Things are getting more interesting huh? I'm trying to give my chapters a lot of depth, and when I mean depth, I mean more than 5,000 words long.
Hehe. :) :P Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT THE INFERNAL DEVICES
"Oh dear, is that true? What a bother."
Pearl, Tessa and Peter were in the dining room, eating a delightful and scrumptious dinner. The long, chestnut, wooden table was decorated by elegant décor: scented candles, arranged flowers, shiny silverware, and lustrous Chinese porcelains that you could see your reflection on the surface even if you were far away. Unfortunetly, the mood was destroyed when Pearl announced that Mortmain might be crashing the party with his automen guests, and Lady Esther wasn't a bit excited to hear such dreadful news.
"We will be guarding your party my Lady." Pearl added as she spooned her soup. "Hopefully, we will be able to hold off the invasion so that he does not disturb your guests."
Lady Esther sighed as she took a sip of her wine. "That's rather troublesome isn't it? I'm having my own guests help with the party rather than enjoying themselves."
"It's alright Lady Esther." Peter said in a comforting voice. "We don't mind. We are shadow hunters after all."
Tessa pushed her mash potatoes around. She was quite afraid to face Mortmain and another of his awful, mechanical inventions. Today was a scare, having that automan maid suddenly bolt up and speak chilling words that whispered into her ears.
"I'm such a terrible host." She cried as she beckoned one of her butlers to pour more wine into her awaiting champagne glass.
Pearl loosed the collar of her dress."Do you, by chance, have a big space that's locked?"
She nodded."Yes, the storage floor downstairs. Why?"
"In case Mortmain attacks your guests, we want them to be safe. We are hoping when that happens, we can put them in your, er, storage unit until the coast is clear." She explained.
"Very well, I hear the reason in your plans." She agreed. She rose from her chair as she dusted her skirts with a napkin. "The ball starts at ten o'clock sharp." She said informed them. "I will have my servants pick out your apparel when you get to your rooms, you must enjoy yourselves. My parties are something you don't want to miss." And with that, she disappeared out the doors with her maids following her.
Tessa rose from her chair. "She really is a party person isn't she?"
Peter laughed as he joined the girls as they went out the dining room. "She reminds me of my mother."
They said their goodbyes as they headed off into their rooms to get ready for the party. Tessa didn't want to dress up in a tight corset and have her face made up. She was tired and wanted to go to bed, even if Lady Esther would come barging into her room and drag her into the foyer to dance. She wasn't in the mood to get all formal too. When she closed the door, she found one of the lady's maids in her room. Her eyes fell onto the bed, where it held a mountain of dress selections. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed. It was like dress shopping with Jessamine all over again.
"Shall we get started Miss?"
The hour ticked by as they tirelessly tried dress after dress. It was almost like a workout. Finally they found a dress that Tessa and the maid really approved of. She put on the ball gown as the maid tightened the corset strings. Her waist was being abused, being squeezed and outstretched to make that perfect curve. When the maid was done, Tessa turned around to face herself in the mirror. Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped a quarter of an inch. It was the most beautiful dress that she had ever seen, and it was probably the most expensive dress –that even Jessamine-could not afford. It was a light pearl green dress. Her shoulders were bare and the neckline was modest. There were roses, colored with a different hue of green that were sowed to where the décolletage was. The corset was beautiful too, golden flower designs were meticulously done and the dark ribbon strings that held the corset together. The dress from waist down was elegantly folded fabric with a bit of vintage lace here and there. Tessa's back was bare too; it reached all the way to her waist making a v shape. She wondered how beautiful Jessamine would look if she wore this. She could also feel trousers underneath too.
"We're not done yet miss." The maid said. "Sit" She pulled a chair and had Tessa sit on it. She pulled out a stele from her hand. Tessa shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
"What are you doing?"She asked warily.
