Aleksandra was deeply confused as she lay under Aulfr's bed, curled around her stolen pillow like a kitten. The part of her that was still terrified couldn't understand why this tormentor was being so kind, so gruffly gentle. Then the part of her that was rational, trying to calm down, felt touched by his concern and the effort he was making to fix what he'd done. All in all, she was a mess of feelings, none of which she wanted to be feeling.

She tried halfheartedly to tug her wrist away from Aulfr when he reached down and pulled her out from under the bed, but she really did want that bath. She could see the steam curling out of the washroom and knew that she'd be able to calm down the moment she was behind that door, scrubbing the ghost of her brothers' hands from her skin with the scalding water. So she let him pull her from her hiding place, but let go of his hand immediately after that. She walked just out of his touch while he ushered her to her bath.

After the door closed behind her, she just stood there on trembling legs, staring at the water. She stepped forward and sunk into it without even taking her clothes off. She water was so hot that she flinched away from it with a hiss. Already her skin was bright red from the heat. Good. She submerged herself completely, screaming silently into the water until the pain faded. Then she came up for air and started pulling of her sopping wet clothes.

She was red everywhere, and her skin was numb. She could almost feel their hands on her, which meant she had to go back under. So that was what she did for the next half hour. She dunked herself over and over, scrubbing at her numb red skin until she really couldn't feel it anymore. After that, she was content to lay there in the water until it cooled, letting her breathing slow and shaking subside.

Once the water was cold again, she drained it and climbed out. One of the outfits she'd made was sitting neatly on a stone bench against the wall, so she dried herself and put those on. Then, steeling herself, she opened the door and stood there, her expression stony. "My brothers raped me when I was ten. Vasily was nineteen and Rusalka was sixteen. After that, I asked my father to teach me to fight. Once I knew the basics, I stole as much gold as I could and ran away. My only goal in life is to be strong enough to kill them. As for what happened today, I refuse to discuss it with you. It's done. Now yell at me for punching you so we can get on with our day."