Time sure does fly when you're having fun.
Well, I guess everything flies when you live in a castle with vampires.
It was late November, and everything was going beautifully.
Gregory was back to his happy, cheerful, somewhat sadistic, self.
Anna and Rudolph had finally worked out their differences and maturely shared the time spent with Tony.
Both our house and Maney's workshop/apartment were finished early and we were able to officially move in on November 4th.
Rudolph and Tony had sleepovers every day, without fail, refusing to be separated from the other. They would alternate between each other's rooms, but if you saw one boy then you knew the other was nearby.
Unless of course it was Tony and Anna's bonding time. Then Rudolph and Gregory would have some brotherly bonding time and either go flying or exploring the woods nearby. Rudolph even helped Gregory set up his own webpage for his tutoring business. This helped Gregory expand his commerce so greatly that he was considering hiring more tutors to help him take on the workload.
Freda and Frederick said that it was nice to see the two brothers grow closer to each other. Frederick made the offhand comment that Gregory used to get so annoyed at Rudolph for always wanting to play. He then nonchalantly guessed that there was an outside force that had motivated the older boy to spend more time with the younger.
I, of course, looked at every other corner of the room than into Frederick Sackville-Bag's knowing gaze.
The man was too smart for his own good.
In my defense, it didn't take a lot to convince Gregory to spend time with Rudolph while his best friend was preoccupied. I just had him look at the situation from Rudolph's viewpoint and it was enough to tug on his heartstrings.
Plus, he's admitted that he's actually enjoying hanging out with his younger brother.
It was great that everybody was getting along.
And I mean everybody.
Even Clan Genovese was warming up to us!
Ismey and Cornelius had allowed me to style Maria's hair and play with her on the playground multiple times this past month. Of course, Anna was requested to be present during these times, but still it was progress!
Not to mention that Ismey was sort of helping me with my Christmas present to Gregory.
I'm not artsy nor creative at all, but Maney was right…if I wanted to let Gregory know how special he was to me then I needed to create something with my own hands. The one thing I'm good at that isn't academics or hair…is knitting.
Sounds funny right?
Lucretia Eleanora Thompson, a genius and strong businesswoman, can knit like a sweet, old grandmother. I initially took up the hobby to help keep my focus during my long hours of studying or reading. It's hard to concentrate for hours when you are forcing yourself to sit still in a chair. So, I looked up what can be done with my hands that wouldn't be too distracting and knitting came up. Just with learning how to style my hair, I watched online videos and tutorials before getting the hang of it.
I've been so swamped with everything that I haven't had the time to pick it back up for a long while. I figured that would help add to the thoughtfulness of the present if I spent an hour each night before bed and knitted him a red scarf with black tassels on the end. It turned out alright, but something was missing from the finished product.
I wanted to embroider a small design and his initials into the end of the scarf.
What design I would choose and how I would even embroider anything onto a scarf was beyond me.
But, then I remembered the one vampire that I've seen embroider gorgeous designs into her needlework.
I needed Ismey's help.
That was the most nerve-wracking conversation I've had in my life.
Flashback
"H-hey, Ismey," I greeted the vampire woman with a slight stammer in my voice.
Come on Lucy, you can do this.
"…Lucretia," she nodded her head in a polite, yet reserved, greeting.
"That's a beautiful design that you've embroidered there," I lamely complimented.
"…Thank you," she replied with a raise of her eyebrow, "Is there something you needed?"
Damn, she's on to me.
"Well, you see, uh, I—Christmas is coming up soon—"
"Yes, in about a month's time," she drily commented, pausing her work to give me her full attention.
"Yeah, and well…I was wondering—If you were to, well, let's say you have a knitted scarf and you wanted to embroider initials on it…is that possible to do, or would it look really tacky?" I hypothetically asked her, hoping she wouldn't catch on.
My hopes were soon dashed away.
"Depends…How close are the knitted stiches?" She asked me.
"Pretty close, they're just basic stitches, but the yarn that was used is really thick," I explained to her.
"Uh-huh, what colors were used?" She further asked me.
"Red and black."
"And what initials would be embroidered?"
"G.S.B—" I slapped my hand over my mouth as soon as I said it.
Ismey gave me a look of irritation before sighing out and groaning, "Lucretia…"
"Look, I know that you don't approve of humans and vampires being friends—"
"It's impossible and will only end in heartache—"
"No, it won't—just because it happened in the past doesn't mean that it will happen every time," I told her, "The great thing about the past is that we can learn from our own mistakes and the mistakes of other people in order to prevent bad things from happening. I know you worry about your friends, but please trust me when I say that my family will never hurt the Sackville-Baggs nor allow anyone else to come near them."
"…Lucretia, I've—Cornelius and I already know that you won't hurt any vampires, BUT," Ismey held up her hand as I opened my mouth to agree, "But that doesn't mean that another vampire won't hurt you…It's not safe for mortals in our world."
"Seriously? That's what you've been holding onto?" I asked her incredulously, "Humans aren't always safe amongst other humans, Ismey. Just like vampires aren't always safe with other vampires. It's the luck of the draw half the time and that's why it's so important to hold onto the amazing friends we make while we are alive. My family and I would like to be friends with you—"
"Lucretia—"
"BUT, I get it," I honestly told her, "You and your clan have been hurt in the past and still need more time to heal. I just want you to know that when you and your clan are ready, we'll be waiting here with our olive branch held out to you. In the meantime, do you think that we can have…an alliance?"
I held out my hand with pure hope in my eyes.
