Cover image was created by IsaCrisis on DA. Link to image: isacrisis/art/TEW-Juvik-phone-bg-available-709542084
He saw her, past the others. Her slick black dress laced in the back with a red ribbon. Her pale skin and thin structure, along with her short brown hair that was pulled back as well as it could be, leaving it poking out in different directions. Her exposed shoulders and long neck. Long neck… He turned to his left and looked at his beloved sister. Her long black hair was fixed to be wavy and pulled over her left shoulder. Exposing her long beautiful neck. Her thin long face was smiling with light freckles across her nose. Her bright blue eyes, the same color as his, encapsulated him. She looked so beautiful tonight, in her long red dress and white heels. Laura always looked beautiful to him, but tonight she looked especially stunning.
He turned his attention back to the woman that had caught his eye. For the most part, he would try to avoid talking to or even looking at these petulant vermin. He hated their attitudes, he hated how they strode, how they thought they owned the world. Money was often something that changed people into things like this, it fed their ego's, and it only gets worse with each generation it's passed onto. He was glad such things were not as much importance to him as it was to these slimes.
However, through the crowd, he caught a glimpse of her in the corner of the eye. She intrigued him. She turned around to talk Jimenez's overweight brother, Valerio. His eyes unconsciously widen. Her face, it was long, not as long as Laura's, but long. Her smile was like Laura's too. Her eyebrows hung lower and were thicker than his sister's. But then he noticed her eyes. The light that reflected off her eyes, caused her eyes to shine. They were purple a bright lavender. He was surprised that he didn't notice them sooner. Could people even have naturally purple eyes? Despite the question, he found it so entrancing, he couldn't pull away.
Her eyes shifted towards him while still talking. Ruben practically thrashed his head to his left, leaning forward slightly and bring his left hand up to his mouth. He gave an awkward cough. He felt heat rising to his cheeks. His mind was scrambling for answers. What was happening? Why did he feel this way? Why was he so flustered? This shouldn't be happening. He loved Laura, she was the only one he loved. She understood him and has always been there for him. He shouldn't be feeling this for some random woman. A woman he didn't even know.
His mind immediately snapped away from his panic induced questions and he realized something, he didn't know her... He's never seen her once at one of the mansion's annual parties before. Otherwise, she would've already caught his eye sooner. He leaned up and looked back at her, she was walking towards the underside of the staircase, to meet with a rather tall man who mysteriously had shadows covering his face. He was surrounded by two other men, lackeys from the looks of it. One with a scar on his cheek, which seems as though he tried to use foundation to cover it. The other, who had white gloves on, marked with a red symbol. Ruben lowered his eyelids, there was something going on here.
"Ruben?" He was immediately snapped out of his trance and he looked at his sister who was standing next to him. She was smiling and holding a glass full of red wine. "Is something the matter?" she asked.
"No, it's uh- nothing," he replied. He quickly glanced back towards the woman who was now talking with the man. Before looking back to his sister again. She relaxed and took a step away from him, giving a bit more space before turning to look at the rest of the crowd.
"Not many new things to see at this year's ball, huh?" she asked. It almost felt ironic.
"Yep," he replied releasing a sigh. She turned to him with a sympathetic glance.
"Ruben I know you don't care for these things. But it's good for our image," she said apologetically.
"I could care less of what we look like to the outside world," he stated "As long as we're happy, that's all that matters." She smiled and nodded in agreement.
"That's very true," she said, taking a sip from her glass. Ruben never did like being around these people. That was a fact. He hated being surrounded by these microbes.
"Excuse me?" He turned to his right and nearly jumped. It was her. He realized he had to slightly look up at her, she was taller then he thought.
"You are Mr. Victoriano correct?" she asked. He took a second before answering.
"Yes, you are correct," he said straightening up.
"I was wondering if you would like to dance," she asked holding out her hand. His eyes widen a bit before turning to Laura. She had an ecstatic grin and nodded in approvement. He cleared his throat and took her hand in his.
"Of course," he replied trying to keep his cool. They walked out into the middle of the floor and he looked at the band. They immediately caught his gaze and began playing one of his favorite songs, one that he would listen to regularly and play on his piano. She placed a hand on his shoulder, which he immediately felt the urge to swat off. Until he remembered what was happening and who he was with. He was so close to her face. Her eyes were so alluring. Sweat was beading on his forehead. It felt that it'd be awkward to continue to stare her in the eyes so he looked down and cautiously put his hand on her hip. He of course knew how to dance, but only did so with Laura, she had taught him after all. The feeling of dancing with a stranger filled him with a bit of anxiety.
He began to move back and forth, and only after a few turns and spins, he realized that she was having a hard time syncing with his movements. She nearly stumbled and he stopped. Everything changed in that moment, whatever persona she had built up came crashing down. Her movements became erratic and she started stammering.
