All I want for Christmas is a VAMPIRE (Lamenting_Quill and Alexis Sapphire)

[Lamenting_Quill]

What had she been thinking?!

Here she was out in the middle of the Bayou in the middle of December... and lost! Not to mention, what she could see of the sky through the treetops did not look too friendly and she had to admit that the man-made bridge that served as a road through the Bayou made her rather nervous; Made her wonder how often the thing was traveled as opposed to longer safer routes.
She made a promise though, that she would made it to her folks a week before Christmas Eve and spend two whole weeks with them before she had to return to New York. Kiara just could not understand why she had not taken up her father's offer to come pick her up at the airport, she just HAD to do this all herself. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!

The Bayou was steadily getting darker as the winter sun fell deeper beneath the Earth's crust, prompting Kiara to switch on her headlights; Which wasn't too much help as they were becoming caked with mud... wait.... mud?
Kiara looked out her window to see what she was driving on and found the bridge had merged with a dirt road, a very muddy and narrow dirt road. Oh joy...
Wind started to pick up and caused her car to sway back and forth a bit, raindrops began to delicately pelt her windshield; that unfriendly sky had just switched into ugly mode... and mean.
“No... No, the roads are muddy enough” Kiara murmured softly to herself, silently pleading for the raid to stop just long enough to figure out where she was and get to her parents house before this got really bad.

As if the cruel sky could hear her pleas and decided to torture her, the rain began to come down in a downpour and the wind started to sway her car a little bit harder than was comfortable.
Then as if nothing could possibly get any worse, her car came to an immediate stop, no matter how much gas she put into the peddle. The tires spun, but the car made no movement and the storm was starting to get worse and worse. It would be dangerous to remain here, especially if the wind started to cause large branches to fall; She could be crushed inside the car.
“No death trap, thank you” Kiara groaned as she pulled the keys from the ignition and opened her door to step out in the pouring rain, she took off in a sprint to search for any sign of light to indicate a house.
After how far into the Bayou she'd driven with nothing in sight, her families house could not be that far off, she would have to run into it sooner or later... she hoped...

When lightning struck a tree branches a mere couple of feet away from her, Kiara shrieked and bolted off farther into the thick Bayou, the rain on her face becoming mixed with tears.
“Daddy! Where are you?!” Kiara screamed, hoping to God above that her parents might hear her yelling.
When all seemed bleak and she felt like curling up in the mud to be swallowed by the storm, she saw the twinkling of lights in the distance and ran towards them under the impression she had just spotted her parents home.
As she entered the clearing containing the twinkling lights she'd seen, she was shocked to see an enormous four story mansion; It looked rather old, but kept in good shape.
“I am not going to complain!” Kiara exclaimed, she would just ask to use a phone and call her father's cellphone for help.

Kiara bolted up the walkway to the stone steps on the porch, taking them two at a time until she reached the door and began pounding insistently “Help! Please help me! Someone please answer the door! I need help!”
Never again after this was she ever going to make this trip on her own again! She was going to be smart and have her parents come and get her, safe and sound!
Becoming frustrated as the cold rain continued to hammer down upon her, Kiara began pounding once again “This is an emergency! Please help me! Answer the damn door, please!”
She was started to shiver now, her long waist length auburn hair was soaked and cold. Her ivory skin was freezing and her clothing was completely soaked through, even her winter coat was soaked through.
If whomever owned the mansion didn't open up soon, hypothermia would surely be a threat...
She still had such a bright future ahead of her, she was just starting her career as a rising opera star; She was promised an audition for Christine Daae for heavens sake! She would not die here!
Therefore, the pounding of the door resumed.

[Alexis Sapphire]

The house was tidy as always. Footsteps sounded across the marble flooring as Geoffrey moved into the main entrance lobby. It was almost easy to miss the sound of pounding against the door from any other room in the house given the vivid rainfall.

His composure remained the same though his route towards the front hall had been altered in light of the knocking. His mind raced, it didn't happen often at his age, he was rather methodical and always the utter professional. Who could it be?

His master wasn't expecting the Banking associates for another day. It was another day from then that the town council would send a representative to discuss an investment in a new hospital for the community. The house was relatively easygoing from Adrian's perspective but this of course, always rested on Geoffrey's ability to keep on top of things. Geoffrey always dealt with problems before they became problems to be presented to the master of the house.

What had he forgotten?

The bolt of the door would have given a subtle clacking sound as it was unlocked and as stereotypical as ever, with both hands holding each door-knob, Geoffrey gave the doors a casual pull towards himself.

The woman before him was far from expected.

Etiquette required a questioning of the unexpected passer by. Perhaps she wanted directions? Perhaps she really did need to see the master of the house for something. Had she simply forgotten to make an appointment?

His mind gave off the slightest of qualms as he scorned himself internally. How could he do his job right if other elements weren't in place. He couldn't be blamed for someone showing up unannounced and yet, it just looked bad on him. Unprepared... unprofessional.

His opening of the door was immediately pursued by a step to the right, he did not turn his back to the soaking woman, but the gesture was clear, whatever questions needed answering... could be answered without the interrupting screeching of violent winds.

"Good evening, madam?"

It was an oddity. If he had been expecting her, or had the slightest clue of who had been at the door, he could have given the exact same line with a more confident and welcoming tone. He would have some kind of confirmation as to who he had forgotten about scheduling or would at the very least recognize the individual and know enough to inform them that they had arrived shorter than expected.

This was in no means applicable to any of the above cases. As though proper etiquette were a set feature of his existence, Geoffrey's right arm curled before him resting against his stomach while his left arm gestured forward rather conservatively addressing the woman's soaked winter coat.

"Uh-... may I?" the question was always asked for first-time arrivals and even long after depending on the style of guest. He had no way of knowing what this woman was accustomed to or what her business was here, but maybe Adrian had not made him aware of an expected guest?

Any indication of approval or consent and Geoffrey's white gloved hands would extend to take the soaked outer coat. No doubt it wouldn't be comfortable and quite honestly, it would only trudge more water through the house no matter where she went.



(I hope it's okay to RP with staff as well as Adrian? It adds to the dimension of the Mansion.)

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara hustled inside the house the moment the butler looking man stepped aside, she turned around to face him when he indicated towards her soaked coat. She looked a little uncomfortable when she thought about the soaked blouse beneath “Um, perhaps there might be a fireplace or somewhere I can dry off? I am... um... rather soaked... completely, everything is drenched”
She was really hoping he would catch what she was trying to tell him so he didn't get an eyefull of her chest through the soaked material of her blouse, modesty was something that she was rather attached to in the career she was heading towards. Her private business was simply that, hers.

She shook her head as her frazzled mind came back down to earth “Actually, if I could just use a phone or some way of communication, I need to call my parents. They are expecting me and they must be worried with how late I am and then this storm popping up”
As he contiuned to stare at her, Kiara gathered the butler was waiting for some form introduction to explain whom she was and why she was here. Obviously the storm and her soaked state wasn't enough.
“My name is Kiara James, you might have heard of me, I am a rising opera soprano in New York. I was on my way to visit my parents for Christmas and then my car got stuck in the mud when the rain started to pour the way it is. I was frightened by falling trees and sought shelter, then I found this house. Please, can you help me? I would be so grateful for the assistance... Um, is your employer in residence? I really am in a bad predicament”

The feisty auburn haired beauty was seriously too stressed and freezing to deal with this, she wanted to get warm and then get in contact with her father. She needed one of her mother's hugs and a large mug of delicious hot cocoa.
“Hello?! Is the master of the house home?!” Kiara called out, walking a few steps more into the foyer “Please, I really need help!”
She turned her robins egg blue eyes back upon the seemingly mortified butler “Is your master or mistress home? I desperately need help, I have no idea where I am or how far exactly I am from my parents residence. Not to mention, I am soaked and if I do not dry off soon, I could contract Pneumonia”

[Alexis Sapphire]

The moment was truly more dramatic than anything Geoffrey had witnessed in awhile. She wasn't only soaked and bitter... but this woman was possibly even desperately mortified.

