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27. Bathtime!


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#1 Weyoun

Posted 03 November 2002 - 09:48 AM

Writer's comment : another silly little number.... What use is there in giving Vierna a bath?

 
Bathtime!

Swifty and silently, that's how her aunty Imoen had put it... Vierna thought she'd be even better at those both things if she knew what those words meant.

Right now, she was making for the door leading to the courtyard as quickly as she could, sneaking quietly past the dining-hall, until the front door loomed in the distance. Smiling to herself, she stepped towards the door, her hand reaching for the doorbolt...

"And where do you thing you're going, child?" she heard her mother call from the dining-hall.

Dang...

"Ermmm, to play, momma?" Vierna tried.

"Have you forgotten what day it is?" Viconia said as she stepped towards her daughter and placed her arms to her sides.

"Ermmmm, I guess so..." Vierna said hopefully. "So I might as well go out to play!"

"Ninth Day, Vierna, Ninth Day," Viconia stressed with a hint of amusement. "And do you know what happens every Third, Sixth and Ninth Day?"

"I try to sneak out to play?" Vierna responded.

"That too," Viconia chuckled. "But on those days... You take a bath! Come on, now. The water is at a good temperature right now..."

"But... But..." Vierna pouted. "I'm not dirty! Can't you just clean me with a washcloth and be done with?"

"Vierna," Viconia chuckled. "Your hair has gone grey with grime! You're so active that, well, you're starting to smell, ssinjin eoul."

"But..."

"Come on, up the stairs you go," Viconia chuckled.

---

"The water is fine," Viconia said after testing it with her hand. The De'Arnese bathchambers were rather luxury even before the keep was renovated. A marble floor, a beautiful large mirror next to the marble bath built into the side of the wall, adorned with inlaid golden sculptures. Apparently, Lady Delcia liked her baths to be a luxury occassion.

Vierna could only see the fire brightly burning under the water to keep the temprature. To her, the luxury bath seemed more like a cauldron out of scary storybooks. She stood on the edge of the bath after her mother had undressed her and had given her dirty clothes to one of the maids. After carefully putting her toe in the water, she figured the water might be a little warm for her and...

"Okay, in you go," Viconia told her child, and picked her up under both arms. Vierna yelped a little in surprise as she was lowered into the water. Immediately, Viconia squirted some soap in the warm water until the white foam appeared.

"Momma?" Vierna pouted.

"Ah, I forgot," Viconia smiled, walked to a small cubboard next to the bath to take a wooden toy duck and set it afloat in the bath.

"Thanks, momma," Vierna smiled back and started to steer the duck into water with her hands.

"Hey, careful," Viconia smiled. "Don't splash me like the last time." She picked up a large, soft brush and started to gently scrub her precious child clean. Viconia always gave her daughter baths ever since Vierna was a baby. She treasured these precious moments, just like all those times she had changed Vierna's clothes as a baby, everytime she had tucked her in, or all the times her baby daughter had drank her milk. And considering Vierna probably wouldn't appreciate being bathed by her mother when she'd be older, she thought the moments even more precious.

"Will daddy be back soon?" Vierna asked. Her father had been away for the last tenday, taking care of the legal business following the death of Lord Twarres. The council had treated the entire incident as an act of conquest, rather than a kidnapping-case and thus, all of Lord Twarres' estate was to be added to that of Karis'. He was now in the process of selling of most of Lord Twarres' assets, and adding the neighboring lands formely owned by Lord Twarres to his own. Karis didn't have any trouble with it, but he had stated in a letter to his lover that the sheer bureaucracy and all those little rules, regulations and considerations were boring him to tears and driving him to madness.

"Well," Viconia replied wisely, "he'll be back in a couple of day more and he misses us."

Now it was time to clean Vierna's hair. Viconia picked up a bottle of shampoo and started to rub it through Vierna's long white hair. "Careful, keep your eyes closed!" Viconia stressed.

Immediately after Viconia had picked up a large scoop and poured some water to rinse out the shampoo, she could literally see the grey grime sliding off Vierna's hair. She knew from experience how hard it was to keep Drow hair white, especially during her adventuring days. A single trip through a dungeon always had a devastating effect. In the Underdark things weren't much easier, and many of the Drow priestesses wanting to look their best had to use either magical potions to rub through their hair, or wear magical items to veer the dust from their mane before it settled. Part of the reason Viconia wore a hood or a helmet, aside for protection, was to keep her hair clean...

"Momma," Vierna giggled. "When I get older, I'm gotta paint my hair little aunty Imoen. But I'm gonna paint it black! Then, no one will see the dirt and I won't need to take a bath as often!"

"You'll do no such thing!" Viconia stressed. "Drow hair is supposed to be white, not black!"

"Pink then?" Vierna tried.

"No daughter of mine shall have pink hair!" Viconia chuckled.

