Into the Goodnight

"I've never cleaned anything in my entire life!" His expectations were really becoming too much. "It's your home. You clean it."

He turned to square up with her more fully, his arms crossing over his chest. "It is now your home as well, bud. And if you are dissatisfied with its condition, then you will have to clean it. There's broom and mop in that far closet," he indicated with his head. "A bucket, too. The closest well is down at the end of the row and then to the right. I'm going to the market to see what I can buy for our dinner."

With that, he turned and left, leaving his bag and long-necked instrument leaning against the wall. Aurelia slowly, numbly walked to the bed and plopped down on it. Tears formed in her eyes until she saw dust particles floating in the small shaft of light leaking through one of the gaps in the shutters. It was unacceptable. With sparking anger and determination and her tears now forgotten, she stood up and marched to the little door where he indicated cleaning supplies were kept.

Taking the broom in hand, she began attacking the stone floor, if a little bumbling in the beginning. But fierceness of determination overrode any lack of experience, and as soon as she flung open first one set of shutters and then the other for some much needed light and fresh air, she noticed the cob webs along the windows and began sweeping them off. That led her to sweep them away from the corners of the walls, and without realizing it, she had swept clean all the surfaces of the room. She then took the rug and linens outside to beat the dust free.

Luckily, Maks did not own very many possessions, and when everything had the visible dirt cleaned away, she decided she could fetch water to scrub the floor and eating surfaces. Perhaps even rinse out the bedding. The well was where he described, and as she hauled up a heavy bucket from the deep bottom, her attention was drawn up by a ruckus of honking.

Aurelia saw a little boy, no more than five or six, attempting to wrangle a goose almost as large as him. The poor child was having a fitful time as the monstrous bird hissed and pecked at his ear, causing him to holler. Eventually the youth succeeded, and as he got the little beast tied to the lead rope, their eyes met.

Ignoring him, she turned her attention back to the water she was drawing, and pouring it sloshing into her own bucket, she made off back to her new home. She continued to clean and scrub every surface, working her ire out on the dirt, the soreness she had earned from her journey now dissolved by her single focus on her task. It may be a hovel, but at least it would be clean. Fit for a princess.

When Maks finally returned, she had satisfactorily cleaned and arranged all she could and was finishing making the bed. As the linens had smelled clean and only the top blanket appeared dusty, she simply shook it out until no more dust was to be found. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to make a fire as she had never learned how, and so, while clean and fresh, the little house was cold.

Maks surveyed the space, no smile touching his lips, but a warmth filled his eyes as Aurelia stood up from her task. She held her chin a little higher and her green eyes glimmered as she cast them about the space, silently showing off all she had accomplished. Her pride in her work was tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Maks held up what he brought back. A duck and long leaves of a green plant hung from one hand and a loaf of a dark bread in the other. Her expression fell, but she said nothing.

"I've brought food. You can cook it."

Her mouth dropped open and her brows came together. "It is one thing to sweep and scrub a floor. Dirty work that it is, it doesn't require much knowledge or skill. But preparing food, especially that," she accused pointing to the feathered bird, "is quite another thing altogether. I don't know how to cook let alone prepare something with feathers and a beak!"

Maks's expression was humorless. "And why am I not surprised?" he asked drily.

"Because you are beginning to realize I am not a commoner. I never learned how to do such menial things. That's what servants are for," she stated as if that should have been obvious.

"Well, it's what you are for now. Come on, little bud, I'll teach you," he offered in compromise.

Sullenly, she followed him to where he laid the items on the work surface that was built into the wall. He then instructed her on how to make a few cuts, including trimming off the feet and a wing and then how to practically peel the skin with the feathers off. Aurelia felt her head go light and something akin to bile rise up in her throat. But when they were finished, there was the bird, no longer recognizable as such, with its dark meat glistening. She shuddered.

"How can this upset you?" he asked, his deep voice soft. "Don't you like duck?"

She swallowed. "Yes, it's just I've never seen it other than what was served on my plate. Never knew..." When she realized he was looking at her with those dark eyes, she cleared her throat.

