A slight smell of sulfur hung in the air as they passed by the hot springs. Callum wished Rayla would stop here for the night, allowing him to inspect the place a little. It was all so colorful that he didn't dare draw it - in black and white, it would just look like random holes in the ground. Watching Zym splash around, he was itching to join him.
"You sure you don't wanna take a dip?", he eventually asked, looking over his shoulder, "It might be nice to snuggle in the hot water?"
She smirked at him. "I will say I like the idea of a hot bath. It's gettin' late and coldish and we've not bathed for a bit. But! Zym's a dragon", she pointed her finger at the colorful ground, "We'd be set like those eggs we had for lunch if we jumped in here. These pools are boilin' hot. Look at them bubble!"
"Oh, I hadn't really thought of that.", he said, disappointed. Upon closer observation, he saw what she meant. There were bubbles of steam rising all over the surface. He cringed a little at the thought of jumping in, now.
"It's a good thing you're with me, fawn, I would've jumped in and boiled my butt the moment I got close to these things."
She laughed. "Way worse than eatin' Twist Bell, for sure. Come on, I'm sure if we leave the path a bit further away from these holes, we can find somethin' a little less `boily` to splash in."
They rode in silence for a while.
From the elevation they were on, it was easy to look far back to where they had come from. The road was lonely behind them, Otarks farmhouse still quite visible as a speck in the distance.
"What do you think Ivine's up to right now? I wonder if they're sending more people after us.", Callum wondered.
"There probably are people on our trail right now, yeah. Lucky for us, we have the stags", she scanned the empty horizon behind them, "They don't seem to be goin' all that fast. Or maybe they passed us yesterday when we were at Otark's. That'd be hilarious. They would think we just vanished!"
Rayla eventually led her doe off the path and he followed on his stag.
There weren't many trees here, so the going was easy off the path. She had advanced over the mostly barren, grassy terrain and he followed at a quick canter to catch up. The Prince was getting quite comfortable on his animal, having spent four full days in the saddle. He'd actually started feeling bad about the fact that he didn't know its given name.
Rayla's head swiveled, scanning the darkening landscape and she eventually turned towards a cave that was wide open on one side but offered good shelter - and a nice water feature. There was a pool of crystal clear, deep blue water, steaming slightly in the advancing evening cold. It was fed by a cascading stream, gushing from a wide crack in the cave's wall.
"That looks perfect", she said and dismounted. Callum couldn't help himself, immediately testing the water's temperature. Carefully. With his left pinky.
"Oh, that's really nice!", he said, "I can't wait to get in there!"
"Uh-hu. Looks deep, that pool", Rayla said with a look of trepidation at the dark liquid, "First you're gonna help make camp."
They set up their tent and chucked their sleeping bags inside, unrolling them in the process. Callum made a small bonfire and placed a pot on top. Mushroom soup tonight. This time thickened with flour as Otark had given them some.
Rayla was enthused. "I can't believe how hungry I am, again! This is so tasty!"
Callum chuckled, eagerly spooning the rich, creamy soup. Zym showed little interest in their food tonight, he was very focussed on catching insects.
"I'm gonna go sit in that hot bath now", Callum announced after they had eaten and she motioned for him to go ahead.
"Knock yourself out, dummy. I'll be right here, watching from a safe distance."
His mien sagged a little. "You don't even wanna try it?"
"Nah, sorry", she said, sheepishly, "It's too deep for me."
Zym was wandering behind her, gnawing at something squishy but crunchy.
"Looks like he's busy eating more bugs", Callum said, disgusted.
"He's hungry and he knows where to find food. Ever since he's had to fend for himself for that week he's gotten good at it, too! Suits me fine. It'll be harder to keep us all fed on the pass and in the winter. We need to trade for a lot of lembas at the ranger station!"
"I just realized something", Callum said, flushing a bit.
"What's that?"
"If I wanna go bathe, you can't be watching."
She blinked, blushed and laughed. "You don't have to be naked, dummy! Gosh! We're not gonna die of embarrassment if you keep your underwear on!"
He shuffled a little, then mumbled, "Fine. For the bath!"
The prince hid behind their tent and a few minutes later, he dove into the pool from a running jump.
"It's really nice!", he yelled from the pool.
Rayla's slight blush hadn't left her face when she got up to join him at the edge of the pool. She got down on her stomach and pulled him towards herself to kiss him.
The water smelled a little sulfury, but it was pleasantly hot. Interestingly, it seemed to sparkle a little, like ginger beer. She still had a very hard time being close to it, the darkest blue spots seemingly threatening to pull her in.
"You don't have to lie there", he said, noticing her worried stare, "I'll be out soon enough, just wanna wash up a bit. Though I wouldn't complain if you joined me."
She shrugged. "I really don't want to. It's too deep for me."
"Come on. You can do it!"
She got up and sighed deeply.