The maid laughed. "I'm not going to hurt you; I'm going to use it as a hot curling rod to fix your hair. The stele can hold many powers if you look at it from different angles." She put took a thick lock from her hair and wrapped it around the stele. She let it stay for a moment before withdrawing the stele. Out came a smooth, elegant curl that descended beautifully. In a few minutes, her hair was done. Tessa gaped at herself; her hair was so nicely done as it framed her face delicately. She reached her hand to touch her hair; it was silky smooth to the touch. The maid gathered her hair and put it on one side where it rested on her right shoulder.
The maid scurried to the drawer where she pulled out a cherry wood box. She opened it to carefully pull out a diamond necklace. Tessa jumped when the cold necklace touched her skin.
"I-I couldn't wear this." Tessa stammered.
"Nonsense." The maid exclaimed as she reached into the box and pulled out a pair of diamond earrings. She clipped them on and stepped back to let Tessa see.
The maid picked up Tessa's boots and handed it to her. "Come along, I think your shadowhunter friends have arrived."
"Thank you for helping me get dressed."
"Not a problem."
Tessa rose from her chair as she picked up her skirts and followed the maid out of her room. She could hear the people talking downstairs. She held in her breath as she tried not to trip in her dress. From the balcony, she spotted Jem and Will, her heart raced even more when she slowly began to descend the staircase.
She found Pearl talking to Isaiah. Pearl looked ravishing in her light violet dress, she looked like a princess. Her heart quickened as she continued to find Will and her fiancée in the crowd, well, if they were invited. Then, something gloved caught her hand. She whirled around to see Jem –dressed in his finest- gape in awe at her.
"Tessa-"He said breathily. "You look stunning."
She blushed as she looked down, she could hear the twinkling of her diamond earrings when she moved her head. "Thank you." She said "You look dashing Jem. Like always."
"I didn't think that you would be here." Tessa said.
Jem shrugged. "The professor in our Manor told us in the last minute that we were attending a party." He replied. "Ur, I mean forced to attend the party."
Lady Esther didn't lie when she said she had 'connections'.
"Did you find anything?" She asked, gripping her clockwork angel
Jem sighed. "Nothing. It's rather disappointing."
She looked at Pearl from a distance, then back to Jem."You haven't heard…?"
He smiled wearily. "I've heard, everyone has. But, we're all prepared for Mortmain."
Then Tessa realized something, if Jem was here, then Will must be here as well.
Someone came up behind Jem and put a hand on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear, he nodded as he looked sympathetically at Tessa.
"My apologies Tessa, I need to speak to someone at the moment." He bent down and took Tessa's gloved hand and kissed it. "You look beautiful Tessa, like you always do." Then, Jem disappeared back into the crowd.
Tessa wandered around to see other familiar faces. Unfortunetly for her, Lady Esther tapped her wine glass with her spoon to gain attention. Tessa was forced to turn around when she bumped into something.
"I'm terribly sorr-"
Her eyes widened as she met a pair of electric blue eyes. He turned around to greet her, but no words came out. Tessa couldn't help but look at his formal wear, he looked extravagant. Handsome times two. She could feel his heated gaze on her while his eyes traveled to her hair, her dress and then back to her face. She watched as his face grow red and the lump in his throat move up and down.
"I-" He started off. His pupils growing smaller as he realized that her back was bare.
To their relief, Lady Esther called their attention again with the spoon. The picture of Tessa's gown and herself in it was burned permanently in his brain. He cursed himself as his face grew redder and redder. Then he punished himself to a trip to the pub after all of this was over.
"Welcome to my party!" She exclaimed. "Please, make yourselves at home. I will ask all of you to stray away from the doors, I have more guests coming." When she was out of sight, the whole group of people moved forward into the foyer. Tables with white linen cloth were placed at the sides were it held treats on top. Tessa was surprised to see an orchestra seated on the far side of the foyer, playing lovely dance music. The party had already begun.
Charlotte called everyone to the left staircase to meet up. Henry was beside her, fingering a new invention in his hands. She projected her voice over the orchestra playing.
"I assume all of you have heard." She yelled."Mortmain will be crashing the party. In this case, we are not here to mingle, only to protect Lady Esther's manor. Disperse yourselves around the manor in pairs and report to us if anything seems peculiar.
