Once the mud had filled the rest of the tub and the men were leaving the room again, Baiza plucked two towels from a nearby table and went to join Théadan. She laid the one towel out beside the tub, then carefully sat upon it with the other across her lap, making sure the gauzy white gown she wore did not come in contact with the mud. She used the time it took to get settled and prevent muddying her clothing to mull over how to answer the questions Théadan asked. She also was not sure hot to feel about him not wanting to answer the one she poised for him, yet she did appreciate him acknowledging he would answer in due time. It could also be he was protective of the duchess, so he wanted to gauge her opinion of the woman before answering her question. Nodding her understanding, Baiza pushed the sleeves of her white gown back to her elbows and reached into the mud.<br/><br/>“Tilt your head back please,” Baiza instructed instead of answering the questions Théadan had for her, “There’s a pillow behind you for you to rest on.” Once he did so, Baiza went about carefully smearing the cool mud on the higher places of Théadan’s chest, where the mud had not yet reached. She made sure his shoulders were covered as well, expression neutral if not a little morose while she spoke, “She was a happy child and full of so much energy. We do not often have children here, but the princess’s family has been coming here for generations. The princess had come as a child as well.” It was how they had met, so the thought brought a small smile to her lips.<br/><br/>“She was a bit mischievous as well,” Baiza chuckled as she began smudging the mud across Théadan’s neck, “I remember her mother and I were once having mud baths just as you are now. Niemah and I had been dining on a plate of fruit and desserts while our tubs were filled, so the plate was resting between us while we rested. The<i>Sitvati</i>was supposed to be napping, but she snuck into the mudroom and attempted to run off with the plate of sweets. She was quiet enough to do it, but slipped on a bit of mud and went falling into her mother’s lap.” The memory newly fresh in her mind, Baiza had to pause to laugh, “The food fell all over the pair of them and scared us both into screaming and alerting the spa attendants. She couldn’t have been more than five years old.”<br/><br/>“As for their relationship, it was loving,” Baiza sighed, carefully rubbing the mud across Théadan’s cheeks and calming from the mirth the story had brought her, “Niemah loved all her children, but she had prayed for a daughter. She was very feminine and wanted to dote on a girl. She was also mellow, adventurous, and friendly, which I think was good for her daughter. It allowed her the confidence to explore without hindrance. Our great Prince Yousef, may he rest, was strict with his children and expected much of them, so Niemah balanced him out well when it came to their parenting. She allowed an independence to grow in her daughter that I do not think would have been as strong if her father had only raised her. I do not know their daughter well now in her adulthood, but I can sense she still possesses the same spirit and happiness she had when she was a child. I suppose you have much to do with that happiness.” Baiza’s hands had worked to cover Théadan’s forehead as well while she spoke, and she paused before working the mud under his eyes and across his nose, “We have never had a Mes’Mo’Tanian amongst these walls and there are many who would probably refuse to step foot here if they knew you were under our care. I can see how dedicated the two of you are to each other though, and welcoming you here is the least I can do to express my gratitude that you have brought my friend’s daughter home.”<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>“Fine,” Navia groused in defeat, hands reaching for the ties of her robe, “But no treatments, Osa. I no longer wish to fight the impossible.” She knew she was stubborn, but she also knew she’d met her match with Osa. It was easier to give in, but negotiate her terms.<br/><br/>“You do not require treatments any longer,” Osa answered drolly, giving a wave of her hand to motion for Navia to stand before the mirror as a knock came at the door. Osa limped over to answer it, then carefully took the tray from her companion in red who waited at the door, “Thank you, Jouri.” She turned back to carry the tray over to one of the tables, then scoffed when Navia stood before the mirror with her towel still on, “Hurry up, child. You know this takes time and that prince of yours will become anxious if you do not return to him after his bath.”<br/><br/>Thinking of how Théadan was alone in a spa he did not know urged Navia into moving more quickly and she nodded, eying the tray of wine and a bowl before turning back to the mirror to disrobe. She stood before it naked, eyes sweeping over her body with a small frown while she tried to scrutinize what Osa might see. Would she notice the red spots on her neck left from her time with Théadan in the grotto? The graze of red on her chest from his beard when he had lowered to have his fill of her breasts? She found herself grateful they had been in the springs; all other evidence of their lovemaking was surely gone. Yet as Osa came to stand beside her, a smirk formed on the wrinkled woman’s lips and she tapped a gnarled finger on Navia’s chest near the red mark.<br/><br/>“I trust the springs were pleasurable,” Osa chortled before a more critical gaze was cast upon Navia’s naked form and she made a slow circle around her. The duchess’s legs and hips appeared a bit smaller, but Osa knew she had been traveling much. She would need to begin making her diet a priority. She also had a shiny scar on her forearm that had not been present when Osa had last inspected her. It was when Osa leaned down to become more eye level with Navia’s chest and viewed her from the side when she finally spoke, “Your breasts are larger. Did you not see that as a sign? Are they more sensitive?”<br/><br/>“No,” but all the times Théadan’s mouth on them had sent her reeling came to mind.<br/><br/>“Do not lie to me or yourself, Navia,” Osa snapped quickly, but it was not done out of anger. Instead she smiled as she reached out and placed her palm low on Navia’s abdomen, “You are in denial.”<br/><br/>“I am being realistic,” Navia answered shortly, her own words out of frustration. Her hands clenched at her sides to keep from shoving the older woman’s hand away, “You told me yourself it would never happen.”<br/><br/>“With the general, may he rest!” Osa answered as she made her way back to the table to grab up the bowl. She turned back and held it out to Navia, “I did not consider another man would ever enter your life.”<br/><br/>“Me either,” Navia grumbled, staring at the bowl for a beat until Osa shook it at her. She snatched it up and stalked toward a door on the other side of the room. She took a chance it would be a lavatory and was right. Navia was comfortable standing naked before the other woman, had been near a dozen times throughout the years of seeking her assistance, but had never quite grown comfortable enough to do what she needed with an audience. When she reemerged a few minutes later, she carried the newly half-full bowl with her carefully. “Why are you here anyway, Osa?” She asked as she set the bowl on the tray, "I thought you do not like to leave Akat."<br/><br/>“Jouri and I visit<i>Ghatni </i>three times a year to replenish our youth,” Osa explained as she began to carefully pour the wine into the bowl, “It is by the grace of the gods we have arrived at the same time as you. I consider this to be the reason why. Someone has to give your stubborn mind true proof.”<br/><br/>“May I put my robe back on?” Navia asked with a sigh, watching disappointedly as the maroon liquid overpowered the color in the bowl and did nothing as it always had done.<br/><br/>“No.”<br/><br/>“Osa, it’s not going t-to—“ Only Navia stumbled to a stop when a fizzing sound came from the bowl. Hands slapped against the table and she bent to peer down at the bubbling concoction for a long beat before lifting her head to gape at Osa, eyes wide with incredulity.<br/><br/>A victorious grin was stretched across the wise woman’s aged face, “Congratulations.”