Chapter Three- well, here's the third(: finally getting interesting now, and next chapter up later on I'm hoping! Reviews are very much loved X Nicc

The night was completely clear, the fullmoon shining high above Cannes as the carriage rolled towards the mansion where the ball was being held.

Mother looked at me now, wearing a deep green dress with swirled golden mask. "Claudia, I hope you will not-"

"I don't want to hear it, Mother."

Father now took my hands and held them in a vice like grip, making me stare into his very annoyed eyes. "You will respect your mother, Claudia."

I glared and he let me go, making me look out the open window at the trees that were flashing by.

This was going to be one eventful night...

When we arrived, Mother and Father got out first, leaving me to be helped down by the man driving the horses. I nodded in thanks and walked around to the pure white horses, raising a hand to stroke its silky side. I chuckled as it snickered at me- I loved horses immensely. Such beautiful creatures.

"I knew that I would see you here."

Now I groaned internally as I heard that familiar voice, then turned to face the vicomte Thomas D'lancy. A posh ass that was the hostesses, Baroness De Faroes brother. He lived in the Paris area, massive estates and a very full bank account. A cousin of the Prince of France or something of the sort. Tall and handsome, with deep oak colored hair to his shoulders in light waves, emerald eyes stared at me with a kind of hunger.

This was the type of man that wanted to marry me.

Snobs.

"Vicomte." I said with a forced little curtsy. He took my hand now, then pressed his lips to it and smiled. "Enchantee to see you this evening mon cherie." He said, eyes not leaving mine for a second, making nerves shoot through my body. I now said curtly. "You are not wearing your mask."

He chuckled, then picked up a deep brown one, like his hair, and put it on. He offered me his arm, and I spied my parents expressions. I sighed and took it, walking forwards with him into the rapidly filling up ballroom where my parents walked ahead to the announcement of.

"The Lord and Lady La Roche."

I stepped forwards with D'lancy who was almost holding me to him, his brown-green cape was fastened around his neck, sweeping behind us like my silvery dress.

I just wanted to get away from here...

He pulled me around the floor, introducing us to other pairs such as the Baroness Rebecca Lourve and her husband. She smiled at me through a peacock feather trimmed mask and said. "Bonjour Claudia."

I smiled and nodded a little. "Mademoiselle."

Now the host, Baroness Ofelia De Faroe walked forwards and hugged me for a moment. "Claudia, cherie it has been too long! I trust you are well?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Perfectly adequet thank you Mademoiselle."

She now shook her deep red hair back over her shoulders and shooed Thomas away, taking my arm and walking with me outside where she sighed, staring at the memorial plaque that was in rememberance of her late husband who had died from fever in the brain.

"I do miss my dear John so..." she said delicately, violet eyes sad.

"I am sure you will find someone else." I told her comfortingly and she chuckled. "I hear the news- you are searching for a husband?"

Now it was my turn to sigh. "Not by choice. I do not wish to marry..." Ofelia took my hands and told me.

"It is not good to be so very outspoken, Claudia. My brother is very interested in you... and you know the connections he has. Please take up the offer. It is not so bad once it is all over."

I nodded and stared at the floor. "I don't want to marry..."

Ofelia did not answer now, but then said. "I must return. It's bad manners for the hostess to be away from her post." I nodded and watched her leave, then sighed and followed after a moment alone in the darkness, my silvery dress trailing behind me.

Thomas D'Lancy was now dancing with another girl, a much prettier one than me... complete with that lust in his eyes that accompanied his errant thoughts.

A Lady without an escort. As the other stuck up bitches said "Quite the scandle." they were going to spread the news that there was no engagement ring on my finger.

Now as I sat down on a chintz chair, watching the pairs dancing through the room, the great crystal encrusted above us was flickering from the hundreds of candles within it. The orange and amber lights were dancing through the hall, spattering the broken colors everywhere. The windows, walls and floor.

