The Queen of the Night

Chapter 28

The night of the introduction party everyone was up early. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to go talk to Gerald and Tisha and Denise. Time was slowed down dramatically, it seemed. Yet it was like someone pressed a fast forward button on everyone else. I watched everyone below take decorations outside to finish decorating the veranda.
In my hands I held the mask that I wore at Ky's introduction party. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I figured out by now, six months after my turning, that my hands shook to replace the pulse I no longer had.
I put the mask down on my bed when my nerves hadn't calmed, and stared, instead, on the encoded papers on my desk for the millionth time, and an extra paper with scribbles. I was so close to breaking the code! I sighed softly. Would I ever be ready?
A knock came at the door. "Just a moment!" I yelled throwing the papers in the drawer of the desk.
"Are you ready yet? It's almost time! Everybody else is here!"
I got to my feet and stood in front of the mirror. The dress I wore tonight was a dark, navy blue, highlighting the whiteness of my skin and the dark color of my hair. The speckles of red were even brighter than they had been any other day. Any other day, I supposed I would normally have eaten earlier in the night. My hair was almost perfect. It got tangled a lot easier, though, but I didn't have the "fly-away" as my mom used to call the hairs that couldn't lay flat on my head. My hair was straighter than it could have been before. I quickly ran a brush through my hair to untangle the new knots that formed even after I thoroughly brushed through it.
The soft lamplight bounced off of the empire styled dress made it shimmer and wave. When I touched it, it came alive under my fingertips. Six months ago I would have hated wearing this. Now, as I stared at myself in the full-length mirror, I was different. I held my head high, I was more confident, I felt brave. I was a princess. One day I would be queen of the night and I needed to show tonight that my chance meeting with Nexus was more like fate.
Finally, satisfied with my appearance, I snatched the mask from the bed, and opened the door. "How do I look?"
"Beautiful, Amelia."
I sighed nervously, and we walked together toward the stairs. I fit the mask on and the black band hid on top of my hair. The gargoyles were missing from the stairs except for Harry, who continued to sit unmoving and unchanged.
Matthew waited at the bottom of the stairs. He wore a very dark blue suit, very simple, very plain, but it made him look taller and thinner. Matthew and held out his arm for me to take. "You look beautiful, Amelia. I can't believe how much has happened and how much you've grown."
I smiled and took his arm. He me to the door, but I stopped when I didn't sense Jillian's presence behind me and turned around. "Aren't you coming?" I asked.
She smiled and shook her head. "You'll have to do this without me, dear. Don't give me that pouty look! I'll be right here keeping an eye on the house, making sure nobody wanders inside without permission."
Matthew led the way to the veranda where people had already gathered. On the roof I recognized Gerald immediately. I didn't look for Denis or Tisha. They would be here somewhere, I was sure. I detached myself from Matthew when Jordon Perso called, her thick accent carrying over the heads and voices. I decided it was best to stand off to the side, watching all of the couples, young and old, dance the night away. I could feel eyes on me as well, but no one dared to come up and speak to me. Everyone appeared to want to stand as far away as possible.
I was surprised to catch Gordon here as well. Trailing behind him were other Strigoi members.
"Will you not join in the festivities?" The voice was cool, but it startled me nonetheless. Eric leaned against one of the posts that held up the veranda's roof, watching the crowed.
"I prefer watching more. I like to see how everyone interacts with each other."
He nodded. "And what does people watching tell you about someone like...Jackson?" Jackson was in the center of a large group, hardly standing taller than their heads. I had to crane my neck to see him properly. He was smiling, almost drunkenly, though where he could have gotten the alcohol I wasn't sure. He looked like he was flailing his arms about while the people around him laughed and clapped and cheered out for him to continue.
"Is he...dancing?"
Eric laughed. "I think he's trying, but you did not answer my question."
"It tells me he knows how to have a good time." I laughed as he tripped over an object I couldn't see, but one of the heads around him suddenly disappeared. "It also tells me he's very casual. He doesn't care of other's opinions about him. He's going to do what he wants."
Eric nodded. "In reality, Jackson does put up an air of arrogancy, but different from Gordon's or even Damien Giovanni's type of arrogancy. He doesn't normally flaunt his power over others, but instead he uses it tactfully to guide others. Remember, he only turns the ones who are abandoned or who feel abandoned. He's turned prostitutes, drug dealers, orphans, and there's many more. This has given many a second chance at life. He has a good heart, but that is also his weakness."
By now Jackson was on his feet, the crowd thinning a bit as partners came up for a dance, and others had felt the mood had been lost and decided to chance another group for humor. A woman stayed by him, though, making sure he had no major scratches.
