Merlin led Raag into a dressing room that afternoon on the ruse that he needed to apply more ointment to her back. She stopped, short, and regarded the stranger in front of her.
"Raag, this is Gwen." He introduced. "She's going to help us."
"With... the ointment?" Asked Raag, not comprehending his gist.
Gwen smiled, sympathetically. "I'm here to help you get away."
A pang of fear froze Raag to the spot. "I have to get back..." she turned to find Merlin standing between her and the door. "Please, I have to get back before my Master finds out I'm gone."
"He's just had his lunch," Merlin insisted, "He won't notice for hours."
"Please, Merlin," she implored, as panic began to surface, "please let me go."
"Look, I have a plan..." he began, "we're going to hide you right under their noses."
"They're going to be looking for a boy." Gwen took out one of her dresses and showed her. "Not a girl." She explained.
Raag's eyes flashed at Merlin with disbelief. "You TOLD her?" She felt completely betrayed. "You PROMISED!"
"You can trust her." He insured, "I'd trust her with my life."
Gwen looked at him with gratitude. That was the most considerate thing he could ever say. Raag wasn't so sure. "Please Merlin, I... I can't. If I'm caught..." then reality struck, "Oh, God, if I'm caught..." After the beating she received the day before, couldn't fathom the horror she would face if she angered her Master again.
"This is your chance to be free, Raag." Merlin persisted, "And I'll make sure you're safe. I swear."
It felt like the earth and the sky were colliding, and Raag didn't know what to think anymore. Here, in front of her was the chance to be free, but she was afraid. Too afraid to make a choice. Gwen took her hand and led her to the screen behind them. "I want to show you something."
It was a bathtub full of water. "Do you want me to bathe you?" Raag asked, unsure. Gwen laughed. There was that tinkling sound again...
"No, it's for you." Gwen said.
It took a moment for her to come to the obvious conclusion. "You drew a bath... for ME?" No one had ever done anything like that for her. In fact no one had ever done anything for her.
"We need you to smell more like... a girl..." Gwen tried to be as tactful as possible.
The bath smelled wonderful. Like flowers. Raag wanted to soak in it so badly. She hadn't had a bath in... was it the stream, or the lake? Oh, yes, it was the lake about two months ago, the men had made fun of her because she went in with all her clothes on. Something she could only do once or twice before the weather turned. But she just laughed and said her clothes needed washing, too. As uncomfortable as it was to be soaking wet from head to toe, while she shivered when night fell because she hadn't completely dried yet, she knew it was worth it. So much better than the alternative. However, fear prevailed and she shook her head adamantly.
"Look, if they track you here," Gwen coaxed, "we'll just tell them we made you take a bath because you smelled so bad." She continued under her breath, "Which wouldn't be a complete lie..."
"I smell?"
Merlin and Gwen both nodded. "You smell like... the stables." Merlin put it gently, "which doesn't bode well in the dining room."
Raag made an 'O' with her mouth as she pondered their words. What they were saying made sense. She finally nodded, cautiously. Gwen hung the dress up on the screen, and helped her remove her shirt. She gasped as she saw the scars on her back.
"Is it bad?"
"No." She lied. "If we apply the salve every day, most of your scars will disappear." She advised.
Raag just lowered her head and whispered ruefully, "We leave tomorrow."
"All the more reason to run now." A voice said from the other side of the screen. Merlin had been listening to their conversation, respectfully facing the door. "Tomorrow will be too late."
Gwen could see she needed a moment to think about it. "Get in." She suggested.
Raag hissed as she climbed into the tub. It felt so good, and it was WARM! She could almost feel the dirt floating off in the luxurious water. It enveloped her like a warm blanket, but better, reaching every crease and crevice of her body, and cleansing it. Gwen handed her a washcloth and a bar of soap, which she viewed with confusion. "Do you need me to wash the dishes while I'm in here?"
"No," the tinkling sounded again, "this is to wash YOU!"
Raag scowled, "Soap is for washing dishes, or clothes, or girls... OH!"
"Believe it or not, men use soap, too..." came the disembodied voice from the other side of the screen, "Civilized, men, that is."
