City of the damned

Prologue

Blair had always been a good girl. You could call her a bitch but unlike many girls her age, she didn't enjoy making a spectacle of herself by drunk dancing on tables, being involved in sex scandals, shaming her family with your poor academic record or wearing hippie clothes. She embodied what the Upper East Side was. She was refined, intelligent, a princess that always wore the right clothes from the hottest designer. A girl that could stare down anyone with a disapproving look and that knew her place was in the world. But life had been pretty uneventful since her best friend was shipped off to boarding school as Blair never had anyone she would trust her life with like she did with Serena. But she was sure things will change now that her blonde friend was back in town.

Blair was waiting in the living room. She was giddy with excitement, Serena would visit her, Blair would have her friend back and everything will be right in the world.

"Dorota, do you expect me to entertain my guest with only fruit? Bring some croissants. I don't want Serena to think we've become savages." Blair yelled at her maid as she walked around the living room.

"One thing people could never say about you, is that you're a savage, Blair." Serena was laughing as she entered the room. She was as beautiful as Blair remembered. Blair sometimes hated her for it. She was dressed in a white dress, that was just covering her knees, flowing around her body and that draped her arms with short sleeves. Her golden hair was shining in the light of the morning and her long legs were complimented by the shoes with long heels and tiny ribbons on the side.

"Serena!" Blair went to hug her friend. "I didn't even hear the bell."

"Your mother let me in, we ran into each other as she was leaving for her atelier." Serena hugged her back, she was pleased to see Blair, her sister. Talking via emails and phone wasn't quite what they wanted from their relationship. They have grown up together and when Serena's mother decided to send her away because of her behavior, they were both utterly devastated. They were partners in crime, they completed one another and even if they were very different, they never could quite survive without each other. Blair had always been the shy, guarded one but her wild side need Serena to push her to the limit. Serena was the heartbreaker, the one that lived each day like it was her last but she needed Blair who was like her conscience, she tempered her.

"Come, sit. Tell me all about how it is to be home again." Blair said, dragging her friend on the large couch in the living room. "You must tell me what you think of your soon to be step father. I heard he is a charming man, no wonder Lily is eager to marry him."

"I haven't met him yet but I heard he is a very generous man." They both laughed. "You know how Lily likes her life style. I just changed and came here, he wasn't home."

"They are living together already? How nouveau of them." The girls giggled, knowing such behavior was sure to start some gossip even if they didn't live in the 1920's. You weren't in danger of being cast away for being a pariah for such things like living together before marriage but people talked.

"I missed this." Serena said genuinely while giving her friend another hug. "Even if I know everything that's going on with you, it's not the same, is it? Now tell me…" The challenge, Blair was expecting it. "What are you wearing tonight?"

"Tonight? What are we doing tonight?" Blair asked with a shaky smile. Serena's plans always made her nervous.

"We're going to a burlesque club, of course. A speakeasy, if you like."

"I don't think this is such a good idea, you just came back and…"

Serena sighed, rolling her eyes. "I was sure you'd fight me. We're sixteen, Blair, aren't you tired of living life through your precious books?" She said getting up and making a pirouette across the room. She stopped in front of the large window and pointed. "Real life is right outside and you should live it."

"I'm not sure our mothers would approve of us going to a burle…"

"Let me worry about Lily, you just tell Eleanor you're spending the night with me, in my room, exchanging stories."

"If they find out… Serena, this is exactly the kind of thing that…"

"Blair, times have changed and my mother needs me here. Her fiancée wants us to be a family. I won't be shipped off again even if they find out, which they won't! Say yes, Blair! Don't you want to see the dancers? Don't you want to act how you want, without people judging you?"

Oh she did! Blair felt the rush of the adventure presented to her and with a smile, she replied. "Yes!"

Serena convinced Lily that it was imperative that she get re-acquainted with the city and she promised she would be the perfect daughter if she'd just allow her and Blair to go out. Lily adored her daughter's friend and more importantly, she trusted her. So she accepted, as long as they'd take the limo. The driver would wait for them all night and if some danger would cross their paths, someone would know of their whereabouts. Serena kissed her mother's cheek and urged her not to ever mention this to Eleanor, and so they were off.

The streets were buzzing with people's laughter and the bright lights of the city awaken something in Blair. A rush that only the night could give her and since she had never been out at this hour, she felt like she was about to scream from the top of her lungs. The world was her oyster and she felt like it's queen.

The girls were dressed in almost identical dressed. Blair's was red and Serena's was black. They were knee-length, sparkling with fine embroidery and were hold together by delicate straps on their shoulders.

"Where did you get these dressed from? They're outrageous!" Blair laughed.

"Paris. They will make all heads turn, trust me." Serena took her friend's hand in hers, silently reassuring her that this night won't be ruined by anything. She knew Blair. How difficult it was for her to get out of her cage. And Serena wanted to give her a night she will remember forever. "We're here. Are you ready?"

"What is this place?" Blair asked when she was out of the car.

"Victrola." Serena laughed. "Are you so nervous that you forgot how to read?" she teased.

Blair rolled her eyes. "I can see that. But what is it? I never heard of it."

"It's supposed to be the best burlesque joint in town. Eric told me about it. He highly recommended it. So would you stop worry? Let's go in."

And with that, Blair followed Serena inside, not knowing this night will change her life forever.