A Covenant Betrayed IC Redux II

[Mysteria]

Rated m for mature themes, abusive language, drugs/alcohol/sex/ and things of such natures.


Deep into the base of Mount Lycabettus stood what appeared to be from a distance an old abandoned mansion. But, appearances can be and often are deceiving. Upon closer inspection one would come to the conclusion that the mansion was not abandoned at all. In fact, it was buzzing with excitement. For this night, was a very special night.


This night was the night of the blood moon.

Spoiler: The House of De'Marqiue 

The mistress of The House of of De'Marqiue stood at the top of the grand staircase that was the welcoming area. It's main purpose was for guests to be received there, be they for the Elder Queen or some other of the many inhabitants of the Victorian styled mansion. Upon it's purchase, it had been turned into a lavish estate which had been added on to, and decorated by one of the covenant's own. It had also been the same decorator who had done the decorations for tonight's ball celebrating the blood moon. The name of the vampires celebration would of course be hid under the guise of a dinner and ball fund raiser for a local children's charity.


For as far as vampires went, Alisiandra De'Marqiue looked beautiful in the black lace gown that adorned her lithe frame. And although the much younger one hundred seventy year old - but actually looking almost only six years old- vampire beside her also wore black, it was not that of a revealing nature as the Queens was.


The calm and observant Anastacia was dressed in a beautiful black gown with shimmering bands of trim that brought definition to the dress of "youngest" member of the covenant. Young indeed, but only in human years and much wiser than the age of her appearance might lead one to believe. Tacey was also Lisiandra's head personal adviser. Although the girl could not speak, she still never lead the queen astray, her astute senses never failing the girl, or her queen.


Alisiandra smiled down at the girl, taking her hand and smiling softly. Although she spoke out loud, she sometimes felt that if she did not, somehow Tacey would still understand her if no words were said at all. But Alisiandra did speak.


"Tonight my dearest Tacey, we will dance with dignitaries, celebrities, and with some of the richest men and women on earth. And we will raise money for the children of the charity." Her voice was soft, elegant and she held her head with an air of dignity as she spoke but underneath that almost sensual voice there was the slightest trace of something much darker...more dangerous.


She squeezed the child's hand. The fair skinned queen had worn her raven colored locks down, leaving them to fall long and loose across scantily clad shoulders and spilling over breasts, covered by the sheerest of fabric yet seemingly to be bare beneath the daring gown that she wore. But as Alisiandra had proven over her many years as an elder - she can and did wear anything that she damned well pleased. After all, she was a queen.


Sharp green eyes scanned around the room as her blood seemed to simmer under her skin. The feeling thrilled and scared her at the same time. It was the blood moon. And it was the reason that the newest member of the covenant, Sasha would be restrained in her room once the moon had risen to it's full height that night. It's pull would be too much for the new vampire to handle so Alisiandra had allowed the girl to attend the ball, but only until the moon began to climb high into the evening sky.


On the stairs to their left, about half way down stood the interior decorator. She looked to be studying her own interior design, which was all in all, flawless. She'd chosen perfectly the decorations that went beautifully with the dark royal crimson colors the queen had insisted on.


With Tacey's hand still in hers the queen would lean down so that the girl would be the only one to hear her words, despite that none of the guests had yet arrived.


"And until the dancing is done, the moon will be at it's highest and we shall all admire it's deep red color while the blood lust builds within us all." Her eyes remained fixed on Tacey's as the blood in her veins seemed to almost already be surging. It was the blood lust, the insatiable thirst...the need...that was building inside of her this very moment.


"And then my dear...." She didn't finish her sentence, simply remained kneeling by the little one's side waiting for her to give any indication that she understood what her words had implied. As she waited though, her eyes would follows Tacey's gaze here and there as she found most of the older vampires in the room, some at their designated places and others just randomly lingering where they would as they wanted to until guests began arriving.

[Keiwanis]

Ezra adjusted his bowtie yet again. The thing seemed stubbornly impossible to handle tonight. Both sides of the crimson red knot were determined to stay uneven, something that proved to be a pet-peeve of his. Of all the nights to look slobbish, it was during the open house event, one of the Covenant's largest gatherings to date. And on top of that, during the Blood Moon, something not to be taken lightly by their kind. He could feel it coming, and it sent a shiver running up his back. He remembered clearly those few rare blood moons of his younger years.
The first one had been like a living nightmare, trapped inside of whatever kind of creature that blasted moon inspired in him, stuck with all of its senses and thoughts, but unable to stop himself from the violence that ensued. It horrified him, the things that night had brought; the things he had done.