A flash of red got my attention now, a figure walking through the middle of the dancefloor towards me, his midnight coloured cape was floating softly behind him as he did so, excenturating on the deep blood red tight kind of outfit he had on to the middle of his neck, three black buttons down the center of the piece. A black a simple black mask hid a fraction of his face from me, but I knew from the long dirty blonde-brown coloured hair who it was.

He stopped before me, then said with that smirk he always seemed to have on his face. "Claudia. Scare your escort away did you?"

"I did not have one." I snapped back, ignoring those eyes that stared at me through the midnight mask, blueish eyes fixed on my own.

"That is brave to admit." he just said, then held out a hand, saying. "My own escort was rather tasteless. Join me?" I now stared at his extended hand, then felt myself taking it and getting up, letting him lead me onto the dancefloor and take my hand and waist with a slight smirk.

"I don't like you." I just said defiantly now as I rearranged my own mask with a hand, eyes hard. Fathers friend or not, he creeped me out with his coolness about everything. Like nothing worried him, a deep seated anger underneath it all.

"Your choice." he just said, making me snap. "You are infuriating. Return to your wife or wherever you live. Where do you live?"

"My current place of residence is your chateau."

Now I frowned. "Like a traveller? But how are you so..." I searched for the right word, but just got. "So well connected and rich."

He raised an eyebrow. "A gentleman should never reaveal-"

"Oh, you are no gentleman." I butted in, rather rudely too. Klaus chuckled once more. "I suppose you want to know when I am leaving?"

"Very much so."

"Not just yet, ma petite. I find your home rather comfortable."

I let him go now and scowled. "I do not like you, Niklaus. I shall be eagerly awaiting the day in which you leave."

Now we stopped dancing and he took my hands in his, kissing them both once. "Then it shall be ever so much more longer, my stay."

I turned away and stalked off outside, anything to get away from that infuriating... cad! The pompous, idiote-!

And no doubt Thomas was dancing with another... distraction.

But now I heard a choked sound coming from a little way into the woods, making me frown and step forwards, only for my eyes to widen in horror and scream.

My screams bought some of the guests out, then they gasped at the sight of Thomas D'Lancy hanging from the tree by his cape that had caught on a branch, the strings were tight around his neck, choking him while he tried to loosen them and drop to the ground.

Within a few moments, the men had gotten him down, everyone bewildered just how he had gotten up there, even more so at how his cape had gotten so securely trapped between branches, proving hard to escape.

Thomas lay on the ground, barely breathing now as a man bent down to him, checking him over.

The women were crying, or in total shock by now at the... accident?

Now as he was picked up and carried away, I spied blood all over his neck, almost as if his throat had been cut, then he had been strung up into the tree.

There was a voice in my ear now. "Come, your Father wants you home and away from here." Even though I knew it was Klaus speaking, I nodded and let him lead me to a chesnut horse and help me up, getting on himself and letting me hold his waist as we cantered away from the scene.

The ball had ended... in attempted murder it seemed.

When we got back to the chateau, Klaus picked me off the horse and into his arms, my body numb in shock at the sight. Thomases eyes... the way they were wide in fear... the blood dripping from his neck as if he had been mauled by a wild animal. But what kind of wild animal would string his victim up into a tree-?

It couldn't be human. No one was strong enough to lift such a man into a tree like that. Nigh impossible...

"Do you require anything?" Klaus now asked me as he carried me up the wide marble staircase, then placed me on my bed, sitting next to me.

"I'm... I'm fine." I just said in a mumbled voice and he sighed, his mask long fallen off, getting up. "I shall call on your maids. It's ok. You are safe now." I heard the footsteps as he left, then a shout as he called for my maids.

They came bustling up now, changing me into my evening gown and undoing my corset, setting it aside. Now the covers were pulled over me and candles blown out, leaving me staring up at the high ceiling, uneasy thoughts on my mind...

Something was lurking in the darkness that was Cannes...