"Can I make a few changes to it?" Nadine would say as ladies helped fit her into the ballgown the next morning.
Trent was walking around the pedestal Nadine was on, admiring how the dressed looked on her.
"Well? And it's not like I'm going to make it look bad, but I want to make a few changes. It makes me feel really old."
Trent continued to ignore her, debating he wanted to let Nadine mess around with the dress. It could either look really good or really bad and a centuries old dress would be ruined, possibly bringing the wrath of his mother upon him.
He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Fine." He'd say relentlessly.
Nadine hopped off the pedestal and gave him a kiss and scampered off. "It'll be a great surprise. You'll be blown away with what I can do with things made of fabric."
The weeks leading up to the ball were full of various charity and city events. First Friday was a very popular event for downtown Lakeland, which meant various business and local groups raising awareness for themselves. Trent hadn't ever attended one, because hunters typically roam the event. He stuck to simply donations toward the city event to keep the bank in good standings with the community. Nadine managed to drag him out of the compound to show off one of her favorite events of the city.
"I used to go all the time." The pair walked toward the park.
"I thought you lived in Auburndale?" Trent would question her sarcastically.
"Don't tell me you never ventured to another city for an event? Besides, Auburndale doesn't have this." She'd giggle excitedly as they crossed into the park, it was the first time she had interacted with humans since becoming a vampire.
"Excalibur Bank's owner actually out and about for a change?" Came a voice from a woman who approached the two.
Nadine looked between the woman and Trent, hoping she'd get an introduction of who the woman was.
"Miss Naomi Hoover, it is a pleasure to see you. This is my --" Trent looked to Nadine before cracking a smile and looking back to Naomi. "My girlfriend."
He'd say it with a sense of pride in his words. Naomi would immediately whip out a pen and notepad.
"The city's most eligible bachelor now has a girlfriend? Oh Mr. Jones, please maybe a short statement for the Ledger? Maybe your girlfriend's name?" She would turn her attention to Nadine with an eager smile.
Nadine looked to Trent making sure it'd be safe to use her real name or not and she was granted with an assuring nod from him. "Nadine, um, Nadine Burns. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Naomi began to scribble down quick notes in her notepad before snapping her fingers and a man with a large photography camera would turn to their direction. Trent would wrap his arm around Nadine, pulling her in close for the photo as the flash goes off.
"It's a shame Mr. Jones," Naomi would resume talking. "there are going to be a lot of broken hearts."
Trent would start to lead Nadine away as he makes his response. "Yes, but none of them would ever compare to my little flower." They would keep walking, not giving Naomi any more time to ask any more questions.
It was the night of the ball finally, and Trent paced impatiently waiting for Nadine to be finished getting ready. He was in the attire his mother sent him, along with the claymore, now in a more appropriate side sheath. He continued to pace next to the limo and looked at his watch. The sun hadn't set just yet, but he did want to get to Tampa just after sunset to make a good impression of seeing his mother again.
Marcus was watching the Prince pace back and forth as he lazily leaned against the limo. "Last I checked, she was insisting of not having help to get the dress on. Or what's left of it."
Trent stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Marcus.
"What do you mean, 'what's left of it'!?" He questioned loudly as the door the garage had finally opened.
Marcus turned and darted into the limo to avoid Trent see him burst into laughter. Nadine had walked out of the door with a proud confident smile that stretched from ear to ear. Her hair was put into low braided pig tails, she was wearing a pair of long prosthetic elf ears with a set of ear cuffs dangling off each. Her make-up made her look flawless, had she not covered her face in body glitter. The centuries old dress that was given to her for the event was barely recognizable, let alone looked like a dress. Nadine had deconstructed the entire dress, turning the skirt into a straight skirt with a zigzagged cut hem over skirt. The bodice of the original dress looked like it was cut apart into hundreds of pieces and stitched back together in a low cut corset with wide shoulder straps. Nadine also had a plain white cotton ruffle top to wear under her corset.
She stopped in front of Trent who wasn't sure if he wanted to faint, yell or kill her for her outfit.
"What happened to the dress?" He managed to say. "Do you realized you've destroyed a centuries old dress? I think that dress was well older then me!" He continued to say, his voice beginning to rise.
