A Bath and News

<p>Spring, Year 225, Luminous Calendar<br/><br/> Iris slowly opened her eyes to peer around her dimly lit room. She sat up, pulling down her covers with her feet before kicking them to the right side of her bed. "Three...two...one.." She counted to herself before the door to her room swung open. Sister Bertha peered her chubby face around the opened door. "Oy! Lady Iris, you're up! How about a bath?" Iris smiled sweetly at Sister Bertha, who in retuned beamed back at her and hurried out her room and down to the hallway and into the shared bathing room. Iris smiled sadly as she thought about the event of last night's dinner. Turmoil began to stir dark thoughts within her, so she decided to finally push down all of last night's events and advert her attention back on what she had to accomplish today. She placed her bare feet on the cold stone floor and then quickly padded her way towards her large wooden dresser. Her soft grey cotton towel hung from an old brass hanger nailed into it's side. Iris smiled as she remembered how Sister Bertha had nailed the hanger herself after a few of the other Ladies had stolen Iris' towel from the clothes lines that everyone used to dry their wet towels and clothes on. "From now on, you hang your towel here" Iris said to herself, remembering the words that Sister Bertha huffed out.<br/> Splash! The clear hot water splashed as Iris sat heavily in the large brass tub. "Tell 'e, what'sa troubling ye mind" Sister Bertha asked in her heavily accented voice as she placed a large wooden pail of hot water next the brass tub and began mixing cold water into it with a small wooden cup . Iris sighed and closed her eyes when she heard Berthas voice, the same voice that had soothed her when she couldn't stop crying after another one of her fellow Ladies' misdeeds, or when she panicked about another one of her exams. "Tis nothing, Sister Bertha." Iris said politely but dismissively, earning her a small splash of cold water to her face. She gasped at the sudden clash of cold water and opened her eyes wide as she looked at Sister Bertha. "Don't gimme that nonsense child. I know you better then the palm of 'e hand." Sister Bertha said as she pointed the small wooden cup at her, her narrowed eyes staring directly at hers. "I....I am just tired." Iris reponsed looking down at the clear water and then focusing on one of the wilted purple petals that floated on the surface, just out of her reach. "Hmmm. Tis the lack of sleep or the crude musings of the King?" Sister Bertha asked before going back to mixing her pail of water. "Sister Bertha!" Iris hissed as she looked around bewildered. "Ah shut it. Ain't no one here but you and 'e." Sister Bertha mumbled dismissively. Iris still leaned over to look around and make sure no other Lady was with in earshot. "Sister, such comments come with a price. You know that." Iris said and then leaned back into the tub.<br/> "Well? What is it?" Sister Bertha asked once again as she washed Iris' hair with a soft bar of jasmine scented soap. She gently massaged the soap into Iris' scalp and then proceeded to wash it out with warm water while she waited for Iris to answer. Iris sighed and then nodded. "How do you know about the King's comments?" She quietly asked, her eyes closed while she listened intently to Sister Bertha's answer. "Child, there ain't nothing happening in this 'ere Temple that I don't know 'bout. Word be traveling fast you see." Sister Bertha said amused while she pulled a small wooden comb out of her white cotton apron and began to run it through Iris' hair, untangling knots here and there. Iris smiled contently, a part of her remembering how much she used to detest when Sister Bertha would bathe her and then untangle her hair, pulling and tugging at her long sleek black hair, sometimes pulling out small cumples of twisted strands. Now, these moments, the ones when she could freely speak her mind without hesitation, felt warm and almost motherly like. "Bertha?" Iris asked, slightly opening her eyes. "Hmmm?" Sister Bertha mumbled, smiling as she knew Iris was finally ready to talk.