A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever. It's almost Christmas vacation and, for once, I have no homework! I apologize in advance for any mistakes. I haven't written in a while so I might write something stupid that makes no sense. Please tell me if I do and I will fix it. :) As always, reviews are appreciated.
The letter never specified what to wear and I had no intention of dressing up anyway. The one thing I did get was a decorated half mask to cover my face. It was adorned in fake rubies and soft red feathers. Like a phantom killer. I chuckled at the notion even though there was nothing funny about what I was going to do. There was no chance I was getting out alive. Either I would fail and Seiren would kill me, or I succeeded and ended up dying because every vampire in her bloodline would die as well. Maybe that's why I laughed. I would see him again. It brought silent tears to my eyes and I found myself wishing that they weren't the deep crimson that I so loved and despised.
I stayed along the beach for the rest of the night but knew that I had to find somewhere safer to spend the night. I could hear the wolf's light tread behind me. I didn't dare turn though, for fear it would leave and I would be alone. For the hundredth time I wondered what the Cullens were doing. Had they tryed to move on and forget me? Unlikely but I held on to the thought that they were happily living their lives in Forks or Alaska or anywhere safe. I couldn't help but include his face among them. If only this was all a sad dream. If only I could rewind my life. Then what? Would things have been different?
I shook my head making the images disappear. It didn't matter because I would avenge them. I would avenge them and him and my would be life. I held the hate I had close to me, letting it drag my feet one in front of the other, to the place where I would face my creator.
A howl broke my concentration and I realized that I had fallen onto the sand. The warmth of the previous day leached out of the grains and into my pale flesh. I shakily pushed myself to my knees. The wolf trotted over to where I was kneeling and pushed its head against mine. For the first time I realized that the eyes were red. No. maybe they had just turned red. I didn't know or care. Throughing my arms around its neck and sobbed into the soft fur.
Slowly I let go and stood. For the first time in ages I lost my balance. I felt the sun rising in the far corners of my mind. Instincts taking over I fled into the dark alleys, seeking refuge from the heat and my mind.
I awoke in a cramped cellar. The smell of wine and mold was too strong for my keen senses so I got out as soon as I could. I had run to the other end of the city by the time I saw the vermillion mask clutched loosely in my hand. The ball!
The letter hadn't said when or where it was but I had a sense of where to go. Seiren wouldn't let me miss it for the world and she could control my movements if necessary. I wondered if she would used that power against me in a fight. Most probably but I wasn't going to think that far ahead just yet.
Leaving the city behind me I headed toward the woods. greenery flashed before my eyes as I sped through the brush. At some point a white blurr joined me in my flurry. A vampire wolf. Was that even possible? Well, why not. Was anything not after all. Here I was, running to that revenge for my Romeo. I said a short goodbye to everyone and cleared my head. No distractions. No more thoughts. Just the need for bones cracking under my hands and blood gushing into my mouth.
The castle itself was a magnificent building. Nothing like the stone walls of Romania, this was made fully of glass and metal. Windows reached from floor to ceiling while the sharp turrets of silver and iron reached for the sky. Gargoyles still lined the walls but it seemed like they were floating by themselves. The door has spread wide and reflected the light coming from the hall out into the night. Rainbows shined in the air all around me creating an image of a fairytale, but I knew better. This was a death trap for anyone not infected by Aro's altered blood. If any vampire was to anger the hosts, they would just have to wait for the sun to rise. The glass did nothing to protect against the rays of the sun and the criminal would burn instantaneously.
Slowly I crept around to the back. It was difficult to go unnoticed since there were no walls to hide behind. Still, no one apprehended me and I successfully snuck into one of the open windows in the back. Slowly I slid the mask over my face. It took away some of my peripheral vision but it also gave me a sense of excitement.
The rooms around me were like a maze and I crashed into at least the glass doors before coming into the ballroom. Seiren didn't skimp when it came to acknowledging herself as royalty. Banners with a black wing and white wing crossing over a rose painted red by blood drops hung everywhere and two large marble thrones, one obsidian and the other pale white, were positioned at the west end of the room. And there she was! Lounging on an azure pillow laid on top of the black throne she wore a violet dress that stuck to her frame. Hugue stood, attentive as ever, behind her and looked dashingin his white tux. How perfect it all seemed. Maybe too perfect.
My gaze swept around the other dancing figures. Their dresses and suits, made of the finest materials, were gorgeous. There was clothing from every time period. Egyptian cotton mixed with tudor style corsets and fur coats. It struck me as surprising that Seiren had dressed so modernly, she was ancient after all. Then I knew. She wanted me to think she was unarmed. That dress showed her whole figure and she had nowhere to hide any weapons. Still, it didn't put me off guard. She was far too dangerous even without anything other that her hands and teeth.
Six figures walked over to join her and Hugue and that was when my heart stopped. It was them, the faces that haunted my nightmares and adorned my dreams. The men wore fashionable black tuxedos while the three women with them wore brilliant dresses. The small brunett wore a green dress with ruffles that matched her escort's tie, the tall blonde wore a dark blue dress that acsentuated her hourglass figure, and the older woman wore a humble grey dress that flowed to cover her feet. The Cullens were here! That was why Seiren wasn't afraid of me. She had the only thing that I wouldn't sacrifice to get to her. She had my family.