[Runesmith]

Zaheera was expecting something of this sort as soon as she had had a glance at the room, but that didn't mean she was prepared for it. She knew there was some sort of etiquette and services she was supposed to perform, but her training had not gotten to that stage yet.

Madam Li caught her deer-in-headlights look, and added in a quiet voice, "And the other two most important lessons - never to trust anyone here, and never to take the fall for someone else. You have no friends here. Remember that."

Zaheera's mind went in to overdrive. To hell with etiquette - what would a woman want when she comes back to her apartment, tired after a long evening?

She bowed to Madam Li with her right hand over her heart(that much she knew from the etiquette), and led her to the divan. Madam Li lay down on the divan, her head resting on the round padded arm and her feet at the armless side. Zaheera knelt down and removed Madam Li's high heels, and started massaging her feet. Madam Li sighed in pleasure and stretched lower on the couch. Matching her delicate porcelain doll face, her feet were small, dainty, exquisitely pedicured, and very soft to the touch - unlike Suri's rough feet, which Zaheera had practiced massaging on. It was almost a pleasure to run her fingers on such beautiful (yes, beautiful was the first word that popped in to her mind) and exquisite feet. Zaheera had of course heard about foot fetish, and it was only now that she could understand why some men felt so attracted towards them... hmm, maybe not only men.

When she felt Madam Li relaxing, Zaheera stood up, walked to the marble washbasin and washed her hands. She poured some jasmine tea from the tea pot in to a cup, and carried it to the couch. Kneeling at Madam Li's shoulder level, she presented the cup, holding it between the thumb and forefinger of her right hand and with her left palm supporting the bottom. She had seen that gesture before, when Suri had offered tea to the old crone who gave her massage lessons. Madam Li turned her head and sipped from the cup while Zaheera held it, in spite of the heat burning her fingers and palm. After a few sips, Madam Li nodded, and Zaheera, hiding her relief, quickly placed the cup back on the tea table. What should she do next? A bath - of course.

Zaheera quickly crossed the room to the bath. Although the bath itself and the fittings had a vintage look, instead of the usual taps, there was an electronic control panel, where the water temperature could be set. It confused her for a moment, as she didn't know which temperature it should be set at. Then she remembered that at the hot springs she used to visit, the Mineraltherme Boeblingen, her favourite hot pool had a sign saying "41 degrees". She turned the dial to 41 degrees, and pressed the button that showed a bath filling up. Immediately, the water started hissing through the spout.

Squatting at the head side of the divan, Zaheera started massaging Madam Li's shoulders and neck. Sliding her hands behind the back of the dress, she found the zipper and slowly pulled it down.