Halkegenia Online v2.1 - Chapter 10 - Part D
There was a soft chant of Faerie magic. There was a -whoosh- and a flash of light from behind the screen. Then a long moment of silence.
"Are you alright, Midori dear?" Princess Henrietta called.
Slowly, a head of long silken black hair peaked out from behind the dressing screen. Dark eyes, flecked with flashes of gold, took stock of the audience of Royals and then vanished again.
"He does recall we've all seen this form before, correct?" Wales said to Asuna.
"I do recall", a voice drifted out. It was annoyed, and like Kirito's, but an octave higher and, well, feminine. A figure stepped into view, draped in a simple linen shift, and moving with the confidence of a newborn fawn. "It's just that last time I did this, I had pants on. So . . . how does it look?"
How did it look?
"Papa's so pretty!" Yui pronounced from her seat in her mother's lap. Kirito blushed, complexion so ghostly pale that it crawled all the way to tips of rounded ears and down slender neck. A hand came up and began to pet one of the long black bangs that fell all the way to narrow shoulders.
"Un." Asuna nodded faintly. When last Kirito had assumed this form, Asuna had thought it was pretty. But somehow, she'd forgotten just how pretty.
If this were still SAO, she could only have been an NPC. A beautiful princess whose appearance could only have been bestowed by the almighty Cardinal System itself.
"Very convincing, Midori dear." Henrietta spoke eagerly as she swiftly set to to work taking measurements. "We'll need to get you in for tailoring. I am required to wear white for chastity, luckily you are under no such prohibition. Pale blue, for Tristain, would be appropriate. But I think red would be striking with your complexion. Wine red, or no, ruby!" The Princess, it seemed, was that type of girl.
"W-Whats the difference?" Kirito stammered.
"Ruby is a jewel tone." Asuna answered, prompting Yui to climb off her lap so that she could stand up. "The colors are deeper and more saturated."
"Could I maybe do something in black?"
Of course. Asuna thought.
"Black?" Henrietta blinked, the Princess sounded vaguely disappointed. "Well, I suppose it's a safe choice. Though a little boring wouldn't you say?"
"I-I like boring." Kirito stammered
, stepping back as Henrietta advanced. "Asuna, tell her I like boring!"
"Kirito likes boring." Asuna moved to stave Henrietta off, "Besides, it will probably be best if we choose something simple." Something that could be moved in at a moment's notice.
" Asuna had made the same consideration with her own gown. "But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The problem isn't going to be making Kirito look like a girl." That part was self evidently going to be easy. "It's going to be making that girl hold up to scrutiny."
"I did fine before." Long lashes batted as Kirito blinked.
"You did fine in front of a fortress full of soldiers." Asuna sighed, "You'll be under a lot more scrutiny at the Gala."
"Right, the assassin will be on his guard."
"I'm not talking about the assassin." Asuna crossed her arms, trying not to be distracted by Kirito's innocent look of confusion. "There's going to be two enemies you have to fend off. Rip Jack, and half the party guests."
"Err~" Kirito's eyes averted, "Guiche is going to be there, isn't he? That might be a problem."
"That too." Asuna nodded, the General was a guest of honor, so that was likely, and a lot of other young men besides. "But
also not who I'm talking about. Kirito-kun, your enemies are going to be every other girl at the Gala."
"Eh?"
"You're going to be on Henrietta's shoulder as her personal attendant." A personal attendant that nobody had ever met before. "Henrietta is more than capable of explaining that away, but you're going to be under a microscope the entire time. People are going to want to know you are. They're going to want to talk to you." Asuna rubbed her temples, "You're going to have to be . . . sociable."
By now, Kirito's face had gone nearly bone white, realizing the mythical labor that would have to overcome. But Asuna wasn't going to show any mercy. She was still angry. And Kirito had taken advantage of the Princess' generous nature. Henrietta was taking a risk by having an unknown and potentially
uncouth companion at her side on such an auspicious occasion.
"You had to have known when you accepted." Asuna said.
"Well yeah, but . . ."
But Kirito had planned on figuring it out on the fly, Asuna thought. Honestly, if Kirito hadn't been reborn as a Spriggan, Leprechaun would have been a good second choice. From Yggdrasil's lofty height, it might just be possible to make wings on the way down.
