Dancing. The music…
Laughing. The humans…
Clinking, chatting, the -incessant noise of their pathetic joy…It sickened him. It bothered him to no end. But it was necessary. All of this. And they had to suffer through this night to ensure their survival. Sometimes he cursed this ritual of theirs, but he reasoned that he could make it through this one night each year. If the rest of them could do it, he could too.

Kamijo stood at the top of the staircase, observing the partygoers' actions with deadly sharp eyes. He held the demeanor of a hawk, prowling the skies, observing the little world below as they went on, merrily unaware of the doom that was to strike on five unlucky humans.

No- unlucky would be the wrong term, in truth. It should be considered an honor to become Kamijo's next annual feast.

But he must choose carefully. They all must. Invited to this annual event were all of France's finest, the ripest fruits all there for the picking. All they needed to do was find the right meal, and this dreadful event would be over. Kamijo only had one chance to hunt out his continuation of life, so he had to be very, very careful. If he picked someone with unfit blood…well, that would be the end of on of the Lords of Versailles.

"Kamijo." A soft voice startled the man our of his observations, and he turned to the side to see a lavishly dressed[literally] man grace his side, blond hair piled atop his head like a fine woman. As Lord Hizaki rather successfully passed for. He had evidently put on his best gown for this event, along with an owerpowering scent that make Kamijo's nose want to wrinkle up. "Hizaki." The blonde man's heavily made-up eyes were focused on the crowd below them, gazing around with a ferocity that could rival Kamijo's. he snapped the fan he held in his right hand open, fanning himself gently and (thankfully) carrying some of his flowery scent away

"You look troubled. I trust you haven't found yours yet?" Hizaki spoke, his voice higher-pitched than most definitely male voice. Not a problem, he could raise the pitch when needed.

"Quite…neither have you, I assume." Hizaki sighed and nodded his head, resting his lacy fan against the tip of his nose.

"What of the other three?" Kamijo continued, reaching into his pocket and drawing out a golden pocketwatch. 10:47. They only had midnight to do this!

"I know not of Yuki or Jasmine, but I can see Teru from here setting his prey up nicely. Kamijo detected almost a smidgen of jealousy in his voice as he slid the fan shut and pointed it into the crowd to spot the third Lord of Versailles. The man's two-toned hair stood out quite well amidst the sea of browns and blondes. Teru was indeed conversing with a young, decent looking woman, who's interest for Teru went far deeper than his did for her. He just wanted her blood, her life force, nothing more. He couldn't choose who he felt this brutal attraction for; none of them could. It was just a primordial urge that drew these sophisticated men to a certain person each year. If they fought it, they would die. If their instinct was wrong, they would die. Life for the Lords of Versailles literally hung on this ritual being performed to the utmost perfection.

"Well, at least he's enjoying himself…my head is about to burst." Kamijo grunted, rubbinh his throbbing temples. Hizaki giggled softly, quickly letting his amusement fade away when he could feel Kamijo's harsh, icy glare. A shiver ran down in his spine. Sighing again, the blonde man closed his eyes for a moment, opening them up quickly as if he had an epiphany.

"I'm going to go find Yuki. Maybe he's having a share of Teru's luck." He announced, descending the white marble staircase that opened right into the middle of the main ballroom. He made sure to walk on the crimson and gold carpet strip that ran down the middle of the white marble, so his heels didn't scuff the polished stairs.

I guess that leaves me to find Jasmine. At least it offered a distraction from all this noise and clamor of the humans invading his home. Instead of descending the stairs as well to mingle with the filth he could smell from the top of the stairs, Kamijo turned around, deliberately avoiding contact with the humans socializing on the second floor(the first floor was too crowded for them, the third and fourth floors were off limits to humans). But of course, there was always that one annoyance that was just bound to get in your way. A young woman, gorgeous by the day's standards but utterly bland in Kamijo's eye- timidly approached him, her gown rivaling Hizaki's in eye-catching beauty.

But it wasn't the expensive gown, nor the precious smile on her tanned face, nor even the priceless jewelry she was adorned with that made Kamijo hault in his tracks. It was…her. Her existence, her being. It was a delicious scent that made his eyes widen and his mouth water. Finally.

"Lord Kamijo! Thank you so much for inviting me to this gorgeous event at your amazing palace." Her voice sounded like innocent little crystal bells, but they fell upon extremely deaf ears. Her voice could have sounded like crunching gravel and it wouldn't have changed this…thing he felt. It wasn't attraction. He didn't even think it was an emotion. It was just strange gravity pulling him in the direction of this girl.

Kamijo gave her a charming, toothless smile, taking her hand and touching his lips to her knuckles. His throat closed up for a moment, but he forced it back open to speak. "The pleasure is all mine, I assure you." His voice was cool and calm, completely betraying his racing pulse. "I would never exclude such a…beautiful woman from my event." She giggled softly, making a humbled gesture. "Oh, Lord-"

"Do you dance, my dear?" He interrupted, manners the last thing on his mind. She didn't seem to mind it. "A tiny bit, you know, here and there…"

"Do you waltz?"