"…I still say that no good will come from a friendship with mortals," Ismey said before staring at my still outstretched hand, "However, an alliance could prove beneficial to both clans and your family…"
Ismey pulled her gaze from my hand to my hopeful stare before giving me a small smile and firmly shaking my hand.
"Very well, Lucretia, I will agree to an alliance, but remember this is just an alliance and not a friendship," Ismey firmly told me.
"Oh, of course, of course!" I quickly agreed before ending our handshake.
…At least for now it isn't…
"Very good, now, go grab the scarf that you've made, and I'll teach you how to embroider," she instructed me with a smile.
"Oh, thank you, Ismey!" I called out before rushing to my bag that was in the hallway and running back to the den.
This was the start of a wonderful friend—I mean alliance.
End Flashback
The red scarf looked magnificent with its black thread initialing Gregory's name in the middle of one end of the scarf. Ismey showed me different vampire rune symbols and showed me which ones would apply to Gregory. There was one that meant 'protector' and Ismey showed me the other symbols that could go with it. Such as, protector of home, protector of love, protector of clan, etc.
We decided to use protector of clan, since he is the future clan leader. It was basically an arrow with only one point with an arc encasing a small circle and two lines beneath it. Next, to symbolize the clan, there were three shapes added to the arrow just below the two lines. It kind of looked like the three phases of the moon.
Ismey had chuckled and said that I was very astute for noticing the structure representing the moon.
'What other symbol best fits a vampire clan other than the symbol of the night sky?'
And she had a very valid point.
She showed me how to add other swoops and curls to the scarf's embroidery to make both the symbol and the initials pop at the ends of the scarf.
It looked perfect, but…I wanted to add something to show Gregory that he wasn't alone anymore.
That he had me.
I asked Ismey if there was a rune that showed that a vampire was protected. She said yes and drew a seal circle. One end of the circle branched out from the side and went halfway around the seal before stopping at the other side. There the seal branched out and followed the same counterclockwise direction as the first before stopping right before the first branch of the seal.
The seal was somewhat incomplete to symbolize that the protected will have room to grow, but always remain safe.
I asked her if it would be too much to encase Gregory's initials in the seal, and she said it would actually make it look even more well put together.
So, she showed me how to encase his initials in a seal circle, which finally completed the scarf for Gregory.
All in all, my handmade present turned out really well.
I was just a bit nervous about how he would accept it since vampires don't need scarves because they don't get cold.
Yep, after the couple of embroidery sessions with Ismey, our relationship with Clan Genovese improved quite a bit.
Hell, they even let me add my two cents in at one of their meetings when one of the scouters returned from his mission with depressing news. Apparently, there was a new housing settlement near one of their main safehouses. They couldn't gain access to the old cemetery where they stowed the majority of their loot that they acquired throughout the years. At least, they couldn't go in and remove multiple chests of merchandise without attracting unwanted attention.
I came up with the brilliant idea of staging a 'renovation' crew who were trying to conserve the history of the cemetery plots. I told them that they could use Maney's old semi-truck to safely carry them to and from their destination to gather their belongings.
My parents agreed that it would be easy to come up with the 'paperwork' and a batch of work coveralls to further trick the masses.
Since this arrangement, all three families have been working together, ironing out the details of the plan, and bonding over the whole experience.
The friendly atmosphere helped me convince my parents to talk to Freda and Frederick about throwing a ball at the end of the month. There would be music, dancing, and refreshments for both human and vampire.
'Just like one of the parties that Freda and Frederick used to host long before,' I had told them with a pleading smile, 'It can be a nice surprise for Clan Genovese…something to commemorate our growing alliance.'
My parents liked the idea of a friendly gathering. They approved of it even more when they remembered that happy look on their vampire friends' faces when they reminisced about their former hosted parties.
We decided that it would be best to throw the ball on November 25th since I will be off from school during the week of November 25th – December 3rd for 'Fall Break'.
It wasn't much of a break and was more of a week off from school to prepare for final exams. All of our classes would have a short review session on December 4th when the students came back from 'break'. Our finals would then take place from the 5th-7th and we would receive our final scores for the semester on the 8th. December 8th was also the same day as the Winter Festival. The final Friday would be a half day at school and then turn into an evening of fun in the village at the Winter Festival.
School would be interesting on that last Friday of the semester. Mainly because it would be spent either in conference with guidance counselors and teachers or wrapping up final club activities.
My grades should be more than acceptable in the end.
However, my parents know me too well and figured I would really start to stress out the closer my final exam dates came. So, to avoid me fretting over my exams at the ball, they decided it would be best to throw it early on during my break.
It didn't take a lot of convincing when my parents brought the idea up to Freda and Frederick.
Both vampires looked so delighted to host the party and secretly sought out the help of their own clan to help surprise Clan Genovese.
Yep, everything was looking up…except for one minor detail.
"Achoo!"
"Lucy…" my mom called out, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
I gently rubbed my nose with the sleeve of my school's blazer to help cover up my sniffle, before looking up at my mother's gaze. The rest of my family and the two clans were also staring at me with varying looks of alarm and concern.
Even though we now had our own dining room, we decided to maintain the tradition of eating together in the castle every Friday evening.
"…Yes, mother?" I hesitantly called.
"Lucy, are you getting sick?" She asked me.
"No…it's just—uh—dusty in here is all," I quickly supplied.
"Dusty?" She repeated, not buying my story for a second.
"Yep," I simply replied trying to clear the tickle in the back of my throat without coughing in front of her. My hands quickly reached for my water as I practically chugged the drink to drown the rising tickle.
