Lament of the Slave

Chapter 34: Peeping

"What were the guards doing?! They shouldn't have let this happen to you!" Alyson said, angry at the city guards after recovering from her initial shock.

I raised my hands to stop her and shook my head, "It's not their fault, really, and I was not the only one who suffered!"

Which was true, I was just the only one whose limbs were blown off or torn off, my heart pierced by a dagger.

"That's even worse!" Alyson said, taking the mirror she lent me back.

"I'm going to get ready," Nataly excused herself, her face unusually white.

The sight of my wounds and the blood obviously didn't do her any good. Maybe the smell, too. I couldn't blame her for that, as I didn't like it either.

After she left, Alyson looked at me,her anger gone, "Korra, take a bath first. I can't have you here looking like this."

She didn't say it, but I realized she thought I would drive away her customers. For a moment, I wanted to argue that no one would see me in the laundry room, but then I rejected the idea. Now that I knew what I looked like, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

There was one problem, though.

"These are the only clothes I have...?" I didn't dare ask, just to indicate if she lent me any clothes.

Alyson sighed, "I have some old pants and a shirt. But I will want them returned or paid!"

It was a little humiliating to be considered poor; I wasn't rich on Earth, but I was able to pay for everything I needed. Now I could do nothing but accept her offer unless I wanted to return from the public bath only in my underwear. While it would probably be a good way to gain some experience in [Master's Lover], it wasn't the attention I wanted.

Alyson wisely wrapped them in a piece of cloth so I wouldn't touch them before I wash.

Although I had a space ring, the storage in it was too small to store clothes in. That was also the reason why I had a soap and towel in my backpack and the reason why, even though I didn't want to go there in my condition, I had to visit Broken Mug.

...

"What will it be?" Byron asked me as soon as he noticed me, keeping his eyes on the beer he was tapping.

I cleared my throat, "Um, Mr. Byron, are my things still in my room?"

"Korra?!" he asked, not believing his eyes when he looked at me. "Who did this to you?"

"You should see the other guy!" I replied with a smirk, pleased with myself.

I always wanted to use this line, but I never had the opportunity and the courage to do so.

"Is he dead too?" The innkeeper asked me. "Because you look like a ghost!"

Well, his guess was pretty accurate and surprised me, but I had to disagree.

"It's still me, alive. I just need a bath, though. My stuff?" I asked.

"One bath? More like two or three," Byron grinned, pointing to the back door. "Your things are still in the room. You have the key, right?"

It was still in my ring, so I picked up my things and visited the public bathrooms, regretting not asking about the bath in the barracks. Byron was right, and one bath of water wasn't enough. With gnashing teeth, I was forced to pay for another. In my case, a shower would be much more suitable, but they didn't have one in the public bathrooms. Whether this applied to the rest of Eleaden, I had to find out later.