Masquerade
The next morning, Maria dragged me out of bed at five o'clock. I had had about an hour of sleep. This wasn't good.
"Ugh, why are we up so early? I'm tired." I griped. She tugged me roughly towards the master bath conjoining their bedroom. A place I never ventured. "It will take us all day to get you presentable for the ball. So shut up and let me help you." She growled. What the heck did that mean? I growled right back at her.
She shoved me into the separated room where the shower was. "Make it quick." She said, in her frigid tone.
I took my shower, taking my dear sweet time just to tick her off, and dragged myself back out wearing my bathrobe.
She sat me down in a chair in front of the mirror and began drying my hair. She kept tugging at my hair as she tried desperately to get every last damp strand. If there were ever a time I wanted to be a vampire, it was now.
When she finished, my hair was standing out five feet from my head in an afro looking fashion. "OH-MY-GOD"I said slowly, mortified. She smacked me hard on the back of my head, "I'm not done yet!" she yelled. Child abuse.
She sprayed some mint smelling gel in my hair and went to work, twisting every individual curl to perfection. It took her five hours, but when she was done, I marveled at how beautiful it turned out. "Thanks" I muttered starting to get out the chair. She pushed me back down, "Not yet." She said, with impatience. I watched her as she pulled up most of curls and piled them on top of my head, letting a few fall down my neck and at the side of my face.
It took another full hour but when she finished, she backed away and smiled with satisfaction. "Now it's done." I gaped at my reflection. I had never seen my hair look so good. I looked like a girl from the 1800's or something like that. I bet Davion would like it.
"Now for makeup." She announced, making me groan. "Don't be so difficult. You don't need much, just a little powder, lipstick, and mascara." I reluctantly let her do with me what she will, and was surprised when she finished in less than five minutes.
She pulled me away before I could see what she had done in the mirror. She took me back upstairs and helped me into the dress. Then she brought out a pair of high-heeled shoes that terrified me to no end. "Are you trying to kill me?" I asked her, cocking a suspicious eyebrow. She paid me no attention and proceeded to strap the death traps to my feet.
At almost three o'clock, she announced she was done and brought me before the mirror. "You look absolutely gorgeous, dear." She said almost affectionately.
I gazed at the stranger in the mirror, unable to blink or breathe. This woman looked more like my mother than me. I swear it was like looking at on old photograph of her from when she was young.
"What do you think?" asked Maria, crossing her arms, totally pleased with herself. "T-thank you Maria. Really, thank you." I smiled at her, fighting the tears that threatened to destroy my makeup. "You're welcome." She said happily. She stopped before exciting the room and looked back at me.
"Dawn, I-I feel closer to you than my own daughter. I know it's hard to believe that from the way I act, but I do love you. I'm not your mother, and I'm not trying to replace her, but I'll always be here for you." She smiled in a strangely warm way. I smiled back, "Thank you Maria, for everything."
The ball didn't begin till five so I had another two hours to get through. Hopefully I wouldn't destroy Maria's work before then. I sat at the dining table, reading a book, to pass the time. It was the only place I could sit without messing up my hair. At this time both Maria and William was busy getting dressed, so the rest of the house was quiet.
"Dawn?" said Davion's astonished voice, breaking the silence. I looked up to see Davion, staring at me, his eyes wide and mouth open in shock. I smiled, "hi" I greeted weakly. He glided towards me, his long strides closing the distance in seconds.
I stood up so he could get a good look, "What do you think?" I asked, it was getting harder and harder to breathe with him gawking at me like that. "You look…ravishing!" he grinned. He started to lean in for a kiss but I stopped him, pressing a fingertip to his lips, "Not now, you'll smear the makeup." He stuck out his lower lip, mocking one of my pouts.
Wrapping one arm around my waist, he pulled me onto the dance floor. We began another waltz, his movements effortless, while mine were horribly clumsy in these horrid shoes. "Men are going to be fighting for a chance to dance with such a beauty." He chuckled and gave me a sly grin, "but I don't plan on giving them the chance." I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.
"You're coming?" I asked. "Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world." He replied. I stopped in my tracks and dropped my hands from his shoulders, "You can't come, Davion." I took a step back from him.
