Chapter 129: Hands of Silence
The hot water comforted every inch of his body, releasing a gentle steam that filled the stone chamber. Kellar settled against the wooden backrest, letting out a sigh of deep satisfaction.
"How glad I am that I left the blueprints for this personal bath before leaving," said Kellar, smiling to himself as he watched the fireplace embers. "That way I don’t have to step out into the freezing outside air. It is ridiculously convenient."
He closed his eyes and extended his arms over the tub’s edge, enjoying the immediate relief in his muscles after days of long marching and heavy work up in the mountain.
The chamber door opened without making the slightest sound. Lía crossed the threshold holding a wooden basin with essential oils and a clean towel in her hands. She wore a thin linen tunic and had her still-damp hair gathered to one side. Upon seeing Kellar naked inside the water, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, yet she did not take a single step back. In her mind, attending to the leader in his private bath was the unavoidable first step of her duties as his woman and servant.
Kellar opened his eyes upon sensing the presence in the room and looked at her with a calm smile.
"You didn’t have to do this, Lía," said Kellar, accompanying his words with a gentle and fluid hand sign: "Rest. I am fine."
Lía slowly shook her head. She approached with timid steps right up to the tub and knelt beside him on the wooden floor. With trembling, delicate fingers, she poured a bit of lavender oil into the water and began rubbing Kellar’s shoulders, applying a constant, expert pressure over his warm skin.
Kellar let out a long sigh of relief at the massage, closing his eyes once more and allowing the girl to carry out her task in silence.
The touch of her fingers grew softer as she slid down his back. However, Lía cautiously glided her hands beneath the water’s surface, heading straight toward Kellar’s hardened member.
Kellar reacted and firmly caught her wrists under the water, halting her movement. He turned toward her and looked into her eyes, puzzled by her sudden boldness.
"What is wrong? What are you trying to do?" said Kellar, releasing her hands slowly to sign clearly before her face.
Lía froze in place, her face burning with embarrassment yet keeping her gaze fixed on him. With trembling fingers, she hurriedly signed back: "Serve my master. Fulfill my duties to my lord."
Kellar knitted his brow in confusion at her choice of words.
"I am not your master," said Kellar, executing the signs slowly and directly. "I am only your protector and your friend. You are no one’s slave here, Lía. Who told you such a thing?"
Lía looked at him with bewilderment and a faint shadow of doubt in her eyes. She raised her hands and signed insistently, recalling every gesture from the previous night up on the mountain: "You said I had to follow you wherever you went, eat from your table, and sleep where you rested. Does that not mean being your woman?"
In that instant, realization hit Kellar like a splash of cold water. His mind reeled as he understood the misunderstanding the harsh customs of the northern tribes had created in the young woman’s mind.
"No, I did not mean that," said Kellar, letting out a friendly smile while shaking his head and signing carefully to correct the mistake. "You misinterpreted my words. I only meant that you would be completely protected with me, as my assistant and as my apprentice’s sister. I never intended to claim you as my woman."
Lía stood petrified in her spot. The heat in her cheeks shifted from arousal to the most intense blush of her life, realizing that the shaman had not demanded her for his bed, but was genuinely offering her sanctuary and dignified treatment.
Upon hearing the clarification, Lía’s eyes filled with tears that threatened to overflow. A veil of deep sadness covered her face and, overcome with shame, she turned her head away, refusing to look at Kellar’s hands.
Kellar tried to sign before her once more, but the girl kept her eyes fixed on the wooden floor. Kellar reached out from the water and cupped her chin, forcing her to lift her face so their eyes would meet.
"What is wrong, Lía?" said Kellar, using his free hand to sign slowly before her damp eyes.
Lía bit her lower lip hard. After a moment’s hesitation, her fingers responded with a rapid, desperate rhythm: "Am I too unpleasant to you?"
"No, why do you say that?" said Kellar, knitting his brow in genuine concern as he signed.
"Why did you reject me then?" Lía responded with her hands, clenching her fists over her linen tunic.
"I did not reject you," said Kellar, speaking calmly while his hand gestures conveyed absolute sincerity. "I just don’t want you to feel forced into doing something you don’t desire."
Lía paused for a second, locking her large dark eyes onto his, and with a firm movement of her fingers gestured her definitive reply: "And when did I say that I didn’t desire it?"
Seeing that Kellar did not answer right away, Lía waited no longer. She untied the knot of her linen robe and let it slip to the floor, revealing the soft curves of her body bathed in the embers’ glow. With determination and her cheeks burning in a deep blush, she stepped into the tub and straddled him, feeling the hot water envelope them.
Though she was deaf and mute, her mother had taught her before passing what awaited a woman in the north, wanting her daughter not to suffer from ignorance. Gathering every ounce of courage in her chest, Lía held Kellar’s gaze and gestured with slow yet steady fingers before his face: "If I am not too terrible to you, make me yours."
Kellar felt the touch of the young woman’s warm skin against his own and the pure sincerity emanating from her dark eyes. The tension and doubts of the misunderstanding melted away in the chamber’s steam.