Then came the time to dry off. Viconia lifted her daughter from the water and treated the smiling child to a soft towel. Then, she wound the towel around her lower arm and started to clean out her child's delicately pointed ears.

"Momma?" Vierna asked. "Why do elves have pointed ears?"

"Hmmm," Viconia replied. "I think we elves hear better with pointed ears than humans or halflings do with their round ones..."

"Really?" Vierna giggled. "So humans can't hear things happening on the other side of the Keep?"

"No..."

"That's sad..." Vierna pouted.

"Oh," Viconia chuckled. "They don't miss it. And we see better than them too!"

"Really? I know I see better in the dark but..."

"Remember that old gnarly tree that's visable five hills away from the balcony in my bedroom?" Viconia asked.

"Yeah," Vierna replied

"Humans can't see past the first hill," Viconia replied.

"Awwwww," Vierna pouted in sympathy.

"Okay," Viconia chuckled. "Time to get you into some freshly washed clothes!"

And a few moments later, Vierna was dressed in a green leather tunic with matching pants and boots, looking ready to play.

"Eeeeeewwww," Vierna pouted as she smelled the parfumed scented soap on her skin. "I smell like flowers!"

"It's better than smelling like mud," Viconia retorted. "Oh, and don't you remember what day it is too? End of the week! Time for you to get your pocket-money," she said and gave her child a small pouch filled with five gold coins.

"Wow!" Vierna said. "I forgot!"

"Now, if you save it, you can buy even more with it la..." Viconia tried to say, but she noticed her daughter had already ran into the hallways.

"CANDY!" she shouted. "I'm gonna buy candy!"

"But if you SAVE!" Viconia shouted after her, but the word CANDY! was Vierna's only reply. Viconia smiled and shook her head.

---

"Eeeewww," Rowen said as the halfling boy smelled Vierna. "You stink!"

"Sure, rub it in," Vierna said. "I had to take a bath before I could come. But I got my pocketmoney today!"

"Yay, end of the week!" Clarissa said and fished some coins from her own pocket. "My daddy just made a lot of money selling some of his prize cows."

"I don't get pocketmoney," Shivon pouted. "My mother says that's only for humans and I have to stay away from it."

"Come on then, Shiv," Vierna giggled. "I'll buy your candy for you at the store."

Together, the four friends walked from their meeting place in front of the keep down the road. Over the past few years, a small village had been forming near the keep. It had all begun with a general store for the convience of the farmers of the D'Arnese lands. The store was soon complemented by a dwarven smithy, a baker, an inn which doubled as a tavern, a sawmill and a small temple dedicated to Selune which Viconia had sponsored. Furthermore, several homes for permanent residents had been built as well.

The four happy children were always a welcome sight in town. The dwarven smith Boam smiled briefly as the children passed, and when they passed the temple...

"Hi, Vierna," the kindly young priestess of Selune said from the entrance of the temple.

"Hi, sister Galena!" Vierna waved.

"Say 'hi' to your mother from me!"

The children continued on their path until they came to the large general store. The store was filled with many shelves filled with hardware meant for farming, household equipment and a myriad of other items. But as soon as the children entered, their attention was elsewhere... to a shelf which beckoned them and almost seemed to be illuminated with a halo of inviting light : The candy-rack!!

The kindly old shopkeeper Lysan beckoned her regular customers to walk to the counter.

"I'll have two bags of jawbreakers, please," Vierna asked and handed Lysan a gold coin. Lysan smiled, took the money and handed Vierna her change and the two bags. One was given to a smiling Shivon.

"Thanks Vierna," Shivon smiled.

"Hey, look!" Rowen said as he suckled on a candied orange-peel. He pointed to one of the pluche creatures on the shelf behind Lysan. Aside from the toy elephant which Clarissa had just bought, there sat a cute pluche version of a lich. "It's 'Tickle-me-Vecna!'"

"Hey, what did you just buy?" Shivon asked Clarissa as she held a small packet of cards wrapped in a paper packet.

"It's the 'Volothamp Geddarm's Heroes of Faerun'-Trading card series!" Clarissa giggled. "They only cost twenty coppers a packet. I started collecting them when we visited my grandmother in Trademeet last month! Let's see..."

Immediately, Clarissa struggled to open the packet and took out the six cards. "See, you check if there are doubles and if you have doubles, you can trade them with your friends who have doubles too!"

"Hmmm," Clarissa said. "Tiernon Denthelm : Fame-us dw... dwarven smith and wae-pons master.."

"What's this one," Shivon said and read another card. "Xarsh Greycloak : Elven wizz-art from Ev...Evereska. One of the Safe-Y-ors of Icewind Dail, 1281..."

"Here," Rowen said. "Sir Keldorn Firecam : Pal-a-dine from the M..most Noble Ore-dere of the Rade-dye-ant heart..."