"Which is why I'll be helping get you up to speed." Asuna said. Kirito went completely silent, only nodding shyly. "We don't have a lot of time before the Gala. So that means no breaks and no complaining. We'll drill it all in quick."
"U-Un."
"You can maintain that form indefinitely, right?" Asuna asked. In fact, it made it somewhat unique among both tangible and intangible Spriggan illusions. Another nod. "Then you're sticking it out for the duration, Kirito-kun." She grabbed Kirito by the wrist. "Training starts now."
She'd treat it just like someone invited into the Knights of Blood, taking a promising candidate under her wing for appraisal, and making sure they lived up to the Guild's high standards. If Kirito washed out, he could go hide in the bushes or dress up as one of Henrietta's close guard and wait on the perimeter.
But for now, they didn't have any time to waste in forging a proper Lady.
Thirty minutes later, the last light of the golden hour had begun to fade as they convened in the Rose Room to start with the basics.
"Okay." Asuna said. "Let's try it again. Head up. Kirito-kun."
"U-Un."
"Shoulders back."
"R-right."
"Kirito-kun. Tighten your core."
"Y-yeah."
"You want to swing the arms only a little as you walk."
"O-Okay."
"Then step heel to toe in a straight line. Just like this . . ." Asuna demonstrated, stepping off with a hard -clack-clack-clack- and not stopping until she reached the far wall of the Rose Room. Growing up the way she had, this sort of thing was easy for her.
It wasn't so easy for Kirito. The first five steps were presentable enough, after that, Kirito's gait got wobbly, before stumbling, standing up on tiptoes, and then over compensating and crashing back to the ground, butt first.
"Ouch~"
"Close your legs, Kirito-kun."
"Why do girls wear these again?" Kirito blew an annoying lock of hair aside. "It can't be worth it just to be a few centimeters taller."
"If that were all, it's not." Asuna agreed. "Mostly, it's to make our legs look nice. What?"
"But your legs always look nice." It took a few seconds for Asuna to process that. Kirito went back to looking annoyed. "Can't I just wear flats?"
"No, that won't work." Asuna recovered, crossing her arms. "The present fashion leans toward women wearing heels."
"Oh, well, we wouldn't want to be unfashionable, would we?" Asuna briefly wondered where Kirito had learned to sulk. "It would be a lot easier if Wales and Henrietta could just skip the Gala."
To which the two Royals, who had busied themselves practicing their polka, paused and looked at each other aghast.
"Were that we could." Wales gave a rueful smile as he parted from Henrietta. "Unfortunately, the Royal Family are the hosts of the Gala. Henrietta will be taking the throne as Queen in her own right. And I have somehow gained reputation for heroism, for all my sins."
"A well earned one." Henrietta poked.
"Yet such a burden at times such a these." Wales replied.
Asuna frowned, why was this so difficult for Kirito to master? Kirito had gotten the hang of free flight with Faerie wings even before the summons had transformed his Spriggan avatar into his physical body. A pair of heels should have been easy. Asuna narrowed her eyes and kicked off her shoes. "Heels off, Kirito-kun!" She stepped up to Kirito, pressing almost front to front and compared their heights. "Your shorter."
"Well y-yeah . . ." Kirito agreed. Probably just a little taller than he'd been in Aincrad.
"Not just your height." Asuna said thoughtfully, she planted her hands on either side of Kirito's waist, Kirito went stiff and let out a squeak. "Your hips are wider. Yui? What do you think?"
Their daughter blinked, drinking in Kirito's alternate form. There was an impression of mental tallying. "Papa's height is approximately ten centimeters less as a girl." Yui confirmed helpfully. "In addition, given the size of a woman's pelvis, and the bonding structures of the hips and lower back, Papa's center of gravity is about thirty centimeters lower."
"That different?!" Kirito stammered.
"It's why girls can bend forward without falling over." Asuna explained, Wales glanced to Henrietta, who simply offered a small shrug.
"But I was able to fight in this form before."
"Your slender. So you could probably get by well enough. But it means you have some bad habits in your gait as girl." Fighting wasn't a bad idea though. "Okay, we'll try some lunges, Kirito-kun."
"Lunges?"
"Like with rapier." Kirito had tried out lots of different weapons, even if he'd devoted himself to the one handed sword. "That should break you of those bad habits. Wales, do you think you can find our Epee?"