"Tessa, you will stay inside with Fionna. Remember, the only thing that Mortmain wants is Miss. Gray alright?" Charlotte finished her yelled speech as the team scattered before the place got packed. Tessa was left with an average sized girl with brilliant blonde hair with freckles on her face. She wore a blue ball gown.
"Hello." She said. "I believe we haven't met before. My name is Fionna Sky, please, call me Fionna."
Tessa smiled. "My name is Theresa Gray but you may call me Tessa."
She gestured to the crowd of people filling into the grand foyer. "Aren't you going to a group of adoring gentlemen who would eagerly ask for your hand for a dance?" She giggled
She blushed. "I feel awful dancing while everyone else isn't enjoying themselves."
"Then shall we head to the punch bowl?" she offered instead.
"That's more like it."
They made their way out of dancing couples and into a seemingly vacant area where a table sat, holding small treats and a large punch bowl with champagne glasses neatly placed beside it. The orchestra was right behind them, blaring the dance music in their ears. Tessa took a glass and poured her own helping of juice, she took a long sip and stared at the people dancing here and there. It was dizzying to watch, especially the different colored gowns that flew around the dance floor.
Neither one of them left the punch bowl, and none of them stepped out to ask a gentleman for a dance or two…well, not yet. Tessa kept her eyes glued to the door, anticipating the moment when Mortmain and his automen come marching in. Occasionally, the orchestra would fade away from their former song into a slow song, meant for slow dances, and this would be the time when Tessa would keep her eyes on the adorning couples that swayed effortlessly together. The men had their hands wound around their waists as the ladies rested their hands on their shoulders, talking or laughing, or the sweet picture of a couple resting their foreheads on each others. It was nice to look at.
But, whenever she could look at them, she couldn't help but glance at her hand, the one that held the burnt scar. Her eyelids would droop and her fingers would start to curl in a fist. Look at these girls, looking so happy, in bliss with a man who would adore them. I bet they don't have to choose. She looked away as she put her hand behind her back. She took another sip of her punch, hoping she could wash the feeling away.
"May I ask for your hand in the next upcoming dance?"
Tessa looked up from her glass to see a brown haired boy hold out his hand. She set the cup down.
"I'm sorry, but unfortunetly I feel rather tired. Again, my deepest apologies." She looked over to Fionna. "My friend has been aching for a dance. Perhaps you could grant her wish?"
The man looked over to Fionna and held out his hand. She blushed as she met Tessa's gaze.
"I couldn't possibly…"
"It's alright Fionna. I can manage on my own." She said. "I need to go to the lady's room anyways."
Fionna hesitantly took the man's hand. "Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
The man took her hand gently as he whisked her away into the next dance. Tessa smiled as Fionna stiffened as the man wound his arms around her waist. She didn't really need to go to bathroom, she just wanted to be by herself. She picked up her skirts as she went upstairs, careful again not to trip on her ball gown. Upstairs had a lot of guests too, but it was less crowded than downstairs. She wandered around the corridors and hallways, exploring Lady's Esther castle like manor. She felt like a wandering princess.
She felt a cool breeze trickle on her neck. She looked to her left to see a huge balcony; its glass pane doors were open, welcoming her outside. She invitingly went in as she set her hands on the railing. London at night looked mysterious, melancholy almost. She stared at the vast darkness, breathing the fresh air through her nose.
"Enjoying the view?"
Tessa turned around to Will leaning against the glass plane door. She blushed as she quickly turned away, memories of her and him on the balcony at Benedict Lightwood's party. She prayed that he would go away and have let her have some peace.
Instead, he came forward. "Where's Fionna? You're not supposed to be outside."
She kept staring ahead. "She's dancing right now, can't a girl enjoy herself?"
"You should be 'enjoying' yourself. Fionna is supposed to be keeping an eye on you." Will corrected, she ignored the kick of adrenaline that ran in her veins when he was beside her.
"Aren't you supposed to be keeping guard?" she asked.
He shrugged "Not really, there's quite a number of us here. I have three people on watch where I'm supposed to be. They told me to take a break."
She raised an eyebrow "A break? It's only been twenty minutes Will."
