章 19: Chapter 19: Joan of Arc - part 2

Erik's House, Somewhere in the west of The Kalmar Union (south of Norway)

May 30th, 1431, 0:35 AM

As the light dimmed, for the first time in months, Joan felt the fresh wind on her skin. She kept her eyes closed and enjoyed it for a moment. Taking a deep breath she smelled the salt in the wind, they were close to the sea. She didn't really care though. Joan slowly opened her eyes and tried to look around her. It was dark.

"Joan, here."

She heard Erik calling her and turned to the voice direction, and she saw it. At least she saw what the darkness and the outside illumination allowed. It was a big house made of perfectly squared white stones. The big wooden double doors of the entrance were illuminated by two torches, one by each side of it. The strange thing about it was that even with all the wind, the torches were not affected by it. While she was staring at it, Joan heard Erik calling her again.

"Joan?"

Joan then stopped staring at the torches and looked at Erik. He had opened one of the doors and was waiting for her.

"Coming."

She then walked to the doors, where Erik was waiting, and entered the house. While Erik closed the doors, Joan was looking at the interior. It was like she had been transported to a totally different world. The walls were all smooth and painted with a white color. The floors were made of smooth wood that seemed to have been waxed and buffed, and were pristine. The ceiling was just like the walls, smooth and white. The illumination inside the house was something that she had never seen. Instead of torches on the walls, they had just the wall mounts that were 'supporting' a floating ball of white light. It was as bright as noon. Definitely not something that she had ever seen. She was staring again, and open mouthed this time. Erik passed by her and Joan woke up.

"Welcome to my home, Joan. Your home too for the foreseeable future."

Erik said with a smile. And then it 'clicked' to her. She was free. She would not have to die because of a secular vendetta of a man that felt that he was losing influence. And the dam broke. Joan, for the first time in a long time, she cried. She started to weep like a little child with no signal to stop. She didn't even notice the two new arrivals at the entrance of the house. Erik was looking at Joan with a gentle smile, like the other two new arrivals. Then, Joan got embraced in a warm hug. She didn't see who was the owner of the arms or the chest, she just hugged back like her life depended on it and wept in the person's chest.

"Shh… It's ok now, child… You are free now… Nobody will ever hurt you again…"

The feminine gentle voice cooed her, promising freedom and safety. Joan slowly stopped crying and recomposed herself. Gently letting go of the hug and pushing the person back, they separated and Joan saw who was the one that had embraced her. She was a young woman of about 25 years, had raven black long hair, dark brown eyes, a beautiful face and was wearing a long blue dress made off a material that she had not recognized, but she thought it was pretty, but now had a wet stain on it.

"Sorry… I spoiled your dress."

Joan said, apologizing for the stain that she caused.

"Don't worry about it. I'm Selena, Erik's wife."

The woman, Selena, batted out, introducing herself next.

"Nice to meet you, Lady Selena, my name is Joan of Arc."

Joan replied, introducing herself too.

"No need for the 'Lady', Joan. You are going to live here, with us, so there is no need for so much formality."

Selena said. She moved to the side a little and Joan could see another woman hugging her 'savior', Erik, at his waist height. She was pretty. Very pretty. She had long honey colored hair, almond eyes and fair white skin. Her body was on the petite side, and she looked to be in her teens. Selena saw her looking and decided to do the introductions.

"And that, Joan, is Calypso, Erik's wife too."

Calypso was looking at Joan with curiosity in her eyes.

"Nice to meet, Lady Calypso."

Joan said politely.

"Just Calypso is fine, or Cali."

Calypso said to Joan. She continued to curiously look at Joan, but her eyes seemed to be looking deep inside her, observing something.

"Husband, I can clearly see her blessing and her gear. How can they accuse her of heresy?"

Calypso said, still looking at Joan. She, in turn, found what she had just heard strange.

"Politics and pettiness, Cali, like always."

Erik said to Calypso. Selena then took one of Joan's hands and started guiding her slowly through the house.

"Come with me, dear. Let's give you a hot bath and get all that gunk off you. And while that happens, Erik will prepare your potions and dinner."

Following Selena, Joan walked through the house and was guided up the stairs, to the second floor. While walking, she observed the decoration around. It was a really beautiful house. Well decorated with paintings and tapestries and… She could swear that she saw the woman in the portrait winking at her.

'I must be really tired…'

Joan thought while she entered a room following Selena. The room was strange. Not something that she had ever seen, that's for sure. If she would have to describe it in one word, it would be clean. Shine smooth white walls and a smooth white floor and ceiling. Marble. That was the name of that type of stone. Joan could see a metallic tap and faucet on the wall with a stone counter with a bowl indented on it under the tap and faucet. At the counter's side, hanging on the wall, there was a soft blue towel. There was a strange white bowl on the ground too that had some kind of lid over it.

"This is the bathroom, Joan. You can take baths, do your necessities, and wash your hands here."

Selena said to her. Joan was thinking where she could take a bath in the room, when Selena went to the wall, grabbed a handle and pulled it to the side. The wall was, in truth, a door that slid to the side, revealing the rest of the room. Selena enters the new room and invites Joan in. She follows with curious eyes. On one side there was a tub made of white stone with two taps over it and one faucet. On the opposite side there was an indentation on the floor with a drain in the corner. Over it, about little more than two meters high, there was a strange metallic disc full of small holes on it, and was connected to the wall through a metallic rod. In the wall there were two taps, with no faucets. Looking better at it, each tap had a decoration on its center, one blue and the other red. Selena noticed what she was looking at, and said.

