The Party
Celeste had received an invitation to come to the party. She had found the invitation inside her mailbox in the morning. The young girl had been hesitant about attending the gathering that evening. However, her co-worker Patricia had reminded her that it was time to move on with her life after her last boyfriend had broken her heart one year ago. This party seemed like the perfect opportunity to start going out again and begin meeting other people.
Wearing one of her favorite outfits and without much expectation, Celeste stepped into the big hall.
It was impossible not to notice the guest that had just entered the room. She looked and acted so different from Celeste. The Chinese woman had an aura of confidence and power surrounding her that Celeste could not help but carefully observe the woman as she walked into the room.
Alas, it seemed her attempt to dissuade any suspicions had been folly. She could not shake the eyes following her about the room, and so she turned slowly to meet them. The young woman must have been curious why she was here. Perhaps it was the long, black dress Mei adorned, with a slit down the side, attire that showed she was the dominant one, the fearsome one. Her almond eyes cut sharply at the girl, as if to say the woman was none of her concern and that if she knew better, she would simply ignore Mei's presence.
As soon as Mei's eyes met Celeste's, the long-haired girl felt a strong heat growing in her cheeks. Lowering her gaze, Celeste observed the beautiful black dress that shaped the short-haired woman. Her cheeks turning redder, Celeste felt a mixture of embarrassment, shyness, jealousy, and admiration towards Mei. Being the timid girl that she was, Celeste knew she could never wear a dress like that.
She moved her eyes towards herself and observed her dress carefully. She thought the gown she was wearing that night was very elegant and it fit her body very well. Before heading out of her house, she had made sure that the dress would not show more than necessary. The dress was long so her shapely long legs were not showing, her arms were mostly covered and there was no cleavage showing at all. The floral print on the bottom part of her dress showed the feminine and romantic side of Celeste.
The girl's attentive gaze turned from her, yet Mei couldn't help but notice the slight blush upon her fair cheeks. An adorable one she was, but Mei had more pressing matters than wooing an evening delight. Suddenly, she felt the telltale rattle of her phone in the small designer purse she carried, carefully reaching in and pulling it out....to read the text he sent her.
I am at the party. Where are you?
Mei looked around hesitantly before texting back.
I'm here. Where are you sitting?
She waited a few moments, the firm resolve seeming to drain slowly from her face. Then, he answered back.
In the far corner by the window. Come alone.
A sharp gulp of air, Mei slipped her phone back in her purse and carried on.
Lifting her gaze in the most concealing way, Celeste observed as Mei read something on her phone. "Of course...of course, a woman like that could not have come alone to a party", thought the fair girl to herself as she sighed.
Closing her eyes, Celeste continued in her head. "Must be her friend...or boyfriend...or even girlfriend!!!" Her cheeks returned to a fiery color again. "Silly Celeste, only you could have thought it was okay to have come alone to a party like this".
As she internally reprimanded herself for letting her coworker convince her to come to the party alone, Celeste observed as Mei walked towards the far corner by the window.
The dapper dressed fellow sat at an elegantly adorned table by the far bay widndow, quietly and nonchalantly nursing a bottle of imported red wine by himself. He had just taken a sip from the crystal glass in his hand, an odd gold ring on his finger emblazzoned with occultic sigils, when the tall and slender Chinese woman sat before him, most unhappy to make his presence.
"God dammit, Nero, what is it? You know I hate being disturbed this late!" Mei snapped at him in a frantic yet hushed tone of voice.
Nero took another sip before answering in a graven whisper, his crystaline eyes showing a deep pang of concern, "There's been another attack.
Judah was ambushed outside Sanguine, you know, the club on Fifth and Stoker."
"Yes, I know." Said Mei. "Tell me what happened! Where's Judah?"
"He's dead." Bluntly Nero returned. Mei felt her face grow cold, colder than it had been. "They burned him alive. Holy water, we think. We don't know if it was the hunters or those fucking Malkavians. By Lucifer, Mei, you should have seen him. The flesh was melting off his bones. I finally had to put him out of his misery."
"Just spare me the gory details." Mei uttered. "Tell the coven we're under curfew. No more going out after dark, until we find out who's responsible for these attacks. Nero...I fear that war is afoot."