They'd kept at it as the sun climbed high in the sky and the Rose Room grew hot, only breaking for lunch out in the gardens. But even then, the lessons didn't stop.
"Now there's a simple trick for remembering the order of the utensils, Midori dear." Henrietta explained as if teaching a beloved younger sibling. "They are always arranged so that you work from the outside to the inside with each subsequent course. If you remember that, the rest is fairly easy."
"Really?" Kirito picked up a fork curiously. "Huh? Dramas always made it seem so complicated - welp!"
"Smaller bites, Kirito-kun." Asuna instructed, eliciting a flinch.
"Now then, onto social matters." Henrietta continued. "The Spring Time Gala is the Highlight of Tristain's social season. Spring is the season of water, and Tristain is the Kingdom of Water, so the Gala has long held religious significance. Though that spiritual element has waned under my mother's rule." Henrietta sounded regretful and made a Brimiric star in the air as if she had sinned. "Luckily, that means the only religious observance you need worry about is Cardinal Mazarin applying a symbolic ablution as you enter the Gala. More pressing will be the art of conversation . . ."
Henrietta went on to explain the structure of the Gala. Guests would begin arriving early in the afternoon, and would continue to trickle in until early evening. The festivities would extend beyond the Palace grounds, all across the city, it was to be a grand celebration complete with entertaining troops and displays of fireworks.
"There will be dancing of course. Informal in the early afternoon, while the guests are arriving, and then a planned Germanian Chodzony before dinner."
Kirito stared blankly.
"It's what we'd call a Polonaise, Kirito-kun."
Kirito stared blankly.
Right. Asuna remembered who she was talking to.
"That's sound like a lot." Kirito mumbled.
"I would not worry, Miss Midori." Wales smiled kindly, taking Kirito's hand in his own. "From what Asuna has told me about your battles in the flying castle, if you can memorize a battle plan against those Lieutenant beasts, you can easily learn this. It is in fact, a fairly simple thing, although magnificent when hundreds join in."
"And good fun!" Henrietta giggled.
Asuna coughed, "Kirito-kun."
"Huh? Oh!" Kirito extracted the hand Wales was holding and wiped away the crumbs of lunch with a napkin.
"On the topic of conversation, you shall be at my side the entire evening." Henrietta continued. "So you need simply follow my lead. But if we do happen to be momentarily separated, what would you call your best topics?" Kirito looked like a deer in headlights. Asuna rested her face in her palm. Were they really going to be able to do this? But Henrietta took it in stride. "That's alright, Midori dear. I suppose it's no surprise, you are unlettered. At least in noble terms. In that case I shall teach you a trick that Mazarin taught me before my coming out." Henrietta wagged a finger. "Simply listen, and ask questions."
Kirito's face twisted up skeptically, "That's it?"
Henrietta nodded sweetly. "People do so love to talk, so much so that they won't even notice that they're doing all the talking. Oh, but you must look interested! In fact, even better if you
are interested. Look for common interests."
Kirito nodded slowly then asked the natural question. "But what if people start asking me questions?"
"Then you deflect!" Henrietta giggled. "Ask them a question back. Especially if you can turn it into a compliment! It works well on women and even better on men!" Kirito looked skeptical. "Although if that is still not enough, I did prepare a contingency." Henrietta waved to one of her musket guards and accepted a letter, which she then handed to Kirito.
Kirito unfolded the letter and began reading it, delicate crimson lips haltingly sounding out the Tristan in a whisper. While markedly improved from when they had both started learning, Kirito was still behind Asuna who had started borrowing books from the Palace library during her visit.
Kirito looked puzzled. "It says my name is . . . Midori de Limueil? Uhm, did I pronounce that right?"
"The Limueils were a minor noble house from Eastern Tristain." Henrietta explained casually. "I've checked the records and I assure you they are quite extinct. Except a single daughter who has spent the last fourteen years of her life in a convent."
"Won't it be a problem if I assume someone's identity?" Kirito asked. Asuna shared a look with Henrietta. "Oh." Kirito blushed.
"It's very convenient, you see." Henrietta's smile widened. "I though to myself that this is the perfect way to explain your presence if anyone were to go looking. I've already had the records added to the Royal Archive. You were made a ward of the Royal family two years ago. Growing up in a convent, it's natural you might be unworldly. I tried to keep it brief, but there should be enough red meat in there to satisfy the wolves. It really is marvelous, don't you think!"
