Dangerous Dancing

The yearly Hellfire club gala was the event everyone at society's top wanted to be at. Everyone that was important was there. This year it took place at one the clubs most powerful member's estate in Alaska. Outside it was dark, at the end of October the night came early, but the inside was showered with light. The sound would be rather overwhelming if you stepped in from the calm outside the mansion, it came from the music and a few hundreds of people mingling, small talking as well as plotting amongst each other. Higher ranking members of the Hellfire club tended to stick out, not only did they radiate power, but all of them wore clothing inspired by 18-th century fashion.

One of these persons was a woman in her late twenties that wore a dress with a corset like top, square neck, wide flowing sleeves and a lose skirt that rustled slightly as she moved. The sleeves and the skirt was made by a fabric that shifted between black and very dark red depending on how the light fell on it. The corset was simply black, which created a contrast to the rest of the dress. It was impossible to see that she carried a hidden gun strapped to her inner tight, a smaller one to her left bicep and a knife on her right one. She wore her hair pined up in art full twists and turns, even though some locks of her raven black hair already had escaped its pins. Her skin was pale, almost to the degree where it would look sickly and her body was thin, but muscular. She had piercing blue eyes that seamed to watch everything at once, her nose was straight, her cheekbones high, her lips were full and her facial shape sharp. It was a hard, but beautiful face, without any softness. She talked to various people, mostly politicians and successful businessmen. Yet they always seamed distant from her, or if it was she who was distant from them, it was hard to tell. In the form of Oliver Ryland, Elias Bogan approached her.

"Hello, miss Tessa." he greeted her. "Lovely evening, isn't it?"

"Yes it is, Bogan. It was most gracious of you to host the party here."

"Aaa, you found that out. I shouldn't be surprised that you would. Have you told Shaw yet?"

"No, this is something he doesn't need to know. If the position of Lord Imperial remains in shadow, he won't crave it."

"Now, why shouldn't he crave it? To be the ruler of rulers?"

"You know as well as I do that you will never let go of the position. If Shaw knew that he could climb higher and only you were in the way he would try to kill you."

"He would fail."

"Yes. You would have him killed or make him an other one of your puppets. Both scenarios would destroy my influences over the Lords Cardinals."

"Of course. You prefer to rule them from the outside. But you should know that a woman like yourself easily could take your own place with in the inner circle. You are as wealthy and powerful as any of them. I don't think that it would be so hard to get rid of Miss Frost and the position as White Bishop still isn't taken."

"For the place as White Bishop we have one with useful talents on probation. And can you see me as the White Queen?"

"You're right. It doesn't really fit to have you on the white side. The black side on the other hand..."

"Selene is already tiring of the club. It's only a matter of time before she distract her self with something else."

"And then it would be time for you to make your move. Brilliant. Fore someone eternal Selene has a very short patient. I knew that someone like you would have your goal set high."

Tessa only smiled at him.

"Oh, I have completely forgotten to compliment you, 'cause you look wonderful tonight."

"Thank you. You don't look to bad your self."

Bogan chuckled. "Your dress is fabulous, but I can't help to think that the overall look lakes something."

"Really?"

He nodded, and then looked at her with half closed eyes.

"A necklace. You need a necklace. And I think that I have the perfect one."

"You might be right about that. A necklace would look good together with this outfit."

"This way my dear. I'll show it to you." Bogan placed an arm over Tessa's shoulder and they started to walk out from the ballroom.

"Just for the record I'm not anyone's 'dear' and I can walk without needing your support."

Once again Bogan chuckled. He found Tessa very amusing.

"Of course. You are one very independent woman, my dear Tessa." he said as he took away his arm.

~o~

It didn't take them long to reach the room where Bogan housed some of his more valuable objects. Besides the door he entered a code of seven numbers, Tessa memorized them all.

7346578

She also noticed the motion detectors locations in the corridor. Doing things like locating surveillances was just something she did out of reflex. As the door swung open it became more obvious that it wasn't a normal door, but a two decimeters thick steel door.

"Welcome to my little treasure chest."

Tessa followed him.

"Impressive."

The lights had flickered on as soon as Bogan had entered, to revile a grand room filled with various items in glass showcases. The objects varied between the most unimportant looking things to gaudy jewelry with to much gold and valuable stones. Tessa took it all in, from this room's high tech security to the fine coating of dust that covered everything. Bogan went directly to the showcase that stood almost farthest away from the entrance. Inside laid a necklace made of very old copper that the years had turned black and green. It looked very similar to tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, except it was attached to a thin chain which looked significantly newer compared to the tablet. There was even cuneiform script on it.

"Originally it was a tablet." Bogan said, confirming what Tessa had suspected. "It's Sumerian and almost 6000 years old. When it was found during the 16-th century it war tweaked into becoming a necklace. The story says that the writing described the object that must never be found again. That sixty tablets were made and spread across the world to warn, to ensure it wasn't forgotten and found by mistake."

"Interesting story. Have you had the tablet translated?"

"Yes it says that if this thing is found the world will shake and fall. That the lady of the northern skies hid it on the other side of the sunrise. My guess is that it was just a story, but it makes a beautiful necklace for a beautiful woman."

While he spoke he had turned of the cases security and taken out the tablet, now he fasten it around Tessa's neck.

"There you go."

"Thank you."

"Let's go to the party and show it off."

