When Lux turned around to confront Frederic, the latter didn't show up. Instead, she heard a chuckle that grew increasingly loud and distant. He decided against revealing himself, which in turn would make it difficult for her to sustain her claims that she's being watched. Frustrated, she was about to leave the hallway when a night owl landed on her shoulder. She glanced at the animal and noticed it was carrying a message. She took the piece of paper tied to its claw and opened it. It was a formal message from her sire, Aurelius, requesting her return to their estate by the end of the month. He specified that her presence was mandatory as she was the reason for such an illustrious visit. "A suitor? Again?" -She growled and tore the paper into tiny pieces that floated in the wind. The only reason her father so formally contacted Lux was because she /had/ to be there. Vampire nobility was rife with protocols, and each and every move was subjected to scrutiny and gossip. Feeling a sense of obligation to her sire and a genuine desire to do right by him, Lux decided to attend the meeting. First, she would need to clear her mind and brace herself for what was to come. The past couple of months have been quite dreadful for the redhead, and she needed a distraction. So she opted for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. She wasn't well-known there and could enjoy some well-needed fun before returning to her estate. Maybe a couple of days of debauchery and intense feeding would give her enough strength to stomach the meeting with the suitor's representative. What happened in New Orleans, however, disrupted her train of thought.
Here she was, dressed in an exquisite red sequin dress with a plunging neckline that went down to her navel. Her red hair was arranged in a beautiful, high, large bun, with a few strands tickling her nose and the back of her neck. A gold necklace wrapped around her gracile neck and plunged into her breasts for a more dramatic effect. At her feet were a pair of black stilettos, and at her wrists was clasped a diamond bracelet, which complemented well her black wood sun ring she wore on her pinkie, as it was customary. Her jaw was clenched, her eyes intensely staring at the guest before her. A pale vampire, dressed in a sharp midnight blue suit, was talking to her sire. He was a member of the Fingore family, one of the rapidly growing vampire clans that wanted to become a part of the Adora family. He was handsome, uncanny even with his long blonde hair that teased his shoulder blades, his white brows, and deep blue eyes. He was holding his cane, using it to point at things without looking at them, namely, Lux, when he was talking about her. His blue eyes were laser-focused on Aurelius, Lux's sire. A tall black man with short hair, dressed in a cotton shirt with lace sewn in the collar and cuffs, black pants, and leather shoes. Lux was closely listening to them, her pointy ears fluttered as she heard them discuss the marriage proposition.
"My only concern, dear Aurelius, is that your daughter sometimes tends not to control her transformation. We would like for her to work harder on concealing her tail and claws and never reveal them when she's in our presence."
"I hear your concern, dear Albert, but would you be so kind and explain to me why my daughter's true face is such a problem to you?" -Lux's heart skipped a beat, and she clenched her fists onto her dress. Albert pointed his cane at Lux, acting as if she weren't sentient-
"Of course! We haven't seen her true face, so I can only speak on hearsay and rumours. The streets are saying that she looks like a half-baked vampire with her tail and bat-fangs, a sure sign of devolution among the vampire community. They are also saying that the claws accentuate her beastly appearance, and I personally believe that claws on a vampire belong to the past. Our elder vampires might have been powerful, even more so than us today; they were also ugly as sin. We cannot suffer to have her to appear like a beast in our presence. It would taint our reputation, and we can't have it."
Lux held onto her dress tighter, as anger was slowly suffocating her. Albert kept talking, but the redhead was already lost in her thoughts. They took her back to New Orleans, to Jake. She sought refuge in the memory she had of that wild encounter. Jake was unlike any human she had encountered before. He was strong and powerful. His body told the story of a man who had fought the supernatural world before. It was covered with deep scars that told a story of resilience and strength. He was fun. Oh, by the Unholy spirit, was he fun! Blood rushed to the cheeks and darkened them in a deep blush. She remembered his passion, the joy, and the excitement he felt upon spending time with her. The pleasure he got from making love to her. She remembered the way he made her feel that night. Sexy, desired, and beautiful. Yes! Beautiful. Jake never recoiled at the sight of her true face. He never attached negative words to her appearance, like Albert and the rest of the Vampire world did. He didn't ridicule her for having a tail, didn't spit in her face for having bat-fangs. He didn't ask her to hide herself to be more palatable for him. He embraced it all.
He embraced her fangs, so much so that he called her hot with them on. So much so that he kissed her on the lips several times, without hesitation. He wanted to feel those claws on his skin, to let them tear apart his flesh the more he was pistoning into her. He wanted to feel her tail on him, wrapped around his arm when they fell asleep, wrapped around his neck or his cock as they were fucking. He wanted every part of her. He desired every part of her. Unlike her peers, Jake never thought of her true form as ugly or scary. He welcomed her, and at this very moment, this simple thought was enough to quell her anger. It was enough to help her contain herself and not pounce on this weaker vampire to do quick work on him. It was enough to help soothe her broken heart and calm the fast pace with which it was beating. Rejection stung, being called ugly and undesirable bruised her ego and tore away at her self-confidence. Being treated like a thing rather than a person irritated her so much that she wanted to stand up and leave. Doing so would cast a bad light on the family and hurt her sire. She couldn't cause him more trouble than she already had, so Lux swallowed her anger. She furrowed her brows and fought tears that threatened to run down her cheeks.
