In my head I kept on thinking about what Klaus had told me about posture and poise from earlier that day. Straight spine, chin up, shoulders tilted back, be proud, elegant and fearless. A lady of nobility. A princess. A queen. I was thinking so desperately of everything he said in order to try and put it into practice that I hadn't realised just how many people had stopped to stare at Rebekah and I as we descended step by step.
Their eyes followed us, but before I knew it Bekah had let go of my hand in order to descend into the masses, leaving me behind as she moved with a swift agility that completely left me stunned. Um…Bekah? Now I totally froze up, feeling like I was going to cry or puke or something as I realised just how many people were staring at me, though I couldn't exactly blame them. The dress I wore immediately drew the eye. It was an intense crimson red, darker than wine, deeper than blood, and it curved to my body and sculpted the delicate curves of my slim figure. The full skirt was literally like a princess ball gown, the soft material slightly longer at the back and raised an inch or so at the front so that I wouldn't trip over it.
An overskirt lay on top of the impressive sweep of the gown, forming another layer of sweeping and sleep ruffles that opened out across the front. The black lace detailing made the red seem both deeper and brighter, accentuating the colour as it lined the hems and filled the bodice with delicate beading to catch the light whenever I moved. Not only that, but at the back of the dress there was a long layer of crimson chiffon to trail behind me in two separate sections to float like wings, though right now my hand was fisted into one of them as I gripped onto the skirt of the dress and considered just making a run for it.
They were all just…staring. Being completely unused to people looking at me so openly I felt deeply uncomfortable, and whilst I deliberated on whether or not I should pull a Cinderella and try to make my escape, I noticed the expressions on the people who knew me go completely slack. Rebekah looked smug, of course, standing with Matt who was openly gaping as Elena frowned, she and the Salvatore brothers seemingly not recognising who I was, whilst each of the Original brothers also openly took in the view of the redheaded stranger who had graced their home. Kol looked like he'd just choked on a drink, so that made me happy, and Finn smiled smoothly with a slightly quirked eyebrow like he was surprised but impressed simultaneously.
My sights had been seeking out Elijah, however when I glanced over Klaus, I looked back at him again as I hadn't expected him to give any reaction other than his usual smirk, but that had been wiped clean too. Thankfully he wasn't gawking with an open mouth like a stupid fish, but his eyes had widened slightly as I turned my head towards him minutely, taking in his expression before I couldn't help but grin at him slightly. Thankfully Elijah then moved, revealing himself from among the crowds as they continued their polite murmur and I found my body naturally moving itself towards him. That whole interlude, although it had felt like forever, lasted only a few brief moments, though I was acutely aware of eyes still following me everywhere as I descended the final steps and placed my hand within Elijah's, which felt reassuring and gentle.
"Ophelia. Beautiful does not even begin to describe how you look this evening." He complimented me, and the natural politeness that I had come to know him for helped set me at ease as I took a deep breath, relaxing into a smile at him as he led me off the final step and continued to hold my hand aloft so that he could ensure that I retained my balance.
"I have Rebekah and an army of stylists to thank for that." I told him, gesturing my head at Rebekah who was already moving towards us with Matt in tow. "Mattie, I didn't know you were coming here."
"Lia, wow. Hey." He blinked, momentarily stunned at my complete head to toe transformation. "Is that really you?"
"Last I checked."
"Come now Matt, Lia has always had a pretty face. All it took was a little hair management and a well picked dress to set it off." Rebekah said, moving one of the loose curls and fussing slightly with the draping fall of the dress. I felt like she was my mother helping me get ready for my first prom.
"If you start crying, then I'll never let you hear the end of it." I warned her with a grin. "This isn't my first rodeo, you know." The four of us stood to talk for a few minutes until Elijah mentioned that he had to help greet the guests as he was one of the eldest and more responsible siblings. I think that last one was a dig at Rebekah who merely rolled her eyes in response before whisking Matt away and I promised to catch up with him later as I opted to join Elijah. He kept my hand tucked into his arm, seemingly knowing everybody's name without a blink of hesitation and I followed at his side, receiving countless compliments and comments on my dress and particularly the necklace until they all started to sound the same.
