The next morning, Susanna and Rebecca sat at the dining table, discussing their plans for the day over breakfast.

“Ugh,” said Rebecca, her hands pressed against her temples, “my head is killing me.”

“Is it really?” Susanna said in a pseudo-sympathetic voice.  “I wonder why that is.  Do you think it perhaps involved all the wine you drank last night?  Hmm?”

“Oh, shut it, sister.  You had just as much as I did!”

“Did I?  Because I couldn’t help but notice that the bottle was empty this morning...”

“Huh?  Oh.  Oh yeah, that...” Rebecca responded sheepishly.  “I was barely awake for that!  You know how I get, Susanna!”

“I know, I know.  Just be careful in the future.  I don’t want your sleepwalking to get you hurt.  Who knows what you could do in your sleep without even realizing it!”

Rebecca rolled her eyes and nodded, then continued scooping out spoonfuls of grapefruit.

Vincent was noticeably absent from the table, having decided to skip breakfast for an unstated reason.  He told the girls that he would be in the library when they were finished eating.

“I suppose Vincent isn’t all that hungry after last night’s feast,” said Rebecca.  “A man that little probably doesn’t need that much to sustain him.”

“More for us, right?” Susanna said with a wink.  

“Also, he’s also not used to all of this human food,” she continued.  “The man has lived off the fruit of the forest for his entire life: nuts and berries, mostly.  And unfortunately for him, there aren’t any blueberry scones in the forest...”  

Susanna took a bite of the delightful little scone in her hands, following it up with a sip of her coffee.  The two flavors paired well with each other.

“So, your room...” Rebecca said, changing the topic.  “I imagine you’ve already got a plan for it?  I have some ideas, too.  First off, the furniture in this house is so outdated.  I know that it’s supposed to match the period and everything, but can your at least room have a small touch of modern?”

Susanna laughed.  “Of course.  I love this place dearly, but I didn’t sign up to live in a museum.  Aunt Margaret said that I could do whatever I wanted with my bedroom.  She didn’t care.  Not too surprising, right?”

“I just don’t get them,” Rebecca said.  “Her and the cousins, that is.  They have this whole beautiful place to call home -- this palace! -- and yet, they are hardly ever here.  What gives?”

“They would rather live in the city,” Susanna said, shrugging.

“But it’s Cairnbridge!  This place is far more interesting than any apartment the city has to offer.  It’s the family land!  Doesn’t that mean anything to them?”

“Other people have different priorities and standards.  Our cousins are far more interested in the present than in the past.  That’s why they’re always chasing after the latest fashions.  Honestly, I try not to judge them, but it just seems so empty and vapid of a pursuit.  I mean, just look at cousin Veronica...”

“Ha!  Veronica.  Let’s not talk about her please.  How is she Uncle George’s daughter?  I have only good memories of Uncle George.  He was such a good man, like Father.”

“Remember, she’s also Aunt Margaret’s daughter...”

“Right.  Like mother, like daughter.”

~+~+~

Rebecca had been correct in her presumption that Vincent was not hungry.  Chiefly, though, was that he desired to avoid the dinner table for the time being...for natural reasons.  It would be a while before he could watch Rebecca (or even Susanna) eat again, having had a first person perspective of that experience.  He used this time instead to continue his adventuring through the halls and rooms of Cairnbridge.

In the library, Vincent meandered through the bookshelves, examining each book with curiosity and intrigue.  Almost all of them were four or five times taller than him, towering over him like a line of trees.  There was so much knowledge contained within this room, which was perhaps what attracted him to return, especially now that the daylight had returned.  On one of the shelves sat an antique ship-in-a-bottle, an artifact that completely dumbfounded Vincent.  He wandered around it inquisitively, marveling at its minute details.  It would have been a challenge for he himself to make this, and yet, a human with large hands and bulky fingers had constructed it.  It was quite an achievement.

