Kings Game

Chapter 2 - Kell (4)

They settled into the tub, the hot water rippling around them. Roran tried not to look at Kell's naked body, but he was young and hadn't been around that many naked women before. After a few furtive glances, he noticed that Kell had closed her eyes and took the chance to look. He found himself a little underwhelmed.

Her clothes hadn't hid much. Kell was small and lean with well defined muscles. The most notable thing about her were her scars. Small scars covered her body while a couple bigger ones marred her ribcage and her thigh. The skin appeared smooth but there was a noticeable discoloration on the healed flesh.

"Halberd through the leg," said Kell. Her eyes were still closed but she was pointing to her thigh. "That was one of my worst bouts yet. I had the advantage, the crowd's favor, and way too much confidence. I got cocky and slipped up. Broke the bone clean in half, would have cut my leg off if the guy had been stronger. I actually had to go see a healer for that one, I was out of commission for a month."

She shifted so the scar on her side was more visible. It stretched from ribcage to armpit. "Took a fire blast in one of my first titled bouts. I hadn't fought against people with focus markings before and didn't know what to expect. I won, eventually, but lost a fair amount of skin in the end. This one also needed a healer but it wasn't too bad. Once the fire burned away the nerves I could barely feel any pain."

"Someone threw fireballs at you?" asked Roran, his jaw dropping.

"Yeah, something like that. They're not that big of a deal once you know how to deal with them. The rest of the scars I just sort of picked up along the way, near misses and little screw ups here and there. I'm good but even I make mistakes."

Sitting up, Kell grabbed one of the bottles and uncorked it. She poured some of the oily contents into her hands then tossed the bottle to Roran.

"Come on, as much as I'd like to, we can't stay here all day." Kell worked the oil into a foamy lather and applied it to her hair, combing out the short locks with her fingers.

Following her lead, Roran poured himself a generous amount of soap and began lathering himself with it. He was so dirty that the soap quickly turned grey and he had to add more as he went. There was just barely enough soap as he poured the last of it into his shaggy hair and began working out the tangled mats.

After scrubbing herself off, Kell leaned back in the water, waiting for him to finish. She stared out at the city as the sun began to set. The bathhouse was built into the side of a mountain, giving them an elevated view of the city below.

It was so vast that they could only see a portion of it, stretching out in a menagerie of buildings, markets, and houses that descended further into the valley. Though he couldn't see it, Roran knew that at the center of the valley was the King's Coliseum, a grand structure that housed the three men who called themselves gods.

Kell flicked a dirty soap bubble as it drifted by her. "When was the last time you bathed, kid?"

"When we were marching here. I bathed in the river every couple of days."

"How long ago was that?"

Roran shrugged. "I don't know, a month or two ago, maybe?"

Kell nodded. "Have you been outside the dungeons? Aside from today I mean."

"No, today was the first time since I arrived."

"That makes sense. They don't like you people wandering around, it makes the citizens uncomfortable."

"Why? Roran asked, voicing out loud the question he'd asked himself a thousand times. "Why do they keep us locked underground? We're refugees, we just want somewhere safe to live."

"Because it's convenient," said Kell, "Because they need you to be out of sight and out of mind until you're useful to them. They can't let the general public see or hear you, otherwise they might start to sympathize. That's why you people aren't allowed to do work or serve in the Kings' Armies. They need you to stay somewhere quiet and convenient until you serve your purpose and die, then they'll move on to the next group of refugees, just as they always have, just as they always will."

"I don't understand," said Roran.

"You will eventually, especially if you decide to help me."

Once clean, they climbed out of the tub and toweled off. Kell made no attempts to hide her body, simply drying off and climbing back into her clothes. After drying off, Roran regarded his old rags.

"Just wear a robe," said Kell, "we'll sort out clothing with Dez."

Roran nodded and donned one of the robes hung up in the bath and bundled up his dirty clothing. Clean and chipper, Kell once more picked up her spear and they returned to the front desk.

"Hey, do you have any clothes for Roran here? His are rancid."

Dez nodded. "I'm sure we have something lying around, assuming he doesn't mind hand me downs."

"That would be fine," said Kell, and Dez disappeared into a back room. As they waited, Kell turned back to Roran. "How old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen," said Roran. "You?"

"Dunno," said Kell. "I started remembering things about fifteen years ago, so fifteen plus that. You said your mom was gone, what about your dad?"

"Never met him. Do you have parents?"

"Nope, never met them."

"Do you have any family?" asked Roran.

"Just Nul, they're nice, you'll like them."

Dez returned with a bundle of clothing and some shoes. "Here you are. They're a little old but they should fit. My youngest was about your size a couple years ago and they don't fit him anymore. You're welcome to them." Roran thanked Dez and took the clothes. "You can use the backroom to change," she said.

Kell rolled her eyes as Roran slipped away behind the door.

"Not everyone is comfortable stripping in front of strangers," he heard Dez saying.

"It's just a body. It's not like there are gaping wounds or anything."

"Not everybody sees things the way you do."

"Whatever."

Dressed in fresh clothing and shoes that almost fit, Roran returned.

"Much better!" said Dez.

"Hey, you actually look like a person now," said Kell. She dropped a couple more coins on the counter. "Thanks Dez, you're the best. See you around. Let's go Roran, I'm starving."

Roran dipped his head to Dez. "Thank you, I really appreciate your kindness."

"It was nice meeting you Roran," Dez said, smiling sweetly. "Do your best not to die."