It was finally Christmas. The long awaited ball was finally upon them. Caelia had spent Christmas with her mother and her sickly aunt in the hospital. It wasn't quite the ideal Christmas that they had planned, but at least they were all together. So they had tried to make the most of it and she had tried to cheer her aunt up, despite her deteriorating health.
And Damon, well he had asked Rachel to drop off her Christmas present he got her. And like he had instructed she decided she would open it after Christmas, despite Rachel's insistence that it should be opened immediately.
In fact she decided she would open it right after the ball. Not right away on Christmas morning.
Just as planned, Mrs Margaret had given them all a two days break, hired new staff would handle everything related to the ball. The catering, the decorations and the cleaning. They were still allowed to live in the house if they wanted but most of the other parts in the house were restricted and out of limits, even for them. So, they didn't have a lot of places to go.
Caelia had lied to her mum about visiting an old time friend before slipping out of the hospital and to Samantha Dortmund's house to start readying herself for the preparations for the ball. It was already late and she knew they had to get an early start.
She felt bad for not telling her, but she knew her mother would not approve. She would tell her, 'Caelia, know your place' and that would have been the end of the conversation because her mother would not even give her room to argue.
Because Margaret had given them the days off, she didn't have to be worried about Margaret asking for her or wondering where she went off to, she would not notice her presence at the ball and it was not like she was going to be there in the first place.
She thought about her last encounter with Damon, quite frankly, it was all she had been able to think about all Christmas. How he had talked to her and treated her and she wondered if she had done something wrong. When he moved closer to her, she thought that he wanted to kiss her. She had anticipated it, with bated breath, but she was met with shock and a rude awakening.
He didn't kiss her, no he didn't but she would have her eyes out for him at the ball. Only him. She wanted to see him, this time as a whole new person, not just someone who was his maid, someone who was beneath him, but this time as an equal, with no barriers between them, nothing holding them back except for the masks on their faces.
"I'll go subtle with the make-up, but I want to do a bold red lip, what do you think about that?"
Sam asked enthusiastically as she pushed Caelia in front of the vanity mirror, an eyeshadow palette in her hand. The ball would start in an hour or less, and they had barely started on her hair or her makeup.
Sam told her that it was reasonable for her to be fashionably late, so she wasn't too worried about that, but she couldn't stop the knots that was forming in her belly as she started to really think about what she was doing.
Was this a good idea at all?!
....................
Damon stood in front of his bathroom mirror, his mask still on the countertop. His mask was a sleek black venetian mask with devil red horns on the side. His mother had dropped it off as a Christmas present of the sort, in a twisted way It wasn't like they celebrated Christmas in the first place. He wore a black tuxedo that fit him like a glove, the crisp white shirt and black bowtie adding a touch of elegance to his already dashing appearance.
But it was the cape that would really set Damon apart. It flowed behind him like a black waterfall, adding a dramatic flair to his every movement. As he walked, the cape swirled and billowed, making it seem as though he was almost floating on air.
This was the night, the night of his life, the night he was going to accomplish one of his most hardest tasks.
Finding a bride.
Damon Wright was no ordinary vampire, and coming from a long line of founding vampires who had even founded the very town he lived in, one of their most important tasks was continuing the bloodline. Because their bloodline was strong, it was what kept them alive, it was what kept their sire line strong and formidable. It was what would set them apart.
After his father handed him his title of Lord and protector of Staunton, Damon had stalled for as long as he could, running away from who he truly was, running away from his true nature, but now he had ran and ran and there was nowhere else to run again so he discovered.
He had to face his fears now.
There would be at least half a dozen of founding vampire families at the ball, all he had to do was to pick an eligible vampire bride. And then perform the ceremony and that would be all.
His mind drifted to Caelia, in their last meeting, he had ended things quite abruptly and he felt stupid for it. There was something abut her, something about her that made him more alive than he had ever been and he had chased her and kept her close because he didn't want to lose that feeling.
But Caelia was human and he could never be with a human woman. They would be doomed to fail from the very beginning.
There was a small knock on his bathroom door, Damon just knew that it had to be his mother. She was probably trying to hurry him up and checking if he wasn't going to run away or do something that would embarrass her.
"I'm ready."
He called out as he opened the door.
It was his mother, standing outside, in a sleek black dress. She had a small smile on her face.
"That's good. I just wanted to talk to you about something."
Sh e said as she walked towards his bed. She gingerly sat at the edge of the bed. She tapped the bed lightly, urging him to sit down.
Damon indulged her.
"I know.. I know more than anyone that this is not what you want to do, but, I will tell you that if you want to pick a bride, I have a few options that you might want to consider."
"I know you and Laurene didn't get off to a great start, but her mother is a Madison, a founding vampire, just like us. And Laurene is their only marriageable daughter. They have the kind of formidable influence that we will need. She should be on the top of your list."
His mother added. He had expected the conversation, in fact, he would have even been more surprised if his mother didn't mention anything relating to it.
"You know I don't care about names. If I'm going to spend eternity with this person then the least that I can do is to make sure it's someone that I like."
His mother blinked but then smiled.
"You of all people know what relationships and marriages are all about in our world. The best of the best, the most influential and the best bloodlines are chosen. Why would you neglect all that all for someone you like?!"
It was too late to be arguing, his mother would never see reason. Not now, not in a long time. So he would just do as she said.
"I'll take your words into consideration, but, just as a precaution, I'm picking whoever I want, so if you've made some sort of promise to Laurene now is the time to break it."
.......................
The air was thick with the scent of perfumes and colognes, one could almost feel the air of magic spinning across the ballroom.
As Caelia took in the sights and sounds of the masked ball, she couldn't help but feel transported to another time and place, where elegance and refinement were the order of the day. The ballroom was a feast for the senses, and she couldn't help but feel grateful to be a part of such a magical evening.
After her hair and makeup, Sam and Olga had gotten her into the ballgown, then the driver had come and take her to the Wright's residence. Even though, according to Sam it was only a stone's throw distance from her house, she still needed the limo to get in, so she could look important enough.
She had clutched the invite in slight fear, wondering whether or not she had made the right choice, especially with Sam giving her some of her family jewels, a pair of dangling teardrop diamonds to adorn her ears and a statement piece necklace for her bare neck. But the moment she had dropped the invite and gotten inside the ballroom, everything else had changed.
All the fear in her body dissipated.