Chapter 7 - Bath and Beyond

If May had thought the outside of the Plaza had been impressive, the inside of the main building made her jaw drop. The initial area was a cozy lounge, with a square counter where two women worked frantically to diminish the line of people trying to use the services provided. Around them, over the soft rug on the floor, leather couches and seats housed young ladies and gentlemen currently having their nails manicured to perfection.

Her eyes drifted sideways, and she noticed that the right wall 一 where an arch led to another inner area 一 was, in fact, not a wall at all, but a glass aquarium where colorful tropical fishes lived among tall seaweeds.

Behind the central counter, a glass double door led to the back of the main building, where what seemed to be a garden enclosed in mist thrived; the trees surrounding it, along with carefully tended flowers and idyllic animals made the area more mystic than any other May remembered seeing.

On the two sides of the exit to the garden, a pair of serpentine stairs led to the second floor, where different services seemed to be provided. The doors she could see from here were closed, but May could see another worker carrying a tray of towels and heated stones to one of the rooms.

Her mind took the sights and smells in, the oils and perfumes making her nose tingle. When Madam Leticia saw her completely agog, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Impressive isn’t it?” The siren said, hand on her hip. “There’s been some time since I got to see someone so impressed by the sight.”

“I’m sorry if I have offended, Madam.” May immediately said, feeling self-conscious about losing herself to the beauty and architecture.

“Nonsense, girl. Nothing makes the work more worth it than those reactions. It’s easy to forget how beautiful all of it is when you’re so used to it.”

“The fastest way to lose sight of beauty is to bask in its radiance.” Bel-Alis quoted from the side. “The Painter of War.” She winked to May, who gave her a quizzical look.

“Wise words from a wise man.” Leticia agreed. “But sit, girls, sit. I’ll see what private services we have available for you.”

“Thank you, Madam.” Bel-Alis bowed slightly and May promptly repeated, both of them finding a place to sit in one of the leather couches. The way May sunk between the pillows made her disconcerted enough to jump back, the sensation of the soft couch making her give a contained scream.

Bel-Alis laughed a little at the sight but didn’t comment, choosing to sit beside May while both of Kreacher’s bodies left their places to lay on her lap.

“Will you check the garden today as well, Kreacher?” The Priestess asked, petting two rats at the same time.

“We think so. We want to scout!” One of the rats said, laying on its back.

“Humm, leave a body behind then. It will be a nice experience to be properly groomed here in the plaza.”

They mumbled something about lap dogs and pets but reluctantly agreed when Bel-Alis said Madam Leticia had a new ‘massage for animals’ service, while one of the bodies jumped to the floor and scampered to the back garden unseen. May, however, couldn’t help but ask.

“Why did they accept the rat so easily? I thought the Inner City would hate them.”

“Oh, some people surely do. But Animal Guises is one of the most common ones, so in a place where there is several Gifted it’s not unusual to see different animal around.” Bel-Alis said, before turning to May and remembering. “You don’t know what a Guise is, do you?”

“No, not really.” The young girl admitted, curling inwards. She really needed to find some time to read the book Bel-Alis gave her.

“Ah, darn it. I’m glad my father never let me be a teacher.” Bel-Alis mumbled. “I have the didactic of a door.”

She cleared for throat and began. “We’ve talked about the Path before right? How the Gifted grows in Ranks and all that?”

May nodded. If this was to be another lesson, she would at least pay attention.

“All right. So this is the Gift.” Bel-Alis raised a closed fist. “And this is the Truth.” She raised the other one.

“They are similar in their development, growing as you accumulate mana and create Abilities, but their stages are different. You see, while the Gift develops the quantity of mana and intensity of your core.” She dragged the first fist upwards as if it was rising in power. “The Truth discerns the quality of the Gift, what you can do with it. So when you develop it, what you are doing is creating ways to shape reality according to your will.”

“But, and this is where it gets interesting, the Truth of someone can be conceptual, emotional, or even animalistic. There’s no limit as to what lies deep into someone’s core. As such, to better use it, the Truth develops by aligning itself with other ideas that connect with itself. That’s what we call a Guise.” She raised the second fist a little and stopped, then did it again, and again. “The Guises, however, have fewer stages than the Path. A Gifted can only have three of them while they grow.”

“Then how does someone develop these… Guises?”

“Ah, but that is the golden question, isn’t it? If the Truth is innate, then are the Guises as well? Or can we artificially shape them? Nevertheless, I like the theory that as you grow in ranks, and lean even more into your Truth, you will start to see how the world uses your Truth naturally. And as you start to see that, you will begin to assimilate those things into your Path. That’s one of the things that make the Gifted so original in their ways.”

