Thank you all for your reviews. I was hoping for a bit more action with this story, but maybe it's just not some people's cup of tea. I am taking a little longer to post with this one than my past stories because, again, I am hoping for a bit more notice with my stories. My last fic received a little over a hundred reviews and this time I am hoping for more. I see sometimes, authors put up a review goal for their fics. I don't really want to do that, but I would like some more reviews, follows, and favorites (but who wouldn't right?). So tell your friends! If I get 10 new reviews, I will update tomorrow as your "treat" for Halloween, so review if you want more!
The Blood Countess
Ch. 2
" As the Count leaned over me and his hands touched me... a horrible feeling of nausea came over me, which, do what I would, I could not conceal."
- Bram Stoker, Chapter 2, Dracula
It was a Saturday, the first day of their break, and she still had to get up at an ungodly hour. Her and the girls were helping Andrew decorate the arcade for Halloween. What with Halloween being next week, it seemed a little late to her. Andrew claimed it was due to a lack of help, so here they were. She got the job of standing high on a latter, hanging lights. Which, knowing her track record, seemed like they were asking for it.
"Careful Serena! You need to wake up before you fall and hurt yourself Meatball Head!"
"Cut me some slack Rei, I'm suppose to be sleeping, it is a Saturday after all!"
Mina came and gave her another string of lights, "If we didn't get this done this morning, then we wouldn't have time to get costumes for the party tonight."
She let out a groan. She had forgotten about the party. She had hoped the others did too. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy parties, she just really didn't want to go to one that Darien would be at. Any chance that she had for looking good, in front of some guys who didn't know her, were dashed as soon as he decided to come. Her luck, she would bump into him and get mortified all before the clock struck 12.
Mina caught on to her sudden mood, "Come on Serena, it won't be that bad. It's a party! You love parties!"
"I love parties that don't include a certain jerk who has made my life hell for years now."
"Darien? Even if he does go, Ami says the place is huge. I'm sure we won't even bump into him."
"I fear that I am not that lucky Mina."
The house was filled with people running around setting up for the night. He stood off to one corner watching them flitter about in pure amusement. It wouldn't be long before the whole house was filled with new blood. His excitement was nearly brimming over the top. He currently watch one server in particular. She was bouncing around from table to table, setting up the dinning hall. She was young with bouncy red curls that twisted as she walked. But he paid little attention to that. It was her smell that he was attracted to. The virginious ones were always the best to him. Sure, the others were fine, but the less tainted the blood, the sweeter.
Another younger looking man joined his side. His short blonde hair sat on top of his head in boyish curls adding to his youthful appearance.
"Will there be a large gathering tonight?"
"Yes, Louis, there most certainly will."
"Good. I so look forward to meeting the community."
"I think you will be happy with the selections I have made my brother."
"I love a good variety. I do hope we have many choices, you know how picky she can be."
"Yes, I know. But I think she will be more pleased than the rest of us with some of our guest."
"Let's hope so."
The young server caught his eye. She gave him a flirty smile with her ruby red lips. As she passed by the two men, he gave her his sexiest smile and she nearly fainted before disappearing in the back of the house.
"Please excuse me brother, it is my lunch time."
She had been searching the racks for an hour now and she had yet to find a costume. Everyone was waiting on her; they had found perfect costumes for themselves. Mina followed close behind her carrying her prize, a black and orange witch costume complete with black hat and black and orange striped thigh highs.
"Come on Serena, there has to be something you like!"
Lita appeared with her green fairy costume over her shoulder. It consisted of a green tunic that was frayed at her thighs and sparkly wings.
"If you don't pick something, we will pick it for you."
"I think I should just take this as a sign that I shouldn't go tonight."
Rei had her firefighter costume in her arms, a tight red and yellow top and black shorts with black suspenders, and Ami had already in a bag having paid for hers, a 50's style nurse outfit made of blue cotton with white sleeves and collar. All their costumes fit them so perfectly, and not just by their personality but also their bodies. They each looked amazing making her even more hesitant to going to the party.
Rei began searching the rack next to her, "Even Ami found a costume and you know how hard she is to please."
"I just don't like slutty outfits, that's all!" Ami defended.
"I don't like slutty either. Plus none of these are really me."
Mina screamed a few rows away from them, "OH MY GOD, you guys I found it."
She held it up for the rest of them to see and Serena began to feel faint while the others cheered.
Lita's hands clamped over her shoulders, holding her up, "Looks like we found you a costume Serena. Now let's pay and get out of here!"
