Chapter 5 Trouble in the tub
“What in the name of the gods are you doing here?” I screamed, sinking a little deeper into the water to hide my chest.
Theron stood near the doorway, completely unmoved and unfazed, as though he’d stepped into this exact scene a million times before.
“You said you didn’t need the bath,” he replied bluntly, setting a fresh stack of towels on a dry wooden stool nearby.
“I realized it wasn’t a bad idea after all,” I defended, my cheeks burning.
“Too bad,” he said smoothly, unbuckling his belt and slowly undressing. “I needed the bath.”
“What are you doing?!” I gasped, instantly turning around as his trousers left his waist. “This is completely inappropriate!”
“Relax, I won't be in here long and I certainly won't try to peek,” he said. A few seconds later a gentle splash echoed from the opposite end of the tub. “You can turn back around now.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” l asked sternly.
“You don’t. And I don’t trust you either, so I think we’re even.”
I let out a small, frustrated sigh before slowly turning back around.
He was leaning his head back against the rim at the far side of the tub.
He was at a safe distance away from me but the moment my eyes found his water breaded chest, the tub insyabtky felt smaller.
The room shrank in an instant. My breathing tensed, and his sharp blue eyes stayed fixed on mine through the mist, almost as if he knew I was staring and admiring the cut of his collarbone.
Wait. What? Are you out of your mind, Elowen?
“If you keep staring at me like that, I might have to start reconsidering my own safety around you,” he smirked.
I clicked my tongue, desperately scrambling to regain my composure. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“I think you’re enjoying this far more than I am, yet you’re the one complaining.”
I let out a sharp scoff and looked away.
A moment of silence characterised by the gentle sloshing of water whenever either of us shifted passed by.
I wanted to leave desperately but I didn't have a clue how to pull off a dignified exit.
Was I supposed to politely ask an arrogant scholar to close his eyes, or just bolt out of the tub entirely bare and pretend he wasn't watching?
“Kaelen...” he started, grabbing my attention immediately.
“What about my brother?” I asked, my voice rising in a panic. “Is something the matter with him?”
“No, he... um...” Theron hesitated.
It was almost funny watching him fumble for words. Usually, vocabulary came so effortlessly to him when he was busy making me feel lesser than a gutter rat.
“If you don’t start talking right now,” I threatened, leaning forward, “I am going to walk out of this hot tub completely naked and check if you did something to my brother myself.”
“Kaelen asked me to try and be less hostile toward you,” he finally muttered
My shoulders dropped. “He did?”
“He said you’re carrying the weight of the whole world on your shoulders, and that I wasn’t making it any lighter.”
His tone sounded surprisingly genuine.
I swallowed hard as my chest tightened at his sudden warmth. But then, the sudden vulnerability curdled into raw anger in my chest, and I snapped.
“No,” I said, my voice cold.
“No?” He tilted his head, looking back at me.
“Don’t act all nice and considerate just because my brother asked you to,” I said, my voice stern and unwavering. “I don’t need your pity.”
“Good,” he replied instantly. “Because I think it’d be rather difficult for me to feel pity for a petty thief.”
A dry, bitter laugh escaped my lips. “That’s right. I’m a petty thief, so treat me like one! I’m not some pitiful, fragile little lady just trying to survive.”
He didn't offer a single word in response.
Without waiting another second, I stood up from the tub, pulled a towel tightly around my chest, and marched straight out of the washroom without looking back once.
If there was one thing I hated above all else in this miserable world, it was pity. I could detect it from a mile away, and whenever it touched me, it pricked at my skin like a swarm of biting flies. It made me itch from the inside out.
I stormed up the back staircase and slammed my bedroom door shut, collapsing face-down onto the mattress as pure, unadulterated anger fueled every breath I took.
Who does he think he is? Pity?
Just then, I heard flapping wings. Melia invited herself into my room without knocking.
“Please, do come in,” I said, dripping with sarcasm before she landed gently near the foot of my bed.
“Just try to get along with the scholar, Elowen,” she stated simply,. “He means well.”
“What?!” I sat up, glaring at her.
“I happened to pass by the washroom while you two were... talking.”
“Then if you were listening so carefully, you’d know he’s a self-centered bastard!”
“Elowen,” Melia called out softly, “He went into that washroom because he thought you might have drowned.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Or he came in to drown me himself.”
“You were in there for over an hour, and there wasn’t a single splash or sound to indicate you were still breathing,” she explained gently. “So he grabbed fresh towels and rushed down the stairs to check on you.”
My stomach twisted.
“Are you telling me that just to make me feel bad?” I muttered.
“Fairies don’t make people feel bad or good,” she said, sitting up straight on the quilt. “We simply state the truth.”
“Well, this truth sounds like something I refuse to believe.” I folded my arms tightly over my chest, turning my back to her as I flopped onto the far side of the bed.
“Humans,” Melia scoffed before seeing herself out.
The moment the door shut,I stared at the wall,thinking. I couldn't accept it. There was no way that self-righteous, arrogant scholar was actually worried about someone he had openly called a thief, a gold-digger, and a con artist.
It’s only because I cast the ward on this tavern, I told myself, nodding in agreement with my own sudden epiphany. He knows I’m the only one who can break it. If I drown, he’s trapped in here forever.
Yes. That is definitely it.
I nodded again, forcing the thought deep down into my chest. But a tiny, quiet voice at the back of my mind twitched.
What if Melia was right?
What if he was genuinely terrified you were hurt?
What if he stayed in that room just to make sure you didn't slip under?
Stop it, Elowen. You’re being ridiculous.
Wealthy, educated men from the capital didn't do favors out of the goodness of their hearts. They only did nice things when they wanted something in return and half the time, it wasn't gold.
So what, exactly, did this scholar want from me?
