It took a considerable amount of time for Lenia to dry her hair and she eventually settled with wrapping her hair in a towel as well. It was surprising to her that she had the knowledge to clean herself properly. She presumed that some semblance of common knowledge had already been planted within her at her creation.
After wrapping her body and hair in towels, she exited the bathroom and found Aleks sitting on the bed, waiting for her.
“You finished quickly, the dresses have not arrived yet. Come, sit next to me.”
He beckoned to her and she sat down next to him unsure of how she should act or what she should say. It frustrated her that she sometimes became so tongue-tied whenever she spoke with him and she hoped that she would eventually get past this. Otherwise, how could she ever become closer to him? This was something which troubled her greatly. She wanted nothing more than her master to notice her, but she felt she was only falling further and further away.
“You have done well Lenia, I am proud of you. You have followed all of my instructions perfectly. So, listen well. Once we arrive at the theater tomorrow night, you are to do nothing until I say so. Do not act on your own no matter how much you may wish to, do you understand?”
“Of course master, I will do as you say!”
Her heart swelled at hearing his compliments and she vowed in her heart to follow his command without question.
Aleks observed Lenia from beneath his mask and was pleased by her enthusiasm. There was no way for Lenia to know what he was thinking and so she fidgeted under his scrutiny. Her face reddened slightly but since she had just finished a warm bath it wasn’t easily noticeable. A sudden knock on the door relieved her of his scrutiny and she was able to calm herself.
“Porter ‘ere, I brought the dresses for ya.”
Aleks stood and walked to the door, opening it to allow the porter to enter. He was pushing a mobile rack which was filled with many beautiful hanging dresses. When he entered the room and saw Lenia wrapped in a towel around both her body and hair he almost tripped over his own feet and gulped.
Under Aleks’s glare, he quickly looked away and coughed.
“Apologies sir! I ‘ope these dresses meet ya needs! Just take whichever suits ya and the cost will be deducted from ya stay here when yeh check out.”
The porter’s drawl was beginning to grate on Aleks’ nerves but he remained silent. Aleks threw the porter a small silver ducat and the porter left satisfied.
“Lenia, you may choose the dress that best suits you.”
Aleks moved to Lenia’s side giving her a gentle push towards the rack of dresses.
She approached the rack slowly, perusing the choices. Her objective was to choose the dress she felt would be the most pleasing to her master. This was difficult because she didn’t know her master well enough to decide.
What color would he like? Style? Hmm… Would he like something more revealing or would that be too sultry for him? Perhaps something more modest or in between?
Lenia found herself quite conflicted. When he had seen her naked body it didn’t seem to her eyes that he had reacted much, so would wearing something more seductive even matter to him?
In the end, she chose a purple dress to match her master’s robe, one she felt fully showed off her assets. It was a low cut dress that displayed her slender neck and ample bosom. It felt soft and satiny but she wasn’t sure what the material the dress was made from. Satisfied, she quickly rushed to put the dress on out of sight of Aleks and spun around laughing once she saw herself within a full sized bronze mirror that had come with luxurious room.
Her master observed her quietly.
“It seems you have chosen a dress that pleases you.”
Lenia happily giggled like a young girl.
“Yes, I err- think this dress suits me well! What do you think master?”
She waited expectantly for his words.
“You look beautiful.”
Her mouth curved into a wondrous smile at his compliment and she twirled again, laughing at her good fortune. Aleks watched her as if he were watching a child pleased at receiving a new toy.
“It truly does suit you, but I think any dress would.”
Lenia smiled coyly but then suddenly gave a shy expression. She seemed like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
“If you have something to say, there is no reason to hold back. You must learn to be more confident. Hesitation is never a good thing.”
Lenia considered his words and pumped herself up, “Mas… Aleks.. I want to take a walk outside.. with you. Can I?”
Beneath the mask Aleks had a warm expression but it wasn’t something Lenia could see. He couldn’t help but be reminded once again of his sister who would always attempt to drag him outside for a walk whether he wanted to or not.
“Hmm… Fine.”
Lenia didn’t know that Aleks already had the intention of going out for a short while. There was something important that still needed to be done before the night was over. He didn’t say anything because he could see how happy she was for responding to her request and left her to believe it had been her idea.
“Then let us depart.”
“Um.. wait.. Aleks, would it be alright if you took off the mask?”
Aleks’s eyes beneath the mask squinted slightly as he grimaced but Lenia could only see the movement of his eyes and became nervous. He hadn’t shown his face much within the city but it wasn’t that he was afraid he would be noticed. Aleks had grown from the boy he once was and his appearance had matured and changed quite a bit. He wasn’t concerned about being discovered as long as he didn’t use any of his unique abilities for an extended period of time. There were very few that might recognize him and the chance of any of them being within the city was extremely slim.
He had mostly done so because in a bizarre way, he hated his face. It was more of a complex really and there wasn’t any particular reason. If he had to give a reason, it was because he felt the face was not truly his own.
Aleks put his hand to the mask and slowly removed it. There was some difficulty in the action but he complied with her wishes despite the discomfort.
“If it bothers you that much master..”
“It’s fine. Anyway, I can not always hide my face. Let me place the mask within my ‘Soul Realm’. Let’s go.”
