The air inside the Red Snake was filled with smoke and laughter as Alaina and Rhin made their way between the tables and toward the counter. Around them many red-faced men drank sloppily from pewter mugs, guffawing at jokes and calling for more liquor. Alaina looked around in fascination, seeing an environment like this for the first time. Back in Bertlebridge she'd only been in the tavern once, and it had practically been abandoned at the time. She was not used to so many people, so loudly getting along in such a small space. Rhin led her through the crowd, pulling gently on her wrist.

She followed him closely, hiding from roaming hands and wide, unseeing eyes. As they reached the counter Rhin stopped, dropping Alaina's hand and banging on the little copper bell that sat on the rough, wooden counter.

"Can I help you?" asked a plump woman behind them. She was carrying a large wooden tray, covered in empty mugs.

Rhin spun around on his heel, his dark blond hair whipping into his face. "Yes," he said, smiling and pushing the stray locks behind his ear. "We'd like a room."

The woman nodded, a smile spreading across her red face. "Just one?" she asked, winking and throwing a heavy elbow at Alaina.

"No, actually we'd like two," Alaina told her, speaking up. She pulled a leather coin purse from her pocket. "And baths as well."

The woman nodded again and waved at someone behind them. "That'll be six coppers," she told her.

Alaina dug the small copper pennies from her pouch and handed the woman seven of them.

The woman smiled. "I'll have your baths up in no time. Kinne will show you to your room.

They turned to face a short, stocky fellow with a long black beard reaching almost to his belt. He nodded at them. "This way," he said, turning and walking up the stairs behind the counter. Alaina and Rhin followed through the narrow stairway and down the hall. There were six doors in it, three on each side. Kinne gave them the first two on the right.

Alaina watched Rhin disappear into the second room and she slid into the first and shut the door behind her. She looked about the tiny room. It was small and rather grimy, with ancient purple wallpaper covering the walls and peeling in the corners and along the small, lonely window above the bed. The solitary bed was small but thick and even. Worn green material covered its supple frame, with several plumb pillows propped at the top, against the cracking wallpaper. Below her feet the bare wooden floor was worn smooth from frequent use and covered in a thin layer of dust.

Alaina dropped her bag onto a rickety wooden chair that sat beside the door. Next to that was a wide dresser, its ebony varnish thick and flaking off in small pieces. Just as she was about to drop herself onto the soft bed there was a light tapping at the door. "Who is it?" she asked, steeping forward and listening through the thin wood.

"It's your bath, miss," said a small voice.

Alaina opened the door. "Of course, come in." A girl of about fifteen was standing there with a large copper bathtub behind her. It was rigged up on wheels, and the girl was able to easily push it into the room. She stopped it in the middle of the barren floor and shoved stops beneath the wheels to keep it from moving.

"We'll be right back with the water," she said, disappearing. Alaina sat down on the bed and waited, staring at the tub. It would be nice to bathe in hot water again. The closest she'd come in the last week and a half was a brief swim in the frigid waters of the Virili River in the valley of Mortaan.

After a few minutes the girl reappeared, followed by another, younger looking teen. Each of them held a large bucket of steaming water in each of their pale, narrow hands. The younger girl poured her buckets into the tub first and then disappeared from the room with the empty containers. She returned with her arms full of neatly folded blue towels as the older girl was pouring in the last of the water from her second bucket. She had also brought a final pitcher of steaming water, which she set beside the tub.

"Thank you very much," Alaina said, handing them each a copper coin. "There's for your trouble." They smiled broadly and left the room, shutting the door behind them.

Alaina looked at the steaming water greedily and began to remove her clothes. Her thick cloak was the first to go, followed by the tan leather vest she'd been wearing. Next, she slid out of her rough pants, then shirt, and finally undergarments. She pulled the ribbon from her hair, deposited it onto the pile of clothes. The only thing on her body now was the necklace hanging on her chest. She'd all but forgotten the precious jewel in her journey from Bertlebridge, and now that she had made it to Falom Rai she'd have to put thought into the trinket once more. But not now, now she was going to bathe. The air in the room was frigid and she slipped into the steaming tub, pushing every worry from her mind.

