Who: Genna, Mathis, Lucius, etc When: Day 65, late afternoon Where: Kingswood, then the lovely courtyard with the fountain... Rating: Er. PG-13. For happy kids in fountains. Towels and smelling salts probably required. Status: Open to whoever walks in.
Genna had had a successful day all told. Any day that started out with getting one’s younger brother to swallow a tadpole had to be a success, really. It had only gotten better from there. Cerenna had been locked away in her room for a misunderstanding with her sister’s braid and a pot of ink but Lucian and Mathis had been more than game to make a day outside. It was warm and sunny and Genna had no objections, until they’d declared it was a Battle. And it should be in the Kingswood.
She’d objected strenuously-it was no fun if you were the only princess waiting for rescue, not to mention that getting out of the castle was blasted difficult without a twin to run by as a distraction. The boys had to agree about that. So she’d agreed to be a page but a page couldn’t wear a dress and it had taken a splendid quest and secret mission to retrieve some of Mathis’ old clothes. Which was how she found herself in the Kingswood in a doublet and hose, with a purple lightning bolt.
“I think I like purple,” she decided, admiring the sleeves. Lucian frowned but Mathis rolled his eyes.
“Pages don’t worry about their clothes, my la—er, Pageboy.”
“I am not being called pageboy all day.” Genna stamped her foot.
“Well we can’t call you Genna. That’s a girl name.”
“Gen? Gen…Gendrik?” Lucian suggested.
“That sounds ugly. Like a boy name.” Genna was satisfied.
“Boy names aren’t ugly.”
“Are too.”
The next ten minutes was lost in a squabble that ended with Mathis’ shin bruised. Peace restored, they made their way out of the Keep and down to the Kingswood.
It wasn’t until somewhere in the midst of a third round of a pitched battle of mud and stick-swords that they realized how very late it had gotten.
It wasn’t until well after the fourth round, when they were scrubbing at the smelly mud and realizing it wasn’t coming off that Genna started crying. She was tired and she was dirty and she hated being a boy. Even if it was fun with the sticks and flinging mud…
Lucian patted her back. “It’s all right, Gen. We’ll get it off.”
“It’s in my hair- they’ll never let me out of my room again. Not ever. Not until I sail. Maybe not then!”
“They can’t send the whole tower with you,” Mathis said in an attempt at consolation. “Maybe… look… um, perhaps… perhaps we just require a bath?”
Lucian considered and nodded approvingly. “That’s it! A bath, that’s all. Really, Gen.”
“B-but how are we going to have a bath? They’ll see us and we’ll have to explain and then they’ll kill me.”
“We didn’t let the grumkins get you, did we?” Lucian asked. “A bath’s much easier than that.”
“We’ll need water—and not river water. We aint’ got soap.”
Genna looked up with a sudden inspiration. “A fountain maybe? Like the ones in the courtyards? We could get soap from the—”
“My sister’s got plenty,” Mathis chimed in. “I always get into her room easy- it’s got a passage from that one ugly statue.”
Getting into the castle was difficult until one of the men-at-arms recognized Lucius under the grime. Then came the excitement of sneaking into the courtyard and waiting while Mathis made his way into the castle and the hidden passage.
Which was how they came to be sitting under a tree, covered in mud and flowers when Mathis got back with an armload of interesting soap and a basket of bottles of even more interesting liquids. “Look! These smell good even!” He offered one of the vials to Genna.
She uncorked it and sniffed. “Ooh, roses!”
Lucius had another one and grinned. “I know this one! It’s honeyblossom!” “And this one’s myrrh and this one’s ver-be-na?”
Genna shrugged. “It smells nice.”
“We should put it in the water too.”
“It would go with this one,” Lucius said, holding out another bottle.
“Wait, we need to put a plug in!” Genna insisted. She splashed in and held out a hand. “Shirts.” The boys took off the shirts and she stuffed them into the drain.
Lime, orange and verbena all went into the fountain as Genna stoppered the drain. Mathis frowned as he emptied the last bottle. “Do you think that’s enough?” “It’s a lot of water,” Mathis said doubtfully and grabbed a fourth bottle. A pile of soaps went in next, and all three threw off the remnants of the clothing.
Which was how Septa Marien came to be falling over in a dead faint good while later, while the fountain happily overflowed and the yard echoed with shrieks of mischief well-managed.