Once the servants finished warming the bath they placed their own salts with balms for dry skin, a luxury of the richest in a country so cold and dry. A luxury on equal level with gold. Truly it was the bath of a king. When Vasileios entered, he breathed in the strong aroma of the salts and perfumes. All but the last two attendants had retreated and those two greeted him when he entered. "Your majesty. Do you wish us to attend your tonight?" one woman asked, he eyes lowered to the ground as she stood in a semi-bow. The woman next to her, older but still beautiful, did the same.

He shook his head, already sliding his gloves off his fingers now that the warm steam could seep into them. "No. Just remove my robes and then you may leave. I have business to discuss in private," the king murmured back. After all, the bath was the most secure location. No clothes, no hidden weapons, and the warm water that obscured faces and even voices to some degree. It had been a favored location for secret dealings for generations. Besides, Vasileios was a warrior, not a royal. He could bath himself.

Once the attendants had taken his outer garments and hung them properly, he waited for them to disappear before he slipped his inner garments away to tease the water with a toe. "Now, down to the real business..."