11. So Unassuming

The doors from the hallway led into a small elegantly appointed foyer. Leaving the foyer and entering the main suite Aurren was dumbstruck at what was before her eyes. She felt like she had walked into the personal quarters of royalty. From the intricately carved wood on the doors, furniture, and moldings, to the rich embroidered silks and linens- and this was only in the living area. A balcony spread out beyond great glass doors with a magnificent view of the undulating hillside.

'No time for this Aurren!' she told herself, as she continued through the lone doorway she assumed led to the bedchamber.

Once again, she was in awe. From the high bed piled in soft down blankets and pillows, to the exquisite handmade rugs, the thick golden brocade drapes and even a crystal chandelier, down to the glow of the soft wooden floor and the crackle in the fire- this was the sort of place she never envisioned herself.

It was only now that she began to wonder just how far Vader had gone to see that she had everything she needed. She could hear his voice echoing in the back of her head, telling her that he was a man of his word. Aurren walked towards a slightly open door that she assumed was the bathroom

Just as she suspected, another beautiful room. A large, deep tile bathtub sat in one corner, surrounded by a variety of oils and soaps and salts- a stack of fluffy, fragrant towels next to it. The walls and floor were covered in veneers of brown and gold swirling granite. The shower was quite large as well and was covered on all sides in mottled glass and even had a bench built into the side. Along one long wall with a massive mirror hanging over a white marble vanity with painted porcelain sinks. The vanity was practically overflowing with every beauty product she had ever seen, and even some she hadn't. The drawers were much the same.

'I couldn't use this much stuff in a year…" Aurren thought as she picked up a few of the beautiful jars and bottles. Perfumes, lotions, oils, cosmetics, as well as some more practical things like toothbrushes and brushes and combs and razors.

Looking into the mirror, Aurren frowned at her appearance. She looked like a peasant amongst these richly appointed rooms. She had to find something else to wear, "Maybe if I look like I belong here I'll start to feel like I belong here. As she left the bathroom, she turned and glanced at the large bath. "I'll be seeing you later," she said in its direction, and re-entered the bedchamber.

Noticing a large armoire against one wall, she began to make her way over there, until she noticed another doorway. 'Must be a closet," she thought distantly, and changed directions.

Opening the door, her jaw dropped to the floor. Most of her life, Aurren never made much fuss over clothing or shoes or jewelry- any of the like. She worked for the empire now, and she had a uniform, and when not in that, there was still a dress code. Of course, she did have her days off, but never an occasion to wear anything of any elegance. That didn't mean that she wasn't just like any other warm blooded female, and the view before her was enough to give any woman a complete joy-gasm.

'No… Way…' was her only thought as she tried to take in row after row after row of sumptuous gowns and less formal dresses, tailored pants and breeches and leggings, linen and silk tunics in an array of lush, fine fabrics. More shoes than she had ever seen in one place were lines up along the back wall. There were soft kidskin boots in varying sizes and colors, delicate sandals- some simple and some elaborate with jewels and stones and gold and silver, slippers in exotic leathers and embroidered silks, and even some shoes that were for hiking or exercising, including a pair of sleek black dura leather slippers that were exact matches for the ones she had back on the starship.

Aurren tried to remind herself that she had no time to be overwhelmed, and began quickly going through the clothing, trying to decide what would be appropriate for a dinner meeting with Darth Vader. She couldn't help but eye each of the beautiful, elaborate gowns that hung delicately from soft covered hangers. 'Why would I need these?' she thought, but pushed it aside.

She decided that something conservative would be good. A dress most likely. It would be respectable, she thought, to show up well groomed. Aurren finally settled on a green silk dress that fell just to her knee. It had a fitted, deep vee-neck sleeveless top, and a pleated, slightly fluffed out skirt, with a white silk sash around the waist. She selected a pair of white leather slippers and left the closet before she could change her mind.

Placing the dress and shoes on the edge of the bed, she began stripping off her clothes. Upon reaching her undergarments, she realized that her plain white panties and bra would not work under the dress. She had almost decided on going commando when she remembered the armoire across the room. She rushed quickly to it and swung open the doors… and couldn't help but blush profusely.

