"Ahh!" Rhynera cried out, her voice echoing off the stone chamber walls as the stiff bristle brush scraped over her tender skin.
Her breath hitched and her body trembled with each stroke, her skin already raw from countless scrubbings.
"It... it hurts," she whimpered, clutching the edge of the golden bathing spring as her knees nearly buckled.
The hour was unbearably early and there was no light in the sky yet. In Celestial terms, it was the Hour of Silent Moons, what Drakonians called the "Third Flame" of the night when dragons slept with one eye open, and no mercy stirred in the wind.
But mercy did not belong in this chamber, Rhynera who wakes up whenever she feels like is forced to wake up at this time just so she could get ready for her first feast in the Drakonis realm.
The lady in charge of bathing her barely paused hearing her cries. "My lady, you are to become the Crown Princess of the Drakonia," she said firmly.
"It would bring shame if the scent of the Celestial Realm still clings to you when the dragon drums rise."
Rhynera bit her lip in frustration, she never knew it would be this hard to become a crown princess. "I know... but please, my skin is delicate. You’re scrubbing me raw. I am bleeding under the water," she said softly, trying to stay respectful even as her voice cracked.
The woman finally paused, her tone softening just slightly. "I will try to be gentler," she replied, though her hands did not lighten much.
Suddenly, the sound of boots echoed in the chamber. The rest of the girls straightened immediately, terror flashing in their eyes.
"Your Highness!" they chorused, lowering their heads as Adam strode into the room.
Rhynera’s eyes widened, her body still bare in the water. "Stop!" she screamed, holding one hand over her chest, the other shielding her stomach, panic rising in her throat.
"You can’t be here... I am still..."
Her words were cut off sharply as a loud smack echoed. Her face turned as her cheek stung, eyes widening in horror. She blinked up at Adam, her breath stuck in her chest.
He smirked and crouched beside the spring. His fingers brushed the edge of her wet collarbone, trailing slowly down to her shoulder blades, making her shudder.
"I am going to be your husband," he murmured, his voice low but held authority. "So why, Rhynera, can I still not see the figure that’s meant to belong to me?"
She shrank deeper into the water, desperate to cover herself, but his hand suddenly wrapped around her neck and pulled her up from the spring.
Her naked body glistened under the silver torches. Water streamed down her curves, and her skin flushed with shame. Her heart pounded so loudly she could barely hear herself breathe.
Adam’s eyes devoured every inch of her trembling frame. His jaw clenched.
"I can still smell the Celestial Realm on her," he growled.
The bathing attendants all dropped to their knees in horror.
"I don’t want excuses," he snarled. "Make use of the Dragon Scale. If she is to sit beside me during the Fire Feast, she will not carry the scent of her realm."
Their faces turned pale as they pleaded with horror washing through them.
"M-My lord... she is already in pain, her body..." but the lady who had said that gasped as his sharp gaze silenced them all.
She gasped for breath, her throat tight, her body aching. Her knees gave way as she sank to the floor, Adam was using his power to choke her and they immediately understood this.
The rest of the ladies scrambled toward Adam stomping their head on the ground . "Yes, my lord. Forgive us... We will do as we are told." Only then did the lady breathe again.
"Before the bell of fire rings," Adam said coldly. "I do not want Ashen reaching the Fire Feast before me."
With that, he turned and walked out, his cape trailing behind him like a storm cloud.
The chamber fell silent, save for the sound of Rhynera’s shivering.
The attendants lifted her gently, but there was no comfort in their hands this time around,after all they almost lost their lives because they cared for her.
One brought forward a black bowl, inside it lay a shard of something dark and glinting Dragon Scale.
"Please... please don’t..." she whispered, tears spilling as they pressed her back against the stone bath.
"It’s the only way, my lady," the woman said gently, her own voice trembling. "Only dragon essence can burn off your celestial scent."
They dipped the scale into the steaming spring, and the water sizzled on contact. The moment it touched her back, Rhynera let out a raw scream. It felt like fire licking through her skin, like hot claws digging deep into her soul.
Another pressed the scale across her arms, shoulders, thighs anywhere the celestial oils had touched. Her skin turned red. She writhed under their hands, trying to twist away, but they held her firmly.
"Please, stop, I... I can’t breathe..."
"You must endure this, my lady,"the face of the ladies whispered. "Or you will not survive the court."
Rhynera shut her eyes tightly, trembling as tears mixed with the water streaming down her face as she recalled her mum’s words.
"Take in whatever pain thrown your way and keep acting foolish till the whole power is laid in your hands."
Biting her lip and stopping herself from screaming she thought, If this was the price to become Crown Princess... if pain was the language of this realm... Then she would learn it.