Numbly I made my way to Honeyside, Sapphire's words echoing round my head and the sack of potions weighing heavily on my arm and my mind. Iona was there, grumbling slightly when I asked her to stay at the Bee and Barb for the next few days. But she left, shutting the door behind her, leaving me alone. Hofgrir had dumped my saddlebags just inside the front door and I lugged them down to my alchemy lab, flinching at the clang of metal as I dragged them down the stairs.
Next order of business was a bath. I dragged the metal hip bath from its hook in the cellar and set it up on the flagstones. I methodically filled the tub with water from the pump, though my hands shook and I spilled as much onto the floor as I got in the tub. A quick spell heated the water until it was steaming. I wanted it hot enough to scour away the memories. I undressed, hanging my armour on the mannequins. As I did I caught a glimpse of myself in the burnished mirror, I looked like a ghost.The potions I had taken had healed the worst of the damage but it hadn't been enough. Faded but visible bruises encircled my wrists and ankles, scattered my breasts, neck and hips, bite marks and finger marks still asserting the bastards claim. My eyes were dead and I stared impassively at the stranger looking back at me for a long moment. Moving back to the bath I sank into the water, my skin screaming at the harshness of the heat, closing my eyes as the memories began their assault. All I could do was relive it, moment by moment, more vivid each time. Desperate to escape I grabbed the soap and began frantically scrubbing my skin and my hair, trying to erase their touch. It wasn't enough. Choking on a sob, I curled up into a foetal ball, face resting on my raised knees, and I wept.
I wasn't sure how long I stayed in the tub crying but it was long enough that the water had cooled. Strangely enough I felt slightly better for the release, slightly stronger. I stood up in the tub, wrapping myself in one of the soft towels. Then I heard a soft voice, echoing from round the corner, "Lass?"
Re: The Die is Cast 19/?
Next order of business was a bath. I dragged the metal hip bath from its hook in the cellar and set it up on the flagstones. I methodically filled the tub with water from the pump, though my hands shook and I spilled as much onto the floor as I got in the tub. A quick spell heated the water until it was steaming. I wanted it hot enough to scour away the memories. I undressed, hanging my armour on the mannequins. As I did I caught a glimpse of myself in the burnished mirror, I looked like a ghost.The potions I had taken had healed the worst of the damage but it hadn't been enough. Faded but visible bruises encircled my wrists and ankles, scattered my breasts, neck and hips, bite marks and finger marks still asserting the bastards claim. My eyes were dead and I stared impassively at the stranger looking back at me for a long moment. Moving back to the bath I sank into the water, my skin screaming at the harshness of the heat, closing my eyes as the memories began their assault. All I could do was relive it, moment by moment, more vivid each time. Desperate to escape I grabbed the soap and began frantically scrubbing my skin and my hair, trying to erase their touch. It wasn't enough. Choking on a sob, I curled up into a foetal ball, face resting on my raised knees, and I wept.
I wasn't sure how long I stayed in the tub crying but it was long enough that the water had cooled. Strangely enough I felt slightly better for the release, slightly stronger. I stood up in the tub, wrapping myself in one of the soft towels. Then I heard a soft voice, echoing from round the corner, "Lass?"