"It appears my sister took great care in arranging your attire this evening." Elijah said to me in a quieter murmur, taking a short respite between greeting endless people who I forgot about the moment they walked away. "Do you realise that the necklace you are wearing once belonged to Empress Catherine the Great of Russia?" Unwittingly releasing a squeak of alarm, my hand jumped to the necklace and almost instinctively tore it off.
"What?!"
"It suits you."
"This belonged to an empress?!" His eyes shone with amusement at my reaction, giving my hand a squeeze as it continued to rest on his arm before he pulled the other away from the diamond so that I would leave it alone.
"Not any longer. I believe it looks better on you, now that I see it. Catherine was always overdressed in numerous adornments until it became excessive." Still processing, I allowed myself to accept that I was actually wearing what could very well be a national treasure before then asking about Catherine herself, as Elijah seemed to have known her personally, which he had. We talked about her for a little while until we were interrupted by Mayor Lockwood, Carol, who had taken over since her husband's death in managing the town.
"My goodness, Ophelia Martin-Jones you are a vision in red." She said to me, as if she couldn't bring herself to believe that the wild haired introvert could actually look like this. "Elijah, you also look very handsome tonight."
"Thank you, Mayor Lockwood, you are too kind." Elijah said before returning some sincere sounding but general compliment about her also, keeping up the act as a polite and gracious host though I was beginning to notice that Elijah actually didn't do so well with too many people. He seemed to find it tiring, holding up the charade of being polite and well mannered to everyone around him when they were probably not worth his time or effort, but with appearances at stake, he had no choice but to play the part.
Giving his arm a squeeze after we eventually were released from Mrs Lockwood's nattering in order to take a turn about the room until I saw my parents by one of the pillars, drinks in hand with my mom looking awesome in a smooth silk brown dress. "You invited my parents?" I asked in surprise, looking at Elijah who inclined his head.
"Rebekah has informed me of how good your parents were to her these few months past, so I thought I would invite them to express my gratitude." Leading me over, for a moment neither of my parents recognised me until all at once, it hit my mom and her jaw went slack, staring at me as tears began to fill in her eyes.
"Lia?"
"Hey mom, hey dad."
"Honey…you look…you look like a princess." Then she was crying, bawling her eyes out with heart trembling pride as I then awkwardly stood still in order to accept her hug, a little embarrassed that she was crying but when I looked to my dad for help, I found he was crying too.
"Aw come on, really dad? It's just a fancy dress and some hair changes. It's no big deal." I complained but consoled my weeping mother who was still hugging me and I couldn't help but smile softly and warmly, feeling a tenderness spread across my chest as my dad hugged the both of us. Sniffling as she recovered, my mom then noticed the massive egg sized diamond at my neck and almost fainted.
"Um…honey? Where did you get that?"
"That is-"
"It's nothing mom, really, it's not anything special." I cut across Elijah, shooting him an incredulous look quickly before continuing my slightly twisted version of the truth. "Rebekah called it costume jewellery, and I just thought it looked pretty." Mom took that to mean it was a fake and calmed down then, smiling at me and touching at my hair and dress, telling me again how beautiful I looked before she insisted on having a photo together. Elijah politely offered to take a picture of the three of us together, and I only managed to sustain a smile long enough for one before I felt too awkward to continue.
"You go have fun, sweetheart. You don't want to be hanging out with us old folks." Dad said to me, pecking my cheek with a kiss as I looked at him.
