The smell of food was rich in the air once Quill-Weave arrived back downstairs. The table was set with an impressive array of bread, cheese that had been bought at the market, along with a plate heaping with beans, mashed potatoes and some sort of patty. However, as she sat down, she noticed her Maid hadn't set her own plate.

"Oh, come now. Sit with me, won't you? Please. I don't like to eat alone. Why, even Mookie eats dinner with me - though never as formally as this, I admit."

"But... Ma'am, that wouldn't be right. I'll eat outside when you're done."

"Don't be silly. Come on. I insist. You mustn't disobey your Mistress, right?"

"I... Alright. But just because you insisted."

"This looks delicious! What is this though? Is it ground beef? It looks a bit... odd."

"Oh, please try it Ma'am! But no. It's not beef. I make it with vegetables and spices. But I think you'll like it."

Quill looked askance at the not-meat. But she tried it. It truly wasn't bad, but...

"So? It's good, right?" her maid asked, her face fairly beaming.

"It is, it is!" Quill replied honestly. "But... it's not meat."

The khajiit's face dropped perceptibly. "No, it's not."

"Do you... not eat meat?"

The maid shook her head. "I try not to, Ma'am. I guess I'm a little weird."

"Well, to be honest, yes. You are. Look at those teeth of yours! Now if you were a flat-tooth like the humans, I could understand it. But..."

"I don't like killing animals, Ma'am. I just don't. I like the taste of meat just fine! It's not like I've never eaten it. But... when I was younger, there was an incident. I'd never really known where meat came from when I was living in the caravans. It was just something we traded for. We were never really hunters. But when I found out... especially the farm animals. They're so sweet! It's not like they attack anybody. They just live there, thinking the farmers are their owners, you know? Like they're going to be taken care of forever. Like a pet."

"Sorry, I don't do pets," Quill said under her breath.

"I know, I know. But then one day their owner walks them into a slaughterhouse and..."

"I see. So you don't eat meat because of killing the animals? That's going to be tough out here, you know."

"I do. If I could I'd stop everybody from doing it. But I'm not stupid. I know it's not going to happen. Besides, even if I had my way, where would all the animals live then? If a farmer decided to stop butchering livestock, it's not like they would keep feeding them anyway... But I don't have to participate, you know?"

Quill looked at her maid with a newfound respect. She disagreed with the girl's outlook, but it was nice to see that she had an outlook. One that most everyone around her wouldn't agree with, but she was sticking to it anyway. That took some backbone, especially in Tamriel.

"Well, I'm not going to try to talk you out of it," she said, taking another bite of Mystery Patty. "And I'm certainly not going to tell you I'll stop eating meat myself. But, at least while we're here, I can forgo it. Okay? You are an awfully good cook."

"Thank you," said the maid, bowing her head. "I try my best. And thank you for... the other thing, Mistress."

"It's my pleasure. Now, what did you think of the market?"

"Oh, it was wonderful! The shops in Anvil of course have a wider variety, but the freshness. I mean, some of those carrots were obviously just in the ground yesterday!"

"Some still had the ground on them! Can't get much fresher than that," Quill nodded.

After dinner was done and the dishes put away, her maid brought in the tub and began filling it with water. Quill was lounging on some cushions, picking her teeth and idly trying to think of what to write in her next chapter.

"All ready, Mistress," she said with a smile.

Quill could see the steam wafting gently from the tub and she rose, stretching languorously.

"Would you like me to bathe you?" the maid asked, timidly while glancing up at her. "I know you are a very private person, but... it is a thing that is done for Lords and Ladies. And you are the Lady of this castle. No funny business, I promise. B..but only if you want me to. Otherwise I will wait outside. Just let me know when you're done."

Quill-Weave began to protest, but then thought better of it. She was the Mistress of Evil after all! What would the Mistress of Evil do? She might have failed utterly at gaining the fear of the locals, but they did treat her with some bit of deference even so. At least here she could truly be the person she pretended to be, couldn't she?

"Stay. You will clean me," she said with confidence as she tried to remove the Evil outfit.

However, as was always the case, the maneuver was not the most graceful. No matter how exotic and impressive it was once in place, taking it off and putting it on was not the most glamorous of affairs.

"Um..." she paused, her elbow locked up at the tight part of the dress. "Could you, maybe, help me get out of this?"

She heard a stifled giggle, but soon felt a firm tug that freed her arm and she could see again.

"I'll put this away and bring your nightclothes, Ma'am," the Khajiit said.

"Thank you. Oh, and do light the sconces won't you? It's getting dark outside."

Quill tested the water with one toe, and brought it back immediately.

"Oh, it's quite hot, isn't it?"

From a back-room, her maid called back, "Not too hot, I think. You'll get used to it!"

She tested again. It was borderline too hot, but once her foot was acclimated, it felt nice. She continued, bit-by-bit into the steaming tub.

By the time her maid had returned, she'd managed a sitting position and was beginning to lean back finally.

The flickering of the sconces along the wall along with the heat of the water made her relax, and soon she was comfortable enough to close her eyes and smile the deep, contented smile of the sublimely serene.

"Not too hot then?" she heard her maid ask nearby.

"No. It's perfect," she replied almost drowsily.

In fact, Quill felt so good that she was no longer in the least self-conscious or embarrassed now. She didn't think it was possible to be more comfortable. She let her feet drape over the sides of the tub - aware of the subconscious parallel with the picture she'd drawn earlier, but not caring.

Then she let herself slide totally under the water. Unfortunately the tub was not of such size to be able to do so without her lower body being forced out of it, but a bit of a chill along her tail was a small price to pay to be otherwise totally immersed in the tub. She opened her gills and drew the water through, breathing deeply in a way her friend could never imagine.
Of course, she couldn't breathe long in such a small bit of water, but it was nice for a minute or two. Then she heard the muffled voice of her maid and opened her eyes to see the Khajiit's worried face above her. She took one last deep breath of water, then pushed herself back up.

"I'm sorry, Mistress," her maid was saying. "I know you can... do that. But it scares me a little."

"It's alright. Now, I wouldn't want to do that with the bath oil in, but now let's give it a try, shall we?"

"Oh yes!" the maid perked up happily, and brought forth a small vial of scented oil that they'd bought at the market. She poured a goodly portion into the water and a gentle scent aroma of lilac and lavender filled the air.

Quill closed her eyes again, luxuriating in the bath and realized that this was the finest bath she'd ever had. Her maid didn't bother her for some minutes as she simply soaked. Yet eventually she opened her eyes again.

"So, how does a Lady get washed by her maid?"

The Khajiit smiled broadly and presented a freshly-bought bar of soap and a sponge.

********

Later, Quill-Weave had been forced to leave by her maid who insisted that she could not return the favor in all propriety. A maid was simply not washed by her mistress! So she'd climbed the stairs in her nightclothes and got into her bed. Below she heard the splashing and singing of her maid as she took her own bath. The singing was odd, in the rather harsh-sounding native language of the Khajiits, but once she'd gotten used to it she began to appreciate its melody.

The bathing had been an admittedly embarrassing affair - but she'd worn her Mistress of Evil attitude like an actor and did not flinch from whatever odd position her maid had required of her. She wondered idly if the maid had done this before, for some prior master. It seemed likely, given her obvious expertise in the art. And yet, her touch had been heavenly.

As the singing below turned to humming and drowsiness began to overtake her, Quill realized how few people had actually ever touched her. Not just in a sexual way, but just the physical act of touching another person. She'd never really thought about it before, and she never knew till now how much she had missed it.

Her dreams that night were mild, gentle, and full of touching.