"Leave us." Aurenna calls, waving a hand side to side in the air. There's something about watching her servants dress you that irks her. Even if they're mostly measly betas doing their job, she doesn't like it. Is it affection she feels for you? Far from it.

She stands from the cushioned chair, chin held high, "I'll deal with the finishing touches."

The servants look to one another, no doubt giving each other a look that promised gossip to fly from their lips once they left. Not that Aurenna cares, honestly. These days, not much troubles her, and her image and actions have always invoked whispers behind hands and fans.

Once they finally leave, she steps close to you. You've done well under her "care". Soft silks and organza certainly fit you better than the dirty rags ever did. Aurenna met you when she'd been on her way to a council meeting. You were too pretty to remain a peasant, but too low in status to be someone to rule by her side.

Thus, she plucked you up from the streets and assigned you to be her concubine. She's had her fair share of them in the past, even when she'd been married. Her late husband, an omega, never had the gall to voice any complaints about her indulgences. At the very least, the other omegas she was entertained by actually talked to her. Her affairs led to a bastard being born, and she sent them away to a private home within the region to keep it a secret. Her legitimate child, at least, has been given to the Emperor for him to marry and bond.

She picked you out of boredom, honestly. People in events don't bother flirting with her, not when she's a widowed woman. She grew exhausted of the lack of challenge her past concubines no longer met. Not that she blames them, considering they were trained to be docile.

But you by no means were ever trained. Aurenna's not sure of what kind of life you lived before she turned you into her property; she's never bothered to ask. Her methods might've been questionable, but she considers herself a pretty lenient alpha. If you wish to leave her estate, she simply assigns a knight to bring you back by sundown.

Mostly, she just wants company. Someone to dress up, and someone to relax with when the stress of being a Duchess gets to her.

"Maroon fits you well," She muses, tipping your chin back. It's a color that matches her lipstick and the pendant that hangs at the center of her sternum. She won't ever bond you; she found that link rather annoying when she'd been bonded to Elias. But this works fine for her. "A shame I can't bring you to any events."

She'd love to show off a pretty thing like you, knowing that only she had you.