Chapter 21

Deanna had been escorted out of the throne room and into a bathing chamber, where the two maids who accompanied her attempted to wash her, which Deanna was more than capable of doing herself. She explained this to them, but apparently, all royalty couldn't bathe themselves. She dismissed them and then proceeded to sit in the steaming tub, finally being able to relax.
                                                                                 *
When she was done, she put on one of the robes that had been laid out, as apparently one of the maids had stolen her clothes, presumably to wash them.
She began wandering around, curious as to her whereabouts and those of her horse. That thought concerned her more than anything. Where could he be? Is he safe? Is he... dead?
That last thought made her freeze.
He couldn't be dead, could he? She forced those thoughts from her mind.
                                                                              * * *
"Can you tell the horse to calm down?" Cadman said testily as the horse they had found stomped his feet impatiently as the small party sat around the fire, eating. "We're trying to eat and he's not helping anything by acting up."
"He's anxious is all." Finn said. "No need to get upset with him; he just doesn't see why we're wasting time."
"Wasting time?" Cadman repeated.
"Will you two stop already?" Cayle interjected. "I swear, you two are worse than an old married couple."
They looked at each other.
"OK," Alroy said, walking back into the small clearing. "I have filled the water-canteens."
"Thanks, but you really don't need to announce it." Cadman said.
"I felt like it." Alroy responded, dropping the canteens by Cadman and walking closer to the fire to see if there were any leftovers.
                                                                             * * *
Deanna found one of the maids who had first showed her the washroom cleaning a suit of armor in one of the hallways.
She walked up, trying to make some sort of noise so as not to scare the poor girl.
The maid took a quick look at the armor, before nodding to herself and climbing down off of the small step-stool she had been standing on.
"Your missing the shield." Deanna said calmly, examining the armor as well.
The maid yelped in surprise and spun around.
"Sorry." Deanna said. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"That's alright." The maid said between gasps of air. "What did you need?"
"Where are my clothes?" Deanna asked.
"Being cleaned." The maid responded, her hand over her heart in a still surprised position.
"I'm sorry again." Deanna said. "I tried to stomp a bit when I got closer."
"That's alright." The maid repeated.
"Uh, so, if my clothes are being cleaned, what do I wear in the meantime?" Deanna asked after a pause. "I can't just go around in a bathrobe."
"Follow me." The maid said, folding up the step-stool and placing it next to the armor before walking off to the left, Deanna right behind her.
The maid led her through a door into a dressing room and looked through the wardrobe, picking out a few dresses and placing them on the bed.
"Which one do you like best?" She asked Deanna, who was looking suspiciously at the dresses.
"I'm not a big fan of dresses." She said.
"Which one do you like best?" The maid repeated, ignoring what Deanna had said.
She sighed and began going through the dresses until she found one she liked. An emerald green one, that wasn't too fancy or too poofy, like most of the other dresses were.
"That one?" The maid asked, and when Deanna nodded, the woman grabbed it and hung it up on the wardrobe door and began taking measurements, first of the dress, then of Deanna.
"You're in luck." She said after a few minutes of this.
"What?" Deanna asked.
"It's your size, no adjusting required." The maid answered. "Would you like help into it?"
"I think I can figure it out." Deanna said. The woman nodded and bowed slightly before leaving, closing the door behind her.
Deanna looked at the dress, still hanging on the wardrobe door. In this light, it almost seemed to shimmer.
She walked forward and took it off of the door to put it on.