I'm back! I would like to thank all of you who read and exspecially thank those of you who reviewed. And may I just say I am honored to have had almost 6000 hits, so go ahead and give yourself a cookie. So a few chapters ago I gave you a question and I have the result in this chapter, so yay! Please don't forget to review, cause seriously, I need to know if you liked it or not. Enjoy!
The next night, Rose kept to herself. She spent most of the night in her room reading. She originally thought about walking around the castle corridors, but then she remembered what happened last time and decided against it. She then picked up the book that she had started, sat on her bed, and began to read. After a few hours of only the sound of pages turning, there came a knock at the door.
"Come in," she said without picking her head up from her book.
The door quietly opened, and in stepped Aleera. She then came and sat near Rose. "Still reading that book I see."
"Mhmm," she didn't even pick up her head.
Aleera then looked out the window and then back at Rose. Aleera sat down next to her; she picked up a brush and then ran it through Rose's thick hair. This continued for about an hour or so, when Aleera finally got bored. She set the brush down next to her and then quickly took the book out of Rose's hands. "You have spent long enough on this for now. It's time to do something a little fun."
"Hey! I was just getting to the good part," Rose said, trying to grab the book back from Aleera, who held it just out of her reach.
"I'll give it back, but first you have to catch me," and then she was gone, her laughter echoing through the halls.
With a scowl on her face, Rose chased after her. She wasn't quite sure where she went, for Aleera's laughter was echoing throughout all the halls. It wasn't until a few minutes of searching, did she notice that there was a door left slightly open.
She smirked, thinking that she had cornered Aleera. She then quietly walked up to the door, so as not to give away her presence. Rose then quickly opened the door, but only to be surprised. Aleera was not the only one in the room; she was accompanied by Verona and Marishka, but what caught her eye the most was an elegant ball gown that Marishka was holding in her hands.
"Surprise!" All three said.
Rose was speechless. She sat their gawking at the dress that was in front of her.
The dress was two colors, black being in the middle and a dark blue on the outside. There were diamonds encrusted in the black fabric, sparkling in the light. Along the edges of the dress, black lace was adorned.
"Is…is that for me?" She asked tentatively.
"Of course; it arrived this morning, while we were sleeping. It will be your dress for the ball."
Rose couldn't stop staring at the dress. The detail that was in the dress was exquisite and she had never seen anything quite like it before in her life.
"I want to see how it looks on you," Marishka said.
"That will have to wait for the night of the ball. I think she enjoys your choice Aleera."
Rose then turned her head in Aleera's direction. "You picked the dress?"
Aleera nodded and said, "I thought that you would like to see this a little more than the book you were reading." Rose then ran up to her and hugged her tightly. Aleera smiled down at her and then wrapped her arms around Rose.
"I never thought I'd see the day when Aleera had a smile of joy," Marishka said quietly to Verona, who nodded in agreement.
Rose then relinquished her grasp on Aleera when she said, "I don't know how I can ever thank you, all of you."
"You have already done so, now Aleera I believe you have something of Rose's."
Aleera then handed Rose the book back. She smiled back at them and then left to her room to continue reading. As soon as Rose left the room, "I'm doing her hair the night of the ball," Aleera said.
"Fine, then I get to do her make up," Marishka said.
"I get final say over both." Aleera and Marishka both quickly looked over at Verona.
"Do you still not trust us, even after all these years?" Marishka asked in a pleading voice.
"I do, just everything needs to be perfect, and besides a second opinion never hurt," and with that, she left the room.
Aleera then looked over at Marishka, who just shrugged. "I guess she just didn't want to be left out," she told Aleera.
A week past before it was time for the ball to be held. The castle was abuzz with servants going to and fro, prepairing things for their master and his family's departure. When it was almost time for them to embark on their journey to their Bavarian castle, Marishka knocked on Rose's door to see if she was ready.
"Rose?"
"Yes?"
"Are you almost ready? We have a long journy ahead, and we can't waist time."
She turned around and walked to Marishka. "I am ready now."
The two then walked down to the Grand Hall, where Dracula was waiting for them. As soon as the got there, Aleera and Verona showed up as well.
"Are we all ready now?" Dracula asked his brides.
"Everything is prepaired my Lord," Verona replyed back.
"Good, then let us proceed with our long voyage."