Lenia could barely contain her joy and nodded towards Aleks, practically skipping to follow him. She giggled again and grabbed his arm without thinking and pushed her body against him. He only looked at her momentarily but didn’t say anything. She had been scared for a moment when she realized what she did, but since he didn’t express any distaste towards her she happily clung onto him as they walked.
Aleks left his room with Lenia clinging to his arm and walked down the stairs leading towards the entrance of the Hotel. He could feel the eyes of every man and woman in the establishment on them. He cared not for their wandering eyes as the men stared at Lenia lustfully and the women with jealousy in their hearts. They made a peculiar sight, a mysterious and handsome young man locked arm in arm with a woman of ethereal beauty.
Aleks ignored them but Lenia quietly observed, noticing the stares. When they made their way to the reception area, she especially took note of the female staff member at the reception desk who was sneakily eyeing Aleks. Lenia already knew that her master was a handsome man and she now regretted asking him to remove the mask. She could feel jealousy rising up within her causing her great discomfort.
“Master.. I forgot something… Can you wait for me here for a moment?”
The two had just left through the doors of the hotel when Lenia made her request.
“Hmm? What did you forget?”
“Um.. my daggers!”
“Ah.. it’s good that you remembered but you shouldn’t have been so careless in the first place. A warrior must always be prepared and we have many enemies. You have only been alive for a short time so a mistake like this can be forgiven. Make sure it doesn’t happen again otherwise our lives may be in danger.”
“Thank you master for understanding! I will be quick, I promise.”
While Aleks felt Lenia was acting somewhat strange he didn’t probe further and waved her off.
Perhaps she feels awkward for making such a basic mistake. I shouldn’t pressure too much.
Lenia walked back into the hotel and fluidly removed one of the daggers which was strapped to her thigh.
She looked around quickly and only saw the female receptionist at the reception desk. The expression on her face was wicked but still charming nonetheless. The female staff member behind the desk noticed her approaching and suddenly became filled with fear as a dense killing intent rose from the beautiful woman approaching her menacingly.
Lenia slammed the dagger onto the reception desk and jumped over the desk knocking the young woman down. She grabbed the dagger from the desk and leaned down to place the dagger against the young woman’s throat.
“If I ever see you looking at him again.. I’ll remove your eyes and shove them down your throat!”
Lenia’s voice had undergone a murderous change and had no hint of her former cuteness. The young woman shook in fear and was too paralyzed by it to speak.
“Nod your head if you understand.”
The woman immediately nodded profusely while tears gushed from her eyes and a sticky wet feeling clung to her legs.
“Good.”
Lenia rose and smoothly lifted her dress, placing the dagger back in the sheath around her thigh. With one last look, she deftly jumped back over the desk and left without anyone else noticing what she had done.
A bright smile was once more on her face as she rushed over to Aleks much like a young woman in love and grabbed onto his arm as before.
Aleks looked at her strangely, “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Lenia’s voice had returned to its prior cute and somewhat timid tone.
The two finally left the Hotel premises and strolled through the busy district streets. The occasional stare continued as they made their way down the winding roads well lit by the light of the moon and the many lamps and torches. There were many people walking the streets but Lenia was the most eye catching of all. It suited Aleks just fine for their stares would only bring him discomfort if they were focused on him.
Sounds from a plethora of sources surrounded them as they walked the brightly lit River Road in the center of the Red Light District. Its streets filled with a diverse and varied populace. Along the street, women of the night called out to every passerby hoping for new clients, or old. The women were of every race and species imaginable. Elves, Dwarves, even Orc women for those with that sort of fetish.
Courtesans littered the city streets accompanying wealthy clients who wished to remain anonymous and so hid behind elaborate clothing and masks. Vendors hawked their wares from every corner as a variety of Humanoid, as well as inhuman-like beings, crowded the narrow roads and alleys.
The city of Andor’s Edge was one of the greatest cities of the Federation of Lords. Because of its bustling ports and the fact that it was a center of trade, the city had one of the greatest diversity of races and species residing within it on the continent. Andor’s Edge was centrally located along the Andor River and an enormous quantity of goods were shipped through its ports heading both far to the north and south of the continent, passing through many nations. It was both the largest commercial center and the destination point for many tourists. There were other cities on the continent that could come close to rivaling it, but none that could surpass it, at least in economic power.
Thugs with clubs and other blunt weapons kept the peace within the ‘Red Light’ district for the most part. However, they mostly extorted weak looking individuals. Occasionally they would break up a brawl or throw an unlucky and most likely poor individual out of the district. The city guard kept their distance and rarely ever entered in an official capacity, but secretly they often visited the faux district for entertainment purposes.
Many stopped in their tracks the moment they laid eyes on Lenia’s unparalleled beauty. She had wandered the city streets alone before, but then she had been filthy and in rags and now she was clad in finery and jewels. Some had attempted to approach them to cause trouble but a slight release of Aleks’s strange and unearthly aura sent them hurrying away in fear once they realized that this man was not so simple. A slight burst of his aura wouldn’t be noticed and so he didn’t hesitate in order to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
Lenia on the other hand appeared in her own world and hardly even noticed the looks she received. She paid no mind to the unwanted attention and stares. Her mind was currently blissful as she held onto her dear beloved master, enjoying the warmth of his body as she clung to him.
Nothing to her could be more luxurious than this.
