Blood Kisses

Chapter 24: Promise me

The banquet was held in honour for a daughter of a man she didn't know and finding the best time to slip away, she began her hunt for Vincent. If someone had told her she would be elbowing her way through a crowd of richly dressed people, she would have doubled over with laughter. Saying 'excuse me' and 'sorry' when someone turned to her in exasperation, she scanned the crowd for a tall, dark haired man who would no doubt be the centre of conversation. Pushing her way into a group of smartly dressed men crowded around the bar, she scanned each of their confused and slightly annoyed faces.

"Are you lost?" One of them asked and sending a tightlipped smile at the man, she hastily made her exit.

Biting her lip, she stood on the outskirts of the room. Oddly enough there was a system to the crowd. The men who sported a gold wedding band found refuge with their fellow married brethren at the bar, each nursing a glass of their preferred alcohol. And then there were those that were either avoiding tying the knot or were testing the waters. This applied to both the men and women, each either eyeing the available parties or having already paired up for the evening. One such pair was Gwen and a man who barely reached her towering form. Despite the awkward pairing of the two, Gwen had one hand on his shoulder and was laughing as if he had told the most magnificently hilarious joke. Beside the rapidly pairing up couple, there were those that had arrived with their date and were obviously devoted to one another. It was that faction of the crowd that had her smiling because it was not just the young, newly married couples, but those whose love had stood the test of time and even now looked at each other with nothing my adoration.

Letting out a deep sigh, she sank down in one of the chairs arranged along the perimeter of the room. She would just have to wait until Vincent arrived. Calling or texting him would alert him prematurely and she needed this conversation to happen in person.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

The youngest faction of this world soon joined her in her solitary retreat. A group of young boys, each laughing and urging to others began moving the vacant chairs, stacking and building a fort of some kind. Their suit jackets were discarded and their ties hung loose around their necks. Once their fort, which was actually looking more like a barricade was complete, they looked over their shoulders before running off. Turning her head to where she heard the rapid patter of small footsteps, she saw a young girl come barrelling toward the wall of chairs. She wore a pretty pink dress, white shoes with bows on them, and a matching bow on her head. The bow that decorated her hair was flopping in her self-made wind as she pumped her small arms to reach the boys who obviously did not want her to join them.

The chairs were indeed a barricade. A barricade for a pink rocket fully intent of blasting her way through.

"Come back-!" She yelled. But sadly, the end of her command was cut short when she tripped over the carpet and fell a few steps from where she sat. Quickly going to the small child, she crouched down and collected her in her arms. Tears were brimming in the child's eyes and her lower lip quivered.

"Are you hurt, darling?" She asked as she adjusted the frills and lace of the dress the girl wore. Reaching up to fix the drooping bow, she watched as the girl kept her tears at bay despite the redness beginning to form on her knees.

"I'm not weak. I'm a strong. Just like them." The girl said in a firm voice and Jewel knew that the boys who ran from the sight of her probably told her otherwise.

"I know you are strong. Only a strong girl would be able to run with such speed. A weak girl would be crying after falling. You, my dear, are the strongest person in the world."

Looking up at her, the girl gave her a wide smile and she found herself smiling in return. She was a dear, but the redness on her knees was beginning to worry her.