“Constance, you can’t see it all. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Let’s leave his return up to him,” Isaac wisely suggests.
“So he ran off when you called to him?” Elijah confirms.
“Yes. I started toward him and called his name. He turned and ran into the woods.”
I explain.
“Well, we will have to keep an eye out for him. This is the closest he has gotten.
Maybe he is as ready to come home as we are to have him home. That said, I do not want to push him.” Elijah reaches for my hand to comfort me.
“That’s it? We just watch for him?” I question.
“My dear that is all we can do. It is up to him when he comes home. All we can do is make it known that he is welcome back,” Florence adds.
“What if I try to approach him? He doesn’t know me and might not run off,” Danika suggests.
“That may work, but I still do not want to push him. If he is watching us, I am sure he’s aware that you are a member of this family. That may intimidate him more, since he does not know you,” Elijah explains.
“I understand. I just want to help. I hate seeing the sadness it brings you to not have him here,” Danika says, showing some understanding.
I’m shocked that Danika wants to help us. She is becoming a more trustworthy member of the family. Still, I have that odd gut feeling about her, as if something is amiss. My feelings for her are just as torn as they were for Nathanial before I let him in.
Alexander interrupts my thoughts, privately between us. “I can feel how concerned you are about Danika, but she really hasn’t done anything to warrant your concern.”
”I understand that. It’s just a feeling I’ve always had, like she is going to be trouble for our family.”
“Sophia, we’re all here to support her, and she has been very successful so far. Just try to forget about it. I will keep an eye on her.”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
“What secrets are you two sharing?” Matilda jokes.
“Just talking about how bad your hair looks tonight,” I answer with a smile.
“What? Are you kidding?” Matilda jumps out of her seat and runs to the restroom to check, then yells, “You’re so funny, Sophia. I’m gonna get you for that.”
The entire family bursts out laughing. Poor Matilda thought she did not look perfect for a moment.
We continue to speak about Caspian for a while and decide there’s not much more we can do.
Alexander adds, “I will try to connect with him so he knows he is welcome.”
“And I will try to search my visions for him some more,” Constance announces.
After we finish, I go to my room and listen to my new music collection. Sitting in the chair in my room with my legs draped over the arm, I start to relax. I could sit here for hours, thinking about my brother and admiring my new ring. It is so beautiful, just like what Nathanial and I share. I think this is the best Christmas I have ever had. At the very least, this is more meaningful than any past Christmases. After over a century, I finally feel at peace, and this feeling confuses me. I’m meant to be tormented for the rest of eternity. I guess that will come when I finally lose Nathanial. I can’t think of that. I need to enjoy this feeling while I still can. Today, I’m the luckiest being on Earth.
Chapter Forty Two
New Years
The day we have been planning for is finally here. It is time for our big New Years Eve party. Everything looks excellent. The decorations are amazing. We added fresh white roses around the house. The family ensures the finishing touches are complete, and Florence even added a WELCOME mat to the front step. The kitchen is filled with enough food to feed all of New England. We even have kid-friendly food for all the little ones that might be joining us. The hired staff members are starting to arrive, from a bartender and wait staff to the nanny and clowns for the kids. The DJ begins setting up in the family room, and the valets are outside, ready to park the cars.
As I peer out my bedroom window, I notice Nathanial and his family are the first to arrive. Everyone is dressed so dazzling. I’ve just finished dressing and start walking down the grand staircase toward Nathanial. I am wearing the cocktail dress Matilda gave me for Christmas. The white bustier and black above-the-knee skirt with crinoline is very retro! I finished it with a black pashmina and black heels. The low ponytail I have in my hair is tickling my back, and I smile. I feel stunning.
By the look on Nathanial’s face, my guess is that he’s in full agreement. My guess is confirmed when he says, “Well there is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen!”
Nathanial smiles, and his brother and father both nudge him in my direction, as if he was frozen in place.
“Now this party is going to be fun. I am glad you are here.” I greet my love with a kiss and proceed to his family. I smooch each one of them on the cheek. “I’m happy you could all make it. Please come in.”
“Thank you so much for inviting us. You have a marvelous home,” Mrs. McCord replies.
“It would not be the same without you,” Florence interjects.
“May I help you with anything?” Nikole offers.
“I would love it if you help me have a good time. We have finished everything, and the staff will take care of the rest.” Florence smiles.
Our guests are beginning to arrive. The house is filling quickly with the town residents, and everyone is mingling, telling each other about their Christmas. The wait staff is busy serving drinks from the bar, including any kind of cocktails, beer, champagne, juice, soda, and Shirley Temples that someone might want to order.
Everyone will be taken care of and able to enjoy the party.
This is a great opportunity to meet and get to know the townspeople, especially since there are over a hundred guests. I’m enjoying talking with some of Nathanial’s friends from football and school, along with their girlfriends. I glance around to see what my family members are all doing. Constance and Isaac are visiting with coworkers, and Florence and Elijah are meeting all the parents. Everything is going great. People are dancing to the music, and the kids are enjoying all the crafts and games we have set up for them. It seems to be a typical mortal party.
