Chapter Twenty-One - Part Two

The face had small, dark green lips, and black eyes without pupils. A small, button nose sat above a friendly smile, and all my surprise was replaced by intrigue as I noticed the jade green fin that lazy slapped at the water.

This was a Mermaid – a real, living Mermaid.

The Mermaid smiled, without showing its teeth, and swam up to the edge of the fountain. It was girl, young, and barely entering puberty it seemed. Her dripping hair was long, and just as green as her skin, trailing into a hidden depth beneath the water.

"Are you... seeing this?" I said, turning backwards to look at Ethan for confirmation. But his reply was wordless, because his tongue didn't seem to work anymore. His jaw moved, but was generally useless as he was frozen by his own surprise.

I turned back to the Mermaid and she looked at me from her black, alien-like eyes, bringing one green hand up from the water as she beckoned me closer to her. And without hesitation, I obliged, meeting her at the fountain's edge.

"I can't believe what I'm looking at is really... real," I said faintly, leaning in just a little closer as the Mermaid's smile widened. And the next second, the thing spit a stream of fountain water into my face, cackling harshly and finally revealing yellow, pointed teeth.

"Well, now I believe it," I muttered, wiping the water from my face, as behind me Ethan cracked up in laughter.

"Ahem. This way, if you'd please..." The butler drawled, standing patiently beside the doorway at the far end of the room. So with sheepish looks, Ethan and I hurried to catch up.

We reached what was clearly to be our destination after that, with the short walk ending in a long, rectangular room of a dreary, brown color. The floor was made of a smooth wood, polished to a high sparkle, but several soft and real bear rugs were scattered for effect. There were several pieces of dark, uncomfortable looking furniture spread throughout the room, including chaises, couches, and love seats – some occupied, others not. And I noticed, with some comfort, that the room was far from crowded. It was filled with maybe twenty or so other people that generated enough buzz to keep the room comfortably humming, while beneath that the smooth tones of Lorde's Royals played in the background. I hadn't noticed, until now, that the music hadn't been audible until we were actually standing inside the room – which then led me to conclude that the walls of Ripley Hall were apparently all sound proof.

"Do you recognize anyone?" I said in a low voice, looking around us for any signs of a familiar face. But all I saw were many pale-faced men and women, dressed to their nines, and all sporting goblets of a questionable, red liquid.

"Nope, I don't," Ethan murmured in reply, standing protectively close at hand. "And I don't know what the other Council members look like, besides the Romaines."

"Thank you, again, for being here by the way," I said, not looking at him, but bumping his elbow slightly with mine. "It means a lot to me."

"I'm your Champion." he said back, quietly, still surveying the party. "It's kind of what I do."

A moment later, the comfortable silence that had fallen between Ethan and myself was effectively broken.

"Naomi Noble. Finally, tonight's most important guest has decided to arrive." A smooth voice was saying, and suddenly Johl Romaine was standing before us – a speeding blur from seemingly nowhere that suddenly turned corporeal. And he was looking suave that night in a dark blue, long sleeved, dress shirt. It was open at the cuffs, and left stylishly untucked from his dark jeans.

"And fashionably late, might I add – I like that. But Naomi, you naughty girl, you've brought along a furry friend. Hmm, I don't remember adding plus-one's to the guest list. Unless, he's here for dinner of course..."

Johl was looking at Ethan with a predator's grin, to which my friend bristled in reply, but ultimately kept his cool.

"Ethan Raines, my Champion." I corrected, speaking up and effectively re-catching Johl's attention with my most gracious smile.

"Wish I could say that it was good to meet you, Ethan." Johl said, throwing him a false smile.

"Same here, friend." Ethan replied, flexing unconsciously. He was at least a head taller than Johl, standing like a bear that towers above its Hunter.

"I hope you're treating our guests with respect, brother," another equable voice was saying, as suddenly an older woman had materialized to the right of Johl. "Especially since we are guests in this house ourselves."

I could only guess that this was Olivia Romaine, speaking in a low, sultry tone that shared the same accent as her younger brother, Johl. She looked to be in her late twenties, and a hair older than her other brother, Tidus. A tall, leggy woman with blonde hair that was dyed brunette underneath, and the same piercing blue eyes as her brothers. The dress she wore was scarlet in color, and of a thin, silk material that accented her pale skin and delicate features.

Olivia held a wine glass of blood in her hand, and rather than introduce herself she merely looked at me and took a small sip, watching me with a shrewd regard.

"My apologies, Olive." Johl said with a dark little smile. "I was just having a wee bit of fun –"

"And your fun is their demise, Johl." Olivia snapped. "Why don't you find Carl and check that the gentlemen are prepared? Millie will be here soon, and you know she's always ravenous after a long flight."

Johl flashed me another, quick smirk and then touched his hand to the side of his brow in mock salute to Ethan, before he did as his sister instructed and final sauntered away.

"I apologize for my brother," Olivia drawled, as she watched Johl leave. "At times he can be a little enthusiastic."

"Sure. If you wanna' call it that," came Ethan's tight reply.

"Oooh, you're fearless for such a young thing," Olivia said, the corner of her lips turning up in a small, sensual smile. "That must be how you charm all the girls."

Ethan blushed furiously and bit his tongue. Meanwhile, I kept quiet and enjoyed simply being out of the spotlight for once.

"Anyhow," said Olivia. "If you two were expecting any other members of the Council to be present tonight, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. But I will speak on behalf of the others, and say that we are very excited to be working with you on a collaborative level. After all, Tidus has had some very interesting news to share with us about your plans for the Leadership, and I'd love to hear more. And who knows, perhaps the Council could be of some service to your tactics in the future."