"Awwww," Clarissa pouted. "Drizzit Do'Urdo again?! I've already got five of those!"

"Wow," Vierna said. "Khelben Blackstaff! Hey, maybe I'll get my own trading card too, when I get to be a 'venturr"

Suddenly Clarissa gasped as she held the final card of the packet.

"What is it? What is it?" her three friends asked simultaniously.

"Well," Clarissa read. "Viconia DeVir : Powerful Clair-ic of Sjar. Comp-anion and lover of Karis of Candel-kept."

"Lemme see!" Vierna said and took the card. On it was a well-drawn picture of her mother, wearing a feral expression and waving a flail at a dragon. "Wow! I gotta have this card..."

"But... but... but..." Clarissa stammered. "I collect them... Rules say I have to trade!"

"But it's my momma on this card," Vierna pouted.

"But you can see her everyday," Clarissa added poutily. "I only have this card..."

"I'll trade you for it!" Vierna smiled and ran to the counter for a second packets of cards. "Maybe they'll have my daddy too!"

---

A few moments later, the kids left the store. Clarissa was staring at her eleven new cards, while Vierna tucked the card of her mother safely away in her pouch.

"Hey, do you smell that?!" Rowen suddenly announced. Shivon and Vierna shared a smile. This always happened whenever their halfling friend passed the bakery. "Ooooh!" Rowen suddenly shouted. "Look!" And the others saw it too... And soon all of them were glued to the window of the shop.

"Chocolate Cake : Half price. Today only," said a sign in the windows next to a deliciously adorned chocolate cake.

"Elysium in pastry," Rowen drooled.

"Hmmmmmmmm," Clarissa agreed and hugged her new stuffed elephant.

"It looks so good..." Shivon added.

"I cannot look away," Vierna stressed.

"How much money have we got left?" Rowen asked. "If we can put some coins together we could buy some slices."

---

An hour later, four children lay in the grass, contented and their bellies full. Rowen was still snacking from the small crumbs left inside the bag which contained the slices of chocolate cake.

"I've never been so full in my life," Shivon said. "My mother'll be angry if I don't eat dinner this evening, but I don't care..."

"My tummy hurts a little," Clarissa pouted.

"Don't you usually eat with your tummy?" Vierna asked while whiping the chocolate on her hands to her clothes.

"Why?" Shivon replied.

"Well, my aunty Imoen never eats chocolate cake, 'cause she says it goes straight to her hips," Vierna giggled. "But how can people eat with their hips?!"

"Grown-ups are silly," Clarissa said. "I'll never grow up! I'm gonna stay little forever!"

"Hey, guys!" Rowen cried. "I know a great game! My uncle taught it to me when my parents to me to Iraebor last month!" He took an oddly oval shaped ball from a pouch and showed it to his friends. "It's called Rugby... All we need is a muddy field and some goalposts."

---

After finding the muddy field, and setting up two goal posts with the empty plate, the stuffed elephant, the empty packet of cards and a small bag with Vierna's purchases, the game started.... And it became apparent this rugby was a lot rougher than the normal ball-games they played. Before too long, all the children were covered with mud from diving after the ball. It was a classic 'boys versus the girls' game. Unfortunately, Vierna ended up doing most of her team's work since Clarissa tended to flee from the incoming ball.

"Got you now!" Vierna shouted as Rowen passed her. Immediately, Vierna ran after him and clamped her hands around the ball. Rowen was unphased, however, and kept running, dragging the light (and giggling) elven girl after him through the mudpuddles until he ran through the goal. With a shout of triumph he raised the ball high as it flew out of his hands, slid down the hill and dropped in a small pond below.

"I'll get it!" Vierna shouted.

---

"Alright..." Viconia sighed as she regarded her daughter standing in front of him. Vierna wore a pouty expression. Her clothes were covered with mud, chocolate and grimy water, and her hair seemed ever more dirtier that it had been this morning. "Get upstairs... I'll have the maid fill a bath with water..."

"Awwwww..." Vierna sighed.

"Well, keep yourself a little cleaner next time. Any pocketmoney left?" Viconia asked carefully.

"Yes!" Vierna giggled. "Two gold coins and a lot of coppers..."

"Good," Viconia smiled and directed her attention at the bag Vierna was holding. "What is that?"

Immediately, Vierna took a familiar looking lich-doll out of the bag. "It's 'tickle-me-Vecna'!" she said and tickled the pluche doll's tummy, making a witch-like cackling, yet jolly sound come forth.

"Okay," Viconia said and took the doll. "Get yourself upstairs. We might get you cleaned up before dinner starts." Vierna smiled and complied.

'What's this?' Viconia thought as she looked at the label on the lich-doll's leg. 'Officially Licensed Product?' Then, she put the giggling doll on the table before joining her daughter.
 




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