Nadine turned pale with regret as she listen to Trent scold her. "Wait, so when you said your mother sent this. You didn't mean she just bought it, but that it was one of -her- own dresses?"
Trent let out a sigh as he nodded as he grabbed Nadine's arm to usher her into the limo. "We're late, and I'll deal with..." He looked her over while rubbing the bridge of his nose. "At least take off the ears. This isn't some kind of renaissance festival, this is a formal ball full of vampires of high esteem and importance."
Nadine looked at him without saying another word for half the car ride. She felt bad for what she did to the dress, wishing she could take back the countless hours she spent cutting, ripping, tearing and resewing a whole new outfit that she'd be comfortable in.
"I should of asked you on creative liberties." She said trying to break the silence.
"I assumed when you asked to make 'a few', you knew what the word FEW meant." He shoot a glare at her as he ran through his mind on how to explain to his mother what happened.
Marcus was watching the pair as he helped himself to the liquor cabinet in the limo. "So Trent, what's going to happen when she gets served a glass of blood. I'm sure it's all going to be all quite 'fresh'." He'd say with a smirk as he took a drink from his glass.
Trent would look Nadine square in the eyes with sternness in his tone. "She's going to drink it and hopefully not cause any further embarrassment."
The limo had finally arrived at the convention center just after sunset. Nadine had managed to pry off the elf ears and rub off most of the glitter that she covered her face in. The limo parked and the driver opened the door for everyone to exit. Trent got out first and offered his hand to Nadine to help her out.
"I think I'll just go back to Lakeland." She said hesitantly.
Trent poked his head back inside to see the shame that started to sink in. He climbed back in, taking a seat next to her.
"Look, if I didn't want you to come, I wouldn't of let you come all the way out here dressed like that. -And- my mother wants to meet you, so your coming. Dressed like that or not." He'd take a hold of Nadine's hand and would drag her out if she didn't willingly come. Nadine did let him tug her until she relentlessly climbed out of the limo.
There were two guard looking guys standing at the door of the building dressed in a formal security uniform. Both gave Nadine a confused look for her attire but their attention was quickly drawn away as they noticed Trent's sword.
"Sir, you can't bring that in." One of them would say, holding a hand up to stop Trent.
"You can try to take the sword from him, but I doubt he'll surrender it without a fight." Came an older sounding female voice.
Trent gave the guard a smirk as he turned around to face the female that was standing behind the group. The female was wearing an orange medieval style gown with a light blue center panel that had flowers embroidered on the fabric. The sleeves of the dress ended in a bell sleeve, with the same embroidered light blue fabric sleeve that could be seen underneath. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a braided bun with a pearl encrusted bun cover over it. She was also wearing an intricate gold necklace covered in various shaped rubies.
The woman would embrace Trent in a welcoming hug before looking over him and then turned her attention to Nadine.
"So this is the newborn that..." The woman realized the attire Nadine was dressed in. "Trenton, what on earth is she wearing? I swore I sent one of my dresses." She continued to look over Nadine until a moment of realization clicked. "What did you let her do? Do you have any idea how old that dress was?" She gave Trent an angry glare.
Trent would try to usher his mother into the building so they could continue with their conversation without drawing attention from any of the soon to be arriving guests.
"It's my fault." Nadine would pipe up as Trent would try to open his mouth for an explanation. "I grew up knowing how to sew and wearing costumes. He told me that this event would be similar to the Renaissance Festival and I wanted to feel more comfortable."
The woman gave an annoyed sigh as she moved from Trent and took a soft hold on Nadine's arm. "Then lets fix this mess you are wearing." She looks over to Trent with a scheming yet assuring smile. "I'll just borrow your newborn for a short while. She'll be ready by the time the event truly picks up. I won't harm a single hair on her head, I know how you are about your possessions." She wouldn't wait for Trent's approval as she quickly takes a hold of Nadine's hand and drags her off.
Trent took in a deep breath and tried to remain calm over Nadine being whisked away, again. "I'm not worried about what my mother will do to Nadine. I'm more worried she's going to be offered a glass to drink and Nadine doesn't casually drink it." He'd growl lightly at Marcus as the pair made their way into one of main large rooms of the convention center.
"I'm sure she'll be fine. She's a little slow and has this blissful ignorance going for her. It oddly seems to work in her favor." Marcus would try to say as he grabbed two champagne glasses filled with blood and handed one to Trent, who gave a look that he didn't approve of Marcus' comment but he couldn't help agree with.