Still, his attention was continually drawn to the globe in the corner of the room.  Flying over to it, he walked around its circumference again, imagining in his mind what these far off lands and distant countries could be like.  Who lived there?  What was the environment like?  Vincent had never seen deserts or oceans before, nor did he even know of their existence.  He had seen mountains in the distance, but had never stepped foot upon one.  There were many places in this wide world that were yet for him to explore, and in his heart he longed to see them.

As he walked upon the globe, it amused him as it started spinning around.  Round and round and round the world went!  The faster he ran, the faster it span.  Vincent laughed out loud in entertainment.  Before long, the globe was rotating so fast, it was becoming difficult for him to keep up with it.  He tried to slow it down, but he was unable.

Vincent accepted the challenge, keeping his footwork lively as he raced across the continents.  He needed a morning constitutional, after all, and this was good exercise.  The globe certainly had never been used as a treadmill before, but Vincent had discovered its secondary use!  After several minutes, his body was starting to break a sweat.

“Damn, Vincent, you’ve been getting out of shape...” he muttered to himself.  He reminded himself to cut down on the flying and use his legs more.

As he was about to hop off, however, Vincent’s left foot caught a hold of something on the surface of the globe.  It was as if his foot had fallen into a hole or a crack, causing him to stumble his step.  Disastrously, he lost his balance.  Vincent tripped and fell right onto his face!  Smack!  His face-planted and slid all the way across an ocean.  He gripped onto the globe, being spun around over and over.  He watched perilously as the entire library surrounding him blurred together in his sight.  Soon, he could no longer fight against the centrifugal force and he flew straight at the ground!  He was launched through the air and though he was unable to enter into flight, he was at least able to slow his descent before crashing onto the hardwood floors.  He impacted on his bottom, bounced a few times, then skidded to a stop underneath one of the wingback reading chairs.  

After laying on the ground for a moment, he stood up and dusted himself off.  “What the oak just happened?!”

In a few minutes, the globe had slowed to a stop and Vincent warily went over to inspect it.  He wanted to know what it was that had caught his foot.  All in all, the surface of the globe was very smooth and featureless.  He inspected it closely and could find nothing out of the ordinary...at first.  Then, he noticed something peculiar about a certain archipelago in the middle of a sea.  Amid the group of islands, one stood out in particular. It wasn’t an island at all.  It was a small indentation in the globe about the size of his foot.  His foot must have fallen into it while he was running and that’s what had made him trip.

Inspecting it further, Vincent discovered that it was a button!  He carefully place his hand upon it...and pushed.  He did so slowly and carefully.  At first, it did not want to budge.  With further pressure, though, it started to succumb to his force and sank further into the world.  Vincent could hear a mechanism within the orb clicking and moving as the button was pressed further in.  What was this going to do? he wondered.  Just a little bit more and he would find out...

“Vincent?” a voice called out.

Startled, Vincent released the button and it sprung back in place.  He turned around and saw that no one was there.

“Vincent?  Are you still in the library?  Rebecca’s out in the gardens and I need help!”  

The voice called again.  It was Susanna.  It sounded like she was down the hall.  “Come quickly, Vincent.  I need you right now!”

Vincent was still very much intrigued by the mysterious button...but he supposed it could wait.  The globe would be there when he returned.  It was more important now to see what Susanna needed.

~+~+~

Following the sound of Susanna’s voice, Vincent exited the library and turned left down the hall.

“Vincent!” Susanna called again.

“I don’t suppose you’re asking me for help moving furniture, are you?” he called out facetiously, knowing that she was not quite in earshot yet.  “Wouldn’t Rebecca be more of a help?”

Vincent arrived in Susanna’s bedroom.  She was not there.

“Susanna?” he said in as loud of a voice he could.  This was all very strange, to the point of being disconcerting.

“I’m over here.  Come quickly!  I need your help, I--”

He wandered down the hallway, now quite perplexed and a little concerned when she was suddenly interrupted.  Finally, he figured out where her voice was calling from: the bathroom.

Still having no idea what was going on, Vincent squeezed himself underneath the closed door.  There was only a half-inch gap, but it was more than enough for him to shimmy underneath with ease.  He looked around the room.  Susanna was nowhere to be found...

