Page 22 of The Daughter of the Scarred Elf

What the hell?

That explained why her back was itchy but nothing else.

Was this … normal? She truly didn’t know anything anymore.

Even though the sight unsettled her, there was nothing she could really do about it but gawk and wait to see what would happen. Kolfinna looked away from the scars and searched for a towel.

She scanned the room, but it was bare of anything other than the jars of soap.

Kolfinna tentatively walked to the door and splayed her fingers against the fine wood, which had peeled and cracked at the corners, no doubt due to the water. “Um, Joran?”

Silence.

“Joran?”

Still, silence.

“Joran, I really need a towel.”

When she was met with silence once more, Kolfinna carefully twisted the doorknob and poked her head through the opening. Joran was nowhere to be seen. A neatly folded white towel sat on his bed. She cursed softly to herself. Did he leave the room to give her privacy? Or was he hiding somewhere, waiting to ambush her?

The latter thought made her roll her eyes. There was no reason for Joran to attack her. Being with the Royal Guards and living her whole life in fear made those ridiculous thoughts like second nature.

“Joran?” She pried the door open a bit wider.

When it was clear that he wasn’t in the room, Kolfinna padded toward the bed. Water dripped down her wet body and a chill swept over her figure. Her hands stretched out to grab the towel and?—

Someone gasped.

Kolfinna turned to the suddenly open doorway, where Joran stood. He must’ve just opened the door, she realized. It all happened in a split second. His eyes were wide and they were trained on her sopping body. At the curves of her bare breasts and then … they traveled down.

Kolfinna screamed something unintelligible, grabbed the towel, and quickly wrapped it around her body. Joran’s eyes widened even further and his mouth fell open.

“J-Joran!” she said, tightening the plush material over her chest. She stumbled back, face aflame. “W-What the hell?Get out!”

“S-S-Sorry!” Joran’s face had turned beet red, but he didn’t rip his gaze away from her. The sensible, polite thing to do was to look away and leave the room. But he was rooted in place and he didn’t make any move to leave. He was either too shocked or he didn’t want to leave. Regardless, Kolfinna wanted himout.

“You could’ve knocked—” she started.

“I didn’t know! I just went to the bathroom?—”

“L-Leave!”

“S-Sorry!” She finally noticed the bundle of gray clothes in his arms, which he quickly placed on the floor. “I’ll just leave this here,” he said, his ears a deep shade of scarlet. “It’s an extra uniform.”

Without another word, he shut the door behind him. Kolfinna’s heart hammered in her chest loudly, the blood rushing to her face. He had seen hernaked.

She had never felt so mortified. Especially since he had kept staring.

Her heart kept racing, but not in the way that reminded her of butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach, but the sick type of heart palpitations. The type that happened right before a fight or right before facing danger. She hated that he had seen her in such a vulnerable position.

No one had seen her butt naked like that, and the first person to see her was …Joran? Joran of all people?

It was a mistake, she told herself as she jammed her legs into the pants of the uniform. There was no way he had done that on purpose, and truthfully, she should’ve thought twice about trekking through his room. She should’ve waited for him to come back. She should’ve taken longer in the bathing room. She cursed herself and then cursed him. He should’ve knocked.He should’ve left as soon as he saw her. He should’ve … He should’ve been more careful!

Once dressed, she reluctantly opened his door to find him pacing the corridor, his face still the same red it had been minutes ago. When he saw her, he stared down at his boots.

“Sorry about that,” he whispered.

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