He cocked his head to the side, "Why not? Don't you want me there?" his voice sounded so hurt that it made a sharp pain surge through my body. "No I do, it's just that I don't think it's a good idea. The entire Helsing organization will be there, not to mention the Queen and other important members of British society. I think it's too dangerous for you." His eyes shifted in thought then his jaw clinched, and I knew he was mad at me. "I see. Very well." He took my hand it kissed it in a gentlemanly manner, "Have a nice night, my lady." He bid coldly. He phased out, and I felt my heart beginning to break all over again.
When the guests started to finally arrive, I slipped away to my room to get the pirate gold necklace Davion had given me. I picked it up from my dresser and strung it around my neck, taking one last look at my new face before strapping on my white mask. I scratched Sunny behind the ears for good luck then slipped out the door to the party.
The ballroom was lit up in a beautiful golden light. The room was a sea of pinks, gold, whites, and blacks. Everyone was wearing masks making it nearly impossible to decipher who was who. I didn't even recognize my own father until he spoke. He took me by the hand and led me towards the back of the room, near the dinner tables. Sitting in one of the dining chairs with several men in royal guard uniforms surrounding her was an old woman, wearing a cream colored dress. "Dawn, this is Queen Elizabeth II." He introduced. My eyes bulged and it took a moment for the shock to fade before I even thought to curtsy. "Y-your' highness." I stuttered, going into the clumsiest curtsy ever. The queen smiled warmly, reaching out to take my hand, "You look so much like your dear mother. She is dearly missed." Her words wounded me. "She is." I said in a small voice, bowing my head She touched my chin, bringing my face to meet her gaze, "Don't be sad child, tonight is a happy one. You have grown into a beautiful young woman. You should go dance with all those handsome young men I see eyeing you and stop worrying yourself over impressing an old woman." She shooed me away with her hands playfully, "Run along child, have fun." I laughed giving one final curtsy, before escaping to the crowd.
It didn't take long to find Kat and John, since they had already shown me their masks. John was wearing an obscene light blue suit that looked like it belonged in the 70's and a simple mask of the same color. Kat looked adorable in her light pink, puffy skirted dress, and pink-feathered mask. It was a look I could never have pulled off.
Kat squealed in delight when she saw me, "Dawn! You look beautiful! Who did your hair? I love it! And your dress…"her voice trailed off as my attention was captured by a man wearing a red hooded cloak, seemingly dancing as he skirted the walls.
"Dawn, are you listening?" asked Kat, annoyed by my short attention span. I blinked, "Sorry. What were you saying?" She smiled again, "I was wishing you happy birthday, silly." She giggled, giving me a hug. "Thank you, guys." Kat started pulling John towards the rest of the dancers. "Come on John, let's dance." As he passed me John whispered, "I'll try to keep her occupied so you can mingle. Happy birthday." I waved at them as they disappeared into the crowd, "Thanks." I yelled, hoping that he heard me.
The classical band was playing a tune I recognized as Mozart, I was swaying along with the music when I felt a man's strong grip on my shoulder.
I whirled around and came face to face with a boy with blonde hair and green eyes wearing a white tux and mask. Even with the mask, I recognized him, "Ian?" He bowed before me, with a grin, "May I have this dance?" he asked. Without waiting for my answer( which may have been intentional since I would've turned him down) he pulled me onto the dance floor.
I was surprised by how different I felt dancing with Ian. I didn't feel as clumsy with him, since he wasn't perfect either. He kept stepping on my toes. I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming more than twice.
"Dawn, I've wanted to say something for a long time, but I don't know if you'll like it very much. I don't want to ruin your ball." I looked up at him, wincing as I felt my toes crunch again. "Go ahead, I'm curious now." He took a deep breath and I felt his arms tighten around my waist. Our eyes locked, "I love you." He confessed. I felt my heart stop.
I stopped, not wanting to dance anymore. It suddenly became too hard to breathe and my breath started coming out in gasps. Ian touched my arm, "Are you okay?" he asked, worried. I slapped his hand away, "Leave me alone, I'm having an asthma attack." I turned away and walked quickly to a corner to take my medicine where no one would see me.
The only problem was I didn't have my inhaler anymore. I hadn't had an asthma attack since the night I watched my father hunting vampires for the first time. I had no idea where the blasted thing might be.
