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(Page 3 of 6) Ivaris - Chapter 4 by Jennifer Raney
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Her hair was silver and blonde, piled into a loose bun on top of her head, with a few stray curls around her ears. She was fairly short, and fairly round, and despite her frilly apron she was fairly covered in baking flour. Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were bright with the sight of her god son.
"There she is," Rory beamed at his wife.
"My boy, it's so good to see you!" she sang, and Seroan embraced her tightly, "and who is your lovely friend?" she asked, turning to me.
"Mum, this is Ivaris. Ivaris, this is my godmother, Mordre," he answered.
"Lovely to meet you, ma'am," I said, and she took my hand.
"Lovely to meet you, dear, and you may call me Mum!" she said brightly, and gathered me into her arms for a hug. "My Stars, but you look miserably tired and hungry. Let me draw you a hot bath, and then we'll have some supper!" she tittered, and scampered down a set of stairs I hadn't noticed, where I assumed the bathroom was.
Rory took us into the kitchen, "While you wait for your bath why don't you have some ale to soothe your bones," he offered. Seroan and I accepted gratefully, we hadn't tasted ale since The Piglet's Wink. "A story for me, y'say?" he asked, once we had our mugs in hand.
"Yes, Godfather, Ivaris and I are caught in a bloody great intrigue," Seroan answered, looking at me. Rory followed his gaze and looked at me expectantly.
"Yes si- uh, Rory, sir," I said, "the first thing we need is a safe place to stay in secret until we can figure a few things out."
"Why dear lass, you're as safe as ever here with me and Mum," just then Mordre burst in again. Her entrances were always like a gush of bright light.
"Thank you si- thank you." I couldn't stop calling him sir, but I couldn't quite familiarize myself with Rory. It made him laugh.
"Yes, nothing to worry about. You'll stay here in the house until we get you sorted. So what happened?"
I looked at Seroan who explained, "It's quite a long story, Godfather, maybe we should wait until after we've had a bath and some dinner."
Rory smiled warmly, "Of course, lad, didn't mean to rush."
"The bath is ready, dears, just leave your clothes at the door and I'll find some clean things for you to wear. Off you go!" she hustled us down to the bathroom, which was more like a cathedral. At the door she winked slyly at Seroan, who blushed and looked away, and closed the door.
He looked up and saw me watching him, "She could always tell my friends from my girlfriends, I don't know how," he explained. I laughed, and we undressed and put our dirty clothes outside the door.
The bath was actually a very large pool, with a smaller seated tub to the side. The tub water was fresh and hot, and I could smell the rich minerals in it.
"The water is from a spring that bubbles up right there," Seroan pointed to a section of the wall that had not been polished, but instead held a raw outcropping of stone with a trench leading from it to the tub and an off-shoot to the pool.
I nodded, but thought no more of it; the steaming mineral water was doing wonders for my weary body.
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