Chapter 330: Taking Root
Ashlynn and Heila spent almost half an hour in the tiny wooden shed, sweating, sobbing, drinking cool water, and doing it all over again until they felt lighter than air, as though they would drift away on a gentle breeze the moment someone opened the door.
"Thank you, my lady," Heila said as she scrubbed the tears from her eyes. "I feel better now."
"I do too," Ashlynn said, lightly stroking the diminutive woman’s soft, curly hair. "I don’t think I realized how much, just how many things were weighing on me until I let them go..."
"Dat’s why we have to chase de bad waters out," Aledia said as she entered the room accompanied by a wave of blessedly cool air. In truth, it was still a very warm midsummer day outside, but the humid heat inside the shed made even the unbearably warm summer feel cool by comparison.
"Don’t try to walk now," the reptilian woman cautioned. "Dis here is Corinne, she’ll be taking care of Lady Heila," she explained as another woman entered the room carrying fresh robes for the two witches. "Now, your skin is still slick wit’ de bad water, so we’re gonna scrub it all away, yeah? Leave you nice and clean, fresh as de day you were born into dis world."
As much as Ashlynn wanted to protest that she was capable of walking on her own, the hazy memory of how she’d stumbled and fallen after trying to stand prevented her from making any such claims. Instead, the two women of the Ancient Clan proved that even if they weren’t as strong as Jacques, they were more than capable of carrying a pair of witches to the next treatment.
They weren’t carried far and before they knew it, they were laid out on a pair of cushions on simple tables overlooking the lake. The cool breeze blowing across the water felt like a welcome balm on their sweat-soaked skin and the sounds of birds overhead blended with the distant sound of wooden windchimes to lull them both to sleep.
"It’s all right if you sleep, yeah?" Aledia said as she helped Ashlynn to remove her robe and began to prepare a thick paste of scented oils and coarse sugar to scrub her body with. "Jus’ let us do our part while you rest. We’ll wake you up when it’s time to move again," she promised.
As much as Ashlynn wanted to protest, to stay awake to learn as much of the Ancient Clan’s healing treatment as she could, once Aledia’s strong hands began to kneed her tender muscles as though she were a ball of bread dough, Ashlynn’s resistance melted like the scented oils seeping into her skin.