The Festival

[Evelyn Connor]

"Like the roarin' 20's, at least that is what I was told. But yeah, a vampire. I heard that she had a lot of suitors, but there are theories as to why she won't look at any of them though." Eve smiled as she watched Jay started to dance. She enjoyed watching her friend relaxing and not all pented up. She then saw a man come closer to them and hissed to herself as she got closer, her nails showing as then then noticed it was Max. She sighed out and put her hands down.

"You need to be careful, I was going to swipe at you, I though you were that damned wolf.." Eve tisked as she looked away from him. "I mean you are a damned wolf, but at least you are somewhat present." She looked back to see him twirling Jay and couldn't help but let a small smirk come across her face. It quickly faded though when he tried to smile at her. She groaned and shrugged when he asked if he could join them. "You can keep your eye out for your kind for me that way Jay and I can enjoy ourselves." She said as she pulled Jay back to her and smiled at her. "Such a charmer."

[Lynn Von Arx]

"I'm fine, just, it's been a long time since we have had such a huge crowd, I'm not sure what to do." She half-truthed, she was worried about how seeing him in this large crowd is going to affect her best friend, or even if Alavda would still talk to her after this. "I am also worried if he only was trying to entertain me due to my old power, or if he actually liked being around me. Regardless, I should most likely let you be to get ready for your performance, shouldn't I?" She smiled as she stepped away. "I will be in the crowd if you need me, ok?" She smiled as she walked out of the room and sighed. She really hoped she wasn't going to hated as she walked to the dance floor.

[Jaylene Bennet]

"He is!" Jay laughed then said, "He can dance with us. Look at him. He looks so lonely standing way over there," she gestured toward Max who was standing only a foot away. He did not disappoint her. He had the saddest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. She could have sword that a dark rain cloud was forming above his head, "Let him dance with us?" she gave her friend her own version of the puppy eyes. Jaylene knew that if Eve gave him a chance that she would really like him, "please let him?" she said again.

"Please?" Max said, shimmying up to Eve. Jay joined in the shimmying with a whiny "Please?" of her own and soon the two were on either side of Eve, shimmying to their hearts content.

[Evelyn Connor]

Eve sighed and shook her head at Max. "I will only do so, because you asked Jay, but he can dance with you. I don't want to smell like wet dog today." Eve admitted as she let the two of them danced as she kept an eye out for Matthias. She had a feeling he would find them soon, and last thing she wanted was a huge fight on the dance floor, she feels like it would be an even worse school fight. "I hope you two have fun!" She said, not looking at the two.

[Max Landon]

Max playfully barked when Evelyn said she didn't want to smell like wet dog, "Good thing I'm not a dog then, hm?" he grinned wolfishly at her. When she turned away from him and Jay, he took Jay's hand and twirled her and then...skillfully...danced her over to Evelyn. The pretty kitty wasn't going to get away that easily!

"We'd have more fun if you joined us!" he reached his hand out toward her and snickered when Jay did the same.

That's when the music ended. He and Jay turned toward the stage and applauded with the rest of the crowd. His grandmother shuffled back on stage to announce the next singer, "This should be good," he said, turning toward the girls, "I've heard endless things from Belrose about this next gal. From the way he talks, you'd think that she spontaneously produces baskets of puppies from thin air."

His grandmother began the introductions that Max only partially listened to. Yadda yadda yadda...something about opera...something...somethings...made an appearance as a candlelight singer in the 20s, blah blah...

He loved his grandmother, but she could really be long-winded.

Finally she said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a warm hand to Miss Alavda Noir!" his grandma clapped as she walked off the stage to make room for a beautiful, young-looking woman. Max tilted his head and a rather dog-like fashion. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. He grinned over at Evie, turning up the charm, "She's pretty...but she doesn't compare to you." even he inwardly cringed at that. when the music started to play, Max asked her, "Evie...this song sounds nice. Wanna dance?" he held his hands up as if to defend himself from her claws, "Just one dance, and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night. Pretty please?"

[Alavda Noir]

Alavda frowned at her friend. There was a nervous air about her. Alavda opened her mouth to speak to Lynn, to reassure her...or perhaps pry out what was wrong. Before she could utter more than a "Lynn..." her friend had disappeared into the crowd. "I guess I shall have to get it out of her later," she mumbled to herself.