"Very well, now what?" she asked tersely in effort to throw off her discomfort.

Next he instructed her on seasoning and roasting the bird over the spit in the fireplace, frying up the greens in the fat drippings below. After, Aurelia surveyed the mess they'd made of her clean space, and with an air of annoyance, cleaned it once more.

When they at last sat down to the simple meal, Aurelia couldn't contain her smile of pleasure in that she had prepared it. Her eyes fluttered up to meet Maks' across the table. Well, with his help, at any rate. Still, she couldn't stop smirking, and as she took her first bite of the food she had helped prepare, she believed it was the most scrumptious meal ever.

"Good?" he asked.

Her eyes had closed in reverie of the splendid flavors bursting in her mouth, and when she opened them to look at Maks she felt a disconcerting warmth ink out in her chest. With little effort at all—a mere dark gaze—he seemed able to establish an intimacy, with or without her consent, causing her to feel bare and vulnerable. And flushed.

She cleared her throat before answering. "Well, it isn't as fine a dish as a princess should expect." A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "But I dare say never before has a princess been forced to prepare one. So I find my effort...and the food quite satisfactory."

Maks didn't smile at her jest, but his eyes seemed to glimmer. They ate in relative silence, both tired from their long journey and busy afternoon. And before long, their light fare was gone. Aurelia had had the foresight to bring another bucket of water for extra cleaning, and was just about to get up to clean the dishes when she realized what she was doing. Why did she need to clean? After all, she had already done that all afternoon on top of helping prepare the bloody meal. Surely he could do it.

When their eyes met, the challenge was instantaneous, though neither said a word. They sat in silence nearly five minutes before she blinked and looked away. She was biting the interior of her bottom lip in an attempt to not smile, as she was rightly convinced she should be angry with him, not amused. And yet, the heat that had spread over her cheeks had nothing to do with her ire.

"Since you've worked hard cleaning this place, and as you helped with dinner, I will go fetch us bathing water from the well, if you'll wash the dishes."

She turned back to study him. His ploy wasn't lost on her—she would still have to clean up after their meal. But he seemed to be offering her a compromise as he acknowledged the work she had done. Though she was tempted to remind him she was the daughter of a king and shouldn't be forced to make bargains with peasants, there was something unexpectedly... stirring about the praise he gave her—modest though it was—especially considering his general propensity to find something wrong with her. Not to mention the offer, built upon the quiet companionship that had begun to develop while preparing their food and carried on into their meal, was...almost pleasant, and that in its own way seemed to lessen the horrendous reality she now found herself in.

Her eyes remained cool as she tilted her chin up. "Very well," she conceded, "I've done so much cleaning today that I don't suppose a little more will do much more harm." Much to her happy surprise, cleaning wasn't as difficult as she feared, and she was just replacing the cleaned dishes in their proper spot when he returned with a large bucket sloshing full of water.

"I suppose you just wash up here in the middle of the room?" she asked, turning her eyes to him. Maks simply nodded once, his expression contained. Aurelia nodded as she scanned the space and quickly formed a plan. "Well, will you put it over the fire to heat?"

Maks raised a dark eyebrow, but did as she requested, pouring the water into the large empty pot and swinging it over the fire. As he set about that task, she went to the small closet that held the few extra linens and pulled out a largish white swath of fabric. In the corner near the bed, Aurelia strung it up so it provided a space for privacy. Rummaging through her things, she pulled out all the sweet smelling soaps and cosmetics that she would need for her daily washing.

"You intend to hide behind that?" Maks asked with his feet propped up on the opposite chair as he sat back and lit a pipe with a sweet smelling tobacco.

Aurelia stood a little taller and squared her shoulders. "I intended on maintaining my modesty, if that's what you mean," she clarified.

Maks gave a small harrumph at that, but said nothing in response. After checking the temperature and deeming it appropriate, she asked if he would pour it from the pot into the small wash basin she had stowed behind the curtain.

"It's your water, you pour it," he suggested, his dark eyes a sort of tease.

