Eliza gripped me tightly as I held her against my chest with her arms around my neck. I moved around in the water, slowly warming up, and found a place to sit down that was only up to my chest.
"You should be fine standing in this water. Go get the cloth and soap, and
I will soap you down," I explained, but Eliza didn't move.
In my rush to get cooled down, I had left the soap and cloth on the shore, but now Eliza didn't seem to want to let go. I didn't want to move around too much with how we were sitting, not wanting to get myself anymore worked up than I already was.
"I don't need soap; you can just rub me clean, right?" Eliza asked, and I rolled my eyes at the thought of what that might start.
Still, the water would clean most of the urine off, and she could have a proper bath once we got to Northwall. For now, I just enjoyed the water with a cute naked girl in my lap.
Since coming to this world, things had moved pretty slowly, and even though this wasn't ideal, I couldn't complain. I was curious to see how the people of the town were going to treat me, but I had a plan for that.
"So, when we return to Northwall, I will be going as you prisoner. I don't want to make a big deal," I said, but Eliza shook her head, looking up at me.
"You have bathed with me naked, and no one has ever done that before. I am now yours, and I will follow you with whatever you choose," Eliza explained, but that wasn't what I wanted to hear.
"Wait! No! I am helping these people right now!" I declared, and Eliza shrugged.
"Fine, I will give up my place as Countess and come live at your side. There is no getting out of this. You are the most interesting woman I have ever met, on top of being the strongest and bravest. There is no way that I will leave your side, and you can do what you want with me. You have taken my virginity," Eliza explained, and I was utterly speechless.
What the?!
This was not what was supposed to happen! Also, what was this about virginity?!
"Hold on just a friggin 'minute! What is this about me taking your virginity?! We never had sex! I mean, you might be touching it, but it is not inside of you!" I complained, but Eliza gave me a strained look.
"What are you talking about? Bathing together is sacred among women! I don't know how they do things where you are, but I accept you, and I want to be your partner! You will be the first woman to stick her fingers inside of me to make me a full woman!" Eliza declared, and I felt like pulling my hair.
I was not looking to get hooked up with a spoiled brat, no matter how pretty she was! Why did no one say anything about this?!
I would have a word with Elder Lily after this. That damned old bat knew precisely what I was doing!
Still, what was I supposed to do now? I had joked about being less careful, but it looked like I was already in hot water.
"What do you know about me? You don't even know my name! I don't even know it! I literally woke up in the forest a couple hours ago! You say you want me now, but only because I was tricked into this!" I complained, but Eliza just rested her head on my chest.
"Maybe you didn't know, but you have to remember how I feel. This can only happen once, and it was with you. I may have slightly tricked you, but you were the one that told me I needed to get clean! I assumed that you knew what you were doing when you took me in there," Eliza explained without looking up from my shoulder, and I groaned.
The girl had a point, and whether it was a trick or not was a moot point now.
"What is going to happen to your people? Who will lead in Northwall?" I asked, trying to see if there was any other way around this.
"Lady Katarina. She deals with the town's affairs right now and just sends me to act as a figurehead! If I leave, she will control it all. Good, I don't want to go around ordering people who don't even like me! Everyone that sees me is scared of me or doesn't like me, but that was my job, so it never bothered me," Eliza explained, and I nodded, finding myself gently stroking the back of her head, despite myself.
"What changed now? You seemed ready to have that old Elder Lily beaten just before this," I said, and Eliza gripped me tightly.
"I am sorry. I had been so caught up in forcing people to listen to me that I went to my head. If it hadn't been for you, I would have that on my conscience. I was in a nasty mood because Lady Katarina has become much pushier lately. It's almost like she is trying to make me make the people hate me, but she never is mean to my face," Eliza grumbled into my shoulder, and I nodded.
"This is another reason why you will be taking me back as a prisoner. I would like to see what everyone is like. To do that, you are going to have to still be the Countess for now," I explained, and Eliza looked up at me brightly.
"Does that mean that you accept me as your Life Partner now?" Eliza asked me with hopeful eyes.
"It seems like you aren't giving me many options, but I hadn't planned on getting hooked up so quickly. I haven't seen any of the worlds yet or met that many people," I explained, and Eliza shrugged.
"You can still meet others, and I don't mind sharing you a bit, but I am your Life Partner now. Feel free to use my body as you want, and I will try to ensure you don't need other partners!" Eliza declared, and I sighed.