Clay:
I was alone in the infirmary for a while falling in and out of consciousness. My mind wandered to Lynne, to actually getting a new pair of clothes that weren't just rags. As my eyes closed heavily once again, I heard footsteps approaching the bed.
"How are you feeling?" Lynne asked with a smile, I knew it was him before even opening my eyes.
Truthfully, I still felt like crap. But, after lying still here for more than an hour I was bored enough to push through the pain and leave the infirmary. "Good enough," I answered, my voice a little gruff.
"I figured you'd be thirsty!" An unfamiliar girl's voice rang in my ears. Emerging from behind Lynne was a girl with bright blue hair."I'm Mirabelle!" She exclaimed, handing me the water.
I shot her a sceptical glance, narrowing my eyes as I analyzed the water she gave me. It didn't look like it had been drugged or tampered with.
"Elizabeth and Mirabelle agreed to take us shopping for clothes!" Lynne explained, his voice was so happy that he was almost singing.
I sloshed around the water, watching my reflection contort in the liquid. "Cool," I replied, my tone flat. I couldn't tell if there was something in this. Better safe than sorry…
I'd rather not experience that again.
Suddenly, a hand clasped over mine as a gentle pair of lips collapsed around the cup. They looked soft, small strands of blonde hair hooking themselves to the moistened lips as he tilted the water in the cup and took a sip. After he took a bit of water, Lynne pulled away with a gentle smile. "I hope you don't mind. I was a bit thirsty~" He cooed, giving me a wink.
A narrowed my eyes at him. For some reason, the way he was sparkling seemed unnatural. That girl with the blue hair looking excited as well. Though… it seemed that Lynne was feeling fine. So I too drank from the cup.
My lips pressed against it and I felt the cold water splash down my tattered throat, the cool sensation making it easier to speak. As soon as I finished the cup, I saw Lynne and Mirabelle high-fiving.
"LYNNE!!!! You did it! That was totally an indirect kiss!" Mirabelle squealed.
"I know! His lips touched right where mine were!" Lynne agreed, his expression had this big cheeky grin but his face was still a bit red.
"What are you two talking about?" Elizabeth sighed, placing the back of her hand against her chin. "Like… seriously. Drinking from the same glass isn't even relevant unless you're like, 12 or whatever."
"Indirect kissing is always the first step before direct kissing!" Mirabelle exclaimed, wagging her finger at Elizabeth as if she was scolding her.
I decided to roll my eyes and completely ignore whatever the hell was going on with those three. Whoever this Mirabelle girl was, I could tell she was gonna get on my nerves.
"Alright. If we're shopping then let's get to it." I said, carefully placing my feet off the bed and onto the ground. I stood up slowly, my legs taking a moment to brace me but eventually they toughened it out.
That's when a big black shirt was thrown my way, the fabric landing on my head and blinding me. When I removed it from my eyes, Mirabelle was awkwardly looking away. "Go shower and put that on. You can't walk around like that." She said.
I gave her a confused look. "Shower? What's that?" I asked, confused.
Seemed like everybody in the room's jaws dropped. "What do you mean 'what's a shower'!?" Elizabeth shrieked. "Go clean yourself!" For some reason, she sounded almost offended.
"Oh... Why didn't you just say so?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Where's the closest lake?"
"Lake...?" Elizabeth muttered, now sounded deflated.
"Um. Just show him to the bathroom and how to use it." Lynne said, blushing a bit. I didn't understand why everybody was freaking out. I've washed myself in a lake my whole life.
"Maybe you should go in with him, Lynne~" Mirabelle cooed.
Lynne's face turned bright red. "Wha- I mean..."
"Just... come with me." Elizabeth scoffed, not giving Lynne a chance to even respond. I decided I was thankful for that.
I followed her down a long hallway, where she took me to a room with a strange contraption in the center. It was a big metal bowl with a big tube. "That is a shower." She grumbled. The girl seemed annoyed she had to explain this to me. I grit my teeth, now feeling embarrassed.