"Interesting, isn't it? Erik calls it a shower. He invented it. Well, he says that he reinvented it, saying that the Greeks used it in their baths more than two thousand years ago. And maybe they did, but certainly not like this."

Selena went to the taps on the wall and pointed to them, explaining.

"The red tap will give you hot water, the blue one, cold water. The more you open one, the more water it will give you. You have to use both together to reach the temperature that you want."

She then pointed at the metallic disc full of small holes.

"That is the shower head. It will pour water imitating a strong rain. The water will come at the temperature that you choose using the taps here."

Selena then pointed at the tub.

"The taps and faucet in the tub work the same way. Now let's take the dirty dress off."

Selena came to Joan, and passed her finger by the side of her dirty dress. From the top till her waist line, where Selena's finger passed by, the dress was cut, quickly allowing Joan to be free of it. Selena then went back to the shower's taps and opened the red one. While Joan was taking out the cut dress, she saw the shower head starting to pour water. And there was steam coming off it. Selena quickly regulated the temperature of the pouring water opening the blue tap, and invited, with a gesture, a now naked Joan to enter it. Timidly, Joan stepped in the floor indentation and entered under the pouring water, unknowingly letting a moan out. The feeling of the hot water hitting her skin gave her a heavenly feeling. While Joan enjoyed the water washing away all the gunk and grime from her body, Selena took a bar of scented soap and offered it to her.

"Joan, here, soap."

Joan opened her eyes and looked at the offered soap and slowly took it.

"Thanks."

She then started to use it all over her body, totally removing the gunk and grime of it. She had noticed too the pleasant scent that the soap had. She never had something like that, and thought that she could get used to it. Joan lost track of the time under the heavenly feeling of the hot water on her skin, and didn't even notice that Selena had left her alone. Having managed to wash away all the gunk and grime, even from her hair, Joan was just enjoying that moment, using the strong and hot water to massage her tired body.

'Good thing that it's not the tub.'

She thought, being certain that she would have slept on it. Her time of relaxation was interrupted with the noise of the door sliding open. Joan looked and saw Selena entering the bathroom with a fluffy white towel in hands.

"Come, let's dry you off."

Selena offered, opening the fluffy white towel and inviting her. Joan gave a brief nod and tinkered with the taps, trying to stop the water. But she had made a mistake. She closed the red tap first, but before she could close the blue one, the water that she was under turned cold, surprising the knight woman.

"Eep!"

Joan quickly closed the blue tap, stopping completely the water pour. Then she heard the giggle and turned to Selena, with a pout in her face.

"You have to close both at the same time, or get out of it before closing them."

Selena explained to Joan.

"Now I learned it. And I'm sure that I'll not forget."

Joan replied and exited the indentation in the floor. She noticed now that the indentation served to hold the water from dampening the rest of the room, letting it be drained down the drain.

"Come."

Selena said, inviting Joan again to the fluffy white towel. She walked to it and was embraced by the towel. Gently, Selena helped Joan dry her hair and body. While doing it, Selena noted the high number of bruises on Joan's body. It seemed that they were not really gentle with her in the prison. While Joan finished drying herself, selena went out and came back with clothes in hands. Taking the towel back, Selena offered Joan the cotton like white underwear. Curious with the soft fabric, Joan felt it a little in her hands before wearing it. Then she received a dress from Selena. A white one with fabric much like the one that Selena was wearing. It was silk, but at the same time it wasn't. At least not the silk that she knew off. With Selena's help, Joan was soon dressed and felt how comfortable the fabric really felt on her skin. She was then offered white wool socks, that she quickly put on, together with a pair of leather shoes. Taking Joan by hand, Selena pulled her out of the bathroom and they went back down the stairs. Being pulled by Selena, Joan soon entered the dinner room. The moment that she entered it, she was attacked by the delicious aroma of food in the air, and Joan saw the meal that was served. Mashed potatoes with gravy, cooked vegetables, and meat. It had been a long time since she had eaten a good piece of meat. Calypso was already seated, and Erik was standing with three flasks in hand. He then offered one of them to her.

"Drink it. It will help fix your body. The time that you spent imprisoned was not good for your health."

Joan took one of the flasks and downed it's contents. The taste was repulsive. That must have been reflected on her expression, because Erik took the now empty flask back and said to her, while giving another flask.

"I know, that taste is bad, but it is very good for your body. Now this one. Hold your breath and gulp it down."

And she did. Joan downed the contents of the second flask, and seemed to already feel the results. Her body relaxed more and the pain from the various bruises through her body dulled. Giving back the empty flask, she took the final one and drank it all too.

"Good girl!"

Erik said to her with a smile while taking the three empty flasks and making them disappear. Selena then pulled her to a chair on the table and gestured to her to sit, seating herself too.

Joan sat and waited for Erik to sit too, while giving a silent prayer in thanks. With everyone in their places, Erik invited them to start eating.

'Delicious!'

Was what passed in Joan's head.

While eating, Joan was thinking about the new home that she was offered. Warm baths, comfortable clothes and good food. She could certainly get used to this.

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a/n: 'The Kalmar Union' was the name of the region that today is Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Greenland. For more information, search for it's name on your prefered search engine.