"You are right about him not caring how others think of him." Eric nodded. "Here comes Kyle Giovanni." Ky was looking lost amongst the crowd, who paid him little mind except a bow of the head, and a muttered greeting. "May I give you a word of advice about the Giovanni clan?"
I nodded, interested in what he had to say.
"Be careful. They are all cunning and shrewd. Generations upon generations of plotters, and those seeking your position. Be on your guard." Ky smiled when he finally saw me and stalked over. "Good luck." Eric disappeared in the crowd, draping his arm over a girl I recognized to be Genie.
Ky commented when he stood next to me, "Kind of boring, huh?"
I shrugged. "Music's kind of nice, though." This scene felt oddly familiar.
Draco bounced over, from where, I wasn't sure. "Hey, Romeo, who's your Juliet?"
I realized then why it all seemed familiar.
"She's not my Juliet." Ky rolled his eyes.
"No? Then she must be my Cinderella."
I laughed then, unable to contain it.
"You aren't supposed to laugh yet! My next line is supposed to be 'would you care to dance?' and you come dance with me." Draco complained.
"I know. But I realized just how cheesy the line was."
"It is not cheesy!"
"It's kind of cheesy, Draco." Ky laughed.
Draco glared at Ky.
"Come on, prince cliché." I took hold of his arm and pulled him to the slick flooring that had been put down for dancing. I hadn't smiled so big in a long while. My lips could touch my ears and the muscles in my cheeks ached in laughter and happiness.
When the next song started so did the next dance, slow and soft. The melody felt like the moonlight and the night. I allowed Draco to lead in the dance. "You're a lot better at this," he said.
"Don't know how. Must be a miracle or something." I joked. Immediately after, my foot moved in the wrong direction and I almost tripped over his feet. He chuckled and lifted me up on his feet. "This is much better. Now we can talk without tripping over each other."
From the corner of my eye, I saw Eden and his wife, Loraine, move along the edge of the crowd. Loraine looked too deep in conversation to notice Eden's eyes catching mine, and the smirk that played on his lips, and he gave a slow nod. It brought me back to our conversation just a few nights before, and his threat that he claimed was a simple hypothetical situation. I thought briefly about telling Draco, but instead what left my mouth was, "How did you get so good at this?" Eden and Lorain had disappeared.
Draco shrugged. "Years and years of practice. But, I was born in this type of environment."
"Seems kind of dull sometimes."
"Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's too exciting for someone." Draco's golden-orange eyes glowed brightly in the light. His skin looked darker than it was in this light. His hands were much bigger than mine. There was a much bigger contrast against each other. My fingers were thin, and my hands were small, and they were pale. Draco's fingers were thicker, long, and his hands were big enough to cover my face, I suspected. It was like yin and yang were joining together.
I felt his pulse beneath his skin. He smelled like cherry blossoms and spring and embers.
The piano played softly. I closed my eyes and let the song wash over me. I let it be part of my world, in this moment.
A soft, forceful cough came from behind us. I opened my eyes and turned to Matthew. He held out his hand, "Might I cut in between you two?"
Draco nodded and released my hands. I stepped down from his feet and allowed Matthew to take my hand and lead me in circles in a dance. Matthew and Draco were as different as night and day. Matthew had no pulse. He smelled of winter berries and the forest when it snows.
Matthews hands were like mine, small, thin long fingers, and very pale. He was taller than Draco, too, but maybe one day Draco would be a bit taller.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" He asked.
"I'm thinking about how different everything was when I first met you. You seemed so quiet and didn't want anything to do with me. Now you seem so much different. More fatherly." I paused for a moment and watched his guarded reaction. We had stopped dancing. "You've always been more like a father to me than my human father ever was. I am sure you were a good father to Nexus as well."
Matthew smiled, and his fingers touched my cheek so softly that when they weren't there anymore, I wondered if they were ever there in the first place. The only clue I had was his outstretched hand as he fell with seven bullet wounds.
That's when I learned, vampires don't bleed. I couldn't do anything but stare. I wanted desperately to move, to scream, but when I tried nothing happened. I didn't breathe to allow it to happen. I could do nothing but fall to my hands and knees, but no matter how many times my mouth moved I could provide no comforting words for him.
Matthew moved his hand finally and he opened his mouth but before he could speak a stake was driven through his chest. There was no sound. There was no movement except for my head to look up at his killer. Nobody breathed. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The world stopped for a moment for the vampire king until my eyes rested on his killer with blond hair, red eyes, and my heart broke.