"You're not old." I protested, but he merely laughed and mom agreed I should go have fun, so Elijah then led me away as I considered the fact that Elijah, being over a thousand years old, was far older than the both of them. "Thank you for inviting them here, Elijah. Although I think my mom now has visions of wedding dresses in her head after seeing this." I gestured at the deep red dress and Elijah was about to tell me where it came from and who it had belonged to before but I quickly stopped him with a wince. "Please don't tell me, I feel anxious enough with this thing around my neck." Tapping the diamond, Elijah accepted my request with a knowing smile, grinning slightly and that really did nothing to settle my nerves. I swear, I'm never going to let Rebekah pick out my outfit for me ever again.
"Ah, my mother has arrived. If you will excuse me for a moment, I must open tonight's festivities." Elijah said to me lightly, promising to be back for me soon before he quickly disappeared in order to join his siblings and mother upon the stairs in order to greet everyone. Thankfully I wasn't standing alone for long, Matt coming to join me and snuck me a glass of champagne which I downed gratefully.
"You looked like you needed it." He said to me with a smile, seeing how agitated and nervous I was.
"Something stronger would probably do the trick better but my parents are here." I noted with a soft sigh, touching a hand to my temple as I began to feel an ache start to rise as Esther descended the stairs to overlook us all like some kind of bird of prey, her sharp eyes observing each and every face present in her home with a slight sense of wariness and apprehension. Her eyes seemed to linger on one spot in particular and when I looked over, I saw she'd been looking at Elena.
"If everyone could gather, please." Elijah allowed his voice to carry without even raising it above a gentle toned call, drawing everyone's attention to him naturally as he took the lead. "Excuse me, welcome. Thank you for joining us. 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 of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom." He invited so I gave Matt's hand a squeeze.
"I see Bekah has finally managed to bring you to a dance as her date. Let's hope this one turns out better." I joked lightly as people began to move towards the ballroom, partners taking one another by the hands. "How do you feel?"
"Honestly? A little worried." He admitted quietly as to not be overheard, even by super vampire hearing. "I can't help but feel nervous around her, I mean, I struggled enough coming to terms with Caroline being a vampire and we broke up over it, but now…"
"Just be your usual lovely, cute, totally charming self." I advised him, reaching up to dust off his shoulders and fix his collar which had turned itself up at the back slightly, fussing over him like a little sister would. "Bekah is totally not as bad as the others make her out to be, in fact she's just not used to making friends and sticking around with them. This will be good for the both of you. If you can handle hanging around Bekah, then any other vampire won't be a problem. Who knows? Maybe you and Caroline can try and patch things up."
"That's not gonna happen, Lia. Not anymore. She's moved on with Tyler, though I don't get why she's here with Klaus."
"Eh, who knows? Sorry about that Mattie, I forgot that she and Tyler were a thing now. That was a bad call on my part." Apologising for possibly bringing up a touchy subject, Matt assured me it was okay, brushing it off like the considerate guy he was just as Rebekah and Elijah appeared to take us both into the ballroom. Part of me wanted to sit out on the dancing part, but since I was here with Elijah I kinda owed it to him to at least try since it would probably look bad on him if he was the only siblings not dancing.
"You seem nervous." Elijah noticed, looking down at where I was practically crushing the life out of his hand.
"I wasn't kidding before when I said I couldn't dance very well. Klaus taught me most of the steps but I've never really done this kind of thing before." I told him a little breathlessly, tense all over and feeling the bodice of the dress and corset seemingly choking the breath out of my lungs though it was mostly all in my head. "Sorry if I step on your toes, just a forewarning."
"No need to be concerned, I won't let you fall." He promised me, lowering his voice to a whisper and leaning down so that I could hear as each of the dance partners lined up in two rows, hands linked together across their bodies and Elijah delicately took mine to mimic the same position as I took a deep breath and did my best to stand up straight, though I felt as rigid as a board. As the music played, I became so wrapped up in my own thoughts trying to follow the steps without making a mistake that I started to frown. "You can relax, Ophelia. It is better to simply enjoy yourself rather than attempt a flawless performance."
