His bags from his horse were already piled on a low table near the bed, and in the corner of the room was the promised tub, still steaming with hot water. A large fluffy towel was situated on a stool next to the tub, along with a small ceramic dish with a bar of soap. He was already undressed and halfway to the tub before he realized it, and when he finally sank himself into the water, he audibly moaned with how quickly his sore muscles started to soak up the warmth.
He reclined in the brass tub, resting his head on the rim with closed eyes. Just as he wondered if he should just nap in the tub, the door opened and Red walked in.
“Where’s the body?” she demanded. “Did you yokels bury him in your tiny little town?”
Kre scrambled in the tub, trying to curl his body up into a small ball with his eyes tightly shut, as if he were the one that was seeing something he shouldn’t. “What are you doing?”
“I’m… asking you a question,” she replied slowly, hoping that the boy was aware enough that she wouldn’t have to keep spelling things out for him, otherwise this was going to take far longer than she expected.
“I meant here, in my room! I’m in the tub!”
“I own this place,” she responded. “I go where I want. I could care less for your current state of undress.
“But fine,” Red sighed, holding up her hands in mock surrender, “Just answer the question and I can be on my way.”
Kre shook his head and muttered something under his breath. If Red heard, she made no notice of it. “We burned the body in a pyre,” he said quickly.
Red frowned.
“How convenient,” she responded tersely. “The only piece of evidence that could determine if he is who you say he is has been destroyed in a fire.”
Kre fought the urge to defiantly stand up in defense of his actions, “That’s not why we did it. He deserved a proper funeral, not to be carted around like a trophy for us to take to the Citadel.”
Red tapped her chin three times as her mind raced while Kre sat in the tub, covering himself as best he could, wondering if the water would turn cold first or if Red would leave him to finish his bath in peace.
“Don’t worry,” she said off-handedly, “the water stays warm for quite a while.” Another tap of her chin. “I don’t suppose you have any of his belongings, do you? Some memento, perhaps?”
“No, nothing. Just the Tehynji set he had.”
Red’s eyes brightened again. “That’s right,” she smiled. “You said that you play. I haven’t had a good game in a great many years.”
“Can we… not do this right now?” Kre pleaded, gesturing at the tub with his head.
“Oh, very well,” Red muttered. “Such a prudish child.” She spun on her heals and Kre watched her striding across the main room until his door finally closed of its own accord, cutting off his view.
“What an odd woman,” Kre mumbled, starting to uncoil his body once again to get back into relaxation mode.
“Perhaps,” came a voice from the bed. “I guarantee though, we shall find stranger still as we continue our journey southwards.”