Aria
I tore my eyes away from Serene's intense gaze as my heart rate sped up. She couldn't know that Lyall and I were mates. No one could.
“There's nothing serious going on between us. I am just his mistress. Everything will be over when I give him a child.” I answered bitterly. She laid a comforting hand on my shoulder and I leaned into her touch.

“It will be okay, Aria. I promise.”
I sighed. “I hope so,” A bit of silence ensued between us and I basked in her company. Serene's presence was so warm and comforting and I instantly felt better. “Have you seen, Lyall?”
“No, actually. He left the palace a while ago and he hasn't been seen since,” She replied and I stilled. She must have noticed my unease because she quickly added. “It's nothing to worry about. You know Lyall. He's probably out clearing his head. He'll be back soon.”
I relaxed. That seemed reasonable enough. A lot of things must be on his mind right now and he needed time and a lot of space and I was willing to give that to him. I owed him that much.
“Thank you for looking out for me, Serene. We don't know each other much but you've been nothing but kind to me.” I said with all the sincerity I could muster and Serene's face broke into a genuine smile, exposing her pearly white teeth.
“Of course. We girls gotta stick together. And you've been nice to me too.”

My eyebrows rose at that. “Have I?”
“Well you’ve not exactly been hostile now, have you?” The corners of her lips lifted mischievously and I couldn't help but chuckle.
“I guess so.”
She nodded, satisfied. “I should take my leave now. I hope to see you in the dining room for dinner?”

I flashed her a small smile. “Of course.”
Serene walked to the door and suddenly turned around like she remembered something. She stuck her into an inner pocket in her dress and pulled out a small bottle.
“Here. It's a bottle of ointment for the scars,” She said and I unconsciously reached for my neck. “Use sparingly. It's very potent.”
I slowly took the bottle from her hand and examined its contents. It was a pinkish portion and it looked potent enough.
“Thank you, Serene,” I said and I meant it. She flashed me a small smile and went on her way. I applied the ointment to my neck and felt an insane relief from the sting. I let out a sigh. Bless Serene's soul. What would I do without her?
Soon it was time for dinner and to my disappointment, Daneesha did not show up to dress me up. But I was lucky this time. The maidservant who was nice to me earlier was back and I let out a whoosh of air.
I was grateful that it was not one of the hostile ones as I was not in the mood for their taunts and snarky remarks.
“Hello there,” I said, returning her shy smile. She looked far younger than most of the maidservants in the palace and despite her pretty face and bright green eyes, I could tell that she had a story. One that I might be too sad to hear.
“Ma'am.” She replied and I stiffened at the title. None of the maidservants treated me like I was anything special. In fact, they treated me like I was beneath them. I honestly didn't want to be treated like I was above the others. I just didn't care for the hatred and mistreatment.
“What's your name?”
“I'm Kiana and I'm here to help you get dressed for dinner, ma'am.”
“You can call me Aria.”
“But—”
“It's okay. Let's get started now, shall we?” I said, taking a seat in front of the huge mirror.
“Of course, ma'am— I mean Aria.”
I shook my head, stifling a laugh as the flustered maidservant began to select a dress for me. She chose an emerald green dress which complimented my skin tone perfectly and got to work on my hair and face. She dusted a little bit of makeup on my face and tied my hair up into a neat bun with little strands framing the sides of my face.
I wore the dress and admired Kiana's impressive handiwork.
“Good job, Kiana.” I appraised and she beamed.
“I'll take my leave now.” She bowed slightly and began to exit the room.
“Wait!” I called out and she halted immediately with a startled expression on her face. “Have you seen Daneesha?”
She shook her head. “No, I haven't. I could look around if you like?”
“No, that's okay. Thank you.” I said with an air of finality and she left the room. My face fell as I thought of Daneesha. She should be here instead. Where was she when I needed her the most? Maybe she avoided me because she was going through something. It was my turn to be there for her.
I dismissed those thoughts from my head and grabbed a black shawl, securing it around my shoulders and back. There was no need to hide the bruises any longer but I didn't need to give the maidservants more reasons to gossip about me.
I hurried through the hallway, blocking out the hushed whispers from the maidservants and guards and I took a deep breath before opening the doors to the dining room.
All eyes landed on me and I self-consciously adjusted my shawl before making my way to my seat, noting that Lyall was nowhere to be found.
I managed a smile at Serene who smiled back immediately. She had changed into a different dress from earlier and this one was a royal blue dress, similar to mine in design. I scowled at Mason who I also noted was dressed finely in a black velvet jacket.
His blonde hair was tousled but it still suited him. He caught me staring and the corners of his lips lifted in a smirk. I quickly looked away, flushing red with embarrassment. Why did he always get on my nerves? He always looked like he was up to something.
“Well, well. Look who decided to come late.” An annoying voice said and I didn't have to look to know who it was.