Ria woke up in Hikari's chambers.
It was morning.
She was wrapped in a giant towel.
Her body was clean, but it smelled of cheap soap.
Hikari's couch.
"I slept on Hikari's couch. What happened last night?"
Her head was a mess; she remembered Hikari's giant white socks.
There were two pairs of boots.
"Hikari is back."
Her heart pounded as visions of the previous night returned.
One of the pair was stained and rugged.
It had come back from a long campaign and through the washing bay for a brief scrub to remove the mud.
She had been polishing the other pair while Hikari was away.
Hikari emerged from the giant curtain door at the other end of the room.
She wore her running outfit: a loose top, shorts, knee socks.
Her shirt was drenched in sweat and stuck to her chest.
Glittering beads of sweat covered her exposed arms and abdominal muscles.
She had finished her morning run.
She kicked off her soiled flats and switched to the clean pair that Ria had polished.
Ria clutched her blanket tight as she watched Hikari's every move.
But Hikari just went about her daily routine.
She bent over and touched her toes.
Placed one foot forward and leaned to stretch her thigh.
She filled her cauldron with grain and vegetables, then cut off a portion of the dried meat.
Reluctantly, she dropped in the ivory berries that improve her mana but taste terrible.
With the fire started, she took out her ladle and stirred.
Steam seeped from the seams of the cauldron lid as the stew boiled.
She walked to her shower area as her breakfast cooked.
Her lady's eyes followed as she hid halfway in her blanket.
Hikari disassembled her shirt, the pieces floating around in the air as she worked her magic.
The whirling of water.
Squish. Hikari's footprints as she walked across the room
Ria stays under the towel.
The cloth pieces left the shelf, floating into the air, and assembling on the giantess's body.
A fresh change of clothes: a white top, a grey skirt, and knee socks.
She put on her flats.
Thud. Her footsteps.
Ria huddled in her towel.
The giantess sat down beside her.
Ria felt the couch surface cave downwards.
"My Lady."
"Good... morning.. Hikari…" Ria's voice was shaking.
She avoided Hikari's gaze.
Hikari pressed.
"Good… thanks to you… "
She crossed her legs, lifting one foot into the air.
Her flats looked rather new.
The white dye Ria painted over covered the mud stains.
The frays were trimmed.
"This is good."
Ria's eyes turned to the shoe for a brief moment before darting away.
"Thank … you … "
Hikari uncrossed her legs, stood, and walked toward the door.
It took her only seconds to cross the room.
Ria heard her maids waiting outside the door.
Hikari took a package from them and held it in one hand.
With her other arm, she picked up the cauldron and walked back to her couch.
The package contained her packed breakfast and a fresh change of clothes.
"Dress up."
"Yes… Hikari… "
Slowly, she got out of her towel and changed into the new set of clothes.
She felt itchy after having gone to sleep without a shower, but that was the least of her concerns right now.
"Let's eat."
Hikari sat with the cauldron between her legs.
She leaned forward and pulled the ladle out of the cauldron.
Ria opened her breakfast box.
A tea sandwich, custard pie, and a small piece of fruit.
The fine presentation couldn't rouse Ria's appetite.
"Eat"
Ria picked up the tea sandwich and stuffed it into her mouth in one bite.
Fresh ham and lettuce, soft bread, nicely seasoned with fresh ground pepper.
Then Hikari's ladle appeared before her.
"Eat"
A chunk of meat rested in the center.
She had never had a steak this large.
"Hikari, it's too big for me."
"Eat"
Ria stabbed a chunk of meat with her fork.
It took the strength of her to pull the huge chunk of meat onto her breakfast plate.
She chopped off the tip with her knife and stuffed it into her mouth.
Her face winced as she tried to chew on the tough meat.
She somehow managed to swallow.
"Eat"
"No… Hikari… I'm full."
Ria shook her head.
She recoiled at the sight of the huge chunk of meat.
Hikari scooped up the meat with her ladle and put it whole into her mouth.
With one leg, she pushed the cauldron aside.
Hikari closed her eyes and sat upright.
Her morning meditation.
Her lady could feel her mana coursing through her giant body.
Ria went back into her blanket and huddled.
She sat quietly beside her, unsure what to do.
"My lady"
"Ye- Yes?"
Awkward silence; Ria wasn't sure how long had passed.
The giantess sat still.
Not a wave on the couch cushion.
Suddenly, Hikari kicked off one of her flats and lifted her foot up onto the couch.
Resting it on her leg, Ria could see the rough grey sock bottoms.
Her foot could cover her whole torso with room to spare.
"Kiss my feet."
Ria's face was piping red.
Hikari wriggled her toes.
"No! I can't-… This is…-"
Her lady began mumbling incoherently.
Hikari gently rubbed the top of her toe onto Ria's arm.
"No! Stop it, Hikari… I can't!"
She slapped the foot.
Hikari pulled her feet back and slotted them into her flats.
She stood up, standing in front of her couch.
Her lady avoided her eyes.
"Shoes."
Hikari turned and catwalked to the center of the room.
Each step landed on an imaginary center line in front of her.
Her brightly polished shoes shone in the morning sunlight.
Her lady looked away.
"Boot."
She held out her hand, the pair of boots by the doorway disassembled into pieces.
She stepped onto the boot soles, the wyvern-skin pieces assembled along her lower leg.
Thud. Thud.
One foot in front of the other.
Her hands on her hips.
"No… stop it… Hikari…" Her lady looks away.
Hikari disassembles her boots.
Clack! Clack! Her heels floated over and landed in front of her.
"Heels."
Click! Clack! Click! Clack!
The sharp knocking of the heels through the ground shot up Ria's spine.
"No… stop, stop, stop! Hikari…"
Ria got out of her blanket.
She climbed down the ladder and ran towards the door.
Avoiding Hikari's eyes as she went.
Hikari stood still; her lady walked briskly past her and out the door.