I leaned against the wall, taking deep ragged breaths. Slowly my breathing evened out. Ian was still standing in the midst of the dancers. Multicolored skirts twirling around him as he stood perfectly still, watching me. I couldn't bare to look at him. I turned my back, to face the corner. Why, there was a ball being thrown in my honor, I was eighteen now, a full grown woman, I had gotten to meet the queen, and a cute guy had just told me he loved me, tonight was supposed to be the happiest of my entire life. But…it wasn't. Something or rather someone was missing. I was miserable and…it was all my fault.
All the noise in the room faded away as a smooth voice blessed my ears. "Dance with me." Said the voice. A black gloved hand reached for mine and I gladly took it, mesmerized by the voice. He turned me around and I saw that it was the man in the red hooded cloak.
"Who are you?" I asked as he led me onto the dance floor. He lowered his hood slowly, revealing a porcelain skinned face, half hidden in a black mask. His black hair looked the same as it always did, and his brilliant green eyes glowed from the shadow of the mask. "You came." I breathed, wanting to cry.
Davion's arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me against his chest. "Death himself wouldn't be able to keep me away." He whispered in a voice that made a surge of pure love rush through my entire body. "Kiss me." I ordered, angling my mouth towards his. He touched my lips with his fingers, "I wouldn't want to smear your make up." I grabbed his face and forced his lips to mine. It took him by surprise, usually it was him who did this kind of thing. When he tried to move away, I held onto him tighter, not wanting it to end. Unfortunately, being mortal means you need to breathe.
He chuckled, "That was interesting." He waited until I had caught my breath before returning my kiss.
Realizing we were being watched, we began to waltz. "Are you having fun?" he asked. I rolled my eyes, "Yea, I feel like a real princess."
"What does that make Ian? The prince?" I glanced over my shoulder at Ian, sulking by the buffet table. "I guess so." I chuckled. "Let me guess, I'm the beast." I moved my arms to wrap around his neck, "No" I shook my head. "You're the knight in shining armor." I stretched up on my toes and kissed his lips again. "I'd rather have a knight than a spoiled prince, any day." I whispered against his skin.
At that moment, a tango inspiring tune began to play and Davion's trademark smirk appeared, He pulled me even closer against his body, and I think I swallowed my heart when I realized we were about to do his version of a tango.
His feet moved with expert skill, and mine tried their best to keep up. Our bodies never separated more than half an inch. As the music went up in tempo so did the heat levels of the dance as Davion poured more and more passion into the moves.
As we danced, everyone stopped and circled around to watch. For the grand finally, Davion hitched my leg at his waist and dipped me down so low my head almost hit the ground, then he pulled me back to my feet and spun me out and back into his body. The tango ended with me pressing my entire body against his chest and my leg hitched at his waist. Everyone applauded for us, as if it were a planned show.
I smiled and waved, trying to go along with it. "I'm going to kill you." I hissed beneath my breath. He leaned over, kissing my neck just beneath my ear; "You had fun admit it." He whispered, I could feel his teeth touch my skin as he smiled.
When the party finally began to wind down, Davion and I took the opportunity to slip out to the patio.
We sat outside on the patio bench, star gazing. It was a clear night and all the stars were shining brightly. Too bad I didn't pay more attention to them.
Davion wouldn't stop kissing me long enough for me to get a good look. I finally had to shove him away so I could breathe. I gasped as our lips parted. He drew back, brushing his bangs away from his eyes, "Sorry."
"I'm not complaining." I said, with a little chuckle. I curled into his side and took hold of one of his large hands. "What am I going to do?" I asked, thinking of the future. "What's going to happed to us, Davion?" I looked to him for answers. He rested his head on mine, "I don't know, we'll just have to take it as it comes. I'm not leaving you again, that's for certain. I love you too much for that." I smiled despite my worries.
A rustling sound brought us out of our bliss. "Did you hear that?" I asked, my voice shooting up into a higher pitch with fear. He sprang to his feet, his eyes going red in an instant, "I'm getting a vampire's scent." He warned. "Is it Scarlet?" His eyes narrowed in confusion, "No this scent…it's" his sentence was cut off when a stake ripped through his chest. I screamed as I watched him fall unconscious to the ground.
I went numb, everything just shut down on me, I couldn't even scream anymore. The air smelled funny, it was a scent I can barely describe, bitter yet sweet at the same time. My vision began to blur, but before I blacked out I got a good glimpse of our attacker; a man who I hadn't seen or thought about since that night in the woods, Grey. My vision went, and my body completely crashed. I was out.