It was something alright, Asuna thought, glancing at Wales whose body language seemed to say 'humor her'. What if some devout nobleman, charmed by Midori's beauty, asked her to debate Brimiric theology?
Kirito finished reading the letter. "I think . . . that I know exactly what kind of gamer the Princess would be in our world." Asuna couldn't agree more, the kind that developed an elaborate character to inhabit, and didn't break out of role, no matter what.
In the afternoon, a gaggle of Palace servants had become an unknowing part of their conspiracy when Henrietta had asked them to stand in for the Chodzony. The two royals and two Faeries had stepped in time with half dozen butlers and a half dozen maids, all while Yui happily kept count in a loud and exuberant voice. Other than a few near faux pas, Wales was proven right. Once Kirito had the pattern down, the dance wasn't any harder than walking. And Kirito had already mastered that.
They'd broken off in the mid afternoon, this time to review with Lieutenant Agnes and her musketeers. The Gala would take place in the Palace Gardens, which meant it would fall under the protection of multiple squadrons of knights. But that was a small comfort. There would be hundreds of guests, and just as many servants. Although there were protocols as to where and when each group could move about.
"Nobles of all ranks will be attending, but the circulation between parts of the Gala is limited." Agnes explained as they collectively leaned over a map of the Palace grounds. The meeting was taking placed deep within the Palace armory. The Lieutenant's personal domain. "The Blue Rose garden is reserved for the highest ranking guests and their families. The red rose garden for those of the rank below that. The white rose garden for the rank below that. And La Patite Grove for the rank below that." Agnes pointed to four squared off sections that bracketed a rectangular area. "The dance will take place here, in La Grove Triskelion. The feast will take place in the overlooking courtyard here, fronting the Fountain of Ondine. That is where the Queen and Princess will speak."
"The assassin could strike at any time." Asuna observed thoughtfully. "But I bet they'll do it right about then." She pointed at where Agnes had said the Dance would be held. "It'll be the point of most confusion when it will be hardest for us to protect Wales and Henrietta." Or even see someone coming. "And it will be the place and the time with the most witnesses." If the goal was to create a scene, that would be it.
Agnes nodded. "Our thoughts exactly. Though we still don't know how the assassin will escape. His wings will avail him little with the Gryphon Knights standing by. If it was a political fanatic, a Reconquistador, I might think this was a suicide mission. But what would a Faerie have to gain?"
"If we knew that, we'd have stopped him by now." Kirito whispered, eyes studying the grounds like the details of a Floor Raid.
"If they're planning to kidnap the Princess, then his escape route is probably the same." Asuna concluded. "They must have a distraction." Something that would buy them a few minutes head start. If they could get out of the Palace, then they had an entire city to hide in.
"We'll continue to look into it, Lady Asuna." Agnes saluted to her and the Royals.
It was late afternoon by the time the security meeting got out, and Asuna was beginning to feel the weight of the day. A troop of Alvis, dressed in their maid-like attire, came marching down the hall carrying a rolled up tapestry from somewhere to somewhere, probably delivering it to the workmen decorating for the Gala.
Wales and Henrietta had matters to attend to before dinner and Asuna had lost track of Kirito until she wondered back to the Rose Room. There, Asuna stood at the door and watched.
In the quiet and the fading light, eyes closed and with the most intense look of concentration, Kirito was dancing alone. Stepping, turning, spinning, arms linking with invisible partners as the rhythm was kept by the -clack- of heels upon the hard floor.
Kirito had never looked more graceful. Not graceful like this. Fast, explosive, decisive in combat, there was a grace to that. A grace in strength. But not like this soft, flowing, deliberate grace where there was no danger, no fight all around.
"Kirito-kun."
And like that, the spell was broken, Kirito came to a stumbling halt, legs wobbling, short of breath. The shift, and that long black hair, were damp with sweat. Asuna had worked up a sweat too, come to that, it was one of the less convenient facts of being free of her Fulldive prison.
Kirito stood, frozen for moment, like there was something to say that just wouldn't come out. "Asuna . . ."
"Posture, Kirito-kun."
"Huh?"
"Check your posture, if you stand like that too long, it'll hurt your back."
"Oh, right . . ."
The she added, "You did good today."
"You think?"