There was nothing for it; She felt the need to get clean. Ever so often, she'd have to get over herself to avoid becoming the worst smelling and greasiest feeling elf in the world.
Walking back to the tent, she began to understand his feelings a little better. It was a bit strange, showing so much of her to him. The thought didn't make her uncomfortable so much as nervous. Would the scars and healing wounds put him off? Would she be able to even get into the water?
Once she was down to her underwear, she nervously approached the water's edge, a great many feelings bubbling in her stomach.
Then she caught his glance and they both flushed.
"You are just... breathtakingly beautiful", Callum marvelled and her heart wanted to jump out of her chest.
She didn't respond right away, nervously gazing at her feet.
"... nah, I'm bothered. I don't think I wanna do this.", she finally choked out, turning to go.
"Wait!", he pleaded, "Look, there's a super shallow place over there. You can see the ground and stand in there. I'll be with you, nothing's gonna happen."
She eyed the spot he pointed at and sighed deeply. He swam over to it, looking at her encouragingly. Eventually she caved to his green eyes and walked over.
Carefully, she dipped her toes in the water. It was pleasant, maybe a smidge too hot.
She eventually sat and submerged both her feet.
It was weird, having cold sweat on your hands while your feet were too warm.
"How is it?", he asked and she shrugged worriedly.
"I still don't think I wanna do this. I don't like the idea of where this water's from and how it got there."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. This water's gushing up from where it's hot, down there. There's all these dark tubes and caverns, just full of water. It creeps me out, thinkin' about it. Thinkin' about what's probably hiding down there."
He nodded empathetically. "Yeah that is a bit scary. Hold on."
Seeing him dive, her heart jumped into her throat.
After coming back up, he sputtered, then said "Okay. Well, I checked the bottom. Solid rock. Only way in is the spout up there and only way out is that little waterfall back there."
"I'm happy you're goin' through the effort, dummy, but…", she kneaded her hands.
"You're too scared?"
"More like… uncomfortable."
"You don't have to be embarrassed", he chuckled and climbed out of the pool, sitting down next to her, "You're so much braver than I in pretty much all other situations. It's only fair, in my mind. Look, we can work through this, if you want."
Rayla smiled tepidly and leaned over to embrace him. He was steaming a little in the cold air. When she kissed him, a drop of water separated from his wet hair and hit her smack-dab on the tip of the nose.
"Huh?", she went.
He wiped the drop off her nose.
"Come on, fawn. We can do this", he said gently, taking in her worried gaze.
His intense look made her blush a little. "F-Fine!", she said finally.
He nodded solemnly, holding her hand while she carefully submerged both her legs up to the knees. She looked ahead and her eyes latched onto the deepest part of the pool.
She felt queasy.
"C-Callum", she said quietly, "I- don't think this is gonna work! I wanna go, please"
"It's fine. Nothing's going to happen to you. I'm right here. Just look at me."
He forced his face into a pout to make a dramatic, cross-eyed kissy face and she snorted, despite herself.
"You're too cute!", she said raising a hand to pet his cheek, "and so annoyin'! Look! I got my stompers in the ick. That's what you wanted, right? Can I go now?"
"Nope. My goal is you and me, sitting in there on that rock, smooching."
She bristled. "That's a lot to ask, dummy."
"You can do it. I believe in you!"
Rayla eyed the water to her feet.
After a moment, she edged forward, holding on to him for dear life.
"D-Don't let me go!", she pleaded and he shook his head.
"Not for a second."
She slipped off the edge, making a sound of annoyance as the water splashed a bit around her and he quickly laid on his stomach to keep his grasp on her.
His hands in hers, he felt her shaking.
"You're okay, fawn", he soothed, "See, you're standing up, everything is good."
"It tingles. The bubbles. They tingle.", she reported tonelessly. She seemed more annoyed than worried.
"I'll come in now, too."
His girlfriend shook her head wildly.
"I'm getting cold out here. Don't worry.", he said, softly.
He slipped into the pool, making sure not to splash her. Then, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Their skin's unfamiliar touch could have been romantic, if it wasn't for the fact that she was quaking with discomfort. Plus, the light scratch of the vines reminded them both of Kel.
"I feel so s-stupid", she stuttered, "It f-feels nice on my skin, the warmth, the b-b-bubbles! Wh-why am I so bothered?!"
He carefully walked her over to the rock he had pointed out and sat on it, pulling her into his lap. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his stomach.
Like this, they sat for a while. Callum ran his hands soothingly over her back.
Eventually, she lifted her head off his shoulder to face him, "This feels really...", her gaze wandered over his face, stuck to his lips for a moment. Then her eyes snapped to his. Her left hand came up to brush a wet strand of hair out of her face. "It's weird being a bit undressed with you. I'm really nervous, but… I don't know if it's 'cause of the water or because of you. Uh... I don't like this, but I don't want it to end, either?"
"We've done what we set out to", her boyfriend said, softly, "Look at us, cuddling in deepish water."
