Page 18 of Minotaurs and other Magic

“He is used to bathing on his own, so will have the full experience.”

“Wait…what is the full experience?” What was he getting signed up for?

The elf smiled and appraised him, no doubt taking in the marks on his wrist and the bruises on his arms and legs from the rockfall. “Hair, nails, shave, wash, rinse, massage.”

Nate touched his jaw. It would be nice to shave, and his fingernails were a mess. He nodded but gave Rohan a look for usingthattone when saying the full experience.

Rohan smiled, then walked over to the bath and down the steps. The water just covered his junk. Then he sat with a groan.

The elf picked up a rolled towel and placed it behind Rohan’s head.

Rohan tipped his head back and closed his eyes. “Make your selection, Nate, then join me in the bath.”

“What am I choosing?”

But the elf was already walking toward a set of shelves. Each glass pot was neatly labeled in the script Nate couldn’t read.

“I don’t read Tarikian.” He hated admitting that. If he was stuck here for a year, he needed to learn to read.

The elf gave him another look. This time, loaded with more concern. “Where did he find you?”

“In a tavern.”

The elf picked a jar off the shelf. “Were you raised by the rats in the rubbish?”

He was about to argue, but it wasn’t said with malice, and there was something about it that suggested it was a common phrase.

“This one? Or…” He reached for another jar and took off the lid. “This one?”

Nate sniffed both. The first one was more floral, the other woodier. “The second.”

“I will gather the rest based on that. You can try other scents another time, but sniffing all of them now will only muddy your nose.” The elf motioned him away.

With nothing else to do, Nate crossed the floor to the bath. Steam rose off the water, and he stepped in cautiously. The water was hot, but not unpleasantly so. Like everything else in the palace, from the chairs to the bed, it was minotaur-sized. If he sat on the bottom, he’d drown, so he sat on the step.

“There is a ledge opposite me for sitting.” Rohan didn’t open his eyes.

Nate moved around. The cut on his leg stung, as did his wrists. “How is the water heated?”

“Magic.”

“How often is the water changed?” Or was he sitting in unchlorinated people soup?

Rohan lifted his head, eyes open. “It is cleaned after every use…do your people wash in dirty water?”

“No…I was just trying to understand how it works. At home, Ishower.Um…A spout that makes rain. You stand under it. And the water isn’t heated by magic.”

“And you are alone. It sounds terrible.”

The elf placed a towel behind Nate’s head, and he let his head fall back. “Not everyone could afford all of this.”

“Everyone has family or friends. No, no.” Rohan waved the elf away. “Start with Nate. He needs the most attention.”

Great, now he wouldn’t have the chance to see what happened first.

The elf dropped his robe and joined them in the bath. Nate swallowed, all relaxation gone.

“If you could sit up, I’ll wash your hair first.” The elf moved efficiently, pouring water over his head and then using a bar of what looked like soap to lather his hair, all the while giving him what had to be the best head massage of his life. His fingersworked into knots at the base of his skull and his jaw. By the time elf rinsed his hair, Nate wanted to melt.

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