"Un, I'd call it a B minus."
Kirito grimaced, "You're a harsh grader."
"I have to be, Kirito-kun." Asuna said, "Because I'm . . ."
"The Vice Commander?"
Asuna opened her mouth to refute it, and then stopped. The Knights of Blood were gone. She wasn't the Vice Commander anymore. But she would be again. She'd be a version of the Vice Commander. Very soon, she would put her armor back on, better, more impenetrable, Faerie armor. And she would stand at the side of Lord Mortimer and lead his soldiers into battle, just like she had the Knigths of the Bloody Oath.
Mortimer's words rang in her ears;
A veteran of the JGSDF rangers, or a girl hero who turned the tide of countless battles, each demanding she adapt and thrive, which should I pick?
Mortimer already thought of her that way. General Gramont thought of her that way.
Wales most of all, thought of her that way.
To Wales, she'd never been anything
but Lady Asuna, commander of Knights, with a rapier in hand and Faerie wings on her back. He couldn't imagine her any other way.
How would it have been if Kirito had not unmasked Kayaba on the 75th floor? How would their relationship have gone, scaling twenty five more floors as members of the same guild?
No, more than that . . .
If they had never come to this place? If Kirito had logged her out before they had been spirited away? Then, she still wouldn't be normal anymore. She'd never be normal again. Normal had died the day she had said the words 'Link Start' for the first and last time.
Where would she be right now?
She'd be doing physical therapy instead of combat training. Studying English and math, instead of military theory. Talking with friends instead of superiors and subordinates. And the Vice Commander would be buried deep deep down, finally receiving her richly deserved rest.
That was what Kirito wanted to spare her. Even if only for a little while longer. Even if it was doomed to fail.
"Asuna", Kirito spoke again, cautiously. Petting a long lock of that black hair. "I know . . . I know you're still angry. But I just want to thank you, thank you for helping me . . . Asuna?" Kirito must have seen the look on her face.
"Of course I'm still angry!" Asuna answered as she stormed across the floor. Kirito started looking for cover. "I'm still angry. And I don't want to stop being angry!" At least not yet. "But no matter how angry I get . . ." Her arms opened wide, she caught Kirito in a tight embrace. "I will
always help you, Kirito-kun!"
And she meant that. This world wasn't simple. Not like Aincrad, where at very least, they always knew the direction to go was up. Things could be frustrating, and complicated.
But at least you could feel a heart beat.
She had missed this . . .
"Asuna?" Kirito whispered, stiff in her arms. "That makes me really happy but . . . I have one other favor to ask you. Uhm . . . I'm not sure how you'll feel about it."
"Then tell, and I'll tell you." She said, closing her eyes and just holding on to the warmth beside her.
"Do you think, you could call me . . . Midori . . . for now?"
Asuna shifted her grip from Around Kirito's whole body to Kirito's slender shoulders and held Kirito at arms length. "What?!"
"U-Un." Kirito's eyes tried to find anyplace to look but directly at Asuna. "It's just that I noticed while we were practicing today that I stayed way more in the zone when Wales and Henrietta called me Midori. When you called me Kirito it kinda broke my combo." Kirito finally gathered the courage to look her in the eye and immediately blanched. "I-I mean just until the Gala is finished and I can take this form off! It's . . . just more comfortable to not think about being a guy, while I'm like this."
Asuna bit her lip. "Didn't you tell me once that playing full dive as a different gender was frowned upon?" During one of his lengthy digressions on all things Fulldive. He'd said something to the effect that it could be harmful if used irresponsibly. Which was why the newer AmuSphere locked a player to their legally identified gender based on their account data on record. "Are you sure that's okay?"
"Honestly, I don't know." Kirito admitted breathily. "
Probably not." Kirito lifted a pale slender hand and studied it thoughtfully, "We've already established this
isn't Fulldive. However, if it were Fulldive, maybe you could think of this like an alt account."
"Alt . . . account . . ." It wasn't a term that had gotten much use in SAO. Asuna had become familiar with it only through conversation.
"Un. I've always used Kirito as my main handle." Kirito explained. "But it's not like I never played a different character. So if you think of it that way . . . Midori is my alternate. She's me if I was . . . "
A girl.
The person in front of her was Kirito, if Kirito was, hypothetically, a girl . . .
