I know if we do, together we will perish. In life and death."

"Only if we're apart."

"Indeed."

I smile, getting a smirk from her, and I tug on her sleeve. "Come in with me."

I don't have to ask her twice. She kicks off her boots, strips her britches, drops out of her shirt. I shift forward, allowing her in behind me, and she slips into the tub silently. She's cool, her skin slicking against mine and sending a shiver through my body. Her arms snake around my waist and pull me into her. My head rests against her shoulder, and I turn my face into her neck, nuzzling and kissing her. 

I realize then that this is the first fantasy I had about her. Us in the tub, her fingers gliding over me in the water. It's come true.

I slide a hand behind me, finding the space between her thighs. Her arms grip tighter, and a sharp pain around my ribs screams at me from the pressure. I wince, sucking in a breath, and her grasp slackens.

"What is it?" she asks, concerned.

I prod around the pain, feeling the tenderness of beaten muscle. "A sword slipped through my armor, it must've bruised. I've never felt pain like this before."

"Have you ever felt pain?"

I'm about to give a sly retort when I stop and think. The truth is no. I have never felt pain. My entire life has been about keeping me safe, a soft bubble around me. The few soft bruises I'd obtained before were from Kiley getting rough with me in training or sex but that was nothing compared to this. In battle I was running on adrenaline, unable to feel. Now, the pain is everywhere.