"So you are Delilah?" Nadine would ask as her and the woman entered a smaller room that resembled a very large dressing room. It seems as if the woman had been spending all day getting ready for the evening.
"That is -Lady- Delilah, to you young one." Delilah would correct Nadine as she flipped through the few dresses that were hanging on a garment rack. "I always bring a few spare dresses with me, in case one should become dirty." She finally pulls out a gown that was black all around, except for the whole center panel was a blood red color. The transition from the black to red was tied together with a black and silver trim, with a black corset like strings to adjust the top of the dress to it's wearer. The dress had short black and red sleeve puffs with white long sleeves extending from the puffs.
"Take off that...hideous outfit." Delilah ordered sharply to Nadine as she was starting to gather other various items for the dress such as a hoop skirt for underneath and shoes.
Nadine stood awkwardly looking around for some sort of wall or curtain to change behind. Delilah looked up as she pulled out a pair of shoes and noticed Nadine hadn't started changing.
"Don't make me repeat myself again. Take off your clothes, now."
Nadine was nervous on what would happen if the woman needed to repeat herself again and stripped down to her underwear and tried to keep an arm over her breasts as it was very weird being naked in someone else's presence.
Delilah would then began to redress the young girl as quickly as she could, but still taking pride in Nadine's appearance. She pulled out a small makeup box and began to redo Nadine's makeup before sitting the young girl in a chair and started putting her hair into a very intricate and formal looking braided hair design. "There, almost done except for one final thing."
Before she allowed Nadine to sit up from the chair, Delilah draped a silver snake chain necklace that held a large square ruby with diamonds around it onto Nadine's neck. Nadine felt the necklace touch her skin and instantly felt guilty for whatever she was now wearing. Delilah held up a mirror for Nadine to see her new look.
"There, that is much more appropriate to be in my son's presence. And next time I send a dress for you to wear, DO NOT, do whatever it is that you did to the last one. Understood?"
Nadine gave a soft nod and the two of them left the room, making their way to the ballroom.
"Lady Delilah, I don't know how to really dance." Nadine piped up, trying to make some sort of small talk and possibly get on the woman's better side.
Delilah smiled as they entered the doors to the ballroom, which had a handful of guests already inside. "Then I'll show you."
The two women made their way onto the center of the ballroom, Trent had saw the pair arrive and was instantly entranced in both of the women's beauty, but Nadine was clearly his main focus. He would step onto the dance floor, pairing up with a random woman in hopes he can at some point have Nadine in his arms to dance with. As Lady Delilah had stepped into the center of the floor, the musicians that were playing their current song stopped and started at the beginning of a new one.
"Try your best to follow my lead, young one." She gave Nadine a smile as she held Nadine in the manor a man would hold his female partner. As the pair danced to the music, it wasn't as difficult as Nadine had feared and soon the two women switched partners.
The atmosphere was like the fantasy ballroom scene that Nadine had always imagined when she would attend the festivals. And as she danced around to the music, she then found herself paired with Trent. The pair stood what felt like forever to Nadine before they began to resume their dancing, their eyes locked on each other's. "I have a feeling I'll always find myself telling you that you truly never cease to amaze me."
Nadine smiled back at him as they continued to dance around to the rest of the song. When the song ended they did a bow to each other before her and Trent made their way off the dance floor and to where Marcus was standing, keeping an eye out over the crowd.
"Any thoughts on when it's going to start?" Trent would ask as he turns to look for his mother, nervously keeping an eye out for her.
"If you count your mother walking off over there." Marcus would point to the far side of the room, where Delilah was being escorted out by two guards though a small side door.
"Keep Nadine here." Trent would look between Marcus and Nadine before trying to walk through the crowd to get to other side of the room.
He was focused on getting to his destination that he was caught off guard by someone jamming a needle into his back and quickly causing him to black out. Nadine and Marcus both watched Trent hit the floor, which was then followed by the guests parting away from Trent and Delilah then being brought back out in chains. Marcus quickly grabbed a hold of Nadine's arm sensing she moved slightly.
