Phantom: Karma Slave
By PhantomChajo

Chapter 9

Phantom was once again, up to her neck in hot water. But this time it was of her choice and she found it quite pleasurable.

The only light in the room came from a pair of candles that were on the other side of the screen. They cast a soft glow to the room and the raising steam from the water only added to the general atmosphere of pleasurable relaxation. It certainly wasn't lost on the drow that was the current occupant of said tub of hot water. She had been in there for a little over a candlemark after washing the dirt and road stains from her hide.

A polite knock on the door brought her back to the present. "Yes?" she called out. A moment later the door opened.

"Mother told me to bring you a clean, dry robe and some bath sheets. She also told me to let you know that your room is warm now that the fire has been going since you came in here."

"Thank you Jensy," Phantom said before ducking her head under the water then coming back up and slicking the wet red mass out of her face.

"Yes Ma'am. Is there anything else I can do for you before I retire?" the young girl asked.

Phantom thought about it for a moment the spoke once more. "No, that will be all for the night."

"Yes Ma'am," the door started to close. "Good night."

"Good night child," Phantom replied absently. Once she heard the latch click into place she reluctantly sat up. Reaching below the water at one end of the tub she fished around till she found what she was looking for, the large plug that kept the water from flowing out. With a tug she removed it and stood up, watching as the water ran off her body and retreated down the hole. Picking up a cloth she wiped herself down, marveling at how her skin seemed to absorb the soft glow of the light, though some did seem to reflect off the two tattoos on her arms.

Stepping out of the tub, she reached around the screen and picked up the bath sheet then wrapped it about her body. She then picked up the robe and put it on, flipping her dripping hair over the collar. She didn't bother picking up or cleaning anything. She was told to leave it for the children's chores in the morning. As she left, she blew out the candles and silently padded on bare feet to her room. The rest of the building was dark, but that did not hamper her at all. In fact it made it easier.

Once in her room, she closed and locked the door behind her then looked around. Everything was as she left it, except the fireplace which had a nice cozy fire going. Moving towards the bed, she discarded the robe, hanging it on the bedpost, and picked up her brush. Turning back to the fireplace, she sat down on the stool and started brushing out her hair. It took some time to remove all the tangles, but once she did, her hair flowed straight down her back to nearly her waist. The light from the fire bringing out the red-gold highlights in her hair as well as the darker red color. She debated on whether or not to just go to bed or do some reading. She had taken care of her armor and weapons before going to bathe so she did not have to worry about getting dirty once more.

With a snorted sigh she stood up and moved to the bed. It was looking too inviting at the moment so she decided to sleep instead of worrying about anything else. If there were problems, they would let the world know about them. But until that time, she would not worry. Wearing nothing but what the gods graced her with at birth, she slid in between the soft sheets and was asleep before she knew it.


When she awoke, feeling rested once more, the dawn was still over an hour away. She lay there debating with herself on getting up or not for several minutes then decided to be quite the lazy person and stay in bed. During that time she was neither asleep nor truly awake, just aware enough to keep track of what was going on around her. At one point she heard one of the children stop by and gather up the pile of cloths outside her door then leave.

It was the smell of food cooking that finally brought her out of the bed. Sitting on the edge she stretched, arching her back somewhat before standing and gathering the robe up. Slipping it on she tied the belt, being polite enough to be sure it was closed, before leaving the room. Padding on silent, bare feet she made her way down to the kitchen area. As a courtesy she made sure to make some noise to alert the Widow that she was there. The food smelled too good to wasted by scaring the woman.

The Widow upon hearing a sound from the doorway of the kitchen turned and looked over her shoulder. It was her guest, the drow. "Good morning, I hope the children did not wake you"

Phantom moved towards the table and took a seat. "Morning. No, I was awake before the dawn."

"Oh, I hope everything was satisfactory"

"Quite so."

The widow nodded and turned back to the food over the hearth. A few moments later she turned back around with a pot in hand. "Would you like some tea? The water is nice and hot," she said as she moved to the table. With practiced ease she fixed a tea-ball, and dropped it into the mug then poured the hot water over it so the herbs could steep.

Phantom nodded her thanks, eyes moving about cataloging everything in the room. She had the impression that this was one of the most active and homey parts of the entire building. This was where everything took place.

