Dawn and Dusk
Chapter 3: A welcoming soiree
It was the first soiree between vampires and vampire hunters for Dawn. This soiree was for a royal Pureblood coming back from staying out of the city for 1 year. She stared at herself in the mirror.
The silver haired hunter wore a violet ball gown which had a v- neckline, was decorated with diamonds and lace at the top of the dress, fitted at the waist and flowed onto the ground. The Kiryu's long silver hair was partially tied up like the vampire hunter president. Dawn also wore a pair of violet 3 inch heels.
She hid two guns under her dress which were strapped to her ankles, her long sword was strapped to her left thigh, and a fan with poisonous needles in them at her waist. This was just in case of danger.
Dawn stared closely at her reflection. She wore red lipstick and black liquid eyeliner. The vampire hunter touched the mirror and heard Roxas' voice in her mind.
"You are the most beautiful…" He whispered and she wept.
That was what he said to her before he 'died'. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she turned away from the mirror.
There was a knock on the door and she walked up to it. Dawn opened the door to see her brother, in a smart navy suit. Zero stared at his sister who was ready for the soiree. She looked up into his eyes and he knew in an instant that she was about to cry. Her elder brother smiled and tried to cheer her up.
"You look even prettier tonight, Dawn." He said.
"Thank you Zero. You too look very charming." She said with no emotion on her face or in her voice. He sighed at this and she left her room.
Dawn carefully walked down the stairs and at the bottom of the stairs she saw her adoptive father wearing a suit too. Naomi was there too, she wore a dark blue halter dress up to her knees and dark blue heels, the dark blue brought out her blue eyes. Her chestnut brown hair was left out.
Their eyes widened to see the sight of Dawn; this was the first ever time she was so dolled up for anything. She looked very mature like a sophisticated woman.
"Look at my little princess, she looks so gorgeous!" Kaien smiled with stars in his eyes. The silver haired young woman tried to smile at this but it didn't come out. She ended up looking at the ground.
"That dress looks lovely on you Dawn." Naomi said.
"Thank you for picking my dress Naomi. I knew I could count on you." Dawn mumbled and the brown haired girl smiled at her with a nod.
"Dawn…" The said teen looked up to see Kaito wearing a grey suit, with a white shirt and a red tie. He gulped in seeing the sight of his future fiancée. His cheeks were a faint pink. "You look beautiful." The 22 year-old man said.
"Thank you Kaito. You look very…handsome." She mumbled softly. He held out his hand for her and she accepted it. They walked outside and got into a horse carriage.
Elsewhere:
Leila Kuran sat in the horse carriage which carried her to one of the grandest of halls in town for a vampire soiree.
She wore an elegant champagne coloured mermaid dress with a high off the shoulder neckline. The dress showed her curves. From the top of her dress to her waist the dress was decorated with detailed designs of flowers and leaves woven by pure gold and decorated with small white pearls. She wore a pair golden heels. She wore a gold and ruby necklace and earrings which belonged to her grandmother. The young vampire only wore dark red lipstick and no other makeup. Her dark brown wavy hair was tied in an updo with a red rose in her hair.
Leila had to show class and elegance because she was royalty. She was the heir to the vampire kingdom as the eldest child of Haruka and Juri. The brown haired vampire was considered a role model to vampires. Majority of the vampire race feared her yet her unique powers had not yet emerged. Everyone in the vampire race respected Leila and vampire hunters too respected her. She always wanted peace between humans, vampires and hunters. But some vampires were not very keen; those were the vampires from the council. They believed that there was no need for a vampire throne, especially if it was a woman. She would become the first of the entire vampire history to become a Queen especially at the age of 18.
The Pureblood vampire seemed so perfect through everyone's eyes. She was beautiful, kind and noble. As well as being incredibly intelligent, she always put herself in others shoes. But when angered, the future Queen had a quick temper. If someone precious to her like her family, friends or people or even a stranger gets hurt, she would become cold and merciless. Leila was a very protective woman because she knew that her loved ones and her people were both her strength and weakness.
The horse carriage soon came to a stop. Leila held onto the handle of the door which was opened before she could do so.
She stepped onto the step of the horse carriage and there she saw a gloved hand. Leila looked up to see a man with dark brown hair and bright emerald eyes. He had pale skin and was dressed in a black and white suit; he was a servant. She took his hand and he helped her off the carriage. When she got down, the man bowed humbly and kissed her hand.