The girls did a great job with decorating, much better than he could ever had done on his own. He had originally asked for help to spend some time with Lita, since Darien was no help. Darien could have smoothed things over with Serena and given him an in, but that wasn't an option according to Darien. Any plans he had for a little alone time with Lita were quickly dashed when she enrolled the rest of her gang. It was unfortunate but the arcade looked great.
After the girls left, Darien soon showed up, forcing him to leave the arcade and go on wild goose hunt.
"Seriously?! If you had told me this was a costume party, I never would have agreed to come."
"Quit complaining Andrew. You have been after me to go to all those stupid parties for years."
"Yeah, who knew all I had to do was make sure Serena was there..."
"Shut the hell up."
"Ooooo I hit a nerve!"
"I am just going to get on her nerves...and to make sure she is okay."
"Are you ever going to tell her about being her guardian angel?"
"A true guardian does it from a distance and does it in secret. I'm not doing it for any reward."
"Like hell your not! You are doing it for her happiness and for you that is a pretty big reward."
"Look, I already do not want to go to this party and now I have to find a costume that doesn't make me look like a complete ass hat. So are you going to help or hinder me?"
"Alright, alright. But we have to find two anti-ass-hat costumes, one for me and one for you."
"What should I expect at this party anyways?"
"You're asking me?"
"You've been to way more parties than I have."
"Oh so now you're wishing you had gone huh? Well there's not much to them. There's drinking and dancing, probably a lot of inappropriate dancing with it being a costume party. Girls always use Halloween as an excuse to wear as little as possible. It's like a get out of being a slut free pass!"
He looked over to see the blood had drained from Darien's face. Darien was really protective of a certain blonde. He understood why but sometimes it was just too much.
"Calm down Darien, Serena is a responsible girl."
"Are we talking about the same person?"
"Okay, maybe not responsible. But she is has never been one to do anything reckless or dangerous. Not to mention she dresses like a saint. I really doubt that you will have to worry about her costume tonight."
The house sat completely still for the first time in years. Other than the sound of the clock ticking in the living room, it was completely silent an empty. The sound of voices approaching and the sound of feet on the steps sounded thunderously through the quiet house and the scrapping of a key in the door sounded painful in comparison to the once quite house. It took one last reflection over it's stillness, even the dust was still, all holding it's breath as it's solitude ended.
The door flew open, welcoming the five excited girls into it's warmth. Shoes flew and soon the living room's clock was over shadowed with the chatter of the girls.
"I need a rest before we do anything else!" Rei declared.
Lita moved into the kitchen, "Serena, what do you have to eat?"
"I have no idea."
"Well I'm sure I can find us something..."
"The day you can't make something delicious is the day that hell has frozen over" Mina yelled out.
Ami sat quietly next to a nervous looking Serena who was eyeing the contents of her most recent purchase.
"Serena, what's wrong?" Ami asked softly.
"I guess I'm just a little nervous about this."
Rei sat on the other side of Serena, "Nervous about what?"
"Tonight. The party, this costume."
Mina moved a little closer to the three of them, "You have nothing to be nervous about, that costume looked great on you!"
Lita called from the kitchen, "Yeah Serena, just think that you look amazing and you will. Confidence is sexy!"
Rei put a comforting hand on Serena's shoulder, "Besides, we will all be there with you."
"I guess you guys are right. I've just never worn anything like this before."
Quickly standing, Mina put a proud finger in Serena's face, "Maybe that's the problem. I mean, you are the most virginal one here!"
Ami and Serena cried out together, "HEY!"
"It's true. Ami, don't act so innocent, we all know that you have been to at least second base before."
The bluenette blushed deeply and bowed her head in silence. Truly a confirmation of Mina's words.
"See! I told you. So out of us all, Serena is the most virginal. She hasn't even kissed someone before!"
"Mina! I have too!"
Lita quickly returned from the kitchen and all eyes were impatiently on Serena. The whole group was suddenly very close to the small blonde, who looked as if she regretted her words already.
Rei was the first to say anything, "You kissed someone and you didn't tell us!"
Mina was practically in Serena's lap, "WHO, WHO! Tell us dammit!"
Serena put up her hands defensively, "Calm down, it happened before I met any of you. I just don't like to talk about it."
Ami, the only rational one, quietly asked, "Why? Is it painful?"
"Yes, it is. It was my first kiss but also my first heart break. I was ten and he twelve but I had known him almost my whole life. We were best friends growing up and I loved him dearly, but one day our age difference became a problem. Some jerks made fun of him for hanging out with me. I guess he felt that their opinions were more important and he stopped being my friend after that."
"Well, who is he?" Lita asked.
"I don't think so guys..." Serena assurted.
Mina nudged her a little, "Oh come on, tell us!"
"Yeah, Serena, just tell us. PLEASE!" Lita pleaded.