“Hello?” he called out.  “Susanna, I’m here.  Are you okay?”

Suddenly, he heard the distinct sound of moving water.  It wasn’t a loud splashing, but the subtle sound of water being displaced, like that of a fish leaping in and out of a pond.  Flying upwards to get a better vantage point, Vincent saw that the claw-footed bathtub was filled nearly to the brim with millions of gallons of water.  A thick layer of bubbles covered the surface, obscuring the water.  Beneath the bubbles, he could make out the darkened form in the shape of a body...

“Susanna!”

Hastily making his way over to the far side of the bathroom, Vincent saw that Susanna’s naked body was completely submerged beneath the surface of the lake-sized tub, floating along the bottom of the basin.  Her long, auburn hair floated like coppery seaweed around her head.  Most alarming to him was that her eyes were shut.

“Oh great river, no!” he exclaimed as his heart beat ever faster.  “What am I going to do?”

Kicking off his boots and tossing his shirt to the ground, Vincent rose high into the air then dove straight into the water as fast as he could.  He plunged through the bubbles and into the depths, until he was floating in front of Susanna’s face.  She sat their eerily motionless.  Vincent prayed that he was not too late.  His mind raced as he tried to figure out what he could possibly do.  He could not lift her up.  If she had stopped breathing, he could not give her any nearly enough air.

Then, he remembered the drain.  He could see it far off in the distance by Susanna’s feet.  A stopper was plugging the drain, but if he could somehow remove it, he could empty the water and save his loved one.  It would be difficult and he did not know if he would be successful, but he would try...

As he was about to make for the plug, Vincent heard something.  Turning around, his heart raced as he saw a stream of bubbles escaping from Susanna’s mouth and making their way to the surface.  She was still alive...for now.  He would need to hurry.  However, as his focus was drawn to her mouth, he noticed something very peculiar about her lips.  They were shaped... in a smile.

Vincent could not believe it.  As he floated there dumbfounded, her heard that familiar giggling.  That mischievous, impish giggling! It was a sound that was all too recognizable to Vincent, for it always accompanied one of the many pranks that Susanna absolutely loved to pull on him.  It was aggravating!  If she weren’t so beautiful and charming, he would have been done with it completely by now.

Still, his mind was a lot more at ease when he saw Susanna’s eyes open.  Vincent gave a resigned wave to her smiling face.  In response, she blew a stream of bubbles in his general direction before rising up out of the water.

Back above the surface, the two of them gasped as their regained their breath, followed by the echoing sound of Susanna’s triumphant laughter.

Treading water, Vincent said, “That wasn’t funny, you know!  But of course you do know that.  You knew that it was going to terrify him.  You knew it and you still did it, because you’re Susanna and this is hilarious to you.”

Susanna grinned and nodded.

“And you knew that I was going to be angry at you, but that my anger would only last a few seconds, because I’m so used to it now and because you know that no matter how hard I try I can never stay mad at you for longer (which is infuriating in itself, you know...)”

“Yep, that sounds about right,” she said, nodding again.

Vincent sighed.  “Such is my life.”

“Oh, you know you love it!”

“I don’t!  I don’t love it all!  I thought you had drowned!” he exclaimed, going off into a passive tirade.  “You know, I was going to try to save you?  I don’t know how, but I was about to pull the plug--literally.”

“You are my hero, Vincent.  Thank you for valiant effort.”

From far beneath him, two hands emerged from the surface and scooped him up out of the water and brought him to Susanna’s face.  Her lips were just above the surface, but enough so to enveloped in a kiss.  Torrents of water were racing each other down the wet locks of her hair and back into the tub.  The occasional droplets converged on the tip of her nose and dripped down upon him.  It was the wettest kiss Vincent had ever received.

“See, now I can’t tell if you’re being condescending or not.”

“I mean it!  I knew you would rescue me.  I have the utmost confidence in you.  You are very mighty and powerful, and we both know that.  I’m being very serious.”  Her face matched her tone, backing her conviction.  “And to prove it, I have a reward.”

Vincent’s eyes rose at this, his interest piqued.  “Oh?”

