Hannah had lost her mind worrying about her daughter, brother and son-in-law for hours after Alicia and Steven had arrived home and told her the gist of what they thought was happening at the campsite. Hannah turned the radio on just in time to hear a frantic reporter screaming, "The Dark Mark! The Dark Mark!" She spent the rest of the night shaking with fear, sitting in silence with her two youngest children, listening to the radio broadcast.
"Mum!" Lyla called to her from the street as she ran into the house behind her uncle and brother.
Hannah stood up so quickly the chair she was sitting on fell to the floor and ran right into her brother, her arms closed shut around him quickly then she moved to Jerry, let go and wrapped her arms tightly around Lyla's neck. "Thank Merlin" Hannah said, breathlessly her cheek wet against her daughters.
"It's okay, mum." Lyla said, rubbing her mom's back. "It's okay" she repeated softly and nuzzled her head into her mother's neck. She breathed the smell of her mother, a smell she supposed only mothers had; that faint breath of a flowering field, freshly cleaned sheets, and cinnamon.
"Now!" Hannah sighed loudly, she voice an octave higher than usual "Everybody upstairs, get cleaned up, change, rest. I'll make something to eat"
All too tired to argue, Lyla wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders as they shuffled up the stairs to their rooms, Steven following behind, his feet heavy with fatigue and his arms gripping the railings on either side of him tightly as he followed them. Jerry had sprinted up the stairs minutes earlier, not bothering to stay in the kitchen with everyone else but to go see his wife. As Lyla walked past her sister's open door she saw them grasping each other, her face wet and eyes shut as they tried to diminish as much space between them as they could without squashing Vanessa's large stomach protruding between them.
Once her door closed Lyla went right into the bathroom and sat on the edge of the old claw foot tub that took up most of the space within. As she ran warm water from the tap, her fingers danced beneath it checking the temperature. She stared at nothing and thought of nothing but the water between her fingers. She cupped her hand and used it to rinse the black and grey smudges of soot off her arms, legs, face and neck. When the bath was full and at the perfect temperature she reached for a small, amber glass bottle on the edge of the sink, unscrewed the top and squeezed three droplets of the dark green liquid from the pipette. As each drop hit the water it swirled and mingled with the clear water, turning the whole bath an opaque, mint color and releasing the scent of eucalyptus and wintergreen into the air.
As Lyla lowered herself into the warm water she let out a groan of both relief and sadness. The newly dawned sun was shining through the one small window over her, it lit the walls in shades of orange, reminiscent of the fires that scattered across the campgrounds at the World Cup and burned so many people. Three tears fell from her eyes and slid down her cheeks. Then, she submerged her head under the water, the minty-ness of the water stinging the delicate skin of her eyelids.
Under the surface of the water she let herself grieve. Ever since her father had disappeared ten years ago she had mastered the art of suppressing overwhelming emotions and, after years, knew how to control them. She pulled her head out of the water again, her nostrils drinking in the heavy, fresh perfumed air coming off the bath's still waters. The tracks of her tears were gone, along with her thoughts of last night.
Her head no longer submerged, she gathered up all of her hair and coated it with a purple cream, so thick it was almost clay. When she was finished she twirled her hair up into a knot at the top of her head and closed her eyes, resting her head against the tub.
Intoxicated by the heavy steam filling the room, the biting, cold scent of the wintergreen, and soothing scent of eucalyptus when she finally stirred to the knocking coming from the bathroom door she had no recollection of how long she had been asleep but the water was much cooler than she remembered.
"Who?" she said softly, sitting up in the tub and rubbing the nape of her neck, her small, round nipples perking up as they were drawn out of the cold water and into the cooler air.
The door opened in lieu of a response and her older sister, Vanessa, waddled into the bathroom and sat down on the small toilet crammed into the corner adjacent to the tub. Vanessa stared at her sister for a while then picked the only words she wanted, "I love you"
Lyla smiled, "I love you too" she looked at her sister's stomach. "Are you alright?"
Vanessa smiled back, touched she stomach and let out a light, musical laugh like a fairy "Oh yes" she said, "We got a scare but we're perfect. As usual" she shrugged one shoulder, rolled her eyes playfully and flipped her hair. Lyla smiled bigger and submerged her head back under the water; this time to rinse the thick, now dry, cream out of her hair. As she loosened the playful tendrils into the water the purple mingled with the green of the water and turned it a muddy blue. When every strand was free of the cream she sat up quickly, splashing her sister - who squealed.
"I think everyone is about ready for lunch" Vanessa informed her, "Will you come down?"
"Lunch!" Lyla breathed, amazed "Already?"
"Mhmm" Vanessa nodded and stood up slowly
"Yeah I'm just getting dressed." Vanessa exited as Lyla wrapped herself with a towel and pulled the stopper on the tub. Alone again, she toweled off in silence and walked over to her mirror to squeeze her hair dry and look herself over. The head of the dragon on her shoulder was peaking onto her neck, appearing to rub against her for comfort. She stroked it softly and it disappeared. She turned her back and saw it curled up on her middle of her shoulder blade. After watching it sleep for a minute she turned to her closet and got dressed in a loose, comfortable, long sleeved shirt and cutoff sweat pants then headed downstairs to be with her family.