"Bob…feel your daughter's forehead," my mom commanded in a bored tone.
I choked on my water as I tried to quickly duck away from my father's impending hand.
"M-mom! Really I'm fine—"
"She's warm, Dottie," My dad cut me off as he informed my mother with worry in his voice.
"Dad…" I groaned out, looking at him with betrayal in my eyes.
"How warm?" My mom inquired, staring at me in concern, "As in 'she needs to stay home and rest warm' or 'we need to take her to the doctor's warm'?"
My dad opened his mouth to respond, but I interrupted him this time.
"As in 'she just needs some Vitamin C, ibuprofen, and a good night's sleep warm," I argued while pushing my dad's hand away from my forehead.
"Lucy don't be difficult," my dad chastised me as he reached for my head once more.
"Have you met, Lucy?" Tony asked in astonishment, "You already know that she's going to deny getting sick. Just take her to the doctor's and be done with it."
"Tony…you're supposed to be on my side," I groaned out while pouting at my younger brother.
"I am on your side, Lulu," Tony informed me with a smile, "But that also means I want you to live to a ripe old age and not get taken down by some crummy cold."
I opened my mouth to argue, but Maria's sudden exclamation caught me off guard.
"Lucy is going to die?!" She exclaimed with a look of horror on her face.
I was taken aback by her scared expression that I choked up trying to think of a response.
Ismey tried to console her daughter while I fumbled with an explanation.
"Well…I mean, I am mortal and will eventu—Oh, boy, what I mean to say is…uh…Gregory, a little help please?" I begged the silent vampire sitting next to me.
He just looked at me with his brows knitted in distress before placing his cool hand on my forehead. I jumped in a bit in alarm before relishing on how nice his cold hand felt against my hot skin.
Okay, maybe I was a little sick after all, but it was just a slight fever…and a cough…and some sniffles…
"I can't tell the difference," Gregory murmured.
"What—?"
"Tony, lean forward a little bit," Gregory requested, holding up his other free hand towards my brother.
Tony listened to the older boy and stood up slightly so that Gregory could feel his forehead.
Gregory looked like he was in deep concentration before lifting his gaze to my father, "She only feels slightly warmer than Tony…Is the small rise in temperature the only way to tell if a mortal is ill?"
"No, you can tell a person is sick if they seem more fatigued than normal, sound congested, have a runny nose, or if they are coughing a lot. In Lucy's case, you have to look out for if she's covering her mouth or constantly drinking water to hide her cough," he informed Gregory before giving me a pointed look as I set my water glass down.
Dammit…should have known that I couldn't hide anything from my parents.
"She's coughing?" My mom inquired in alarm before declaring in a firm voice, "We're going to the doctors."
"Mom, no—"
"Lucy, it is not up for debate," she told me with a stern gaze.
"Mom, a cold is a virus," I reminded her, "Doctors don't have medicine to cure a cold. I'll take some over-the-counter medication, rest, and be good to go by Monday."
"You are not going to school sick, Lucy," my mom informed me.
"I won't," I quickly reassured her, "I'll take some medicine, drink all the herbal tea you want to pour into me, and sleep like the dead—sorry, bad word choice—I'll get plenty of rest this weekend, promise!"
"…We'll take your temperature after dinner and that will be the deciding factor if you go to the doctor's or not," my mom finally conceded.
I let out a sigh of relief before clarifying our terms, "Same rules apply?"
"Yes, 99-100 degrees Fahrenheit you just have to stay home and rest," mom told me reviewing our set rules, "101-102 degrees then I call the doctor and see if they want you to come in. However, if it's 103 degrees or higher then I get to drive you to the hospital."
"Didn't dad say that—"
"Don't care, I'll pay the speeding tickets later," my mom dismissed while giving my father a hard look. Almost daring him to argue with her.
Dad held up his hands in surrender.
"What would happen if Lucy's fever increased to the point of hospital?" Gregory questioned with a serious tone of voice.
"Then it would mean there was a bigger underlying concern other than a cold," my mom informed him, "High fevers that go on for more than 48 hours can cause severe dehydration, convulsions, and other serious repercussions."
Gregory opened his mouth to inquire more about the health and wellbeing of humans, but Maria cut him off.
"Lucy, why'd you get sick?" She questioned me with a pout of her lip.
Oh, boy, those cute sapphire blue eyes were going to be the death of me.
"I didn't do it on purpose, Maria," I gently replied with a small smile, "It just sometimes happens in the winter months. You see, humans have to be extra careful during this time of year because our bodies are constantly trying to maintain a set temperature. If we become too hot or too cold then our bodies waste a lot of energy trying to restore equilibrium. The same thing happens with sleep and stress. If our bodies don't get enough rest or our nervous systems are always on edge and trying to calm down, then too much energy is spent regulating our bodies. This expenditure tends to weaken our immune systems and normal germs and viruses that our bodies used to easily fight off are able to infect us and cause—"
"Lulu you're talking to a five- year old," Tony interrupted my explanation with a small smile on his face.
I paused my rambles and finally looked towards the completely confused face of Maria Genovese. Oh right…Maria is an actual five-year old girl…
"Oh, uh—well, Gregory how do I explain illness to a five-year old?" I whispered to my friend with a slight sniffle. Stupid running nose was starting to get to me. Not to mention that my longwinded explanation caused the scratchy feeling to return to my throat.
I reached for my water glass again and hastily finished its contents.
Gregory shook his head in amused disbelief before turning towards Maria.