Nathanial starts to introduce my siblings and me to the students from school that made it to the party. Over the past weeks, we had met a few, but no one really wanted to interrupt us at the lunch table at school. We have a tight group the six of us along with Danika, and she is always around somewhere, which isn’t too bad. I’m beginning to feel like I am truly experiencing high school for the first time. I am even able to talk to some of the football team members and their girlfriends; they are a lot less judgmental than I first assumed.
Ebony and Matt finally arrive and join in on the conversation.
“Hey, Ebony! I am so glad you are here,” I say with a hug.
“Hi, Ebony,” a few of the girls say. I am glad we didn’t invite Mel; the girl Ebony had the run-in with at school. I would have ended up ripping what she has of a heart out of her chest.
“Hey, everyone! How are things going, Sophia? Sorry, but we got a little held up.
Eliza had an outfit meltdown,” Ebony explains with a chuckle.
“Well, she looks great. Crisis averted, I see.” I wink at her.
A group of us head to the dance floor and start dancing the night away, laughing and having fun without a care in the world. The DJ is playing an array of music, but everyone seems to really get into things once he starts to play the top hits from the eighties. Who doesn’t love Duran Duran and Michael Jackson?
Some of the girls from school notice my ring that Nathanial strategically placed on my left hand ring finger, causing more than a few questions.
“Oh my! Your ring is beautiful! Is it from Nate?” asks a pretty, petite girl whose name I don’t recall.
“Yes. It was my Christmas gift. It really is lovely, isn’t it?” I reply.
A girl named Paige, who I remember as the girlfr
iend of one of the football players, asks, “Wow! Does it mean—?”
I stop her mid sentence. “It’s just a gift from my boyfriend that I am wearing on my ring finger, it even matches my necklace.” I point out.
“Sorry. We didn’t intend to pry.”
“You did, but it is alright, and I’m sorry for my rudeness!” And we giggle.
Everyone is warming up to me, and I am warming up to them as well. I will admit there is more than one teenage girl whose head I’d love to rip off. I can hear a few of them whispering and such. I guess I’m no different than other high school girls, and we can’t all get along. It’s getting more and more like real life every day.
“Are you alright, Sophia? You look like you could use a drink,” Nathanial says.
“I think you’re right. Please excuse me for a moment.”
“Do you mind if I join you?” Nathanial politely requests.
“Hey, can I come too?” Ebony asks.
“Sure, I...um, I guess so,” I agree reluctantly.
I lead the two downstairs to the cellar, where we have a hidden room to store all our blood products.
“Why is it you keep all food, per se, down here?” Ebony asks.
“We only moved our supplies to this room because of the party. We did not want any wondering eyes finding it,” I reply.
“Your family thinks of everything,” Nathanial says with a chuckle.
“So Nate, I am just curious, how did you know I needed to get away and have a snack?”
“I could feel the frustration you’re feeling, and I know every laugh line and freckle on your face. When I saw your eyes turn a darker shade of green, I knew it was time to get you out of there.”
Ebony holds up a bottle. “Is this the one you need, Sophia, from the juice jug?”
“Yeah. Just a small glass would be great. Are you both sure you want to stay here?
Neither of you have seen me feed or drink before,” I say nervously.
“Really, how bad can it be? We pour you a glass, and you drink it like any other beverage,” Ebony says with a hint of sarcasm.
“It is not really that simple. If I am able to control the features like my fangs and eyes with the smell, once I taste the blood, I will not be able to control it anymore. Are you sure you are both ready to see me…the real me?”
“Sweetie, we know the real you and look at the real you every day,” my beloved reassures.
With a slight reluctance, I take the glass of blood that Ebony pours for me. I turn my head away from the two of them and take a small sip. I feel the ache as my fangs come out and the burn of my eyes as they go black.
Nathanial turns my head back to them. “Sweetie, please. You don’t need to be ashamed, and we accept you for everything you are. We are bound to see this more than once in a while, and I must say you look beautiful.”
I quickly finish the rest of my drink and relax myself to return to the party. I slip in to the restroom and brush my teeth.
“I just want to thank you both for being so supportive of me. I could never ask for better people around me than the two of you. I love you both. Are you sure you can both handle seeing me like that?’
“Nate is right, Sophia. We are fine. We are here for you, which is why we came with you. Now let’s get back to the party.”
They both put their arms around my shoulders, and we returned to the festivities and celebrations once I relax enough and my features return to normal.
Chapter Forty Three
Tribulations
Ebony and I continue dancing the night away and making a few new friends until Alexander summons us to the library telepathically. He also asks for Ebony and her sister to join us. I’m concerned that this must be something big to call us away from the party. We sneak in one by one, trying to be discreet. Constance and Alexander are intent in their conversation, and it looks serious.
“What happened?” Isaac inquires.
“Alexander, Constance, we are all here. What is it?” Elijah demands to know.
