Phantom Blood Dio has my heart and forever will 🥰
“Y/n, Kaliah, are you ready?” Elijah entered the room to gather you and Kaliah but stopped in the doorway. His eyes widened at the sight before him, and heat rose to his cheeks, turning his face a deep shade of crimson.
“What the fu-”
“Language! You are playing as a noblewoman, so behave like one!” Kaliah said, pulling the strings on the corset, making you gasp and wince.
“Goddammit!” You exclaimed, wheezing slightly as the breath was torn from your lungs. “You’re crushing my insides!”
“That’s the pain of being a woman!” Kaliah said, pulling the silk gown around you. “Deal with it!”
“I don’t want to be a woman!” You yelled back, huffing as you blew strands of your curled h/c hair away from your face. Kaliah straightened the gown at your hips, making sure the white silk fabric wasn’t bunched up.
The dress wasn’t the fanciest that Kaliah had laid out, and you were perfectly fine with it; you preferred it that way. The gown was long, especially with your height, and pooled at your feet. The top was laced up, slightly left open near your bust, that Kaliah had made sure were on display. The dress hung from your shoulders and had sleeves, which you were thankful to hide your scars with. You expected the dress to be heavy, but was surprised when you moved around, the edges light and flowy. Kaliah had fought with you, but after realizing it was pointless, she didn’t try to put you in a pair of heels again. The tips of your leather boots poked out from under the dress as Kaliah raised it slightly and fixed the hem.
“Your hair will not stay curled like this,” She fussed, twisting some of your hair around her finger to try and bring back the bounciness of it.
“Tch. You should have left it alone,” You grumbled.
“My God,”
Both of you snapped your heads to the door, where Elijah still stood in shock. He eyed you up and down, burning the image of your form into his mind. You glared harshly at him as your cheeks rose up in a blush.
“I would have never thought…” He mused, grinning as he strutted across the room towards you.
“Get your hands off me you want-to-be casanova,” You hissed.
“Oh come on!” He said. “Don’t be so hard to get. I’ve never seen you dolled up like this,”
“And you will forget about it as soon as this is all over with, got it? If I ever hear a word of it from you, I’ll cut your dick off and shove it up your ass,” You warned.
“I’d leave it alone if I were you, Elijah,” Kaliah said, fetching her purse from the vanity. “Now, we must be off. We shouldn’t be late.”
…
“If you don’t stop eyeing me, I’ll gouge your eyes out, Peirce.” You warned, glaring at Elijah in the corner of your eyes as the three of you walked towards the stairs to enter the mansion. You remembered Kaliah’s words and lifted the end of the dress so you didn’t accidentally step on the hem and tear it, or trip.
“Last names now?” He said, grinning down at you. “You sure act like a lady,”
“I’ll show you a lady when I stick my foot up your-”
“Y/n, remember what I told you,” Kaliah warned, glancing back at you. “Best behavior.”
You huffed. “Yes ma’am,” Elijah snickered beside you, and you were quick and subtle to slam your foot down on his making him yelp with pain. You rushed up to Kaliah’s side and shot him a grin over your shoulder.
“Ah! Miss Kaliah!” George greeted, quickly excusing himself from his last conversation, and swept towards the two of you. “And I see you’ve brought guests, how delightful!”
“Yes, yes,” Kaliah laughed. “Go ahead and introduce yourself,” She said turning to you. You felt your stomach drop in anxiety, and you forced a polite smile onto your face, even though you wanted to rip her head from her shoulders. Your hands shook as you balled up the fabric in your fists.
“My name is Y/n,” You said, curtseying to the man the way Kaliah had shown you. “It’s very nice to meet you, sir.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that!” George laughed at the formality. “Come inside. I’ll have the boys show you everything.”
As George beckoned for his sons, Elijah stepped up behind you and you tensed up when you felt his hand briefly touch your back. You shifted uncomfortably, wanting the undo the corset that was strangling you already.
“You called for us, father?” Jonathan said, Dio at his side as they entered your small band of people. Dio flicked his eyes from Elijah, who’d met his gaze immediately, and then to you, where his eyes widened slightly.
