A sneeze from somewhere on the other side of the room caught their attention and they made their way across the shallow pool to find Aurelius sitting on a makeshift seat of warm stone. Between sneezes, the red-skinned blond doused himself with water from a stone basin that had been carved out from the floor and then scrubbed hard at his arms with a sponge. A brown towel was wrapped about his waist and he was sweating profusely. He sneezed again.

“That does not look healthy,” Windsor remarked, waving his hand in front of his face to clear the gathering steam. Aurelius glanced up at his voice and swept one hand back to push his hair out of the way to give his new bandmate his full attention. His normally golden blond hair almost appeared brown from the way the water had plastered it onto his head. Etraon, made a little self-conscious at the idea that he too could do with better hair in the moment, swept the front half of it to one side, thought better of it, and ruffled it back to a comfortable setting.

“Not my idea of fun, no,” Aurelius replied. He put his elbows on his thighs and rubbed at his face, relaxing the muscles that until now had been fixed in a permanent grimace between sneezes. A small heap of orange-stained clothes and sponges lay in a wicker basket nearby, and Etraon noted that his cousin was staying as far away from it as he could.

“Did you get it all?” Etraon asked him.

“It took some doing, but I think so.” Aurelius sneezed again.

“You really have the worst luck, Aurelius. There must have been at least five different types of pie in that mess hall. Of all the things that girl could’ve attacked you with…”

“Don’t remind me,” Aurelius shuddered, reaching a large wooden ladle into a neighboring basin. He doused himself with warm water a few more times and turned to another basin that lay nearby. His face contorted with a grimace they didn’t understand, as he splashed the water in the second basin onto himself with a quick movement. The sharpness of the force with which he targeted himself threw off his aim a little and some of it spattered onto Windsor, who was standing waist high in the water.

“It’s cold!” Windsor squawked with surprise, leaping back a foot or so before he retreated up to his shoulders in the warmer water.

“Sorry,” Aurelius muttered.

“It’s freezing!” Windsor sneezed. “No wonder you’re sneezing a hundred times a minute. Aurelius, if I catch cold from this…” he broke off, sneezing once more. “All the hair on my back is standing on end!” he paused awkwardly and looked at Etraon. “Uh…did that sound strange?”

“Only if you thought it did,” Etraon responded seriously.

“Look, I said I’m sorry,” Aurelius said.

“Don’t apologize to me! What are you doing to yourself?”

“I really have to agree with him, Aurelius. Is splashing cold water on yourself in a hot bath really necessary?” Etraon asked him.

“Probably not,” Aurelius admitted, shivering from the change in temperature, “but it’s the best that I could come up with on short notice. The cold makes the irritated skin stand out, which makes it easier for me to see if I missed any of that blasted orange squash.”

“Let me help you with that,” Windsor offered. He turned slightly in Etraon’s direction, and with an impish grin that spoke of all sorts of mischief, rose from the water and moved towards Aurelius. He stuck his hands into the cold water basin and splashed a great deal of it in Aurelius’ direction, surprising him to the point where he fell off of the stone. Etraon laughed and proceeded to splash them both with water from the pool. Aurelius came across Windsor’s basket and retrieved the soap from the inside, lathering it quickly in his hands to splatter his friends with the suds. Needless to say, the water wars continued until they could hear Damon calling their names from outside. Dinner, he said, was finally ready.

Etraon had to wonder if he was the only one who felt a surging sense of pride as he walked under the plaque that led to their common room. The sight of that powerful bird outlined in gold with its battle-ready appearance did more than inspire, he felt. As a member of the royal family, he decided that it was only right for him to be in this group. It had been some coincidence that both he and Aurelius had ended up as a part of the Kites, as they could have just as easily been assigned to another band had they but answered General Theodore’s questions in a different manner. Just before he opened the door to the common room, he checked himself over. Karina had been quite insistent that they be cleaned up before they come to dinner and that they were to wear only casual tunics, with no form of armor or weapons upon their person. Hastily brushing off a small piece of soap that had clung to his dark red tunic, Etraon decided he was finally ready and pushed open the doors.

The room’s interior was surprisingly spotless. Gossamer curtains were draped and pulled back from the windows, which had been let open to allow in the cool summer night. There were just enough chairs for each of them, well-cushioned and sturdy in their form. A fireplace with a stove lay to one side of the room, smoke floating up into the chimney that pulled it skyward. A small water basin stuck out from the wall to his left and Catherine was scooping out mugs of refreshment from it and setting them on the large circular table that lay in the middle of the room. The table settings were simple, which somehow made the atmosphere feel as if it were a meal among equals, friends, maybe even family, Etraon surmised, but they hadn’t quite come to that yet. In due time, he thought.

