Beyond The Stone

Chapter 13

Under normal circumstances she would have been at least a little stressed working with real weapons, but under Tristan's expert guidance there was absolutely no reason for her to feel anxious or threatened. If anything, it was Rowan that was looking a little anxious. Tristan really did seem to be a formidable fighter, because Sir Rowan was struggling to match his skill. Even more interesting was that Tristan did not seem to be trying very hard. After about an hour of sparring, Rowan threw down his sword in an overt gesture of defeat, and slumped to the ground with exhaustion. Tristan grinned, sheathed his sword and stretched his shoulders out.

'That was fun, but wow we reek now!' Ava remarked as she caught a whiff of very natural body odor from their armpit.

There had been at least a few trickles of sweat sliding across their body during the practice – a great alternative to gym, it seemed, but it sort of sucked not having the shower and change of clothing after.

'What be a gym?' Tristan asked bemusedly.

'It's a place people go to get fitter and stronger – a sort of training hall, I guess,' Ava supplied, 'But that's beside the point. We really need to do something about how gross we are. We didn't get to bath last night either.'

Tristan was silent a moment in speculation.

'Thee would bathe daily?' he asked, somewhat surprised.

'Well, yeah...' Ava replied, suddenly remembering that people in medieval times generally didn't have access to hot showers or baths at the twist of a tap.

A suppressed laugh echoed through Tristava. Tristan sniggered and snorted as he tried to contain his amusement. Finally, he burst out laughing, unable to contain his mirth. Rowan stared at him inquiringly. Tristan waved it away with his hand.

"'Twas just something that went through mine mind. Nothing of consequence," he explained away as he retrieved his water skin from his horse.

"It be near empty. 'Tis a good opportunity to refresh it," he explained as he headed towards the river.

'Daily? I have seldom heard anything so absurd. But if thou wishes to wash, so be it,' he suggested at last with a mischievous grin.

'Why do I get the feeling that you're up to something?' Ava asked warily as they walked.

'I just be taking us to the river to clean up a bit,' Tristan replied sneakily.

Ava was about to push the issue when they heard shrieks and laughter echo out around them. Tristan slowed down a little to speculate, then pushed forward more stealthily. They could hear people talking – feminine voices – and the shrieks seemed to have died down to chuckles and giggles for the moment. Tristan crouched lower in the growth as he pushed forward.

'Wait... why are we sneaking up on these people?' Ava asked. 'Shouldn't we like call out and announce ourselves - so they don't get a surprise?'

'Trust me, sneaking be very, very important at this moment,' Tristan whispered back with a note of mild irritation.

A short while later they crested a muddy embankment right on the side of the river, and Ava understood what was going on. Three girls were cleaning themselves in the river – sisters, most likely. One was about thirteen and just entering puberty. The others were about sixteen and seventeen years old. The oldest had a well-rounded figure with curves in the right places. Her sixteen-year-old sister wasn't far behind. They were all wearing nothing more than their chemises, splashing each other playfully and shrieking when the water hit them.

"Don't forget to fill the pale before we start back," the eldest told her middle sister.

"Why do I have to carry it? The middle sister whined.