Yet her skin still glowed with health. Her eyes were bright. There was a different kind of beauty there, one that even she had to admit.
She slipped into the tub.
The water hugged her body in warm waves. Heat seeped into her tired muscles. Her tense back slowly relaxed. She let out a long sigh and sank deeper, letting the water rise up to her shoulders.
"Comfortable," she muttered. "Very comfortable."
She picked up a piece of fragrant herb cloth she had made and began washing slowly. Her mind wandered.
Tomorrow, she would start teaching. She would gather the villagers and explain what reading and writing were. She could already see their confused faces. She laughed to herself.
"Once they learn," she thought, "I will make them write messages for me and run around. I will not have to repeat everything like a walking drum anymore."
She was so content that she almost forgot there was a certain panther in the corner.
Almost.
After a while, a strange feeling crept onto her skin.