"Madam please..." His extended hand retracted from the offer to take her coat. Instead it redirected it's poise to the the room on his right.

"If you'd like to wait by the fire place I'm sure the Master will be with you momentarily."

It was really the only other thing he could offer, soaked or not, there were general laws of human decency and turning away someone in her current mindset, under the horrid conditions outside... well, it just wouldn't be proper.

His intonation while directing her seemed to carry emphasis, as though his accent might come across as demeaning or inconsiderate. The emphasis of his wording was the only hint available that he was thoroughly concerned for her well being...

... while she was under his watch for the moment. After all, it wouldn't do to explain to Adrian that a woman passed out from cold shock on his marble floor.

The next room, given the time of night flickered indicating that the fire-place couldn't be missed easily if she simply moved towards the fluctuating light.

"I will bring you a phone..." He volunteered further as he made his way timidly towards the opposite door leading into a main foyer of the mansion's entrance. This Foyer of course lead to a series of other halls which gave access to the entire floor.

His poised stance barely changed as his form disappeared. The perfectly timed pace of his barely scuffled pitch black shoes left a trail of taps as he disappeared back into the house to find Adrian and a phone.

But where was Adrian?

Adrian sat at the dinning hall, placed before him nearly 20 minutes ago had been a beautifully put-together pot-au-feu. It was Bertrand's regular preference without a doubt. Near-empty, the plate streaked of thin lines of floating gravy near the edges. The remnants of vegetable and rarely darkened crusts of meat were barely seen on the plate but it only went to show that Adrian was either a hungry individual, or Bertrand was exceptional at his job as the Mansion chef. Neither would accept any less of course, so best not to ask them which was accurate.


Footsteps were the most common sound in the house if you were to ask any typical worker. The place was rather large and with only a few rooms having carpet, the main travelled areas of the mansion were marble flooring and gave more than sufficient notice when someone was approaching from an adjacent room or hall.

These particular footsteps belonged to Melanie, one of 3 staffed maids. Melanie was the youngest and generally the outspoken one. As she made her way to the central table piece, she bowed her head slightly as the large plate had the bowl already placed atop it, then the cutlery stationed inside the bowl. It was ready to be picked up and taken to the kitchen for cleaning. Anytime a master or guest did anything more than walk away from the table leaving the dishes scattered, it was common courtesy to acknowledge their 'polite help' in making the maid's job easier.

This tendency didn't really cross-over into waitresses per say given public environments but in a privately owned facility such as this. You really bowed in acknowledgement of anything that the master or guest may have done to make your job easier.

"I take it supper was satisfactory tonight sir?" Melanie's voice gave off a funny casual feel as she struggled at times to be as 'outwardly professional' as the other two maids but that was part of her charm.

"As it always is..." Adrian's tone was very 'American' by comparison to Geoffrey, Bertrand, Melanie and really, any of the other staff save one other who was also American-born.

"If you see Bertrand before I do, tell him his beef stew was exceptional."

There was always a running joke between Bertrand and Adrian. If you had to be more technical, it went 3-way between the British-born Geoffrey, Adrian, and Bertrand. Cuisine was Bertrand's art. His hobby, his dream and his skill. The kitchen was his playground and one of his minor pet peeves was when his articulately titled dishes were given less-than-flattering American terms.

"You mean his... 'Pot-Au-Feu' right sir?" Melanie let her lips curl inwards between her teeth stiffling some kind of laugh.

"Oh-..." Adrian stood from his seat and let his hands rise in front of him, his head tilting in a motion of gratitude as though thankfully acknowledging a woman for a dance at a ball or congratulating them for something outstanding. Generally this motion was also seen when conceding that they had been caught in a wrong remark or technical term and were surrendering the debate and victory to the opponent.

The action consisted of a mild tilt of the head and an open-handed gesture that simply said: 'Of course. You're right.'

"Of course-... his Pot-Au-Feu was exceptional."

This was received by a mirrored nod and a small rolling of Melanie's eyes. There were far worse people to work for than Adrian and as she turned, her footsteps lead her to the kitchen where she would undoubtedly spend time talking to Bertrand for however long she could before some form of work around the house appeared.

Adrian however made his way out the opposite side of the kitchen. He would have a little work left to finish tonight and shortly thereafter, he'd likely spend some time improvising on his piano. There was an aspect to musicality in Adrian's life that just seemed to ...

Then more footsteps.

"Sir."

"Sir-!"

The enhanced tone gave an indication that he had been likely uttering this single syllable for at least a couple of minutes. Likely casual and quiet at first, moving from room to room, then by now building in volume as though to gage some sort of response.

Adrian's voice responded finally as he turned towards the opposite door just in time to see Geoffrey enter with a phone in hand.

Adrian's head tilted to the side.

"They could have called back you know." He stepped casually towards Geoffrey with his arm outreached to take the phone. Only, Geoffrey stopped in the doorway.

"Uh... Kiara James to see you sir."

Adrian's lips rested together in thought. The name sounded familiar somehow but at the moment he couldn't place it.

"Here? Now?" He posed the question making his way along the hall as Geoffrey moved to step in stride just behind him. The voicing of his one-word questions indicated a lack of judgment in this woman who would be out and about in weather like this... especially at this time of night.

The hall the 2 men took brought them to the main lobby which was adjacent to the fireplace where Kiara had been directed.

As they walked, Geoffrey filled Adrian in briefly on what Kiara had told him. The phone made more sense after that.

The swift disappearance of both men had caught Melanie's attention back in the kitchen, but it wasn't really enough to cause her to go snooping around after them.

Entering the doorway of the living room, Adrian couldn't help but feel a slight sense of anticipation... putting a face to this name that struck him as so familiar. It was pure coincidence that his response to Geoffrey's announcement didn't give off a hint that he couldn't quite place a finger on exactly where he had seen the name.

Had he answered openly with: 'Kiara... where have I heard that before?' Geoffrey would have filled in the gap, but the "Here? Now?" Answer he gave was interpreted by Geoffrey to mean that Adrian already knew who she was.

Mild mis-steps in such assumptions were not rare in this household.

Entering the door-way, Adrian's eyes fixed on figure in the room. There was very little he could say other than introduce himself. From Geoffrey's explanation, she had been rather panicky but she may have had time to calm down by the fire-place... who knew?

"I'm Adrian." He volunteered glancing around the room, then back towards her.

Glancing around the room brought his vision to the window in passing, which was constantly being hammered by wind-tossed rain and this only increased his urge to question what she would be doing travelling in this condition. From what his butler had told him, it was all rather harmless but still...

"May I ask... how far back you abandoned your car?" he asked as Geoffrey continued to move towards her with the phone outstretched in his hand.

That little bit of information hadn't been provided to him yet.

[Lamenting_Quill]

As he entered the living room, Kiara's breath stopped momentarily in her throat. With slow graceful strides was coming by far the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, even at all the parties she'd attended with her agent, there had never been a man that looked like this one.
He was like one of the Grecian statues she saw in all the fancy houses of the societies elite, he was a golden adonis and she was terrified right now of the possibility that there could be drool on her chin.
The warmth of the vibrantly flickering fire had so far halfway dried her blouse after she'd removed her jacket, she of course waited for the butler to leave before she removed her coat; Though the coiling warmth beginning in her stomach was much hotter, something never before had the New York beauty ever experienced before.
“I... My car” Kiara began somewhat shyly before she realized she was acting like a lovesick teenager, she quickly gathered her wits “I do not know, I fled quite a ways from the storm. Large branches were falling left and right, I feared I'd be crushed if I stayed in the car. Besides, out here... who would come to my aid? No one even knew I was out here”

Kiara mentally kicked herself for telling him that, a young woman should never reveal to a stranger that no one where they where “I do fear it is a long ways back, doesn't help that I drove quite a ways in anyway. Can you help me? If I could just use a phone, that would be fantastic”
If the lines were even working at the present time due to the angry storm raging outside, she hoped she wouldn't be kicked out onto her keester back into that mess.
She was fighting hard not to gaze into his eyes right though, they were so beautiful and clear that she feared that she might stare at him too long and drool.
“You uh... have a lovely home, by the way” Kiara murmured softly, not quite sure what else to say.



