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shoved a
bowl at the woman. "Feed him."
    Ysmenia smiled at the gruff chef, carefully
accepting his gift on behalf of the little neko. Kayden's eyes
widened at all the food in the bowl, sure it couldn't be meant for
him. His eyes darted up to the man seeming to glare down at
him.
    The man huffed as his eyes raked over the
thin body of the boy. He'd never seen anyone, human or hybrid, who
was so skinny. He obviously hadn't been fed well by his previous
owner.
    "He needs to eat," Garin grumped. "I don't
want him passing out in my kitchen."
    "Yes, Garin, of course," Ysmenia smiled as
she continued to lead the neko out of the kitchen.
    They made their way down a long hallway that
led to the servants' quarters. Some of the older, more senior
servants had their own tiny rooms, but most of them resided in the
large open barrack-like rooms, one for males and one for females.
There was an open room in between the two dorm rooms that held a
few old couches and tables for lounging, playing games, and general
socializing. Off to the side, Ysmenia led him into a bathing
room.
    It was more modern than anything that Kayden
had ever seen before; of course, other than his childhood home in
the forests, he'd only lived with the hunters in the camp and at
the slave market. There were several small walled off areas with
pipes spouting from the wall and ropes hanging next to them. The
cubicle-looking areas appeared to be damp and a grate was in the
floor where water seemed to be draining into. Nearby there was what
appeared, and smelled, to be a chamber pot in another small
walled-off area, but it didn't look like any chamber pot he'd seen
before. On the other side of the damp washroom, there was a pipe
over the tub that, when the woman tugged on a long rope, let water
flow in. She tugged hooking the rope over a hook to keep the water
running, filling the tub with water.
    "Do you need to relieve yourself first?" she
asked.
    Kayden knew his face blushed bright pink as
he barely nodded. She smiled kindly and led him over to the weird
chamber pot. There was clear water already in it, and it appeared
to have a hole in the bottom. He didn't understand why the water
didn't just drain out.
    She pointed, and he just stared at her, then
back at the odd chamber pot. Then she laughed. "I don't suppose
you've ever used a water closet before. You just go in there and
then pull this chain to flush."
    Flush? What in the world did that mean? He
just stood there staring at her, before she finally turned around
and headed back to the bath. He eyed her over his shoulder before
he reached within his wrap to relieve himself into the oversized
bowl.
    "All done?"
    He jumped as she appeared next to him, his
tail swishing anxiously. She pulled the chain and water rushed into
the bowl, cleaning it out. He jumped at the sudden rush of water,
but then curiously moved back and watched it swirl in the bowl.
    She laughed as she watched his ears twitch in
curiosity. Then she tugged him towards the bathtub. The water
looked so clean and clear. He'd only ever bathed in cold streams,
or in bath water that had already been used by other slaves
first.
    "Okay, get in," she ordered.
    He frowned down at the water, then at his
wrap.
    "Oh, boy, you don't have nothin' I haven't
seen before. Get yourself in that water now. I don't have all
day."
    Hesitantly, he took the scrap of fabric that
he had wrapped around his waist off and scurried into the water. It
was warmer than he'd expected it to be and wondered briefly how it
got to be so. She handed him some soap and a rag, and then scooped
up the linen he'd dropped.
    "My lord, this is nothing but a rag," she
muttered as she whisked it away. She returned moments later with a
coarse towel and another pile of fabric.
    When he hadn't done anything with the soap,
she quickly grabbed it and started scrubbing the dirt from his
hair. Using the rag, she quickly rubbed his thin body, clinically
removing the layers of dirt.
    He felt her pause as she