"You sound more like Arthur every day." Chastised Gwen. Realizing that perhaps Raag had never used soap on her body before, she gently undid the bun on the top of her head, letting the long, black hair cascade down to the water, and took the soap from her hand. Making a lather with the water, she then applied it to her hair, massaging it in.
Raag relished the feeling. So gentle. So wonderful. A woman's touch. She felt like she could bathe forever, but knew that this was a special favour just for her, and she appreciated it as such. Gwen tapped her on the top of the head. "Down you go!" As Raag submerged herself, rinsing off the soap, Gwen scooped up her clothes that were lying on the floor.
Merlin sat down where he was, resisting the urge to take just one little peek. He was a Gentleman, after all. Still, it would be a beautiful scene, like one of the portraits in Uther's chambers, 'Women bathing', he would call it, if he could paint. "Psst!" He was brought out of his momentary trance. Raag's filthy clothes were tossed in his direction. "Take this out and burn it!" Gwen demanded. Merlin took the clothes gingerly, holding them at arms' length and bolted out of the room.
"Where are my things?" Raag gasped as she came out of the water, to find her clothes missing.
"I got rid of them." Gwen shrugged.
"WHAT? NO!" Her breathing began to double in speed as she felt panic rising in her. "They're the only things I own!" How could I have been so careless?
"It's alright," Gwen tried to calm her down, "you have this to wear, now." She showed her the dress hanging on the screen. Raag refused to be mollified as she tried to get out of the bath, ready to chase down her only belongings. Gwen stood her ground, not letting her up from the slippery tub. "Look, after we're done, if you still want to go back to your Master, I will give you new boy's clothes. Alright?"
Raag relented. "New?" The word was almost alien to her.
Gwen nodded as she handed her a cloth to dry off the excess water. As she carefully began to apply the salve (the actual reason she was there) to her back, Raag groaned with relief while her cool hands went to work quelling the dull ache. "Now let's try the dress on." She said as she slipped it over her head.
...
"Coming in!" Merlin called out as he stumbled into the room, just as Gwen was tying up the dress. He feigned a look of disappointment, as Gwen shot a look back that told him he wasn't fooling anyone. "Don't you look nice!" He couldn't help commenting.
Gwen began to brush her wet hair. "Who knew there was a girl underneath all that dirt?"
Raag wasn't as amused. "This is not LARK. If Holun's men find me... if they find me like this..." she stopped. Raag watched the horrors spinning in her head. They would grab her, and the dress would rip, and once they discovered that she was a girl... even Holun would not be able to stop the frenzy that would follow.
She had witnessed it, several years ago, when they were heading back to Mongol for the winter and to stock up on more wares and supplies. One of the men had enticed a hapless girl in the tavern as they were passing through her village, and after determining that she lived alone, he offered to walk her home. But instead of escorting her safely, they stole her away into the night. They locked the poor girl in one of the empty caravans and there they kept her for their pleasure, until they reached their homeland.
As she was playing with the dog, Raag became curious when she heard thumping from within the caravan. Knowing all the men were having dinner around the campfire, she went to investigate, even though she was warned never to venture near. "Da?" She asked, wondering if the girl wanted anything. There was a crack in the door, so she looked in. Seeing a shadow move, she asked again, "Da?" moving in for a closer look.
It was like a flash of lightning. A hand reached out from the caravan and grabbed Raag, clutching on so tightly that she thought her arm would break, all the while screeching nonsensical words. Weeks of abuse had turned the girl into more of a wild animal than a human being. All Raag could remember was screaming and screaming as she tried to loosen the girl's grip. The commotion brought the men over, and one pried the girl's fingers off her arm, while another man unlocked the caravan door and went in. Terrified, Raag ran and hid in her Master's tent. Behind her she heard a sickening crack, and the girl went silent.
Raag took deep breaths to calm herself as reality sunk in, and she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that would be her fate were she to stay with Holun. "Help me." She whispered.
Gwen looked at her with sympathy. "That's what we're here to do." She turned the girl to the mirror. Raag stared at her reflection. The transformation had begun.