(Sorry it's so short, a rare thing with me. I promise)

[Alexis Sapphire]

(The post was exceptional. While I promise never to give 2-3 line responses, I know that there are times when less is more. It's nothing against the writer, it's just the scenario. That was perfectly written. Not that I'm an expert... :-P)

Adrian listened as Kiara explained her predicament. Alone? Out this far? Where exactly did her parents live? The nearest town that he could think of was a good hour's horse-ride away. That was just from this residence... for her to be in this area she had to be on quite the committed path.

"Well of course, the phone is-..." he began as he extended his arm passing her the wireless device.

He had been so wrapped up in trying to picture what work he would have seen of hers, that he hadn't noticed Geoffrey's silent departure from the room. The phone in his hand had for the instant, left his mind. He might as well have been carrying a rolled up newspaper.

"... If you have someone you can call, you should probably let them know you're okay."

His eyes watched as the flickering light illuminated her form sporadically. The fluttering flames gave off a modest fluctuating light show on everything within the vicinity of the fireplace.

Being as soaked as she was, it was that much more difficult to picture her in a production and as such, Adrian found himself racking his brain for what work he would recognize her from.

"Dangerous thing you know..." He had decided to tag on an after-thought to his recommendation that she get in touch with someone.

"... being out so far, with no one expecting you back anytime."


There was too much of a casual projection to decide whether or not he was being sarcastically humorous or correspondingly dark.

"... You never know when you might really need someone wondering... exactly... where you are."

His sentence trailed off with a bit of a shrug that gave the finishing touch of a light-hearted warning mixed with everything but a wink. However eerily prophetic or foreshadowing it may be, the casual tone in its presentation would be so easily accepted as a poster-style slogan.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Ooooooookay then...
Kiara found herself thinking after his rather eerie comments, she brushed it off though and she stepped forward to reach for the phone he held in his masculine but graceful looking hand "May I?"
After the phone had been surrendered into her hand, Kiara turned from him after favoring him with a kind smile. She quickly dialed her father's number and waited for the ringing to begin, however her heart sank when she received instead the obnoxious buzzing sound indicating the line she was trying to reach was down.

"Oh crap" Kiara sighed, bringing the phone away from her ear "Their phone line is down, what in the world am I going to do now?"
She turned around the find the handsome Adrian still watching her with that mysterious stare he had, as if he was trying to peer right into your very soul; it was both sexy and incredibly creepy all at the same time. Kiara was for certain unsure what to make of him, she suspected he liked it that way too.
"I have no idea what to do now... Maybe I could wait the storm out here? I can repayment after I have reached my parents residence, they retired out here to the Bayoul; They had enough of society I suppose"

As she awaited his response, she took the time to study him better now that she'd gotten past the drooling stage. He was dressed very high class, his clothing alone probably cost more than her car and judging by the way he spoke and carried himself, he had confidence to match it all. Proud and sensual.
She would definitely watch herself, most men that were as gorgeous as he was were bound to be womanizing players. Though she would not sell him as such right off the bat, especially if he helped her out.
His hair definitely did look extra soft though, she wanted so badly to just reach out and stroke it, perhaps even rub some of the silken strands between her fingers.

She was positive now... men that looked like Adrian... this had to be against some sort of cosmic law.
'Well, Kiara ole girl' she told herself mentally 'The worst that could happen is you sleep with the gorgeous hunk and go home with a great big grin'
She smirked a little inside her head before she scolded herself for such thoughts and banished the idea of any such thing happening.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's eyebrow lifted the moment Kiara's eyes dropped to the phone in frustration of the dead dial tone. He could sympathize with any fear she might have for the safety of her family, but truth be told, he was not disappointed in her inability to leave right away.

Something about her demeanour stroked his curiosity. It was not so much in her 'begging' for a place to stay as he might have expected, but there was a refined pride in her expression. She must have known he was far from in need of any kind of revenue for the time being, but the immediate offer that he would be compensated when she reached her family? It was amusing.

So amusing in fact, it brought a chuckle to the immortal's lips. His head tilted forward as though absorbing her offer. Just the way someone begging for a place to stay could humble a host and cause them to feel awkwardly tyrannical, this proposed exchange demonstrated that Kiara had a stunning level of self sufficiency about her.

She very likely was the type who could talk her way into almost anything she'd want. Immediately after his chuckle, Adrian found himself glancing to the right, then the left...

"Well... if this place is suitable enough for you, you're more than welcome to wait out the storm here."

He had to smirk at his own instinctive response. Had she fallen on her knees and begged for the chance to stay, he'd immediately call her back to her feet ensuring her that there was no need to carry on in such a manner. There would be the 'insistence' in fact that she 'would' stay so that he could avoid the awkward nature of seeing someone so desperate for something he had such access to.

As it turned out, her confident proposal of terms resulted in him taking a reactive stance, acknowledging his place as an option to her rather than some great gift. It was amazing how the one event of having her stay over could unfold in two very different ways. It was the difference between having to offer it, and having it requested of him.

It was a subtle difference... but life was full of these subtle differences.

"It's actually not used as often as it should be..." He turned the topic of discussion away from her need for a place to stay immediately. It was the instinctive thing to do and only seemed right. There was absolutely no class in lording her unfortunate circumstance over her.

"You must be dying to get out of those clothes..." He again, maintained such a casual nature of conversation that while he might catch his own little puns, only people he worked often with, such as Geoffrey or other vampires he'd see would call him on them.

"There's a bath upstairs... and a closet that could use some raiding... if you'd care for something to eat, Bertrand is in the kitchen."

Kiara didn't have to know that supper was already finished. Having a cook on staff 24 hours a day didn't really mean much if not for circumstances like this after all.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara couldn't help but smile with relief and sheer gratitude “I cannot even sum it into words how grateful I am for your kind and generous hospitality. I don't know what I would have done without your kindness, thank you. So much”
Sensing a presence beside her, Kiara turned to her left to see a youthful looking maid baring a pleasant expression. She wasn't sure if it was genuine or simply for the sake of her job, but Kiara felt compelled to smile back warmly.
“I can take you upstairs now, Miss James, if you would like to freshen up before supper is on the table” The maid chirped merrily and then added with a whisper “Big fan of yours, I am rooting for you to get the part of Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera”

Kiara blushed and smiled “Oh, thank you so much, that means a lot to me... and yes please, I'd love to freshen up before supper. Thank you”
“My name is Molly, please come this way” The maid replied with a beaming grin.
Kiara nodded eagerly and followed the maid out of the parlor into the hallway, guiding her towards the staircase.
“This is such a beautiful residence, how long has your employer had it? Is it an ancestral home?” Kiara asked curiously, her robins egg blue eyes taking in the elegant surroundings as Molly led her into a luxurious corridor baring several elegantly carved cherry wood doors.
Molly turned her head back with almost a worried expression before she quickly covered it up “Ancestral, Master Adrian inherited the estate from his late father”

