431 Rxation


    Scents of all kinds assaulted the girls’ noses, instantly forcing them to rx. A thick mist hung about the entire room. Several pools of water of various shapes and sizes filled the room, many of them upied by women soakingfortably in the warm water.


    “What’s this supposed to be?” Honour asked, staring between thedies and the luxurious pools of rejuvenating water. ‘They don’t really expect us to wash off in here, do they?’


    “Well, I take it that the three of you are with the royal family even though none of you has the eyes to prove it. Don’t worry. We don’t judge anyone by their ranks here.


    The prince won’t be making it to the Grand Arena soon. Knowing Martha, she is going to use this chance to return the greatest rxation spas known this side of the Great Arena,” Del spoke proudly.


    The woman herself had unblemished skin and her voice was as soothing as a mother’s luby, almost like she was trained to speak that way. Now that Honour was paying more attention to her, her voice was simr to that of the queen herself.


    “If you put it like that...” Madeline trailed, eyeing the baths with a more epting look.


    “That’s the spirit,” Del smirked.


    The girls, following the women’s lead, allowed themselves the luxury of rxation. The trio was led to the changing rooms where they were given white towels and led back to a pool designated for them.


    The feeling of warm water was against their skin exquisite. It felt like a warm soft nket wrapped around their bodies, “Oh, that feels great,” Madeline’s voice rang out.


    .....


    “Right? Wait till you get to the sauna and massage. You’ll be feeling like a baby by the time we’re done with you,” another woman spoke this time, her angelic voice almost identical to the first.


    ‘Professionals,’ Honour thought.


    They ced a bell on a nk at the side of the pool, “If you feel like you need anything or if you feel you’ve enjoyed the water enough, ring this bell. We’lle to take you to the next stage.”


    With that, the women were gone and the three girls were left soaking in the bath. The temperature of the path was just right and it never once dropped or rose beyond what was required. It was like a miracle bath that took everyone’s burdens away.


    The pool was not too deep and not too shallow either, with a smooth undting rim that allowed one to rest their head. If it hadn’t been for Bree’s curiosity, Honour wouldn’t have noticed the cushions stacked beside the pool.


    The girl got experimental and found it even moreforting toy her head on the pillow as she rxed.


    “Do you think the queen did this to keep us from worrying too much about Katie?” Bree asked the other two.


    “Maybe,” was Madeline’s reply before dipping her head below the surface and blowing up some bubbles. Honour didn’t miss the girl’s grey eyes in the mist. She’d stopped forcing their colour to change now that they were alone... and she looked more beautiful that way. Not that Honour would be telling her that any time soon.


    “She probably wanted to shed her royal shell and gossip with-” the young goddess froze mid-sentence,ing to a ground-breaking realisation from the way the queen had been acting.


    ‘Shed her royal shell my foot,’ Honour’s thoughts raged, ‘I should have seen this sooner. Their mocking tones... their weing smiles... the way they carry themselves... The queen even knew Del’s name...’


    “The queen must have known this ce long before joining the royal family.”


    “What makes you say that?” Madeline’s bubbles stopped popping and she rose, paying more attention to the young goddess.


    “It’s not normal ormon to find a ce thatpletely looks past the colour of someone’s eyes. I thought they were only doing that with alphas, but then, it was the same with the queen. Who does that to the most respected werewolves in the world?


    Not to mention the moment she entered this ce, her guardpletely fell and she showed she trusted these people without hesitation. It’s like...”


    “She knew them personally,” Bree sighed.


    “Exactly,” Honour replied.


    “Either that or the two of you are reading too much into this whole thing,” Madeline replied, sinking once more with a gurgling sound. More bubbles rose from within the misty pool, “I’d rather just soak and enjoy this while itsts.”


    Once again, Honour was astounded by how much this girl was able to rx. Looking back on it now, she had been the exact opposite when they’d found her. Madeline was timid and gued by a lot of nightmares... nightmares...


    Now Honour had nightmares of her own... although hers were less of scary dreams and more of memories of a life that she very much knew to be true. Memories that she had not yet shared with the rest of her friends. They knew of her dreams, but she never shared the details.


    Going into the details was a matter all on its own. It was a symbol of her eptance of reality. The reality was that she was indeed the reincarnation of a millennium-old goddess of the moon Selene.


    epting that she would have to return to the moon and might never see her family ever again. Honour didn’t even know what would happen to her when this happened.


    So she kept the memories to herself. Maybe this way, she could stay with her friends longer. It was these uncertainties that made her cherish every moment she had with her friends.


    Honour sank deeper into the waters, her tears obscured by the thick mist that hung close to the water’s surface.


    “Oh right, Lina mentioned your birthday is in a week from now,” Madeline piped up.


    “Yeah...” Honour replied. ‘Leave it to Lina to remember every detail about me... I wonder if she also remembers what my parents said about that day. She probably does and doesn’t want to think about it.’


    “She also postponed her own celebration to that day, so that the two of you can celebrate your birthday together,” Madeline continued.


    Honour wanted to sink into the pool and vanish, but Madeline wouldn’t be willing to let her. One of the ws of being blindly honest was that Madeline sometimes missed subtle hints, “She said she wanted it to be a day you wouldn’t forget. Maybe that way, you’ll pay her more visits when you leave.”


    “I don’t want to leave, Mady,” Honour sighed... “I want to stay.”


    The women from earlier walked in on them before the conversation could continue, “I see the three of you have enjoyed this much more than I thought you would. The limit to how long you can spend in the shower has been reached.”


    “That’s one short limit,” Bree huffed.