The room was filled with a pleasant scent as Tsuri stirred the large pot of soup on her stove. The primitive cooker consisted of a rectangular box made of bricks, and the whole structure was about two meters long, a meter deep, and a meter tall. A large opening cut into the top of the stove held the pot securely in place, while a small fire could be maintained beneath it through a slot at the bottom of the box. Hot, smoky air escaped through a small chimney at the back of the stove, venting out through a hole in the kitchen ceiling. This setup allowed the cooking scents to fill the cozy kitchen while keeping most of the kitchen smoke-free. The stove had been well-used, and the areas around the fire slot and the chimney were stained black with soot.
Tsuri was a beautiful woman, but this was difficult to see on first glance. Her hair was unkempt, her face was stained with soot, and her hands and feet were covered with a near-permanent layer of dirt. Her clothes consisted of a simple robe made of coarse hemp fibers and heavily worn shoes made of woven straw. But her subdued appearance was by design. The women of Tsuri's village, along with those from many towns throughout the area, lived in constant fear of the local warlords who were known to take beautiful women back to the rulers' lavish palaces. Some women would be fortunate enough to be made into wives or concubines while others were simply abused and then returned to their homes, battered and broken. It was a common tactic for women to deliberately make themselves less appealing in order to not attract the attention of these lustful men.
But despite the measures that Tsuri had taken, it was nearly impossible to completely conceal her beauty. Her body was slender and smooth with perfectly formed hips and small but pert breasts. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of green, though thankfully she could hide this fact by not looking directly at observers. Only when Tsuri gazed straight at someone could they see the light reflecting from the true beauty of her verdant eyes.
Despite the need for caution, Tsuri had her own ways of keeping herself feeling feminine and alluring. Beneath her shoes, her nails were well-maintained, and even beneath the coating of food or dirt that her hands accumulated, her fingernails were kept trimmed and filled. She even managed to make a razor-sharp knife from some discarded metal tools that she found, and she used the honed edge to give a close shave to her legs and pubic hair whenever she had the chance to go to the nearby stream by herself.
But these small rituals were not the only signs of dissatisfaction that Tsuri showed with her situation. Whenever she saw soldiers employed by the warlords, she glared at them when they weren't looking. One day she gave a particularly scathing glance toward some guards on patrol, but when the men passed out of earshot, Tsuri felt a blinding pain in the back of her head as something struck her hard enough to knock her to the ground. As she struggled to stand, Tsuri looked up to see the enraged face of her mother, Satomi, who was holding a wooden cane in her hand.
As she tapped the stick on the ground, Satomi shook her head and pointed her finger accusingly at her daughter, "You stupid, stupid girl! You don't think I notice the looks you give soldiers that pass by our home? One of these days, they are going to notice, and when that day comes, it won't be something as harmless as my cane striking you on your impudent head! Not to mention the fact that it would likely draw punishment on the rest of the family as well! What do you have to say for yourself?"
Tsuri slowly stood up and dusted herself off before bowing to the older woman, completely avoiding eye contact the whole time, "I'm sorry, Mother. It won't happen again," her lips were pressed tightly together as she pushed down the wave of retorts that tried to bubble out of her throat.
"Of course, it won't. Now go finish the laundry, and start preparing dinner once you are done," Satomi said before turning to walk away, "Such an idiot girl," she muttered under her breath loud enough for Tsuri to hear.
The young woman blinked back tears as she went back to her tasks, "If my own family treats me this way," Tsuri thought to herself, "what hope is there for my life to ever improve in this world of men?"
Then after one particularly exhausting day, Tsuri was making her way down to her favorite bathing spot. She had been working from sunup to sundown, slaving away for her mother and younger siblings, and her hands were trembling from the exertion. At night, she liked to slip away from her home to swim and get away from the stresses of her life. Going during the day wasn't an option since not only was she too busy at that time, but there was also a good chance that someone could spot her. Such a beautiful woman would be either kidnapped or simply captured and raped by lustful men who had little to fear for such an act.
By now, Tsuri knew the way through the forest by heart, and the way was fairly easy to travel. What made her bathing spot so well hidden was the entrance. The only path was a small gap between two large boulders that was barely large enough for Tsuri to squeeze her small frame through. The passage was so small that it was nearly impossible to spot unless one was directly in front of it. As she squeezed between the two large rocks, Tsuri sighed happily as she entered her sanctuary.