~o~

Most of the electrical lights had been turned of and replaced by lots and lots of candles. As result the room was darker, but had a completely different atmosphere created by the flickering lights and constantly moving shadows. It was now that the dancing began. A waltz was playing when Tessa returned, necklace laying heavy on her chest. She considered finding Shaw but decided against it. He would find her if he needed her advice. Instead she went to Jean-Luc LeBeau.

"I see you brought your sons."

Jean-Luc turned his head to look at Tessa instead of the dance floor.

"Oui, it's temps t'ey learned 'bout t'is side of it. T'ey mig't know all 'bout our side, mais ta side estjust as deadly."

"You are right about that, perhaps this-" Tessa waved her hand towards all the people at the dance floor. "-can be even more dangerous at times. You can not trust anyone here either and the ones smiling at you are probably trying to stab you in the back at the same time."

"Et Feu de l'Enfer est le pire."

"Correct."

The waltz ended and Jean-Luc's sons returned, one with his fiancée at his arm and the other one already looking for another young woman to dance with.

"Tessa, t'is be mon garcons."

"Bonjour."

"'enri et sa fiancée Mercy."

"'ello." said Henri.

"Et Remy."

The younger one bowed.

"Bonjour mademoiselle.Would you veux une dance avec moi?"

"That would be lovely."

Jean-Luc had a concerned and slightly puzzled look on his face as he watched Remy lead Tessa to the dance floor as the band tuned up another waltz. Tessa was a good contact to the club, perhaps a way in to it, but he wasn't sure he even wanted his any of his two sons in the club. A good power platform, but so was the thieves guilt. Tessa might belong in that world, but Remy didn't and he was close to entering it.

~o~

Remy was a good dancer and so was Tessa. She could be good at any thing she wanted. As they danced she took in every aspect of Remy and added it to his so called file inside her head. Slightly over 1, 80 high, muscular built, brown hair, specially made lenses to hide his red on black eyes. Able to charge objects with kinetic energy, making them explode, master thief, uses charged playing cards as bombs or projectiles, weapon of choice; boo-staff. Womanizer and planned for an arranged marriage with Belladonna Bordeaux.

"So, you're w'it 'ellfire."

"Yes."

"W'at's it like to be among the worlds most powerful people?"

"Not too different from your life, except you can only trust yourself."

"Everyone plotting against everyone. W'at a way of living. I'll always 'ave the guilt et ma famille."

"Surely there is power hungry people amongst your ranks."

"Oui, but t'ey're few. 'ere everyone is."

"If you want to get anywhere in the world you must be ambitious. Ambition and power huger often go hand in hand."

"Or un gives birth to the other."

Tessa nodded. "If you settle for a dead end job at Wall-Mart for example, you might have dreams of another life, but if you wait for life to change, instead of changing it yourself, odds are that you will not end up at this gala."

"'ow come you ended up w'it le club?"

"How come you ended up with the LeBeaus? I will tell you what, the wish for a better life."

"T'ats vrai."

The dance ended son afterwards and both returned to Jean-Luc. When they reached him Tessa excused her self, saying that there was a meeting she had to attend. After she had left, Jean-Luc looked at his son.

"Elle est une trés belle fille." Remy said.

"Une trés dangereux femme." Jean-Luc corrected. "Gardez vos mains dans elle."

"Peut-être."Remy shrugged and then left to ask some woman that had caught his eye to dance.

~o~

It was easy for Tessa to find Sebastian Shaw. He was a large man that stood out in the room. He as well wore clothing similar to what had been popular for the higher classes during the 1700. His black hair wasn't as extravagant as it had been then, it was simply pulled back. The hair line had been retreating for some years, but he was still far from bald. He had whiskers and his face was hard with many lines from his 52 years of living. Beneath bushy eyebrow sat brown eyes. Even though he wasn't the best looking he was still rather attractive, women was drawn to his experience, but mostly it was his money. He was something of an economical genius and had made his fortune when he reached his twenties. From the very first time Shaw meet Tessa he had recognized her talent for what was a good deal and what wasn't. He had taken her under his wing and now she was his personal assistant, or more correctly, his adviser. She helped him with all business, on the wrong side of the law as well as on the right, and politics. Shortly put, the only one he trusted.

"It is time to go. The meeting is about to begin."

"Well, what's wrong with being fashionably late?"

"The sooner it begins, the sooner it is over."

"You're right as always. Let's get going then."

____________________________________________________________________

Author's Note: And here is the first chapter. I'm very, very sorry about my dreadful attempt at writing a French accent. I did it by replacing all H:es in their speech with ', since H isn't pronounced in the French languish. I wont translate every single word, I'm sure that you understand it anyways or at least can guess. Here comes what I think is in need of translation:

Et Feu de l'Enfer est le pire =And Hellfire is the worst (Not entirely correct in the French translation, but I used an online translator to try to get it right. To heighten the odds I tried several, with different outcomes from every single one. This is what I decided to go with at the end.)

garcons = boys

veux = want

avec = with

vrai = true

Elle est une trés belle fille = She is one very beautiful girl

Une trés dangereux femme = One very dangerous woman

Gardez vos mains dans elle = Keep your hands off her (online translator again, so don't blame me if the French turned out wrong.)

Peut-être = perhaps

If there is anything more that you don't understand you could always use Google translate or something similar. Hope that helps.

Let's hope that you will keep reading and find it enjoyable.