A number of earthenware pots stood on the table, and the steaming aromas that came from them painfully reminded Etraon that his stomach was still empty and very much in need of a hot meal. Karina came around from the stove, setting down a steaming platter of a roasted meat that he did not recognize. She had traded her white tunic and leather vest for a layered dress of light and dark greens, and a brown leather wrap was tied at the bodice. Her hair, which had previously been in a tight braid, was let down, though some was pulled back slightly from her face. Catherine and Sirena had also changed from their traveling clothes and were now donning simple dresses of dark blue and orange. Karina saw Etraon and directed him towards more dishes that had yet to make it to the table, continuing about her own business to finish cutting the fruit. The two girls were helping Karina to set the table, with Sirena going the extra step to fold the napkins into presentable arrangements. Catherine would interrupt her work, saying that they had to move quickly as the food would grow cold with each minute they wasted with “unnecessary finery”, she had said. Sirena pouted, finished her piece, and moved on to the next seat, stubbornly continuing to fold the napkins. Catherine eyed her for a moment, and Etraon was sure that she was going to say something spiteful, but she surprised him by smoothing out the wrinkles in Sirena’s work and carried on with her job of setting down the freshly filled mugs without another word. It was all Etraon could do not to laugh.

A clatter at the door caught his attention. Damon, dressed in a collared white tunic, had dropped some of the firewood that he had been transferring into the common room from the storage space outside. Aurelius came in behind him, picking up the pieces that had fallen and stacking them neatly into a pile. He absently retrieved one and was about to toss it onto the fire when a pointed stare from Karina stopped him in his tracks. He carefully crouched down by the fire and then, seemingly satisfied that there was no way he would miss such a simple throw or accidentally send ashes and cinders flying into the food, lowered the entire pile into the fire.

Everything had been set in place. Food was on the table, the utensils and napkins were neatly laid out, and freshly scooped mugs of cool water sat next to each plate. Karina waved them towards the table, indicating for them to sit, carrying a pitcher of what looked and smelled to be warm cider. The door opened once more to admit Windsor in his black tunic, belted at the waist. Karina sent him off to change the sign by the door leading to their wing of the barracks, stating that they were done for today and that any other official business regarding their training would only be seen to in the morning.

The supper that had been laid out for them was delicious. No dish on the table was particularly spectacular in its appearance, nor had any expensive ingredients been used in the making of it. Each dish was delicately seasoned, flavorful enough to have them all reaching for just another spoonful and yet smooth as it went down to their stomachs, so that they all began to feel pleasantly warm from the inside out. It was that hint of spiciness, Karina said, that made the difference. The faint touch of heat in your stomach made you more relaxed and the fire on your tongue would make your food that much more appetizing. Their main course, a meat that Etraon did not recognize, was rich in flavor and the crispy skin on the outside of it could only belong to a bird. He deduced that it must be a waterfowl of some sort, as it didn’t have the taste of chicken, but seemed richer than anything he had tasted before.

“What is this?” Windsor asked between mouthfuls, forgetting his manners for a moment in his excitement over the food. “It’s delicious!” He chewed on a piece even as he reached forth with a fork and knife for another helping.

“Duck,” Karina replied.

“Come again?”

It was Damon who replied. “A duck is a wild bird that spends most of its time in the water, having been domesticated by superior species and used as a food source, characterized by its flat bill, short legs, and-”

“For goodness sake, Damon, I know what a duck is,” Windsor snapped, interrupting his bandmate mid-speech. Karina laughed at the exchange.

“Unless geese look like ducks these days, yes, this is duck.”

“But I’ve never liked duck,” Windsor protested, staring at his food with a bewildered expression. “It’s so…chewy.”

“That’s your third piece,” she reminded him. “Oh. Here, try it with some of this,” she added, reaching to a small bowl by her plate and passing it to him.

She continued talking, explaining further that he was only to spoon some of the orange-colored sauce out to spread onto his meat and that he was most certainly not, under any circumstances, to plunk his duck into it like a barbarian. Windsor did as he was told and the others did the same within seconds of seeing him smile. The sauce was sweet, a surprise that delighted them all. It had the consistency of honey and carried the faintest smell of plums, accenting the natural sweetness of the duck perfectly. The rich, full-flavored taste of the bird could be had to its full potential, given how well it went with the plum sauce. The remaining pieces of duck disappeared from the platter soon after.

Author's Note:

As someone who has really sensitive skin, I can only imagine how ridiculous the whole hot/cold water situation with Aurelius must have looked...but when you're trying to make a thing stop itching, you really kinda just go with whatever you THINK works.

Also, does anyone else like duck? I've had more duck meat in recent years and it's really yummy.

xoxo,

Elfarine