"Oooh," the dress was lovely. A pale green, with embroidery around the collar. Synched in the waist, it raised her breasts up above the gathered blouse. Raag couldn't resist touching the cleavage, something she never knew she had.
Gwen slapped her hand away, "Women don't touch themselves in public." She berated her.
Raag had to make do with looking at herself in the mirror, as she turned left and right, staring at her new figure from different angles. Because she was unaccustomed to having her legs encased by yards of material, the first thing she did as Gwen pulled her away toward the makeup table was trip on her dress. Even though Gwen tried her best to teach her how to pick up the hem of her dress as she walked, she managed to trip again. And again. She finally resolved it herself by gathering the skirt into a ball in front of her as she moved to the table and sat down in a most unladylike fashion. Gwen eventually got her to try practicing walking with her dress down, so that she could do so in public. Somewhat. "It's one thing to look like a woman," she told her, "it's another to act like one."
Gwen sat her back down and applied blush on her cheeks. Then she rubbed lipstick from a small pot onto Raag's lips. "Mmmm," she said, as her tongue darted out to taste the concoction. It was the best thing she had ever tasted. Unable to control herself, she began to lick her lips constantly.
"What is that made of?" Merlin curiously dipped his finger into the pot.
"Honey, wax and powdered raspberries." Was the answer. Merlin licked his finger and replaced it into the pot. "Is all makeup this delicious?" He said as he watched Raag remove all her lipstick with her tongue.
"This is expensive!" Gwen hissed as she snapped the lid back on, and put it back into her pocket. "Why don't you go make sure Raag hasn't been missed?"
Merlin nodded in agreement and headed off to scour the castle for any disturbances.
Turning back to Raag, she gave an exasperated sigh. "Alright now, let's do something with your hair."
...
When he returned, Gwen looked terse as she passed him in the doorway. "I have to get some food." She said, curtly.
Merlin frowned. He had never seen Gwen like that. "What happened?" He asked Raag.
"I don't know." She was truly confused. "We were talking, and she said something funny, so I laughed, and she left."
"What was so funny?"
"Oh, I don't know, she said something about men having hairy backs," She began to giggle, remembering the joke, and then laughed, full out. Merlin couldn't help noticing that it sounded like a donkey's bray.
Ascertaining that it couldn't have been that, as annoying as it was, he turned to put away the ointment, and was almost sent sprawling across the room when Raag smacked him, good-naturedly, on the back. "Ahhh, I understand now, women don't do that..." he broached as soon as the shock wore off.
"Do what?"
"Hit people on the back when they laugh, and they laugh... well... quieter," he struggled to find an example, "remember when we watched those girls in the kitchen? What did you say about their laughter?"
"The tinkling of bells." Raag balked, "You want me to laugh like THAT?"
"For a start." he suggested, "Try covering your mouth," he demonstrated, "like this... tee hee hee..."
"Tee hee hee?"
"Yes, that's the way women laugh."
"Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure."
"OK..." She gave it a try. "Tee hee..." she tried again, "Tee hee hee" it sounded so absurd, they both began to laugh. She covered her mouth quickly as the donkey bray surfaced.
"Maybe you need to work on it."
"Maybe I do!" She conceded.
Gwen came back in with a tray of tea and fruit. "You two look like you're having fun,"
Merlin nudged Raag. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," she apologized, "are you alright?"
Gwen smiled, appreciating the apology. "I'm fine. It just made me realize that we have a lot of work to do." She set the tray down on the table in front of Raag. "We'll start with table manners. Let's have some tea."
Merlin got up quickly. "I need to attend to Arthur."
"Oh, no you don't." Gwen stopped him, "Arthur is in meetings all afternoon with Holun. You need to brush up on your manners, too."
"I," Merlin said, pointedly, "am Prince Arthur's Manservant. I am well versed in the the delicate art of entertaining."
"And when was the last time you participated in a function as a guest?"
Merlin was caught. "Oh, very well." He sat down, not completely dissatisfied, there was food, after all. Raag was very happy he relented.