"Good evening, Princess Leila. It is an honour meeting her royal highness. My name is Warren and I will escort you inside." The brown haired young woman smiled gently and did a little curtsey.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Mr Warren and thank you very much for this warm and kind welcome." Leila said in her voice which was as sweet as honey and smooth as silk.
They began walking towards the hall. It was night and the midnight sky was decorated with a million bright stars with the full moon visible. The mysterious yet beautiful moonlight brought out the Princess's beauty. Her skin seemed to glow and her eyes sparkled.
The massive towering doors were opened by servants and she walked in.
"Her highness, Princess Leila Kuran." Someone announced.
She stood at the very top of a grand staircase overlooking her family, friends and people. The hall was extremely large with a large crystal chandelier in the middle. The ceiling and walls were painted with colours of gold, cream and white.
Everyone in the room turned around and stared with awe. There were around 150 people half vampires and others vampire hunters.
She looked down with a small smile showing that she was confident as always. But inside, she was so nervous and afraid of all this pressure. Leila always felt trapped and the pressure scared her.
The brown haired Princess walked down the stairs with the back of her dress trailing on the steps behind her. Leila got to the bottom of the stairs and all vampires bowed before her. She curtsied gracefully and stood up.
A little girl was running whilst not looking in front of her and bumped into her. She had curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes with such radiant skin. She wore a light blue frilly dress, white tights and white shoes.
"Ouch!" The girl exclaimed and looked up. Her bright big blue eyes widened as she saw who she bumped into. She looked around 6 years old. Fear filled her eyes and Leila looked down at the girl.
"I-I'm s-s-so sorry, Princess Leila." The girl said and bowed.
The brown haired teen shook her head and kneeled down. She shook her head slowly with a wide smile.
"Don't worry; you don't need to apologise young child. You don't need to call me Princess either; Leila on its own is fine. What's your name?" She asked and the girl blinked.
"My name is Aimee Hanabusa." Aimee answered and instantly the future Queen recognised who the girl was.
"You're Aido's little sister." She stated.
"Aimee!" A woman exclaimed and they looked at who it was; Aido's mother. Aimee ran towards her mother who bowed down as Leila stood up. "Forgive my daughter your highness!"
"It is alright; do not worry." The garnet eyed girl smiled softly.
"Leila!" She heard someone exclaim and knew who the voice belonged to.
Leila turned to see her sister Yuki. She was dressed in a light pink simple dress with her hair left out and a pink headband. The young 17 year old girl ran towards her sister and hugged her tightly. Her elder sister blinked, smiled gently and returned the hug.
"Yuki, it's good to see you." The elder sibling said.
They both looked very different. Yuki looked like their mother Juri whereas Leila was an exact replica of their father Haruka. The younger Kuran had her father's gaze and was very similar to their father. The eldest Kuran however inherited their mother's fierce temper, immense passion in everything and was outspoken. Everyone could tell them apart.
They pulled away from each other and Yuki grinned at her.
"How was your flight?" She asked.
"It was so long and so tiring. But I did get some rest which was good." Leila stated.
"Leila." She heard a voice and turned around.
There was Kaname, someone she kept so close to her. Leila always saw him as a brother figure even though he was an ancestor. Kaname too loved and cherished her like a younger sister.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.
"Kaname…" She mumbled and hugged him ever so tightly.
"We missed you." He said and she smiled.
"I missed you all too." She pulled away from her and he stroked her hair lovingly.
"How are you?" Kaname asked and she smiled at him.
"I am fine, thank you. How are you, Kaname?" He returned the smile with a warm one of his own.
"I am alright." He answered.
Leila and Kaname started to discuss about what was happening. Apparently the Level E vampires were rising more and more every day. The future Queen's eyebrows furrowed at this and sighed. She started thinking about a way to resolve this and suggested it to her ancestor. But he told her that it was already done. She wondered why there was such a rise in Level E's. It was difficult for vampire hunters alone to deal with all these Level E's.
The brown haired young woman walked around and greeted each family at the soiree. All the mothers made her meet their sons mentioning marriage proposals. The eldest Kuran sibling flustered and had to tell them that she was not very interested in marriage at that moment. Leila started to look around the room for a familiar face. Coincidentally her best friend was Dawn Kiryu, they had been friends since childhood.
With everyone talking about proposals for marriage, with all the young vampire suitors smiling at her and trying to flirt with her; the Princess felt trapped. She didn't show how trapped she looked and hid it with a mask. Leila felt like her heart was being squeezed and that she couldn't breathe. Her eyes were beginning to water and she felt the pain of heartbreak. She was like a bird trapped in a cage of her internal and personal sorrow and feelings; she had to get out.