They then walked to the entrance of the castle. As they reached the large oak doors, they slowly swung open to revele a coach and a team of six horses waiting for them. The horses were pure black, Transylvainian throughough breads. Each was about six feet tall, with massive shoulder musscles and coats that glistened in the moon light. Rose couldn't help but admire the majestic creatures. She had never been this close to a horse before. One of them seemed to notice that she was looking at them, and looked over at her. As soon as it did, Rose was forced to look away when she heard her name being called from inside the carriage. Before she stepped in, she took one last look at the horse. It was still watching her from the corner of its eye.
Once Rose was seated, and the door had been closed, the sound of reighns and hooves against the hard ground could be heard. As they started to leave, Rose moved the curtain from the window. Snow was softly hitting against the window. She watched as the castle continued to get smaller and smaller off in the distance. Once they had started their decent down the mountain, Rose started to grow anxious. She had never been to a party before, let alone a ball.
The hours passed by very slowly for Rose. It seemed as if they would never get to the castle. The idea of falling asleep was very tempting to her, but it wasn't till they were out of the Carpathian Mountains that she decided to stay awake, for there were many new things to be seen. The usual blanket of white snow was replaced with thick forests of dark green. Winding rivers cut through the trees like giant snakes that streatched for miles.
Rose loved this sight at first, but as time wore on, it started to become such a bore for there was nothing else in sight. She then slouched back in her seat and let out a sigh.
"Bored already?"
Rose looked over at Marishka, who seemed to be the only one to notice her lack of enthusiasm. She was glad that she was sitting next to her, because the others at times seemed busy with other things, and even if Marishka was, she always put it aside for Rose. It wasn't that she didn't care for each of them dearly, just Marishak seemed to know how to always make her smile. Dracula was always busy in his study, and Verona was always seemed to be "keeping house" so to speak, by making sure that every last detail was followed in whatever was happening. Aleera did spend time with Rose every now and then, but most of the time she was trying to attract Dracula's attention. Marishka couldn't always be found, but she had unearthly timing in showing up when she was needed most. She had that certain sort of older sister quality about her.
"How much longer till we get there?"
"It will take some time. It's not a short distance you know."
"Look!" Aleera, who was sitting across from them, exclaimed, pointing out the window. Rose and Mairshka looked out the window to see the first rays of the sun.
"It's been so long since I have last seen it!"
The blindes were then suddenly closed. They all turned to see Dracula was the one who had shut them. He was not amused with their curiosity and neither was Verona.
"The blinds remain shut for the remainder of the trip. I don't plan on dying any time soon," Verona said sternly to the younger three.
Aleera waited for Verona to turn her head; she then opened the blinds slightly so that she alone could look outside.
"Aleera…" a stern voice said, "You were told already to leave them shut."
"Yes Master," she said reluctantly, sorry that Dracula had caught her.
Within a few minutes, Rose had fallen asleep against Marishka's shoulder, dreaming peacefully. It didn't take long for the others to follow her example and fall asleep as well. The cariage continued on through out the day without stopping once.
When night had approached, Verona was the first to awake. She remained quite until Dracula had woken up himself. They then looked over at the three who were still sleeping. Rose still was fast asleep against Marishka. Aleera had fallen asleep against Verona, and Marishka remained erect like a statue.
Verona started stroking Aleera's hair and asked, "Should we wake them?"
"No, let them sleep. Besides, it had been awhile since we have had time to ourselves." He then leaned over and took her face in one of his hands. He then kissed her lips softly.
"I remember the days when it used to just be the two of us."
"As do I, but time still goes on and things change." He then looked over at the other three who were still sleeping. "But one thing that has not changed after all these years is your beauty."
Verona did her best to styful a blush. Their attention was then turned towards the awakening figures of Aleera and Marishka. Aleera slowly opened her eyes, looking up. When she realized she had fallen asleep on Verona, she jolted straight up. She then straightened her hair, trying to make it look like she hadn't just woken up. Marishka was next to wake up. She yawned slightly, bringing her hand to her mouth. She then looked over at Rose who was still asleep.
"She looks so innocent while she is sleeping," she said.
Aleera then whimpered, "Marishka let me have her. She has been by you the whole trip."
