Below the Peak (Sola)(28)
“Your sister and mother are in good health.” He looked at her with a secretive knowing smile as they reached the simple manor they called home.
“Don’t leave me in suspense father. What is it that has you smiling widely?” she prodded, curious. The stable boy came and guided the horse to its stall as they stood at the entrance door of their home.
“Your mother is pregnant” the corners of his eyes wrinkled from the huge smile he was trying to contain.
“You don’t say!” Nara’s eyes grew wide in surprise. She pulled her father in a quick tight hug, celebrating the great news causing her to push the tragedies of the last days aside. Her father laughed proudly while he hugged her back and dropped his hands as quickly as she did in consideration for her dislike of prolonged physical contact. Still, he looked elated, floating in the clouds of becoming a father for another child. Indeed, Nara was happy for her mother since she had been longing and trying to have another baby for years after the birth of Ingrid but with no luck. Still grinning, they walked inside.
“Do not tell her I said. She wanted to be the first person to let you know”, he whispered as they moved across the quiet hall and took the stairs leading to the wing of bedchambers. No one was in sight except for the two of them. She wondered if others had already retired for the night.
“She will have my hide if you do so.” Nara l at her father’s expense. “You’re in trouble old man. I advise you to get lost in the many rooms of the castle tomorrow while you are still alive.” She could not wait to see her mother scolding him for not being able to hold his tongue.
“Tomorrow will be a good day for me to listen to all the pompous old roosters’ demands.” Her father grinned. Rooster was a nickname the two of them had come up with for some selective noblemen who thought highly of themselves, demanding everyone should be on their back and call. And her father as a member of the king’s council came across them frequently.
She laughed lightly.
“Now go and take care of yourself. I told the maids to prepare you a bath earlier when I heard your party had arrived”. He regarded her once more, his old but aging handsome face shone with the effects of a good laugh and eased her worry a little. Her free hand reached for the knob of the door that opened her chambers then she faced him. “I’m glad to see you father.” Her words were genuine.
“Likewise, my daughter. Sleep well, and we shall talk more tomorrow” he kissed her forehead and took to his bedroom.
Nara twisted the knob, opened the door and stepped in her room.
The maids had lit up the oil lamp, the light casting warm glow and faint shadows of the furniture in the chamber. They had also prepared a bath in the adjacent chamber. “That’s all for tonight. You may leave” she ordered the maid standing at the corner of the room. The girl wished her a good sleep and left, shutting the door on her back.
Nara placed her helmet on a carved stool at the sound of the door being closed and breathed in the familiar scent of her room. It smelled fresh and clean free of dust despite her long absence. Finally, alone and in the comfort of her room, Nara shed her armour, and the clothes she wore beneath together, which bundled at her feet. Her aching limbs revel in the freedom of not being weighed and pressed by the armour. Nara rolled her shoulders, ridding the pressing stiffness. Bare skin, she walked toward the bath chamber bright from another burning oil lamp set in the top shelf corner, stepped in and sank to her chin in the large crafted wooden tub filled with water. She shivered and gasped from the cold water caressing her hot sweaty skin yet still welcomed the coldness as her body got accustomed to it. It was refreshing from the heat of summer. She grabbed the piece of cloth placed on the edge of the tub, wet it and lathered it with a bar of soap.
Nara leaned against the tub and leisurely scrubbed the sweat and dirt from her body. Little scars here and there adorned her skin like badges. She was no longer the shy little girl with skin so pale from tucking inside the house like a turtle in its shell. She had grown into a fine yet round face, brown eyes, with dark hair over long overdue for a cut. Tanned skin spanned over lean muscle with firm muscular thighs and legs, results of regular horse riding and combat. She was also tall like her late mother, well that’s what her father told her. She remembered so little of her mother since she died when she was a little girl.
She undid her braid and ran her fingers through her wet hair, untangling it. Exhausted from restless thoughts, her eyelids shut. She sucked in a lungful of air and submerged herself completely in the water, letting the cold water rinse her troubles too. A short time lapsed when she heard a familiar voice, “Are you planning to sleep in there?”
Lips stretching to a closed smile, Nara surfaced up and exhaled through her nose. Dressed in a long nightie with a shawl draped on top, her mother posed at the entrance of the alcove holding a towel and smiling at her. Quickly Nara stepped out the tub with water sloshing down on the floor. She was not bothered displaying her nakedness to her mother. Her mother had seen her bare before when she was still a child and when she treated her wounds in occasions. She was also confident in her body.
Avoiding getting her wet, Nara wrapped the woolen cloth around her body then embraced her mother, the emptiness she felt from missing her family slowly filling up. Her mother hugged her back with the same affection. She cupped her face lightly cautious of her bruises and regarded her. “Father has already talked to me,” Nara said softly, her gaze lacking confident to look at her straight in the eyes. She could see the concern, and sadness on her mother’s steady gaze even though she said nothing.