Molly stopped in front of one of the many cherry wood doors “The rose room is clean and prepared for guests, you should be very comfortable here. Come down to the parlor where we met in say.... an hour? I will escort you to the dining room”
“Thank you very much” Kiara replied sincerely, giving Molly a warm smile before the maid turned to be on her way.
“Well, here we go” Kiara sighed to herself as she grasped the door knob and turned, pushing it open to reveal an elegantly feminine room in a few different lovely hues of a rosy pink. She couldn't help but smile, it was definitely a comfortable place to wait out the storm.
Shutting the door behind her, Kiara moved towards the wardrobe by the wall beside a large French window. She grasped the handles of the wardrobe doors and found herself smiling at the variety of female attire in available to her, most of it being in her size. What luck.
Choosing a sheer cream colored blouse and a pale rose colored knee length skirt with modest ruffling along the hem, Kiara headed toward the other door she guessed was the bathroom to grab a hot refreshing shower before she went downstairs to the parlor to wait for Molly.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Stepped carefully out of the shower, Kiara grabbed a fluffy white towel from the rack and wrapped around her exquisitely curved form. She couldn't help but sigh happily as she reached for another towel, wrapping it around her wet and refreshingly clean auburn hair.
“Clean never felt so good” Kiara murmured to herself as she entered into her bedroom where the attire she chose was laid out carefully on the rose colored comforter.
Drying herself off and using the towel on her head to rub the moisture from her hair, Kiara dressed and moved to the vanity beside the bed where a silver brush set lay waiting for a female guest to use them.
Sitting down in the French style chair, Kiara picked up the silver hair brush and ran it through her long hip length auburn waves until her hair was completely dry and shiney. She nodded in approval at her reflection before she stood and departed the bedroom to make her way back the parlor to find Molly.

Entering the parlor, Kiara found Molly waiting for her. The woman looked surprised and excited when she saw Kiara enter “Wow, it really is you. You're as beautiful in person as you are on stage, you were fantastic in Faust”
Kiara blushed deeply and chuckled shyly “Thank you, you are very kind. Umm, dinner?”
“Yes, of course!” Molly replied, guiding Kiara out of the parlor and down the hall until she led her into an opened door leading into the dining room.
The room was elegant and tasteful, cream and sky blue in color scheme with a modest crystal chandelier hanging above the table.
She gave down then at the table a bit reluctantly, knowing whom she would find already sitting there, Adrian. It wasn't that she didn't like him, he just made her feel unprepared; She wasn't accustomed to men that looked the way Adrian did, drop dead gorgeous. He made her feel like blushing almost constantly, Kiara was not used to that.
“Thank you again, for everything” Kiara murmured politely as she took a seat across from him.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrians eyes followed the women as they disappeared towards their next destination. His thoughts were quiet, the thudding of rainfall and the crackling of the fireplace giving sound to the otherwise quiet room. Then... a third sound presented itself:

"So I take it Ms. James will be staying in the rose room this evening sir?"

Geoffrey's accent was never a negative silence breaker. He was constantly prominent in appearance and presentation. He spoke clearly and as such, was one of the most distinct senior members of staff.

"I guess she will." Adrian's answer was more reflective as though he had just been drawn into an agreement and yet wasn't quite sure how it happened. His face remained partially posed in the direction of Kiara's disappearance over the stairs. His attention then turned back to his butler.

"-... Have Bertrand keep the kitchen open. If she'll have something to eat, we'll have something to offer."

Geoffrey's eyes blinked into an extended grimace.

"I'm sure he'll be delighted to receive the news..." he joked without a laugh, without a break in tone, without a stutter in his wording. It was the mannerly employment of sarcasm that made up 90% of Geoffrey's humour. He consistently mocked the stereotypical excesses of British Butler expertise despite constantly fulfilling their demands to utmost perfection.

"I'm sure he'll understand the special circumstance..." Adrian volunteered as he turned and began to walk out the room. Geoffrey made his way towards the opposing doorway headed towards the kitchen having the last word of the current discussion.

"Indeed sir. Being French, I'm sure he'll appreciate any circumstance that includes the need for fine food... and beautiful women."

The relationship between Adrian and Geoffrey allowed Geoffrey to leave that final note with a satisfactory smile, and Adrian to have shut his eyes nodding in concession that his butler may have been teasing him in the manner of a younger student teasing his friend for potentially having a crush on the 'new girl'.

Whether it was true or not, it didn't matter. A new girl arrived in class, if you so much as spoke a word to her or gave her the time of day, it would always be joked around that you had a crush on her.

Ah Geoffrey-... technically, he was still less than half Adrian's age but for reasons of appearance and overall demure, had somehow embedded himself as a wisdom figure in Adrian's life. It was rare how some humans could be so expendable... and others so priceless.

Adrian made his way towards the dining hall again. Melanie had moved to purpose... rather quickly considering how the table was prepared again. One could have sworn it was no later than 8:00 pm.

Taking his seat, Adrian let his elbows rest on the edge of the table, interlocking his fingers and resting his chin above them in thought. His attention was quickly taken by the appearance of this evenings special guest. Her attire was masterfully selected and altogether breathtaking as she entered the hall.

Adrian's palms unclasped, dropping to his sides and firmly pressed against the arms of his chair lifting him into a standing posture. His head tilted in acknowledgment, waiting (as was expected) for Kiara to take a seat herself.

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine." He responded as he sat back down.

"I must admit, I've been wracking my brain for work I would recognize you in. I can only come to the conclusion that I don't enjoy nearly as much opera as I should be."

His head turned in the direction of the nearest kitchen exit.

"Molly is actually the resident Opera connoisseur if you would. Personally, my Opera knowledge ends with the Phantom of the Opera story. "

[Lamenting_Quill]

The way Adrian's eyes watched her as she entered the dining room made her blood boil in a way that made her want to squirm. Her stomach was filled with a sort of heat she was formerly unfamiliar with, was this desire?

"I must admit, I've been wracking my brain for work I would recognize you in. I can only come to the conclusion that I don't enjoy nearly as much opera as I should be."

His head turned in the direction of the nearest kitchen exit.

"Molly is actually the resident Opera connoisseur if you would."

Kiara blushed a little smiled and sweetly at her host as she brushed off her thoughts for the time being “I'm fairly new in the opera world, I recently just finished a production of Faust. I am auditioning for Christine Daae in the newest production of The Phantom of the Opera, that role if I get it will be a dream come true”

Molly smiled and blushed “Well, Sir, Miss James, I should get back to my chores. Miss James, I shall leave you to it, have Geoffrey fetch me if anything if you require anything”
Kiara had wanted to let Molly know she could call her by her given name, but the young maid had already bustled out of the room to return to her duties.
“I like her” Kiara said with a warm smile to Adrian “She's pleasant and kind, she definitely seems to enjoy her work. That's good a thing to have”
'Good lord, is this man photo-shopped or something?' Kiara thought to herself as she gave Adrian a good look over 'He's every girl's dream, there has got to be at least one scary skeleton in this hottie's closet, no one is this perfect'

“So, um, Adrian” Kiara said, reaching for conversation until dinner arrived “You know about me, what about you? What do you do? Anything special or unique?”
She could easily see this man as the reigning king of all GQ models or some sexy corporate company hot shot, but then that would completely conflict with the location of his home; The Bayou was an odd choice for a model or a corporate big shot. There was a lot of mystery surrounding this handsome guy and Kiara was very intrigued, she wanted to know more.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian could only nod in agreement as Kiara spoke favourably of Molly. Each of his house staff had their own perks and nuances. It always looked good for an employer when his employees stood out from the norm... or at the very least, maintained it.

Before he knew it, Kiara had made him the topic of conversation. It wasn't new to him, but it always seemed to activate a system of behaviour from him. One of Adrian's finest characteristics, if you were to ask him... was that he tried never to lie.

The problem with 'lying' was that it always came back to bite you if you lived long enough. Adrian was bound to live long enough. This isn't to say Adrian was always honest. To the contrary, Adrian enjoyed treating people like pieces in a game; elements to be manipulated in a great scheme of 'life'.

Rather than lie outright, Adrian constantly manipulated his wording in order to misdirect, distort, or fabricate a story. He could even be so bold as to refuse to give an answer when knowing the truthful answer would provide consequence.

