Chapter Four #2
She snorted and headed up the stairs, holding the handrail as she climbed the steps.
She found the bathroom where Echel said it was, and the amenities drawer had toothpaste and little toothbrushes.
It also had a bunch of other stuff that she took advantage of until she had taken a quick sponge bath and felt a little less gross.
He had hair ties. She grinned. Samsor was an evolved fellow.
She pulled her hair back again and looked at her hollow features in the mirror. She shrugged and wandered downstairs, where Echel was making coffee.
“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked.
“Start with coffee, and then can you manage pancakes?”
“I can. You go hunt for honey or syrup.”
She smiled and found the pantry, pulling out three items. He looked at what she set on the counter and grinned. “I don’t know whether to applaud you for finding that or judge Samsor for having it.”
She shrugged. “He has it, and that is what matters.”
She watched him assemble the pancakes and slipped back to the pantry, grabbing another packet and easing toward the bowl. She opened the packet with her teeth and poured a cup of chocolate chips in.
Echel paused and looked at her. She smiled. “As you were.”
He laughed and held his hand over the griddle. When it was ready, the first pancake loaded with chocolate began to take shape on the hot metal.
By the time Duran and Samsor returned with her father, she was into pancake number two, her cheeks full, and chocolate syrup smeared on her face.
Her father grinned and began to laugh. “Oh, Emhara, it is nice to know that some things remain the same.”
He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. “I am putting that on my desk at work.”
She chewed and swallowed. “What?”
He laughed. “It has been so long since I have seen you. You are glorious, little girl.”
She sipped at her coffee and sighed. “Why are you here, Father?”
“I am going to stay until your aunt and her assistants arrive to make sure they understand you are to be treated as an honoured daughter of the house, and if I hear one word to the contrary, they will be looking for a new patron.”
Her aunt had been kind. Well, kinder than the others. She ate her chocolate chip pancakes, and when her father had a serving in front of him, he dove in with enthusiasm.
“Oh, that’s where I get it.” She chuckled.
He paused and used a napkin to wipe his face. “The idea is to stay neat while enjoying yourself.” He handed her a clean napkin. “You might want to try it, little girl.”
“I have a name. Pretty sure.”
There was a knock at the door, and Samsor walked to the door with his plate of pancakes in his hand. He answered the door, and female voices were heard.
“Fuck.” Em began scrubbing at her face and went around to get the napkin damp before she tried again. Her father was laughing, and it wasn’t an expression she saw often.
She watched the ladies approach and tried to hide behind the elves. A familiar voice said, “Emhara. We won’t bite or sting or whatever the ladies did when you were a child.”
Em looked around Duran and hissed, “I didn’t tell him that stuff.”
“Oh. Shit. Sorry, brother. It was when they were all younger.”
The assistants stood straight and tried not to look as green as they felt. They didn’t succeed.
Em walked around and introduced herself to her aunt, again. “Hello, Aunt Alderna.”
“Emhara, you have grown.”
“That happens if you keep eating.”
“Right. Where are you going to be that requires dressing?”
“Court. Lots of court. I need to look competent and adult, while still looking vulnerable. Can you manage that? Duran? Any notes?”
“No, that is pretty much what we need. Oh, you will need shoes.”
Alderna said, “We have shoes, undergarments. Everything from the skin out. First, Emhara, go take a shower while we move the racks in.”
“Uh...” She looked to Samsor. “Do you have another shirt I can borrow, or is my sweatsuit ready?”
He winced. “I forgot to wash it. Come on, I will get you a new shirt.”
She nodded and headed up the steps after him. His nostrils flared when he got to the top of the steps and said, “You bathed?”
“Sort of. Not really. I was starting to smell myself, and that is rarely good.”
“Speak for yourself. Come on.” He led the way to his room, got towels for her, and got her a fresh, long, black t-shirt. “Take a hot shower and come downstairs again.”
“Yup. No peeking.” She pushed him out of the bathroom and quickly got into motion.
She paused when she saw the new scrubby puff on top of the towels.
This man was used to having people over.
Either he was a safehouse, or his mother had raised him right.
Either one meant she had a comfortable shower and felt seriously clean when she was done.
She sighed and towelled dry, hair and body. She found a neutral deodorant in one of the drawers as well as a hairbrush. She got her hair smooth and had to leave it loose, or it wouldn’t dry.
The shirt was longer than the previous one, but there were no socks now. She sighed. She hated cold toes.
She walked out the door, headed for the hallway, then the stairs. She crept down the steps, listening for voices, but it was the smiling Samsor at the base of the steps that made her freeze in her tracks.
“Planning on making an escape?”
She slowly continued making her way down the steps. “No. Of course not. That would be stupid.”
He grinned. “Good. Come on. They are waiting, and Duran is getting into the selection process, so be warned.”
“Oh, boy.” She flexed her toes and grimaced.
“What is it?”
“I hate bare toes on cold floors.”
“The floors are heated.”
“I still don’t like it.”
He chuckled. “I will get you a set of socks and then order some slippers for you.”
He leaned over and gently kissed her cheek.
“Are you guys working to get me used to small contact so that larger contact will come easier?”
He chuckled. “Yes.”
She walked toward the living room. “Good plan.”
His soft laugh happened as he headed up the stairs.
She pattered into the living room, where Duran was going through fabric samples and had a stack of dresses on the couch. Her father was picking through the dresses, choosing with his own criteria.
He smiled. “Aha! This one. Or the dark green. I can’t decide.”
Duran grinned. “They will do for today, but I want her in these fabrics.”
Her aunt smiled. “Right. Get the first dress on, and we will see what needs to be done.”
“Uh, underwear? Things get weird if I don’t have a bra on.”
Alderna pointed at another rack and said, “Pick what fits.”
She nodded, walked over to the rack, and went through the sizes of lace and satin. She found three that would probably work and then went to work on the panties hung on little hangers.
She took the dress and the underwear and looked at Samsor, who had returned with socks. She grinned and pulled the socks on, wiggling her toes happily.
He said, “Down the hall and to the right of the stairs.”
She moved with her slippy socks and held her breath as she slipped on the panties that should fit.
They did. She exhaled in relief and examined the bras.
When she had gotten her nerve up, she whipped off the shirt and put the bra on, reaching behind her to fasten it.
It fit, too. She exhaled in relief. Her aunt and cousins hadn’t pulled a trick on her.
It seemed that with her father here, the time for tricks was over. She picked up the green dress and put it on. It fit faithfully and looked pretty good. She sighed and walked back into the living room to let her aunty tear her apart.
Alderna stared. “Emhara... you... are all grown up.”
“If this is a puberty joke, I had to deal with it on my own and figure it out.” Everyone was staring, and she looked around. “Did I put it on wrong?”
Her father walked to her and took her hands. “No, Emhara. You look remarkably right. Now, try the blue.”
She nodded and left to put on the other dress.