Asha's eyes snapped open. The darkened room was unfamiliar to her. Then lanterns had long since hissed out, and the lustrous curtains and fine furniture could no longer be seen.
The warmth of his body against hers was both welcome and stifling. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to emerge from the tangle of body and cushions and blankets. One arm was lying limply across her stomach, she noticed the strong muscles as they held her in his embrace.
She had never woken up with a man before. Usually they committed whatever acts her guest demanded, and he fell asleep, so that she could get dressed and show herself out. She had never slept with a man before. His breath ruffled her hair, now untied from its delicate ribbons and left to flow loose across her neck.
Carefully, she edged out from under the blankets, but took one for herself, draping it around her to shield her from the cold of the unheated room. She took a taper and re-lit some of the lamps that hung from the ceiling, warming her hands at one of them. Once she had coaxed some warmth back into her hands, she turned back to look at him. He hadn't stirred from where he was lying, and now that they weren't otherwise engaged she could look properly at his finely muscled legs and chest.
She turned her attention to their clothes that had been strewn around the room in their haste. With great care, she separated them into two piles; hers turned out to be rather larger than his. She began to dress, relishing the experience somewhat. She had never had to dress herself before, as there had always been a servant or maid there to help her. She managed to get the robe on properly, and tied the silk belt in a suitable knot. She put on her slippers and then tucked the ribbons into the belt. She would not be able to tie them herself. She rang the silver bell to alert a waiting eunuch. After a little moment the secret door slide back, revealing a yawning eunuch. It was not the same one that had escorted her the previous evening, but had clearly been waiting a long time.
"Finished with His Highness have you?" he said, too tired to observe the normal subordination due to a favoured concubine. "Come along, you should leave him to his rest."
Asha glanced back at Daros, still asleep among the disorder of cushions and blankets. Then she followed the eunuch into the tunnel, and he shut the door. Yawning pointedly, he led her off down the brick-built hallways. She wondered why he didn't ask any questions, but then remembered that he'd probably been listening anyway.
When they re-emerged into the Cage it was dawn. Asha had never really seen it at this time, she was more used to coming back from her guests still cloaked in the dead of night. A few early birds swooped around the open central courtyard, calling to each other in courtship.
Seeing the bright sunlight on the plants below and the whirring wings of the birds above made her feel inexpressibly happy. She watched all that was going on around her with joy, noting the manner in which the birds sang together and perched on the carved wooden loggia side by side.
The eunuch seemed to notice this and began walking more quickly around to the House of the Blossoming Blooms towards the apartment. Once he reached it, he unlocked the door, opened it and ushered her inside. The door clicked shut and Asha was left by herself. She re-arranged her robe carefully and then stole along the corridor to her apartment. There was a movement in the dim shadows and the little figure of Zahn padded out and came up to her, butting her leg with his head and mewling to be picked up. The door to Hanami's room slid open and the maid came out, stretching and looking tired.
"There you are! I was expecting you back hours ago, where have you been?"
"I stayed rather longer than I had expected to…"
Hanami's face became a little drawn. "Oh you poor thing. It is awful when they take too long."
Asha held up a hand. "Hanami, no, it wasn't anything like that. I…I could not help but stay."
"Who was it then, that you should have been enticed so to stay with him?"
"It was the Crown Prince Daros."
Hanami's hands flew to her mouth in surprise. Her shock and joy showed on her delighted face.
"That is wonderful! You see? This is what we hoped for!" she came forward and took the ribbons from Asha's belt, tucking them into a pocket. "You must have grown so much in the court's estimation. Perhaps you were personally recommended to His Majesty by the courtiers!"
Asha stayed silent while Hanami bustled her into her room and began to help her remove her clothes, ready to get washed. The maid kept on chattering, but Asha did not really listen to her. Her joy had settled in her breast now, far less exciting and buoyant and just warming to her. But she came back to reality when she heard Hanami say, "But of course this is no guarantee of your success. You must not think that because you have had the honour to entertain the Crown Prince that you will become Queen…"
"Why?"
Hanami paused in pouring a bucket of hot water into the marble bathtub. "The men of the Royal Family enjoy many of the concubines here. What makes you think that, if you do not continue to navigate the court, you will be His Majesty's chosen woman?"
"I was his first!"
"And do you think that matters? Men may always remember their first time, but they may not remember their first woman! You are going to have to fight to make sure that you can attain a position of power…"
"Fight? With whom? Who is there that can compare with me?"
"Very confident," Hanami chuckled. "But men's tastes change!"
"He willremember me! The way he looked at me! The way we made love…"
"Making love does not equal love. You should know that by now. Come, I will help you bathe and then you can sleep. You must be tired," Hanami sprinkled a bottle of perfumed oil into the bath, which spread over the surface of the water in fragrant clouds.
Asha obeyed, but remained somewhat sullen, anger and irritation dislodging the joy that she had felt only minutes before. How could Hanami know the truth about what had happened between them. How could she predict the future of their relationship? How could she put a limit on her success?
She sat morosely in the warm bath water as Hanami soaked a sponge and washed the sweat and stale perfume from her skin. Even the beautiful scent of the bath oils did not make her happier. Soon, Hanami had finished and replaced the sponge. She fetched a towel and held it out so that Asha could wrap herself in it.
"Shall we dispense with the cosmetics today?" said Hanami brightly. "Just you dry yourself off and you can go to bed."
Asha assented with a taciturn nod, and went through to her dressing room to pick out a sleeping robe. She selected one of purple silk patterned with doves and pine cones, and finished drying her long hair. Then she slipped into the robe and tied it up. Despite the fact that she had slept already, she was quite tired. She gave her hair a quick brush, and then stepped quietly through to her bedroom.
Zahn was cleaning himself on the rug beside the bed, and Asha picked him up and cuddled him close. Then she put him in the basket that sat on top of the clothes chest at the foot of her bed. He yawned sleepily and burrowed into the tiny embroidered cushions that lined it. Asha could not sleep, however. She lay back staring at the carved ceiling of the room, thinking of the warmth that she had shared with Daros. There was no doubt in her mind of their shared connection. She missed the almost stifling heat of him, desiring it rather than the cold sheets underneath her.
She drifted into sleep, lulled by the memory of his strong arms, his tremulous voice and the soft, dark pools of his eyes.