Rei stepped up, "Guys, if she doesn't want to tell us then she doesn't want to tell us."
"Thank you Rei..."
"She's probably too embarrassed to admit he was a dog..."
"REI!" Serena squealed angerly.
"What, I'm just saying. Why else wouldn't you want to tell us?"
"He is just...no one you know. No one knows him any more." Serena whispered sadly.
Serena was gathered in a group hug before tears could fall, breaking her free of her sad walk down memory lane. After all these years, that boy still affected her.
Mina ran over to the stereo, "Okay, that is enough sadness. It's the weekend, we need to get into party mode!"
Finding a song she liked, she turned the volume up and began to wiggle her hips and do the "Monkey". The group soon fell into laughter and the conversation turned to more cheerful matters.
The bus had dropped them a few blocks from the party, but the line of cars ran to where they stood and it was still growing. It was as if all of Tokyo was invited to this party. All they had to do was follow the line of cars to the house. Stumbling a little bit, she was still getting use to the heels that Mina made her wear. They hadn't even gotten to the party and her feet were already beginning to swell in the three inch, white pumps. She pulled her coat around her tighter and followed closely behind Lita and Rei who led the way.
Ami wasn't exaggerating the size of this place, it really looked just like a castle. A large fountain was in the middle of the loop-around driveway with large cherubs carved into it, dancing in the water. The exterior was made up of a dark rock, giving it a castle feel. The dim lighting could be seen through the windows in almost every room and shadows passed by them letting her know it was a full house. The thumping of the base from the music could be heard from where they stood in the driveway.
They were blasted with sounds and heat as soon as they entered the castle. A chandler hung high and bright above the grand foyer as Ami called it. It was large and covered in crystals that twinkled with every color. The foyer flood was a warm white marble and the walls were covered in a white and gold striped wallpaper. A large staircase formed at the edge of the room and curled up the many levels above. It's golden banister and marble steps screamed elegance. The room itself was very bright and warm, a stark contrast to the rest of the rooms. Before they could move into the rest of the castle, a cute young woman in uniform stopped them.
"May I take your coats?"
It was the part of the night that she feared the most. She took her time unbuttoning it and slipping it off her bare shoulders. Underneath was a white unitard. The top was like a corset but it was attached to the french cut bottoms. She had had to beg Mina to let her wear the white opaque tights that she now had on under the unitard. They shimmered like silver in the foyer light. She fluffed the large white tail attached to her butt and adjusted her tall rabbit ears, then followed the girls into the party.
The rooms were scattered with people standing close together in conversation. The farther into the house they got, the louder the music became. As they passed, eyes moved in their direction, looking them over. She was worried more about her breast popping out than the eyes on her though. They finally came upon the dance room which was literally a dance room. It was a large ball room that seemed to stretch on for miles.
Lita leaned over to her ear, "Who needs a club when you have one built in!"
It was dark save for the few strobe and colored lights that flashed around in sync with the music. A DJ sat across the ball room from the entrance and the space between them and him was filled with people. Grinding bodies, that looked like creatures of the night, melted into one as the music commanded their bodies to move. The last thing she wanted was some guy grinding all over her. A blast of fog caught her off guard, while the others moved into the crowd. Spotting a refreshments table, she signaled to the girls that she was heading that way. Ami grabbed onto her and came with.
It was filled with Halloween treats like caramel apples and candy corn. She opted for just a glass of punch. Taking a sip, she could tell that they had kept with the Halloween tradition and made PJ. It's blood red continents were more Everclear than Fruit Punch. It burned as it made it's way down her throat and she knew she needed to be careful to not drink too much.
Ami was talking to some guy when Mina appeared from no where, grabbing her and pulling her to the dance floor. After finding an empty spot on the floor and a little coaxing from Mina and Lita, she began dancing with them. She hadn't been dancing long when a pair of arms snaked around her waist. She held her breath as the stranger began to sway with her. He stayed behind her and she didn't dare turn and look at him. Mina and Lita were busy with their own partners to notice her small freak out. The man stoked her arms, finding her hands and lacing his fingers in hers. He slowly pulled her arms up over her head with his and held them there for a few minutes. Just when she had relaxed a little, the man began stroking his hands down her arms. They kept going down, down, down...
With a small shriek that didn't even make her own ears, she pulled away from his grasp just before his hands met their goal. Suddenly, it seemed as if the people were too close and the air was too warm, so she made her escape into the hall just outside of the ballroom. She was shortly joined by Mina, Lita, and Rei.
Rei reached her first, "Serena, are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. You guys go back to the dance floor, I'll be fine."
"Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you guys here."
