Though even his worst burns had healed by now, he couldn’t help but flinch at that liquid sting. After the fortnight on the road he’d just endured, he moved in a disbelieving daze. Dumbly he followed his owner’s urging through the drifting bubbles, boiling foam and incredible decadence all around. At last she sat him on a cathedra: a half-submerged seat built into the side of the grandiose bath like a potentate’s throne.
“Normally this will be my place, as it will be your job every morning to help with my daily hygiene. You will bathe me and shave me, wash my hair, lotion and massage my body, assist me with my toileting, all my primping and dressing and any other servicing I might require.
“Won’t that be wonderful? You can provide me with all the comforts and attendance that any court e
