Leonard had been talking to one of the Duke of Woville who had traveled down all the way down to meet him as he wanted some information of a case that he had closed a few months ago. He had been talking when from the corner of his eyes he saw Vivian dancing with Jerome Wells at the dance floor. He hadn't given much mind to it but the irritation of another man's hand on his wife didn't exactly sit well with him. When the song had come to an end, another man had gone to his wife right away before she could leave the floor. It was one of the councilmen named, Lancelot Knight whom he had only exchanged greetings but had never worked with him closely.

He would once in a while nod his head, giving his ear to the man next to him while his eyes were angled a few degrees away from the man's face where he could see Vivian.

After his second cousin, Eleanor had stopped her, he had kept a close eye. Excusing himself he walked towards them as they were bringing quite some attention towards them from some of the guests. By the time he had arrived, Eleanor's cheeks were flushed red, her eyes wide where she looked like she wanted to speak something but she never opened her mouth.

Vivian, on the other hand, smiled like a child when Leonard raised his eyebrow in question at why his second cousin looked mad at her.

"Eleanor," he greeted her, breaking her trance of furry which replaced her face back to the sweet demeanor.

"Leo," Vivian who had noticed the subtleness before now could see that the vampiress did hold close affection with him and it wasn't just her demeanor but also her voice and stance that changed in his presence to make it more appealing. She had made herself pretty, waiting to fish for compliments from him but they never came. Instead, Leonard asked for her brother,

"I see Christopher hasn't made his presence this year."

"He is too ashamed to show his face. You did break his fang, Leo, what were you expecting," after what Leonard had heard from Vivian he felt bad for the grown man but he wasn't guilty about it which made the vampiress speak further on, changing her words on his mood, "He did deserve it though. For a young boy to kill a pet lamb," she shook her head making the couple stare at her.

"True. It is always better to nip the bud which is poisonous else it'll grow to only harm the entire plant," Leonard's words which held hidden meaning could be picked only Vivian whereas Eleanor nodded her head in agreement, "I see that you haven't danced yet," this brightened the vampiress' eyes."

"You haven't either," Eleanor responded back, containing her eagerness and expecting him to ask ay moment as it was a common courtesy to ask a lady to dance if she hadn't yet. But even the vampiress who was in love with her second cousin hadn't learned how Leonard was.

"I haven't," he answered with a straight face. Eleanor ready to be asked for the dance, prepared herself when Leonard said, "I hope your special one comes to ask you for the dance," he said indicating that he had overheard the two girls speak to each other back and forth. Offering her a smile, he turned to Vivian, "Would you like to dance, milady?" he raised his hand for Vivian to take in front of everyone.

Earlier when Jerome had asked her for a dance, the man had been quiet not raising his voice but just for them but Leonard was in no way planning to be subtle about it. He had openly asked Vivian for dance such that everyone around them had heard him ask her which included the ones who had been engrossed in their chat.

His eyes were set on her's, the smile that he had given his cousin was not there but there was something in the way he looked at Vivian now, waiting to conquer her. Without a thought, she placed her hand in his which he clasped in his hand firmly.

At that time, everyone and everything began to meltdown in the room and it was as if they were in an empty hall. Just the two of them where the music drifted at a distance. As they took the floor, Leonard placed the other hand of his boldly on her lower back, bringing her close as she stared into his eyes. They hadn't declared their relationship publicly but that didn't mean he couldn't shower the person with his unheld attentions.

It was often for a pureblooded man or a woman to keep a person as a company when taken to a soiree or an event like this. Leonard wanted to cherish his time with her, every second was important when it concerned her and that had enraptured Vivian like a moth to a flame which had voluntarily come to burn in his passionate love.

Vivian had placed her hand not his shoulder but on his chest, a smitten smile on her face which was as radiant as the sun itself. With both their eyes locked they danced to the music in the hall. Vivian loved every second of it, it wasn't because of the setting they were in but because it was Leonard who was with her now.

Until he had caught hold of her hand, she didn't know she had been cold. An emptiness waiting to be filled. It wasn't that she was lonely but Leonard made her happy and content in this life which maybe she wouldn't be able to feel the same if she were with another person.

They both walked the same path, the pain, the love, every emotion sharing with each other, were in someway one was light and the other was dark, complementing each other's personality.

In his arms, Vivian swayed gently, turning and to be being pulled back into his arms. As they danced with each other, many could see the chemistry they shared. It wasn't just because both of them were good looking but that the Duke had not taken a female to the dance floor so willingly before. But who could blame him when his newlywed wife had such an effect on him. For Leonard, it was one of his dream come true where he had now had her for himself. He had loved her for so long and now it was time to cherish her until his last breath.