Constance begins, “I was outside for some air and went for a quick run. I brushed by a tree and started having a vision that Alexander intercepted. It is bad, real bad! The decedents of the Cerberus cult have risen from their lairs in the wastelands and are on the hunt. Many mortals have been killed in the New York area, and they have moved south to the Boston area. This could turn into another war, a repeat of Tansy the Vampire War when the groups took sides.” She looks terrified.
“I think we need to be careful. We should also contact the Renata leaders to notify them of the Cerberus presence,” Isaac adds.
We all agree. Elijah and Isaac will stay behind to discuss the details, and the rest of us will return to the party. We do not all want to be absent at the same time or it may look suspicious. We will discuss everything after the party.
“I’m confused. What is the Tansy, Renata and the Cerberus?” Eliza asks.
“Back in the fifth century, a war called Tansy broke out, separating the vampiric clans. A group came together to create an organization called the Renata. They suppressed the anarchs and agreed to exist behind a façade called ‘The conspiracy of silence.’ The leaders, or ‘Lords’, of the Renata decreed ‘Never more shall vampires kill freely and openly, and they must hide amongst the mortals and conceal our true natures,” Elijah explains and adds, “Thus came the six laws, a sort of Vampire Bible.
Those who did not join the Renata were driven into the wastelands–that is, until they attacked the leaders for power, most recently, in 1882, when the vampire riots broke in New York and their numbers decreased once again. The Cerberus went into hiding again so as to increase their numbers. Because of the similarities to the original war, these riots are referred to as the ‘Wars of Tansy.’”
“Well okay then. I guess that explains a little, where is this Renata located are they worldwide or just here?” Eliza says with a little surprise.
“They are from Transylvania; you know some of the myths about us are real.” Isaac chuckles.
“Okay that is kinda funny but on the same note this might explain the bad feeling I have been having,” Ebony suggests.
“What bad feeling?” Elijah asks.
“I have had this awful feeling that something bad was going to happen, something evil. I told Sophia about it the other night when we went shopping.”
“Did I forget to mention it? Maybe seeing Caspian that night just overwhelmed me and took precedence. I am so sorry.”
“No worries. We know now and need to figure out some details. Knowing last week without any details would not have meant much. Now we know to trust Ebony’s feelings, as they may have more to them,” Elijah says in his comforting voice.
We need to hide our concerns for now and continue with our own façade, starting with returning to the party. It is almost midnight now, and everyone is preparing to ring in the New Year. The wait staff assures us that our guests all have champagne, with sparkling cider for the underaged guests.
The music stops, and everyone gathers around for the countdown.“Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one... HAPPY NEW
YEAR!” Balloons, streamers and confetti fall from the ceiling above, right on cue; Constance rigged it perfectly to fall in sync with the clock striking twelve. Everyone in attendance starts shouting, cheering, and singing off-key versions of “Auld Lang Syne.”
Then each guest turns to kiss the one they wish to spend the next year with. Of course Alexander and Matilda are hiding around the corner for a small kiss; they don’t want to raise any questions.
This tradition means so much more to me now. I have waited over a century to find someone special, someone worth a New Years kiss. I never expected to find him, and for once I feel extremely lucky, standing here in the moment of a new year, with the most amazing man I have ever known and completely in love. Nathanial takes me in his arms, and we kiss, sharing the perfection of the moment.
“Sophia, let’s go upsta
irs for some privacy and to talk. The party is winding down, and I don’t think anyone will notice us missing.” He knows me so well that he can tell something is bothering me.
“I think you’re right. Let’s go.”
Chapter Forty Four
Connections
“So I think the party is a success. What do you think?” Nathanial inquires.
“Yes, it is all very nice. I enjoyed meeting your friends instead of them just gawking at us,” I reply.
“So what is going on? You seem preoccupied,” he inquires with genuine concern.
“You can tell?” I ask.
“I feel like we have known each other forever, and I can sense when something is bothering you, I told you so earlier. Relax and tell me what is going on and what I can do to make it go away, sweetie.” He places his arm around my shoulder and gives me a little squeeze.
“I will, but tonight is not the night. Let’s enjoy our first New Year’s celebration together. I promise to tell you later,” I insist. I make an X over my heart with my index finger and smile.
“Alright, but only because you are so breathtaking that I can’t possibly argue with you,” he says with his goofy little crooked grin that I so adore.
“So then why don’t you come closer and give me another kiss?” He pulls me closer, and I allow it.
He pulls me right onto his lap. Now up on my knees with one on either side of his lap, straddling him. I begin pressing my hands against his perfectly shaped pectorals and lean in closer. I kiss his soft, gentle lips. Our lips moving together in perfect sync, becoming more and more passionate. He softly runs his hands down my sides and rests them on my hips. Things are getting intense. I have never felt passion like this before. It is obvious we have both forgotten about the house full of guests. It is as though only the two of us exist. Nathanial’s hands move around the back of my hips, gently caressing my buttocks. I press in even closer, and he grabs even harder. He turns me so that my back is flat on the couch and he’s half on top of me. Still kissing, I never imagined passion like this existed.