The Widow smiled and fixed a second mug. She was already getting use to her unusual guest. Maybe because the drow reminded her of some of her husband's traveling companions. The only difference was the color of her skin. "I'm afraid that this morning's breakfast is going to be a bit on the plain site. Porridge and berries with some fresh bread and butter. I wasn't expecting any guest so I did not get to go to the marketplace and buy anything."

"That's fine. I've been eating my own cooking which consisted of roast rabbit for the past few days." Phantom chuckled as she took the mug, sniffing the steam that rose out of it.

"Ah.. I see.. Well anyways, there's honey if you wish to sweeten it." Nodding to the small jar on the table.

Phantom nodded once more and reached for the jar. She put a dollop into her tea and returned the jar to it's place. "I didn't realize that honey was available at this time of year as well as in this area."

The Widow took a few moments to answer since she was busy ladling up the porridge into bowls. "It's usually not. But I was lucky and managed to do some trading with a couple of rangers that came though earlier in the month. I think they said something about getting it from someone they knew down south a ways." She sat the bowls on the table then brought out a pitcher of milk and a smaller one of cream. Moving to the back door she opened it and stepped out side. "Breakfast! Be sure to clean up before coming in," she called out then stepped back inside closing the door and going back to the hearth.

A moment later the door opened, but the two that stepped in was not Jensy or Nadal. Instead it was a pair of rough looking men, both armed. Neither said a word as in came a third man. This fellow was nicely dressed though he did have an oily look to him. "Good morning my dear. I hope that I haven't come at a bad time."

The Widow narrowed her eyes when she saw who it was. "Get out of here. Your not welcome in my home."

The man chuckled though it sounded mocking. "Oh, I'm hurt dear Rebeca. You would accept a vicious and deadly creature such as the one sitting at your table, but you refuse me?"

"I would trust a drow before I would trust you, Councilman Toras," the Widow Rebeca said or rather spat. "My guest may be a drow, but at least she's not an oily backstabbing snake in the grass like you."

Councilman Toras narrowed his eyes at the words, then smiled slyly. "Ahh, I'd be careful if I was you. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your dear sweet children would you?"

Widow Rebeca's eyes widened at the implied threat against her children. "You wouldn't stoop so low!"

He smiled once more. "Me? Never, but you never know about the likes of that one." His eyes shifted as he glanced at the Drow sitting at the table.

Through this all Phantom sat calmly, sipping her tea. She found it highly amusing but at the same time, keeping her temper in check, found his not so subtle threats against the Widow and her children a bit much. Setting her cup down she leaned back in the chair and spoke, keeping a pleasant smile on her face. "You know, I find your so called 'subtle' hints about what might happen about as quiet and dainty as a dwarf at a tavern, drunker then anything on the strongest spirits he could get."

Everyone but the widow started in surprise at the Drow's low and throaty, but somehow very melodic voice, but the Councilman was the fastest thinker of the group. "Are you speaking to me? Have I even given you permission to speak Drow?" He wanted to get her to react so that he could have a real reason to attack her here and now.

"Oh little man, your pathetic attempts at these games are just that. Pathetic. I have seen novice Houses with more skill in their most idiotic members then you will ever have in your entire short life." She had not moved from her chair except to cross her legs under the table. "Do run along to play pretend with the rest of the so called adults. Your interrupting my breakfast." Leaning forward she took one bowl and pulled it close, then added some cream and butter to it along with some honey. "Oh, and send in the children. I would hate to find out something has happened to them. I'd have to pay someone a visit then."

Councilman Toras' eyes widened slightly at the returned threat. He started to sputter and turn red with anger, then he calmed and narrowed them. "Are you threatening me Drow?"

"Me? I never threaten, I only promise. Now scat."

The Widow Rebeca's confidence was bolstered somewhat so she added her own voice. "Yes, your not welcomed here now leave at once. Councilman or not, even you cannot force yourself on anyone without answering to the laws of the town."

The Councilman found he could not do a thing at the moment so decided it would be best to leave now and deal with this at a later time. With a jerk of his head he motioned for his guards to follow as he left. A few moments later the twins came in and was immediately gathered up in their mothers arms to be fussed over for the next few minutes.

Once more Phantom found the scene amusing.

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