"I have no idea how women all those centuries ago actually spent their entire lives in dresses like this." I said to him, feeling the sweep of the skirts as we walked and turned before beginning the traditional part of the waltz with the three step movement, the lengths of chiffon floating with a lift of movement every time I took a step. "After tonight, I'm going to have a whole new level of appreciation for the difficulty of their lifestyle."
"If it is any consolation, you are doing remarkably well for only having learned this morning." Elijah complimented with a warm smile and I couldn't help but laugh quietly, shaking my head with a broad grin as I stumbled but Elijah's hands neatly pulled at my waist to keep me upright, practically lifting me off my feet in continuation with the steps so that it was completely covered up and I instantly felt a little better about the whole thing. Elijah was easily the best dancer in the room, his movements smooth and graceful, nothing short of professional as he also helped me to keep up by leading confidently without dragging me along.
Pushing apart with our hands held between us, Elijah then effortlessly drew me back towards him with a lift of one hand to twirl me beneath it and my skirts immediately flared as our partners changed over and when my fingers naturally raised to meet the next person, I blinked when they became wrapped in the hands of Klaus himself. "Ophelia." He greeted with a purr, momentarily taking me aback before I recovered.
"Klaus. I see you've been making new friends." I said to him with a glance over at Caroline who was now dancing with Matt.
"Jealous love?"
"No, just suspicious. What are you up to?" Knowing full well that Klaus, although probably appreciating Caroline's beauty and her compassionate nature, undoubtedly also had a hidden agenda hidden somewhere up his sleeve, though he merely smirked and refused to tell me. "Caroline is a good person. Don't do anything to hurt her."
"Is this you bartering with me?" He questioned and I twitched slightly, initially growing irritated but I held it back as to not let it show too much, taking a breath so that I could speak levelly.
"I'm only asking. She's not the kind of person who deserves to be messed around with. Whatever it is you're planning, just please consider keeping her from getting hurt." Quirking a curious eyebrow at me as we seemingly floated across the dance floor with fluid steps that I hadn't even realised I had been taken, the smirk faded back into the more sincere expression from before, the one I preferred.
"I have no intention to do her harm, sweet Ophelia." Satisfied that he was telling me the truth, I only then realised how well I seemed to be dancing, looking down in surprise but that earned a tongue click from Klaus who scolded me, reminding me to keep my head up and not stare at my feet. "You are doing better at this, love, I told you that you had the makings of a true lady about you."
"Sure, and it only took an empress's jewellery, some kind of princess dress which probably did belong to a princess once upon a time and an entire team of professionals to tackle my hair. You do realise I can't be bothered to go through that much effort every day?" I responded smoothly, starting to tense up again now that I was conscious of the fact that I was dancing but Klaus gave my fingers a tender squeeze, making me look back into his eyes and soon I found myself becoming so focused on him that I once more forgot where we were and the steps came almost naturally to me.
"Personally I am rather fond of those wild tresses of yours. They suit your personality more. Fiery." Recognising that this was his attempt to try and make me feel more comfortable by teasing me, I softened towards him. We continued to float, moving with quick steps as light as air whilst most other couples took a slower speed, swaying a little awkwardly as they were just as unused to the dance as I had been, though I had been lucky enough to have had two excellent male dancers to guide me through and pretty much do all the work for me. Suddenly spinning me away, Klaus then drew me back with another turn which placed me flush against him with my arms wrapped across my front and his hands securely holding my own. "You look glorious, sweet Ophelia."
His hot whisper came directly next to my ear and I felt the movement of his lips brush against it sensuously, bringing a pinkish blush to my cheeks as my ears both grew heated from embarrassment. Holding myself together and revealing nothing, I turned my head so that I could look toward him as much as I was able, still trapped against him. "Is that what you told Caroline too?" The both of us smirking at one another, Klaus pulled at my hand to turn me out, fabric swirling in a bright crimson before all at once I found myself being picked up as I had naturally spread my other hand out to maintain balance. I almost squeaked, grasping hold of Klaus's neck as he began to spiral with me in his arms even with this ridiculously sized dress, earning several awed gasps from the spectators as my stomach clenched in momentary alarm and my pulse raced to catch up with us.