Flashbacks of her night spent with Jake resurfaced while Albert kept arguing about how it would be best if Lux played a more submissive role within their family. He was advocating for his son, Gabriel, to take her place as the heir to the Adora family and to have her pushed to the sidelines so it would benefit everyone. Lux was aware that the only reason they weren't shunned by society was the reverence held for the Adora family. It was one of the most ancient vampire lineages, ergo, one of the most powerful as well. To shun them would mean they could become enemies, and they have been a handful of them; it was enough to make the entire vampire society tremble. Not to mention that they could still have allies among the other 4 top families, which would disrupt the natural order. Lux was aware that preventing it was necessary, and a misplaced anger could cost them more than taking abuse as she was. She glanced at her father, who seemed to be calm and welcoming of their guest's words, but whose anger was visible to any keen eye. Aurelius was fuming at what Albert was saying. Since he turned Lux, he always cherished his daughter and protected her from harm's way. She was more than capable of handling herself, but he always protected her in situations like this one, when protocol demanded he be the one to speak with the guest, to reprimand them if need be, and to host the guest to the best of his abilities.
"I heard you and I heard you well, dear Albert. I believe that it is now time for /me/ to speak. First of all, regardless of how you feel about my daughter, I believe that you should have had the decency to treat her with respect and not use certain words in front of me. You insulted her, therefore, you insulted me. Second of all, you never once addressed my daughter. For someone who wants to marry into the family, I believe you should have tried to at least get to know Lux. She is an exquisite vampire, far more well-rounded than most of our peers. She is well-read, well-traveled, and extremely knowledgeable. She is funny as well, and you deprived yourself of the chance to see for yourself. Thirdly, she's not a thing to be tossed around and discarded once she is of no use. I refuse to match her with someone who doesn't have a shred of respect in their bones. I am indeed looking for a suitor for her, but I am looking for one who has values and qualities I fail to see in you. /Dear/. /Albert/! So I suggest you leave my estate and don't come back unless you've issued a sincere apology. Off you go!"
Aurelius's voice was booming, and his eyes turned red as he allowed his anger to burst a bit so his guest would take him seriously. Jake's face came back to her mind, his infectious smile, the adorable grin that graced his features, it made her lip tremble as she wanted to go back to him. She wanted to see him. In a moment of pure vulnerability, the vampire wanted to be comforted by the strong arms of her human lover. Was he even her lover? Would he even want to see her again? Confusing thoughts crossed her mind, and she rubbed her temple with her fingers while an ashamed Albert excused himself and left the living room. Lux's eyes were shifting from left to right, and she couldn't focus on what was happening because Jake's face came back to her. Her body shook, and she wished for Jake to come and comfort her. She wished for him to make her forget the pressure she was feeling at the moment. She felt tears fill her eyes and pinched her lips together to prevent herself from crying. She only met him once, and already, he was the face she wanted to see again. Already, he was the person she needed to have by her side. Albert left, and Aurelius noticed his daughter on the verge of crying. He sat next to her and gently grabbed her hand.
"My rose, look at me. I am sorry you heard what that swine said about you."
"I had to hold back, Father. I had to hold back while he was insulting you." -Her voice trembled, and she shook her head. He cupped her cheeks and looked into her crimson eyes.-
"I know it weighs on you, daughter. I don't mind being insulted, but what I won't tolerate is for you to be insulted, especially in front of me." She closed her eyes and allowed some tears to roll down her cheeks and onto his fingers. As typical as vampires, she was crying blood. He squeezed her cheeks tightly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I know you're frustrated, Lux." -She didn't even notice that the weight of these comments made her tail retract, as if she wanted to hide from her maker.- "But rest easy, I will always fiercely defend you. You would never have to worry about these assholes."
"he insulted me, called me a monster, a devolved vampire... All I could think about to calm myself down was the human I met in New Orleans. He saw my true form, and he never recoiled in disgust or fear. I don't know why, Father, but he was on my mind throughout the whole visit of our guest. All I could think about was the warm welcome he gave me, when this sleazebag couldn't even afford to look at me. It's a pity that I will never meet that human again, but he gave me something that even my peers weren't able to. Respect."
"One thing I am certain of, my Rose, it's that if you remember someone, you would search for them. I will patiently wait until you introduce me to that human you spoke so highly of today."
"Father! I told you! It was a one-night encounter. I would never see him again. I am too busy investigating to fancy seeing a human again. Besides, no matter how much I do fancy him, I could never bring him into my bullshit. I would never let him watch me get insulted by prospective suitors, or to have to see how small I am in this society despite my title." She furrowed her brows when Aurelius wiped off the bloody tears. "I wonder, Father, what would happen if one of the suitors happened to respect me? Would you entertain their request for my hand? Would you... Marry me off to some stranger?"
"Ahaha, is that doubt I can hear in your voice, little sparrow? Have you forgotten that I do not force anything on my precious children? You will marry the soul of your choosing. We have to meet with suitors as is the protocol, but the best someone who respects you can get from me is allyship. Don't you fret, Lux. If you fancy that little human so much--"
"Please, Father! I am not considering anything with that human. He is special, yes, I mean..." -She shook her head and wiped out the fresh tears that rolled again on her face.- "Forget about it, I depart tomorrow, but I know you'd like to have a father-daughter night. Let me slip into something more comfortable, and we will have dinner, together with Alceste if that little Ogre is around."
She managed to hide her confusion and press a kiss to her Sire's wrist. He patted her cheek and watched as she stood up and left the room. Lux was blushing, her heart was pounding against her chest as she thought about Jake. After one night? How come this human was filling her mind with the memories of that night? Previous to that visit, she was plagued with memories of their night together, of her moans, of his groans, of the taste of his blood. These memories, she could expect. What she didn't expect was to imagine his embrace when she was at her most vulnerable. What she didn't expect was to think about his kisses, his smiles, and his comforting presence when she was at her most vulnerable. What she didn't expect was to think about him when she was visited by a guest who wanted his son to request her hand for marriage. All after one night? Did that mean she wanted to find him again? No! She didn't! She couldn't! Could she?
-TBC-
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