Marishka rolled her eyes with slight annoyance. She then picked Rose up carefully so as not to wake and then handed her over to Aleera. Aleera then set her in her lap and wrapped her arms protectively around her. Rose let out a small sigh as she laid her head against Aleera's chest. Aleera smiled and lightly kissed Rose's forehead.
"Oh Aleera…" She quickly lashed her head up to see that it was Marishka who had spoken. "I hadn't expected to ever see that from you."
"Yes my dear. It has been quite a long time since you have shown some real emotions." Dracula said as he watched in on the scene. Aleera then bit her lower lip as her face became red.
Aleera looked down as Rose started to shift in her arms. Rose slowly opened her eyes, letting a yawn escape her. She then looked at the others around her and noticed that they were all staring.
She quickly looked up and asked Aleera, "Are we almost there?"
"I am not sure; this is my first time as well."
"We are almost there my dears. It will just be a little longer," Dracula reasured them.
They continued on. Not much was said by Rose, for she was preoccupied with playing with the necklace that she was wearing. Marishka was looking out the window, waiting for the time to pass. Aleera was running her fingers through Rose's hair, quietly humming to herself. Verona and Dracula were in a deep conversation that was kept at a low whisper between the two of them. Verona kept making quick side glances over at Rose. It was a few hours later that the castle came into view.
"Rose, come here. You can see the palace through the trees." Rose quickly scampered over to Dracula's side, pressing her face against the window to see. Her eyes grew wide with excitement as the large stone structure came into view. It was high atop a mountain, surrounded by evergreens, over looking the valley they were in. Its white stone walls made it look fit for even the richest of kings. Ivy had started to slowly climb up the outer most walls of the castle. "Aleera you should see it as well."
Aleera came and stood behind Rose and looked out as well. The two who were seeing it for the first time didn't say anything for a few minutes as they were taking the sight.
"That is our's?" Rose asked after she was finally able to stop gawking at the castle's beauty.
"Yes it is, and it is where we will be having the ball as well."
"It is simply breathtaking," Aleera said.
It only took them a few more minutes to complete their journey up towards the castle gates. When they had reached their destination, attendants were waiting for them. As the cariage door was opened, Dracula was the first to exit. He extended a hand to each of his brides as they alighted from the cariage. Verona was the first to follow after Dracula, which seemed to a habit that they all had gotten used to. Next came Aleera, followed by Rose, with Marishka leaving last. The cariage then left them and headed towards the stables.
"Show the ladies to their rooms."
A servant then came up to them. "Yes my Lord. If you will follow me, please." The four of them followed him into the castle. They took many turns down a long hallway. They passed many doors on their right and left. The floors were lined with marble tiles of either balck, white or gold. Marble columns lined the hall, reaching up to the gold ceiling. Large stained glass windows were littered throughout the halls.
The first room that they approached was Rose's room. The door opened to reveal a large, hand carved bed, surrounded by Italian paintings all around the room. A gold chandelier hung from the ceiling with candles already alight in it. Lavender drapes hung from the bed posts and from the windows.
"This would be your room Rose," Marishka said. Rose had no idea what to say. "Stay here for now. We will be back in a little bit to help you get ready for the ball."
"No wandering off this time," Aleera said before they left the room.
Rose didn't plan on exploring the castle this time, for fear of really getting lost in one of the many corridors. Once the others had left, she began walking around the room admiring the art that was surrounding her. She jumped up onto the bed, making herself comfortable. She looked around the room taking everything in. Her eyes then landed on a wardrobe. She walked over to it, and as she opened its doors, she saw the dress that she was to wear to the ball that night.
There was then a knock on the door. Rose turned around to see Verona standing in the door way.
"I see that you have found your dress already." She then walked over to Rose. Verona herself had already changed into an elegant emerald green ball gown with flowing sleeves. "Excited about the ball?"
"Oh ever so much! I have never been to a ball before."
"Then you shall not be dissapointed. Let's get you into that dress." Rose then proceeded to change from her purple corset and gown into her more elegant dress. Once she had put it on, Verona started to lace up the back of the dress. By the time that Verona had finished, Aleera and Marishka were at the door, waiting to come in. Marishka was wearing a short sleeved white dress, with a little bit of a train in the back. Aleera had on a dark crimson dress which was pleated and had gold adorned along the edges and seems.
"Alright you two, she is all your's."
