She motioned for Christine to follow her into the fresher, which turned out to be the bathroom.
It was a large room that looked like a jungle with a warm pool in the middle ringed with flowering vines that floated in the water. But there was no time to admire the tropical décor. Emilia was beckoning her to a corner, where a large, 3-paneled viewer was set up.
“Here you go,” she told Christine. “Just have a good look at yourself and you’ll see what I mean.”
Skeptically, Christine stepped up to the viewer and had a look at herself. She expected to see that she was rather dirty—in need of a shower and wanting to wash her hair. There had been a water source in the holding cell, of course, but the water had been mainly for drinking—there wasn’t enough of a flow to take any kind of shower. The most she’d been able to manage was a sponge bath here and there. She—
Her thoughts cut off abruptly as she realized what she was seeing. Staring out of the viewer at her was her own face…as it had looked twenty-five or thirty years ago.
“Oh my goodness!” Christine gasped. “That can’t be real—can it?”
She put a hand to her cheek and the Christine in the mirror did as well. She ran a hand through her hair—which was completely free of any gray—and her image did the same.
“Why…it’s me. It’s really me!” Christine breathed. She looked at Emilia. “I don’t understand—how did this happen?”
“You bonded with a Felinus Monstrum,” Emilia said simply. “The same way I did. It rejuvenates you—turns back the hands of time fifteen to twenty-five years.”
“Really? And it won’t fade or go away? I mean, my body really is that much younger, just from bonding with Roarn?” Christine could hardly believe it but Emilia was nodding again.
“Really. And there’s no going back. Well, I mean, you will age again, but at the same rate your Monstrum does. And they’re an extremely long-lived species.” She cocked an eyebrow at Christine. “I know you couldn’t see your face, but didn’t you see the results of the rejuvenation in your body this past week?”
“I…I just thought it was because I was eating a low carb diet and Roarn and I were getting so much, er, exercise.” Christine shook her head. “You know what this means? It means I’m as young as my daughters!”
“Oh, speaking of your daughters and your son, I took the liberty of contacting them on your behalf and letting them know that you were all right,” Emilia told her. “I told them you were at a kind of spa-retreat aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship—I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh no—not at all. Thank you so much for thinking of that!” Christine told her. She shook her head. “But once they see me, they’ll never believe a spa did all this!”
“Well, it’s known that Felinus Monstrum rejuvenate the females they bond with—it’s why they’re attracted to older women in the first place,” Emilia pointed out. “Otherwise, if they bonded with younger women, they might rejuvenate them right out of existence!”
“That’s a good point,” Christine gave a shaky laugh. “I might have heard something about that—the rejuvenation, I mean—but I thought it was some kind of treatment just for celebrities and stars and important people like you.”
“Oh, tosh.” Emilia made a shooing motion. “I’m not important—I’m a public servant. And as far as I’m concerned, every woman deserves her own Monstrum.”
“They should be so lucky,” Christine agreed. She was still staring at her face in the mirror, marveling at how all the lines and wrinkles and age spots had disappeared. She felt younger too, she realized. Her back didn’t hurt and her knees weren’t creaky anymore.
She had attributed these changes to the low carb diet and the amazing amount of sex she’d been having but now she realized that her body really had been rejuvenated. Physically, she was the same age she’d been before she’d met her ex and had her kids. It was amazing.
“Well, I don’t like to rush you, but hadn’t you better get a shower?” Emilia asked, smiling gently. “I believe our Monstrum will be wanting to meet up with us again soon.”
“Oh, yes…yes, I guess you’re right.” Christine looked down at her stained red wrap dress. “But what will I wear when I get out of the shower?”
“Don’t worry—I had Kat send you some new clothes from the Kindred Mother Ship,” Emilia said, smiling. “I’ll lay out a few choices for you here, on the bench beside the bathing pool.” She nodded at the small bench which was situated between the steaming pool of water with its tropical vines and the large, inviting shower stall.
“Oh, thank you—you really thought of everything!” Christine said gratefully. “I’d hug you if I wasn’t so dirty!”