The Pirate and the Amber Cat 15

Chapter 15

Suili enjoys her brief freedom from the pirate ship.

If you are just joining this story, you may want to start at the beginning.

The next day dawned hot and thick, and by the time Suili reached the streets of Amstead with Cortleno, her teal gauze dress was warm and limp. She let the shawl slip from her shoulders under the weight of the beaded fringe as they passed a variety of bathhouses in the village.

Cortleno led her past the dubious common pool and crowded private bathhouses and paused at a third choice. Suili looked up at the sign over the arched doorway, frowning at the foreign words carved into the stone.

"This is it," he said, ushering her in.

She stepped into the cool fitted stone interior, welcoming the change in temperature. A young, dark-skinned Dembian woman greeted them with a bow and spoke in a language Suili didn't understand. Cortleno replied in the same and the woman waved over an even younger Dembian girl, who smiled at Suili and took her arm.

"I'll meet you here in an hour," Cortleno told Suili in Lux, to her surprise. "Don't try anything foolish."

The Dembian attendant tugged at her arm, chatting in what Suili decided was Mezparian. They went to the changing chamber, which was cool but not clammy. Several young girls were there already, attending other female patrons. Suili disrobed and let the girl take her clothes, then wrapped a large pale peach towel around herself. She peeked into the adjoining bathing pool, and then looked back as the attendant exited the changing room with her clothes.

Suili started to say something, then stopped and followed to the beaded curtain that led to the bathhouse entry. The attendant handed the clothes to Cortleno. He smiled and said something Suili couldn't hear, and then went into the men's areas.

She sighed, trying to dismiss the ebbing frustration, and went into the bathing pool room. Cortleno certainly was not taking many chances with her limited freedom.

She joined the other women at the water's edge, easing onto the slate and white marble steps. A dozen different tongues met her ears, and she realized she may not be the only visitor that would be watched closely by the smiling Dembian attendants. She shrugged off thoughts of Cortleno and returning to the Nysse and lowered into the willow flower scented pool, closing her eyes as the waters met her chin, and then submerged completely. When she surfaced she smoothed her hair back and opened her eyes. The Dembian attendant looked at her curiously from the pool side.

"Suili?" the girl said stuntedly.

"Yes?"

The girl's smile broadened and she pulled aside her skirt to sit on the first step. She held up a ceramic jar and spoke, but Suili couldn't understand her. Finally the girl touched her hair and Suili nodded. She moved to the step and sat before the girl.

"How much did he tip you to take my clothes?" she asked when the attendant had finished pouring the contents of the jar through her hair.