They all looked up to see Andrew and Darien standing across them at the ball room doors. Andrew wore a circus ring leader costume. He had on a red jacket with tails that fell to his knees and a top hat on top of his blonde hair. His black bow tie stood out against his white shirt tucked into his black puffy pants. Darien was dressed like Robin Hood, green tunic and dark brown slacks that tucked into dark brown boots. He long hooded cloak stopped just before his ankles and he left the tunic tied loosely so it showed his well toned chest. He even had a bow and arrows strapped to his back. They both looked great, but she struggled internally with making herself believe that Darien didn't look better.
She realized she was staring and blushed deeply. But then she realized that Darien was staring at her as well.
"I must say, you ladies look lovely."
"Lovely? Really Andrew, what are you, 75?"
"What would you like me to say Mina."
"How about you tell us that we look hot?!"
"Okay...Ladies, you look hot. Each of you some how found costumes that fit you perfectly."
Lita laughed, "And just what are you guys suppose to be?"
"I'm a ring leader."
"A ring leader?" Rei smirked.
"Yes, well with my job of keeping all you kids in line at the arcade, I thought it was fitting!"
Lita put her hands on her shapely hips, "Hey, we are not kids!"
Andrew blushed a little, "Yeah I am starting to see that."
"And you?" Rei asked, addressing Darien.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm Robin Hood," he turned to Serena, "and what are you suppose to be?"
She turned and pointed at her ears and tail simultaneously, "A bunny, duh."
"I didn't take you for one of those girls who used Halloween as an excuse to dress like a slut and call it an animal."
Before a fight could break out, Mina stepped between them, "Hey Andrew, maybe you can help us out with a little mystery."
"Um, okay. What is it?"
"Well you've known Serena for a long time right?"
"Yeah, longer than you guys, sure."
Serena groaned loudly, "Mina, don't!"
"Do you know who was her first kiss?" Lita asked quickly before Serena could stop her.
"Serena?! You little liar. You told me you had never been kissed."
The girls slumped their shoulders in defeat until Andrew turned towards Darien.
"You've known her a lot longer than I have. Do you know who Serena kissed?"
All eyes turned to Darien except for Serena's whose were glued to the floor, "Sorry guys. I have no idea who Serena has or hasn't kissed."
Looking up, she found his eyes on her and a small smirk on his lips. Her heart began to race and soon she had to tear her eyes away from his.
"Darien, you knew Serena before Andrew?"
They all turned to see that Ami had rejoined the group. The man she had been talking to was no where in sight.
Andrew laughed, "How do you guys think I met Serena? Darien introduced us."
"Yeah but that was a long time ago. Back when Meatball brain wasn't so annoying."
"And when you weren't such a jerk!"
"Ah, Serena. I am so glad to see that you made it."
She turned to find Nicolas staring at her again in a way that made her a bit uncomfortable. He wore a tux and cape that looked like it was vintage. His hair was slicked back and he had on the most realistic vampire fangs she had ever seen. They must have cost a fortune, but in this house it was surly pocket change for him.
He took her hand in his and laid a kiss on it, "May I say that you look breath taking."
Mina stood beside her, "Doesn't she?! I told you that was the perfect costume for you!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name before."
"I'm Mina. That's Rei, Ami, Lita, Andrew, and..."
"Darien, so nice to see you again as well."
The two of them sized each other up like lions about to battle for territory. If they started circling, she was going to leave!
Nicolas broke his eye contact with Darien and returned his attention to the group, "I am so glad you all came. You all look amazing."
"Thank you. And your home is so beautiful." Ami answered.
"Oh yes, you wanted a tour didn't you. Louis!"
A young man appeared behind them. He was a little shorter than Nicolas and looked a bit younger, but he had the same pale skin. He wore what looked like a Victorian gentleman's outfit. Just like Nicolas, it appeared to be vintage and he had on a very convincing pair of vampire teeth.
"This is my brother, Louis. Louis, would you be so kind as to show Miss. Ami the house? She is very fascinated with it's history."
"It would be my pleasure."
As if to stay in character, he took Ami's arm in his and led her deeper into the castle. They watched with rapt fascination as their friend disappeared from sight.
Andrew returned his attention to the group, "Well, let's get this party started. Lita, wanna dance?"
Lita's face turned bright red, "Yes."
Lita and Andrew vanished into the crowd. Rei grabbed Darien and began to pull him as well when Nicolas turned to her.
"Would you care to join me in a dance?"
Darien turned back towards her and flashed a look of disapproval as he fought against Rei's tugs. This of course only strengthened her resolve.
"I would love to."
Sorry, I know this is a cruel place to stop. I originally had the entire party scene in one chapter but it was like, 11 pages! So I promise this is not to tease you, just the best place to break up this chapter.
