On the 7th Floor of the Tower of the Hundred, two women were engaged in conversation. Both women were beautiful and dressed very conservatively. Not only were both of them perfectly lovely, they had similar demeanors. For both had the air of nobility and power swirling around them, only that one of them possessed both in greater quantity.
Of the two, one was seated on a simple stool with one of her legs placed elegantly over the other. In front of her was a small table that held a kettle and a teacup. The other was standing next to the seated woman with her arms placed before her in a humble posture. As she stood her eyes didn't travel around the room. They remained fixed on a portrait on the wall across the room. The portrait held a painting of a woman flying through the skies with a slender sword in hand and a large Dragon flying right at her side. Although it was just a painting, it held a certain grandeur and charm that was sure to draw attention to it. These two were Rose and Mistress Ashera.
"Is it okay to have a stranger here?" Rose asked as she bent down to reach the lovely kettle on the small table. She gently tilted the kettle until its sprout was resting on the teacup. Then she slowly refilled the empty cup with the contents of the kettle. As the tea was poured into the cup, an intoxicating aroma slowly spread. Within that aroma were small strands of Edict that swirled around the room before disappearing into the bodies of the two women. It was clear that this tea was a very precious resource. Yet both remained calm even under the baptism of the energy that many of this world were unfamiliar with.
"Hmm," Ashera elegantly brought the teacup to her mouth and took a small sip. The blistering hot liquid didn't burn her lips or scald her throat when she swallowed. A relaxed expression made its way to her face when she took that first sip however, and her tense eyebrows relaxed.
Rose was back to her standing position when she was done pouring the tea, calmly awaiting her Mistress's reply. It was difficult to accept that a person with that amount of nobility leaking out her was this patient in serving another. However she was indeed a spitting image of what a true leader should be like. For if one wanted to lead, they must first learn to serve diligently. For leadership was nothing but service.
"Usually the answer to that question would be no," Ashera lowered the teacup and replied. "However, these are unusual circumstances," Ashera added before taking another small sip. Rose nodded her head ever so slightly. Both didn't speak for about a minute. Ashera kept swirling the tea in her cup, seemingly thinking about something, whilst Rose kept staring at the picture across the room.
"What do you think of the boy?" Ashera asked after a while. Rose furrowed her brows slightly in thought, before replying.
"Strange," she said in a voice that was akin to a whisper. However, Ashera smiled and nodded her head. They were close to each other, and she was a Scholar. So she was obviously going to hear whatever Rose said – and thought.
"Elaborate," Ashera took a larger drink of the tea this time and an audible gulp rang in the room. Rose was very similar to Ashera, and that was why Ashera always sought her opinion whenever she did something. Especially when she was blinded by her own selfish interests. To her, since Rose was most similar to her amongst the three girls, she would be the one most likely to make the decision that Ashera would have made if she was in her right mind. Rose nodded her head at her Mistress's request and explained what she meant.
"I have just met him, so I know very little about him. However, my judgement is based on how you are treating him, Mistress." Rose's reply was neither slow nor fast. Her voice was magnetic and strong. And her eyes flashed with a strange glow when she spoke of the boy.
"How am I treating him?" Ashera asked, as though she wasn't aware of the things she was responsible for. Rose however, didn't seem to find this question odd. She did as her Mistress asked and answered the question.
"Better than you've treated any one else – apart from us sisters," Rose replied, not forgetting to be specific with her answer. Although it was but a sentence, the last part of it was specific enough. The sisters she was talking about were Daisy, Sunflower and herself. They were blood siblings! Born to the same mother and father. Though they had different demeanors and even had different hair colors, they were triplets! And Rose was the oldest. Daisy came after Rose and Sunflower was the last of the three.
Naturally Rose wasn't resorting to flattery when she said Ashera treated herself and her sisters best. Their Mistress treated them so well that there was no way they could have any complaints. She gave them strength, power and status. She groomed them to be the women they were today. She had accepted them when they were nothing but teenage orphans and had given them new lives. She didn't think her Mistress treated anyone better than them.
"That seems accurate," Ashera nodded her head and put down her cup. Rose refilled the empty cup gracefully and returned to her position.
Ashera had not only allowed Mane to be on the 7th Floor, which was the floor occupied by Ashera and the three sisters, she had allowed him to be willful by accepting his request. From what Rose could see, Mane was brought here against his will. And the fact that he was so reserved in his actions and the surprise he had on his face from having his request granted was proof of this. No captive had ever seen the higher floors of the Tower of the Hundred. They usually languished in the dungeons below in torture and misery whilst waiting for death. Yet Mane was being given favorable treatment. He was even attended to by Sunflower!
