Snippet #1582141

It was very tempting to accept a second bowl of stew, but Anvain knew that after eating so little during her entire captivity; it would be best to build up the amount of food she ate gradually. Moving to stand at Sylvani’s shoulder, Anvain made a note to begin observing the guards for they would be the reason her eventual escape would succeed or fail. Anvain was pleased the elegant healer called her by name, she had been unsure if she would be treated with respect. At least Sylvani seemed to be kind; though distant as if the woman held a shield in front of her feelings, Which Anvain found strangely comforting because she was accustomed to emotional distance; in her camp it was very strange to see an elf show any strong emotion. Anvain had been the exception causing few others to accept her. Many elves believed her “instability” was inherited from her father; he left the camp before Anvain’s birth.

“Thank you; it will be my first bath in a long while.” Giving a nervous smile, Anvain began to examine the basin. All of her previous baths had been in streams and rivers. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of Sylvani.

When the black dog entered, Anvain had to muster all of her courage to keep from bolting out the door. She normally loved all kinds of animals, but being inside a building built of trees made everything frightening to the small elf. No sky in sight except through a window covered with glass. Staying away from the lounging beast, Anvain helped pour a few of the pails into the bathtub. Once full, she began to unlace her leather bodice. But suddenly froze, realizing her sword was still under her shirt. Would the woman take it from her? Anvain decided to trust Sylvani, letting the sheathed blade drop to the floor she quickly wrapped it in her shirt and placed it next to the tub. Wincing for a moment as she stepped into the tub, the water was very hot, though almost immediately her tired muscles began to relax. It was a wonderfully delightful feeling.

Anvain smiled. Grateful the healer had prepared the bath; it was lifting Anvain spirits and soothing her fears. Taking a bar of soap Anvain began to scrub away the many days of travel upon reaching her left shoulder a bolt of pain shot through her body, angling her eyes she was surprised to see a large bruise covering most of her shoulder and the upper part of her arm. Then it came back to her, it had occurred just three days earlier when Anvain had made a comment about one of her capturer’s nasty smell, he simply turned to look at her with beady eyes and smashed his club into her shoulder then resumed preparing a fire for the night. Never uttering a word to the stunned elf.
Being heavily chained she did not get a chance to examine the amount of damage the strike had caused. Moving her arm in the water Anvain was relieved to discover she still had full movement except for raising it above her head, which was unlikely to be a problem since Anvain used her right arm mainly during fights. Besides Anvain was afraid to ask Sylvani to heal such a minor wound and there was the danger of Sylvani discovering her “unique” magic. That had been Anvain’s mother’s word for it, but her magic really only did one thing well, repelling healer’s magic. Whenever Anvain became injured in the forest only her mother could heal her for she was the only one to know her daughter’s secret and it was bad enough that all the elves knew Anvain was incapable of healing her own injuries, all other elves born in the camp were given the ability to at least heal minor cuts and bruises.

Curling her lip at the color of the bath water, Anvain continued scrubbing herself. Upon reaching her back she discovered it was quite impossible to complete the task, so she held the bar of soap out to Sylvani and a blush came to her cheeks. “Would you please wash my back? It seems during the journey here some of my muscles have tightened.” Before Anvain could help herself she also blurted out. “Who is this King everyone speaks of and why does he have the scorn of many people?”