Chương 1653: [1557] – Y07.057 – Shadows Over Arisa II

They say ten thousand could drown within the baths of Arisa, and though the baths within the estate were not quite so grand, they were large enough for several families, and there was not but one, at least two baths, of such magnificence. Thankfully, this was the bath with the least pretension, the filigree silver rather than gold, and though much depicted dragons along the walls and the ceiling, they were never placed on the the floor, lest word return to a dragon, the supreme serpents which span across the world.

Large baths sprawled across the floor, vapour masking the air, but it was within the beautiful marble tubs, those shaped as decanters of such warm bliss, where the husband, wife, and children found themselves, surrounded by a princely sum of toiletries.

"Aren't the baths so big?" Adam mused, all the while his younger daughter and son snuggled up to his bare chest, the bare as nude as the day they were born, but not quite as full of blood, guts, and dirt. The half elf winced lightly at the thought, but his children's beaming eyes and smiles forced away the darkness.

"They are so big!" Jirot confirmed, her voice full of childish excitement, for though she could bully him viciously, she was but a child too.

"So big!" little Jarot added, also speaking with the confidence one might only find from his elder sisters.

"Which soap do you two like best?" Adam asked, holding the pair to his chest, the warmth of the water easing him towards a future slumber. He reached out for the soap, one a bright blue, the other a bright gold, the bright blue which seemed to melt even within his hand, the golden soap like a brick of gold, perhaps even denser.

"I like the soft soap," Jirot said, pointing to the blue, reaching out with her tiny hand, though as her father handed it to her, it slipped out instantly, shooting into the water.

"Ope!"

"I'll get it," Adam said, reaching down to scoop up the soap gently, holding it out for his son and daughter, who dabbed their fingers gently along the surface, before beginning to rub themselves, covering themselves in suds. So well behaved they were, so well taught they were, for they included the back of their ears, which they were always told to clean, and which they always cleaned, save for the few times they forgot, but today they were not quite so tired to forget.

Adam, meanwhile, rubbed the hard gold soap against his skin, until the twins wiped the soap against their father's chest, then reached up to his armpits, causing Adam to jolt lightly, picking them both up.

"Do you think I don't know you're trying to bully me?"

"Kekekeke!"

"Daddy, hard soap," Konarot called from the tub beside, the girl at her mother's feet, her younger siblings at her mother's sides.

"If my twins like the soft soap, my triplets like the hard soap, I'll use the soap that's just right?" Adam beamed at the children, who blinked at him in return.

"Huh? Didn't I tell you about Goldilocks and the Three Bears?"

"No?" Jirot asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Oh…" The half elf sighed.

"I'll tell you the tale tonight. It's a short tale, thankfully."

"Daddy, it is my turn to read to you."

"It is?"

"It is always my turn," Jirot stated firmly, raising her brows towards her father pointedly.

"Ah, of course."

"Of coas." The half elf finished washing his twins, drying them off with a towel, gently, his eyes upon their scars. He winced. The pair giggled as their father embraced them tight. The triplets dried off their hair and faces, all the while their mother assisted with drying off their legs and tails, the woman then drying off her own body, though the pair found it awkward, since they were adorned in their undergarments.

"Daddy, why do you wear clothes when bathing?"

"It's a little awkward for adults to bath without clothes around children," the half elf admitted.

"Why?"

"I don't want you to get used to that. If it's your family, it's fine, but you can't let other adults bathe with you. You…" Vonda's eyes slowly trailed towards the half elf, who was smiling, though the joy did not reach his eyes. However, he could also no longer speak, finding his heart thundering in his chest. Yet, he grit his teeth. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Also, you can't let other people touch certain parts of your body. Daddy and mummy can, only to clean you and check your health, but…" Adam paused.

"Your family can, and the Shamans, but only to clean you and check on your health. If someone touches you around your private parts, you must tell me."

"If someone touches our private parts, we must tell the Elder, so the Elder can kill them," Jirot said plainly, nodding her head.

"Huh?" Adam blinked.

"Did the Iyr already teach you that?"

"Yes! We learn it every season!"

'The Iyr really is…' Adam thought, though he pulled his children in for a deeper hug.

"I should have taught it to you earlier. I'm sorry." Jirot blinked, uncertain of why her father was so sad, but she huffed his head and kissed his cheek.

"It's okay, daddy. You try so hard."

"Mummy, I can help you dry," Konarot said.

"I will dry myself as you change," Vonda said, pinching her daughter's nose, causing her to blink, the girl stunned for a moment, before a bashful smile crossed their lips.

"Okay."