“Trust a priestess of The Watcher Below to explain Gifts to a child and make it comprehensible.” Madam Leticia approved, appearing among the crowd.

“We do try.” Bel-Alis nodded toward the older woman.

“Still, should you talk about such things with one so young?” Leticia countered, raising an eyebrow towards Alis.

May preened at the opportunity to flaunt. She had been feeling too ashamed recently, and if there’s anything to feel good about, that would be her newfound powers. “I’m a Gifted, Madam Leticia!”

“So soon?” The siren’s eyes widened, looking at Bel-Alis with surprise, before they darted to May, filled with pity. “Oh, you poor thing. The pain you must have gone through.”

May... didn't know how to react to that. Wasn't the Gift a good thing?

The siren, unaware of the girl's conundrum, bit her lips in consternation and didn’t elaborate. “Come now, one of the heated pools is currently empty and it will be perfect for the first time.”

“Oh, should we pay now?” Bel-Alis asked, producing a small coin purse from her robe.

“No need for that Alis. I won’t bill the girl, especially being her first time.” Leticia waved Bel-Alis’s attempt. “I will bill you, however. Consider it punishment for not coming any sooner for help with the foot.”

Madam Leticia signaled two of the attendants to come closer, one holding a pillow. The girls stopped beside her, exuding joviality with their braided hairs and fair skin. One wore the outfit common to the sirens, but the other was a human wearing brown pants and a white shirt, with the embroidery of a wave on the sleeves.

“Cathy and Miranda will take care of you and your friends, May.” Madam Leticia said to the young girl, who only held her doll closer. “Make her comfortable, all right girls? And see to the rat and doll as well.”

“We can’t let your porcelain friend walk around naked, right May?” Leticia winked at her, and May couldn’t help but smile back. “Go on then! No need for shame here, consider it a small gift from one who walks the Path to another.”

Cathy called her with a hand, and after an affirming nod from Bel-Alis, May went with the girl, doll body in one hand and Kreacher’s gray body nestling on her head.

“Now you, Bel-Alis.” Madam Leticia called, green eyes shining with inner energy. “Come with me.”

***

“How is Mirn, nowadays?” Madam Leticia said, opening a cabinet to take a couple of small dark vials from the inside, checking the labels and putting them on a small basket she had found.

“I saw her last week. She’s been doing all right. A new boyfriend.” Bel-Alis said from her leather-covered seat, foot uncovered by the bandages and lying inside a small basin filled with steaming waters. The sensation did wonders for the pain, but her relieved sigh was permanently stuck on her, for she knew what kind of treatment Madam Leticia could give. And it wasn’t a painless one.

“Ah. Young love.” The siren hummed a little, seemingly content with the haul she had gotten from the cabinets. “How many this year already? Three?”

“Yeah. This is the fourth one.” Alis explained, lying back to feel the woman pour a few drops of thick oil into the hot water. Her taut skin began to tingle almost immediately. “She broke up with the last one. He cheated.”

“Humm. Common mistake.” Leticia sat beside the Priestess, waiting for the oils to work while she made a thick paste in a mortar and pestle. The sound of the grinding algae and clay was loud between sentences. “Relationships require trust, especially young ones. Mistakes are hard to forgive when people don’t know each other for long. It simply isn’t worth the hassle.”

“I agree,” Bel-Alis said, enjoying the warmth while it lasted. By the looks of it, Madam Leticia was going all in today with her treatment. She tried to close her eyes reflexively, but her vision stayed the same. It could get frustrating sometimes, so she added more to the conversation. “I was thinking of taking May to the Emporium later on. Both to check on Mirn and buy some equipment.”

“Ah, the young Gifted girl. Will you tell me how you two met?” Leticia said, not looking up from the mortar. It would need a little more healing potion to be perfect.

“She was just walking through the Outer City. Have you heard what The Crying Hounds have been doing? She had just gotten her Gift, and I couldn’t leave her there.”

“Humm. How kind of you.” Leticia stopped with the pestle, satisfied with the paste’s consistency. The old siren moved her chair to stay in front of Alis, bending over to check the water with a finger. “It won’t take long, let’s just wait for it to cool down more.”

“I’ve heard the rumors about the Hounds. Taking young Gifted from the streets as if they were shells on the beach. It’s bound to end badly.” The siren reflected. “We’ve two of them here today, by the way. One of my girls told me there’s been some… infighting inside the church over the topic.”

That’s why Bel-Alis came here. Madam Leticia might be the kind manager of The Brimming Plaza, but when no one looked, she worked very closely with the domains of the Master in the Dark.

“You don’t say?”

