A beautiful gold and black pattern sparkled at me. My eyes shone with happiness, this was the replica of the one I saw in England, back at home, when I was spending time with Elijah. We had gone shopping for my friend's birthday, dragging Elijah along with me. I had spotted the dress in the window as I walked past and fell in love with. It was mid-thigh length, with black netting underneath complementing the dress nicely. A black belt with a bow separated the two colours of the dress; gold glittered at the top, while black accented the dress at the bottom.

Peering back to the dress in the box, I delicately lifted the dress. It even more beautiful than I last saw it. Looking at the size, I noticed it was the correct size I wanted, a size 10. I couldn't believe he had bought it. It was well over a year ago, when I last saw it.

I glanced towards Elijah, his face completely blank. Setting the dress carefully onto the edge of the couch, I gracefully walked to Elijah. I could see the hidden question in eyes. In reply to his unspoken question, my hand slithered up on his arms, along his neck before resting peacefully on his cheek. The coolness of his cheek brought a smile to my face. I welcomed the chilliness with open arms.

"Thank you." A small peck on the cheek was an added bonus to the thank you.

"You're welcome. Let me show you where to get dress." With a hand laid out in her vision, she gladly took it. Walking up a spiral of stairs, she came across a dark-wood accented door. Opening the door, I was taken aback. The room was decorated beautifully. The dark wooden frame was varnished to perfection, gold and black silken sheets covered the bed. White cushions painted with silver flowers were sat upon the bed. Light wooden wardrobe and chest of draws stood side by side on the far side of the room, the window was situated above the chest of draws. A rocking chair complemented the room with a finishing touch. The walls painted beige and white; the lower half beige, the upper half white, and a thin piece of wood separated the two halves.

Thanking Elijah, I stepped through the door. Setting my dress delicately on the bed, I skimmed the sheets with the tip of my finger. Movement caught my eye. Turning I was surprised to find Elijah and his mother standing in the doorway. Tilting my head, I smiled my appreciation to both and perched on the edge of the bed.

Elijah's mother stepped forward. Her presence screamed powerful.

"I hope to have a few minutes of your time, if that is welcomed?" Nodding my head, I turned to glance at Elijah, who had already took a step backwards. Flashing a smile, I waited for his mother to talk.

Once Elijah was gone, her calculating eyes darted to my face.

"You seem special to my son." A blush rose to my cheeks.

"I love him." Once sentence summed up my true feelings. I had fallen in love with him and I will never stop loving him.

"I can tell," her mouth tilted into a small, barely noticeable smile. She took both of my hands into hers, looking deep into my eyes.

"Thank you." She stood from the bed, and walked away with graceful steps.

-x-

I stood in the mirror, after having a warm and relaxing bath. The heat from the bath coated me with warmth. Glancing at the dress, I suddenly felt giddy. This night would be the best of my life. I know it. Spending the evening with Elijah is all I ask for.

Lifting the dress, I stepped through the middle. The texture of the dress was shockingly smooth. The material, a silk layer underneath, glided across my skin with ease. Turning to face the mirror, a gasp emitted from my mouth. The dress was perfect on me. Walking to the box, a pair of black flats laid at the bottom. Slipping the shoes of my feet, I realised that I had no make-up.

I made my way down the stairs to find the house decorated beautifully. Tables covered in beautiful table cloths. Flowers of an assortment of colours were perched around the hall. . Classical music flowed into my ears. I was known to have a strange taste in music, but I still found classical music relaxing. Musicians were seated playing with delicate precision.

Leaving the beauty of the room, I made my way to the room I had previously been in. The whole family were talking and laughing, except for Klaus. Everyone was well dressed. The men were dressed in black tuxes, while their mother wore a black floor length dress and Rebekah wore a dark green floor length dress.

The younger of the males, Kol, was the first to notice my appearance. In shock, his jaw dropped. A giggle emitted from my throat. I have rendered Kol Mikaelson speechless. In my head, a victory dance began. The sound of my giggles drew everyone's attention onto me. However, my attention was solely on Elijah. His eyes clouded with lust. Noticing his reaction, a small smirk was placed onto my face as I made my way to Rebekah.

Getting closer, I suddenly felt the shyness crept in. Looking to Rebekah, I shuffled my feet.

"Would it be okay to borrow some of your make-up please. It just, l forgot my mine and I was wond-" My mumbling was cut off by her motioning a hand as if to shut up.

Looking up and down, she slowly nodded her head, as she handed me a make-up bag. Quietly thanking her, I dashed to the nearest bathroom.

