Still grooming herself, she watched Aulfr out of the corner of her eye as he stood and stretched. She'd watched him before, even without a shirt on once or twice. It felt different this time. Watching the muscles shifting sinuously under his skin, which she knew was warm and soft except for the lovely rough contrast of his scars... She made that purring sound again, and she realized when he grinned at her that she'd turned around to watch him. She whipped back around, but he could probably see the flush in her cheeks through the mirror.

"Who says I'm not aggressive? I've never had the chance to find out what kind of person I am when it comes to..." Well now, how to put it? Everything she thought of made her blush. "When it comes to sex," she finished lamely. She hurried on, covering her gaffe with more conversation. "I could be completely wild. Or I could be as shy as a butterfly." She set down the brush and started braiding back the hair the framed her face, securing the braids behind her head so none of her hair could get in the way.

"As for the maids thing, aren't you at all concerned that I might teach them [i]too[/i] well and they'll try to kill you? Or are there just certain things you want me to show them how to do?" But she was already pondering what she'd have to do. The best spies were women. Women were usually more diplomatic, less conspicuous. People underestimated them, so they were less likely to hold back information in the presence of one. She'd need several of the smaller women in the castle. And it would take months to teach them to be any sort of decent at combat. But until then, she could teach them all the ways to loosen someone's tongue. How to hide in the dark and the shadows so even the most alert wouldn't be able to spot them. The idea was appealing.

"I might run into a problem. Women in this country aren't really encouraged to do more than cook and procreate. They won't feel confident in their own abilities. They won't feel as if they have the right to be taught all of this."