“Indeed. Nebulous orders of cruelty tend to do that to an organization.” Leticia said, putting a towel over her thighs. “Nevertheless, I doubt they would do anything, bound as they are.”

“You don’t know who’s been giving the orders?”

“No. But for it to move the entire congregation here? We’re talking about High Clergy. Maybe even Seraphic.”

“Hells.” Bel-Alis hissed.

“Your turn now, Alis. What is it that you’ve brought here?” Leticia’s voice was a song, and Bel-Alis let her finish. “A girl, survivor of a village close to the front, Gifted before fifteen, and without a single discomfort? It reeks of something more.”

“Really? What did you think about her?”

The Madam narrowed her eyes at Alis, taking her wet foot from the basin and putting it over her thigh, ready for the massage. “Ah. So that’s what you want? Always a plan within a plan with you. Just like Cas-Inar.”

Bel-Alis smiled through the pain, mentally cursing the grip Leticia had on her toes, the thrum of mana in the air making it evident that the woman was using her Abilities.

“Humph. The girl… concerns me a little. Her body tells me of peace, rest and quietness. As if it were inanimate. Her mind, though? Her… desires? They are changing with every moment.”

“What do you mean?” Bel-Alis asked, focused on the siren’s analysis. It’s difficult to find such an accessible Gifted with empathic skills.

“Alis... desires are always mixed with fear. Fear of losing. Of not being enough. Of being too weak to conquer something.” The woman pressed a thumb into the sole of her feet and May felt the finger wiggling inside her, adjusting muscles with a technique that left her gasping for air. “May has none of that. Her desires are changing, being corrupted by what feels like a complete lack of fear. They’re becoming obsessions.”

“Is that bad? One would think having no fear would make it easier for someone to lean on her Truth.”

“It is bad because I’ve seen it before. Think about it. A person with no fear holding them back, and a burning obsession with reaching for something? You’re a clever woman, you can figure it out.”

Bel-Alis stopped for a moment, the discomfort of having her skin and muscles manually tended to guiding her focus. She had studied a little about all known races 一 a mandatory course in Drow Lyceums 一 and Sirens were a race seen in the depths of the ocean or along the shores of Ethios… and Melindrael.

“You’re talking about the Lord of Vice. May feels like those… those cultists?” She asked, dumbfounded at the comparison. The living doll did not behave like the mad worshipers of addiction.

“Not yet. But if you don’t figure out what’s going on with her emotions, she’s going to become a problem.”

“The question is…” The siren continued, dexterous fingers never stopping as they kneaded Bel-Alis’s flesh. “Why would you do that for her?”

“Ha.” The young Priestess scoffed as a reaction, but thought better of it. There was still value in honesty. “She is an interesting case. One that I believe might help me… reach new Steps.”

Madam Leticia narrowed her eyes for a moment, thinking over Alis’s words. “You want to study her?”

“Among other things.” The Priestess nodded.

“Humph. Be careful then. We don’t need another of The Watcher Below disappearing. You tend to be the most… diplomatic.” Leticia said, satisfied with the tidbit of information she gathered.

“No news on him yet?” Bel-Alis said after the conversation died down, discomfort giving place to pain as Leticia worked closer to her ankle.

“No one has seen him, Alis.” The siren said, thinking of her friend Cas-Inar. “He just… disappeared. Even when he went somewhere to study, as you often do, he always said goodbye. I fear something bad has happened.”

“He’s bound to show up eventually. We always do.” Bel-Alis reassured the woman through gritted teeth, although part of her mind wasn’t so sure if it was the truth. Isolation was always the creeping temptation to the believers of The Endless Abyss; something they had to fight daily.

If the woman believed in her, Alis wasn’t sure, but she worked in silence for the next moments. When the old masseur thought the invasive treatment was enough, she used the clay paste on the mortar to cover the entirety of Bel-Alis’s wounded foot, getting between her toes and leaving that awful sensation of something wet that you couldn’t dislodge. Her hands stopped with the mixture just below her ankle, the thrum of Leticia’s mana stopping as she ceased with her Abilities, leaving behind only the usual enchantments and… something new.

“What is that? You using new spells?” Bel-Alis said, feeling for the enchantment. Runic work might not be her main school of spells, but it was a strong second place, and she was far enough along that she could taste the illusory mana in the air.

The siren, mind adrift as she finished her work, took a moment to acknowledge what the Priestess said, rising abruptly from her chair as her head darted left and right, fin ears twitching. “Something’s wrong.”

Bel-Alis reacted immediately at the words, trying to get her cane as she attempted to feel more of the foreign mana in the air.