Being a vampire, Adrian was often masterful at evading condemning evidence and though hundreds through his life had come and gone... accusing him of such things, they could never really put their finger on it or acquire any type of evidence.

"Well, There isn't much to say really..." His fingers mingled into a prayer-like posture as his elbows found the edge of the table before him once more. His thumbs remained extended however, stretching the small crease of skin at the base of either thumb.

"I was born into a very business-oriented family. Unlike most prominent business families, we've always been... 'capital' based."

He allowed his thumb-tips to begin dabbing together just in front of his chin. His fingers remained intermingled.

"That is to say... some families you can associate with their businesses immediately. Bill Gates... you would associate the man with Microsoft. Jim, Christy, Alice and Robson Walton... you might associate them with the famous retail brand 'Wal-Mart'. Michael Dell... his family communications company."

His thumbs outstretched again and his elbows spread along the table edge so that his arms were resting comfortably in a vertical manner.

"All these families are familiar for segments of the business world that they specialize in. My family has been more-..." He paused with a moment of modest hesitation.

"-... More 'lucky' than good. We've accumulated some great wealth through real estate and since then, gone into private investments. We back others with their ventures. Those who have the dream, the will to work, but lack the money. We have the money..."

And a chuckle escaped his lips as the light-hearted tone of conversation became evident with a joke.

"-... We just lack the dream and the will to... you know, do the work."

His chuckle eroded as his eyes moved from hers back to the table. His hands separated and one hand tilted forward expressively.

"It just so happens, sometimes being lucky gives the opportunity to try being good. A few great deals that might have cost us modest money, but hit big now earn us huge amounts of money. You could say we became very wealthy by making others partially wealthy."

His eyes darted around the dinning hall as though the room they now sat in proved his point more than his words ever could.

"And when you have the money, it's just a matter of educating yourself. You find hobbies, you find things that interest you... you then become a 'natural' investor. When you're interested in something, it's not a chore to learn about it and master it. Once you've learned how to operate the market in your area of interest, you succeed much more than you fail. It's less of a gamble and more of a process. When it becomes a process, you can tell that you've done something right."

Then a pause... his hands arching ever so slightly, a lip pouting out of one corner of his mouth as the alternative escaped. She had asked... he had given an answer. Whether it was what she wanted or not, he wouldn't know until she had spoken.

"As for being special or unique... would you care to clarify?" One eyebrow slightly rose as though he were playing a game of hot-and-cold with her and she had made a guess that was close to the mark, but not just spot on. He obviously wouldn't explain the distinct trait of his uniqueness, but he would more likely than not enjoy watching her try to figure him out.

[Lamenting_Quill]

He was playing cat and mouse with her... he was teasing her deliberately, why exactly was what Kiara intended to know eventually.
Kiara leaned in and listened intently to his lengthy answer, she smiled a bit as he avoided outright admitting just exactly what kind of business his family operated. She wasn't stupid and she suspected Adrian knew as much too, he wanted her to fish for information. That much was obvious.

"Well" Kiara started, tilting her head a bit with a charming smile she'd heard called captivating "Thats all very fascinating and as for unique, that falls back into my first question. What kind of business exactly do you run? Is it something out of the ordinary? Like something you wouldn't see every single day?"

He was hiding something, that confident and sexy smirk of his spoke volumes; He had a secret and no one was going to learn of it unless it came straight from his own lips.
Kiara was no fool however, she wasn't going to be overly nosy and get herself booted back out into the rain; She would watch herself to make sure she didn't go too far.

One thing was for sure, she had to try and keep from looking at him too much. That face of his could be an intelligent woman's undoing, that was a smile made for manipulating right there.
She was almost curious if he had a girlfriend, wife or fiance, but swiftly albeit reluctantly told herself that it was none of her business and best left unknown.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's eyes darted upwards, all but rolling at how he could have missed such a blatant question. His descriptions were perhaps, far to 'scrambled' or spread out in theory to give her any real substance.

He inhaled, as though looking for another way to word his answer. The brief pause caused his lips to tug at either end giving the beginning of a smile, but cutting itself short as words formed.

"You could say I'm into a bit of everything. I invest in health care, start-up companies, and real estate primarily."

Since the beginning of time... his time... his family's time... Most of the known world was subject to rule of the great Roman Empire. It was this drive of expansion that fueled a hunt for Glory beyond that of any one man's life. Even for a vampire, Adrian's father held that Rome's return to power gave immortals a reason to exist.

Adrian, being far more casual chose to cover up such drastic drives under 'real estate' expansion. Rome would conquer, kill, torture and employ slave economies under the 'expansion of their state'. By cleverly allowing people to believe 'Real Estate' meant just housing and property development, Adrian found himself cunningly answering Kiara's question with great honesty. He simply let anyone come to their own conclusion as he decided not to volunteer more information.

In today's day and age, there was no place for the dream of Adrian's father. It didn't make it any less real, it just meant Adrian found himself cautiously tip-towing around the fact.

"But the truth is, I do live a bit of a dream. I get to make a very comfortable living off of the work others do. It's not to say I don't do work myself, but there is something to be said for working because you 'want' to... or because you are 'creating something' rather than working 5 days a week because you 'have' to in order to make ends meet."

He had the instinct to turn the conversation back to Kiara, but something about her told him he'd learn more about her by listening to her rather than questioning her. Volumes could be interpreted from the questions she asked and how she asked them. A little less could be learned by answers she'd have time to filter and work with because of a question he had asked.

In all realness, at this point in time, Adrian might have been satisfied to simply watch her. Simply take in any question she asked and see what would frustrate her, what would humour her, what would engage her. He could learn about her life by asking her questions, or he could learn about her by hearing her questions.

It went against all conventional wisdom, but conventional wisdom for an immortal was ironically short sighted.

Adrian was in no hurry.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara smiled and nodded, her robins egg blue eyes twinkling with mischievous mirth "Fair enough"
She was about to speak to him once more before the howling behind the mansion's walls caught her attention, she wondered how her folks were fairing; Her father was probably worried sick, he tended to do that.

"I hope this wretched weather calms down by tomorrow, I really need to reach my folks. Not only are they most likely worried about me, but I admit that I also very worried about them. I hope they are safe" Kiara said, returning her gaze then back to the handsome Adrian "It makes me wonder, what spurred you to live so far out in the Bayou. I heard the home was ancestral, but weren't you worried about the storms like this one?"
She almost scolded herself, Adrian seemed very much the sort of dominant in control kind of man; He could probably from at a drop of rain and it would flee right back up into the sky.

She could hear movement near by which told her that Adrian's servants were on their way with supper, only time could tell now what would happen next.

[Alexis Sapphire]

"I actually enjoy the seclusion here." he said with another scanning sweep of his own brown eyes.

"It's really a place to get away. There is a community in the distance, as I'm sure you're aware." He explained with slight reference to her worry about her parents.

"But generally, this place is almost a land unto itself. When it comes to horse-riding, the terrain is fantastic. The woods in the surrounding area have a few paths that are great. The river to the left of the estate is ideal for boating."

He paused soon after his small list had continued. He could be caught rambling again after all.

"It's just certain things you wouldn't get away with in the large city... they're so natural here. It can be a small torment when mother nature is at its fiercest, but it's also completely divine when she's feeling serene."

Melanie and Bertrand entered the room with their composure and posture practically 2 steps apart. Carrying ideal trays, Melanie might as well have been carrying a basket by comparison. She was relatively shorter and slim while Bertrand was a huskier gentleman with a gut that showed he had a career in the food testing business if he ever wanted to get out of the food making business.

The covers were removed from the trays which were then placed in front of both seated individuals.

"Thank you Bertrand..." Adrians smile faced the plump french chef who had produced his portion of the service.

"This looks fantastic..."

And no sooner had he stated that, had his commentary returned to Kiara's statement.

