It took Sarah three tries to get the bathtub into her room.  It may not sound like it, but moving tubs is hard work for an enterprising five-year-old such as herself.

The first time she tried to drag it in, until she realized it was too wide to fit through the door.  The second attempt ended in failure when she had the bright idea to turn it on its side and accidentally let it roll down the hallway.  She was lucky it hadn't rolled down the stairs.  It made such an awful clatter when she tackled it that she thought for sure Leknaat would come down to check on her.

Third time was the charm, and she managed to roll it - very carefully - into her room and push it over so it would hold water.  But she didn't have any water, and the well was six floors down.

She chewed at her lip and thought about that.  Luc didn't like it when she wasted magic, but he was all the way in Gregminster, and she didn't want to wait for him to come back and help her with the bath.  Sarah could do it herself!  She was five years old, after all.  Did it get much better than that?

With a firm nod and a kick at the bathtub - "Be good!" she commanded it - she closed her eyes and raised her hands above her head.  Water.  She wanted clean water, so it couldn't be from the ocean, or that dirty pond in the broken-down part of the ruins.  Her thoughts settled on the huge cistern in Leknaat's Seeing chamber and she smiled.  It would refill.  Leknaat wouldn't miss it!  She couldn't see it anyway!

Flowing flashed as Sarah summoned the water to her room, and the tub was filled with a splash - and Sarah was soaked from head to toe.  She opened her eyes and blinked at the mess.  "...Oops."  Too much water in the cistern.  She'd remember that next time.

The carpet squished under her feet as she walked up to the tub to peer inside.It was full to the brim, and the excess water was all over the floor.  She concentrated on imagining some of the water out of the tub and... and where?  Outside, maybe - didn't matter where.  Her rune pulsed again, and when she opened her eyes, the water was at a more tolerable level.  Smiling to herself, Sarah peeled her dress off and climbed into the tub.  She'd forgotten soap and towels and washclothes, so she scrubbed with her hands.

She was just finishing up with her arms, humming a song she remembered from the Temple and occasionally adding nonsense lyrics, when she heard Luc clear his throat and looked up.

His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the doorframe, face carefully expressionless.  He was also soaking wet.

Sarah put on her best smile and hid behind the side of the tub.  "...Sorry."


[The word: bathtub]