"I'm so sorry. These heels are hard enough to walk in, as it is. I'll admit that I've never really danced like this before." Her face was red with embarrassment. It broke the tension between them. He saw that she wasn't a non-human, perfect seductress. She reached down and took her heels off.
"It's ok," he said while laughing reassuringly. She pushed her heels away from us and now stood shorter than him.
"Do you want to take over?" He asks her. She gives him a confused look.
"What?" she asks.
"Do want to take control of the movements?" he asked "It might easier."
"Uh, sure. If you wouldn't mind," she said straightening herself up.
"Not at all," he replied grinning. He felt a lot more comfortable now. She let down her façade and showed her true self. And, admittedly, he liked it.
She began to move back and forth, he was following her movements. Which, admittedly, were a bit erratic, but he didn't mind. She seemed nervous at first, but started loosening up the longer they danced.
"You see," he said smiling, "No problem now."
"Hah, yeah," she replied, trying to smile. He realized that now, he could take the opportunity to ask some questions.
"So if you don't know how to formally dance," he said looking at her. "Then why did you ask?" She glanced up at him.
"Oh, well to be completely honest. I actually wanted to talk to you. But more privately," she said laughing almost nervously.
"Well, I'm here," he said lowering his eyelids. She had a bead of sweat on her forehead.
"Hah, well, my name is Juli Kidman," she said smiling "I live not too far from here. Though I never have attended your parties. I actually didn't hear anything about them until recently." It felt scripted. The wording was to unspecified, not only that but it felt like it was something studied and memorized for an oral exam. The only thing that seemed natural was her name. If she were to have explained it on her own, then it would been more decisive and flowing. That's just the basics of social communication skills. Even though he could feel some tension there, he tried to ignore it. He had just met her after all, he shouldn't be jumping to assumptions. Perhaps it was just because she was nervous.
"Who's that man, you were talking with under the stairs?" He asked, diving right in.
"Oh, he uh- he's a friend," she said "My father's friend to be more specific."
"Interesting," he said look at the man under the staircase. He couldn't see his face that well, but he could tell that he was watching them, as well as the two others.
"Mr. Victoriano, might I say that your house is very grand. I bet it's just as big on the inside as it is on outside," she said trying to re-catch his attention. He looked back down at her.
"Thank you," he replied "It's been in our family for years."
"I'll bet you have many rooms for many different activities, after all, why go to some other place when you can do it the privacy of your own home," she said smiling.
"Indeed," he replied. "We have a library, a piano room, dozens of guest rooms, a large kitchen, a spacious basement, ect." He tried to think of any other of the rooms he possibly missed.
"You must have a safe room, do you not?" She said with a smile. He looked into her eyes, but couldn't see anything beyond the question. Without second thought he answered.
"Not exactly. We have a safe in one of those rooms. Of course it doesn't hold all of our money," he replied slightly skeptical. No wealthy person asks a question like that, because there are no such things as safe rooms, other than in Scrooge McDuck's mansion. But she simply nodded, and looked up at the second floor balcony and ceiling.
"You know, Mr. Victoriano, I'm quite envious of you to be honest. My house is not nearly as large as yours. But it's still considered bigger than your average home." She smiled.
"You know, I don't think I've ever heard of the Kidman's," he stated. There was split second of what looked to surprise, before replacing it with an understanding smile.
"Well we moved here a few years ago," she stated. "We used to be from out of state."
"I see," Ruben replied. She seemed very uncultured to be from a rich family. Yet he liked that. It was nice to see someone who didn't act snarky, egotistical, and self-centered like the others. Yet she stuttered nervously and acted as those she was socially awkward or uncomfortable. He'd like to think it's just that, but he couldn't shake the feeling there was more. That her words weren't of all truth, and that she was mostly acting. But at least he felt more in control of the situation.
"They're staring," she muttered. He was pulled out of his thoughts and looked at her face, her eyebrows knitted upwards giving a scared and uncomfortable look. He looked around the room and noticed most of the people there were watching them.
"Don't mind them, they're just bored," he said "They want something to occupy their empty lives." She snorted. He cracked a smile.
"You're quite savage," she said "You don't hold anything back or sugar coat it. Unlike these swine." She was jabbing at them too.
"And do you like that?" he asked, practically flirting with her.
"It makes for a nice change," she said smiling up at him. So, she also thought a lot like him. At least when came to her opinion of these pests. He found himself questioning, why was he really enjoying his time with Miss Kidman? It felt almost too good to be true. And it felt like entering foreign territory to him. At first, she appeared to him as an a brilliant enchantress. But now, she was an actual, "decent" human being. He really was enjoying spending time with someone who wasn't Laura… He hoped this didn't mean what he thought it meant.