She smiled slightly. "Feels like this was all you. Thanks for taking your time with me."
"Nah. I have a very selfish motivation."
"What's that?", she asked, rather confused.
His expression sunk into a blank frown. "You smell", he said flatly.
Rayla blinked, then burst out laughing. She wheezed, shaking, while her tears of laughter mixed with the steaming water.
Callum gave her an amused, quizzical look.
"Well, thanks! You, too!", she said after recovering, petting his hair.
He nodded. "I used to bathe every second day, you know? Yesterday I was really wondering if the other people at Otark's could smell me."
"Eh, they smelled pretty bad themselves. Anzha and Noli were travelin' themselves and Otark's a farmer. I think we were all pretty comfortably smelly. I mean, it got way worse after we danced, in my opinion."
Her eyes filled with a bit of sadness. "I still feel bad for how that ended. Sor-"
He interrupted her by kissing her and she gave him a surprised look. "I feel like it was my fault, actually. I… had the thought of asking you to come live in Katolis before we even started dancing. Feels like I should have just brought it up, then."
She squirmed uncomfortably.
"You're still not happy about that, eh?"
"I want to be with you", she said, frustrated, "But I also feel like it'll be so weird bein' in Katolis. Really livin' there. I understand Xadia, all the rules, the expectations, the way you talk to people. I've no idea how to be a Katolin Princess. Am I gonna have duties or am I basically a trophy for you to parade around? No offense, I know you wouldn't do that."
He nodded. "You're going to have some duties, yeah. Show up at banquets. Hold the odd speech in favour of some beneficial social policy or another. I won't `parade` you around, no. Katolin royals are always equals, sharing whatever seat they're on. My parents had a pretty clear way of dividing up the work. Mom saw after the military and all its operations. Dad did the rest. I also feel like they did a lot of stuff with us kids together, but my mom was still there, more."
He smiled, caressing her back, "You know, we're actually kind of lucky. Unless Ez abdicates, we'll never have the kind of responsibility he and his future husband or wife will have. We'll get to enjoy the royal benefits and have fewer of the drawbacks. People are still going to try and curry favour with you and I, but I can't wait for that, honestly. Seeing you handle snobs with royal authority is going to be awesome!"
She smiled, amused at his daydreaming. It was hard to think of herself in that role. Maybe she'd enjoy it. Maybe not. Even just the idea of a life in comfort made her a little confused. She'd never lived lavishly.
"So, I'll probably be expected to wear more fancy stuff and makeup, right?"
"You don't have to. If you want to, you can."
A serene expression spread across her face now. "What about... food?"
"What do you mean?"
"Is it going to be as good as the pastries we had with the Interpreter? That dessert still follows me in my dreams!"
"You mean the nougat croissant?"
She blinked. "Yep?"
"Pfft, you can have those every day, if you want. They're a pretty common snack from Evenere."
Her mouth fell open at his flippancy. "`Pretty common snack`?!", she asked, incredulously, "You're tellin' me there's even more awesome stuff out there?"
He laughed at her expression, "It's like you said; Humans love to eat unwholesome foods in unreasonable portion sizes"
He glanced at her lovingly and she returned his gaze in kind. Whatever Katolis threw at them, it wasn't likely to be worse than this. Especially since they would still be together to face it.
She hugged him tightly. After a moment, she said, "It'll take me a long while to get used to all of it. I hope I won't embarrass you too much."
He snickered. "Eh, I'm hard to top. How are you feeling?"
Rayla became aware of the bubbling water again and a bit of trepidation snuck back into her heart. It wasn't nearly as bad as before, though.
"Better", she said, "Thanks for the distraction."
"Good. Cause we're gonna get clean now", he gently pushed her off his lap and she sat in his place while he got out of the pool to get their bar soap.
Dropping back in, he handed her hers and started scrubbing at himself. Suds and bubbles danced across the steaming surface, making the place smell like Askander and Ismil.
"You know", Rayla said, her eyes pressed shut while she lathered up her hair, "I would've never guessed I could be comfortable doin' this. What are you doin' to me, mage?"
She heard him snicker impishly behind her and suddenly felt his arms around her midriff, his chest on her back.
"Whatever it is you think you're gonna do, stop! I wanna get this stuff outta my hair first!", she ordered and he let go of her.
An extremely meek, whispered "Sorry" followed. It made her grin.
After washing her hair, she looked around for him only to find he'd dipped under the surface to clear his own head of soap. He came up for air, a bluish drip coming off his face.
"Oh! Oh!", Rayla shouted, pointing at him.
"What? What!?", he asked, turning every which way to find what she was so excited about.
"The makeup's comin' off! Here, let me."
She came over and cleared up the remaining spots of blue near his closed eyes.
"So. What were you gonna do?", she asked.
"Hug you", he sputtered as soapy water ran into his mouth.
"Well then, you better!", she spread her arms.
He cuddled her.