A little dizzy from the spinning, Klaus lowered me down whilst still turning before sweeping me away once more, though for the brief moment that our bodies were still tightly pressed against one another, his lips blurred against my ear once more as he whispered. "I believe the word I used for Caroline was ravishing."
"Player." He grinned wolfishly at me. With a few more steps and a turn, his hand was then released from around mine and I had a new partner, Matt. "Oh thank god, can we please take this slow? I feel like I'm going to collapse or hurl or something."
"Sounds good to me. I'm not much of a dancer either." Taking my hands, Matt put them both on his shoulders so that I had a firm support as he lightly held my waist and together, the two of us just swayed and shuffled our feet to the music, perfectly content to just go at our own speed and not worry about all the fancy footwork. "So how come you were invited here Lia? I saw you with that guy, Elijah?"
"Rebekah called me over this morning and he invited me. I've been here all day." I answered, enjoying the greatly needed respite and ended up laying my head against his shoulder, one arm dropping to just rest against his back and he'd naturally moved his own arm so that I would be more comfortable, wrapping it over my shoulders. Thankfully the dance didn't last much longer, the third exchange being the final one so I stepped back from Matt and clapped my hands along with everyone else, relieved that I didn't have to do that all over again. One dance was more than enough for me. "You did great Mattie, though I never thought we'd ever dance like this." I said, gesturing to the ballroom with the dazzling lights and gowns, everything a far cry from the homecoming dances in the school auditorium. "I didn't step on your toes did I?"
"No, all toes still intact and accounted for." Promising me that I hadn't messed up, the both of us grinned at one another, talking quietly until our partners came back for us, Elijah complimenting me for doing well with the dance and Rebekah teasing me that despite that, I'd looked quite terrified in the beginning, like a frightened little rabbit facing a fox. Rolling my eyes, I accepted the teasing as we all moved away from the dance floor, Elijah excusing himself and I glanced after him as he left but didn't see where he went so I just brushed it off. "Hey Lia, shall we get something to drink? All that dancing's made me thirsty."
"Sure, I'll join you." Saying that he would bring one back to Bekah, Matt and I moved off as Kol sidled up to his sister, that creepy jerk sending me sour looks as I somehow managed to glide in this walking tent. I was probably exaggerating, since people didn't have to part ways to allow me and my full skirts to pass, but it sure felt huge considering how tiny my waist looked in this thing.
"So whose idea was the dress?"
"Take a guess."
"Right. I figured it was a little out there for the usual you." Matt said, glancing across at me. "You look good, but you don't look like you Lia, and you've been making faces all night. Is something hurting?" Pausing a moment as we reached the table of stacked champagne glasses which had built a rather tall and precarious fountain of bubbling rose gold liquor. Taking two from the separated glasses, Matt offered me one and kept the other for himself, taking a sip as his hand reached for a third in order to take it to Rebekah.
"I'm wearing a corset." I told him, making Matt splutter into his champagne which made me snort with laughter at his reaction. For a moment he just stared at me in disbelief before asking me if I was kidding. "Nope, also Bekah's idea."
"Aren't those things like…really uncomfortable? How are you even breathing?" Laughing all the more, I shook my head.
"You kinda get used to it. Actually, it's quite comfortable now though it felt totally weird at first." Quirking an eyebrow at me, Matt leaned over to jokingly try to take a look so I swatted at his chest, the two of us bantering at one another as Matt teased me for being so dressed up like a high society girl and asked if I should be seen socialising with a mere busboy like him. "Don't even start on that, I swear I won't ever wear a dress again if you go on."