"Oh, yes, I love to waltz!"

"May I then, perhaps, ask for your company in the ballroom?" Kamijo asked, extending a hand which she took all too eargly. "I'd be honored."
As you should.

Jasmine Yuu was looking extremely flustered, his cheeks red and throat knotted tight. Where could he be? "Oh…" He was backed into a corner of the ballroom floor, too afraid of the throng of humans to try and make his way through. They could tear his dress, or just get that disgusting human odors all over him. Ick…he shivered just thinking about it. B-but I must find him…or else, well, he didn't want to think of the consequences. Perhaps the evening meal would come to him? Yes, yes! Of course it would! Ha ha! Silly Jasmine, you were all worried for nothing…!

Yuki was being more productive in his prowling techniques. He slipped through the large, mingling crowd, brown eyes wide and alert, almost frenzied. He took in each person's face gown, suits, the body beneath, and the personality underneath all the skin. All od them were unworthy. Muddled. Dirty. And to think I was once one of the,…he scoffed, thoughts not getting in the way of his observations.

"Yuki! There you are."

Yuki's intense eyes glanced from the face of the elderly Navy general to a slightly frantic Hizaki, a frown passing his thin lips. "Yes?"

"Yuki, dear, do you know where-" Both men's breathing hitched in their throats, bodies locking up. Yuki's gaze moved behind Hizaki's head; Hizaki's eyes moved to the left, head soon following. Like zombies, they departed from eachother, following the preset path as if they were bloodhounds on a scent.

Kamijo escorted the woman onto the dance floor, where everyone was pairing up for the last dance of the evening. Glancing around warily, relief washed over him when he could spot all four of his comrades with their suitable partners. Excellent. This night would pass without incident, then. Kamijo, pulse still racing with excitement and anticipation, rested one hand on his chosen female's waist and joined his other hand with her's. it took all of his will and energy not to attack her right there. But he couldn't. they weren't barbarians. This ritual required perfect timing.

Everyone moved with perfect rhythm in time to the music, human and non-human alike. The waltz was, in this case, a five minute dance, and their plan went into effect around the four-minute fourty-nine second mark. So on they danced, until the final steps came, and each gentleman dipped their partner and leaned close to her left ear, as if to whisper personal thanks for a gorgeous evening. At that precise moment, five pairs of fangs sank into five vulnerable necks, the urges they had been living with that entire year finally being satisfied. Not only did they drain the life from their honored victims, but they drained them of memory that they were ever bitten. And they just go on living the rest of their expendable lives, slightly weaker of body and soul.

"What a lovely dancer you are," Kamijo commented dryly after the dance, all interest in the dazed woman completely gone. "T-thank you…"
"But you'll have to excuse me, others require attention." And he left, allowing no more words to be uttered.

The other Lords had departed from their partners as well, gathering amidst eachother for a moment.

"Well, that was…better than last year." Teru shrugged, wiping stray liquid from the corner of his lips.

"Archie was not a very nice dancer, though, which ruined the experience somewhat…" Hizaki remarked, fanning contentedly at himself with a small grin on his face.

"It wasn't the…Jasmine?" Yuki's voice was laced with worry as he glanced at his indigo-gowned friend. Jasmine was rocking peculiarly back and forth, and his pale, soft skin was becoming more like cracked, stained-blue porcelain.

"Oh- Jasmine, what's-AH!" The man suddenly collapsed, his body shaking violently as he reached for his own throat to try and stop the burning.

"I-I-I…" It hurt to attempt to speak. Everything hurts, everything hurts… A hoarse scream tore from his throat, and silence came over the entire ballroom for a moment. Wide-eyed Hizaki crouched down next to the seizuring male, reaching a shaky hand out but retracting it when Jasmine growled ferociously. "Hizaki, don't." Kamijo said calmly, the most level-headed of them all in this horrifying moment. Hizaki turned to him, makeup-stained tears making their way down his face.

"Why? Kamijo, what is happening! Y-yuki, Teru, get a doctor, get a cab to the hospital, please-"

"There's nothing you can do." Kamijo interjected, grabbing Hizaki by the shoulder and yanking him back, away from the struggling Jasmine. "H-help – m…e!" He wheezed with each intake of breath, reaching a tremoring hand out to no one in particular. Kamijo shook his head, turning on his heel and ascending the staircase, leaving the other's to their pointless worrying.

Hizaki watched him leave for a moment, his vision completely blurred by tears as he snapped his head back to his friend. "H-hold on, Jasmine, please! YUKI! Please, call some-!"

"Hizaki, there's nothing we can do." The blonde's lower lip trembled as he shook his head in disbelief. He reached out, clutching Jasmine's hand tightly in his own and holding it to his chest. "Why- why, please, someone…" He bowed his head, tears splashing onto the marble beneath Jasmine's dying form, staying like that until the man's violent thrashing came to an end.