The hot water was almost unbearable, but she ignored her innate urge to climb from the tub and let her body cool in the winter air. Instead she tipped her head back and allowed her body to get used to the temperature, inhaling the steam and enjoying the hot water covering every inch of her weary body. Although she had participated in some athletic activities in Bertlebridge, she was not at all used to continuous travel the way she'd experienced it in the last two weeks.

Staring at the faded wallpaper, Alaina allowed her mind to fall into a stupor and she slid her body further down into the water. The tub was not very long so she popped her knees up through the water into the seemingly frigid air so that she could sink up to her chin in the steaming liquid. She could hear the dull hum of conversation beneath her and the occasional spurt of laughter from the drunken patrons. The steam rose against her damp skin and seemed to lull her. After a moment she slid further down and pulled her entire head under the water. Some of the heat was gone from the bath, but the water still stung her cheeks. Suddenly all of it was gone, the sounds of the tavern, the feel of the cold night air on her face, it was just the warm, quiet calm; the dull roar you hear in a sea-shell. She could feel her knees in the cold air, but it was a detached feeling, like a memory of being in the cold. She just lay, under the water, feeling as if nothing could touch her.

Soon, as if a memory of air had quietly crept into her thoughts, she was suddenly reminded of her human need to breathe. She braced her feet against the hot metal and slid her head back up into the cool air. She opened her mouth wide and sucked in a wide breath and then let it slowly out again before resuming a semi-normal breathing pattern.

For three-quarters of an hour she sat, almost motionless, in the tub, her eyes closed, oblivious to the world. Then, interrupting her thoughts, there came another meek knock on her door. "Are you finished with the bath, miss?" she heard the younger girl's voice through the door, breaking her trance.

"Give me ten more minutes," Alaina said loudly. "I'm almost finished."

"Alright, miss," the girl said and Alaina could hear her moving away from the door. She'd lost track of time and place in those forty-five minutes in the cooling water.

She quickly washed her hair and body with soap in the now luke-warm liquid, the soapy water running down her back and over her smooth skin. When she'd finished that, she stood up and used the pitcher of water the girls had left to rinse her hair. She waited for the cool water to run down into the tub, over her warm and wet body. She then squeezed some extra water from her hair and stepped out of the water, onto the dry floor beside her. Water pooled in her footprints as she walked over and grabbed a towel. She used it to dry her hair, rubbing her short brown locks dry and then wrapped it around her body.

As she started to dig through her bag for clothes she heard a knock once more. "Yes, I'm done," she said. "Come in."

The door opened slowly behind her and then shut quickly once more. Alaina turned around and looked at the door, perplexed. "I'm sorry Alaina, it's me Rhin." She heard his voice from behind the door. "I'm sorry about that."

Alaina laughed. "It's alright; I thought you were the girl for the tub. Just a minute." She dug through her bag. She finally came upon a neat white blouse and some underwear. She put these on and searched for pants. Before she could locate any she came upon a wad of blue material shoved in the very bottom of her bag. She pulled it out and unfolded it. It was a skirt that she'd hurriedly packed that morning, knowing that she might eventually need something nice to wear. She decided it was better than nothing at all and slipped it on, tying the thin cord around her waist to hold it up. She hadn't worn a dress in months, not since her cousin's wedding that June. "Alright, come in," she said, tucking her colorless blouse into her skirt. It was an airy cotton skirt of a deep navy blue with lighter blues creeping around it in airy, swirling patterns.

Again, Rhin slowly opened the door. He saw her standing there, in her white blouse and blue skirt with her messy wet hair dripping onto her shoulders, and he smiled. He too had been in the bath. His hair wasn't as wet, but it still hung limply at his shoulders. "I just thought we could eat together," he said, "Maybe downstairs," he added, smiling.

Alaina nodded and started digging through her bag again. After a moment she produced a pair of very flat sandals. "I had forgotten I'd even packed these. At least now I have a chance to wear them." She dropped them to the floor and slid her feet into the flat shoes.

"They're very nice," Rhin said, laughing. "You are full of surprises."

At that moment the servant-girl returned. "Your bath, miss?"

"Go ahead and take it," Alaina told her. "Let's eat," she added, turning to Rhin.

He smiled and waved his hand toward the door. "Lead the way."

Alaina smiled back and led Rhin from the room toward the bar below.