"Stay out of this, you aren't apart of this one." Marcus would warn to Nadine, keeping his grip on her arm.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Came from a man dressed in a plain black clothes. Nothing fancy, but enough to look decently dressed for an ball. "By the orders of Lady Anise, I will be conducting the trial of Lady Delilah Jones. For her crimes that she committed that were truly never brought to light until now. My name is Elder Alexander Tusunde and I will be both the judge and executioner, should Delilah fail to prove innocent for her crimes." Alexander gave a snicker as he watched a pair of guards lift up Trent and chain him as he finally began to regain consciousness.
Nadine continued to pull at Marcus' grip before he finally gave up on trying to hold her down. "Just please don't get involved. Trent's not on trial, he'll be safe after this, so DON'T do something stupid please." Nadine made her way closer so that she could have a better view of what was taking place.
Alexander looked over Trent with a snicker. "Tell me, Prince Jones, when did you find out that you were truly not of noble blood?"
The crowd began to whisper silently at the information.
"Because you know," the man continued. "it's a crime to lie about your bloodline. Only those of -PURE- noble blood could even dream of training to become a Knight." He'd turn around to Delilah. "And you and your husband lied to your King, to everyone, claiming that this boy was of your own." Alexander turned back to Trent and pulled out his sword, holding it for the crowd to see. "This isn't even worthy of being wielded by you."
He turns to Delilah as he throws the sword to the ground, the blade shattering upon impact causing many pieces to slide in various directions on the floor, the hilt with some of the blade had slide close to where Nadine was standing.
"Does anyone speak for this woman and her deceit and lies for her kingdom? For possibly stealing a child from their family so that she can present a son for her husband? For possibly lying to her husband in the first place and claiming the child was her's? Who speaks in defense of this woman?" Alexander would question the crowd, but as he turned to look at the guests, they took steps back away, showing that no one was going to speak up for Delilah. Alexander let out a soft chuckle into Trent's direction before turning back to Delilah. "Well then, looks as no one cares to defend the woman who runs this city on her witty charm and charisma. Shame, I was hoping for at least one person to speak for you."
Nadine had become more and more aggravated at what was taking place and she quickly stepped forward, picking up the broken hilt and charged at the man, jabbing the hilt through the back of the man's neck. The sheer shock of her sudden attack brought the man to his knees, stunning him only slightly.
"THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO! WELCOME TO THE MODERN WORLD! SHE MOST LIKELY HAS HER REASONS WHICH ARE NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" She was so furious that Delilah was being charged centuries later and given a unfair advantage as well it pained her to see Trent be dragged through this as well.
She wasn't really planning for Alexander to stand back up, but he did, and he also pulled out the hilt of the sword from the back of his neck. It was clear he was much older and stronger then her, as he was able to heal the wound enough to continue talking.
"So a feisty newborn is going to speak up? Little girl, I will give you a free pass to crawl back into the crowd now. Your Prince passed his trial, he's apart of the Grand Council, he will make it to see tomorrow." Nadine would turn around for only a moment to find another shard of the broken sword, to which she gripped tightly, turned back around and charged at the man. He was ready for her this time and caught her by her neck, lifting her off the ground. "And the point you fail to see is that I wasn't going to let anyone who spoke in defense of Delilah to live. If none of her supporters are living, then she is automatically guilty."
An idea struck Nadine as she jammed both the sword shard into the man's chest forcing his heart out through his back. It was a shot in the dark as she had remember seeing a show on TV about vampires and ripping out their heart was a way to kill them. It worked to both the shock of her, Alexander, and the rest of the crowd watching the pair. They hit the floor with a large thud and Nadine quickly crawled out of the grip of the dead vampire, as his heart rolled off behind him. Nadine pulled herself up to her feet as she tried not to step on the heart so she wouldn't make any 'EW' reactions. The crowd continued to look at her in shock of her actions.
She looked around before stopped as she was facing Trent. "Did I do a good thing or a bad thing?"
As both Delilah and Trent were being unchained a slow clap came from within the crowd of guests.
"Bravo, newborn." Came from a feminine voice, it was Lady Anise. "You do seem to be as special as Lord Jones makes you out to be. I have a feeling this will be quite the interesting year as we choose the new leaders for the Florida Grand Council." She was now standing face to face with Nadine who was still shaking and trying not to look over what she did with any sort of proud satisfaction. Anise would give a quick kiss to Nadine's forehead before zipping out of the ballroom.