"I go first!" Marishka exclaimed as she bolted through the door. Aleera simply rolled her eyes.
As Marishka started to adminsiter Rose's makeup, Rose sat as still as possible. One because she had didn't know what to do and second because Verona had a firm grip on her shoulder.
When Marishka was done she said, "You look absolutely georgous Rose! What do you two think?" she asked the other two.
"Not bad Marishka," Aleera said.
"Not bad? Rose looks beautiful. Very nicely done Marishka." Marishka was pleased that they both approved of it in their own ways.
"My turn," Aleera said as she pushed Marishka aside. Aleera sat for a moment looking at Rose as she tried to figure out what to do with her hair. She then started putting her hair into a high bun. She was careful not to let a single strand of hair be loose. She then stepped back and said, "There, I'm done, but there seems to be something missing."
"I know just the thing." Verona then turned around to the vanity that was right behind her and opened a black velvet box. When she turned around again, she was holding in her hands a small tiara. She then carefully placed it on Rose's head so as not to ruin Aleera's hard work. "There, now she is ready."
They all started to file out of the room with Aleera and Marishka in the lead, neither of them wanting to be the last one to the party. Right before Verona left the room Rose quickly grabbed her hand, saying, "Wait!"
Verona stopped in her tracks and turned her head back towards Rose. Rose then looked up at her with shining eyes. "Thank you mother."
Verona then knelt down so that she was at Rose's eye level. She couldn't help but smile at her, for she had wanted to hear that for so long. "You know there is nothing that I wouldn't do for you my dear."
"Even take a stake in the heart?"
"Yes even that," she said with a small chuckle. Of corse Rose would think of something drastic like that. "Now let's hurry along, the party won't wait for us." She then took Rose by the hand and the two walked towards the ball. She knew that the other two would be jealous if they found out that Rose had picked her over them, so she decided to wait till later to share the news with them.
As they entered the ball room, music was playing, people were waltzing, all of which made Rose's eyes become aglow with wonder. Rose noticed how Aleera and Marishka had already begun to socalize with some of their guests.
"Things seem to be running well so far."
Rose jumped around when she heard Dracula's voice. He was wearing a formal black suit and had a gold cape draped around his shoulders. He then extended a hand towards Verona.
"Shall we dance?" Verona smiled at him and then looked down at Rose.
"If that is alright with Rose?"
"Of corse mother," she said. Verona then took Dracula's hand and the two entered the dance floor. As they started to make their way, people made a path so that their hosts would have enough room to not be disturbed by their guests while they were dancing.
The song was a slow waltz, but still very dramatic. Rose could see that off in the distance Verona and Dracula were talking. She asumed it was about her because they kept sending glances back towards her. As Rose was watching her parents gracefully twirl aroung the room, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a blond haired boy of no more than 12 standing behind her.
"May I have this dance?"
Rose was awfully shocked and tried not to blush too much. She smiled and nodded her head then walked over to the dance floor. As they found a spot, he nervously took her right hand in his left and placed his right hand on her waist. The two started slowly dancing to the music. They both kept making quick glances down at the floor, so as they would not step on their partner's feet.
As the song continued to progress, both became a little more confident with their dancing. By the time it had ended, Rose had a smile pasted on her face. She was happy that she had managed to not make a fool of herself while dancing. When the song had ended, she curtsied to the boy, who returned the gesture with a bow. They then parted and Rose ran over towards Aleera, who was talking with a few other vampiresses.
When she got closer, Aleera saw her out of the corner of her eye, and quickly finished the conversation she was in.
"Having fun yet?"
"Oh yes. This is more fun than I could have expected." She was beaming with excitement. She then turned her attention back towards the dance floor where she saw Dracula dancing with Marishka. The music was faster paced than it was for when he danced with Verona. It started off slow with both of them circling each other and then coming close together. As the music started to get faster, so did their dancing.
"What are they dancing to?" Rose asked Aleera.
"It's some sort of a gypsy dance; Marishka always liked songs that reminded her of her past life."
As Rose continued to watch the two of them dance, she began to start to day dream about what Marishka's old life must have been like. Once the dance ended, Marishka curtsied to Dracula who returned it with a slight bow. He then turned his head over towards where Aleera and Rose were standing. He then motioned for Aleera to come over to him. She let out a squeel of delight and ran over to his side. Rose was then joined by Marishka, who seemed a little out of breath.
