371 Start of fall
When the day of the soiree arrived, Eve stood in front of the mirror in her room. She wore a wine-red gown that swept the marble floor when she walked. The gown had been sent to her two hours ago by Vincent for her to wear. The translucent sleeves reached up to her wrists, while the back of the dress had a deep back, which touched her lower back.
She had parted her golden blonde hair from the side, twisting and tying it into an elegant hairstyle. She pinned two little flowers on the side of her hair.
“A lot of carriages have lined up in the shed and the guests have entered the mansion. The Moriartys sure are a well known family with the kind of people I see this evening,” Timotei said from the edge of the window, which he had only jumped on a few seconds ago. “Nervous?” He asked Eve.
“A little,” Eve answered truthfully before asking the black cat, “Are the Hookes here?”
The cat raised his black paw and said, “They are missing. Probably coming late so that everyone can see them enter. I used to do that all the time,” his black tail moved in the air.
“Might I say, you are dressed quite right for the occasion. But I doubt it is of your taste.”
“Vincent chose the gown,” Eve murmured, staring into her reflection. She then peeked outside the window and saw two more carriages enter through the mansion’s gates. She wondered what Vincent was up to right now.
“The arrogant pureblooded vampire has taste in clothing. If I were in my vampire form, and not in this cat form, I would have surely accompanied you to this soiree,” Timotei placed his paw on his chest to show how generous he was with his eyes closed. He opened his already narrowed green eyes and said, “Now only if you had turned me to a vampire from this cat form. But that’s fine, who said you couldn’t carry a cat with you as an accessory and mind you, I am more expensive than those diamonds or other jewels.”
Timotei stopped talking when someone knocked on the door, and Eve responded, “Come in.”
It was Alfie, and he informed her, “Ms. Barlow, the soiree is going to begin soon.”
Eve nodded, exhaling air through her lips and said, “I will be right there.”
“Yes, milady,” Alfie bowed and left the place.
Before leaving the room, Eve gently said to Timotei, “I think you would do better in Allie’s hands, than in mine.”
The cat softly growled, remembering Eve’s jealous lover who had thrown him into the bush.
When Eve reached the top of the stairs from the right side, at the same time, Marceline appeared on the left side. The young vampiress wore a green gown that showcased her dainty shoulders, while her gown flowed similarly to Eve’s gown on the floor.
The two women’s eyes met each other, and Marceline’s face soured on noticing Eve’s gown. It was a gown that appeared much better than the one she wore. She had wanted to buy a gown for the soiree, but with her cursed foot, she hadn’t found time to do it.
The guests who stood near the end of the hallways and near the stairs their eyes fell on the two beautiful women at the top of the staircase. One was a woman with her golden hair and red-wine gown who looked enchanting, as if one could only find in their dreams. While the other woman, the vampiress in her dark green gown, looked as if she had stepped out of a painting.
Eve ignored Marceline after their last conversation and started to walk. Marceline didn’t like anyone trying to overtake her, and she quickly started to climb down the stairs, such that the two reached the top of the last and long flight of stairs.
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“Lady Marceline looks as beautiful as ever,” one guest remarked.
“She looks lovely, doesn’t she?” Another guest agreed before getting more interested in Eve as she seemed nothing less than a mystery, “But look at the other woman, who is she?”
“Isn’t that the same lady who had attended the previous night’s ball here?” one of the male guests asked the person next to him. “The one who Vincent Moriarty danced with?”
“Is she the same lady? She looks stunning. I should perhaps ask her for a dance,” one of the men said, ready to grab the opportunity before someone else asked the lady for a dance.
“But Lady Marceline still stands out better, doesn’t she?” someone else said as if subtly questioning which woman was better.
Marceline, who could hear the whisperings, and smiled to herself. Of course, she was better than the lowly human. And as beautiful as the vampiress looked this evening, she felt her foot strike a continuous pain that had started to spread towards her knee. Though she had bandaged her cursed foot, it took great effort to walk gracefully. She put a pleasant smile on her lips as she climbed the stairs.
But Marceline, who was concentrating on garnering compliments from her admirers, had for a moment forgotten about balancing her cursed foot, as she had raised her head too high. It ended up with her foot wobbling along with her body before the vampiress tumbled on the stairs and fell at the end of the stairs near the ground.
Eve gasped, seeing Marceline’s fall as she hadn’t expected it, along with the other guests. The young vampiress felt pain in her back and foot.
“Are you alright, Lady Marceline?” One of the men hurriedly approached her in concern.
A few more gasps and murmurs erupted, “What is that?” pointing at Marceline.
“…is that her shoe?” Questioned one of the women. “Such a big fat foot. Did she always have it?” Marceline’s face turned pale as a ghost, realising her shoes were exposed. One was normal-sized, and the other was large.