The Devil’s Cursed Witch

“Please follow me. I will explain to you as we walk,” Yula said and she led her way back towards her bedchamber. Then, the elf gestured towards one of the side doors attached to her chamber, a place where Ember was yet to go.

The previous night, she had seen the  side chambers. One was where she had to change her clothes, while the second door led to the toilet. She wondered what was behind the third door.

The moment she entered that other door, her eyes widened seeing a large pool filled with steaming water, various flower petals floating on its surface. There were a number of short wooden tables arranged on the one side of the pool and several bottles and other items were placed on them, many of them being things Ember had no idea of their uses.

‘This much water inside the chamber? Did they use a pail to bring up all this water to fill this pool?’ she wondered in awe.

Living on that dead mountain her whole life, she had never seen this much water in a single place. Water was measured in pails and basins, and even then, they were precious to both her and Gaia since they collected them from rainwater. Other than reading about those so-called ‘river’ and ‘sea’ in the books, the largest she had seen were the streams running along Ronan, excluding the river around the palace of the King of Agartha.

Yula looked at the shocked young human and said, “Miss Ember, we will be washing your body. Please allow Reya and Clio to take all your clothes off and please sit here.” She signaled for her to sit on one chair put along those short wooden tables.

Ember felt a little awkward. The ‘washing’ she grew up with meant wiping her body with a wet washcloth. Even when she stayed with Leeora, that was how she cleaned her body. For her to be asked to undress under their gaze seemed weird, and she didn’t know why she had to sit on that chair with no clothes on.

“Do I really need to?” Ember asked as she fiddled with the ends of her hair. A traumatic experience hovered in her mind–one where a certain red-eyed man checked her naked body on the floor. Her shoulders inevitably tensed up.

Yula realized she had not answered Ember’s previous question about what grooming meant. Yula also remembered that Leeora had told her that this child was raised in the wilderness, away from civilized society and was ignorant of many things deemed normal by people.

It was easy to guess from looking at her state as well. From how skinny she looked, this human probably paid more attention to survival rather than appearance. Their short interaction so far strengthened Yula’s belief.

‘As long as she can eat, any food is fine, and as long as she’s wearing clothes, she doesn’t care about what they are–in short, as long her basic needs are met, she no longer cares about the rest.’

She’s happy to have her hair brushed, but didn’t care even if it wasn’t. She liked soft clothes, but as long as her skin was covered, she wouldn’t complain even if they make her wear a dress with a rough fabric.

‘Alas, the lady of the palace cannot be this way.’

Yula believed Ember was an uncut diamond in the rough. The shape of her face was delicate, and her features bore perfect symmetry. She had a pretty face which was still hiding behind those faint scars, and as long as she started taking care of herself, people might be unable to recognize the unexpected beauty she’d become.

‘I promise in my name, I will make you bloom as the most beautiful flower.’

Yula went closer to Ember to stand in front of her. “Miss Ember, here, you will get a nice bath with various oils and herbs so your skin will look even better. They will help make the burn scars go away. As the wounds are completely healed, we need to clean your body completely from head to toe.” She looked at Ember’s hand. “Show me your hand, Miss Ember.”

Ember did so despite her confusion and heard Yula say, “See, your nails are grown and dirty, and the palms of your hands are dry and cracked.” She then looked at Ember’s feet. “Your toes are no better.”

Ember looked at her hands and then realized that compared to Yula’s hands, hers were unsightly to see.

Yula continued, “Not only are your hands rough due to scars, they looked like they labored hard. I understand that before coming here you must have lived a difficult life, but now your status is different. Such shouldn’t be the hands of a lady.”

The elf then brought her closer to the pool of water.

“You are his Majesty’s mate, and soon, you will have to consummate the bond once you are completely healthy. For that, we need to at least start preparing you.”

“Consummate?” Ember slowly pronounced the unfamiliar word as she looked questioningly at Yula.

“Hmm.” Yula nodded. “The last phase of the bond. For that, we need to prepare you. Every male likes his mate as it is, but there is nothing wrong with pampering you and having you ready for him. His Majesty will be pleased to see you in your best state. Don’t you want His Majesty to be happy?”

Ember didn’t understand what she exactly was implying and then thought, ‘He allowed me to stay here. If this is what will make him happy…’ She felt it was weird as to what all this had to do with him. It was her body and she could keep it however she wanted, but she gave up trying to understand them…

“Fine,” Ember agreed.

Yula signaled Reya and Clio to start their work. The two helped Ember remove her dress and she was left naked in front of them. She cleared her throat awkwardly and tried to wrap her hands in front of her chest, while  her legs clenched together, trying to hide her intimate part from them.

Her hesitation didn’t go unnoticed by Yula. “No need to be shy, Miss Ember. We all are women here. Please relax and sit on the chair.” Yula might look like a blue-haired angel who smiled all the time, but underneath, she was no less than a strict and responsible steward who would get her work done perfectly.

Ember walked towards the chair with the slow footsteps and Reya helped her sit on the chair.

Poor soul who had never known the word ‘grooming’. It wasn’t as simple as she thought because cutting her nails was simply the start of her demanding grooming schedule.

She wondered, ‘What is this all fuss about? I can cut my nails on my own.’

Clio and Reya worked with each of her hands, then afterwards her feet, and all the time Ember was wondering what and why they were doing all these. She looked at Yula who was standing there like a strict teacher and swallowed all her shyness and hesitation even when she was being touched all over her body. They even touched and saw her most private part and she wondered even Gaia had never seen her like this but here…. these two elf servants… She inhaled deeply and left herself to be handled by the two female elves.

After who knows how long, Ember was led to the pool filled with hot water.

“Please sit here, Miss Ember,” Clio said as she signaled towards the step-like platform at the edge of the pool which became visible after Clio shifted the floating flower petals to one side with her hand. “Let us know if it’s too hot for you.”

“It’s comfortably warm.” Ember sat inside the steaming water while the two elves helped her have a bath. She could feel hands scrubbing her skin, sometimes massaging her scalp, while other times she’s being rubbed by oils that smelled nice.

Ember closed her eyes as she could not deny it felt good to sit within the warm water. Although it was boring, having people pamper her like this made her feel better and sleepy as well.

She didn’t know how much time had passed. She finally let out a sigh of relief when she heard Reya say with a soft chuckle, “Miss Ember, did you nap well? You can come out of the water now.”

She pouted. “I am awake the whole time.”

“If you say so, Miss.”

Ember stood up, and Clio dried her with the soft cloth.

Ember felt as if every inch of her body had been scrubbed raw. Her skin felt particularly sensitive and tender, but the discomfort she’s expecting faded after they applied a fragrant soothing oil on her body, and when Reya covered her with a silk robe that glided smoothly across her skin, she couldn’t help but feel good.

The two servants had Ember be put under the scrutiny of the Chief Steward.

After a minute, only then did they get an approving nod from Yula, as if saying ‘good job’.