The Tale Teller

Ch 22

Vaun knew the road had been cruel to him, he was unshaved and unwashed in clothes that were stained and worn. They stank just as bad as he. He couldn't deny the second of insecurity when Celise ordered him to bathe though.

It soon passed as he helped her carry the wooden tub from the outside storehouse up to his bedroom. Celise tossed a few fragrant petals into it before rushing back downstairs to fetch the hottest water she could find. Vaun stripped himself of his coat, neatly folding it to sit alongside his cloak on the chair, before going down to help her.

It took five pails of water before it was full, and once it was, Celise made sure to close over and lock the door before dragging over a stool to sit down upon. She looked at Vaun expectantly, with the small bowl of oats she had prepared in her palm.

Vaun raised an eyebrow, biting his tongue from saying something. He was getting looser with his words lately and he didn't want Celise to think he wasn't grateful for her help but it was far from necessary for her to sit there like a mother overseeing the scrubbing of her child.

He did as he knew was wanted though, unbuttoning the few ties at the top of his shirt before tugging it over his head. The boots came next and the knitted socks below, then the breeches. Celise's eyes didn't leave Vaun once.

"What's with the oats?" He hadn't had a chance to ask until now.

"Scrub yourself with them and they'll help remove dead skin, leave you nice and soft."

"As soft as you?" 

She smiled, looking down at the bowl before back at Vaun through her lashes. "You remember?"

"How could I forget?" She smiled again, and Vaun couldn't hold back the slight tug of his own lips. That night with Celise had been amazing. He remembered every detail, and the softness of her skin was something rather hard to forget.

She gave him no privacy as he removed his underclothes. Her gaze had become pointed, a gentle study of the layers shed and the naked body below. Her intensity made Vaun shiver, but beneath the jitter in his stomach, there was a calm only found when with Celise. Somehow it seemed natural for her to see his body like this, naked and dirty enough to turn the clear water black. He wouldn't be proud of it, but if anyone was to witness it, he'd rather it be Celise.

Vaun climbed into the tub, tucking his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. The water was hot enough for steam to rise, flowing up into the air like wisps of fog in the candlelight. Vaun was so busy watching it that Celise's hand on his shoulder made him jump.

"Sorry." He shook his head at her, watching as she placed her oats on the floor and picked up a rag. It was dipped into the water before pressed against Vaun's collarbone.

It was hot, almost too hot, and the parts of his body not emerged shivered at the mixed temperatures. He was settling though, assisted by the gentle sweeps of Celise's cloth over his chest.

"Why are you doing this?" A whisper, a nod to her hand and the rag in it.

"Can't I make sure you wash behind your ears?" Though her eyes seemed distant, she gave a playful smirk. Vaun ached to kiss it right off her.

"I suppose, Mama." At that, her smirk broke into a grin and she paused the gentle washes to give him a wet slap to the shoulder with the rag. Vaun laughed, the first laugh he could remember having in a long time. Celise laughed with him, eyes warming before she went back to her washing.

"Just let me do this."

"Alright." There was something in the motions that seemed to calm her like it was the flickering of a fire or the clicking of knitting rods.