This time, it was my turn to feel my face grow warm as both Olivia and Ethan stared at me. One was admiring, and the other suspicious.

"Then I'll have to thank your brother," I said, ignoring Ethan's accusatory gaze, and smiling amiably. "Where is, he by the way?" I asked, changing the subject.

During the course of our conversation, I had spotted Claudia at one point, milling somewhere within the crowd. But I remained disappointed in seeing that Tidus was still nowhere to be found.

"Tidus will be late, this evening. I'm afraid his daughter is ill –"

"Daughter?" I found myself repeating the word, hastily, to my own discomfort. But I couldn't stop myself from wondering. The impulsive need to know was overpowering, clouding my judgment. "Tidus has a daughter?"

Olivia scanned me for a quick moment, with eyebrows that were knowingly raised.

"His adoptive daughter, Angel. After Tidus was forced to kill her Maker, he took her under his wing. But recently, she's been... ill."

"Oh," I said, feeling uncharacteristically meek. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be." Olivia said, casually. "Depression. Like Humans, it happens to every Vampire at least once. Angel has finally realized what the term 'forever' truly means, and regrettably, she hasn't taken the news very well. That's the trouble with Humanity – even in death it's awfully hard to survive it."

"Is that why you're drinking right now?" Ethan mused aloud.

"I've got headache," Olivia haughtily lied.

"Olivia," I said, noticing something that was both odd and fascinating at the same time. "I noticed that both you and Johl have accents, but Tidus sounds completely American. Why is that?"

"Several years after our family was turned, Tidus decided to leave from our homeland in Europe and assimilate here, in the west. He lost his accent and adopted an American one. It was his way of blending. My brother, he's always been the creative one in the family."

"Yeah, well, some might say that creative is just another word for liar," Ethan said, effectively ruining the conversation's flow. I gave him a stern look, but this time, it was his turn to ignore me.

But far from how I expected her to react at Ethan's rudeness, Olivia merely laughed instead – a high-pitched, penetrating mirth that was both obnoxious and genuine. There was a sharp clicking sound and the next moment her fangs had extended. She brought a hand up to her mouth and her laughter subsided. And when she lowered her hand, her teeth were normal again.

"Oh dear," she said, raising her drink to her lips as she stared at Ethan, tracing the fingers of her other hand across her neck, seductively. "I hope you can excuse me, I haven't been this attracted to another Supernatural in quite some time – and certainly not a male. Perhaps if you weren't so hairy, or Wolf, I might have been interested in exploring those feelings further... Good evening."

And with a lackadaisical nod in farewell, Olivia walked off, still nursing her glass of blood.

"I can't tell," Ethan said, looking at me with a baffled expression. "Does that mean she likes me?"

"Strangely, yeah, I think that's her way of flirting," I said, craning my neck to see if there were any waiters walking about with their familiar serving trays. But there was not a one, and I realized, disappointedly, that the room was dry as a desert.

"So, Naomi, going back to an earlier subject – what exactly did Olivia mean when she said that she wanted to hear your plans? What exactly do you have planned for the Leadership?"

"Well," I said, choosing my words carefully. "I'll be the Eldress one day, right? And that means there are things that I have to do in order to prepare for that. I want this Pack to succeed just as much as you do, Ethan."

"Really?" he replied in a low voice, looking around us with caution. "Because I have a hard time believing that, based on your actions. And honestly, it sounds to me like you're trying to make some secret deal with the Vampire Council behind your grandfather's back. Mimi, I'm all for getting on good terms with the Vampires, but I'm not sure that's all you're doing anymore. And if you ask me –"

"Yeah, well, I'm not asking you Ethan." I said, feeling instantly angry. "So I would appreciate it if you didn't second-guess me. Because I don't answer to anyone – least of all my Grandfather. And you can quote me on that."

"You know what? I'd really rather not fight with you right now, Naomi. So I think I'm just gonna go work the room, and you know, make some secret deals with the Vampires..." Ethan said coldly, and gave me a last, slighted look before strutting away.

*  *  *

Not long after Ethan walked off, had loud squeals erupted from the door, as a throng of people gathered around a single, hidden figure that had entered the room. I spotted Claudia some distance from myself. She was watching the small crowd too, with a glass of champagne that was dangerously low, and a bored expression on her face. She caught my gaze, and I sent her a small nod in invitation.

"I've been to so many of Johl's parties that I think they've already lost their glitter," Claudia said, after she had approached. It was so odd to see her in a dress, that she appeared almost transformed. Her hair was swept up into an untidy, but elegant bun, with a bobby pins to catch the stray hairs. And her cocktail dress was of a vintage style – a short purple number, with a heart-shaped bust and a thick mustard-colored sash tied in a large bow in the back. Banana yellow, open-toed pumps completed her look. Admittedly I hadn't expected her to look so good in a dress, and suddenly I was jealous. "Good thing they served alcohol, right?"

"Yeah, well, you're lucky because I haven't managed to get my hands on a single glass," I said.

"And you have one of Johl's crazy friends to thank for that." Claudia said, still with the same, world-weary countenance.  "One of them went postal on a server about a half hour ago. Olivia had to pull him off, so the other waiters got scared and left. So there's no one here to serve the wine in the kitchen, and everyone else – except for me – refuses to go get it themselves. But that's Vampires for you."

"Mmm," I said in agreement, realizing that this was the first semi-friendly conversation that Claudia and I had ever had. "Are his parties always this exciting?" I asked, with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

"Usually. But for some reason, I think tonight is more about Johl showing off than entertaining." Claudia said, as we both returned our focus to the throng still gathered by the door.