"Did I forget to tell you that you look beautiful?" he asked her when she came too close to him, her cheeks tinted to a warm color of pink which wasn't noticeable as she was a few inches away from him.

They were supposed to keep it hush but this was nowhere to keeping their feelings disguised. She was sure now that at least half the folks here now had a doubt about something brewing when it had already been brewed. Hiding like this had it's own perks, as it made her feel like they were doing something they were not supposed to do.

Leonard didn't give away a lot of compliments and if he did and speak to her, his words were straightforward and these days it seemed that it was unrefined, attacking her poor heart and body. Leonard's hand felt warm and she clutched on to it tightly.

Elliot who stood somewhere near the wall with a glass in his hand saw the woman whom Alexander had recently picked to take care of one of the towns in Valeria. The woman had a petite figure, her red eyes sharp with a serious expression on her face, she picked the food which was offered.

When their eyes met her face turned sour, by the looks Elliot could tell that if it was possible the blonde woman would have turned around to go in another direction but she had already begun to walk, where she had to cross him.

Putting up a charming smile, he greeted the woman, "Sylvia," and her face slightly crunched when he called her making him amused.

"Ms. Clopton," the blonde woman corrected him.

"We should be on a first-name basis and not the last name. You can call me Elliot or EL," said Elliot, pleased to see that she had stopped walking to talk to him.

"I hear you opposed to me being recruited, Mr. Wells. Were my qualifications not enough? Or was it because I am a female," her eyes looked bored at him, not wanting to heed too much attention to the vampire as his intentions were very confusing since she had first met him.

She had come to hear from another man named Oliver who worked for the Lord stating on how incompetent she was to take the job but when she met him, he had been nice to her.

"You must have heard it wrong," he denied what she heard, his eyes turning small as his smile grew. Men like these were not to be trusted, thought Sylvia to herself. When she placed the plate she had been carrying on the table next to him, she saw him go to take a piece of the meat on it when the fork she had been holding went too close next to his hand to dig into the table. If it weren't for the music in the hall, the little action would have gone noticed by people around them, "So protective," he murmured, his eyes slightly wide at her action for him stealing her food.

"If you need food, get it yourself, Mr Wells," she said, picking the plate and leaving him to stand staring at her with a small smile.

Back in the floor, Vivian and Leonard continued to dance where some of them who hadn't joined the floor yet came to give them company.

"How is Jerome holding up?" Leonard asked Vivian.

"Fine, why do you ask?" she asked with furrowed brows wondering if something had happened to the man.

"Just curious," he answered, twirling her again before she was pulled back to him. As she moved, she saw many familiar faces and she caught sight of Lord Nicholas. When did he arrive? There were Lord Alexander and some of the known councilmen whose faces she remembered. Lady Eleanor hadn't come to the floor and from where she was, she could see the vampiress fume in furry for Leonard not asking her but Vivian for the dance when Vivian had already danced with two other men.

It was when both Leonard and Vivian switched places did she see that Lady Shirley had been asked to dance by one of the men, whom she didn't know. There were a couple of times when caught the young miss staring at her. Once, twice, thrice and she kept looking at her with a concentrated look which made her wonder why she was being glared at. It wasn't that she didn't know as Leonard had embarrassed her in front of everyone when the last time they were at the same soiree but right now felt a little too much.

Vivian usually stayed away from trouble, making sure she didn't wrong anyone and didn't get caught in the crossfire but every time she tried to move away, she had turned a stranger to a foe. When she sighed, Leonard gave her a questioning look which she smiled before shaking her head to let him know it was nothing.

Just as everyone who was having their own joy of time, the lights in the mansion blew out, whispering a blow at every single candle that was lit to turn the entire place dark without light in the hall. The only light that was there were the ones that came from the corridors where the moonlight emitted its light through the windows and the main doors. The music stopped and the murmurs of what just happened filled up the room with a loud chatter after a deadly silence.

A woman out of fright of the dark, cried out which startled some of them. Unable to see in the dark, the folks ended up walking in a direction while bumping into each other such that, while Vivian had let go of her hands on Leonard, a person bumped into her making her lose her balance. With the heels that she wore she was about to fall to the side when one of the guests caught hold of her even in the dark, "Thank you," she said, feeling her heart almost slip out of her chest.

Getting back her balance as she had stepped on to her dress, the person holding her hand when she saw memory which had passed by a few days ago appear in front of her eyes even in the dark. As if she were the person who held the memories, she saw herself and the others in it talking to her in the dead man's land. But that wasn't all. While the person helped her stand, she caught sight of a witch who looked angry and in rage.

Everything happened so fast that by the time Vivian came back to the present, the light was back with the candles which had magically lit themselves up with the music to start and the people to continue after two seconds as if nothing had happened.