Sunflower was the sister Ashera doted on the most. She was like Ashera's little sister. For Ashera to ask her to take care of Mane was her way of letting the sisters know how much she valued the boy. Naturally the intelligent women were certain to notice this.
"Don't you have any questions?" Ashera asked as she took her tea.
"I do Mistress," Rose responded honestly. There was no need to deny this fact.
"What is it?" Ashera gave Rose the opportunity to voice out her thoughts.
"Why?" Rose simply asked. It was one of the simplest words there were, but when Rose asked it Ashera furrowed her brows like she had been given a task too weighty for her to carry out on her own.
"Where do I start from?" Ashera gently tapped her thigh with her fingers and said.
"Hmm," she sighed and beckoned Rose to come before her. Rose obliged and moved to stand before her Mistress. And then she knelt down before Ashera so that they were face to face. Once she had done this, she extended her neck to Ashera and closed her eyes. It seemed that whatever was going to happen was something that she was used to.
Ashera grabbed both sides of Rose's head and placed her forehead on hers. The two otherworldly beautiful women formed the world's most picturesque painting as a green light slowly engulfed both their figures and made them appear even more illusionary. The light remained for a couple of seconds before dissipating. And once it did, both opened their eyes. As Rose drew her head back her eyes were filled with confusion and shock, no doubt from what she saw.
"This…" Rose muttered as she subconsciously stood up and returned to her position. It took a while for her to regain her wits. All the while Ashera was silent, not interrupting Rose's comprehension process.
"I understand why Mistress holds him in such high esteem now," Rose sighed and said. She had a complicated expression on her face when she looked at Ashera. Along with that was gratitude and love. After what she had seen, she had no more questions. Rather her respect and admiration for her Mistress had gone up.
"Don't tell the others," Ashera waved her hand and said. "They aren't ready to know this just yet," Ashera added
"Yes Mistress," Rose replied. This wasn't the first secret she had to hide from her sisters. As her Mistress's chief confidant, she knew more than what the other two knew.
"They should have been here by now," Ashera mumbled. "What is taking those two so long?"
The Tower of The Hundred was much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The 7th Floor alone – which was the narrowest floor – was like a small town. It was so large that anyone who didn't know the place would have gotten lost if they didn't have a guide. Once Mane entered the tower, he finally understood why he needed an attendant. If he were alone, even with his senses he wouldn't have been much better off. With Sunflower's help he was able to get a room, one that was several times larger than his room back on Zandor. It had a bath that was the size of two rooms and several excellent facilities, including a training room. Currently, Mane was taking a bath.
"You have a good physique," Sunflower slowly traced the contours of Mane's naked back and said. Her thin fingers slowly caressed the protrusions, and her face was filled with appreciation.
She wore a lose gown that was mostly see through, and the water from the bath tub easily permeated the light bath gown and made it even more see through. Honestly, if Mane could see her he would have wondered if she was wearing anything at all.
Fortunately, he could not. His eyes were still covered by the bloodied cloth even though he was almost completely naked. He wore nothing but a small pair of trunks to protect his modesty. His broad shoulders and built torso were exposed, and his muscular legs in the water were also unclothed. The hole on his chest had been sown, and although his ribs still hurt they were healing rapidly. Most importantly, he was very uncomfortable.
"Please, I told you that I can do this myself," Mane pleaded. He had said this a thousand times already, but Sunflower refused to listen to him. He had been bathing himself for as long as he could remember. Even with countless servants at his disposal he had always done this himself. So he didn't need any help. But Sunflower was having none of his excuses. She was 'carrying' out her Mistress's order without being slack at all. And it wasn't like Mane could do anything about it. Not only was Sunflower vastly stronger than he was, there wasn't much he could do against enemies who were being this gracious. He didn't even know whether he could refer to them as enemies anymore. He was brought here against his will. That much was true. But he was certainly not being mistreated in any way.
"No one can wash their backs themselves. Not even Mistress Ashera." Sunflower slapped away Mane's hand that was trying to take the wash cloth from her. Of course she didn't use Edict. Otherwise Mane would have lost a limb.
"You adore her," Mane stated. Although he had only been with Sunflower for a dozen minutes, he could tell from how much she spoke about Ashera that Sunflower respected and loved the woman.