"Maria, what Lucy is trying to say is that human bodies are more fragile in extreme temperatures. Like the freezing cold weather that we have right now. So, Lucy's body wasn't able to fight these teeny-tiny specks, called germs. These germs got in her body and made her sick," Gregory explained to the small girl.
"They're inside her?!" Maria whispered in fear, "How do we get them out?"
"By giving her medicine," Gregory continued, "The tiny tablets will go into her body and fight the germs until they are all gone."
"Exactly," my mother chimed in happily, "Plus, to make sure the nasty illness doesn't get worst or come back, we are going to make her drink plenty of fluids, get plenty of rest, and stay nice and warm."
Maria slowly nodded her head in understanding, "How come vampires don't get sick?"
"Oh, that's probably because you don't have to waste energy maintaining a set body temperature, not to mention—"
"Lulu, she's still five-years old," Tony chimed in with a singsong voice.
"…Ah, right, right," I mumbled to myself.
"Vampire bodies are stronger than a human's body in some things, and human bodies are stronger than a vampire's body in other things," Gregory replied to Maria.
"Kind of like how they can go out in the sun and we can't?" Maria clarified with a cute tilt of her head.
"Precisely right," Gregory answered with a smile.
I would have cooed at how adorable this scene was, but my stupid nose had other plans.
"Ah-achoo!"
"That's it Lucy," my mom growled at me before listing her demands, "You are grabbing your jacket and going straight back to the house to take a warm bath. Once you are done, you will change into warm clothes and cover yourself with all your blankets. That includes the comforter in your closet. I will bring you some water, medicine, and herbal tea later. You are not to leave that bed for anything. Do I make myself clear?"
Rubbing my nose once more, I nodded my head in compliance at my fierce mamma bear's commands.
"Yes mother," I rasped out before excusing myself from my seat.
After taking my dishes to the kitchen, I went towards the backdoor where our jackets were hanging up. My winter jacket was old and worn, but still comfortable and fairly warm.
I should probably look into replacing the long, dark grey coat, but I kept getting distracted by other, more important things in my life.
Strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me into a familiar chest.
Speaking of important things.
I thought fondly with a warm smile.
"Hello, Gregory," I rasped out before clearing my throat and leaning my body into his chest. My fingers gently stroked his arm as he leaned his head on my shoulder next to my ear.
"I told you to not pull anymore all-nighters," he chided me as he tightened his hold.
"…I know," I whispered in an apologetic voice.
"You told me that you would be conscientious about your health," he reminded me, burying his nose into my hair.
"…Gregory, I…I'm…" I sighed out, not quite knowing how to answer him.
"It's fine," Gregory told me, already knowing my response, "I'll just have to keep a closer eye on you."
I snorted at his response before turning around to bury myself into his cool embrace.
God, his body temperature felt so lovely right now.
"Come on, I'll help you home," he offered before lifting me into his arms.
I nodded my head in agreement.
Not that I would tell anybody, but my body was feeling a bit achy from this stupid cold.
I wouldn't begrudge anybody willing to carry me to my bedroom.
Well, in this case fly me.
…But that's mainly because it's Gregory.
Strange feelings have been bubbling in my chest lately whenever I think of him.
I'm not experiencing increased heart palpitations or embarrassment when he says my name. But, lately, whenever he holds my hand or hugs me…my stomach starts doing these weird flips.
Just now my mind went fuzzy when he lifted me in his arms.
I must be sicker than I thought…
That's what it is…
Nothing else.
He's my best friend and we have a close relationship. That's all that there is to it…
Right?
Gregory had gotten me back to my bedroom and waited for me while I bathed and changed as instructed by my mother. He had kindly set up my extra comforter on my bed already. But what had me confused was that he was laying on my bed in just his undershirt and pants.
He had taken off his boots and cape, something he never does.
"Gregory…?" I called out in confusion.
"It says here that sick people enjoy cuddling when they're 'under the weather'," Gregory answered while holding up his phone, "I figured that it would be easier for you to get comfortable if I was dressed more casually for you."
"…You're going to let me use you as my personal body pillow?" I questioned in amazement.
"Of course, if it helps restore you back to better health, then I don't mind being your pillow," Gregory told me with a shrug of his shoulders, "Besides, I told you that I was going to keep a closer eye on you and I meant it."
I was super excited that somebody was going to let me cuddle them when I was sick.
Normally, once I've finally admitted that I was ill, my family quarantines me so that nobody else gets sick.
I don't think anybody has held me when I wasn't feeling well.
Well…at least not since I was a baby…I think—those memories are pretty blurry for obvious reasons.
"You didn't wash your hair did you?" He asked me, breaking me away from my thoughts, "It says here that if you take a bath when you're sick that you are not supposed to wash your hair."
"Yeah, that's because heat leaves through your head and feet the fastest," I informed him before happily diving beneath my covers.
Gregory threaded his fingers through my dry locks before whispering 'good' and pulling me closer to him.
"You're not going to spend all night reading about human health and wellness…are you?" I questioned with a slight yawn.
"I just might—I want you to be able to enjoy the ball next Saturday, not be stuck here in your room," he mumbled while clicking on a new website.
"Trust me, it's just a-a-achoo! …cold…" I sniffled to him before snuggling deeper into the covers.
"I believe you, now get some rest…I'll be here when you wake up," Gregory told me, before snuggling his body into my own.
God, why did this feel so right?
"Thank you for letting me use you as my personal body pillow," I mumbled out before nodding off to sweet dreamland.
I could have sworn I heard him whisper.
"Anything for you…my soul…"
Thankfully, I was right, and it was just a slight cold.
