Breathe Under Water - Shadows of the Night 1

Chapter 15

Hi,

As promised, the next chapter!! Thanks again for all the comments - they keep me going! Okay guys, now we're coming down to business, story-wise. Fasten your seatbelts for the next few chapters and the banquet. Hope you're in!

Lara

___________________________________________________________

Chapter 15

Darkness had long come. Daylight was nothing more than a weak memory. And death was waiting on my doorstep.

This night I would have to find out whether the Cellinis had a hand in Maria's death, and if not, who else had – and/or why Maria had the Cellinis' amulet to begin with.

The punch line? I was expected to wear evening attire while doing it. I riffled through the ridiculous clothes Alexander prepared. There was only one dress. I held the black cloth up in front of me, examining it like an interesting study object. No. Just no. I ransacked the suitcase once again. No. It was the only evening dress in Alexander's collection of horrors.

I stared at the door. "You bloodsucking bastard."

I had it between my fingers when I went through the set of clothes the day before. All I noticed was that the fabric was silk, sinfully soft, and expensive. I didn't see that half of the dress was missing. Saying that it had a deep v neck was the understatement of the year. It would expose skin well below the line where you would be able to wear a bra without seeing it. Of course, it was backless, which made trying to wear a bra a moot point anyway.

I stared at the fabric for a long moment. Did Alexander choose the dress himself? More than likely he was above such things. To him it was probably just another triviality that came with subjugation. Apparently a human servant had no say in anything, including his wardrobe.

Not this one.

If I had to talk the talk, walk the walk, and navigate my way through this night, I'd do it in disguise, but essentially, I'd do it as myself.

I got up, and hurried over to my other bag. After another ransacking-raid, I found my small sewing kit. Thank the great three witches. I once lost a button of a pair of jeans during a short trip to Canada and had to wear the same skirt for three days, as I hadn't packed anything else. Since then I never went anywhere without that kit.

The depths of Alexander's little collection offered many horrors, among them a black spandex top. It had tons of glitter on it, but the most important thing was that its neckline was straight. Just what I needed.

I had to cut the cloth with the miniscule scissor of the sewing kit and pricked myself half a dozen times, but I managed in less than half an hour. I sewed the piece into the inner front part of the dress. Like this the neckline was moderate, and with the cloth covering my chest, my bare back would hopefully be my only remaining problem. Now I would be able to wear the bra that had an invisible plastic back strap.

Victory is mine.

Satisfied with my little alterations to the outfit, I indulged in taking a long hot shower.

* * *

The door to the apartment opened. My hand froze in mid-air, black mascara brush inches in front of my eyes. I turned, staring at the door to my room. The underlying anticipation that kept building in the past two hours transformed into a massive wave of nervousness. Getting ready for the night was a welcome distraction, my mind occupied with smaller tasks revolving around vanity's shallow waters.