Gwen poured the tea. Raag looked at the tiny cup dismayed. It was ridiculously small. Not like the tankard she usually drank out of. Handing each person a napkin, Gwen picked up her cup.
In Raag's defence, she was extremely hungry. She immediately grabbed a handful of grapes in one hand, and a delicious apple in the other, taking bites out of both fruits. Juice dribbled down her chin, as she delighted in its' goodness. She began to wipe her hands, now all sticky, on her clothes. "No no no!" Gwen cried out, "use the napkin! That's what it's there for!"
Merlin chortled as he stuffed a handful of his own grapes into his mouth.
"You're not helping." She snapped at him.
"I'm helping myself!" He joked.
Raag laughed loudly, slapping her hand over her mouth as the donkey bray appeared. "Tee hee hee?" She meekly tried to assuage Gwen.
"Sit up straight," Gwen tried to continue, "don't put the food directly in your mouth, make sure you place it on the plate, first." She demonstrated by putting a small cluster of grapes down.
"But if I don't use the plate, I won't have to wash it afterwards." Raag logicized.
"It'll be washed, regardless of whether you use it or not." Was the answer. "And for goodness sake, eat with your mouth closed!"
(...)
Holun found the dog in the stables, alone. The stalls hadn't been cleaned yet, and it was almost dinner time. "Find the boy." He said to his men angrily as he marched back to his quarters.
One of the men took the leash down from the post and clipped it onto the dog. "Go get Raag." He told him.
Kendo looked up and wagged his tail. "RAAG? I LOVE RAAG. WHERE IS HE? IS THIS A GAME? I LOVE GAMES. RAAG! RAAG! I WANT TO PLAY, RAAG!" He stopped to sniff a sack and a mouse ran out. He began to chase the mouse but the guard pulled him back. "OH, RIGHT, RAAG! I THINK HE WENT THIS WAY... I SMELL THAT MAN, THE ONE THAT CAME TO VISIT LAST NIGHT. YES, AND HE HAS THAT OINTMENT WITH HIM! RAAG! RAAG! WHERE DID YOU GO? FOOD!" He was immediately yanked away from the kitchen door, "OH, UP THE STAIRS! THERE! THERE! DOWN THE HALLWAY! RAAG! YOU FORGOT TO TAKE ME! I'LL FIND YOU! I LIKE THIS GAME! THROUGH THIS DOOR! RAAG! THERE YOU ARE! YOU SMELL DIFFERENT. WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING? WAIT! AAAACHOOOO! COME BACK! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING AWAY? RAAG! AAAACHOOOO! AAAACHOOOO!"
Merlin smiled to himself as the lavender powder 'somehow' tipped over and onto the dog. "What are you doing here?" He asked the men, trying to look somewhat miffed.
"We're looking for the boy, Raag, have you seen him?"
"AAAAAAACHOOOOO!"
"Can you kindly take this dog out of here?" Merlin pointedly remarked, assuming a casual, yet angry pose. "As you can see, there is no boy here, and you're frightening the women."
"I'm sorry," the guard said, awkwardly. Clearly not used to apologizing, he was more than happy to get out of there. "let's go."
"AAAAAAACHOOOOO!"
They turned to leave. "The dog's of no use, now." He mumbled.
Merlin quickly closed the door and leaned against it. Letting out the breath he didn't realize he was holding, he ran down the back staircase and into the kitchen, where he found Gwen trying to coax Raag out from under the table.
"It's safe." He told her as he darted under the table after her. "You can come out." Terrified, Raag shook her head adamantly. "Look, you can't stay here forever. I have to serve dinner now, the Prince gets very grouchy if it's not on time. Kind of like a petulant child." With that, he managed to get her up and handed her over to Gwen.
Gwen gave him a disdainful look. "Come on, you'll be safe at my place." She told her, as she stopped Raag from using her sleeve to wipe her nose by handing her a napkin.
Sir Gwaine was on his way by for his afternoon snack, and perked up when he noticed the women leaving the kitchen. "Who's the new girl?" He asked Merlin. "She's VERY pretty!"