After my mother's strict regimen of fluids, medicine, rest, and a lot of herbal tea, I was back to my old, world-dominating self.
I, luckily, didn't have to miss a day of school either!
The girls in both my clubs would be understanding for my absence, but for me personally…it'd be like a sign of weakness if I called out.
And I'll be damned if I let my peers think I'm weak.
Only Gregory was allowed to see me when I'm vulnerable.
Speaking of which…I wonder what he'll be dressed in tonight?
Anna had told me that she picked out both of our outfits again but had such a mischievous grin on her face that it made me slightly nervous.
But I reassured myself that she wouldn't use her talents for evil.
Anna was actually the one who helped pick out the outfits for all the members of Clan Genovese.
She in turn handed the selected clothing for the members to her parents who delivered the items for her. Freda and Frederick had given everyone their clothes and invitations by placing them delicately on their assigned coffins. The clan members had flown back into the castle for a nice rest that Saturday morning and discovered the lovely surprise.
Clan Genovese was elated at the news of a party…well at least that's what Gregory texted me.
Apparently, they haven't been to a ball for centuries and couldn't wait for the night's festivities.
I had just finished my shower and blowing drying my hair when my eyes caught sight of a large black, garment bag laying on my bed. Mom, dad, or Tony must have set my designated dress for the evening on my bed while I was in the shower.
Walking towards the garment bag, I slowly unzipped the front with bated breath.
I let out a shocked gasp after I unveiled my dress
The dress was a gorgeous, light beige, 1700s ballgown mixed with an exquisite embroidered pattern and delicate, angelic lace. It had an off the shoulder, semi-sweetheart neckline with lace trim. The sleeves were about 2 inches big with an intricate design embroidered in them before they turned into dainty lace sleeves that fluttered beneath my elbows. The top half of the dress was void of any embroidery while the bottom half had the sides and back of the skirt littered with gorgeous dark beige swoops and curls. There were three, small, red curves on the top and bottom of these designs and they resembled the petals of an enclosed rose.
All in all, the dress was absolutely marvelous creation that left me breathless.
When I put it on…I felt like I was part of some wonderful fairytale.
I quickly did my hair the way that Anna had requested it. A simple curled bun on the top of my head with a cute braid wrapped around it. She had told me to add the slight puff to the front of it like we had done the night Gregory and I went to the concert. Anna wanted to add a bit of volume to my hairstyle. Once that was done, I delicately wove the brown and gold hair ornament to the side of my braid to look like a flower branch on the side of my head. My eyes caught glimpses of red in this ornament that she had picked out and I smiled at her chosen color scheme.
I loved it when she matched the necklace that Gregory had given me.
The first loop wrapped perfectly around my neck and showcased the little, red feather perfectly. However, the silver earring that was attached to the end of the second loop dangled too low, so I tucked it in to the front of my dress.
Perfect.
Anna did it again…everything looks perfect.
All that is left is my makeup and I was given specific instructions to allow Tony to do that part.
Tony was impressed by Anna's choices and said that what she planned for my makeup would complete my look flawlessly. He then had me sit with my back towards my mirror, so that I couldn't peak at the process, and expertly applied the finishing touches.
When he finally let me turn around, I gasped in shock.
My freckles were left untouched, as usual, and I noticed that the color scheme they decided to go with was pale pink. There was a pale pink, matte lipstick applied to my lips that gave them a pouty look. And there was also a pale pink eyeshadow that was applied to the base of my eyes. He had added a sparkling beige towards the ends of my lids where he had done a small cat eye to help enhance my dark lashes. There was sparkling accent shadow in the corner of my eyes again, but Tony had paired it with white eyeliner on the inside of my eyes.
My eyes looked much larger and more innocent than normal.
"Tony…" I whispered, still shocked that the reflection that mimicked my movements was me, "This…this is beautiful. You did an amazing job…You both did."
"Eh, it's easy work when your model is already drop dead gorgeous," he shrugged off while overloading me with flattery.
"Oh, you," I giggled before pulling him into a small hug.
I finally noticed his outfit for the evening was tight, dark blue slacks with dark brown, dress shoes. He wore an ivory waistcoat with a white, ruffled dress shirt beneath it. He had on a long, elegant topcoat with embroidered gold and purple designs on the edges. The purple threw me for a loop before a knowing grin came to my face.
"Is Anna wearing purple this fine evening?" I asked my little brother with a teasing grin.
Tony flushed slightly before narrowing his eyes, "You realize that I haven't placed the setting spray on your face yet and can still throw water on you to ruin your makeup, right?"
I laughed at his empty threat before conceding to let the matter drop.
With a nod of his head, Tony grabbed the setting spray before gently misting it over my face and sealing the look for the rest of the evening.
"Okay, so now that you don't have leverage on me anymore, is Anna wearing purple?" I teased again.
"That's it, I can't wait for you to see, Gregory now," Tony informed me with a stamp of his foot.
My face suddenly flushed at the mention of Gregory.
"H-have you seen him?" I tried to silence my erratically beating heart, but to no avail.
"…Yes…" Tony slowly replied with narrowed eyes, "Lulu, you and Gregory are just friends… right?"
"O-of course we are!" I shrieked, a little louder than I meant to.
"Really, you two aren't soul-bound and keeping it hidden from me, are you?" He further questioned with suspicion in his voice.
"Tony…" I groaned out, "First off, Gregory hasn't grown since we met him—"
"Growing takes time, but carry on," Tony interjected into my statement.
