The Bride of the Immortal (14 page)

“Viv, do you really think this is a goo-” Before he could finish the sentence Vivian had opened the
yukata
and let it slip to the floor.

Adrijan was here. He would not let the fair-haired man harm her. Mairin kept repeating it to herself over and over while keeping her eyes averted. Good God, had she averted her eyes in time? She had seen him, hadn’t she? She hadn’t been supposed to look! Why was he acting like this? Wasn’t this the man who had saved her from the ‘metal mule’? Wasn’t he the one who had been watching over her the day before when she had been down with a fever? Had he done something to her? Oh Lord, maybe he had done something to her! Mairin was panic-stricken. She couldn’t get out of the bath tub without leaving the cover of the foamy water. The girls’ shrieking and giggling didn’t help her at all to stay calm. How could he do this to them?

“Just enjoy the bath. I would never harm such a pretty lady.”

There was no danger in his voice or what he said yet every fibre of her being told her to run. “Oh and you don’t have to avert your eyes.”

Was he being serious? Mairin’s heart was racing. When she thought the situation couldn’t get worse, he leisurely walked over to the tub and slowly slid into the water.

It wasn’t his first time to see Vivian naked but Adrijan was close to making it his last. At
Mondstein
castle Adrijan was only known as a priest and friend to the master and as such he was unable to restrain his secret half-brother. Attempting to go toe-to-toe with him would only add to his motivation and lead to a disaster. He had to help Mairin discreetly and play the perfect diplomat. First though, he would have to calm the girl before she did something rash.

“Mairin, let me introduce the master of this castle to you: the immortal Vivian Anfarwol.” This was hopefully surprising enough to distract her for a moment.

“
You
… are the immortal?” she asked almost inaudibly, still averting her eyes.

Vivian laughed heartily.

“
Immortal
is more ‘what’ than ‘who’ I am. You can call me Vivian or Viv – Vivi even, if you like the sound of it.”

Adrijan nervously watched the immortal as he playfully ran his hand through the water.

“Or you could call me darling… honey… sweetheart… dearest… handsome. Still, I have to admit I’m not so terribly fond of honeybun, or smoochie pie and the like.”

The maids were giggling and Adrijan’s intention to kill was dangerously high.

“But you are so…
young
,” Mairin mumbled as if she hadn’t listened to any of his words.

“Aw, the princess is disappointed – but I guess that means you did catch a glimpse of me.” Mairin blushed again which apparently added to his amusement.

Adrijan was wondering why Vivian enjoyed teasing her that much. What was his scheme? He would never win her over like this – or at least that was what he was hoping. A glimpse at the maids told him otherwise. Much to his disgust they looked like they would gladly trade places with Mairin.

“If I may say so, Miss Princess is not disappointing so far.”

Vivian was smiling, watching her like his prey. Adrijan couldn’t hold back any longer. He could physically feel her call for help. Why was it so hard to keep his composure?

“Don’t worry; you are perfectly covered by the foam,” Adrijan said calmingly, ”there are so many bubbles we can hardly see your nose.”

Adrijan was exaggerating of course. And of course he wasn’t in the mood for jokes but the situation certainly wasn’t eased by the girls staring at the bath tub – or to be more precise at the immortal. He had been indeed surprised that none of them had fainted before he realised that all of them except maybe Hilda had most likely seen Vivian naked before.

Ignoring the fact that it wasn’t the right time for having such a thought, he had to admit that Vivian was right: Mairin was a lovely sight. With her head crowned by the dark strands of her wet hair that was floating in the water, her rosy cheeks and the face that was bearing her innocent anxiety, she looked like a mermaid lost in foreign waters. It took him a considerable amount of effort to take his eyes off her.

“Vivian, don’t you want to give your bride a little more time to get accustomed to
Mondstein
?”

It was as difficult for him as it was important not to let his feelings show. Vivian liked playing with people – him included. As casually as possible Adrijan walked over to the towel rail, grabbed two large ones and walked back to the bath tub.

“Maybe you’re right,
frater
. You have wisdom beyond your years.”

The big smirk didn’t want to vanish from the immortal’s face. Even though it had sounded like an agreement, Vivian didn’t move an inch. Adrijan carefully soaked one of the towels with water, before gently pushing it into Mairin’s direction, making it slowly drift towards her. When she reached for it, their eyes met and again colour rose to her cheeks.

Adrijan handed the second towel to his brother and saw with relief that he accepted it.

“Please have dinner with me tonight, princess. I feel that I made a bad impression and want to make up for it.”

The immortal didn’t wait for a reply. Everyone present was well aware that there was only one potential answer to his request. Vivian skilfully covered himself with the towel while climbing out of the tub. Adrijan frowned as he watched the girls stare at his brother’s athletic body.

“Proceed,” Vivian ordered the maids jokingly and smirked at them before he turned around and left the room.

Adrijan breathed a sigh of relief. He felt the urge to stay a little longer, but being regretfully aware that it wouldn’t improve Mairin’s situation he decided against it. On top of it, the matter had to be discussed with the immortal.