"Hey, it's a tiring job. It's quite a workout for the eyes."
"So you come here to take a break. Rather than being swarmed by hundreds of beautiful woman, pleading for one dance with you?"
He stopped for a moment. Tessa bit her lip, she shouldn't have said that, at least, coming to the balcony part.
"I don't want to dance." He slowly said. "To tell you the truth, I didn't want to attend in the first place."
"And why is that Will?" she whispered.
His heart quickened as he tried to peel his eyes off of Tessa. In his eyes, she looked so beautiful, well, she was always beautiful. Her keen gray eyes peered at him, her pink lips pursed together. Her hair softly blowing in the wind as her creamy white skin prickled in the cool air. This was surely a test sent by Angel Raziel himself. As much he wanted to tell she was so beautiful tonight, as much as he wanted to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair, he couldn't. He couldn't do it anymore.
Her eyes peeled off of Will, but that didn't stop from the jumping nerves that sparked in her veins. Tessa clenched her fist as she kept her eyes on the horizon.
"Did you want to attend? To refuse the invitation of the overly optimistic Lady Esther?" He asked.
Tessa's eyes slowly lingered on her shadow, that blended well in the night. Did she want to come at all? "I didn't" She said simply. "I wanted to go to sleep."
He gestured to the open glass pane doors. "Sleep then. I don't think the Lady would mind if one of her rooms is occupied by one of her guests." In his eyes, she could see, perhaps, a tiny bit of regret of what he said.
Tessa turned around, was Will trying to get rid of her? She couldn't help but think that was the reason. "Well then." She said, as she started to walk out of the balcony. "Goodnight Will." She whispered.
She darted out of the balcony as she made her way back through the same corridors and hallways that she went through, she didn't want to go to bed just yet, not after a talk with Will. Tessa was going back to meet Fionna in the grand foyer. As she continued to speed walk while picking up her heavy skirts, she heard the sound of glass shattering and a blood curdling scream. Her eyes widened as she entered the lookout balcony.
By the angel, they've arrived.
The guests screamed as they began to run around, most of them charging upstairs. Automen were bursting through the windows, in big numbers at all. All of the people looked small compared by the large, moving robots mechanisms. They began to destroy everything in their path, and occasionally pick up a stranger in their iron grip and start to strangle them. Tables and chairs were being tossed over, numbers of bodies lay dead still on the ground, either dead or fainted. The orchestra abruptly stopped in an eerie squeal in the middle of their song as they dropped their instruments and fled into different directions. Tessa saw some shadow hunters, pulling out their trusty blades as they began to work of the automen, she saw Charlotte and Peter shouting orders as more and more of the automen came bursting in.
Then the front entrance burst open. On the doorstep was Mortmain, and beside him were normal looking people, surprisingly non-clockwork. Mortmain was in his usual clothes, gray tailcoat, dress pants with his gray hair sweeped back, Tessa could see a blood red rose placed in the breast pocket of his tailcoat. On his right was a woman, probably the same age as Tessa. She had curly red hair that reached up to her knees, a heart shaped face with menacing gray eyes. Only, her right eye was covered with a black eye patch. She wore a white corset with brown trousers, like the style that Pearl introduced to her. She wore leather gloves and in her left hand was a long red whip, Tessa shuddered to think that the whip's color was not originally red. On Mortmain's left side was a man. He had black hair, pulled into a small, stubby ponytail. His face was slender, almost like a triangle. There was nothing significant about him, but he did look sad, perhaps he was bored as well.
"I HAVE WARNED YOU TO STOP!" Mortmain's voice boomed."I HAVE WARNED YOU ALL TO SURRENDER TO MY NAME. BUT YOU HAVE REJECTED MY KIND OFFER, NOW YOU SHALL PAY THE PRICE!" He rose up his hands. "MY CREATION, ELIMINATE EVERY SINGLE SHADOW HUNTER YOU ENCOUNTER. MY ACCOMPLICES, FIND THERESA GRAY AND BRING HER TO ME!"