Following Mei with her gaze, Celeste observed how the Chinese woman sat down at what Celeste thought must have been the VIP section of the hall.
She moved her head a little bit to the right trying to take a look at the man sitting in front of the short-haired woman. Once she was able to take a good look at the man, Celeste could not help but be mesmerized by Nero. He was so tall, so elegant, so good-looking, so mysterious. Maybe it was the fact that the pale-looking man aspect was so different from her last boyfriend's. Jonas was a tanned blonde man. Celeste would never call his way of dressing elegant, he was more a carefree guy. His usual hairstyle was to tie his long blonde hair in a bun or ponytail. Although Celeste always thought he looked his best with his hair down. He would wear a t-shirt or a hoodie and a pair of blue jeans. Yes, that was Jonas....so so very different from the man she was looking at right now.
War was afoot...
That is definitely what Mei thought the moment Nero told her another of their kin had been murdered in cold blood, the fourth one this month. Something was in the air, and it smelled awful grim to her. The Malkavians, were they responsible? Their feud had hit a momentary ceasefire not too long ago, a cold war of sorts between the covens, but now perhaps something (or someone) had sparked the flames once more, and blood was pouring in the city streets.
Despite all this plaguing her thoughts, Mei remained content and composed, eventhough she was chomping at the bit inside to kill the bastard who torched Judah.
Nero was about to pour himself another glass. By his slight shivering, Mei could tell he wasn't sauced enough to erase the horrid image of Judah's smoldering corpse. Suddenly, he paused so abrupt and set the bottle down on the table with an audible thud. "Shit!"
Mei crinkled her brow at him. "What? What is it?"
"There's a spy! See her?" Frantic he whispered. Mei glanced over her shoulder.
Dammit...it was her!
"Those fucking Malkavians sent her I bet!" Slowly, Nero reached into his coat. Mei heard a click. "What the fuck are you doing?!" She hissed kicking him under the table. "You want to cause a scene, you paranoid idiot! Put that away! I'll get rid of her."
Reluctant, he relinquished his grip on the 9mm in his coat with a solemn nod. Mei then stood...and approached the eavesdropper.
Astonished, Celeste observed as Mei walked towards her. Yes, they must have noticed her watching them from afar. She immediately turned away her gaze from Mei and the man. She hadn't meant to introduce in their romantic date. It is just, she hadn't gone out in a while and...as the Chinese woman came closer and closer towards her she began forming a heartfelt apology in her head.
How much did she hear of their conversation? Why was she following her? Was she just merely a party guest...or something else? Was Nero right to be so paranoid? These were questions buzzing about Mei's head like an angry swarm of locusts as she approached the young woman, putting on more of a debonair smile than her previous cold gaze. Surely she hadn't been tailed by anyone to the party, and she made certain of that given Nero's ever growing apprehension, but still, that niggling thought in the back of her mind, What if...?
"Oh, why hello there." She said to the woman with a charming air. "Seems wherever I go, I always bump into you. Are you having a good time?" Mei smiled, but just enough that she didn't...well...blow her cover. "What's your name, hmm?"
Without paying much attention to Mei's words, she immediately bowed before the Chinese woman as soon as Mei stopped speaking.
"I am so sorry. I did not mean to intrude in your date with your boyfriend." Her words filled with deep sincerity. "I know you must have been enjoying a romantic dinner and here I went and spoiled it for you. I truly apologize for it." Not daring to look at Mei, she remained in a bowing position in hopes of hearing Mei accepting her apology.
"Boyfriend?" Mei rose an eyebrow, a brief silence before she let out a soft giggle. "Oh you mean Nero? He's an old college friend of mine. We're just catching up on old times, you know. He's sweet, but...well..." She leaned in a little closer to the woman. "Between you and me, I'm not much interested in him...or any men for that matter, if you catch my drift sweetie." Her lips curled into a smirk, her voice a tad soft, perhaps sensual even. "Which reminds me, we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Mei. What's your name?"
As soon as Mei started to speak, Celeste began to slowly straighten up her body. "Ahh...so he is not her boyfriend...", the long-haired girl thought to herself. She had not realized it but there was a feeling of relief accompanying that thought. Maybe, just maybe, Nero was single. But then again, men like him were never single.