"Alright, fine, but if I was bound to Gregory, you would have been the first person I told," I divulged to Tony, "And since I haven't come to you with such news, it's safe to say that Gregory and I aren't soul bound."
"…But what if Gregory didn'ttell you," Tony tried to argue.
"Why would he do that? He's been waiting for his soul bond for 426 years… I'm pretty sure that if I, or anyone else, was his bonded then Gregory would have immediately told them," I pointed out to him in a matter of fact manner.
"…I guess you have a point…it's just, you guys are really close," Tony commented in concern.
"…Yeah, it's not necessarily normal with how touchy feely we both are," I admitted, "But…for me…it's kind of like an emotional thing…"
"What do you mean?"
"Well…you know how I'm not too good with expressing feelings or understanding emotions?"
"In your defense, you have vastly improved your skills," Tony complimented off handedly.
"Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better," I smiled at him, "But, what I mean is that I am not able to express how much I cherish our friendship in words…so I tend to show it in a more of a…physical format."
"…That makes sense," Tony mumbled in agreement, "Plus, Gregory is probably a bit touch starved from his years of being groomed as the next clan leader and the time period he grew up in."
"What do you mean?" I asked Tony, repeating his earlier question to me.
"Gregory grew up during the time when it was frowned upon for boys to be coddled and was considered a sign of weakness if they showed vulnerability. He's probably just as touchy feely with you as you are with him because he's receiving positive physical interaction that he was denied growing up," Tony stated in a logical manner.
"…How have I not noticed this until now?" I mumbled beneath my breath.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up, Lulu," Tony soothed with a smile, "Remember, you've come a long way on your education of emotions."
"Okay, I guess you're right," I slightly agreed with a small smile, "Come on, we should get going if we don't want to be late."
We walked downstairs to meet our parents. Both were dressed in similar fashion to us, but different color schemes. Mom had a gorgeous dark blue dress on with dark gold lace and dad had dark blue overcoat with a dark gold waistcoat.
My parents gushed at how adorable we both looked and, of course, had a mini photoshoot in the living room, the music room, and the hallway next to this big painting of an open field.
I'm fairly certain you can guess which parent decided the locations of our photos and the quantity she was going to need.
Eventually, we got into our golf cart before driving to the castle after we picked up Maney from his workshop. He was dressed in a black overcoat with various shades of green embroidered on the edges. His waistcoat was also a light shade of green with a white dress shirt beneath it. Maney had on black slacks with matching black, dress shoes.
My mom and I both cooed at Maney together and got him to blush a brilliant shade of red that matched his vibrant red hair.
Our family made it to the front entryway of the castle before shuffling inside to the warm fireplace in the foyer. Some clan's members were in there, enjoying the crackling fire and conversation. I looked around the halls, but didn't spot any of the Sackville-Bagg children until…
"Miss Lulu!" Rudolph cried out before enveloping me into a hug, "You look absolutely stunning, Miss Lulu!"
I giggled before returning the sweet embrace.
God, I love this polite, sweet boy.
"Thank you, Rudolph, you look quite dashing yourself," I commented as I pulled away so that he could strike a prideful pose. He had black slacks on with black dress shoes. His overcoat was black with various shades of blue embroidered into it and a dark blue waistcoat.
"Hey, where is—"
"Lucy! You look absolutely marvelous!" Anna gushed out, taking pride in her work.
She was dressed in a gorgeous deep purple dress with lilac designs on the sides. There was black lace trim on the edges, on her sleeves, and wrapped in a bow around her waist.
"Forget about what I look like! You look like a princess!" I gushed while grabbing both her hands and spinning her around.
I cooed at her a bit longer as she giggled at my affections before I realized that Freda and Frederick were smiling at me.
Both were dressed in a matching red, black, and gold color scheme. Freda's red dress was accented by gorgeous, black lace on her dress. She had a sweetheart neckline on her dress that was encased with black spiderweb lace that trailed up and encircled her pale, delicate neck.
I may have spotted Frederick eyeing his wife's neck with a look of hunger, but I made sure to keep my mouth shut. It was nearly impossible when he tried to nonchalantly place his arm around her shoulders and gently trace a pattern to the side of her neck.
Rudolph made a gagging noise at this display while Anna and I shot him disapproving looks.
"Hey, where's Gregory?" Tony called out, trying to shift our anger away from his best friend.
Yeah, that's what I would like to know too…
"Oh, well, perhaps he's already in the dining hall with the other members," Freda suggested as she started ushering us that way, "Shall we go check—Oh, Anna could you be a dear and be mommy's little helper?"
Freda had turned to look at Anna with pleading eyes.
"Don't worry mother, I'll take care of it," Anna stated before flying upstairs.
"Such a wonderful girl, now, shall we step inside?" Freda 'suggested' as she led us away from the foyer and into the dining hall.
They had cleared the tables off to the sides and placed decorative linen cloths on them with cool refreshments on top. The clan members had even created a makeshift stage towards the end of the hall where a group of vampires played various instruments. There were lights and lace strung up on the sides to set the happy atmosphere. I also noticed decorative wreaths and bouquets all over the walls. The windows weren't boarded up like they usually are during the day. So, all of these decorations were enhanced by delicately twinkling stars in the night sky and the wintery expanse of land laying softly beneath it.
I stared in awe at the storybook scene before my eyes.
"Freda…this—this is simply breathtaking," I whispered in a gentle voice. Still trying to catch my breath from the magnificent sight.
"Why thank you my dear," She hummed in happiness, quite pleased with herself.
At that moment, Cornelius, Ismey, and Maria came up to greet us.