"If you're ever spending a casual night in this area, you're guaranteed a sunset that I assure you exists on no painting. The sunrises are just as beautiful."

Great ironies abounded in Adrians appreciation of sunlight. Vampires were stereotyped in stories for being immediately vaporized or disfigured in sunlight. The natural beauty that represented the 'light' vs the proverbial darkness in any good-vs-evil story was deemed to be momentarily lethal to creatures that were rumoured and storied to be walking evil on the planet.

In truth, in small doses, sunlight did little damage to Adrian. In large extended exposure, there was a straining of the skin which, while irritating and aggravating, was not beyond healing. One simply had to have the awareness of refusing to be in sunlight unprotected for hours upon hours at a time.

"Do you have anything that you never actually 'need' and sometimes wonder why you have it? If you were to think back to when you bought it, was there a reason to have it? Efficiency? Need? Or was it because, for whatever reason, at that time... you thought you might never use it, but would still prefer having it and never using it rather than losing the chance to have it and someday wanting it or wondering why you didn't get it?"

He took a side small cup of sauce and let it permeate the meat in front of him with a streaking dip.

"This land could have been made a public space... or bought by someone else... or totalled for some kind of corporate expansion of a Hotel or Casino chain."

He placed the side cup ahead of his plate once he finished pouring some sauce.

"But I guess I just wanted it... you know? I wanted it incase someday I'd want it... and it wouldn't be there."

Adrian's eyes found Kiara's as he tilted his head. He felt his last line best described what he had been mentioning until then. Adrian was not one to be denied something he wanted. Sometimes that meant acquiring something 'just to have it'... incase sometime in the future he would want it only to find it unavailable.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara smiled in understanding and nodded, he was one of the wealthy and that's typically how they functioned with their wants and needs. It was all very impulsive.
It all seemed a little out there for a young woman that rose above poverty and made something of herself, creating a better existence for herself and her poor hard working parents. Her success had allowed her parents to retire and relax for once in their exhausted lives.
“I can understand that, it seems like a good place to go when you just want to settle and forget the world around you” Kiara replied “Though many of the people I work with wouldn't touch a location like this with a ten foot pole... and though the storm has dampened my spirits quite a bit, literally... it is very pretty here”

She had to admit though that the way Adrian said that did scare her a little bit, he seemed to literally mean ANYTHING. Kiara shook it off though for the time being, she was in no danger and for the present time he was only speaking of real estate.
“Okay, life story is done” Kiara said jokingly with a warm smile “Tell me about you personally, what do you like? Are there activities or things that you really enjoy?”
Kiara picked up her fork and elegantly but not overly so speared a piece of roast and decided to sample some of the sauce “Oh, very good. I will have to give my compliments to... Bertrand, right? He certainly knows his way around a roast, I wonder if he might give me some cooking lessons. I love to cook and new recipes are always a lot of fun”

A girl could get used to living like this and sitting across from a smokin hot man, but she knew her life in New York was waiting for her. Not to mention a possible boyfriend.
She smiled that tiny little smile as she stared down at her mashed potatoes, her mind on Hayden Parker; Her co-star from the production of Faust.
The man had flirted with her constantly, but it was always so sweet and sincere; He even told her he really liked her, he said she was fun, feisty and beyond beautiful.
She remembered blushing furiously as Hayden had told her that, Kiara had never received compliments like that before from a man, especially one so sweet and adorable as Hayden.
Perhaps she'd call him when she got to her parents residence, wish him a Merry Christmas.

She looked up when she realized she zoned out in her thoughts, completely ignoring her host “Oh, I'm sorry Adrian, I was deep in thought. I apologize if I ignored anything you said”

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian continued to carve segments out of the meal and consuming morsel after morsel in between his comments. Every so often his glass of champagne was brought to his lips perfectly complimenting the sauce-doused meat.

"Well I enjoy horseback riding... boating... practically anything."

There was a momentary pause as he took another sip from his goblet-like glass.

"I suppose an easier question to answer would be what I don't enjoy doing. The list, albeit, never actually produced would have to be much smaller I'd say."

The truth was, there was very little that Adrian didn't enjoy doing. Before he knew it however, Kiara was off on another tangent of thought. Her meat was apparently extremely satisfactory and evidently, she had a thing for cooking as well. His lips stretched into a smirk as she recalled Bertrand's name. She was a quick adapter too it seemed. Her attention to detail had to be at worst, above average and at best, phenomenal.

Women like this often earned special attention from Adrian. They were wells to be discovered. Many a man could be frustrated by a beautiful woman like Kiara. Adrian, considered his abilities to give him quite an advantage over many a situation like this.

"Why, I'm sure Bertrand would love to if you're around long enough..."

He didn't know how long she could stay, but Adrian found it very promising that she had the mindset of receiving cooking lessons at his abode. The brief thought passed that she might not mean 'here'... but simply receiving lessons from Bertrand in any arena. It was summarily overlooked as his fork now layered with 4 strings of individual green beans was trapped inside his lips, only to have the fork slide out empty.

He expected perhaps another question, or perhaps a follow-up thought about the food or Bertrand, but what he heard was:

“Oh, I'm sorry Adrian, I was deep in thought. I apologize if I ignored anything you said”

This caused a momentary strain in Adrian's eyebrows. There was a gradual perplexed gleam in his eye as he finished chewing down the inserted vegetables through closed lips. His throat bulged slightly at the consumption of the food and finally, his tongue seeped out past his lips giving them the slightest moistening.

His perplexed expression could very easily have been interpreted as a man who had just been posed the most difficult of riddles and asked to solve it with three guesses. The strict number of tries to get it right often meant that in thought, the individual 'solving' the riddle was quiet. It gave off this perplexed look in their eyes.

Something about Kiara was certainly attractive. Well... everything about Kiara seemed to be attractive so far... but something else was bothersome to him and he couldn't quite seem to put his finger on it.

"Oh don't worry about it..." he answered with an affirming nod. Some vampires had the ability to hear thoughts as though they were clearly spoken. It was a rare ability but what Adrian would have given in order to have it now.

Most women Adrian invited over... for dinner were entirely captivated by him on site. He had a certain hypnotic ability in his eyes. He could even manoeuvre them like puppets from time to time. In their dreams, he could vividly share images or communicate with them, he could manipulate their very subconscious with great ease while they slept.

But in all these abilities, nothing was a great help in presenting exactly what Kiara could have possibly been thinking about while she was in his presence. He could look into her eyes and pick up on general feelings or inclinations. Standard emotions that might be stronger inside of her could be felt.

Anger
Fear
Sadness
Anticipation

... These were the 4 emotions that Adrian could develop a palpable feel for while glancing into the eyes of any individual. None of these emotions were stringently out of control in Kiara's case.


"So tell me..." he decided to gamble a guess. It seemed inappropriate to ask about significant others but vampire or not, Adrian's curiosity always got the better of him. He had to find a way to ask a question in a way that was easily 'defensible' should she take offence.

"Your parents weren't reachable... is there a... significant other that you would be interested in trying?"

It was the most efficient way he could think of asking the question. If she felt it was inappropriate, he could simply state that he was merely offering her a phone call... not that he was curious about her relationship status.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"Your parents weren't reachable... is there a... significant other that you would be interested in trying?"

