Totally not a date

After they arrived back to her room, Dahlia and Bessie quickly began to get ready. By all means, this didn't need to be a big deal. It really didn't. Valentina was going to take 'a bit of time' out of her day to give Dahlia 'a quick tour' of the Lukresh castle. Ignoring that the castle in of itself was huge and would take a ton of time to tour, the fact that Valentina had fully booked off her entire afternoon was telling.

Although everyone called it a tour, only a fool would believe it was only that. So with that in mind Dahlia prepared as though she were going on her first date which, for all intents and purposes, it was. The extremes her maids went to for the debutante weren't needed, but for two hours Bessie diligently helped her mistress by applying makeup, fixing her hair, sorting jewellery, and getting her into a suitable dress.

Although Valentina did occasionally wear dresses, they tended to be of a more sensual nature and were suited for her tall and lithe frame, so finding anything suitable for Dahlia within the castle had basically been impossible. In the last few days after her arrival, some initial purchases were made which is what she used now but it was clear that what she currently wore were only place holders.

The idea of showing something less than perfect to the Archduchess made her heart clench, but with a bit of final adjustments under Bessie's skilled hands, Dahlia would find that the final product was something she could wear in pride.

It was important to note that this wasn't only to impress her love, although that was her main concern. This would also be the moment that the majority of workers in the castle would first encounter their new mistress, and so the image Dahlia needed to create was one which distinguished her from Valentina's previous flings while also demanding respect.

With the Archduchess' absolute authority within the castle it was hard to imagine any servants acting against her orders, but Dahlia still felt it important to make a good first impression. The more she did right, the less Valentina would have to pick up her slack.

With all this in mind, the result led to Dahlia being dressed comfortably, but with an air of regality. At first Bessie had planned to do nearly all the work. Her mistress clearly didn't have much of an understanding of fashion and didn't feel comfortable making decisions regarding it, but as she was about to recommend an elegant but simple ball gown, Dahlia stopped her.

By all means, the gown had a beautiful aesthetic and radiated an aura of elegance and nobility. It was a typical cut as well, so it would hide all of Dahlia's scars but… Dahlia had something else in mind. To her, impressing the workers came secondary. Anything and everything to do with the Archduchess would take priority.

So with an apology to Bessie, she set the original dress aside and gave a look over all the dresses that had been rapidly purchased for her in the last few days and her eyes gravitated to one. Bessie raised an eyebrow but didn't tell her 'no'. Each of the outfits had been pre-approved so if Dahlia preferred one, that was her prerogative. It was just… it really surprised the maid that she would pick that out of all options.

After a bit of time, matching accessories were gathered and Dahlia ended up standing there on full display and she looked like her weight in gold. No, more than that. It was a trumpet dress that accented her curves and flared at the mid thigh giving a seductive but still serious appearance; it was classy enough to pass in high society at the very least. The night black silk with silver embroidery not only shared the colours of the Lukresh family, but paired with her silver-blonde hair it made it look like she was a celestial being from the heavens.

The top was a halter neckline, wrapping her throat almost like a choker, but leaving her arms and scarred shoulders bare. Rather than try to hide it, she had decided to take the first step and embrace the scars from her past. After all, if they would never heal then she should at least wear them without shame. She wore a translucent red shall over her shoulders, mostly to add the final colour of the house but by the time she was done, she was quite proud of how she looked.

Dahlia had no desire to hide who she was. Not to Valentina, and not to the workers. Was she shy and anxious? Hell yes! But did she want to give the impression of the typical sheltered noble girl by playing it safe and wearing a ball gown? Absolutely not. She planned to kill two birds with one stone.

First was the most obvious. This dress wasn't hugging her curves for the workers' pleasure. She wanted to see how crazy she could drive Valentina and a dress that accentuated her figure while also revealing her neck seemed like a good choice. She felt bad for wanting to tempt the vampiress after they had already agreed not to go too far but… getting a rise out of her sounded wonderful and blood drinking was still an option so hopefully the woman wouldn't go too insane.

Her second purpose with this dress was to strike all servants and workers with the image that she was atypical. Her dress was outside the norm, her body was covered in scars, and yet the colours she wore were not her own family's but the Lukresh's. If she was to truly make a place for herself here, she wanted to dash their assumptions and replace them with recognition. It may take a while for them to know exactly how, but today they would at least know that she deviated from their expectations.