A jolt of nervousness hit her when the sheep shapeshifter started to introduce her. She took a few deep breaths and went to her happy place. It had been too long since she had last performed. A small smile tugged at her lips when she thought of the song she was about to sing. Adriane surely was expecting something classical such as opera or a sweet little ballad. She wondered how shocked he would be at her more playful and perhaps sultry selection. He could not complain. He DID tell her to sing whatever she wanted. He trusted her judgement.

She walked toward the mic, smiling sweetly at the crowd as they clapped for her. She said nothing to the crowd. She simply tilted her head to them in greeting before nodding to the band behind her to start.

[Evelyn Connor]

"I have to keep my eye out, you two have fun." She said without looking at him. She then heard the music stop and Grandma Yarn, as she liked to call her, start to speak about the next performer. She couldn't believe the woman she was just talk to Jay about was already about to perform. She looked over to see her and was in awe at how wonderfully the woman was dressed. When she heard Max state that Alavda had nothing on her, she physically cringed and gave him a nasty look.

Eve looked back up when the song started and smiled at how lovely her voice was and how the music blended so well with it. She then heard Max talking and saw him asking her to dance again and sighed. "Ok, but only because you will leave me alone. Keep your eyes on Jay though, you hear? I don't want that chihuahua to find her while you are distracted." She said, putting her hand out towards him.

[Thomas Steele]

While the first band played, Thomas tried, really tried, to stay in one spot. Instead he paced. Sometimes he found himself about to circle the crowd to head toward the stage area. But he was a man of his word. It pained him, but he would keep it. Blast it all. The anticipation was killing him! Centuries of searching were about to end. His mouth felt dry. Had he remembered to feed? He had fed. He supposed he was feeling nervous. Strange...or maybe not so strange. From what Lynn had told him, he most likely would not get the best reception from his love. But he would get her to believe him...he had to.

By the time the first band was done, he was about to throw away his integrity and go backstage and confront Alavda there and then. He listened impatiently to the old woman as she introduced Alavda. His heart stopped when Alavda walked on the stage. A single light illuminated her figure against the darkness of the stage. Even through all the years he managed to recognize her. He had recently begun to fear that he would miss her simply because he would not recognize her in modern garb. The familiar small smile she gave to the audience would have let him see through any disguise she wore. He would know that smile anywhere. He dug his nails into his palm, a flimsy reminder to not toss the crowd aside to get to her, to hold her to him and never let her out of his sight ever again.

"I never thought that I would ever see that expression on your face, Steele," Belrose mused beside him, "You are normally so composed. I daresay you remind me of a love-sick teenager. It's almost sickening." Thomas managed to not roll his eyes like a teenager at the man's words.

[Max Landon]

Max flashed her a huge, genuine grin. Success! She was touching him in a non-threatening way. Huzzah!

"He's all the way across the crowd, watching us." He pulled her close and whispered to her, "But we won't stray far from Jay. Just in case." He placed his right hand at the small of her back and let her through the music.

His heart pounded. Now that she had agreed to dance with him, he wasn't sure what to say and that was a new thing for him. He always had SOMETHING to say. But he currently found himself too nervous to think. She was actually giving him a change for the small few minutes of a dance though, so he had to say something, anything. He wasn't sure if he'd get another chance like this anytime soon.

Swallowing nervously, he blurted, "Did you know you're the most interesting woman I've ever met?" were his hands shaking? "You know exactly what you want and you stick to your guns. I really admire that you know."

[Alavda Noir]

The song was starting to come to an end. She looked out at the crowd. At the part of the ending here she had to laugh, she about choked on it when she spotted a familiar figure.

Thomas.

She froze on the spot. It couldn't be him. She had not seen him in centuries...not since...since...he'd left her for dead in the woods that day. She felt the backs of her eyes burn with tears that were begging to be shed. She blinked to hold them back. She could not lose her composure on stage. She WOULD NOT lose her composure on stage. Fighting down the panic that was bubbling in her belly, she forced another smile at the audience and gave a deep curtsy. Then she forced herself to slowly exit the stage.

Only when she was completely off stage did she let the panic start to surface. She had to leave...had he found out she lived and wanted to finish the job? Why was he here? She didn't want to find out. He was an old vampire when she had first met him. He had years of experience on her, and he knew how to fight. She was no fighter. She had no chance against him if she had to defend herself. She would apologize to Adrian for not sticking around later...she would send him and Lynn a letter when she was off the island. She spun around to escape the festival while she could.

