"You want me to stay here? With you?" Bubbles asked, not because she had not heard what the princess had said, but because she could not comprehend the words. "For the night?"
The princess nodded, "I like to keep my eyes on you," she said, and Bubbles thought for a moment that she meant something more with those words.
Bubbles resisted the urge to completely melt down in confusion and instead nodded. "And why exactly is that?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?" the princess asked. "You are not to be trusted," she said as she stood up and turned towards Bubbles. Again, her eyes were cold and piercing. Gone were the playfulness and the warmth.
None of them were smiling as Bubbles nodded.
"You can sleep on my couch," the princess said and pointed towards a comfortably looking puffy mushroom. "I suspect that you will be more comfortable than wherever you would have found rest in the wilderness." She paused, "and possibly more comfortable than where we will rest for the next many weeks until we reach the Ice-kingdom."
Bubbles nodded; it seemed there was nothing more to do than accept her situation.
"Can I borrow your fountain room?" she asked.
The princess lifted her eyebrows. "As long as you don't run away again." She looked at her with eyes that threatened her. As if she tried any such thing, she might end up in the dungeon.
Bubbles gave a quick accepting sound and went to clean up after her fall into the pile of leaves. She stepped into a beautifully decorated fountain room. The walls were covered in shining green stones, the fountain was large with fresh water gently flowing around before it spilled out of the room, where it would fall down the side of the tree until it reached the ground. Gentle glowing mushrooms lit up the room, covering the entire ceiling, and a blooming flower spread an intense perfume smell throughout the room.
Bubbles walked over to the mirror, where she began picking out pieces of sticks in her hair. Her dress had not been harmed, it seemed, but she had dirt across her neck and on her arms. The water looked so tempting that she decided to just take a quick dip in it before going to bed. She began undressing, throwing the dress onto a toadstool on the floor, and descended into the water. The fresh water moved around her body, warm and refreshing.
"And what do you think you are doing?" the voice of the princess said as she opened the door to the fountain room.
Bubbles quickly covered herself by creating enough smaller bubbles to cover the surface of the water. "I am sorry, my princess, but I was covered in dirt. I did not wish to be dirty when staying in your rooms."
The princess lifted her eyebrows, and a crooked smile spread on her face. "A decent explanation. But why do you cover yourself? I did not realise you were the shy kind?"
"I think there is a difference between being shy and being decent," Bubbles answered, perhaps a bit too rudely as they words snapped out of her, as if her parents had criticized her.
But the princess did not stop smiling. "Perhaps." She did not elaborate, but instead went to sit down on the toadstool, where Bubbles had thrown her dress. She pushed the dress to the ground and sat down, before turning back to face Bubbles. "You can continue," she said, unfazed with the situation or Bubbles' reservedness.
Bubbles did not say a word but simply stared at the princess.
"I think we should get to know each other a little better," the princess said, "after all, we are the best company for each other for a long time."
Bubbles found herself carefully covering her body by creating more bubbles covering the surface of the water. "I did not consider us to be…" she began, but the princess stopped her before she could continue.
"I know," the princess said, "But I would still like you to consider it, even if you are not ready this evening."
Bubbles found her head nodding before she even considered her other options. Maybe because she did not have any other options.
"I will leave you to your privacy then," the princess said, "though of course, if you change your mind, feel free to share yourself with me." The princess stood up from the toadstool and walked out, though on her way out, she said. "The towels are in the chest in the corner, as well as a bathrobe."
Bubbles stayed in the water for a while until it started running cold as the night had set in. She wondered if she should have taken advantage of the situation, or if it would have been she who would have been taken advantage of. But there was no use wondering about it, for now she would dry off and get dressed for the night. She put on the bathrobe, which was soft and smelled like it had been created out of flower petals and dried with pollen dust. The feeling of the robe against her wings rejuvenated them and refreshed the dust on them. She felt certain that they would be strong after a good night's sleep. Maybe strong enough to fly away, she considered. But if she tried any such thing again, she feared she would risk being thrown in the dungeons, even though the princess had not told the king – yet. And after all, she had enough power herself.
With a deep breath and the bathrobe tightly wrapped around her body and wings, she stepped out of the fountain room and into the bedroom.
The princess was already lying on the bed, seemingly half asleep, but Bubbles did not trust it, even though her body was moving slowly up and down with her breathing, and her eyes were closed. The smile on her lips was sweet as well, so kind that it could only be the look of some innocent soul who was in the middle of a sweet dream.
She walked over to the couch, a puffy mushroom, which up close seemed to be a Portobello.
"You can join me, if you want to," the princess muttered from her bed, her eyes still closed but her smile now wicked.
"I think I am good with the couch," Bubbles answered, now a little annoyed at the constant pushing from her "my princess," she added.
But the princess just smiled at the rejection. "I will have you eventually, my dear," she mumbled, as if a thought she had had half asleep.
"If you say so, my princess," Bubbles answered as she lay down on the portobello, which made a soft but firm bed.
"Once we reach the cold climate of the Ice-kingdom, I am sure you will find some comfort in my touch," the princess continued mumbling, and something in Bubbles might have believed that to be true, cause she did not contradict her.
"Go to sleep, my princess. We need the energy for tomorrow."
The next day, Bubbles awoke to the princess running around the room, throwing her dresses into a couple of big trunks. "What do you think I should bring? I swear, I have nothing fitting for colder climates."
"What about your winter clothing?" Bubbles asked with a yawn.
The princess stopped in the middle of the room. "Winter clothes… Where did I put my winter clothes?" she yelled out in frustration, maybe with herself or maybe with her clothes, it was unclear. It could have been out of frustration with Bubbles herself, she thought, if it had not been for the kind smile that she sent her.
"You are my new best friend, you know," the princess said, "and of course, you have been promoted to my personal assistant on our journey."
"I have what now?" Bubbles asked.
"You heard me."
She sighed. "Ah, yeah. I heard you, alright."
"Oh, and I threw out your dress, hope you don't mind."
"You did what?" Bubbles screamed, her mind immediately wondering how she would turn up to the beginning of their journey in nothing but a bathrobe.