More automen burst out of the doors and charged into the foyer. Mortmain disappeared from Tessa's view as the red haired girl ran forward and began to work on a fellow shadowhunter. The bored looking male began to fight with an energized shadow hunter too, he looked sarcastically bored too. Tessa's feet and eyes were glued, she couldn't move.
Something caught her arm, she yelped as she turned around to see Will tugging her. "What are you doing?" He said. "You need to get out of here! Mortmain and his posse are looking for you!" He pulled onto her arm as he ran through the hallways and past screaming guests. Tessa didn't know what to say, finally she stood her ground, managing to stop. Will stumbled a little bit; he turned around and looked at disbelief at her. He tugged at her arm. "Tessa, we need to go-"
"No." She said as she tried to wiggle her wrist out of his iron grip. "I caused this mess. And I want to help fix it."
Will tugged her wrist forcefully as he pulled her closer to him so that he could make her look at him straight in the eye."You're being ridiculous, you haven't trained enough-"
"I have! Isn't that what the training was for? This is my fight too Will!" She said, well, basically screamed. Will didn't get to say anything because a loud clinking noise began to near closer to them. Then, Tessa could see a glimpse of metallic silver coming to them; it was one of Mortmain's automen. Will gripped tighter at her wrist as he dragged her through the hallways. It was hard to run in her skirts. Automen were all over the place and it hard not to bump into one. As they were running, Will could spot an automan marching toward them. When they started to go back, they found another one marching behind them. Will cursed as he let go of Tessa's wrist and pulled out a seraph blade from his coat.
"I guess we don't have much of a choice." He gritted his teeth as the machines came closer. At the left Tessa could see an open corridor, dark with no lights, but she could make out doors.
"Tessa." He whispered in her ear. "I'll distract them; you will run to the left corridor, there's a room there, with huge French doors. They'll never catch you there." He explained.
"No, I'm not leaving you." Tessa said as she clutched his arm as the automen came closer to them.
"If you want to help, you will go to the French doors." Will slowly explained again, it was more a demand than a suggestion. "I'll meet you there. I promise." He gently pushed Tessa away to the empty corridor. Tessa bit her lip as she took her first reluctant step before she could actually run. She turned her attention away from Will as she picked up her skirts and ran like hell. She bit her lip as she could hear the sound metal clinking together. To her luck, she didn't trip on the way there. When she got to the room that Will was talking about, she turned the doorknobs as she made her way inside. It was a large room with a grand bed in the middle. Another glass pane door led to another balcony, desks and chairs were in their spot and she could even see a vase full of fresh flowers, it was surprisingly clean.
She closed the doors as she sank to the ground, protecting the doors from any intruders bursting in. The moonlight lit the room; it was sort of comforting to have a bit of light in the room. She pulled her knees to her chest as she hugged herself; she buried her head in her hair as she rocked herself back and forth. She was trying to calm her heart down, it was still racing. Tessa was so scared that they would find her, she didn't want to go back to the dark sister's hideout where they forced her to transform, she didn't want to be isolated from the outside world just to shape shift. She hated her talent, she hated for what it did to her, and it was the reason why Mortmain was here in the first place.
Tessa really did want to fight; she didn't want to be the damsel in distress anymore. She didn't want to feel so helpless. She wished she had trained some more, she wished that she could had a stele with her or some kind of special blade, not just an ordinary hunting knife used to cut skin off of game. She left her seraph blade in her room and she cursed herself for it. She wondered if Will was alright, by the angel if anything happened to him…
Tessa covered her mouth from a scream when the door behind her jolted.
"Tessa, it's me."
She breathed a sigh of relief as she rose to open the door. Tessa found Will standing in front of her, his elegant tailcoat was absent, only his white undershirt was there, now covered his burn marks and cuts. His face had a bit of soot on it, and there was a long red cut on his cheek, in his hand was a dirty seraph blade. Tessa leaped into his arms as she wound her arms around his neck.
"Oh thank the angel." She said breathily. "I'm so glad that you're alright." Will put his arms around her waist as he pulled her tighter, he buried his face in her hair. They were in that embrace for a moment before breaking apart a few inches. Will stepped inside the room as he closed the door, still in the warm embrace.