His unhelpful manner did little to please her. "Well, I can't lift it very easily," she began instructing him. Maks stood and walked toward her. Naturally she thought he meant to do as bid. "And if you don't want a wife who smells of sweat and dirt, then I suggest you do what you can to help her out," she added smartly for effect.

But instead of retrieving the water, he stopped just before her, the toes of his boots touching the hem of her gown. Surprised by the unexpected closeness, she pulled back to look up at him. It was a mistake, that, for the moment her green eyes met his dark ones, the breath seemed to leave her chest, and that disconcerting, unwelcome warmth flooded through her.

"It would only matter what my wife smelled like if I actually got close enough..." He leaned down toward her. At first she thought he might try to kiss her again, like in the woods that morning, but his lips edged past her own to scrape slowly along her jaw and down the side of her throat until his nose was positioned just under her ear. She stood unmoving and allowed the strangely erotic action. Her breath held heavy in her chest while prickles ran down her spine.

And then he inhaled her scent deeply, the sound of it filling her ears and her mind with an inexplicable arousing effect. "to smell her," he finished, his voice a low caress.

She shuddered, and the breath that was caught in her throat rushed out desperately. Aurelia leaned back so she could turn her face toward him, a question marring her brow. Maks pulled back himself, but just enough so their mouths were a whisper apart. She could feel her panting breath reflect back off him.

Just when she thought he would kiss her again—just when she had wanted him to kiss her again—he pulled away, a corner of his sensuous mouth upturned in a smirk. He pulled the pot from over the fire and poured part of it into the washing basin for her.

Flustered, she blinked rapidly before clearing her throat and smoothing her shaking hands down the length of her skirt. "Yes, well, regardless, I am not accustomed to going for so long without properly washing, and I don't intend to start, simply because I am the wife of..." but she couldn't quite muster a derogatory word. "you," she finished lamely.

But Maks seemed indifferent to her chatter, nervous and useless as it was, and returned what water was left to sit over the fire. "I believe I will need more water for my own bath," he stated, turning to her a moment before he left with the bucket once again.

"In every man's heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty."

-Christopher Morley

When Aurelia realized she was trembling as she watched the door close behind him, she scowled at her silly self, shaking her head angrily in attempt at dispelling whatever bewitchment the man had put her under. She undressed hurriedly behind the curtain and began to lather the washing cloth she had had the foresight to bring, using one of her more calming soaps. Though her original plan had been to quickly wash before he returned, she found herself scrutinizing every part of her body and attending to it thoroughly. Though she studied the evidence of her hard journey on her battered and bruised skin, it wasn't the condition of her body that slowed her progress, but the inexplicable thrill that Maks should return before she was clothed again.

Water was rivering down her legs while she stood in the wash basin rinsing the last of the aromatic suds from her body when the door opened and he reentered. Her back was partially to him, and as she was standing, the tops of her shoulders were visible above the veil. The long braid that had kept her heavy hair off her neck and out of her eyes while she worked during the afternoon was now wound up and pinned at the top of her head, leaving her long neck exposed.

Aurelia didn't turn around to watch him as he walked across the little house, but she heard him acutely. She heard him add the new water into what was heating over the fire. She heard him lay the bucket down and then resume his seat at the table. And beyond what she could hear, she could feel his eyes burning what little skin he could see. She was nude in his presence, and though he could see nothing she felt a liquefying warmth spread from the pit of her stomach out through her limbs.

It was then she turned around, and as suspected, Maks was sitting there piercing her with his dark gaze as though he could see through the sheet. Goosebumps rose on her perfectly creamy skin. There was something nearly palpable in the air, a tension, a weight, and it made breathing almost impossible.

And yet she still attempted to ignore it.

Giving him very little of her attention, she went about drying herself and then slipping on another pair of linen briefs and a clean sleeping gown. Thankfully, she had also brought a robe to wear over it as the gown was much too sheer. Lastly, she released the pins that held her braid up and slowly began working her golden locks free. Unlike the previous night in the forest, the entirety of her time Aurelia was keenly aware of her husband's unabashed interest.