Tossing on a pair of black high heels as the final touch, Dahlia finally left her personal dressing room and waited at the bedroom door for her partner. Hardly any time passed however as Valentina was remarkably punctual. Within a couple minutes, the door suddenly opened up and a vampire dressed very well in her own right stepped through.

She was wearing a perfectly tailored suit, as per her more typical styles. It was a slim fit to show her frame, black with silver trim, and a subdued burgundy undershirt led her to have the striking handsome beauty she was known for. Despite the outfit, her hair was pulled back with elegant ornaments and long thin silver earrings hung, giving an air of femininity to the rest of the look. Of everything she wore however, what Dahlia liked seeing most was her expression.

The moment Valentina had entered and laid eyes on her love, she immediately felt a tightness in her chest and shortness of breath. Her eyes went wolfish as she looked over Dahlia like something to be devoured. It was to the extent that it immediately sent shivers of anticipation through Dahlia and it took all their effort to not jump on the other.

Letting a coy smile dance on her lips, Dahlia was the first to take action. She truly enjoyed the way the Archduchess looked at her. It felt empowering and gave her self confidence that she wouldn't ordinarily have. Deciding to tease her a little bit, she stepped up and clasped Valentina's hand with her own, only to press her chest in the other's arm, similar to what she did before when the vampiress almost lost her mind. Biting her lip and looking into those crimson eyes, she was delighted.

She could finally properly see her! Not only that but even if blurred, the Archduchess only looked more stunning as time went on. Those enrapturing eyes that she longed for could now finally be seen and she relished in the sensation as they devoured her body.

It was obvious that Valentina was holding herself back from doing anything rash and that clearly showed in her facial expression, something that Dahlia observed with delight. The woman was even beginning to have a faint growl in her throat as her body began to be overtaken in her own desire, but rather than letting go, Dahlia approached kissing right near her ear before whispering softly like a true temptress.

"Love, why don't we begin our tour? I can't wait to spend more time with you in private, but some servants are waiting for us. We wouldn't want to cause them delays, would we? Besides… I kind of want to see how long I can keep you like this in front of all those workers, it sounds fun~"

Valentina's eyebrows jumped up at that and she looked at Dahlia expecting to see signs of her making a joke, but instead all she saw was a gorgeous but clearly turned on face and at that moment a devil on her shoulder screamed to ignore all previous plans and make the girl regret playing with fire, however… what was proposed genuinely sounded quite fun.

The tour needed to happen at some point, so if her love decided to make things more exciting, who was she to complain? She planted a long kiss on Dahlia's lips before finally pulling back, needing to restrain herself from taking more. The growling in the back of her throat was basically a constant reminder of the heat spread throughout her body, but she did her best to act natural as she charmingly smiled down and nodded towards the door.

"Well then, if you don't mind, I'd like to get this over with as fast as possible. I rather look forward to spending the evening with you, and the sooner we finish the more time we'll have."

Backing off a little but still holding hands, Dahlia smiled and nodded.

"Well I can at least agree with that. As much as I look forward to seeing everything, I think this evening can't come fast enough."

Leading her out, Valentina found herself falling into a very natural state. The two seemed so comfortable together that, even though this was their first time out like this, it felt second nature. As they walked from place to place, the Archduchess would always try to point out the most interesting aspects of what they passed.

That statue was made in commemoration of a Lukreshian martyr who saved thousands of lives. That tapestry tells tales of how the ancient brine dragon of the east coast was defeated in a battle spanning thirty years. More and more, it was like the entire building was a museum and for Dahlia, that resulted in never ending wonder and excitement.

While there remained some sexual tension between them, as Dahlia jumped around eagerly at every new thing Valentina couldn't help but just find her cute. The body and dress may be sexy, but that personality was simply adorable and the vampiress enjoyed every moment.

There weren't any particular stand out locations or events as they walked about. Dahlia's memory was like a steel trap and she rapidly remembered every detail she could. There were multiple kitchens for different wings of the castle as well as for whom they served. There were countless guest rooms, some of which were currently filled with diplomatic representatives or military officers.

Treasuries, libraries, studies, armouries, barracks, servant's quarters… the list really does go on and on. The castle had been constructed in such a way that servants, guards, and guests could all coexist while rarely interacting with each other. Although this wasn't the case for all locations, there was almost always some parallel corridor used by staff, or secret passages for workers to take shortcuts through.