"Fine, fine, I'll stop. Though you should probably hurry. Doesn't Cinderella need to be home by midnight?" Elbowing him again, the two of us sniggered as we joked together to ourselves, enjoying one another's company far more than we would with all these other high standing families around us combined, a few people aside. I'd always liked being close to Matt. Like I'd said before, we'd been friends for a long while now, and after I'd first come to this town, he had seemingly taken me under my wing. He was the closest person I would ever come to calling a brother, since he looked out for me all those years ago and when he'd needed me, I'd been there for him. It was a kinda weird relationship, since we didn't talk or see each other every day, but it was like we knew that we mattered to the other, and that was enough for the both of us.
Laughing about something else now, my voice gradually faded out as I began to recognise the sense of someone using magic somewhere in the house, making me pay attention and I gradually turned my head, trying to focus on the source and Matt quickly noticed the change in me. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I guess. It's just someone's using magic upstairs. I think it might be Esther." Seeing Matt's blank face, I quickly explained that Esther was Rebekah's and the other Original siblings' mother, the Original Witch, as I think Elena and the others call her. Figuring that maybe she was just dusting the cobwebs off her magic, I let it slide since I didn't sense anything sinister, just a privacy spell so that she and whoever she was talking with wouldn't be overheard. We went back to Rebekah who was now on her own and we quickly brought her into our conversation as Matt handed her the glass of champagne he'd brought over for her.
We talked like good friends, Matt gradually becoming used to Rebekah's rather intense personality and I think he was even starting to like her a little the more we talked, observing how I interacted with her and how close we seemed to be, though she kept on throwing dirty looks over my shoulder where I knew Klaus and Caroline were. "You know, glaring daggers at her back isn't going to magically stab her in the heart." I said to her, giving my friend a look as she quickly averted her gaze like she was trying to hide the fact that she felt a strong sense of disdain towards Caroline.
"No, but I can keep on trying."
"Isn't she wearing the dress you had been looking for earlier? It looks like the one you described to me."
"Yes, but clearly my brother got to it before I did." Still miffed over the fact that Caroline was not only fully in her brother's attention but was wearing the dress she had wanted to wear tonight, I couldn't help but chuckle with amusement as my eyes gleamed at her.
"Come on, cut her some slack. So your brother is making eyes at someone, so what? Be the bigger person, Bekah. Just ignore her if she's irritating you." Gritting her teeth as she struggled to come to terms with the fact that seeing Caroline looking so beautiful and popular bothered her, she announced that she wanted some air and pointedly dragged Matt along with her, making me blink as he tossed a bewildered look over his shoulder so I just shrugged, smirking at him and wishing him good luck with a wave of my fingers. Only then did I realise I was now on my own.
It gave me time to try and figure out why Caroline bothered Rebekah so much, and I could only surmise it was because first, Caroline was everything that Rebekah wanted to be with the numerous friends, the title of Miss Mystic Falls and all that crap, and I guess also because of a slight jealousy over Matt since he and Caroline had dated for a little while. I'd watched them dance earlier, catching sight of them laughing and smiling together like they used to, then seen green envy on Bekah's face and I recall thinking how ironic it was she had been wearing a green dress.
Elijah then returned, apologising for being gone so long, though I assured him that it was totally fine. "No, having been the one to invite you here, it is inexcusable to leave you alone for so long. You haven't been completely by yourself all this time, have you?"
"No, I was with Mattie and Bekah. They went out just to get some air."
"I see. Come, allow me to make up for being such a terrible host and evening companion." With a sincere expression that very rarely allowed itself to show upon his face, Elijah took my hand in order to tuck it into his arm once more and I almost naturally fell into step beside him, turning my face upwards to smile. Letting him lead me away with no hesitation as the sparkling evening continued around us, the quiet hum of music and murmuring voices joined the bubbling atmosphere as Elijah and I set ourselves apart from the crowds in order to talk privately together without interruption, finding genuine pleasure and enjoyment in one another's company which both of us rarely found in others.
It made me think, perhaps he and I were a little alike in that respect, and I found that I didn't dislike that idea at all.