"There's so many bloody automans outside." He said, there was a bit of laughter in his voice. "As tough as I am, I can't kill all of them."
Tessa smiled as their foreheads touched. They hadn't been this close since Will found out that Tessa was engaged to Jem, she was grateful for the moment. All the times they couldn't face each other, they could now be freely open to each other. Will began to loosen his grip on her waist as he began to slowly drift away; Tessa could hear herself inside say no.
"I'm going back out." He whispered. "You stay here. You must stay here." She could hear his throat tighten. "If anything happens to you…"
Her hands were twitching. She didn't want him to go. Tessa couldn't hold it any longer; she pulled Will against her in a knee buckling kiss. Tessa and Will were both surprised by her forwardness. The kiss was desperate, hungry and wild, everything that Tessa felt inside, more heartfelt than in the attic. She could hear Will's eyes close as his arms once again wound around her waist, trying to pull her closer to him. Tessa could feel his rough hands slowly trace the line of her spine on her bare, cold back. Her hands were pressed on his neck, trying to pull him closer somehow. The kiss grew long and deep, but still wild and hungry, as if they were animals, trying to devour one another. She could feel his hands gradually rise up her back to tangle his fingers in her hair, none of them willing to come up for air.
Then she remembered something, she lifted one hand and put it on the clasp holding her corset and her dress together, she gripped on it as she heard a faint clicking noise as the green fabric of her beautiful dress fall to the floor. Will didn't seem to notice. She took one of her legs as she wrapped it around his waist, hoisting herself up, clutching onto him for support. Soon, she wrapped the other leg around him to join its partner. Will groaned as he took Tessa and slammed themselves into the wall, creating a thud.
Tessa could feel Will's lips fierce on hers, his were burning hot to the touch, more than the holy water and blood back onto the attic. She knew that this was the last chance to be this close to him, a part of her made her not want to stop wanting Will, she could feel a tear escape, wetting both of their cheeks. She wondered if this was hers or his.
Slowly, very slowly, the kiss came to a gradual stop. Will unwound Tessa's legs as he settled her down. Tessa could feel their heavy breathing fill the silence in the room. They didn't break away just yet; their foreheads were leaned against each other as they kept their embrace locked. Tessa opened her eyes to see his hypnotizing blue ones stare softly at her. She couldn't read them; she wondered how he felt after the kiss, it was essential for her to know. But most importantly, how did she feel? She didn't know that either.
Will lifted his hand to touch her cheek, feeling her warmth spreading like a quick fire through his fingers. He caught a strand of her smooth, silky hair as he put it behind her ear. His other hand reached up and rested it on the surface of her chest, feeling the beat of her heart. It was pounding violently, he silently smiled, their rhythm of their racing hearts matched perfectly.
He slowly backed away from Tessa; he felt something tug on his heart as If there was a chain between them that was unbreakable. He picked up his fallen seraph blade as he turned to the door, with his trembling hands. What did her kiss mean? Why did he kiss back, knowing that she is not his? These questions began to take over his mind. He took a breath in before turning the doorknob to open to the French doors. He turned around to face her one last time.
"You have to promise me that you will stay here. You will never go outside without someone by your side." Will said, his voice strained.
Her eyelashes lowered as she took a hesitant step forward, her hands itching to touch him, wanting to grab onto his shirt and force him to stay with her. She nodded solemnly.
"Good." Instinctively, he stepped forward and captured her lips one more time. This time it was slow and unhurried. He wasn't supposed to do that, he didn't even think of kissing her again. He broke apart as he closed the door behind him. Tessa sank to the floor where she touched her lips with her fingers.
I'm so confused. She cried inside.
Guys, I honestly tried my best with the kiss scene. I can truthfully tell you that I'm not a romantic, so I can't write good romance scenes. I mean, tongues and touching….that's just gross. (Well for me) As you can see, I have added new characters to my story! Who is Pearl? Is she Will's new love interest? Who are these new accomplices of Mortmain's? Are they important? Like all authors want their readers to do-guess on!