If it had been a typical tour, attention would never be drawn to this but Dahlia was a special case. Not only were all the passages pointed out, but Valentina led her through the interconnected maze of small service passages, introducing the girl to a huge part of the castle's security measures. It was clear to anyone that the amount of trust the Archduchess was showing was leaps and bounds beyond nearly any guest. Only important figures like Esmé were treated similarly.

As they moved about, perhaps the most notable event that occurred was how the workers responded to Dahlia's presence. While some paid her no mind, only paying respects to the Archduchess, this ended up being a minority. Those that ignored her seemed to be under the impression that Dahlia was just a new girl and was inconsequential, but those more informed knew better.

Despite her small stature, Dahlia left a strong impression to the servants, even just in passing. She was as beautiful as a goddess and seeing her proudly walk side by side, hand in hand with Valentina made it so that her image was ingrained in the memories of others. Even those that weren't aware of her position recognized that there was something special about her.

Although Dahlia started nervous when they initially approached the first few workers, after learning that she wouldn't be treated like dirt like past experiences, her confidence rose exponentially. Where first she was concerned her presence might bring shame to her love, as time passed she simply stood taller and taller, proud to be beside the vampiress.

The castle was absolutely massive, and to take in every detail of every room was a fool's errand. In most cases, they would stop by a door, look inside, potentially talk to the staff if there was anything Dahlia needed to know or communicate, and then they went on their way. Even the giant and gorgeous libraries weren't spared this treatment and Dahlia simply had to come to terms with investigating the more interesting locations on her own.

There was however, an exception to this.

They were walking along the third floor, not the highest but nearing the top, when the hallway came to an end and a pair of gorgeous and ornate doors opened to a rooftop. Nearby sections of the castle continued up all the way to a fifth floor, but all that did was frame this wide rooftop balcony, making it feel enclosed and almost like a beautiful but secret location.

The railings were carved of marble and overlooked the lush green gardens of a massive enclosed courtyard below. Benches, tables, and gardens were arranged across the roof, but most notable of all was a gorgeous multi storey greenhouse that shimmered like a jewel in the setting afternoon sun.

This was the end of the tour. The last spot reserved for just the two of them. Valentina had steered clear of this for the entire tour, avoiding windows that might accidentally reveal it before she was ready. Now, she was happy to show her love this treasure. The location seemed so perfectly suited for Dahlia, and the Archduchess could help but feel a smile tug on her lips as she looked at the wonder in the girl's eyes.

Dahlia practically had little stars twinkling in her eyes as she took in the beauty of this location. It felt right to be here. Under the sunset, overlooking a lush garden and beside a perfect greenhouse that practically radiated verdancy. It was like a slice of heaven. She was so consumed by it all that she didn't even notice as Valentina began to lead her forward toward the greenhouse itself and started to speak.

"You know… I didn't really want to get into a discussion about your future work or anything. I just wanted to introduce you to everything and let you have a good time. But, maybe now would be a good time to mention that from now on, this is all yours."

She softly kissed the girl who was standing there in both shock and wonder. Dahlia truly was just perfect in her eyes, and seeing her like this was a treat. With her free hand, she pulled the greenhouse door open and inside was a sight unlike any that Dahlia had ever seen.

The greenhouse had two floors with spiral staircases leading to cat walks above. Vines, trees, bushes, and more all vied for attention as each plant seemed to be more lush and beautiful than the last. There were plenty of rare species that she had only dreamt of, even more that she didn't recognize, and then looking closer about a third of the plants seemed to be magical in nature.

More than just a greenhouse, this was a paradise! Dahlia was so excited she could hardly breathe, and then she finally comprehended what had just been said.

This was hers.

This was hers?

This was hers!!!

Such went her thought process and in the course of a few seconds she went from amazement, to confusion, to uncontainable glee as she jumped into Valentina and gave the tightest hug of her life.

"I love it!!! Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll make these the happiest plants in the whole world!"

Valentina just shook her head exasperatedly all while petting the top of the girl's hair. After a few gentle moments, she finally pried Dahlia's face off her chest in order to point to a pre-arranged table with a large array of food prepared, nestled right by a set of stunningly beautiful flowering plants.

"I'm glad you enjoyed this sweetheart, now how about we wrap up the tour and start enjoying the rest of the evening?"