Chapter 13- Thea

**Thea**

I had never been in a place this grand. In fact, I had never been anywhere you could have called grand at all. The castle was magnificent, so magnificent, for a brief moment I forgot why I was here. Not that I really knew that anyway.

I couldn’t believe how big it was. When we had arrived outside its size had intimidated me. I had not wanted to leave Atlas. I’d expected him to show me to my room. Although I acknowledged it was much more appropriate for another woman to do this. Bessie did seem lovely. She was a stunning woman, without a doubt the most beautiful I had ever seen. She had blonde hair that was elaborately braided with ribbons. It was as long as the entire length of her back. Her eyes were green with flecks of gold, and they shone whenever she smiled. Her womanly figure was clad in a pale green dress that was fastened at the back with pearls. It nipped her in at the waist, the floor length skirt swaying in unison with her hips. I tried not to think about how different we looked.

As she led me down the corridors, I marvelled at the paintings on the walls. Each painting had a different frame. All of them were gold though, and each was as delicately carved as the next. After a few minutes I noticed how many of the paintings featured large dogs, or were they wolves? There were also depictions of things I didn’t understand, people unnaturally pale, and figures that appeared to have light emitting from their hands. Some of the paintings looked like scenes of battles, and I thought it was strange that the dogs and the pale people appeared to be fighting each other.

Before long, Bessie stopped. “Thea, these will be your rooms”. She pushed open the door and gestured for me to step inside. I was sure it must be a mistake. It was far too lovely. To my right was a large four poster bed, adorned with pearl coloured quilting and pillows. Opposite there was a roaring open fire, with an intricately painted stone mantle. There was a huge wardrobe and set of draws in the left corner, equally exquisitely carved.  Straight ahead, a large window, framing a view of the castle gardens. A table and chairs were placed in front, and the early morning light made the gold edging glimmer. Fur rugs covered the floor, and I didn’t want to step any further in case I marked them with my filthy boots.

“I hope you feel comfortable here”. I turned to Bessie and whispered “Are you sure this is for me?” Bessie gave me a reassuring smile “I am very sure, Thea”. “I…I hope I don’t seem rude but…” I gestured to my dirty clothes “I would love to be able to wash, I don’t feel I could touch anything in here otherwise…if there is some where I could get water from?” “Of course, I already had a bath drawn before you got here”. A bath? I had never in my life had a bath. The closest I got to washing was a cold bucket of water. “Here, just through this door, come with me”.

I followed her, suddenly realising there was a door off the chamber. She opened it, hot steam instantly spilling out. A huge wooden basin sanded and treated like a boat, was placed in the middle of the room. It was filled with hot water, and it smelled of rosemary and lavender. Rose petals drifted across the clear surface. Despite it being daylight, candles were flickering below dishes of scented oils. It was heavenly.

I felt Bessie’s hand on my shoulder “I can stay or go, which ever you feel most comfortable with. If you leave your clothes and boots on the chair over there, I will have them cleaned if you would like to keep them…although you don’t need to as we have provided you with plenty of new clothing”. I felt so overwhelmed. How on earth had I woken up yesterday in a cold stable, cleaning dishes, and now… I was here? I realised how rude I was being not saying anything. “Bessie, thank you so much, this is beyond any kindness I would have expected.” Bessie smiled warmly at me “You are most welcome. Would you like me to stay?” I had never been naked in front of anyone in my life, and I wasn’t keen to start now. “No I’m fine, thank you though”. Bessie gave me another one of her glowing smiles, and left me alone in the steamy room.

I looked down at my clothes, there was no way I wanted to keep these rags. I hurriedly stripped off and placed them on the floor under the chair, not wanting to dirty the cushion. I placed my boots next to them and thanked my lucky stars that I would never have to put any of it on again. I made my way towards the bath. I gently placed my fingertips through the surface, enjoying the warmth spreading up my hand. Without any further hesitation, I stepped into the bath. I sunk gingerly in, as the gashes on my back were still healing. I winced as the wounds met the warm water, but as I relaxed back, the pain faded. I then began scrubbing every single inch of my body, from my toes to my hair. For me, it was not just cleansing for my skin, it seemed to help wash away the terrible life I had just escaped from.

By the time I was done, I looked shamefully at the water, now muddy from my filth. I rose out of the bath and spotted the large piece of linen to dry myself. I wrapped it around my body, and I felt cleaner than I had ever done. A soft knock on the door came from behind me. “Thea, it’s Bessie, may I come in? I have some fresh clothes for you”. Feeling secure in the linen I called out asking her to enter.

As she came through the door, I realised she would see the filthy water and hurriedly tried to hide it by standing in front of the bath. “It’s okay Thea, you have nothing to be ashamed of. We have no control over what we are born into”. I smiled weakly. “Now, I’ve just bought you some robes for bed, as I’m assuming, you’ll just want to eat and sleep. I’ve just laid out a plate on the table so as soon as your dressed you can eat.” My stomach ached with the thought of food. “Thank you, Bessie” “You really don’t need to thank me all the time, it is a pleasure to make you feel welcome”. I nodded “I’ve decided I would rather not keep my clothes and boots, if that’s okay?” “Of course, I will take them away”. She handed me the robes and went over to my clothes and picked them up. She stopped, suddenly inspecting part of my dress. “Thea, is this your blood?” I hadn’t realised the blood from the wounds on my back had stained my dress. Not wanting to lie I replied “I was beaten by my mistress recently”. If Bessie was shocked, she hid it well. “Would you show me?” I turned around and let the linen fall slightly so she could see the top of the gashes. I waited in silence for her to say something. “They look like they need to be properly cleaned. We will do it tomorrow once you’ve rested. I can apply some ointment then as well. Now get dressed, I’ll leave you to eat and sleep, but if you need anything at all, I’m staying in the room opposite to yours”. “Thank…” She raised her eyebrows playfully at me. We both laughed.

“Bessie, can I ask you something?’ “Go ahead” “When Atlas was asking me to come here, he mentioned that people here have special abilities, and that I might have them too. Can you tell me what abilities he was talking about?”. Bessie seemed to struggle with herself. “Thea, there is a lot to explain, but to give you all the information right now would take too long, and I feel you need some of your strength back to hear it all”. This sounded a little ominous, and I felt worried about being here for the first time since arriving. “I don’t mean to alarm you; I can assure you are safe here and you can trust us. I give you my word that you will know the whole truth as soon as possible”. She looked directly into my eyes, I stared back into them, seeing nothing but honesty. She gave me a small smile and stepped out.