"There, I'm finished," she said curtly, stepping from behind the curtain, defying him to say aught about her. But he only gave her one of those curious looks, the one where his dark eyebrow rose and a hint of a smirk bent up the corner of his lips.

He stood. "Then I'll help you dispose of your water."

Aurelia's mouth opened a second before she shut it annoyed. "Of course, you'd want me to help," she groused.

"You enjoyed the bath, did you not? Think you should have something as luxurious as that without working for it?"

"Working for it?" she repeated angrily. "I've worked for it all afternoon, what with cleaning, and skinning and cooking and cleaning some more. Your home, I might add," the rancor evident in her voice.

"No, you worked to have a home acceptable to you. You cooked food because you were hungry. And you cleaned dishes because you wished to eat on clean dishes again. All those duties do not entitle you to anything beyond the thing they produce. It is your bath water; you must take care of it. But, as I have said, I shall help you since it is heavy."

Aurelia huffed, perturbed that his reasoning should make sense. "Very well, let's get done with it." She marched back to the corner, and taking a handle, began to heft it. Maks was there instantly to lift the other side, and though it was heavy, it was manageable. Outside the door, they sloshed the water into the narrow gutter that ran alongside the street. The chore took less than a minute and caused less strain than carrying the bag full of her possessions. She almost regretted fussing about the simple task, but was not going to tell him so.

Setting the basin in front of the fire, Maks filled it with the steaming water.

"What do you think you are doing?" she asked panicked as he began to loosen the ties of his shirt. She almost stumbled when he pulled it over his head.

"Bathing. I thought that was obvious."

"H-here?" she stammered, her eyes wide.

"Of course. I always bathe before the fire when it is too cold to do it elsewhere." He answered her nonchalantly as he pulled the laces of his breeches free. Hooking his thumb at the top of the pants, he made to push them down over his hips, but stopped before anything indecent was revealed. "Plan on watching?"

Aurelia blinked in shock before she quickly spun around and faced the other direction. She heard his soft chuckle, and though her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, her ire was piqued just as much. She balled her fists at her sides and huffed. But she jumped as something plopped at her feet. Looking down, she saw his pants. And then the telltale sounds of water splashing gently against itself. Maks gave a hiss of satisfaction as she listened to him settle down into the wash basin.

Though she didn't smile, she wondered how absurd the large man must look sitting balled up in that tiny tub. The humor of the image released her annoyance she had been carrying, and as she had been on her feet all day, she decided to lay down on the bed. Deciding the man should sleep on the side nearest the door, she crawled onto the opposite edge and lay back. The moon was just high enough to shine through the slats of the shutter on the window nearest her.

Aurelia suddenly felt sleep wave upon her, and as her head lolled back, she watched Maks wash himself with a dreamy sort of contentedness. At first there was nothing in the scene save the calming motions of a mundane task. But then she began to notice the orange and yellow glow of the fire reflecting off his wet skin. She noticed the sharp contours of his arms, and shoulders, and chest. Her husband was strong, no doubt about that, she realized, feeling the previous heat creep up on her once more.

As he washed between the toes of a foot propped up on the rim, his eyes glanced up at her, and though he said nothing immediately, Aurelia's heart beat faster. Eventually he spoke, his voice low, a new, soothing, enticing layer to it that hadn't been there before.

"I should find a way to buy a larger tub," he commented.

Her heart was still beating hard in her chest. "Mm," she managed, though she felt somewhat breathless. "You barely fit that one."

"Yes, but a larger basin could fit two."

"Two?"

"Yes. Imagine the time saved and the curiosity appeased if we were to bathe together."

Aurelia let out a choked, breathless chortle. She looked away and attempted to suppress a smile. "Yes, imagine." That wasn't what she had meant to say, was it? At least, it didn't mean anything. Neither a rebuttal nor a rebuke nor an insult that would typically be at the ready. Why hadn't she said something else? She rolled her eyes to the rafters before looking back at him.

She caught his smirk of self-satisfaction, but for the moment decided to not argue. "Could it be the princess has never before spied a naked man?" he continued to query playfully as he attended to his task.