She was unable to learn anything before Leticia grabbed her arm, shouting a spell that turned then into mist 一 just as the left side of the central building exploded.

***

Getting bathed in The Brimming Plaza could only be described as a novel experience for May.

Oh, don’t be mistaken. It was nice. The sensation of masterful, trained people massaging your scalp, cleaning your hair strand by strand, soaping your body inside a bathtub… May sighed a lot more than she expected.

Beyond their ability with their fingers, the materials and alchemical concoctions also had their benefits. The oils used by the attendants made the light brown skin she wore glisten and her thick curly black hair bob along her neck 一 heavily conditioned with something that smelled of nectar and honey 一 now swaying without the dirt weighing it down. The facial treatment also made her feel like a lady, the hot towels and a very thick cream making her skin tingle before being washed.

All in all, an amazing experience.

Not only that, but for the first time since… ever, May got into a bathtub and didn’t drown for the first ten minutes. Although she refused to get under the water completely and had to get her hair soaked with a cup and manual work. Still, incredible.

The problem, at least during the first half of the incredible session of self-care, was her companion.

Kreacher had been reluctant at first, side eying the preparations of the workers as they moved into the room they were in. They even screeched when one of them pulled a knot from their fur, making both women and animal jump. Even so, after a very careful approach and much cajoling, one of the girls was able to begin tending them.

And everything got went south from there.

From her place in the bathtub, May had a privileged position to see the rat melt under the careful touches of the woman. Placed in a small basin with hot water, the animal was soaked, scrubbed, washed and cared for. Watching the attendants slowly untangle their fur with a brush while Kreacher rested in bliss made her temper flare.

Stop. Pettiness. Enjoy. Treatment. The whispers talked to her, sighing as if they could feel the touch of warm water and the massage on her neck currently happening.

“They were supposed to suffer at least a little…” She mumbled inwards, trying to defend her emotions.

Unnecessary. Unproductive. Focus. Benefits. They said, reproaching her for not enjoying the rare opportunity in her hands in favor of the lesser pleasure of retribution.

May sighed but didn’t continue, choosing to dwell on another topic. “Any idea on what to expect in this… dungeon Bel-Alis talked about.”

No. Information. Scarce. Combat. True. Need. Careful.

“I’ll be. Still sounds a little exciting. Fighting things I mean.”

Suits. You. Have. Temper. Hot-headed. A few of them snickered, while others outright laughed at the words.

“I’m a proper, well-educated girl. We don’t have tempers, but strong personalities.” Even May smiled a little, which made the attendant behind her stop for a second and ask if something happened. Telling her nothing, she continued her chat.

When the laughter subsided, the whispers kept their advice. Need. Strength. Still. Need. Learn. Need. Growth.

“I agree. I have to return to Hector.”

Patience. Need. More. Answers. More. Worth.

“I know, all right! It’s just… difficult sometimes. Knowing that if I return to him right now I wouldn’t be able to protect him hurts.” May closed a fist and watched the water drip between her knuckles. For someone with Control as her Truth, she felt utterly out of it sometimes.

Her mind kept getting back to the things she promised in the vision. May swore to protect Hector by not letting anything reach him, but she knew not what was going on, or how he was doing. She knew some time had passed since they were separated, but she didn’t know how much. And every time she heard some kind of news about him May worried… she might have lost too much time.

Abruptly slapping her cheeks, she let go of the thought. May was useless now, but she was growing, that could at least assure her mind.

“I won’t stop.” She revealed, honesty like that something she reserved for her master and the voices in her mind. “Not until the world bows to him.”

That was her wish. Not one able to form an Ability, but one that she would fight for all the same. It wasn’t just the loneliness of the Outer City that marked her as weak, or incapable; it was the self-loathing of watching the world spin and being unable to affect it. Of being ignored by others as just a dirty doll.

But she never stopped dreaming. Dreaming about what would it be like to return to the palace.

All those nights she spent under the cold of the slums, hiding under garbage and among stone and rotting wood, waiting, dreaming for the day she would return to his warmth. On the days she had little to eat and the animals of the region had learned to stay away 一 belly aching as she searched for food 一 May wanted nothing more than to eat at Hector’s table and sip his tea.

When the day extended beyond belief 一 loneliness becoming a physical pain as she watched the families of the slums enjoying life with so little 一 May wished she could have even that of Hector. A moment of his attention. A glimpse of his figure.

May bit her lips until they hurt. She was delving deep into memories she didn’t want to see, but the lack of fear made her go into moments and emotions that had been previously ignored. Still, bravery didn’t make the experience painless.