Kiara couldn't help but smile knowingly, Adrian was a smooth and clever man from the looks of things, but men were men. He may have been asking a sincere question, but there were other motives behind it, those earthy orbs of his spoke all the words his lips did not.
“I'm not sure yet, there is a man interested in me and I think I may be interested in return. His name is Hayden, Hayden Parker. He was my co-star in the production of Faust, he introduced me to the director and encouraged the grump to give me a chance to audition” Kiara replied with a warm smile, thinking of Hayden always encouraged warmth in her heart “He had always been such a good friend to me and then after Faust was finished, he told me he loved me. He asked me to consider a relationship with him over my Christmas vacation and give him my answer when I returned; I think I might say yes. He really is a good man, sweet, kind and very handsome. He's unfortunately extremely busy right now with Phantom of the Opera, he's been cast as the Phantom. He volunteered to give up his Christmas break to practice and be the best Phantom he could”

She smiled a little at Adrian and chuckled softly “Though no where near as handsome as you are, but I bet you hear that often. I'm sure you have encountered more than a few ladies trying to base a relationship on looks alone. Not a happy situation”
Good lord, those earthy brown eyes were so haunting... it was almost as if they were trying to draw her in and control her will, it made her casually cast her eyes away. She didn't need to become attracted in permanent manner to a man she barely knew, Hayden waited for her back in New York; She just had to keep reminding herself of that in order to avoid naughty temptation.
“And you?” Kiara asked, a smile curving her lips with a mixture of playful flirting or sincerity “Is there a woman in your life?”

Kiara took another bite of her roast, chewing delicately as she placed her elbow on the table and balanced the side of her face against her palm as she awaited his answer to her own questions. She hoped he didn't think she was seriously flirting with him, Kiara was by nature a playful person full of sass and spunk with an endearing spice of warmth and kindness.
Her robins egg blue eyes remained glued to his face as she waited, twinkling with mirth and playful anticipation.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's read of Kiara's emotion was frustratingly restrictive. She was nowhere near fatigued enough for him to read her as well as he might have wanted. Unfortunately, her sincerity gave too much comfort behind an answer that could have easily been indecisive or more doubtful.

Whoever this Hayden Parker was... he obviously held a part of Kiara that she seemed to value deeply. It could be that he was her first serious relationship or the consideration of the first. Maybe that would explain the level of anticipation he felt. It was so rare that Adrian's read of another woman's temptation wasn't because of him... but rather brought on by the discussion of another.

He wasn't quite sure he liked it.


Then again, perhaps her anticipation was towards him... towards his oncoming answer. Who knew? Whatever the case was, he brought his middle finger to his lower lip, gliding for about half-a-lips distance before giving his fingertip the subtlest of sucking. The feeling of some sauce coating his lower lip drew the action before his answer.

"You could probably say I haven't found a woman to share the same long term goals that I have." he answered honestly, but with evident misdirection. After all... what was long term to an immortal?

"That I've not found one to settle with yet... isn't to say I haven't been blessed with some absolutely graceful company over the years... present company included."

He finished his remark with a bit of a grin towards Kiara.

His thoughts couldn't help but turn back to this Hayden character she defined. If it were to be brought down to a level of competition or 'acquisition' as Adrian had the instinct to view things... the way she spoke of him made Hayden the 'Columbus' of the new world... Kiara's world.

Whether he was simply her first interest, or someone who put any of her prior interests to shame, this man had impacted her life in such a way that being a 'first' could only do. When you were the standard by which all other men were comparable towards, that was a symbol of power in a woman's life.

Adrian was always that standard when he wanted to be. Granted, he ever only wanted to be for short times, but Kiara was now a first for him... a woman who was able to sit at his table, look into his eyes, and almost dreamily anticipate the return to another man, almost proudly presenting him.

If Adrian had felt an attraction to Kiara before, on the slightest of casual natures... it had immediately been boosted in value. He prided himself on having any woman he wanted... and while this didn't mean having 'every woman he met'... there was a more visceral opportunity that Kiara presented.

Competition wasn't the right word since this Hayden was a nobody to him... he had no idea what he looked like or what he was capable of, but Kiara was a different story. The very fact that she spoke so favourably of Hayden either made him very respectable to Adrian, or intimidating to him.

While relatively little ever intimidated Adrian... if he was going to follow through on any plan of romancing Kiara Hayden was, by default... by the very nature of time itself... his obstacle. Through nothing but the sheer luck that Kiara met Hayden before himself, Adrian was now at odds with the (likely...) very talented actor.

He could be nothing... he could be the sweetest, most sincere, polite individuals on the planet that would amount to maybe a minuscule fraction of what Adrian could be. But to Kiara, he was more. And when Kiara would be the object of Adrian's interest, it would be her opinion which would matter more to him than whatever history books thousands of years from now might say.

What great irony. We immortals have all the time in the world, but when we take interest in others, our time frame doesn't matter. Even we can't be everywhere at once, which means there will be a million and one critical events every day that we could have loved to have been there for, but not had the opportunity. And that opportunity may never come back for the remainder of eternity...

"Tell me... would you be interested in performing for an audience of one?"

[Lamenting_Quill]

"You could probably say I haven't found a woman to share the same long term goals that I have."

It was weird to feel this, the thrill that coursed through her when Adrian revealed there was no special lady in his life. She felt a stab of guilt as she thought about Hayden, she wasn't committed to the man yet, but... still...
“I am sure that a handsome hunk like you will find the perfect girl for you eventually” Kiara replied, casting her eyes down to pick up her spoon and using to pushing around her potatoes “What sane single woman could resist you”
She just about slapped herself as those words left her lips, it was as good as a confession that she found him attractive.
Well, he hadn't given any hint of trying to hit on her as of yet, so there wasn't yet anything to fret over.

Kiara looked up into his face and found herself wondering just exactly what it was about Adrian that was so haunting, so enchanting “There is something about you... Something out of the ordinary that makes you almost hypnotizing, in a good sort of way. I just can't place it...”
Those eyes of his were certainly hypnotic enough on their own, those beautiful brown eyes that resembled the rich color mingling with the reds of a passionate sunset.
It wasn't just the color or sparkle either, a large part of it was how he used them... the intensity of a mere glance or the searing heat of a stare.
The way his golden hair curled over his forehead, brushing his eyebrows with a subtle ringlet; the color resembling molten gold, like strands of sunlight.
Did she mention that the man didn't have one damn blemish or mark on his alabaster skin anywhere? Not a damn one!
She was shaken from her thoughts however when he spoke up with a request pertaining to her voice, her song.

"Tell me... would you be interested in performing for an audience of one?"

Kiara couldn't explain it, but the very idea made her want to blush... as if the idea of potentially disappointing Adrian was absolutely horrifying.
She managed a modest nod, maintaining a look of confidence as she thought and chose a song to sing.
She began to sing the famous title song of Phantom of the Opera, she would skip over Hayden's lines, but that was alright; She could use the practice for the song anyway.

Eyes were peeking around the corners of the doors leading into the dining room in awe, but Kiara ignored them. She kept singing and focused her eyes on Adrian as if he were the Phantom, her poor, poor Eric, and she was singing to him.
As she neared the ending of the song and last of the scales at the end escaped her mouth, Kiara caught her breath and stared silently at Adrian “Well? What did you think?”

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian sat, watching the performance which, as it began, caught him by surprise. He had intended to escort Kiara to the dance hall on the 2nd floor where there could potentially be a little more emphasis on the event.

Nonetheless... he couldn't bring himself to stop her once she started. There was no music in the background for her to base her performance upon, therefore there was no awkward gap where the part of the Phantom was skipped. As a consequence, the performance was was over twice as fast.

"Incredible..." He let the word seep out from his lips. His expression however couldn't change. That was either the mark of a sarcastic comment, or such a captivating performance that it left a resonating transe in the eyes of the one who watched it.

Yes... her performance drew the eyes and ears of those around, silent workers who were blessed beyond measure to have such a performance, but for Adrian, there was no one else in the room. There was a sort of spell that fell over the place as her voice permeated the dinning hall.

It almost demanded that Adrian attempt something. If she sounded this good when supported by sheer silence of the area, what if the silence wasn't a support-... but rather a restriction?

"There's only one thing missing..." he spoke tenderly as though his careful ear for all things musical had gone into a heavily contemplative speculation.

He proceeded to wipe his lips gently with his available serviette and then pressed his palms to the table bringing himself to a standing position. He began to walk towards the exit of the kitchen. His destination was the artistically defined staircase that would lead him to the great hall directly above the dinning hall. Both parametres in the house were the same but one was used for eating, the other for dances.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"There's only one thing missing..."