"It's your turn next."
"What?"
"It is your party after all. Besides your father wants to have a dance with his daughter."
"But I'm not that good of a dancer, and I don't know any of these songs."
"It's not about knowing the songs or the dances; it's about having fun." She smiled down at Rose. They were shortly joined by Verona who had a small glass of blood in her hands.
"Rose who was that boy you were dancing with earlier?" Marishka asked as Verona walked up next to them.
"You saw that?" she asked as her cheeks flushed a bright red.
"Rose, everyone saw it. You two were so adorable."
"You still haven't told us his name, Rose," Verona said with a slight smile on her face.
"Umm…"
"We're waiting."
"I don't know. I never asked."
"Isn't that sweet Verona, a young romance is already starting to form and they only danced once."
Rose became embaressed rather fast, and knew that it showed on her face. She quickly looked down at the floor, so they wouldn't see how much she had started to blush. Rose was then inturupted from her state of embaressment by the sound of footsteps coming towards her.
As she looked up, a hand was extended to her. She saw that the hand belonged to her father, who had a small smile on his face.
"May I have this dance?"
"Of corse father." She placed her hand in his. He then led her to the center of the dance floor, which had been cleared for them. As the music started, they were the only ones dancing. Rose noticed that everyone was watching them and started to grow nervous. She didn't like to have a lot of attention focused on her.
"Ignore them for now," Dracula's voice said to her in a comforting manner. She looked up at him, surprised that he knew exactly what she was thinking.
"How did you…"
"It was easy to tell by the expression on your face."
The two continued to waltz around the dance floor, Rose gaining more confidence as they continued their slow dance. Once the music had stopped, the room errupted with clapping from all sides. Rose looked around the room, noticing that everyone seemed to have been watching. When she caught sight of Verona, Marishka, and Aleera, she noticed that they all had giant smiles on their faces, Verona more so than the others.
Dracula then lead Rose back over towards the others as their guests started to dance again. She was greeted first by Marishka who knelt down and hugged her.
"I have something for you my dear," Dracula said after Marishka had finally let Rose out of her grasp. He then reached his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a necklace with a giant black diamond heart dangling from the center of it. Around the heart were small diamonds that sparkled in the light. Dracula then put the necklace on Rose, who was too shocked for words. Once it was fastened, Rose looked down at the stone that was around her neck.
"Verona, why don't you take Rose to her room? I am sure she has had enough excitement for one night."
"Of course. Come along Rose."
"Yes mother," she said sleeply. Once she had said mother, Marishka's eyes grew wide and it took every ounce of strenght Aleera possesed not to erupt in front of Rose. They both stared as Verona took Rose by the hand and lead her out of the ball room.
The two walked down the quiet halls without saying a word. It wasn't until they had reached Rose's room that she actually said anything. When she stepped into the door, she turned around to face Verona.
"Must I go to bed?"
"Yes, it is way too late for someone your age to still be up."
"But I want to stay at the party," she said as she crossed her arms.
Verona couldn't help but smile. "There will be plenty more balls and parties. Besides you are tired and need some sleep."
"I'm not tired!" she exclaimed while trying to stifle back a yawn. She did so unsucessfully.
"I think you are. Now come on." She then helped Rose take her hair out its bun and placed the tiar that she was wearing back in its box. When she turned back around she noticed Rose was holding the heart that was around her neck. She then picked Rose up in her arms and carried her over to her bed to tuck her in.
"Goodnight my dear," she said as she kissed Rose on the forehead.
"Goodnight mother."
Verona then left the room, closing the door, and as she did, the candles that had lit up Rose's room flickered out, engulfing the room in darkness. Rose couldn't help but think of how much she had wanted to go back and dance with the rest of the party goers, but she soon gave into the temptaion that sleep was holding over her. As her eyes started to close, she started to play through the memories that she had from the ball, but as she came to the part where she had danced with her father, a smile sneaked its way across her face and she fell asleep.
So, I hope you liked it. Please, please, PLEASE review! I will have the link to the dress I used for Rose's ballgown at the bottom. This may be the last chapter for awhile, but don't worry, I am not going to just drop this story, because I don't start something just to quit. I just have school starting up this week, so I won't have as much time to write. So I bid you adieu, until next time
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