Quickly and carefully, I applied the light skin tone foundation first. Accompanied by black eyeliner on top of my eyelids. Next, I applied a light pink lip-gloss as well as mascara.

Approving of my work, I placed everything back into the bag.

I handed the make-up back to Rebekah, thanking her again.

I sat with Elijah waiting for the finishing touches of the ball to be finished.

-x-

A gentle touch awoke me. Looking around, I found Elijah staring at me. Confused, I looked down to see that I still wore my dress. I glanced at the time to find it 6:55pm. Shaking my head, I rid myself of sleepiness. I must have taken a nap from the waiting.

I lifted myself off the couch and into Elijah's awaiting arms. Together we walked into the main hall. I was shocked to find it full with humans and other vampires. Noticing Damon talking to the mayor, I gave a small peck on Elijah's cheek and made my way to Damon

"Hello Damon." My presence seemed to have shocked him. He eyes widen a fraction before returning back to normal.

"Hello Ashlie. You look stunning." The mayor seemed confused as to who I was.

"Hi! I'm Ashlie, Elena's cousin." Recognition made its way into her eyes as she remembered me, most likely from Elena's parent's funeral.

"My, you have grown. I am sorry about your parents. It must be hard." Nodding my head, I agreed with her. It was still hard to comprehend that my mother and my father was dead.

"Thanks. However, let's enjoy this evening instead of mourning."

"Mayor Lockwood." A masculine voice interrupted our conversation.

Kol Mikaelson stepped forward, introducing himself. "We haven't formally met. Kol Mikaelson. We hope your lovely town embraces us just as much as we plan to embrace it."

"Damon Salvatore. Have we met?"

"I've met a lot of people, and you don't particularly stand out." With that, he walked away.

Damon looked after him, however, his searching seemed to stop. Glancing in the same direction, I found the source of the sudden stop. Elena, dressed beautifully with her hair swept to the side, was making her way into the mansion. Shrugging my shoulders and giving a small wave of goodbye, I began a search of my own, looking for Elijah.

On my way, I found Klaus. He was talking to a girl. Feeling bored and out of place, I stepped towards Klaus.

"Hello. Klaus?" His eyes snapped towards mine.

"Yes?"

"Just want to talk. Do you know where Elijah is?"

"No."

I stood next to the brunette and held out my hand to introduce myself.

"Hello. I'm Ashlie." She seemed uninterested and continued her conversation with Klaus.

"Bitch." I whispered under my breath. A smirk appeared on Klaus' face, but stayed quiet.

The girl laughed as I looked up. Klaus stood staring at something behind me. Caroline walked into the hall, wearing a pretty blue floor length dress. Her blonde hair was swept into a bun, two strands of hair flowed at the sides. She was wearing while gloves that reached at the end of her elbow.

Klaus walked over to meet with her, leaving me with the girl. I glanced around the room, searching for Elijah. I walked towards to Elena. She spoke to Finn, the oldest child of Esther.

"If everyone could gather please." Elijah's voice swept around the room.

Standing next to Elena, I gave her a pat on the shoulder. She turned into my direction. She gave a squeak of surprise, but before she could ask me anything, Finn excused himself. Me and Elena turned to the direction of the stairs, where the Mikaelson family gathered.

"Welcome. Thank you for joining us." His mother descended the stairs, and stood with the rest of the original vampires. His hand was pointed in her direction. "You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz. So if all if you could find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom."

Elena moved slightly, causing me to turn to her.

"Where are you going?"

Before she could answer me, I was swept away by strong hands on my arms. Looking up, I found Elijah standing before me with a smile. He held out his hand in invitation. Placing my hand into his, we both made our way into the ballroom.

-x-

I found myself in the ballroom which was as decorated elegantly just like the main hall. Two rows of women and men stood waiting for the first touch of music.

Slowly everyone began to move. I held tightly onto Elijah's hands. I felt a blush rising as I finally realised that I was the only one wearing a short dress. However, that didn't stop me from enjoying myself. I preferred to have a short dress than a long one. I was known at being clumsy, so actually I was protecting myself from the sheer embarrassment of falling over.

"Have I forget to mention that you look absolutely breathtaking." Elijah's sweet voice made me smile.

"Thank you."

A giggle surprised me as I twirled around underneath Elijah's arms.

-x-

An hour later, I was sitting on the couch in the sitting room. All the dancing and music caused a headache to form. Sighing, I leant backwards onto the couch, I hope for the evening to be peaceful.