Page 168 of Plug and Drain

Apparently, he was not interested in talking.

Fine, she thought sadly.

The bathroom was magnificent, containing more luxury than Susie thought a bathroom needed. She briefly admired the glossy white marble tiles, golden taps, and mage sconces, but the urgent need to pee drew her attention to the privy.

She hissed in exasperation. It was an ornate bench, the glassy surface smooth with sparkling gemstones inset like stones in a clear pond.

She assumed it was magical like the other bathrooms in the academy. Its vanishing properties were the only luxury she cared for right now.

Arken stopped before the privy and cleared his throat softly. “How may I help? What would be easiest for you? There is towel railing you can hold, but the position may not be helpful…”

Susie appreciated his clinical tone, but the situation had pushed her limits as far as she was willing to let them go. “Just set me down, please. I’ll be fine to…I don’t need help.”

Arken looked like he sincerely disagreed, but he slowly lowered her until her feet touched the ground.

Susie waited for the pain to return, but it didn’t. She forced herself to give Arken a confident nod. “Thank you. I’ll be fine now. Can you please…?”

Leave.

“I should stay,” Arken said seriously. “If the pain returns, I don’t want you to fall and hit your head.” He nodded pointedly at the tiled floor below, and the edge of a rectangular tiled-in bathtub that was larger than most people's beds.

Susie suppressed a whimper as her bladder throbbed. She was bursting at the seams. Had she not been injured, she would have been pacing the room and jumping up and down, stifling the urge. “I’ll be fine. I’d prefer it if you waited outside. Please?”

Thankfully, Arken must have registered the urgency of her tone because he gave a brisk nod and quickly retreated. “I’ll be just outside if you need any assistance at all. Call out when you are ready, I’ll escort you back to bed.”

The door clicked shut.

He would escort her back to bed. His bed.

Susie didn’t have time to consider what that meant. She shuffled carefully so she was standing with the privy bench behind her. She reached behind to hold the wall for support, the tiles cool against her palm.

Her mind was swirling as she tried to strategise how to go about the task. Should she lower herself to sit and risk setting off the crippling, agonising pain? Or should she remain standing upright and make a mess?

Both options were awful. After further consideration, Susie took a deep breath and began to lower herself.

Crippling, agonising pain it is.

It took everything in her not to scream, but the pain was mercifully brief, and once she was seated, it reduced to a low ache.

Once she was done, relief washed through her body. Her muscles relaxed.

There was one problem—she didn’t think she could bring herself to stand. She’d had to prop her tail awkwardly to the side, compressing the bones and ligaments at an odd angle. It promised to be unforgiving when she made to stand.

I suppose I could just stay here indefinitely.

No sooner had she thought that than the throbbing returned, a dull warning that emanated from her tailbone and made her hips and upper thighs ache and burn.

Sitting had been a mistake.

“Fuck,” she whimpered, trying to lift herself up a few inches using only her hands on either side of the bench. A fraction of relief.

She should call for Arken.

Pain swarmed. She could see it before it hit, like a large oncoming wave that would soon crash down upon her. She could feel it squeezing her lungs as the pain grew in giant proportions, overshadowing her as it prepared to slam down.

She braced herself for the oncoming pain.

Oh, shit…