“Yes, could you show Kaliah and her guests to the main ballroom?” George asked, smiling at the older woman, then to you, and nodded to Elijah.
“Of course!” Jonathan said, happily offering his arm to the older woman. “This way!”
Dio grinned as he walked to you, silently holding out his hand. You were hesitant, but you slipped your hand into his and soon your arm was linked through his. Elijah walked behind everyone, his hands deep in his pockets as he glared holes in the back of Dio’s head.
“So you can clean up nicely,” He said, looking down at your dress. “Simple, but very nice on you.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment, Brando?” You muttered through clenched teeth.
“It is,” He stated. “Can I not compliment a pretty girl when I see one?”
“You’re worse than Elijah,” You huffed, glaring up at him with fierce e/c eyes.
“I see you brought the mutt with you as well,” Dio mumbled, flicking his eyes back before settling on you once again.
“Yes, well, he’s the main part of today’s order,” You said quietly as walked into the ballroom and your breath caught in your throat. You’d never been in a space that made you feel so small–or so plain. Crystal chandeliers spiraled down from the arching ceiling, illuminating the glimmering golden walls and a checkered floor so polished it looked like an iced-over lake. And it wasn’t just the ballroom that was beautiful; The women sparkled like a box of jewels, shades of emerald and ruby and amethyst swirling around you, their low chatter accompanying gentle wafts of rose and brown sugar. The men were dressed in black and blue suits, dotting around the room like mere ink specks compared to the luscious and brightly colored women. You suddenly felt very out of place.
Dio felt your hand tighten around his arm and glanced down at you. Your eyes were wide, soft hues of yellow light reflecting in your bright colored orbs from the lighting in the room. Dio could obviously tell you were stunned by the beauty in the room and smiled ever so slightly. He caught your attention by nudging you forward, making you snap from your daze-like state.
“Would you like to see more, or will you just stand and gawk?” Dio asked, amber eyes seeming to ignite like a match had been dropped in the firey pools.
“I don’t know,” You mumbled. “I’ve never seen a place so…”
“Rich?” Dio laughed, pulling you further into the room.
“Yeah,” You said breathlessly, gazing around the room. The groups of people started getting thicker as you ventured further into the room, making you shift into Dio’s side to avoid being hit. Dio placed his arm on yours, and at that moment you were thankful for how tall and broad he was as he led you away from the crowd of people, and into a less occupied space. Dio removed his arm from yours and stepped back to look at you.
“No heels?” He questioned, making you kick your dress back over your shoes.
“I wouldn’t let Kaliah put them on me,” You said. “She’s lucky the corset is still on.”
"I don’t understand why you’d wear one,” He hummed, glancing at your waist. “You seem small enough.”
“You get my points,” You huffed. Dio chuckled.
“So what’s your plan, Vex?” Dio asked. You grimaced and scowled at him, making him raise an eyebrow.
“Don’t say that name,” You mumbled.
“Then what name shall I use? It’s impolite to not address a lady properly,” He grinned, knowing he was edging you on.
“Y/n,” You said.
“Y/n,” He repeated as if he were testing it on his tongue. “Lovely name, I’ll admit. Is it your real name?”
You glanced at him before back off to the side, flicking your gaze across the room, arms crossed over your chest. “Yes. But don’t go blabbing it around the whole countryside, either.”
Dio smirked. “It’s safe with me. Now, back to my question earlier. What was your plan, Y/n?” The way he said your name made something inside of you itch, but you couldn’t describe the feeling, so you pushed it aside as him egging you on again.
“Elijah is planting something inside of your father’s office. I have no idea what it’s for, or what it is though. Kaliah just said that I was the distraction for him to slip away,” You explained.
“A distraction? What kind of distraction?” Dio asked. You shrugged and let your arms hang at your sides.
“I’m not sure. The old woman didn’t specify anything. But I do believe she expected it to be with you, seeing how she brought up our connections,” You said.
“Then what do you say we do some distracting?” Dio said, mischief glinting in his amber eyes. You frowned.
“What do you do you mean by that?” You asked as Dio took your hands and his. His eyes seemed to glow with the lighting in the room.
“Do you know how to dance, Y/n?”