"Well don't you look lovely," Ismey complimented me with a small smile. Her and Cornelius were dressed in a similar fashion to Freda and Frederick. But where Freda's dress was enhanced with lace, Ismey's dress was enriched with black pearls.
I blinked in shock at Ismey.
She thinks I look lovely? I wish vampires could look in the mirror so she could witness how gorgeous she looks…she looks like a goddess, for Pete's sake!
"Why thank you for the compliment," Ismey purred in delight.
"…I said that out loud again, didn't I?" I questioned in a meek voice, completely embarrassed by my outburst.
"Nothing to be embarrassed about, Lucretia," Cornelius assured me before lovingly taking his wife's hand and gently lifting it to his lips, "It is only the truth after all."
"How about me?" Maria asked from the side. She was dressed in a pale pink dress with black designs and pearls in her hair.
"If your mother is a goddess," I told her while slightly bending down to her height, "Then you must be a celestial being that has come to grace my eyes."
"What's that?" She asked me with a slight giggle, already sensing that it was a compliment.
"It means that I think you are an absolute angel!" I gushed at the small child.
Maria giggled at my praise before giving me a slight curtsy and running off to her mother's side.
From the corner of my eye I noticed Maney setting up his laptop station to the speakers near the stage. He was going to DJ the event here and there to give the orchestra a small reprieve and a chance to dance themselves.
Lionel was near him, dressed in a similar green color scheme as his surrogate father, and had his long, brown hair pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his neck.
Maney was showing him how to wire everything. Both had such loving smiles on their faces.
They looked so precious together.
Glancing around the rest of the 'ballroom', I became slightly alarmed when my eyes didn't land on the familiar figure of my best friend.
Where is Gregory at?
3rd Person POV
"There you are, Gregory, everyone is looking for you," Anna chastised her older brother as she spotted him on the third floor of the castle.
Gregory didn't bother looking up at his younger sister and just stood there with slumped shoulders.
"…Anna…why?"
"Why what?" She asked in confusion before stepping closer to him.
"Why did you have to dress her like that?" Gregory seethed with barely contained rage in his eyes.
"…Are you talking about Lucy? Because she looks gorgeous and—"
"I know she looks gorgeous because I saw her down there in the foyer," Gregory growled while rubbing his eyes in frustration.
"Yes, mother and I noticed you ogling her like some kind of pervert—"
"I did not 'ogle' her!" Gregory cried out indignantly, "I just simply—observed her…And I'm not a pervert."
"Uh-huh," Anna deadpanned, not convinced, "Why didn't you come join us, then?"
"Why did you dress her like that?" He repeated his question in a calmer tone but couldn't stop it from cracking.
Just the thought of his Lucy displayed to him in such glorious, complimenting attire, took his breath away.
"Like what?"
"Like…like an innocent bride. With all her gorgeous skin on display and that supple, tender neck," Gregory practically growled at the end when he remembered her delicate neck being fully open to him, wrapped prettily with his necklace.
Beckoning to him like she was a present just for him.
Anna snorted at that before remarking, "I think you have a neck fetish like father…"
"Anna, I'm serious—why did you dress her so-so—"
"Beautifully? Elegant? Oh, I know what word you're going to use," Anna told him with a smirk, "Radiant…"
Gregory closed his eyes in response and slightly banged his head on the walls.
"Anna…" he growled in response.
"Gregory…" she mimicked back before letting him in on a secret, "You do realize that no matter how I dressed Lucy or had her style her hair—you would have found her completely mouth-watering. I bet you that I could have stuck her in a brown, paper bag and you still would be upset with me right now."
"I-I wouldn't…" Gregory trailed off, realizing there was truth in his sister's words, "By the dark star…what am I going to do?"
"Same thing that I'm going to do," Anna replied while grasping her brother's hand in reassurance, "You are going to go downstairs and dance the night away with your soul-bond."
"Anna!" Gregory hissed out while quickly looking down both ends of the hallway to make sure they were alone.
"Relax, everyone is either in the foyer, den, or dining hall," Anna soothed with a knowing smile, "Nobody is going to mention to Lucy that you and she are fated. At least, they'll keep quiet until you tell her after the holidays."
Gregory let out a small sigh of relief before nodding his head.
"You're right. Everything will be just fine," he stated before steeling his nerves, "I've seen her dressed up countless times before. Tonight, is no different and I'm going to enjoy my time with my beautifully, radiant sun while I can… Shall we?"
Gregory offered his arm to his little sister. She giggled at his antics before looping her arm with his and flying to the 'ballroom'.
Neither sibling noticed Marcus's dark figure eavesdropping on their conversation from the doorway.
I finally spotted Gregory when he flew into the hall with Anna looped around his arm.
There you are…
My eyes greedily drank in the sight of his handsome figure. He was dressed in beige slacks with dark brown shoes. His waistcoat was a brilliant gold color with a crisp, white, ruffled dress shirt beneath it. The overcoat was a deep shade of red that made his mesmerizing eyes become more piercing. The embroidered design on it was a mixture of beige and gold. The beige thread curled and looped, making the design look similar to tree branches. There were gold 'stars' at the top of these 'branches'.
Did Anna match the embroidery of his overcoat to my hairpiece?
That's probably what Tony meant when he said that he couldn't wait for me to see Gregory.
Gregory spotted my gaze and flew over to me.
I smiled at him, "Well, don't you look handsome?"
"I clean up pretty well, don't I?" He asked me with a teasing smile, pulling at the lapels of his coat to show off his outfit more.
"That you do," I agreed, "And so humble too!"
