I had found a use for giving him some of the peaches, after all, bribing him to help Leon watch over the entry to the cavern of water. If they had all gotten the chance to bathe, then I wanted my own turn to get clean as well! Leon had been kind enough to offer the use of his blanket to block the entryway and provide some extra privacy, even if it did nothing to block the sounds of Judar laughing sadistically as he shot off larger than usual blasts of frost at those who dare try to get past him and Leon. Guess being close to so much water gave his Artifact a bit of a power boost.

With just a mild sense of unease after things had quieted down, I stripped and walked into the water, ducking under the surface as I began to wash the layers of built-up dust and grime that had been clinging to me since before my capture. Sure, I had tried to scrub off what I could but it isn't like most people and places  had water to spare for a luxury like a real bath anymore. Most people made do with sand to scrub the grime off and a hopefully soft cloth to wipe the sand off.

Using actual water to wash myself off almost felt like I was committing a crime. But I had to admit, it felt beyond amazing to have the cool water caressing my skin as I scrubbed the dirt from my body. It really brought back memories of the few times my father had let me float in a basin of water before he used it to water the plants in the greenhouse.

Nervously, I leaned back upon the water, wanting to see if I could still float like that or not. I couldn't help the gasp of shock when I felt my feet leave the smooth ground and my legs lift slowly towards the surface, water lapping at the sides of my face as exhilaration filled me. When the curtain was pulled aside and my two 'guards' rushed in with worry on their face, I quickly began sinking, panicking in my need to hide my body from their eyes.

"Get out!" I shouted when I finally found my feet again and had covered my chest with my arms, sunk down to my chin in the water as the two young men stared at me with their faces tinted red before turning around and running from the room.

Judar could definitely forget about getting any peaches for a long time!

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Even now I couldn't look them in the eyes without blushing and scowling, caught somewhere between anger they had come in (even if they had claimed it was out of concern that something had happened to me when they had heard me gasp) and  embarrassment at the looks they had been giving me since then. It was hard to miss them staring at me, after all.

From Judar's somewhat confused observation, like he had found some strange new kind of peach, to Leon's looks of admiration that he usually only gave me when I offered him new information for his maps, I was feeling a bit like a steak being waved between two hungry wolves. All I had to do now was wait to see who jumped first.

Come morning, we would be leaving the cavern of water behind, most of us traveling onward as a few of the men went back to tell David about the cavern of water. All I could hope was that I didn't end up murdering someone. As it was, a few of the guys had begun making crude remarks about the looks being passed between Leon, Judar and myself. Although judging by the looks Judar was giving some of them afterwards, I might not be the only one with blood on my hands if they didn't stop soon.

I have to admit, I was curious about the reactions that Leon's blank stare had gotten from some of them. He'd given more energetic reactions when he'd been guarding the entry during my bath, along with all the other times he'd been keeping the men at bay. Why would such an emotionless look get a quicker response than him threatening to draw blood ever got?

Was there something I was missing here?

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Well, we had only lost one of the men by the time we moved on from the water cavern. He had vanished sometime during the night before departing, the only clue to his disappearance being an ink stain on his bedding. As nervous as I was at the knowledge he could take out a grown man without waking anyone up or leaving behind a body or even signs of a struggle, I was having a hard time stifling my laughter when I saw the men shivering every time Leon walked near them.

It was a while before I was able to start returning any of the smiles he had been giving me all day, something that became easier when we finally exited the caves and felt the warmth of the sun against our skin for the first time in what felt like forever.

Even Judar was sending me smiles by this point. Awkward looking smiles, like he wasn't used to anything besides cruel or sadistic smirks, but still a smile. I was starting to worry what would happen if they both noticed the other was giving me the same kinds of looks.

I didn't need two guys fighting over me when I already had David's threats hanging over our heads.