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meticulously scrubbing each inch of my skin with liquid soap and a loofah.  My back was hard to reach, but you better believe I scrubbed the hell out of the spots I could.  Once my skin took on a weird shade of pale pink, I moved on to my hair.  Half a bottle of shampoo and conditioner later, I was satisfied that was enough.
    As gently as I could manage, I turned off the shower and smiled widely when the handle didn’t break.  Opening the door was equally as successful and I whooped in excitement.  I suddenly remembered Oleif was still there and my eyes flashed to him in embarrassment.  Good thing I suppressed the urge to do a victory dance.  I’d never live that down.
    I quickly wrapped my body up in a towel and did the same with my waist length hair.  As I went to brush my teeth, I was surprised at what I saw in the bathroom mirror.  I ran my finger over the bridge of my nose where my freckles used to be and was shocked to find them missing.  I checked the tops of my shoulders, my chest, and my arms and saw the freckles had disappeared from them as well.
    “Weeeird,” I whispered as I smiled.  I liked my freckles, don’t get me wrong, but my complexion was utterly flawless now.  I looked like I had been airbrushed to perfection.
    I saw Oleif staring at me out of the corner of my eye and I quickly set about brushing my teeth and hair.  My walk-in closet was right by the bathroom door so I was forced to be closer to Oleif than I wanted.  I flashed in as fast as I could and eagerly dressed in the jeans and Led Zeppelin t-shirt Trey had so thoughtfully laid out for me.  He knew they were my favorites.
    Upon turning around to leave, I saw that Oleif was standing in my closet doorway watching me again.  It was so unnerving and I wanted to know if this was what I had to look forward to for the next thirty days, having no privacy whatsoever.  “So, are you going to follow me around every minute of every day?”
    As usual, Oleif cocked his eyebrow, his disapproval of me palpable, but said nothing.  I sighed and ran my fingers through my still wet hair.  “Okay.  Well then.  I’m hungry, so… care to escort me to the kitchen?”
    He silently stepped to the side and unblocked the exit.  I bit my lip as I gathered my courage and flashed past him.  His sudden rough grasp on my elbow stopped me just outside my bedroom and I yipped at the unexpectedness of his touch.  He growled at me, obviously not happy that I couldn’t control my speed, and proceeded to walk at a human’s pace down the hall.  I tried my hardest to slow down, honestly, but I didn’t do very well.  He had to keep jerking me back to his side, each time emitting a progressively louder growl.  In the end, I just stopped trying all together and let him drag me down the hall and into the family room.  He let go of me with a fling and I stumbled and almost fell into Quinn and Lochlan’s game of dominos they were engaged in at the card table.
    “Hey, man,” I complained, righting myself.  “Take it easy, okay?  I’m sorry I wasn’t walking slowly enough for you, but that’s no reason to manhandle me.”
    “Teach it to slow down,” Oleif growled out to Hagan as he came over to see what the disturbance was about.
    “Patience, Oleif,” Hagan sighed as he looked me up and down to make sure I was unharmed.  “She is but a child.”
    “She is an abomination.  Don’t confuse the person you knew with the creature she has become,” he growled as he jammed his finger in my direction.  “Does Ruarc know you coddle this…thing?”
    “Hey!” I yelled indignantly, thoroughly insulted by his words.
    “Shut it, Morrison,” Hagan growled, never taking his eyes off of Oleif.  Their body language was dangerously aggressive.  “Get your ass to the kitchen.”
    I crossed my arms over my chest and glared back and forth between the two of them a few times, not ready to let the insult go, but Trey flashed to me and slid his arm around