'I should have expected, since the Iyr is the Iyr,' the half elf thought. Once they were dried and changed, into attire that was gifted to them by the Faro, the group made their way out, finding a handful of Iyrmen waiting for them.

"Ock! Nano, you are going to bathe."

"Yes," Gangak replied, though she had noted Jirot had first looked at her greatfather, and in a split second, thought to bully him.

"Okay! Good bathing, nano. I am going to sleep with daddy today, okay?" Gangak blinked, for she had already prepared something for her.

"Okay…"

"Babo, nano, Jarot and I will sleep with daddy, but will you be okay?" Jirot asked, as though preparing the trio for war.

"We will be fine," Mulrot said, pinching the girl's cheek lightly.

"How can I be fine when my Jirot and Jarot have left these arms of mine?" The old man reached out to hug the twins, only to be stopped by their father.

"We just washed them!"

"You! You brat! You think I will no-,""Sorry, babo, but we must sleep with daddy," Jirot said, stopping the pair from their act, the girl letting out a soft sigh, for of coas she had to be the one to deal with these two fools, for she was the one who could defeat the pair with ease, and the burden weigh heavily upon her shoulders, though even this heavy burden was light, for the two would not dare to burden her greatly.

"I see…" The old man glared at his grandson, who glared back, but not quite so confidently. Unarmoured, the half elf was certain the old man would beat him senseless, and it wouldn't even be a close fight.

"If you must, then you must!"

"You punks! You have to give your babo and nanos a hug and kiss before you sleep!" Adam complained, though it appeared as though he was going to fight the old man.

'You brat, I did not doubt you for a moment,' the old man thought, hugging the children two by three, allowing them to greet their nanos too, but he had to be first, for the sake of his heart. The seven made their way to a nearby room, their bedroom for the stay. It was expansive, the large windows circular, and though the half elf tensed up for a moment, he recognised the tip of the spear, peeked out from the corner, the curtain's falling around the windows, soon to hide them from the world.

"Oof!" Jirot grunted, having leapt out of her father's arms onto the bed, though only dropping an elbow's length, little Jarot allowing his father to place him down gently, since he did not like to fly through the air, unless he began on stable ground and leapt towards ground he could see. Konarot, Kirot, and Karot each climbed onto the bed, and as their mother sat down on the side, they realised their father could not fit upon the plush bed.

'Aren't those drawers too close?' Adam thought, not liking the sharp angles on the bedside tables, though was quickly distracted by Jirot and Jarot dropping out of the bed, and the triplets gathering the blankets for them.

'I guess we're sleeping on the floor?' Adam held his children while on the floor, surrounded by blankets. Little Jirot began reading to them, only lightly, however, for the tale was long, and she would be able to complete it before the end of their journey.

"By the way, since when did you learn Aswadic?"

"Ahm Dunes taught it to me since… duskval?"

"Yet you speak it so well?"

"Daddy, I am a genius," the girl said, placing a hand upon his shoulder, as though to say he shouldn't compare himself to her. The half elf's heart threatened to burst.

"Ah. Of course."

"Of coas," the girl stated.

"If you're a genius, should we-" the half elf quickly stopped his joke.

"Hold on! If you're a genius, then why haven't you given me a kiss in the evening?"

"It is because I am a troublesome genius."

"Ah. Of course."

"Of coas!" Vonda assisted in brushing their hair for the evening, right before bed, now that their hair was properly dry.

"Mummy, daddy and kaka only have the same two or three jokes," little Konarot whispered.

"It is because they are troublesome geniuses."

"Mummy…" Konarot reached up to cover her eyes.

"Daddy is not a genius."

"Ah. Of course."

"Of coas," Konarot said, peeking up at her mother, the pair holding one another's gazes. The two remained stone faced, though their lips twitched at their little joke. As they settled to the floor and bed, Vonda wondered how the half elf could even sleep with the children wrapped like this around her legs and stop her chest. How was she meant to awaken for her morning prayers? Jirot yawned, rubbing her eye, the girl peeking up towards her father, who pretended to be asleep.

She sucked on her thumb, clutching his collar, resting her head on his chest.

'My daddy is the strongest in the whole world.' Jarot, his head buried against his father's bicep, felt how soft it was, the boy wrapped entirely around his father's arm. There were many arms in which he felt the safest, but only one of them was his father's. As he closed his eyes, the boy squeezed his father's arms. Yes, and within his arms too, his father would remain safe, for he was Jarot, son of Adam, greatson of Jarot, and, of coas, brother of Jirot.

'My daddy is the strongest…'