A smiling Susanna gently lowered Vincent back into the water.  She decided against dropping him, lest she push her luck with his patience.

“Well?  What’s my reward?” he said as he floated in front of her.

Suddenly, the previously calm surface of the water began to churn and swirl.  Great waves formed as the entire body of water sloshed back and forth, nearly flowing over the edge of the tub!  Susanna was moving!  Her head drew farther away from Vincent, leaving him swimming alone in the midst of the sea.  Trying to escape from the turbulent waters, he tried to swim towards the side of the tub.  Before he could reach it, however, he discovered that he was no longer swimming...but standing.  Something was lifting him up out of the water, but Susanna’s hands were behind her head.

Vincent’s confusion cleared as he looked down to see two massive islands arising from below!  The twin mounds of Susanna’s breasts emerged from the warm, soapy bathwater -- one directly beneath him!  Before long, he was no longer in the bath, but was resting upon the top of her left breast, which rose several feet above the surface.

Susanna was very amused by all of this, especially by the surprised look on Vincent’s face.  As soon as he realized what was happening, she could see that he approved.  She giggled once more, then tilted her head back and closed her eyes, allowing him to have some “free time.”

While Vincent did indeed approve, he found her breast to be extremely slippery.  The water combined with the soap made it very hard for him to remain on top.  He tried to stand, but he slipped and fell to his belly.  When he started to slide, he flailed his arms around, trying to find something to which he could hold on.  He reached out and grabbed the only thing he could: her nipple.  As he fumbled around it, the nipple grew hard and erect, actually making it easier for him to hold on.

This, of course, caught Susanna’s attention and when she saw the ridiculous sight of the little man desperately hanging onto her breast, she broke onto into hearty laughter and tilted her head back again.  The resulting quaking was enough to dislodge Vincent’s grasp.  He slipped down her slope of her breast backwards, quickly splashing into the waters by her neck.

When he surfaced, Susanna was still laughing and Vincent could see the column of her throat bobbing in front of him.  He considered scaling it, but her skin was too slick.  He had another idea.  Swimming over to the side, he made his way to her hair, which appeared as a cascading waterfall.  When wet, her hair was a much darker shade of reddish-brown.  Grabbing a hold of some damp strands, he ascended.  

Being close to her ear, Susanna could hear Vincent’s grunting and groaning as he climbed passed it.  She was amused, but was curious as to what he was doing.  She could feel him reach higher and higher until he was standing on top of her forehead.

“Vincent, what are you planning?”

“You’ll see,” he said, catching his breath.  “Tilt your head just a little bit backward, please.”

She complied, still unsure of what his schemes were.  The next second, she watched as his little body sprinted across her face and up the slope of her nose.  From there, he did a handspring, somersaulting over her lips and landing on her chin, followed by one last forward leap off of her face.  Soaring through the air, he assumed a swan dive position and plunged gracefully into the bath.

“Ta da!” he said proudly when he resurfaced.

“Wow!  Very impressive!”

“Yeah, I know.  I thought you would like that.”

After this, Vincent paddled around some more, cavorting around the “islands,” and enjoying the waterslide effect each one of them had.  By now, though, the water was no longer lukewarm, but nearly cold.  Susanna was getting a little chilly.

“Well, Vincent, I hate to ruin your fun, but I think bath time is over.  My hands are getting pruny and I’m getting cold.”

“Oh, alright...”

“Besides,” she continued, “Rebecca is probably going to be back from her walk, soon.  It would probably be best if we were both decent when she returned.  Why don’t you get out first and stand over by the sink?  I don’t want you to accidentally get sucked down the drain!”

Such a thought made Vincent shudder and he swiftly complied.  From the pedestal, he watched as her naked form rose from the tub, gallons of water plummeting off of her shimmering body, flowing towards the far end of the basin where it was swept through the now-open drain.  She reached for her towel, ending his peepshow.  

“You know what?” Vincent said.  “I like baths!”

“I thought you would.  But do you want to know something?  The reason I tricked you in here in the first place was because you needed one!”