Feeling Mei's body leaning closer towards her, Celeste's cheeks blushed in an instant. "Maybe she is married...and that is why she is not interested in men...yes, that must be it!", concluded the green-eyed girl to herself. A bit insecure and shy, Celeste said "I am Celeste."
"Celeste, is it?" Mei purred rather amused by Celeste's naive innocence. Girls like this were so easy to her, which is why it was best to work her charms and not let Nero make a fool of himself. "My, what a lovely name. It suits you." She smiled, gazing into the girl's emerald eyes with a rapturous look. "And such lovely green eyes you have."
The green-eyed girl could feel as if a strong heat was envolving her body and soul. Playing timidly with her hands, she lowered her gaze. A soft "Thank you", escaped her mouth. Mei's compliments had made her feel better about herself.
Since breaking up with Jonas, the young woman had been dealing with poor confidence and self-esteem issues, so the Chinese woman's words felt like drops of water for Celeste's thirsty heart. Mei's gaze was so intense and seductive that the long-haired girl could have sworn those eyes were piercing into her very soul, reading her very feelings and thoughts.
Before the conversation could continue, they were interrupted by a waiter offering free champagne to the guests.
Over the waiter's shoulder, Mei could see Nero's bothered expression as he practically threw back a glass of wine like a shot of hard bourbon. He was getting ancy, perhaps trigger happy as well, so Mei has to speed it up before the fool blew it. His eyes met hers; she could see his lips quietly mouthing 'Hurry up!'
While Mei politely refused the glass of champagne, Celeste opened her beige evening bag and looked for her cell phone.
"Wow...Miss Mei sure knows how to attract guys...she is so confident, so beautiful, so sensual and attractive, no wonder her college friend invited her to a date tonight. He did not even care she is married!!", the naive girl thought to herself.
Once the waiter had decided to leave them be, Mei returned her attention to the ravishing young woman at her side, noticing that while trying to brush off the waiter while not arousing any suspicions, she had become rather...parched. Now while trying to seduce Celeste away from the party...and from Nero, she had to stave her ever growing thirst, a thirst wine nor water could satiate.
"My dear, it's such a beautiful night outside. Why don't we go to the balcony. There's a lovely view of the night sky from there, plus we can get to know each other...better...without any interruptions."
Yes, the balcony. Hopefully no one would interrupt there.
Just when the green-eyed girl had found her cell phone, she heard a familiar voice again. Lifting up her gaze to meet Mei's eyes and with her hand still inside the evening bag, Celeste replied with a shy and nervous tone. "Go to the balcony?"
She didn't know how to answer to that invitation. On the one hand, being near too such fascinating woman made Celeste feel apprehensive and insecure. But on the other hand, in front of her was a woman who was the complete opposite of what Celeste was. Before dumping her, Jonas had told Celeste that he had expected for the naive girl to become stronger, more confident, seductive and sensual but that she had never had and that she never would and that he needed another kind of woman by his side, not a girl, but a woman.
The painful memories gave Celeste enough courage to answer. "Yes, I would like that. Let's go," said the girl abruptly. It wasn't until the words flew out of the long-haired girl's mouth that she realized what she had said, but it was too late to take her words back. Taking her hand out of her bag and closing it, Celeste got ready to face what would undoubtedly be a very interesting night.
Perfect...
Her charm was working on the naive beauty. Now all Mei had to do was lead her away onto the balcony, away from the prying eyes of too many strange guests to this most austere of parties. She took Celeste delicately by the hand and led her away, out from the stuffiness off the grand ballroom and into the cool and clear autumn night.
The moon glistened across the emerald lawn and danced across the sheen surface of the courtyard's reflecting pool. Stars, nearly hundreds of them, like precious diamonds, shimmered against the endless sea of black velvet that was the night, and yes, a most beautiful night it was.
Alas...it was nights like these Mei...was the thirstiest.
"Come here, my darling." Her voice, it dripped with a sensual heat, a proverbial snare that meant to grasp Celeste in a bond unbreakable. She pulled her closer, closer to her, till their bodies were as close as they would allow.
