"Ugh.." Arthur grunted with each thrust, both of his fists positioned on each side of Aurora's head.

They had to have an heir so they'd been doing this for what...5 years now? At this point Aurora didn't even seemed fazed by it. She was zoned out every time he barged into her chambers. Today she chose to stare out into the garden, her eye twitching a bit as she tried to drown out the noises of her husband and the bed creaking with her thoughts or by focusing on the sweet songs of the birds outside. Eventually she blinked and snapped back to reality as Arthur climbed off. "Finished?" She asked, her voice quiet and tired. She had already expected the answer anyway.

"Yes. I am on my way now, but next time try to make me feel like I am with a woman and not a corpse." He grumbled and fixed his hair after pulling his pants up.

"You told me to be quiet" she said and slipped back into her undergarments. Even as empress she was too tired to fight the will of her husband. The gods knew she didn't want to be empress anyway. She was going to speak again but found that Arthur was already gone, probably looking for another noblewoman who'd fall under his charm and sleep with him.

Aurora sighed and slipped into her gown, shaking off the thought and fixing her hair and making sure she looked composed and dignified before she stepped out into the hallway and made her way to the meeting chambers. The meeting, as usual, was boring, men trickled in and spoke of their wives being disappointments, others fought over land and material goods. Some came in for gold, some got the gold, some did not. Some women even came in, women who worked in orphanages begged for greater funding and Aurora obliged, she knew this was worth it, wanted the kingdom to be prosperous, she didn't want anyone to suffer in the kingdom now ruled by her.

The meeting came to an end after some long droning hours and Aurora had decided to go to the bathing chambers, stripping her clothes off and sinking into the steaming water as she hummed and leaned back, closing her eyes as she let the water wash away her worries and sorrows. The warm water caressed her skin while the scent of jasmine filled her nostrils, momentarily transporting her from the cold reality of her life.

"What a day it has been" she whispered and glanced at the door as her puppy, Flora, scurried in. The small dog's claws clicked against the marble floor, a welcome sound in the silent chamber. "Oh...what are you doing here my love?" She cooed and reached a hand out to pet her little head.

Flora let out a bark and immediately licked at Aurora's hand, her wet tongue tickling against skin, causing her to grin and stifle a laugh. Truthfully, these moments were some of the only times Aurora had ever felt happy. She was going to step out of the bath after a bit but saw her maid walk in with some floral bathing perfume and a clean cloth that she was going to use as a bath rag. Aurora had seen and let her help her bathe many times before but it never failed to make her heart flutter because of the way she touched her so gently and tenderly, like she cared. "Which essence did you bring today? It was rose yesterday was it not?" She asked with a soft smile. "Did you know you look even more beautiful when the moonlight hits your skin?"