But that was over ten years ago. Now was different. Ezra had control of himself. It wouldn't be like before. At least, he wouldn't allow it to be.

He ran a gloved hand over the white tablecloth in front of him, gazing out at the other vampires at their stations or wandering aimlessly. Ezra had been assigned to a server's position, dispensing refreshments at every whim of the guests. The final touches were being put on them now, and soon would be displayed before Ezra to begin plating. It wasn't exactly the most glamorous of jobs, but he was still young to the covenant, and it was an honour to be given a job at all. He was determined to do the best possible, even down to his fancy english.

"What may I do for you, my sir?" Ezra said, extending a hand to an invisible guest.
"You do wish to be refreshed? Oh most certainly, watson....Watson? No." He was turning into Sherlock Holmes. "Er, most certainly, my most royal guest. Royal? Naw I'm not talking to a king here," he muttered to himself.

Trying again, Ezra gave a deep bow with a flourish of the hand above him.
"May all of your tastebuds be satisfied at once, my Lord."

Ezra raised his head, grinning proudly at his mastery of butler-speak, only to have his smile disappear in an instant as he found himself inches away from a Vampire of the covenant standing before him. His smile was replaced by an awkward scrunch of the face with embarrassment. He gave a half-laugh, half-whimper.
"Oh! I'm sorry you had to hear that," he managed to get out.

[Mysteria]

MG (mystery guest) and Mysti co

Selena wore red. Not maroon, not wine, not garnet. Red. Blood red.

It was a color that had always pleased her, even in her mortal life. It was a color of importance in her country. It was the color of passion. And with her olive skin and her black hair, Selena looked damn good in it.

Unfortunately, a vampire casts no reflection, so she was unable to see just how alluring she actually looked, but it was a problem she had almost gotten used to. But this off the shoulder, form fitting gown seemed to hug her in all the right places and show off a tasteful but seductive amount of cleavage. Her dark hair was twisted up into a bun and dotted with rubies, and her black leather heels completed the outfit. She didn’t need a mirror to tell her that she looked absolutely luscious.

The vampiress plucked a crimson rose from the vase on her dresser and exited her dressing room, making her way through the estate to the central staircase. Her heart was pumping unusually fast. How long had it been, Selena wondered, since she had actually been excited for an event? Since she had actually looked forward to something? The pending Blood Moon was exactly was she needed to break up the boredom of eternity. Tonight she, and her kin, would feast without restraint.

A fleeting thought crossed her mind, the question of why such powerful creatures should ever need to practice restraint on every other night, but Selena quickly banished the idea. Tonight, especially tonight, wasn’t about questions.

Of course, the beautiful queen Alisiandra was perched on the staircase, waiting to welcome her guests like the perfect hostess she was. And, of course, the child was at her side. Selena had almost hoped that the queen would leave Anastacia behind tonight, knowing the carnage and that would be coming later. But, then again, the girl was probably more mature than much of the covenant anyway. It was one of the many rather unsettling things about her.

Her red stained lips curled up into a smile, Selena blinked away her misgivings and approached the queen and her adopted daughter. She made a low, graceful curtsy bowing her head to the leader of their clan.

“I am often left breathless by your appearance, my lady,” Selena said, raising her dark eyes to meet those of Alisiandra’s, “but this evening, you will outshine even the Blood Moon, and will certainly stoke as much desire in many hearts.”

The Queen smiled sincerely at the stunning vampire that stood in front of her. She wondered if the woman had any true idea of her own beauty. Not just because almost all vampires we're beautiful, but because Selene had been beautiful even as a human.

The queen almost smirked, but not because of Selene, but because the thought entered into her mind about how humans had the idea that vampires were pale, vile creatures in appearance. Little did they realize that some of the most powerful, beautiful women they admired were vampires.

Yes, humans could be fickle creatures.

“My dear Selena, your beauty rivals my own and I am certain that you are the object of a great many desires.”

Alisiandra fell silent as the smile returned to her face and dark eyes moved over Selene, the red dress accentuating her lovely features.

Then, her eyes moved back to the crowd. What was taking Caius so long?

