Chapter 11
Sun Keep - 2300 A.D.
They were pissed off. Definitely.
First of all, the Rainbow Shell had proved to be a great nuisance: returning to 1000 A.D., they had found that King Guardia XXXIII -Marle's father- had been put under trial by a fake Chancellor who was actually a monster and had hidden the Shell in the basement...They had got to find the Shell, break in the tribunal room through the window, fight the monster...
Then, at the End of Time, Lucca had had the
infamous idea to ask Gaspar:
«But, if we can carry items through time and gates, why
shouldn't we bring some food to the starving people in the
future?»
So Gaspar had began one more time his obnoxious many paths lay open to you rambling speech. They had run away without any chance to rest and recover, and had landed in the 2300 A.D. in front of the Sun Keep.
«Wasn't it a palace in 12000 B.C.?» Marle had observed «Why it's a cave, now?»
«Perhaps it had been pushed underground when it fell from the sky» Lucca had explained.
They had fought another hideous monster that they weren't expecting, a self-declaring Son of Sun which nobody had ever heard of. It had been a harsh battle; the companions had had to retreat many times before discovering what the monster weak point was.
But they had succeeded, at last. They had taken the Sunstone -that had become a Moonstone, its power exhausted- and had brought it in the Prehistoric era to recharge it...and when they had returned to the future sure to find the Stone empowered again, it had gone.
«Please, don't tell me we went through all this just to leave the Stone to someone else!» Marle sighed.
«The Sunstone had been taken away no more than 1300 years ago» Magus said, out of the blue.
«Ayla no run! Ayla fight!» the cave woman yelled, as she always did.
None spoke while they were travelling toward 1000 A.D. again.
«Look! Stop here!» Lucca abruptly cried.
«What?» Crono asked, stopping the Epoch above Porre village.
«A strange light flickering on that house» Robo pointed out, flatly.
They landed.
«It's the Mayor house, Crono observed.
«That hideous man who ask everyone to play the chicken! He won't give us anything!» Marle objected.
She sighed again, realising that there was no choice.
What happened then is a known tale. Porre Mayor was greed and selfish because of some ancestor's bad experiences. The companions had to travel back in time, be nice with the Mayor's grand-grand-grandmother so she would teach the value of generosity to her children...and so on.
When they went back to the End of Time, hungry and horribly tired, Gaspar was sleeping. They moved with the greatest care not to upset him.
***
Ozzie's Fort - 600 A.D.
Hearing the bell ringing from Flea's bedroom, Auree answered quickly. But her master wasn't there, apparently. She hesitated on the threshold, until Flea called her again.
«I'm here, dear, in the bathroom»
Auree then noticed the clothes, abandoned on a chair, and became aware of a splashing sound from the bathroom. She blushed for no reason at all.
What's strange? He takes a bath every night before going to bed, she reminded herself.
She neared the other door, which was closed.
«Yes, sir...what can I do?»
«Memory like a sieve, today. I forgot the most important thing...Could you bring me a bathrobe, please?»
She went to one of the wardrobes.
«Have you some preference, sir? Red, yellow, green...» she asked loudly.
Flea possessed an astonishing amount of clothes. And peculiar undergarments, she thought, and immediately disapproved of herself.
«Uhm...let's see...I can't choose...Bring me the red one...no, the brown...oh, both!»
«Right»
Auree stopped in front of the door suddenly realizing that she didn't know what do to next. She knocked.
«You can enter» Flea answered in amused tones «I'm not naked»
But he was. Just the water and thick foam covered his body. His braid was coiled and pinned on the top of his head not to get wet. He pulled out a hand to gesture idly toward a stool near to the bathtub.
«Put them there, thank you»
Auree obeyed slowly, the heavy fruit scent in the air making her giddy.
«It's a new bath essence» the Mystic explained, as reading her thoughts «What do you think? Do you like it?»
«Good» she said weakly «A bit too...It makes me hungry»
Flea laughed.
«You're right. Well, don't drink it, I think it's poisonous»
Auree curtseyed and left the room before he could think of asking her to wash his back...or something else. Shortly after this, when she was collecting the discarded clothes to bring them to the laundry, Flea emerged from the bathroom wearing the brown bathrobe. He stepped in front of her, arm crossed at his chest.
«Now, Auree, you will tell me the truth» he said sternly «I know you are angry for something...pray tell me what it is»
She spoke slowly, not hiding her discontent.
«I casually heard your conversation with Gorgl...three days ago...»
«Which one?»
«The one in your parlour...I was in my chamber and...and...»
She lowered her gaze.
«You caught your name and eavesdropped» Flea concluded for her, smiling «I would have done the same. Well, I remember. I'm sorry that you had heard Gorgl's silly remarks...but why are you so upset?»
Auree stared at him in amazement. He had let the Hench believe that they had an intimate relationship, that was not true, and asked innocently where the problem was?
He is really a male, she thought sadly.
She couldn't say a thing. Flea took gently her hands.
«A nice bath with warm water is always a good remedy against ill-humour. Would you like to try it? You know...foam, scented soap...yes?»
He had brought her back in the bathroom.
«Stay here. I will send for other hot water»
He showed her the various essences she could use, babbling about the right temperature of the water, that shouldn't be too hot nor too cold, because it was bad for the skin.
Auree felt so dizzy that she sat on the stool not noticing that the red bathrobe was still there. When the hot water came, Flea prepared the bath, always talking. Soon the bathtub was full of fragrant foam.
«You can close the door with the latch. And you can use the other bathrobe...oh, just under you. See you later»
He left. Standing up and closing the door took her several minutes. She sighed, looking at the foam, then slowly began to take off her clothes.
He is luring me into being naked in his bedroom, she suddenly told herself, he hadn't closed with the latch, before...and...the two bathrobes...he had programmed all this.
She shrugged and entered the bathtub.
-----
(A cliffhanger! ^__^)