"It's only a matter of time James." Harold said quietly swirling his warm glass of sanguinem; the thick liquid coating the spotless crystal in a deep red. I sighed tiredly. I had been enjoying this dinner, but the inevitable seems hard to avoid.
"Must we discuss this now?" I said glancing out at the room below. A loud clatter signaled he had slammed his glass down. He was never one for patience.
"Pray tell me, when would you like to discuss this? When they come? After, perhaps? This is serious. It cannot be a last minute decision. We either stand with the council or resign from our long held and respected position. There is no in between, you told me that, you-"
"Sit down and lower your voice." I said sharply eyeing the few people that glanced our way. Due to the weekend, there weren't many people near to hear, but too many for my liking. I watched him expectantly as he sat down throwing me a disgruntled look.
"Did you not consider the fact that I have thought about all of this? This isn't like last time. We haven't been told everything. I expect to learn more at the ball. Until then, I refuse to make a decision. Draconian knows my stance." I said tracing the rim of my glass. "After all of these years, I'm surprised you have trouble trusting me." I said with a halfhearted smile. He quickly cast his eyes downwards. I know where his loyalties lie, it still doesn't stop me from teasing him.
"I do trust you, I just can't help but second guess everything. No one saw it coming last time. Lydia never stood a chance, and the council will be here tomorrow." He said softly staring bitterly at the now half full glass. I cringed at the mention of her name, the memory far too fresh.
"I'll deal with the council; what happened before will not happen again." I said staring off bitterly. Things will be different. They caught me off guard before, they caught us all off guard before, but this time they will pay they will-
My internal rants were cut of as a wave a serenity washed over me. I felt her long before I saw her, the soft smell of roses calming my senses as my eyes wondered to find her. She sat near the middle towards the right of the room down on the first level. Her eyes were bright even from here. How a human could stand out in a room full of vampires, I'll never know.
She was a complete enigma to me and yet I felt drawn to her. She was definitely human, but just like before on our first encounter on the roof... I felt an unmistakable pull telling me to look again.
"Is that the girl?" Harold said gaining my attention once more. I had some how stood and walked to the railing without realizing it.
"Who?" I asked looking warily at him.
"The girl who's father wanted the make a treaty of sorts between Vampires and Humans. An absolute ridiculous idea if you ask me! It's the humans who can't seem to keep the peace. I heard her test scores were very high though, so maybe she is here like all the others looking for an advantageous husband." He said with a laugh. I frowned at his degrading words. She was different, no she was here for more than both of those reasons. She had this air of sophisticated grace about her, the kind that was rare among the younger generations.
"Once she chooses a house, we'll know more." I mumbled unable to look away as she laughed at something the halfling said to her.
"She sure is pretty though," he said studying her, "and she's human... Oh what was her name? Erica? Elisa? Els-"
"Evelyn." I cut him off to which he babbled on nonsensically. She glanced up then, as if she heard me say her name. Her doey eyes met mine and kept my gaze with ease. She was strong. That much I know for sure. Whatever her reasons for being here, I wanted to know.