"Of course," Sunflower smiled gleefully and said. "Mistress adopted us sisters when we were 13. She has taken care of us since then. Not only have we never lacked, we have been given power and strength that we had no right to." Sunflower gently cleaned Mane's back as she spoke. Her movements were so delicate that one would have thought she was cleaning a valuable porcelain vase.
"I'm sorry," Mane muttered. He didn't need Sunflower to tell him that they were orphans for him to understand that bit. Whether they were abandoned or their parents died wasn't his question to ask.
"Don't be," Sunflower shook her head and said. "Why weren't you surprised when I said Daisy, Rose and I were sisters?" That was more interesting to Sunflower than anything else.
"Because your auras are linked. I have been with a couple of twins to understand how to identify people born of the same womb. Although you have different demeanors, when you stand together, your auras blend like you are one." Mane explained.
Sunflower was stunned for a while. Then she smiled and resumed cleaning Mane's back. "So you are a Scholar just like Mistress," Sunflower stated.
"I am," Mane nodded his head. Ashera already knew this so it was no secret.
"So what can you tell me about my aura?" Sunflower smirked playfully and slowly pressed herself against Mane's naked back. Her gown was so thin that Mane could feel every inch of her flesh. He wanted to move forward, but their positions were such that he couldn't do so. He panicked initially, but quickly regained his cool. Then he extended his senses to probe Sunflower. As he did a small smile graced his lips.
"Sensual," Mane replied with a simple word, and Sunflower's lips curled into a mischievous smirk. She was about to move when Mane added something else.
"But kind. Beneath that seductive aura is kindness and reservation that is deeply hidden."
Sunflower was quiet for a while, a complicated expression finding its way onto her face. She sighed before releasing Mane and returning to scrubbing his back.
"Tell me about yourself," she asked. Mane nodded and told her about general things about himself. As they spoke time slowly trickled by. And before Mane knew it, it had been an hour since he started his bath.
"I think we should go," Mane stated. Sunflower was interesting and Mane had learned a lot from her. But he couldn't keep Ashera waiting. And he doubted that Sunflower wanted to either.
"Yes," Sunflower agreed. "But first you need to wash your face," she added before getting up and moving to the space in front of Mane. Mane was seated with his legs akimbo, so the only space available was the space in front of him. She slowly seated herself down between his legs and reached for his blindfold. Mane didn't stop her. The blindfold was only to protect him from Ashera. And the fact that Sunflower hadn't asked about it meant that it was a wise choice. There was already a new blindfold next to the tub.
"This is filthy," Sunflower stated as she pulled off the bloodied cloth and tossed it into a laundry basket several feet away with unbelievable accuracy. Mane shrugged at her words, but when he opened his eyes his face turned beet red.
"Why aren't you wearing anything?!" Mane panicked and quickly turned his face to the side. He naturally assumed that Sunflower was naked because he could see every inch of her skin. Everything that should have been hidden was not, so he was right to think in that manner.
"It's a bathing gown Mane. It is supposed to be this thin." Sunflower shrugged helplessly and said. She slowly pulled Mane's head to face hers and looked into his eyes.
"They are blue," Sunflower muttered in disappointment. She was hoping his eyes were like hers.
"They are my mother's," Mane smiled and replied. Even he didn't realise that he had blurted this out subconsciously.
"She gave you something beautiful then," fortunately for him, Sunflower didn't ask follow-up questions. She could see the slight sorrow in Mane's eyes when he mentioned his mother and knew that it wasn't a topic to venture into. At least until they knew each other a little better.
"Your hair is just like mine," Mane said in a surprised voice. Because of Sunflower's 'nakedness' he didn't even notice that her hair was yellow blonde like his. He hadn't met any person with his hair color until now, and was starting to believe that it was a trait that only belonged to his mother's family.
"Yep," Sunflower nodded her head happily and said. Her smile was very bright and innocent, very much unlike her usual sensual look.
"And your eyes are the same. I was right." Mane stated.
"About what?"
"Your eyes. They are kind. And your smile is innocent and kind as well." Mane replied. Sunflower was quickly embarrassed. She jammed the wash cloth onto Mane's face to hide her embarrassment before proceeding to clean his face. Soon the two were done. Mane cleaned himself up with a towel and got dressed. It seemed that the only clothes here were for women, so Mane had to wear a pair of feminine trousers and a long coat. They apparently belonged to Ashera. Even her scent was still on them. And though they were a bit tight and shorter than Mane would have hoped, it was going to do just fine for now.
Once Sunflower helped him put on his blindfold, both left to see Ashera.