The Alpha's Little Fairy

Chapter 11

This chapter goes out to @WolfLover74 'cuz I can... And the follow gave me the inspiration to finish this darn chapter already. I really am sorry for the wiat. I promise I really do try to update! This one's extra-long because of the ridiculous waiting you guys go through.

BTW, I decided to start putting the translations in right there, but I still have the glossary at the end.

Apparently one does not reuse clothes here like we do in the Grove. When I tried to leave Evan's room, he informed me that not only do people in this realm change clothes every day, but they also bathe daily as well. I felt almost as surprised as when I learned that a minnow was indeed a tiny fish, not the massive killer my imagination had conjured when I first encountered the term.

"Really?" I asked, intrigued by their strange customs. "And why does one do that when it is so wasteful?"

He gave me a dubious look. "I didn't realize you were such an environmentalist hippy."

I shrugged, not quite knowing what to say - I have no clue as to what an "environmentalist" or a "hippy" is. And after that dream, I was blocking the wolves for privacy so I could not rely on Andrew's help either.

I will take it as a compliment for now.

"Well, you can borrow some of my stuff after you shower," he declared with a strange smile on his face. "The shower's right through there."

He pointed out a white door that presumably lead to his people's balineae [bathhouse]. If they were extravagant enough for stone houses and well-tended lawns, a personal balineae would not be too much of a shock. The pattern with these shifters, or perhaps it is human-influenced, seems to be one of daunting extravagance.

"Thank you for your generosity." I dipped into a slight curtsy, as is the custom in the Grove when one is shown extreme kindness. After all, Evan and his pack had certainly acted far beyond the conventional limits of generosity. Evan merely blushed in response, nodding his head in an adorably awkward fashion.

Even if I am trying to distance myself, it does not mean that I cannot acknowledge his resemblance to an embarrassed squirrel. And I have always loved squirrels.

With another curtsy I walked into the balineae and closed the door - another thing this house had far too many of. The only doors in the Grove (excluding the Queen's Palace, of course) are the front door and if the family is lucky there may be one to the parent's bedroom. In this realm every turn seems to lead to another door.

I opened the door and had to stop my jaw from falling.

These shifters must surely be the rulers of their realm! Even their personal balineae's grandeur outshone the public balineae of the Grove! An entire wall seemed to be some reflective surface, showing the perfection of the rest of the room. It seemed to be a blend of creams and shiny gray metal, as foreign and unnatural as anything could be, and yet it all seemed so alluring somehow.

In one corner rested a giant bathtub made of what appeared to be the cleanest porcelain I have ever laid eyes upon. In the other, a strange bathing area surrounded by what appeared to be artfully-crafted glass designed to appear as if a winter's frost had settled upon it. If I could spend the rest of my days in this room, bathing in its luxury, I would die a happy Sprite.

Evan's chuckled from behind me startled me out of the trance the balineae put upon me. I shook my head, quickly regaining my manners. When I turned around, I noticed he had opened the doors and was lounging comfortably against the doorway.

"Would you like to bathe with me?" I asked, offering the traditional custom lest my Ancestors turn-over in their graves, while I began to examine the area for bathing of the balineae. Imagine the shame I would bring not only upon myself but my family as well if I requested to bathe alone and waste all of that water! My Mother would kill me...