"You are just simply...delectable." Hungrily Mei whispered. The urge, she couldn't control it. Not anymore. "Oh...how I shall have you tonight, my beloved, all to myself." Her eyes, they flashed a fierce crimson. She lowered her lips onto the woman's neck, but then....
"MEI!"
Nero's cry brought her crashing down from her adrenaline high. Dammit! So close! So fucking close! This had better be good she thought.
"Mei! Anton just texted me! We're in big trouble! We have to go, now!"
"Nero, calm yourself!" Mei quickly replied, reluctantly relinquishing Celeste from her grasp. "What the fuck is going on?!"
Nero's look, it was one of dread, "Anton said he saw a group of hunters heading toward the manor! Someone must've tipped them off! We have to go, dammit!"
He grabbed Mei's arm, trying to pull her away, but Mei wrenched away, her eyes glowing red with anger. "Just one moment!" She growled. "Who could have tipped them off? Unless..." Slowly, her fearsome gaze turned to Celeste. She remembered now. The woman was looking through her purse for something, a phone!
"You..." Her teeth grit, a sharp pair of fangs exposed, she glared down upon the spy. "You fucking BITCH!"
But no sooner did the words leave her mouth....
All hell broke loose.
*BOOM!* The explosions rocked the grand ballroom, sending the party into a fleeing panic. Single file, they emerged through the dust and smoke, entire squads of men dressed in all black tactical gear, wielding all manner of assault rifles and submachine guns as they moved in tight military formation through the terrified guests, shouting,
"MOVE IN! MOVE IN! LOCATE THE TARGETS AND ELIMINATE THEM! GO! GO! GO!
The hunters were here.
As soon as Celeste felt Mei's gently touch grasping her hand, the naive girl felt herself immersing into some kind of hypnotic trance. The Chinese woman's hand was cold but Celeste barely registered that, since her own hand was as hot as a fiery coal. Without any resistance, she let Mei lead the way.
Stepping into the balcony, the long-haired woman lifted up her gaze and looked at the starry night. There she was next to a complete stranger, yet she had never felt more at ease. Calmly observing the beautiful ebony sky, Celeste did not even realize Mei's real intentions...
Captured by the enigmatic woman's voice, the green-eyed girl was an easy prey in the hands of a beautiful hunter. Mei's words made Celeste feel aroused. Almost instinctively, she exposed the smooth skin of her neck to her seducer. She bit her lower lip as if preparing herself for a new experience. However, that enjoyable sensation was interrupted by Nero's voice.
Slowly returning from her trance, Celeste calmly observed as Nero discussed with Mei. It was not until she heard Met insulting her that the fair girl completely came back to reality. Blood began rushing through her body after looking at the short-haired woman's sharp pair of fangs.
"What is this?! What is happening?", Celeste asked herself with desperation. The poor girl had no time to process all the events occurring around her. The sound of the explosions in the hall awoken the fleeing instinct inside of her. She looked straight into Mei's eyes. "Save me...", she said to her hunter in an extremely low voice. Her tone was not a begging one, rather a heartfelt request. Hoping Mei had been able to read the words on her lips, Celeste waited in silence.
"Shit!" Time was up. The hunters were flooding the ballroom as though a vicious army of ants, ants armed with enough firepower to waste the undead. Mei could see them through the window hurrying up the stairs. Hopefully, they hadn't spotted her or Nero yet.
"Nero, give me a gun!"
Nero pulled a spare Beretta from his jacket, tossing it over to Mei. Mei caught it, cycling the mag and cocking the slide. She then turned to the girl beside her, a stern look in her cold, black eyes. "You, you're coming with me! Nero, keep 'em busy!"
"You got it!" Nero quickly nodded loading his weapon. "See you back at the hideout! Now go!"
And with that, Mei seized Celeste firmly by the arm and made her run.
Waiting for Mei's reply had been excruciating. It had only been a couple of minutes, but for Celeste, it had been an eternity.
She did not care about the future in that moment, the only thing that mattered to the green-eyed girl was the present. Her present which meant saving her life, she will worry about the future later.
Letting a deep sigh of relief, Celeste followed Mei with great haste.
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