Time to Freshen Up

Eska's body was sore and she'd lost a considerable amount of weight while the infection had ravaged her, but the woman's mind was whole and had no lasting damage. Everything else would be put back to rights with time, so she wasn't worried about her fatigue or her appearance. Just like Ulric, the brindled woman had also been incredibly relieved when she'd felt that very first day of a turning point. She knew that she was going to live and she knew that she hadn't been taken by the same madness that had killed her mother.

Ulric had been her anchor through the whole ordeal. She firmly believed that he was the very reason that she hadn't died in the cage beneath the castle. His love, bravery and insistence that she would be okay was what had pulled her through. It was what had given her the hope that she needed to fight. He had reminded her daily of everything that she had to live for and everything that they still needed to do together. For that, she would never be able to repay him, though she would spend a lifetime trying.

As one might imagine, Eska had needed a lot of rest once she was finally well enough to leave the dungeon. They'd both done their best to get her cleaned up, but all she had really wanted to do was sleep and sleep and sleep, and so Ulric let her do just that. On a day where she felt a bit stronger, he surprised her by leading her to the baths where he already had everything prepared. One brow lifted and the silvered woman shot her love a little grin. "Do I stink? I stink, don't I." She teased him a bit, but slid into the warm water after him, releasing a little sigh of relief before sliding through the water and into her mate's embrace. Eska tucked her head up under Ulric's chin, golden eyes closing. "Thank you for this. Thank you for never giving up on me."

"Ulric & Eska"