She spun to make her escape, and froze. Instead of being alone behind the stage platform as she thought, she found herself face-to-face with Thomas.

"Alavda, my love," he said, an odd accent flavored his words, "I have found you at last."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "At last?" she made an unladylike snort, "You've been looking for me?" her fear was starting to turn into anger, "For what? Leaving me for dead wasn't enough? You want to finish the job, is that it?"

[Thomas Steele]

Thomas had seen the exact moment she had saw him. She looked ready to bolt. He knew he had to get to that stage, and fast. As she was making her way off the stage, he used his vampiric speed to get to her before she disappeared on him again, shoving anyone who got in his way out of his path.

When he caught up to her, her back was turned away from him. He could smell her panic and hated that she felt that way because of him. He slowed his pace and approached at a human pace, not wanting to scare her more. This ended up being a vain attempt, for when she spun around, the scent of her fear spiked. Thomas inwardly snarled at the man who had caused her to fear him. When he saw his father next, it would be difficult to not rip his heart out where he stands.

When she asked him if he had come to kill her, he did not hide his horrified expression, "Kill you? Me? Kill YOU?" He took a step closer, "Alavda, I have killed many people, but believe me, I would never harm a hair on your head, much less KILL you." He raked his fingers through his hair, "I heard of what you think happened. That you think that I abandoned you, that I left you weak and helpless against the rising sun, but that was not me. We were both tricked." He let silence fall between them, but when she said nothing, he continued, "I left to handle that affair for my father, and when I came back, you were gone. No note. Nothing. I feared that you had died, Alavda." He realized that he was reaching out to her to touch her face, and stopped himself. He would not touch her right now.

Her eyebrows rose in outrage, “What do you mean I wasn’t there?” she hissed, “I waited for you to come back for me. When you did, you...” his heart broke a little as she choked on her own words, “...you drained me and left me in the woods. I awoke to the rising sun scorching my flesh.” she shoved him, “And you’re telling me that you did not do that? Don’t lie to me, Thomas. I know what happened to me. I was there.”

"And I know what I saw!" he insisted, "I would never hurt you like that. Never. If you don't believe me," he held his hand out to her, "Touch me, and see my past. That is your gift, if I recall correctly. If what you see matches what you saw, I will leave you alone."

[Alavda Noir]

Why she stayed and listened to him, she did not know. Perhaps it is because a small part of her always wondered at what happened. Something had always seemed WRONG. She thought that it was because deep down, she wanted him to be right.

Also, when she looked him in the eye, he looked so...sad? Distraught? She had never seen that expression on his face before. It touched her. So that's why when he held out his hand, she took it after removing her glove.

The beginning of the visions was always disorienting. The world around her darkened. Images sped around her for what seemed like hours before finally stopping. The past was always in black and white. Depending on how young the person was when the memory happened it could be crystal clear, or dreamlike. She had looked into Thomas's past before so she wasn't shocked to see his more...wild days. Still, she tried to focus so that she wouldn't have to see the womanizing and the blinding violence (Those things happening separately, never together). Thomas always had a sadistic streak about him, but there was a time when it was especially bad. Some vampires got that way. She was thankful that he had calmed down considerably. She tried to concentrate on the month that they eloped, and she was suddenly there.

She was standing in a doorway with Thomas. He was about to leave to go take care of something for his father. They spoke quietly to each other so she could not quite hear what was said. She remembered asking him if he had to go now, if it couldn't wait until after the wedding. She bit her lip in remembered frustration when he replied that he had to get it done immediately. The muffled conversation went on for a long time. She knew she was trying to persuade him to ignore his father's order. But his father was the leader of his bloodline, and his request was an emergency and a solution could not wait. They kissed before separating. The memory matched what she knew so far. What followed was definitely different.

She saw him being frustrated that the so-called "emergency" was minor matter that was blown out of proportion. He had solved the matter more...er...forcefully than he would have otherwise done. He was on his way back to where he had left her. He returned to the attendants looking panicked. She had not come to greet him like he had expected. She saw him try to enter, only to be blocked by his underling. She did not have to see Thomas's face to know how well that went. There was an icy silence before Thomas pinned the man to the door by his throat. He snarled at him, "What is it that you are hiding that makes you defy me so?"

