Silk Sheets!

Jophiel woke up bright and early. He felt disgruntled as he had just awoken from a terrible dream.

He sighed and couldn't help but think, 'While every one gets peaceful night sleeps instead I'm dreaming about wanting to get eaten by a bird and later getting trafficked. Forget it I won't think about it anymore.' he thought.

Now that the nightmare was over, he decided to go back to get proper sleep. He pulled the blanket over his head and snuggled into his silk sheets.

"Aaaaah" Two seconds passed before a shriek was heard throughout the manor.

His mind started racing, and his thoughts began. 'Silk sheets?! Who uses silk sheets? my sheets are cotton!'

As this thought came to mind, he jumped out of bed only to fall to the floor. He was too weak to stand as he had still not eaten. He looked around the room and discovered the design was straight out of a palace movie. It had grand red curtains, a highly decorated queen-sized bed, and a golden chandelier. The room itself had golden accents all over. He glanced at the curtains and saw it was decorated and lined with gold. He looked at it in fear and awe until the bright light forced him to turn his eyes away.

After sighting the room, realisation struck. Nothing had been a dream. He was still in a different world, and his current status was... kidnapped! He began trembling, haunted by the thought of what they would do to him. As his thoughts consumed him, two guards and a maidservant rushed into his room.

The maidservant knelt upon reaching him to check his current condition. After assessing him, the maidservant stated worriedly, "young master, you have a fever. You should be resting in bed what are you doing on the floor and why did you scream. Are you okay? Is anything of great inconvenience?"

Jophiel stared at the maidservant lost. He could only think 'Young master? What do they mean young master. Have I been married against my will?'

Jophiel was only thinking about the worst-case scenario and couldn't properly process the maidservant's statement.

Seeing no reply, the maidservant wrapped his arms around Jophiel's waist, supporting him so he could stand. Jophiel's head rested quietly on the maidservant's shoulders as he led him to the bed.

Upon reaching the bed, the maidservant gently moved one hand to the back of Jophiel's head and the other to his waist to support him as he carefully laid him down on the bed.

After that, the maidservant immediately distanced himself and stood upright beside Jophiel's bed.

Jophiel watched him and observed his actions to get a clue on what his status in this manor was. Under Jophiel's gaze, the maidservant began to speak. "Young master, the physician has stated that your body needs to be nourished. Lack of a proper meal had caused you to faint yesterday. In five minutes I will bring your meal to you and it is a must that you eat. Do you wish to wash up first?"

Jophiel replied, "Yes I do."

The maidservant nodded and said, "I will go prepare the bath"

He left, and the guards exited the room along with him, leaving Jophiel alone. Jophiel was now more confused than ever. Why was he treated so politely, and what sort of young master was he?

His thoughts didn't last long as very soon there was a knock on his door.

"Enter," Jophiel said as he had guessed it was the maidservant.

The maidservant walked in with the guards behind him like before. What was different this time was that the maidservant was followed by female maids garbed in lower-quality attire. There were five of them, and they walked in a straight line towards a door in his room. Once opened, the door revealed a wooden bath and one by one, the maids emptied the contents of what they each carried into the tub. Once they were done. The maidservant that had been attending to him, who he had figured was of a higher position, probably a head maid, poured in scented flowers, salts and other items to enrich the bath. Once he was done, the maids bowed towards Jophiel and left one by one in the order they came. The guards also left. Jophiel stood as they left so he could walk to the bath. To his surprise, the head maid, however, walked out of the bath and didn't move towards the door. Instead, he moved towards Jophiel. Jophiel was once again confused and stood waiting for the head maid to pass on whatever information he had.

The head maid stood before Jophiel and started to disrobe him by undoing the buttons on his shirt. Jophiel was startled and remembered that in times past, servants prepared nobles for their baths. At this discovery, he exclaimed, "stop!"

He moved his hands to hold the maidservant's hand on his shirt. At this moment, he finally realised that his tattered clothes had been replaced with silk nightwear. He looked up at the maidservant. He was taller than Jophiel and looked just as young, but he had a better build. Jophiel continued, "I'll complete the rest myself, thank you."

The maidservant stepped back and looked shocked but mostly confused. Jophiel didn't know if it was because he asked him to stop or because he said thank you. He realised those were not words that nobility would normally utter to their servants. In actuality, in addition to being thanked, the maidservant was also confused about if he had done anything to offend the young master. The young master had looked somewhat shocked and scared. Discarding these thoughts, after stepping back, the maidservant bowed and said, "As you wish young master."

He then walked to the door of the room but didn't leave. Jophiel knew this was customary and didn't want to seem strange. But as much as he didn't want to seem strange, he didn't want to strip in front of a stranger. Having this in mind, he walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him before stripping himself of his clothes.

Watching Jophiel's actions with interest, the maidservant couldn't help but wonder, "was young master shy?"

Once in the bath, Jophiel looked around and saw various oils labelled with the flowers they were extracted from. He was immediately confused. He held the sponge in one hand, unable to start the bathing process. Predictably, after a few moments, he gave up. He called on the maidservant, "Excuse me."

***

While Jophiel was in the bathroom, the maidservant could not help but wonder about the cause of his young master's shyness. While in his own thoughts, he heard a faint "Excuse me."

He realised it was the young master and walked towards the bathroom with haste.

***

As he entered, Jophiel heard the door open. He looked towards it and saw the maidservant's entry. Thinking of the reason he had called him, Jophiel immediately turned red. How could someone as old as he is unable to bathe himself?

He swallowed his shame as he asked, "Could you please tell me how to use these oils?"

The maidservant looked amazed at his request and just smiled in an attempt to stifle his laugh. He cleared his throat and stated, "just let me handle it young master."

Without waiting for a reply, the maidservant walked towards Jophiel, took the sponge and placed it aside. He picked up a container and dropped a spoon's worth of scented oil in the bath. Picked another but only placed two drops in. He walked to another corner of the chamber to wash his hands before coming back to pick up another oil. This time he lathered it on his palms. He took Jophiel's arms before applying it to his skin. In a short while he had applied the oil completely to Jophiel's body. The oil was therapeutic and felt like how mint does on your scalp, but it was all over his body. It was a cool and refreshing feeling. While his body was taking in the oils, the servant took another set of products and gently applied it to his hair. In this world, Jophiel's hair is midnight blue. It was a shade of blue so dark it was often mistaken as black. However, the slightest movement or a bit of light would instantly expose it, and his hair would look as though it was suddenly embraced by a blue hue. His hair was down to the middle of his back and had natural waves. After applying the products, the maidservant gently brushed through the hair and left it so the products could take effect. After this, the maidservant picked up the sponge applied soap and used it to wash Jophiel's body. In a short while, the bath was over, and the maidservant rinsed out the products from his hair and rinsed his body in one swell swoop. In a short while, the bath was over. The maidservant picked a bathrobe and draped it over Jophiel's body.

"What's your name?" Jophiel asked.

"Marcus", He replied.

They walked out, Marcus chose some clothes for Jophiel, dressed him, and left to get Jophiel's breakfast.

(A/N This wasn't anything romantic just customary so readers don't let your imaginations run wild)