“
Mesdames
.” He bowed his head in salutation and hurried for the door.

Adrijan spotted his brother at the bottom of the stairs, already turning into one of the vast hallways of
Mondstein
castle. The pace of his steps showed Adrijan at once that he was just waiting for him to catch up. Even though he knew better, he was unable to restrain himself any longer, rushed down the stairs, abrasively grabbed him at his shoulder and forced him to turn around.

“What the hell came over you? What in God’s name were you trying to accomplish?”

“Tsk, tsk. For
Christ’s
sake, watch your language, brother.” Once again there was an aggravating grin on his face. “And I don’t appreciate being manhandled.” Vivian elegantly removed his hand and looked at him as if he were the one true embodiment of innocence.

“I simply wanted to take a bath with my future bride… or maybe even more than that if it hadn’t been for the audience.” Vivian shrugged. “Or maybe I should say if it hadn’t been for
you
.”

Adrijan swallowed. He knew where this was going and decided to make another attempt at explaining to him the graveness of the situation.

“Vivian, think! Don’t you want her to fall for you? The way you approached her was most unwise. Mairin has most likely never seen a man naked and surely hasn’t shared her bed with anyone.”

“Well, I guess it was at least partially educating for her then.”

Adrijan shook his head wishing his brother wouldn’t annoy him so.

“Aren’t you forgetting about something?”

Vivian faked a sigh. “Alright, alright. I’ll behave like the perfect gentleman until she gets over that incident at Sunflower Garden.”

Adrijan was genuinely surprised. Was this just another one of his tricks, a part of his little game?

“I’d love to continue chatting with you brother, but I think I should change into something less revealing for dinner. Talking about dinner… will you be joining us?”

Adrijan resisted the urge to decline. He could only be of use to Mairin if he was present.

“Count on it, Viv,” he replied grumpily.

The immortal nodded, turned around and was on his way. Since there were still at least two hours until dinner, Adrijan decided to pay Alfred a visit. He was curious about Mairin’s bundle and this way he could easily pretend to have a reason to be thinking of her.

Mairin wanted to jump out of the tub as soon as the door clicked shut but her legs felt like rubber and the chatting and giggling of the girls sounded to her like the buzzing of bees. In her mind she slowly counted to ten and then after the third try she successfully managed to climb out of the bath tub and back into the shower cabin. Even though the walls were transparent, she felt a lot safer there than just a few minutes ago with the immortal. The warm water streaming down her body slowly washed away her fear and thereby made room for different thoughts. Adrijan was here. He was here and he had saved her again – this time even from his own master. Mairin slowly forced herself to let go of the wet towel. Part of her wanted to blame her saviour for not acting sooner or more vigorously but in the end she was just glad that he had shown up in time. Had he smiled at her when he had sent the towel her way? Was there a chance that the alleged priest had feelings for her? Surely it was impossible. If he was a priest then he had only acted out of sympathy or due to his own believes and if he wasn’t – well in that case there were certainly better options than to fall for a girl with no qualities, a girl without means and moreover a girl, who was already spoken for.

“Miss Muriel? If you stay in there much longer, your skin will start peeling off!”

Hilda’s reproachful voice made Mairin realise that she had spent enough time pondering under the ‘watering can’. She regretted having to leave her shelter but obediently turned off the machinery, wiped the water out of her face and opened the door to the cabin. As soon as she stepped outside, one of the maids started to dry her off with a heavenly soft towel and only allowed Mairin to complete the task on her own after vehement protesting. Once she was done, Hilda helped her put on a black silken dressing gown with a golden pattern that had a lot in common with the design of the bath tub and led her over to the chair she had sat in for her hair cut.

Mairin was startled by the loud noise of the ‘wind blowing machine’ they put to her head but calmed down when Hilda gently put her hands on her shoulders and reassuringly nodded towards her to signify that she should stay in her seat. The warm air accelerated the process of drying her hair and soon her face was surrounded by her natural curls. Rebellious as they were, she had always dreaded their appearance but the maid easily managed to tame them bit by bit. Mairin looked at her new self in wonder. Her hair had been put up, all except for a few loose strands that were tangling down to her shoulders like elongated corkscrews. She was already more than satisfied with what the mirror was showing her and wanted to get up to put on proper clothes.

“We’re not quite done yet, Miss,” Hilda mumbled shyly. What on earth could there be left to do? She already felt like a whole different person. Again the maids traded places and it was the turn for the probably oldest of them. Mairin obediently followed her orders, demanding of her to close or open her eyes, to look this or that way or to tilt her head in various angles while the girl applied different powders and liquid substances to her mistress’ face. When she was done, the maid stepped back to reveal her new look. The result was – like the hairstyle – astonishing and even more surprising. From what she had perceived with her skin, Mairin had expected to discover something horrifying, yet her complexion seemed clearer, her eyes bigger and more mysterious, her eyelashes dark and long and her lips glistened irresistibly smooth and silky. A very subtle tone of red on her cheeks made her look even more vivid. Mairin was tempted to raise her hand just to make sure if it was really her own image she was facing.