Eldrick woke to a commotion in the library next door. Rising from his bed he threw on the first thing he could find. Rubbing his eyes he went to investigate. Opening the library door he saw Amarna and Amaryliss along with Claire and Jane searching the shelves. Yosef, Brandon, and Amy were all in trance reading books.
"Where is that dang tome. I know I own a copy." Amarna's voice rising in panic. "If we can't find it we'll lose the patient."
"Amarna! Remain calm. Panic isn't going to help and it sets a bad example for your students." Amaryliss voice is calm and relaxing.
"You, you're one to talk about remaining calm in a life or death situation. I learned everything I know about healing from you, and when there was one you knew you could save but the information was missing you would scream until the sky split, or you found the information."
Eldrick considered offering to help when Jane caught sight of him. "Ellie, what are you wearing? Go get a bath and dressed properly." Rushing to his side she indicated the trews and tunic and ushered him quickly out of the room. "There is nothing you can do here right now. Please go get cleaned up."
With the door closed in his face, he stood there in a moment of surprise. How could he just walk away when there seemed to be an emergency. Amarna and Amaryliss both knew what they were doing and so he had to believe they called upon those with the best skills to take care of the task. He returned to his room to gather an outfit. Choosing another of the gowns from Beth, he made sure to grab the hair ribbons which had fallen out sometime during the night. Taking these items with him to the bathing chamber he entered.
The chatter he could hear as he opened the door suddenly ceased. All eyes turned in his direction. Looks of concern and pity were quickly concealed under smiles. Eldrick stripped and climbing into a tub began washing up, trying to ignore the others in the room out of courtesy and modesty. He still wasn't comfortable but knew he had to get used to it. The girls had a way of making him nervous and uncomfortable with their ability to just walk around unclad with him in the room. Ducking his head under the water to get it wet he heard the door opening. The voices of the guys entering the room caused an uproar of giggles from the girls.
"Wow! They decided to join us and get cleaned up before they had to be told," Caitlin remarked.
"And just what is the occasion?" inquired Eileen.
"I wonder what they've been up to?" muttered Sophia.
Eldrick raised his head out of the water only to be attacked with brush and soap. A loud 'whack' caused Eileen to jump and squeal. "Dammit Lugh, that wasn't nice." Her words and voice held two different messages.
"Nah, it wasn't, but you enjoyed it."
The pressure on the brush increased. Eldrick felt as if the person wielding the brush was trying to remove his skin along with the dirt and grime.
"Ow, I would like to keep my hide in one piece please."
"Sorry, Ellie." Eileen's voice was contrite. "Sometimes I can get so angry at the way the guys treat us."
Eldrick considered the previous exchange, before the pressure increased on the brush. Lugh was laughing when he responded. He didn't think the response was the one that should have been used. He tried to think carefully about how he would have responded then realized he wouldn't have smacked her in the first place. It was rude and inconsiderate not to mention demeaning. Climbing out of the tub, he was handed a towel, which he wrapped around himself and began to dry himself. Most of the girls were already dressed and fussing with their hair. After getting himself dry and throwing on the under shift he approached the ladies.
"Here let me help. Yesterday you said I was supposed to help and get practice with braiding, then, before I could you were done."
He picked up a brush and comb and attacked Eileen's hair. Gently brushing out the knots and making sure it lay flat. Then with the comb separated the side into four equal parts. He considered the skill of rope braiding he had to do with reeds at the farm and the different techniques used for it. He crafted a round plait to dangle down the side of her face, then proceeded to basket weave the rest of the side into the back of her head, adding more hair as needed to lengthen the braid. Tying it off he shifted to the other side where he repeated the process without the dangling braid. Once this one was tied off as well he looked about.
"Anyone have a couple hairpins?"
"Here," Eileen handed him a few.
He pulled the ends of the braids up to the center of the back of her head crossing them slightly and tucked the hair pins in to hold the hair in place. He had to tuck the pins from both directions so everything would remain in place. Once he was finished he used the two hand mirrors to show the front and back to Eileen. The broad smile which played across her lips was all the recognition Eldrick required. The rest of the girls then chimed in that they wanted him to do their hair too.
Eldrick was still braiding hair when he heard the splash and dripping of water on stone behind him. The sharp pain as his ass was slapped caused him to jump and spin, hairbrush in hand. The resounding clack as brush struck jaw caused the ladies to giggle. Henry staggering back brought his hand up to rub his jaw. A look of extreme shock on his face. This was not the reaction he was expecting. Eldrick's eyes narrowing, advanced on the guys who were standing behind Henry.
"Is this how you treat a lady? As a piece of meat to be slapped and grabbed without any concern for what they may want or even like?" As he approached they took involuntary steps backwards. With an almost choreographed step, they caught the backs of their knees on the edge of the tubs and fell back into the water. The ladies broke into gales of laughter.
"Oh Ellie, that was brilliant. All of us have wanted to do something about the way they treated us but none of us scared them enough, I think." Jasmine giggled.
"I doubt that," Eldrick looked contrite. "None of you reacted in the same way as I just did. I am sure Caitlin probably scares them shitless."
"You know you may be right, but then I doubt anyone has attempted to try anything with her." Eileen looked thoughtful. "Oh Ellie, we need to take care of your hair before breakfast." Taking the brush from Eldrick's hands as she spoke. Putting words into action she quickly did a simple braid. With the braid complete she gestured to the door. Eldrick quickly threw the gown over his head.
Eldrick nodding, followed the ladies from the room. Just as he reached the door he turned back to see the guys still trying to get out of the tubs. "Remember to treat a lady as you would your mother or sister," he shot back to them as he left. The sound of splashing behind him made him grin.
Hurrying to catch up to the others, he couldn't stop smiling. The smell of breakfast causing his stomach to rumble. The sudden sound caused those around him to break into laughter.
"Ellie, did you get food after the match yesterday?"
Shaking his head in response caused a couple of gasps from those nearest to him. He could smell the rich earthy aroma of dark rye bread, the salty, greasy goodness of bacon, and the subtleness of boiled water with vinegar, which meant eggs. Picking up his pace he urged the others to hurry as well. Entering the dining room, he saw the boiled eggs sitting in a bowl with fragile-looking porcelain egg cups nearby. He hurried over to the table seating himself and dishing out food.
With everyone else sitting down and gathering food as well the conversation started up once again. The topics ranged from the incident in the bathing room to the sudden flurry in the library. Though no one knew the exact reasons, there was much conjecture as to what the cause could be.
Amarna entered with a sombre look on her face. "I cannot find my copy of 'Dragon injuries and care'. Does anyone know where it is?"
Eldrick's head snapped up at the mention of the book. "It is on top of the fifth shelf on the east wall." His face flushing with the memory of not having returned it to its proper place on the shelf. "I was skimming it last night and forgot to shelve it again."
"Thank you, Ellie." She turned and quickly left the room.
"What was that about?" Claire asked.
Everyone just shrugged. Eldrick considered the reasons why they may be looking for that particular book. Recalling the evening before he shot to his feet. All thoughts of food and hunger fleeing.
"Sebastian!" Tripping over the seat as he tried to get away from the table. Rising back to his feet he rushed from the room. Everyone exchanged glances, then rising and followed him out.
