Chapter 540: The Great House of Katag
The crescent moon shined in the clear night sky, filtering faint silver light into Tauri’s bedroom. She could have lit the magestone lantern hanging from her ceiling but ever since traveling through Vulture Woods she had gotten used to little light, in fact, she had grown to prefer it.
She closed her eyes and for a moment it felt as if she was somewhere else, far away from Hollow Shade and her family’s manor. The slight breeze whisked past the window and through the room and she caught the faint scent of rain.
Then she opened her amber eyes and came face to face with the mirror and the reflection of a noblewoman. It wasn’t her. A tight-fitting dress of a soft shade of pearl. The neckline ran low, but instead of pushing her modest bust up tightly, it opened down the middle, letting her breasts hang naturally to the sides, hugging them snugly. The dress had a long slit that ran up to her hip. A thin semi-transparent gold fabric covered her scarlet voluptuous legs, tantalizing the eyes of any onlooker of what lay underneath. As a final touch, she wore a pair of tall heels, pushing her hips upward and accenting her most proud quality. Even from the front, it was hard not to notice the way her bottom curved around her hips.
The pearl dress was made especially for her, created to seduce any who glanced at her, all for the sake of potentially attracting a potential suitor. No doubt her mother had set this all up. Tauri would have chosen any other dress for tonight’s dinner party but it seemed as if someone had raided her wardrobe and left her only with the pearl dress. Her mother’s handiwork.
Tauri sighed and fidgeted with her short black hair. “Thanks, mom…” she muttered.
She had always enjoyed the parties the nobility threw, especially the ones thrown by the Noir family. Lady Dolores went all out without sparing any expense. Tauri enjoyed socializing with her peers and was eager to hear the latest gossip among the mageborns and merchant princes. She had even enjoyed the occasional gaze of certain suitors who caught her fancy. But after Aizel’s death, she had withdrawn from the courting circles.
Evelyn Katag was a wise and shrewd woman, but patience was not one of her virtues. She had given her daughter what she considered enough time to mourn and was now trying to push Tauri back into what she called, ‘a young lady’s most important duty.’ Marrying well.
Tauri understood her mother’s words, noble Houses rose and fell by alliances amongst each other. And the most secure alliance was marriage. Tauri had been raised her entire life knowing she would marry a noble lord someday, the thought had never bothered her, after all, her parents had found her a great match. But Aizel was gone. And now the idea of dinner parties and engagements seemed like a faded dream.
Their city had just been under attack a few nights ago. Countless people had died on both sides. The entire idea of celebrating in the Villa district while the commoners rebuilt their homes at the edge of the city seemed ludicrous.