As part of her red silks test, sleen had to perform a Bazi Tea ceremony. This is an integral part of a good kajira's training, and is a beautiful and intricate ceremony. This is only an example -- please do not use a girl's serve as your own. Each serve should be unique to the kajira; that is part of what makes it beautiful.
Three cups of tea are served in this ceremony. The first one is bitter, and represents the first part of life. The bitterness reflects the fact that when one is young, one lives off of the bounty and work of others. One's very life is a gift, and one must depend on others to live. The second cup is sweet. It represents the middle part of life during which one supports onself. Yet, the sweetness is fleeting and unfulfilling when one lives only for oneself. The third cup is balanced. This represents the third part of life, at which point one understands the need and pleasure of supporting oneself, but also understands that we must all also need the support of each other. This reflects the wisdom and experience gained through living.
The Bazi Tea serve consists of the following:
1. Go to the servery and set a teapot, three small cups, a jar of Bazi Tea leaves and bowls of white and yellow sugar with spoons on a tray.
2. Fill the teapot with a little hot water from the fire. Swirl the hot water around to warm the pot, then empty it out. Fill it with fresh, hot water.
3. Take the tray to the Person being served. Place three pinches of tea leaves in the bottom of each cup, then pour hot water over it.
4. Place one spoonful of white sugar in the first cup, one of yellow sugar in the second, and one of each sugar in the third. you can do this all at once, or each individually just before serving it.
5. you should explain what each cup means as you serve it. The cups of tea should be drunk in quick succession. There is no need to test this tea for taint, unless explicitly told to do so. (sleen thinks that would detract from the beauty of the serve, though, unless you used a fourth cup for testing.)
and that's it!
as always, please add your own unique flavor to your serve. sleen is sure her sisters and brothers out there can come up with truly beautiful serves based on the outline above. If you have any questions, pointers, or simply to do not agree with any of what sleen has written here, please feel free to email her.
of course, Mistress *rising to her feet in one smooth motion, sleen takes three steps back, then lifts to her toes and turns in a flurry of yellow silks...she quickly crosses the floor, hips swaying gently, the soft chime of slavebells accenting each step...entering the servery, she takes out a kettle, fills it with fresh water...then sets it over the fire to heat...*
*dark eyes searching the shelves, sleen leans foward and takes out a beautiful teapot...a deep blue with talendar blossoms painted around the side...and 3 matching cups...setting them on the counter, sleen lifts each, one by one...and inspects them for any flaws in the flickering light of the fire...lush lips curve softly as she sees the beautiful talendar flower painted at the bottom of each tiny cup...delicate fingertips carefully trace the rim of each three times...sighing softly with relief as each is judged worthy of her Mistress...*
*pulling out a wooden tray, sleen sets the teapot and cups on it...then moves to the pantry shelves and takes down the jar of Bazi Tea Leaves and sets it next to the teapot...she then adds a bowl of yellow sugar and one of white...with a spoon for each...lifting the teapot, she turns to the firepit and kneels by the fire...*
*using a rep cloth to protect her hand, she lifts the heated kettle from its hook and pours a small amount of hot water into the teapot...turning the pot in both hands, she warms it with the water, then pours out the cooled water...lifting the kettle once more, she fills the warmed pot to the top...sets aside the kettle and lifts to her feet...*
*setting the teapot on the tray, she lifts it and presses the edge of the tray tight to her slavebelly...turning on her toes, she steps back into the main room and walks towards her Mistress...hips sway gently beneath the yellow silks...the glint of silver at each slender ankle...bells chiming sweetly as she crosses the room and ascends the steps to the dais...*
*sleen sinks to her knees before her Mistress, careful not to spill a drop of the hot water...pressing her thighs modestly together, she leans over and sets the tray on the low table...dark eyes glance up to her beautiful Mistress for an ihn as her pink tongue flicks out to moisten lush, ramberry red lips...*
*her slender arms moving gracefully through the air, she opens the jar of Bazi Tea Leaves and places three pinches of the tea in each tiny cup...lifting the teapot with a small, delicate hand, she fills each cup with the hot, steaming water...setting the teapot aside, she carefully lifts each cup in turn and swirls the hot water around, dark eyes watching as the tea leaves give up their essence...coloring the water...the fragrance rising into the air...*
*feeling her slaveheart beating faster...she struggles to remain calm during this test of her skills...she steadies her hand as she dips one spoon into the white sugar and adds one spoonful to the first cup...lifting the first cup, she swirls the liquid around, letting the white sugar mix with tea...she leans forward and presses her lips to the side of the cup in a soft kiss, then raises it high in offering...a low, velvety voice emerges from her slender throat...*
Mistress, here is the first cup. This cup signifies the beginning of life. It is bitter, as the first fruits of life are bitter, because they are gained through the work of others -- bitter because they are taken, not earned.
*dark eyes flicker up for an ihn as her Mistress drinks...lips curving softly...turning back to the tray, sleen adds a spoonful of yellow sugar to the second cup and then lifts it and swirls the hot liquid...tiny nostrils flaring as she inhales the delicate scent...leaning forward, she presses a soft kiss to the side, then raises it high, lowering her head between outstretched arms, and speaking softly...*
Mistress, this is the second cup. It signifies the middle part of life -- the contentment of adulthood and independence. One sows and reaps the fruits of life by oneself, and that gives great pleasure, but the pleasure, and the gain, is elusive.
*reaching up a delicate hand, she tucks a stray lock of dusky hair behind a shell-like ear...then turns back to the tray to prepare the third cup...she carefully adds a spoonful of each sugar -- the white and the yellow...lifts the last cup and swirls the liquid carefully...lips curving softly as she watches the sugars dissolve...becoming one with the fragrant liquid...she brings the cup to her lips and places a sweet kiss to the side...then lifts it high and lowers her head between slender, outstretched arms...*
Mistress, the third cup. The third cup represents the last part of one's life, during which one finds the enlightment that only experience and a well-lived life may confer. This being the knowledge that only with the perfect balance of one's own hard work and the help of others, may one lead a truly fulfilling life.
*dark eyes flicker up for an ihn as her Mistress drinks the final cup...delicate hands floating to rest on her thighs...a soft sigh of relief flows through her as she finishes this part of her testing...*