Aurren was immensely grateful for all that her lord had provided for her, but this was unexpected. She imagined she should just think of it as full of "undergarments," but the finery she found was unlike what she would consider simple undergarments. No, this was lingerie. Darth Vader had supplied her with a very impressive collection of delicate, intricate,… completely gorgeous lingerie.

Running her fingers over silks and satins and soft cottons she noticed literally every conceivable piece of lingerie. There were stockings and slips, bra's, garters, panties and… even garter belts. And they all seemed to be in matching pairs, in every color and cut…

It occurred to Aurren that this was very strange… did the man behind the mask… did he… he couldn't have…

She tossed aside the thought that this, these tiny pieces of intimate apparel, meant anything besides… well… to be worn as undergarments. Vader probably didn't even know what exactly was in the room, just told someone to stock it for a woman. 'Ha!' she thought, "As if Darth Vader had brought me here to have his way with me,' she giggled to herself while pulling delicate silk panties the color of her dress from a drawer, 'Hell, he probably couldn't even if he wanted to… the whole mask thing and all.'

Tossing aside her old white undergarments, she slid the tiny green panties up over her hips and then pulled on a white satin slip. Carefully, she unzipped the dress, and pulled it over her head, zipping it up again as she bent over to slid on the slippers. She rushed then to the bathroom to do something with her hair.

Upon first seeing herself in the mirror, she stopped suddenly. When she put the dress on and zipped it up, she knew it felt good, but she had no idea it would look this good. She pulled a large natural bristle brush from one drawer and ran it through her hair. She then pinned it up with some tiny pins she found that had what looked like diamonds and jade encrusted on them, leaving the back down to hang loosely over her shoulders.

Not being someone who regularly wore makeup, she rummaged the drawer with cosmetics and settled with a light powder, a sweep of mascara to make her look more awake, and some plain clear gloss. Standing back to take a good look, she smiled. 'I think I look better now than I ever have in my life,' she thought as she ran her hands over the beautiful green silk of the dress, 'shame that the only one who will see me is Lord Vader.'

Lord Vader.

She hadn't really had a chance yet to think about the strange conversation on the cruiser. So much of it had confused her. It felt like he was forcing himself to be cordial sometimes, and others- well others it seemed like he was angry at himself because he was nice to her.

He was supposed to be this huge domineering thing- everyone was scared of him, but not once had she ever feared him. She was so intrigued by everything about him- especially the part where he had told her he was a force-user. If it didn't seem virtually impossible, her first thought would be that he was once a Jedi- but everyone knew that all of the Jedi had been eradicated- or as some whispered- gone into hiding. As if the Jedi -who were loyal supporters of the Republic- would ever become minions to the Empire… no, not a Jedi. She had heard about other force users. Many planets had force sensitives who were talented healers or insightful priests and priestesses. She had also heard once about the Sith, who were the opposite of the Jedi. Darth Vader could certainly be a Sith.

Looking at the chrono on the wall, she realized that she would have to meet him soon. She stood in front of the vanity mirror and stared blankly at herself. She felt very strange about Lord Vader. He had basically told her that he had respect for her where he normally had little respect for anyone. She had impressed him. He was pleased with her work- and really- that was all that mattered.

For once she was truly going to be doing what she loved, as hard as it would be for her to be here on Alderaan where so many bad memories haunted her. More than that, she had a boss now that realized her talent, that appreciated it, and hopefully would push her to her limits.

She focused on her image in the mirror once more and then rushed from her rooms. She had a reputation of always being on time, if not early… and now would be a bad time to change habits. Aurren admired the swish of the silk skirt as she bounded down the stairs, slowing herself once she hit the bottom. A person shouldn't rush through a house like this, she thought, its too beautiful for that. 'Graceful Aurren, just try to be graceful.'

The door into the living room was slightly open, and a warm glow emanated from inside. Sliding the door open just a hint further, she slid delicately in the room, her slippers barely making a sound on the wood floor.

Darth Vader turned from where he was seated at the head of the table when she entered, then stood as she walked into the room, following the swish of the skirt to where her hips swayed from side to side. 'This is so not good,' he thought, his eyes wide and his jaw agape. For what felt like the hundredth time since he had met Aurren Farr, he was grateful for his disguise.

ok, the rating for this fic will raise here very shortly. just a heads up!