This large crevice set between two steep cliffs formed a nearly indetectable space since scaling the rocky formations was difficult. This meant that even from above, no one would be spying on Tsuri, making the location almost as secluded as a cave. Inhaling deeply, Tsuri smiled as the fresh air filled her lungs with the scent of freedom. After getting past the boulders, she walked down a narrow pathway that opened up into the clearing. At the center was a large pond filled with nearly clear water, and the air was filled with a gentle burbling as the natural spring fed the picturesque pool. The edges of the water were nearly surrounded by cattails, and the tall plants formed a barrier that made the spring feel even more protected.
Tsuri walked over to a large, flat rock that was embedded in the dirt at the edge of the pond. As she moved, she was already undoing the cord that held her robe in place before letting it fall off her shoulders. In a casual flick, she expertly kicked off each of her shoes so that they landed neatly next to each other on the big stone. Tsuri then relaxed her shoulders and allowed her robe to fall off of her body, leaving her only wearing her simple cloth undergarments. After neatly folding the robe and placing it next to her shoes, she removed the wrap covering her breasts and her plain white panties before setting them on top of the robe.
Spreading her legs and raising her arms to the sky, Tsuri tossed her head back and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of the cool night air flowing over her naked body, especially over her breasts and neatly shaven mound. Humming happily, Tsuri walked forward into the pond, shivering slightly as the familiar chill of the clean spring washed over her skin and caused her flesh to erupt in goosebumps.
When she was about chest deep, she completely submerged herself in the water and reached down to the bed of the pond. When she emerged, she was carrying a handful of silt in each palm. Tsuri quickly smeared most of the sediment on her face and neck before using the remainder on her hands to scrub them clean. With her hands washed, she reached up and began rubbing her face in small circles, using the gentle grit from the silt to wash away the grime of the day. When her head was finished, Tsuri moved on to clean the rest of her body until a pleasant tingling sensation covering her from head to toe told her that she was finally spotless.
Satisfied with her bath, Tsuri swam over to a shallow area of the pond that was sloped perfectly so that if she laid on her back, her head would barely stick out of the water. As she reclined in her favorite spot, Tsuri looked up at the sky between the cliffs that surrounded her. The night was crystal clear, and she could see countless stars scattered across the heavens. But as Tsuri relaxed in the water, the sight of the night sky brought memories bubbling to the surface.
One day she was down by the nearby river scrubbing her family's laundry until her hands were red and swollen. But as she looked to the side, she saw that she was only halfway done. Looking down at her tender fingers, Tsuri suddenly broke into tears as her frustration with her life overwhelmed her. Just then she heard someone approaching from behind her, and Tsuri quickly wiped her face to hide the fact that she had been crying. As she went back to her chore, Tsuri saw someone else approach the shore, and she recognized the newcomer from her village.
"Hello!" The woman said in a friendly voice, "Tsuri, right? I thought I recognized your face from around town. I'm Emiri, in case we have never formally met," Like Tsuri, Emiri had brought a pile of laundry with her, but her load was much smaller than Tsuri's.
As Emiri knelt down to begin her work, Tsuri replied, "Um, yeah. My name is Tsuri; I do remember you. Nice to see you again," Her tone was friendly, but she only met Emiri's eyes briefly during the exchange.
For a while, both women quietly filled the air with the gentle sound of scrubbing, but suddenly, Emiri stopped. Tsuri nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the other woman's voice less than a meter away, "Hey, your hands are looking awful. Would you like me to take over? I finished quickly since my family is small."
Tsuri turned towards Emiri with a shy smile on her face, "Thank you, that would be wonderful," she replied in a shaky tone as she moved out of the way. After rinsing her hands in the stream one last time, Tsuri patted her palms dry on her robe before sitting next to Emiri.
There was another brief silence between them until Emiri started talking again, "So you have a big family? You're so lucky. It's just my dad, my mom, and me."
Tsuri couldn't stifle her laugh, "Lucky," she repeated, "In my experience, more family just means more chores for me," Most women wouldn't dare question their role in the household, but there was something about Emiri that just made Tsuri feel comfortable in opening up to her.
Emiri pursed her lips, "I guess so. But at least there isn't as much pressure on you to bring honor to your family. With no other siblings, my parents have put all their hopes and expectations on my shoulders," Turning to Tsuri, she smiled apologetically, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to rant."
"Don't worry, I started it," Tsuri replied with a friendly grin, "Plus I already owe you for helping me with the laundry."
"It's no bother, really, and I couldn't stand to see you wincing like that with your raw hands. My mother taught me a trick to help that heal. Would you like me to show you once we are done?"
Tsuri's face lit up, "That would be great!" The women continued chatting till the last of Tsuri's laundry was finished; once they had hung the clothes up to dry, Emiri brought Tsuri back to the forest on the edge of the stream.