<br/> "Do all the Ladies get this...motherly treatment from you or the other Sisters?" Iris asked in a small voice, her heart not wanting to hear that there was a possibility that Sister Bertha did in fact treat the other Ladies in the same manner and that she was just doing what was deemed her job. "Haaa! Iris, there's a few of 'em Ladies that neither 'e or the other Sisters will even touch with a stick." Sister Bertha said, laughing loudly and accidently pulling the comb too roughly through Iris' hair. "Oow" Iris mumble, holding in the urge to laugh. "Sorry, sorry. No my lil sugar plum. You are our special lil girl. No one will ever be treated the same as you". Sister Bertha said in a sweet cooning voice that filled Iris' heart with love. She quickly cleared her voice and leaned close to Iris, lowering her voice so that only Iris would be able to hear. "Iris, we'va been talking. The way we see it, the King's got 'is eye on you. Be careful lil one. None of us trust 'im. None." Sister Bertha whispered and then quickly straightened up as the voices of other Ladies could be heard echoing into the bathing room. "Let's get you up and out before trouble comes on rumbling." Sister Bertha said as she gently but firmly helped pull Iris up and out of the bath and into a soft blue robe.<br/> They were just finishing up when a sweet voice chimed in a chipper voice, "oh! I'm sorry. Is this bath still being used?" Sister Bertha looked behind her and noticed Sister Cassie standing there, a wide smile spread across her face as she stared at them. She quickly looked down at Sister Cassie's hand which was signalling something that only she could understand. Iris didn't catch the signalling that was going on between the Sisters and instead responded "Oh, no. We are done here. You may used the tub now Sister Cassie." Sister Cassie's eye snapped over to Iris, her smile never faltering as Sister Bertha nodded and pulled Iris's arm and started to lead her away. "Sister Bertha" Iris mumbled as she was about to scold her for being so rude but Sister Cassie just waved at them and quietly said "it was nice seeing you Lady Iris" before turning and walking back the other way.<br/> Iris and Sister Bertha walked through an old wooden door that was hidden in the darkest and farthest corner of the bathing room, just behind an old ladder and moldy crates filled with dirty rags. Once Sister Bertha pulled the ladder forward and the door open enough for them to pass through they quickly walked into what seemed like hidden hallways and dark cold twisting passages. "Bertha?" Iris asked nervously as she tightly held closed her warm moist robe. "Clam down Iris. We're just taking the servants' passages." Sister Bertha said in stern voice as she continued walking through the dark winding hallways, never once letting go of Iris' arm. After what felt of about ten long and tense filled minutes, of them walking through sometimes narrow and sometimes wide passages, they finally arrive to what seemed like a dead end. Sister Bertha place both palms gently against the bricked wall before placing her ear up to it. She motioned a shushing motion to Iris, who was barely breathing herself, and then gently pushed against the bricked wall. The wall turned ever so slightly as Sister Bertha leaned forward in a quick motion just to poke her head out and then leaned back again only to pull Iris once more by the arm. She pulled her rapidly as the brick wall rotated in a 360 degree turn and they were once more standing in one of the normal halls. Iris slowly turned around to face back towards the wall and only saw what she once thought was a sturdy stoned wall, that now turned out to be a hollow brick wall with a hidden passageway behind it.<br/> "Come on". Sister Bertha whispered as she walked to the left and Iris cautiously walked behind her. To her surprise she quickly recognized her bedroom door and they silently walked inside before Sister Bertha swiftly closed the door behind them. "That was quite interesting." Iris said as she sat on her bed in a bit of a daze. "And here I was, thinking that I knew this Temple top to bottom with all it's crooks and nooks in between." She mumbled more to herself then to Sister Bertha. "Oh child, even we don't know this Temple top to bottom and many of us 'ave worked 'ere for many a years." Sister Bertha chimed in a low voice as she quickly pulled out a fresh white cotton gown from Iris' wooden dresser and placed it on the bed along with clean undergarments and her silky white slippers. "Now, get dress honey dew. The High Priestess be waiting for you." She said before silently stepping out the door and patiently waiting just outside. <br/> It didn't take long for Iris to quickly pull her soft clothes and slippers on, rub some natural jasmine scented body cream on her arms and face and then scatter towards the door. Her mind raced as she walked at a brisk pace towards the High Priestesses current office. Sister Bertha walked right behind her, fussing and stumbling as she tried to masterfully braid Iris's hair. The attempt was a bit of a failure though, in the end.</p>