The Light in Aquala

In front of them stood a young woman in her late teens.

“Hello” said Nia, with a twinkle in her eye and quick with a smile as she bowed slightly to each of the newcomers in turn. “If you would please follow me, I will show you to your rooms.”

Nia then looked at Jaxx and Crece, who were both soaked from the stream and dripping water all over the place.

“Perhaps you two would just like to have some food, since you seem to have had a bath already.” she chuckled. Jaxx immediately lifted his head with an expression of happiness, since he recognized the word ‘food’. Crece started her melodious song, rubbing her wings together in anticipation.

“If it is okay with you, I will arrange for your pet to go along with Crece to where the Creatch usually eats, and they can both rejoin you at the eating hall?” asked Nia, turning to Rivia while motioning for a boy with large eyes to come closer. It was obvious that Jaxx was very intimidating to him, since their heads were almost at the same height. The boy stared at Jaxx then back at Nia with an almost pleading look.

Jaxx turned to see the boy approaching and then walked over to Rivia, standing with her and making his decision quite clear on what he was planning to do.

“Jaxx won’t want to go somewhere new if he can’t see me, so that is okay.” Rivia answered, to the great relief of the boy and the amusement of Nia.

“Very well, I will have some food brought up to your room for Jaxx.” Nia replied, chuckling as the boy took off around the corner. “If you would please follow me now.”

They all started following Nia towards the grandest staircase they could ever imagine. It was made out of polished stone, at least fifteen feet across, with wide steps.

They climbed them slowly, gazing about at the intricate designs of ivy, vines and birds on the railings. The middle of each of the thick steps had been worn smooth with time, as they had been used by countless generations.

They arrived at a large landing with marble railings and huge vases of silver grasses and glowing Neon flowers. Nia motioned them forward to the right and they followed her, their eyes drawn to the huge chandelier hanging over the stairway. On the walls were candles that flickered in their candleholders, lighting up their way.

As they arrived at the doors for each of their rooms, Nia smiled and ushered them inside, starting with Rivia and Jaxx and then Mara, then Lena. On the door of each of their rooms was a symbol, but they didn’t notice this detail, yet.

Lena looked around her room and immediately spotted the bathtub filled with hot water and bubbles. The softest fragrance of clean water and wild flowers filled the air and she was never so happy to see a bath in her life!

After leaving her travel-stained clothes in a heap on the floor, she slipped into the water, one foot at a time and slowly lowered herself into the bathtub as her body adjusted to the hot water. Her tense muscles started relaxing and she held her nose, closed her eyes and went completely under the water, staying there as long as she possibly could before emerging.

The shampoo, conditioner and soap had a light fragrance of vanilla and she closed her eyes, just enjoying the feeling of being clean. She could have gone straight to bed since they hadn’t slept for 2 days and so much had happened, but her stomach kept waking her whenever she drifted off.

A cool breeze from the slightly opened window blew across Lena’s face, awakening her from her light sleep and she realized that the bathwater was much cooler now. She almost jumped out of the tub, dried herself off and ran over to the bed to put on the clean clothes. Dressing quickly, she gazed at her reflection in the floor-length mirror and was surprised.

She looked completely different in the classic white gown similar to the one Aekka was wearing. She put on the jeweled necklace and earrings, which were gold with rubies and then placed her flowered crown gently onto her head. The flowers showed no sign of wear and she wove the little vines attached to the leaves into the top of her hair. She looked at herself once more, twirled and posed then smiled and practiced a most royal walk to her bedroom door.

Mara had thanked Nia and entered her room, gently closing the door behind her.

She noticed that the floors were of the same smooth white stone as the staircase and plush rugs were scattered about, soft and welcoming. The large bed had an abundance of pillows and blankets and there was a fireplace in the corner, a crackling fire casting light throughout the room.

She immediately realized that the temperature had dropped considerably since nightfall and inadvertently shivered.

The inviting fragrance of wildflowers was drifting over to her from a large claw-foot bathtub that stood past the end of the bed, in the center of the room. She only now realized the room was shaped in a large square with slightly rounded corners, which lent to the feeling of comfort and safety that she was starting to feel.

She quickly undressed, entering the hot bath and giggling to herself as she watched the bubbles float into the air, reflecting the light from the candles and the fireplace. Thinking of how overtired she must be to find this amusing, she decided to finish her bath and get dressed in the clean clothes laid out on her bed.

She wanted to be ready to go down, eat and come straight back up so she could snuggle up in the soft bed and sleep.

As she towel-dried her hair, she eyed the clothing that was carefully laid out on her bed: a flowing white gown, along with some gold and emerald jewelry that accentuated her Neon.

She smiled, thinking how different this was than the hiking outfit she had been wearing for what seemed like forever. She dressed quickly, finished drying her hair and replacing her crown of flowers on her head. She looked at her reflection in the floor-length mirror and noticed how much different she looked now.

It was amazing what a good bath and a new outfit can do!

Rivia and Jaxx had entered their room, and both stopped in their tracks.

Nia was saying how she hoped they would be comfortable and that she would be back in fifty minutes to bring them to dinner. Rivia barely heard her, since she was overwhelmed at the luxury of her new surroundings.

The bed was a four-poster bed with the fluffiest comforter and pillows she had ever seen. Thick rugs were arranged on the floor and as she took her boots off, Jaxx decided to test each one to see which would be his favorite. Picking the one under the window, he curled up and proceeded to fall into a deep sleep.

Rivia smiled, thinking how simple life was for Jaxx. He definitely deserved to have some comfort since they had been traveling from world to world for a long time, sleeping out under the stars.

She enjoyed the feeling of finally being completely clean and stepped out of the bath, wrapping herself in a thick white cotton towel. She then got dressed in an outfit similar to the one Aekka wore and looked down to see the gold and sapphire necklace and earrings that were still on the bed.

She smiled sadly as she lifted them up, examining them in the candle and firelight. They were incredibly delicate and the craftsmanship was impeccable. She turned to her floor-length mirror, admiring them and wishing that she could find her way back to that one special world where she first saw such beautiful jewelry.

Sighing, she sat down on the edge of the bed and stared into nothingness with misty eyes.

Finally, she pushed the thought from her head, determined to have her wits about her for the rest of the evening. She felt a certain responsibility towards Mara and Lena, since she was the one who had brought them here and they knew nothing other than the world they had come from.

She would remember later, as she slept.