In Japanese, miko means priestess. Judal is a priest, so Gyokuen's teasing him when she calls him that.
Gyokuen's in that position, with that certain smile on her face that Judal knows, and he knows that whatever she wants, it most certainly isn't going to be good, so he braces himself for any and all that comes his way. Judal certainly hopes it's not another ritual, because that's a hell that he dreads every single time.
Finally, Gyokuen speaks, and her voice is a silky voice that she uses around her own children, and never Judal, which is unusual. "Ah, my little miko, there's something I'd like for you to do. Something very special." She coos, and Judal feels a little uneasy, because she usually doesn't warn him before she carries out her godforsaken plans. Gyokuen then began to explain what he was to do, and he really didn't understand it at all, but he goes along with what she said, because he is supposed to do something to Kouen, and he rather liked Kouen.
Finally he's led out of Gyokuen's quarters and into a bathhouse, where he's scrubbed free of any and all durt that he may have collected over the past year. For whatever he's going to do, for some reason he had to be clean, and pretty, so he complies. His yard-long inky black tresses are washed until silky, which took a little more than two hours.
Judal is then dressed in something so obviously meant for a girl that he thinks that this has to be another one of Gyokuen's teasing bouts. But the servants continue to dress him, and Gyokuen is no where to be found, and Judal starts to wonder what exactly he's going to do that requires this form of dress. It's a girl's kimono, several sizes to large so it slips off his shoulders, exposing a V of pale skin. He wears no undergarments, save for a pair of black stocking that go up to his thighs and rather compliment the color scheme of the kimono.
His hair is then next, and it's not braided nor left loose, but instead styled into a topknot similar to that of the princess Kougyoku, whom he had seen around the castle once or twice.
He's dabbed with perfume and incense, then servants begin to apply makeup to him. A white powder for his face, and his teeth are painted with black ink that tastes horrible, and then his eyes are lined with dusty kohl and more black ink, then his cheeks are dusted pink and lips painted red - and by now Judal is sure he looks some idiotic little girl.
By the time he arrives at Kouen's quarters, Judal has no idea what he's supposed to be doing, and he wants to wipe all the makeup off, dammit, but this is what Gyokuen said to do, so he does it, slowly opening the door to Kouen's room and-
"high Prie-h-hiest." Kouen huffs when he sees Judal come in, looking up at him with huge red orbs and clothing slowly sliding off of his thin, anorexic frame.
Judal's been given a dainty little fan, and he flutters it just as he'd been told while gazing with a look that most certainly make him pass for a girl, and Kouen's eyes gain this weird new look, and the ginger man grabs Judal and tosses him on his bed roughly. Under Kouen Judal begins to feel disgusted, and guilty, and he makes it through only by reminding himself that he's not himself, but he's only Al Sarmen's little doll.
When Kouen used him, he backed away into the deepest recesses of his mind, trying to think of anything but the situation at hand.
He was seven years old.