Thomas was squeezing the man's throat so hard that he could barely get out, "P-please...she's...gone..."

Then she witnessed the rampage. She watched as he threw the man aside, how he went from room to room, tossing furniture over as if she were hiding from him. She saw the anguish on his face, the fear in his eyes. She felt his pain. Her gift did not allow her to feel his pain, but she felt it. She did not want to see more. She did not NEED to see more. She now knew that what he said was true. She let go of his hand, the real world came rushing back to her in a dizzying flurry. She stared at him for several minutes, saying nothing as her vision became blurred with tears. So many emotions swirled through her. The anger she had felt toward him was gone. She felt relieved that it was not he that had tried to kill her. At the same time, she felt violated, because someone would have had to fiddle with her mind to make her remember something so false. She still felt the fear. But it was not fear of Thomas. Whoever did this might still be out there.

"Why?" she murmered under the tears, "Why would someone put such a cruel memory in my head? Who did this to us?" She swiped at her tears, not caring if it smeared her makeup. She looked up to see that Thomas had come closer as if to hold her. She was glad that he stopped himself. She knew the truth now, but she had spent centuries believing the falsehood. She needed to think.

[Lynn Von Arx]

Lynn walked back over towards Adrian and Thomas, her nerves still high, and they only maintained that height as she saw the anxiousness Thomas had on his face. She looked over in anticipation and fear as she waited for them to announce Alavda, which happened within the next few minutes. She was in awe at how radiant Alavda looked, even in the smallest of light. She also was so bewitched by Alavda's voice, it was was still the same as it had always been, and it brought her so much joy, but maybe not as much joy as it brought Thomas, as he had the same smitten face he use to have back when Lynn and Alvada were young girls.

She then heard the song end and Alavda look over at them. Her heart sank at the look Alavda had on her face, as she knew it would. She was so happy that Alavda remained professional as always, but the panic set in when Thomas saw her look too and took off running. Lynn new she had to follow just to make sure that nothing too bad happened.

Lynn got into the room as Alavda took her glove off, and at that moment, she held her breath. After a few moments, she saw Alavda's eye weld up with tears and shouldn't help but rush over to her. She did stop as she saw Thomas get closer to her, but she wanted to make sure she was within eye sight of Alavda. "Because Felix is an evil man." She admitted, looking up at Thomas. She didn't now what to do right now, but she hoped both of them didn't hate her now.

[Evelyn Connor]

Eve appreciated that Max really was keeping an eye on Matthias for her, it almost made her, consider him a good person. She didn't appreciate, however, the hand on her back, but it was a slow blues song, so she could forgive it as she kept her hand in his and her right hand on his shoulder.

She saw the nervousness in his eyes, and she was not sure if she should smile due to knowing she was the cause of it, or grimace knowing that he was letting her effect him so much. She did however listen to what he had to say, when he finally did. She verbally let out an "ugh..." at the first line and wanted to stop dancing right there, until she heard the second line, and her eyebrows went up. She couldn't help but let a genuine smile come out and she lightly tightened her grip on his shoulder. "Ok, you get brownie points for that one. I'm glad that people notice that." She then heard the music stop and saw the woman on stage look panicked. She followed her gaze and saw a man. She glared as she let Max go and shook her head. "This is why I'm the way I am, men can do nasty things to woman, just look at her..." Eve sighed as she had noticed she had not been paying attention to Matthias or Jay and felt it was best to resume keeping an eye on the both of them.

[Thomas Steele]

Alavda looked so distressed, it took everything in Thomas not to hold her. He was not sure how she would take it. Yes, she knew the truth, but she had just had the wool pulled from her eyes. He would hold back for now.

Lynn answered Alavda's question before he could. He glanced at Lynn with his eyes, "Yes, because my father is a vindictive man who plays with the lives of others to suit his needs." he stepped closer to her and when she didn't retreat from him, he gently took her hand, the one with the glove on, in his. "Have I ever told you of his gift?" she nodded her head, understanding in her eyes, "He used it to warp your memories. I'm not sure how he does it...I know that his power over dreams can be very powerful." he shook his head, "I have my theories on why he targeted you, but he could have done it just for fun," he gritted his teeth, "Whatever the reason, I won't let him hurt you again, Alavda."