[Runesmith]

Zaheera almost gasped in surprise.

Instead of her usual white blouse with grey pin-stripe jacket and skirt, Madam Li was dressed in an elegant burgundy off the shoulder dress that went down to her ankles, with high stiletto heels to match. Her perfectly shaped lips, which usually had only transparent lip gloss on them, were now neatly coloured to match her dress. The mascara and eye shadow accentuated her almond eyes and framed her delicate cheek bones making her look like that Chinese model from Estée Lauder that Zaheera couldn't remember the name of (well, not only was Liu Wen a difficult name for a westerner to remember, but she was already even forgetting that she used to have a different life). The transformation of Madam Li from a stern but pretty administrator to a beautiful seductress was breathtaking. How she had not been enlisted in to the harem itself was a mystery, as she looked more beautiful than the princesses and the concubines. Perhaps her business attire was a way to disguise her beauty.

The steely edge in her voice wasn't gone though. "So, I have been informed by Suri here that you think you are ready to fill the new vacancy in Gundik Rachel's entourage that just came up... well, you seem to be in a hurry to climb up, aren't you?"

Zaheera had had no such conversation with Suri, and neither did she even know that there was such a vacancy. She shot a questioning look at Suri, but the Malay girl was simply staring straight ahead, not even glancing in her direction.

"Well, in this case, you will be tested today, and if you pass, I will assign you to Gundik Rachel. If not, when Suri returns to barracks duty, you will go with her. Understood?"

Barracks duty was something assigned to Pengiring who didn't have the right skills or class to make it as part of an entourage. And it was exactly what the job title said - to entertain the guards and make sure that their sexual needs were fulfilled, so that they wouldn't be tempted to "taste the forbidden chicken", as the Malay saying went.

Zaheera hadn't known until now that Suri had been pulled from barracks duty to be her guide, and she still couldn't understand why the girl that she thought was her friend, had put her in this position. She had no idea what she was going to be tested on, and from the hint of irritation in Madam Li's voice, it was clear that she wouldn't have an easy time at it. However, she also instinctively felt that if she mentioned this now, it wouldn't end well for her, and neither for Suri.

"Come with me," commanded Madam Li, and glided gracefully on her stilettos towards a door on the side of the instructions room.

Behind the door was a very spacious, lavishly decorated bedroom, fit for a princess. A huge, gilded four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room. A sitting area with a Divan (an type of padded Malay couch with a padded, rounded arm on one side, and no arm on the other) crested with intricate gilded wood carvings, a tea table with a tea pot and Chinese tea cups, and a large wooden dresser occupied one side of the room, while the other side had tile floors, with a large white and gold enamel bath sitting on four guilded feet styled like lion paws.

"Welcome to my quarters," Madam Li said, her voice softening and acquiring a hint of pride at the look on Zaheera's face. "It's a privilege I get for having to train people like you on serving royalty." Her voice hardened again, as she pointed out, "A training, which you have not had the benefit of having."

"Now, imagine that I am the Gundik, and I am back from attending an official event. Help me relax. Do this well, and you will earn your place. If not, you will learn a lesson in the virtues of patience."