"Are they are closed?"
"They are closed tight."
Amma hesitantly swims towards the man and shakes her hand in front of his face. King Xerxes feels her presence as wet droplets splash onto his naked chest. Swiftly, he seizes her wrist and holds it.
Sh...
Long Chapter alert! Grab some popcorn it gets steamy! enjoy.
Amma raised her eyes from underneath her blanket covers and looked up to her elegant room as she woke up from the night's sleep. White sheer curtains hung freely on the wide windows, blue mosaics shined throughout the tile floor, and high marble pillars lined the spacious walls. She walked over to the vast windows to observe the courtyards and exhaled peacefully as the warmth of the sun hit her dark brown face.
A sharp realization soon invaded her mind as the mid-morning rays glowed.
Dawn, the hour the sun was hidden, was the time the girls were ordered to meet for beautification.
She was late for her first beautification session!
Amma burst through her doors and raced to find the unfamiliar room.
Some time passed as she roamed through the palace. Fear soon entered her mind, for she knew the more she walked, the greater the distance grew from the place she needed to be. Still, she continued down the elegant hallways, distracted by the palace's grandeur.
As she turned a corner, sweet smells of rose, vanilla, and lavender grace her nostrils. She tiptoed towards the origin, hypnotized by its aroma, and finds herself in a magnificent bathroom with elaborate arches and white stone walls.
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Surely this was the ḥammām(bathhouse) the girls were instructed to meet, and because she was tardy, it made sense as to why no one was present. The bath sat in the middle of the room and was filled to the brim with foam and dried herbs.
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The pool's alluring invitation tempts her as she cautiously dips a foot into the water and jumps back. Amma sighs out in pleasure as she eases into the bubbly brew; the warmth of the water relieves the throbbings in her muscles. Foam slides down her shiny skin as she lathers with sheer oils and soaps.
Now done with her bath, she closes her eyes and embraces the calmness in the air.
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