The quiet road to Florentine had come to a stop at a humble inn, where few people were around.
'Probably because it's midnight.'
After some well-deserved rest by the bonfire and some food in their stomachs, the three travelers left the makeshift camp and passed by a small village called Genella, with the inn conveniently by the roadway.
While Mr. Cross tended the horse and led it to the stable nearby, Eli and Julianna stepped inside the cozy inn.
The interior was warmly lit by a handful of candles and the flickering glow of the stone fireplace. The air carried the aroma of fresh bread and dried herbs, making him want to fall asleep standing up.
Behind the counter, an old woman was gracefully knitting. She had round spectacles, grey hair tucked under a linen cap, and crow's feet so deep she probably smiled every day.
"Oh my! Visitors at this hour!"
She set her knitting down and clasped her hands together.
"Welcome, welcome! You poor dears must be exhausted."
Eli looked at her with a warm, gentle smile.
'Okay. She's adorable!'
Elderly people had always been his weakness. He had spent most of his life in the hospital, after all, and there was no shortage of elderly people he could strike up a conversation with. They were the easiest people for him to talk to, and often the ones he enjoyed talking with most.
They were his best friends.
'Well… for a short while.'
Eli approached the old lady and offered her a polite smile.
"Good evening, Grandma. Sorry for dropping by so late. We've been on the road for a while."
The "Grandma" slipped out so naturally even Eli didn't catch it. But the old woman beamed like he had just handed her a bouquet of orchids.
"Grandma! Oh, it's been ages since anyone called me that! Most folks just address me as innkeeper and leave it at that."
She adjusted her spectacles and leaned forward.
"What's your name, dear?"
"Elise. And that's Julianna."
Julianna gave a lazy wave from behind.
"Yo!"
The old woman chuckled softly, the sound as warm and comforting as a handmade quilt.
"Such lovely girls! You can call me Nella. Come in, come in. Have you girls eaten? I have stew left over from dinner. I can warm it up for you. Oh, and the bread just came out of the oven not too long ago. I always bake extra, you know, just in case."
'She bakes extra bread at midnight just in case!? I'm going to cry.'
Eli waved his hands in gentle refusal.
"That sounds wonderful, Grandma Nella. But we've already eaten. We'd just love a place to sleep."
Grandma Nella nodded with an affectionate smile.
"Of course, of course! How many rooms?"
"Two, please. Your best ones. One for us, and one for our coachman. He'll be in shortly."
Eli gently took her wrinkled hand and placed the coins in her palm, enough for several nights instead of one.
Grandma Nella stared at the coins. Her hands tightened around the coins as she looked back up at Eli.
"Sweetheart, this is too much. Far too much."
"It's not enough, actually," Eli said, smiling. "You're open at midnight, you offered us food, and you're the kindest person ever. Please keep it."
The old woman went quiet. Her lips trembled for just a second before she broke into a warm, crinkly laugh.
"You remind me of my granddaughter. She talks just like you. Very stubborn but very sweet."
She tucked the coins into her apron.
"I'll prepare fresh sheets on the beds. Give me just a moment."
As she shuffled off toward the back, Eli watched her go with a faint ache in his chest.
'Reminds me of Mrs. Brooks from the third floor. She used to sneak me tangerines after lights out.'
And the fact that she compared him to her granddaughter. Usually, people compared him to their grandsons…
'I'm really a woman now…'
Julianna stretched her arms above her head and groaned.
"Eliiiiise. Please tell me this place has a bath."
Eli perked up. He had been ignoring it until now, but the dried sweat and grime from the hunt were starting to itch.
"Grandma Nella! Is there a bath house?"
"Of course, dear!" she called from the back. "The women's bath is just through the back courtyard. I keep the fire going even at night, so it's heated and everything. You never know when a traveler might need it!"
'Oh thank God she has a bath. I haven't showered since I got to this world!'
Then, Grandma Nella returned with two iron keys and a basket of neatly folded towels.
"Here we are! Room three for you girls, room five for your coachman."
She pressed the keys into Eli's hands, then held on for a little longer.
"I've left some lavender soap by the basin. Very good for the skin and the soul."
Eli closed her fingers around her hand and gave it a comforting stroke.
"Thank you, Grandma Nella."
Julianna also shouted in unison.
"Thank you, Granny!"
Grandma Nella wagged a finger with a fond smile.
"And don't stay up to late! Young girls need their sleep. The skin doesn't forgive, you know."
Eli bloomed a smile.
"We won't."
"Oh, and if you need anything at all — anything — you just knock on my door. It's the one with the little wreath. I'm a light sleeper."
"Got it, Grandma."
"One more thing, dears—"
Julianna gently steered Eli toward the back door by the shoulders.
"Thank you, Granny! We love you! Good night!"
"Oh! Good night, dears! Sleep well! Bless you both!"
Her voice followed them all the way across the courtyard.
Julianna led Eli across the courtyard, their hands linked.
"Bath! I can smell myself and it's offensive!"
He chuckled in amusement.
After a short brisk, they arrived at the communal bath. It was a modest stone room with a low ceiling. Steam rose from a large stone basin in the center, big enough for two or three people. There were wooden buckets and stools lining the walls, and a faint scent of lavender drifted from the soap Grandma Nella had left for them.
Julianna was already pulling her vest off before they'd even closed the door.
"Finally! I've been covered in sweat for hours."
Eli was all smiles, lost in the satisfying thoughts of a long-awaited bath, when the realization struck him far too late.
'Wait… WAIT. I'm about to bathe… with Julianna!? A woman. Together. Naked!?'
He froze by the doorway. His brain, which had been perfectly functional all night while fighting frostfangs, suddenly short-circuited.
Julianna had already tossed her vest onto the bench and was tugging at her riding shirt. It came off in one smooth pull, and Eli caught a flash of her toned shoulders and collarbone.
His eyes had never slammed shut on their own so quickly in his life.
'Okay. Okay, okay, okay. This is fine. And normal. I'm a woman now. This is perfectly normal. Women bathe together. I think. This is completely, absolutely, one hundred percent norma—'
"Elise? You just gonna stand there?"
Julianna had already started undoing the ties on her trousers.
Eli snapped his gaze away and let out an awkward melody of a whistle, staring fixedly at the far wall as if his life depended on it.
"I'm. Mentally preparing."
"For a bath?"
"It's been a long night! Just... give me a moment!"
Julianna paused and squinted at him.
"You fought like a madwoman tonight and THIS is what scares you!? Get in here!"
Julianna took off the rest of her clothes without a care in the world and stepped into the basin with a long, satisfied groan.
"Elise. If you don't get in right now, I'm coming out there and throwing you in!"
Out of everything this world had thrown at him, a bath with a heroine was the thing that finally broke him.