"I know what that is! Just leave!" I exclaimed, pushing her out of the room and closing the door. "She thinks I'm some kind of idiot... I can figure out how to use this... shower or whatever." I grumbled to myself.
I walked towards the giant metal tube and lifted it up, stepping into the giant bowl. I shook the metal tube around, but nothing came out of it. "What the hell...?" I muttered to myself again. I analyzed the metal bowl carefully and saw a weird-looking nozzle. I turned them and suddenly water gushed out of the metal tube. "HAH!" I exclaimed triumphantly. This was easy.
The water was ice cold but refreshing. I washed away all the dirt and grime from my body, careful about where the bandages were. Then I stepped out of the tub and placed my dirt-covered pants back on my wet body. I opened the door to see Elizabeth stood at the front waiting for me. "That was fast. Did you use soap?"
"Did I use what...?" I narrowed my eyes at her. For some reason, she smacked her forehead with her palm. "Forget it. Just put on the blacktop and let's go."
"I'm still wet. I'll just keep it off." I said.
"Don't care," Elizabeth responded. Her voice was much more stern. She didn't look away for even a moment. "Those scars you have scream you're a slave. Walking around with them would be like walking around with a big target on your back. Especially since we'll be going to rich neighbourhoods."
I grit my teeth together. I had never looked in a mirror before. The only reason why I knew what I looked like was because of the reflection from my sword and other metallic objects. I didn't know the full extent of what my scars looked like. And… after that comment, I wasn't sure I wanted to find out.
So, I kept quiet and put on the long sleeve blacktop. We walked back to the infirmary where Lynne and Mirabelle were waiting. "Wow, it's like your skin's a different shade!" Mirabelle chuckled.
"I'm sure you feel a lot better now." Lynne smiled. I gave him a disheartened nod. Truthfully, I never really noticed the difference. Usually cleaning myself just meant I was about to get dirty again a few moments later. I saw little point to it.
"Alright! Now that everybody is ready, let's get going!" Mirabelle announced. We followed the two girls out of the infirmary and around the giant school. We walked down the hill, coming across a forest path.
The woods were thick with trees, tall grass and flowers of all different colours. We didn't walk for very long before spotting a clearing in the woods which took us to the nearby town.
It was much more lively than I expected. There were crowds of people, all with well-tamed hair and perfectly clean skin. The women all had shiny jewellery on them, the sorts of things I would never even imagine owning. Brightly coloured stones with gold chains. The men had top hats and embroidered canes, their facial hair was cleanly cut.
I stood out like a sore thumb here.
The buildings were enormous. Enough space to fit at least 6 people. The walls were made of strangely coloured rocks stacked on top of each other, looking much more sturdy than the planks of wood I was used to seeing.
Elizabeth guided us through the busy town. Merchants were lined up on the streets selling all sorts of foods, jewellery, and weapons. However, we passed all of them until we came to a building with a bit of breathing room at the edge of town. It didn't look particularly special from all the others.
"Well, we're at the shop!" Mirabelle said as we walked up the road, surrounded by well-tamed grass.
"This is it?" I questioned. "That was fast."
"You're joking, right?" Elizabeth exhaled harshly. "That was like, 20 minutes! I'm all sweaty and my hair is all frizzed now. Ugh. I hate walking. We better be getting that shipment of horses soon."
Another strange comment I thought would be better to brush off. I didn't have the energy to ask any questions. Sure, the walk felt quick, but my injuries zapped all my energy from me. Though I didn't want to admit it, I needed a break.
Lynne opened the door to the shop, a strange smell reaching my nose that I couldn't describe. In the building, there were rows and rows of well-crafted outfits of all different shapes and colours. I had never seen so many clothes in one place before.
"Ok! No more standing around!" Elizabeth announced. "Let's get shopping!"