She didn't know how she felt about that, exactly. But she had fallen in love with Kirito before even knowing his real name or his real life circumstances. She hadn't even known his real age. So she couldn't really be too shocked. This was just something else she hadn't known about.
In which case . . .
Asuna stepped away and extended a hand. "Lady Midori de Limueil, I have heard so much about you from Princess Henrietta de Tristain. Allow my to introduce myself," Asuna pronounced with all due pomp, "I am Dame Asuna Yuuki nay Kirigaya, Vice Commander of the Faerie Knights."
Midori stared at Asuna, bemused for a moment, and then grinned a very familiar grin. "And I am Midori de Limueil, attendant of Princess Henrietta, likewise charmed."
"May I have this dance, my Lady?" Asuna pulled Midori closer, enjoying the fact that she the taller one now.
"W-Well, I'm not very practiced in couples dancing." She leaned in. "But if you insist."
"Then let me take the lead." Asuna answered lacing her fingers with Midori's own, they set off across the floor. "So, tell me about yourself." Asuna said.
"There's really not much to tell." Midori answered. "My parents died when I was very young. And I spent the first fourteen years of my life cloistered away."
"Surely you must have done something to pass the time."
"Games of make believe mostly." Midori kept pace. "And studying natural philosophy, though it's not very
seemly in a girl, I know."
"I think it's wonderful!" Asuna giggled.
"But enough about me, I'd love to hear more about you, Dame Asuna." Midori urged, the sun had almost set, but the air was thick, a fine sheen of sweat was forming on their brows. "How does someone so beautiful become a
knight."
"I ask that myself some times." Asuna sighed. "I was born the daughter of a merchant, then one day . . . I got caught up in the Aincrad campaign. The rest just seemed to happen until suddenly I was on the front lines, leading floor assaults." She neglected to mention a certain handome young swordsman. For brevities sake.
"It must have been terrible."
"It really was." Asuna whispered. "Aincrad was one of the worst experiences of my life. And the best." She was sure that Kayaba Akihiko hadn't cared at all what he had put them all through, but it had taught her things about herself that she could only dream of trading for the lives that had been lost.
"Oh?" Midori begged her to go on.
"Aincrad, it was a trap of a mad mage. It was a prison. And it was a Magical Kingdom full stories, reaching all the way to the top of the sky! There was no place else like it in the word. And even though it was horrible, I miss it too."
"I can imagine it, in my minds eye." Midori said.
"I'm sure you can." And with that, Asuna found a moment for them to part. "I don't know what you were talking about, being unpracticed, you danced divinely, Lady Midori."
"Likewise, Dame Asuna." Midori took the hem of her shift and curtsied delicately.
There came a small squeak from the direction of the door. They were being watched. Asuna spun about and met the wide eyes of Lady Emily, Exile Countess of Windsor. Peaking around the edge of the door behind her was Yui.
"Well . . ." Asuna started.
"Erm . . " Midori said.
They looked at each other.
"Just how long were you there?" Both said together.
"Faeries really are different." Emily mumbled, her face turning beat red. "So very different!"
"So," Yui said thoughtfully, "Does this mean I have two mama's now?"
"Uhm," Asuna glanced to Midori who simply shrugged. "For a little while, anyways, Yui-chan." This seemed to satisfy Yui, who ran out and jumped at Midori. Her fa- mother caught hold of her, hiking her up from beneath the knees so that they could rub noses while they hugged.
It was going to be alright. Asuna thought. Life was messy and complicated, and unlike Aincrad, there wasn't a clear direction to go. But things would be alright.
"I actually came to tell you the baths are being prepared before dinner." Emily said.
"Right, we'll be right there." Asuna said. "Yui-chan, ready for a bath and something good to eat?"
"Un!"
"Right." Midori put her daughter down, then looked curiously at Asuna's hand around her wrist.
"Bath."
"Un. Right. I'll just switch really quick and meet you . . . " She tried to walk away, then looked back at Asuna, confused.
"Midori-chan,
bath." They had said they were going to stick it out until the gala. Until then, Midori was going to eat, sleep, talk, and even
bathe girl.
"But those are the Royal baths." Midori stammered. "As in Herneitta and her mother's baths and I'm . . ."
"Come along Midori-chan." Asuna pulled, she didn't think Henrietta would mind at all if she had a nice long bath with her wife!