Her head tortured her with images of the first week after waking up, searching desperately for a master long gone. The way she had to learn how to walk all on her own, falling and breaking parts of her skin that melded with time. The afternoons trying to speak with a tongue never used before. The fear of the voices in her head, observers of all she did, critics of what she did not. The tears for the animals she killed and ate, regretting every moment.

There was a time before the hunger when she had tried. When she didn’t feel glee when seeing blood dripping from her claws and fangs.

But all of that was long past. Despair was the fire her young mind was forged upon, and the result… well, May didn’t know if she was more a weapon or toy nowadays.

It sprung a question, all these unfiltered thoughts. She had it hard enough, but May could at least say she was guided by glimpses of before. Of her master.

What about the others? She doubted Kreacher and her were the only stormtouched in Asden. So how are they? Are they as lost as she is? Worse? Can they hear the whispers?

Stop. Breathe. Search. Necessary. Don’t. Spiral. The words of the whispers were a cold spike driving her back, May taking a deep intake of air at the prompt. She had lost herself again.

“Sorry.” She thought to them, a little thankful. “Just thinking.”

Later. Need. Rest. Need. Power. Gift. Yours. Use. It. The voices advised.

“I will. I promise.”

Good. Now. Soap. Mango. Nice. The whispers said, asking her to use more of the bubble-making liquid they had been given. Was it odd to smell like something she had never eaten? May tried not to think too deeply about it.

When the fingers were about to get wrinkled from staying for so long in the bathtub, Cathy dried May and took her to be dressed and have her hair styled by the trained hands of the attendant.

By the time she was given her clothes, the bundle had a few alterations. Her old undergarments that came with the body were gone; according to Cathy they were too worn out, so she found an unused pair the Plaza had in reserve 一 the top was a little loose, but nothing the women tending to May and Kreacher were unable to resolve with needle and thread.

Not only that, but the clothes she had been wearing were now properly washed and cleaned, the linen shirt and pants only differing by the lighter color of the top and the sunflowers embroidered in the sleeves. May was glad the childish art remained unaltered.

“Your sandals are outside, drying a little,” Cathy said, combing May’s hair, her skirt swaying around her body.

“Oh, we found something for your doll as well,” Miranda remembered as she finished drying Kreacher with a towel. The brown rat was currently fighting against the blue bow tie the attendant was trying to put on their neck. They didn’t take a long time to lose.

May, in the meantime, had felt her doll body growing distant. She had fought the reaction of keeping her original body close when the whispers assured her this would serve as a good test of the [Skin Walking] limits. For now, the doll had been moved to the other side of the central lake 一 a good eighty to a hundred meters away 一 with little problem

The connection did begin to feel a little tighter as the body grew distant, which was nice to know. At least now May knew she would feel if someone took her body.

What she still wasn’t sure about was what would happen to her if the connection broke. And May wasn’t willing to test that for now.

By the time Cathy had started to pin May’s curls up, Kreacher had been properly finished with a spray of perfume and been put on top of her lap. Watching the rat try to unsuccessfully bite their bow tie off with such frustration almost made her bad for what she was going to do.

The moment the rat tried to twist their head again to bite the cord around their neck, she covertly pulled their tail. A small lesson on attentiveness.

The rat jumped from the pillow they were on, beady eyes wide as they flew to her chest, laying there, motionless.

“Kreacher?” May said after noticing the shallow breaths and too-wide eyes. “You all right? That was just a joke.”

She poked them with a finger, lightly squishing their belly. “Hey. Pest. Did that kill you?” May mumbled closer to them, noticing a small look of consternation passing on Miranda’s face at how May treated what should be her pet. Cathy remained ignorant.

The fungi-dominated animal stirred once again, standing up but still alert. “Someone just killed us!” Kreacher barked suddenly.

“What?” May looked around to see the attendants staring at them with wide eyes. They would have to deal with them later. “What do you mean?”

“Our garden body! A lady stepped on us!”

“That must have been an accident, Kreacher.” May said, trying to calm them down, but their fur stood even more.

“No, it wasn’t! We saw her walking around with this… this metal thing from the woods and then she stomped us!” They shouted at May. “She called us disgusting! That... that garbage-cleaner! Dying fucking hurts!”

Surprised by the flare of the animal’s temper, May widened her eyes for a moment, noticing how the rat’s mouth began to widen more than it should. “C’mon, youngster! We are going for revenge!”

“Wait! Kreacher!” May shouted, unable to grab them as they jumped from her lap and began running towards the door. She could only notice how quickly they ran.

Getting up from her chair with her hair halfway done, May tried to follow Kreacher while barefoot. She was about to reach them when…

Boom!

A burst of hot air sent both girl and rat flying against the wall.