"Excuse me," a deep voice butted in. They stopped and turned to the one who had spoken. It was the mysterious man. Now, out in the open, he could see the man's face. There wasn't anything really that special or important about him. He seemed about average, but he was very tall and his features gave the impression that he was very calculating. He had blue eyes, much like himself and Laura. But unlike Laura's innocent bright blues, this man's light blue eyes were like sharp daggers. And the moment that the man and himself made eye contact, he felt like they were piercing his very being. Ruben's smile faltered.
"May I take this dance?" he asked, reaching out a hand towards Juli. She looked genuinely confused for a moment, before laughing it off nervously and taking his hand. Ruben felt a bit of jealousy rise up as they step away from him and danced together, leaving Ruben behind, standing there in disbelief. He stared blankly, a feeling stirred in him, it was anger, but it also mixed with another, disgust. Resentment. His arm was suddenly grabbed by someone and he was quickly pulled back through the crowd. He turned to see Laura, hauling him away. Oh god, was she angry? He thought worried. They returned back to their previous area and Laura looked so happy that she could burst.
"Ruben that was adorable!" She squeaked. "I've never seen you get along with someone so well." He blinked at her, and before he could respond.
"She's a keeper. Did you get her number?" she asked in a hushed voice almost as if try to only have Ruben hear it. He immediately snapped out of it upon realizing that.
"I'm not interested in her that way!" He snapped, feeling heat rise to his face. She only giggled happily.
"I saw the way you looked at her Ruben. You can't hide that from me," she said. Her hands were on her cheeks. He had never seen her so ecstatic. He thought about this. Laura wasn't jealous, in fact, she encouraged his feelings. He had never thought of ever falling for someone who wasn't her. He was falling for someone he just met?! NO! He just met her. A simple attraction, couldn't possibly be chosen over years of love and bonding.
"I just met her, and you're acting as if I should just get down on a knee and propose to her," Ruben stated heat stinging his cheeks. He felt like a flustered child. She leaned back, fingers loosely intersecting, with an "oh my god", happy expression on her face.
"Ruben, I never said anything about that," she laughed. But calmed herself. "I'll admit I got a little too excited about this. It's just that I've just never seen you act like that with anyone before."
"Well…" he searched for words. "Still, I barely know her, and besides..." He turned back to the center of the room, watching the two dance.
"I think there's something suspicious going on."
"And what do you mean by suspicious?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"That man," Ruben said, not taking his eyes off of him. "There's been something off about him." He turned back to her.
"Not only that, but some of things Miss Kidman said felt forced, scripted," he said. "I think she's being forced to come here and talk to me by that man."
"You really think so?" Laura asked looking at the dancing two.
"I do," he replied. "I believe there's some sort of pre-intention to this. He most likely wants something from us. I don't see any other reason why."
"Well, what could he possibly want from us?" Laura asked concerned.
"Money possibly? Miss Kidman definitely didn't seem to be from a wealthy family. She seemed too uncultured. Her social skills seem to be very underdeveloped to be from one. She didn't know how to dance. And overall, she never gave the vibe of being of wealth." Ruben had been very deep in thought while saying this. He realized just how much he got from her in a single interaction.
"But you still like her?" Laura stated more than asked. Ruben broke from his thoughts.
"Y-yeah," Ruben replied, looking as if he's searching his mind for a definitive answer.
"I mean, if she's going to try to steal from us, no.. But like you said before, I've never connected with anyone like that before. And especially, not so quickly. It was like we instantly connected… I really hope that wasn't a façade." He looked disappointed. Being able to connect with someone so well, right off the bat was certainly a feet for him. The idea that the woman he had been talking to wasn't real, that she was nothing but a fake personality to get info him.. That the enchantress could be the real her, or maybe both of those personalities were fake. One to lure him in, the other to get his trust.
His stomach tightened, he didn't want to believe it. He wanted to hold off on it. There could be a lot of different reasons for her presence here tonight. But he knew it was a possibility. Whether or not that's the case, one thing was for certain, there was definitely a darkness looming among the group.
"Look, either way, there's something definitely going on," Ruben said looking back out onto the dance floor. They were gone. His heart skipped a beat. He furrowed his brows and scanned the room. They were nowhere to be found. He looked back under the stairs, the group was gone.
"Laura, do you see them anywhere," Ruben asked. He felt his heart rate accelerate each moment he couldn't seem to find them. Laura scanned the room, he noticed the panic in her face.
"They're gone Ruben.. We need to start searching the rest of the mansion right now. They're might try and steal something," Laura said distressed, she quickly put the wine down on one of the small lamp tables.
"No, you need to stay here and hold the crowd. I'll go after them, wherever they are," Ruben replied straightening his tie. Laura turned to her brother.
"Are you sure you can handle it? I mean, they are an entire group," Laura asked worried. He looked back at her and smirked.
"You know me Laura. It won't take long," Ruben replied with a wink, before rushing off to the door that lead to the kitchen. Laura looked after her brother and sighed.
I sure hope so, she thought to herself.