He chuckled at that before gently taking my hand in his own.
"You look so radiant, Lucy…" Gregory murmured, giving my hand a slight squeeze.
Radiant?
I blushed at that.
I don't think that I've ever been called radiant before.
It made a warm, happy feeling bloom in my chest.
"Thank you," I managed to meekly reply, a small blush still lingering on my face.
A comfortable silence stretched between us as we stood off to the side, staring into each other's eyes.
"Care to dance?" He offered with a tilt of his head towards the dance floor.
"Oh, yes, please," I told him with an excited nod of my head.
It's been so long since I've danced at a formal party.
Dancing at those business gatherings and events was the only good thing to come from those parties.
Gregory gently led me onto the dance floor.
We wrapped our arms around each other like that one night back in September, the night that I won the elections. And we happily waltzed around the room with the other clan members.
Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves.
We danced to a few more songs before taking a small break to sit next to our family on the sides. Our mothers and Ismey seemed to be debating something, so Gregory and I decided to rest our feet and do a little bit of investigating.
As we stepped closer, we could finally hear the conversation and understand why Ismey looked ready to murder my mother.
"I'm just saying that just because a few people are saying that you had a good voice back in the day doesn't mean that you will be able to sing now," my mother goaded, "Besides, memory is a fickle thing, they probably are unknowingly overexaggerating on how great your really were."
Oh boy.
I've learned all my business techniques from my mother and know when she's just trying to get under a person's skin for a certain end result.
What was the end result in this case?
To get Ismey to sing.
And my mom was winning.
"Well, I hope that you know how to eat crow, Dottie," Ismey seethed before abruptly standing from the table and stomping off towards the stage.
"Icarus isn't in danger, is he?" Frederick questioned as he approached the table with Cornelius and my dad.
"No, dear, Dottie just convinced Ismey to sing, is all," Freda assured her husband with a smile, "Very well done, by the way…"
"Thank you," my mother replied with a smug smile.
Yep, I'm definitely my mother's daughter.
"Where is mother?" A male voice called out from behind Gregory and me.
We both turned around to see Marcus with two goblets of blood in his hands. I'm assuming one of those chalices was meant for Ismey.
"Your mother is going to grace us with a song," Cornelius answered his son with a smile as he looked towards the stage where his beloved now stood.
"…Really? How did you convince her to sing?" Marcus questioned in a mixture of excitement and alarm.
"I didn't," Cornelius simply stated before turning his gaze upon my mom.
"I…see," Marcus said before setting one of the goblets down where his mother was sitting before
"…I suppose a thank you is in order…It's been so long since we've heard her sing," Marcus lowly murmured to my mother in approval.
She gave him a small smile in recognition before turning her attention back to Ismey as Maney started playing the melody of Indila's song Derniere Danse through the speakers. The microphone delicately clutched in her fingertips, Ismey started singing the pretty French song with a beautifully haunting voice.
Her voice seemed to echo throughout the room and within my chest. My heart felt like it was soaring with each lyric she sung. I clutched my chest in alarm before turning my stunned gaze at Gregory. He shot me a knowing grin before moving his attention back to Ismey. I followed his gaze and nearly fell on my face as she got to a particular high note during the climax of the song.
Holy—do sirens exist too?!
This woman has to be a daughter of the sea with a voice like that!
After the song ended and Ismey started making her way back to our group, a smug smile on her face when she noticed my jaw still on the floor.
"…Cornelius, sir?" I called out to the older vampire after Ismey curled herself into his side, "Are you sure you married a vampire and not a siren?"
Everybody laughed at my impressed assessment of Ismey's singing voice.
"Not bad for 'dusty vocal cords', huh?" Ismey called out to my mother.
My mom simply put her drink down and gave Frederick a serious look.
"I'm so sorry to tell you, Frederick, but your precious Icarus is in danger," she informed him in a regretful manner, "I'm going to have to eat all the crow in the world after that spectacular performance."
Ismey preened with pride as we continued to heap compliments on her while Frederick begged my mother to not hurt his precious pet crow.
Eventually, Gregory and I made it back to the dance floor and glided together in each other's arms.
I stared at him with complete contentedness in my eyes. He let out a low chuckle at me and asked, "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Nothing really," I responded with a sigh, "Just…happy. Undoubtedly, mind-numbingly, happy, you know?"
"…I do," He whispered to me before pulling me closer into his chest as the song went from a fun, fast-paced tempo to a sweet and slow melody.
I hummed in delight.
Definitely happy.
Nothing could bring me down from this wonderful evening.
Too bad hindsight is 20/20.
Even more of a shame that I forgot the golden rule of life: Happiness never lasts…
AN: Hello everyone! I am so, so sorry for my long absence. Had a bit of a 'surprise' last year and had to work two full-time jobs to get a nice nest egg going to help support my little gift and me when I went on maternity leave.
Thank goodness I did too. I ended up getting sick and going into premature labor. This all resulted in my baby going into the NICU for a bit and me getting hospitalized due to complications from the emergency C-section.
But we are, thankfully, doing so much better now and my little bean is thriving. I've been meaning to come back and write on here for so long now and am grateful to all of you for your patience and support. Now that my sweet is sleeping through the night and getting on a regular schedule, I am going to try my best to come back and finish writing these stories on a regular basis. They may not be posted on a timed schedule, but I promise that I won't abandon this series without giving you lovely readers a happy ending to it all.
Once again, thank you so much for your kind words and continued support and I hope to hear more of your wonderful feedback and comments on the story in the future!
P.S. The little bean says hello and is so happy to be here! :)