Selena’s gaze moved to the smaller vampire and she bowed again. “Sweet Anastacia, you look more regal than most of the grown women here.” She smiled at the girl and extended the rose she had brought as an offering. As always, the child remained silent, but Selena felt as if her intense eyes were boring straight into her heart. She felt instantly naked, and incredibly uncomfortable, a feeling that she never could shake when she met Tacey’s eyes.

“I’ll leave you to your other guests, my friend,” Selena said, moving her attention away from the child with great effort. “I am certain tonight will be most enjoyable for us all.”

Tacey accepted the rose, her eyes not once leaving Selena's face. The child vampire had an uncanny way of making even those many years her elder uncomfortable. It wasn't that she tried to do so, at least not all of the time.

Maybe it was just the fact that she sensed others well despite that she never spoke. Or maybe it was because her looks were so utterly deceiving. Looking as though a mere wide eyed, curious child her reputation preceded her and those who knew anything about the Queen, and the child she had saved knew that Tacey was old, wise, and powerful in her own right.

Anastacia was one of the few who had tasted the blood of the Queen, and that alone gave the child an advantage that many vampires would covant for themselves, if the Queen chose them.

Tacey looked to her Queen, wondering who the Queen would give her gift to on this rarest of nights, the Night of the Blood Moon.

Moving from elder vampiress into the main dining room, Selena mentally shook herself. She still felt the lingering effects of Tacey’s eyes on her, making her skin feel as though thousands of spiders were crawling over it. She restrained herself form rubbing her arms in discomfort, and quickly decided that a big glass of wine was exactly what she needed to relax and focus on the party at hand. It was still early, however, her deep brown eyes traveled over several bar stations in attempt to find one that was set up and ready to serve.

“May all of your tastebuds be satisfied at once, my lord,” an overly formal voice said behind her.

Selena turned to find a fellow vampire, dressed as a butler or waiter or something, looking fairly surprised at her presence. She couldn’t hide her amused smile as it slid into place, but swept his apology aside with a wave of her hand. “I see you got roped into working tonight,” she said, making no effort to hide the way her eyes swept over his body. “The suit is an improvement. You look very nice, Ezra.”

She leaned forward, placing both hands on the table that separated them and flashed a smile at the vampire. “I hate to take advantage of your… position, but would you be a dear and tell me where I can find something to drink?”

[Keiwanis]

Ezra felt his chest tighten a little as Selena flashed a smile at his awkward apology. The vampire before him was much older, and much more experienced than he was. The confident aura that radiated from her was not so much different than what he felt from the Queen, if not in a lesser sense. She seemed quite aware of her looks, and was not shy in using them to her advantage in social situations. Ezra was no stranger to her; they had chatted here and there among the years. But they were far from close friends. Even so, Ezra was fond of her. Despite her social status, she had always been especially sweet to him.

“I see you got roped into working tonight,” she said, making no effort to hide the way her eyes swept over his body. “The suit is an improvement. You look very nice, Ezra.”

"Yeah, I guess that's how the lots fell tonight. Young bloods handing out exotic cheeses and wine. How fun."
He felt her eyes go up and down his attire, and he instinctively glanced downward at his greenish grey tux. It had hung at the back of his closet for months, waiting for the most special of occasions to be used. The Blood Moon seemed most appropriate to resurrect the old thing, so he donned it just twenty minutes before heading down. It fit him a tad loose, but still was flattering enough to his thin frame to make it worth the trouble of buttoning up.

The comment on his appearance would have normally made him blush, if his complexion hadn't all but fled.
"T-Thank you Selena. They said formal attire and... I just-... It's not too much I hope," he quietly muttered.

She leaned forward, placing both hands on the table that separated them and flashed a smile at the vampire. “I hate to take advantage of your… position, but would you be a dear and tell me where I can find something to drink?”

Ezra leaned back just the slightest as Selena leaned in, but consciously made himself return to his posture. Her near-black eyes were dazzling up close. And her dress was a lot more... revealing while leaned over a table. He kept his eyes focused on hers, though glanced off to the side or up at the ceiling when her gaze became too uncomfortable; just anything but looking DOWN.

With all his might he summoned up the calmest, friendliest, and nonchalant demeanour he could.
"Yeah! I mean... They haven't brought the wine out just yet, but I know where it is in the cellar. If you tell me what you're drinking I could bring you up a glass on the down-low maybe?"