Kiara's cocked her head gently the right with a gentle smile as he said this and when he stood, she removed her napkin from her lap and dabbed at her mouth with it before she stood as well.
She followed him out of the dining room and towards the staircase obviously carved with in great artistic detail, there was so much care she could see that had been put into each stroke of the chisel used. As she ascended the stairs with Adrian, she placed one elegant hand upon the railing and ran her fingers across the designs in the wood, it was most definitely hand-carved.

Her face was alight with delight as she followed him past the stairs and into a room that from the looks of things was used for celebrations and festivities, this room carried an adoration for music that coursed the air of the room. If she closed her eyes, Kiara would she would hear the lingering notes of a waltz melody that had sent many an elegantly clad body swirling across these floors.
The room was beautiful, decorated in shades of gold and a lovely cream color; this was already Kiara's favorite room of the house.

“This is very beautiful” Kiara said, smiling brilliantly at Adrian as her eyes returned to him “Tell me... do you sing? I could use a partner to help me practice for Phantom of the Opera”
She couldn't help but smile, this was like a fairytale to her; Kiara felt like Cinderella rescued by a golden prince charming.
What could it possibly hurt to entertain a few of her fantasies so long as nothing happened between herself and Adrian, she was not going to betray Hayden by singing a couple songs with Adrian; Even if those songs were so full of passion and sensuality as the beautiful songs of Phantom of the Opera were.

Her eyes drifted the various array of instruments the room held and smiled, turning her then back to Adrian.

[Alexis Sapphire]

"I have a tendency to try on occasion." Adrian grinned as he made his way towards a heavier-set integrated keyboard. He generally had to pass the dance floor in order to get to it. Near the far side wall there was an elevated floor which served as a stage for any performances hosted in this particular hall.

Adrian swiftly scaled 6 stairs that brought him to the keyboard on the side of the stage. Taking a comfortable seat, he let his fingers hover over the keyboard for a moment.

His teeth closed on his lower lip as his eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment. It almost seemed as though there was a hurry-up-and-wait mentality since it would have seemed likely that if he was in such a motivated state to get to the keyboard, he should know what he was going to play.

His eyes opened again seconds later, his lips pressed together with the ever so slight tilting of his head in an attempt to begin his tempo.

Then keystrokes... they echoed through the dance hall with single keys being sounded to start things off... but rapidly they became key-strung motions. There was a little more confidence to improvise on the tune once the tempo was started.


Christine... Christine...

Keystrokes continued as Adrian's tongue dabbed over his lips, moistening them in order to try and maintain a couple of verses uninterrupted.


No more talk of darkness...
Forget these wide-eyed fears.
I'm here, nothing can harm you.
My words will warm and calm you.

Let me be your freedom.
Let daylight dry your tears.
I'm here, with you, beside you.
To guard you and to guide you.

There were several more strokes than the initial instrumentation to the song, but not so many as to take away from the beautiful simplicity this song held for Adrian. The words came out tenderly with surprisingly no thought. It was as though this song had gone through his mind several times already. He ended his verses... but continued to play, wondering if Kiara had learned this song yet or if it was familiar to her at all.

He could all but hear her voice already anticipating the next verse. If she knew it, he'd continue to play, if she didn't step in, he'd continue playing out the verse and then move on to his following verse.


(Christine)

Say you'll love me every waking moment...
Turn my head with talk of summertime.
Say you need me with you now and always...
Promise me that all you say is true.
That's all I ask of you-...

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara smiled that mysterious intelligent feminine smile that drove men crazy as he began the music and singing the lines of Raoul..
A love song... One of the most romantic... Christine and and Raoul declaring their love. Well, it was a beautiful song and she hadn't had anyone to rehearse this one with, so it would both productive and exciting.

Kiara stepped forward as her part of the song came and began to sing, imagining Christine Daae and her beloved Raoul. Passionately singing out their undying love to each other.
As hers and Adrian's voices blended together, Kiara found herself becoming lost in the passion and beauty of the music. She took closer and closer steps to where Adrian was creating music so beautifully, her ethereally haunting voice echoing throughout the room.

Eventually Kiara found herself almost nose to nose with Adrian as they sang, the tempo of the song was picking up now as it was reaching its end. Just before the final words of the song, Raoul and Christine were supposed to kiss. The thought made Kiara's heart race with anticipation, was Adrian going to kiss her with those soft sensual looking lips.... and if he did...would she be able to deny him?
She felt awful as she considered the fact that deep down... she actually wanted the handsome Adrian to kiss her. The very idea felt sexy and forbidden, even though she knew she had the heart of a really sweet guy in her hands... there really was no denying the raw attraction she felt towards Adrian. She just had to get it out of her system before she returned home to New York.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian couldn't help but offer an altogether coy quiver of his eyebrow flashing a bit of a daring grin. It was as though he had proposed something not altogether expected and when being challenged or questioned about it, simply backs up his remark with a look that says: "Oh yes. I went there."

In this case, picking the type of song that was so scenario-specific to Kiara's life where he took the seemingly bold approach of comparing himself to the inevitable choice by the end of the story.

There was a coy grin from Kiara herself however which simply seemed to call him out on ... the song selection. And then she sang... and it turned the room into something absolutely surreal.

It didn't take more than a few dozen bars of play for Adrian to be able to initiate the 'repeat' function on his instrument. It seemed to take away from the personal element of play, but it maintained the tempo and music while allowing him to stand as Kiara slowly approached him.

He made his way to his feet, the words falling in perfect sync with hers. Her timing, her tempo, her tone... just her ear for musicality was phenomenal and while this song was more or less a 'romanticized' song that didn't have the bold or daring contrast most of the other songs had, there was something incredibly arousing about her performance.


Raoul

Christine... Christine...

No more talk of darkness...
Forget these wide-eyed fears.
I'm here, nothing can harm you.
My words will warm and calm you.

Let me be your freedom.
Let daylight dry your tears.
I'm here, with you, beside you.
To guard you and to guide you.

(Christine)

Say you'll love me every waking moment...
Turn my head with talk of summertime.
Say you need me with you now and always...
Promise me that all you say is true.
That's all I ask of you-...

(Raoul)

-... Let me be your shelter.
Let me be your guide.
You're safe.
No one will find you.
Your fears are far behind you.

(Christine)

- All I want is freedom.
A world with no more night.
And you, always beside me.
To hold me and to hide me.

(Raoul)

-... Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime.
Let me lead you from your solitude.
Say you need me, with you, here beside you.
Anywhere you go, let me go too.
Christine, that's all I ask of -...

(Christine)

-... Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime.
Say the word and I will follow you.

(together)

Share each day with me, each night, each morning.

(Christine)

Say you love me...

(Raoul)

Oh I do...

(Together)

Love me, that's all I ask of you.

The performance seemed to draw them together based solely on the character roles they were assigned. Both holding true to the performance, there was no lack of passion or attraction but there was certainly a wavering in discipline.

Adrian could sense an anticipation more so than anything he had felt to date from Kiara and there was so little in the world holding him back. This time, he was sure that he was the initiating factor. He held her gaze, up until when he allowed his palm to caress her shoulder, in a swift motion, he side-stepped and then stepped once more behind her, he let his hand slide down from her shoulder along her arm, towards her waist as he tilted his head ever so slightly.

If she held his gaze, but refused to move, she'd have her neck arched to the side in order to maintain eye contact, but there was a minor manipulation being played.

Something so subtle, so small, Adrian kept his head tilted forward to accept a kiss if it was offered, but if not, he was in a fine position to whisper the final words and conclude the song with such a huskily sensual tone that he could all but visualize goosebumps surfacing along the seemless flesh of her neck and shoulder.

It was these subtle moments that were wasted by humans in their constant rush. The constant need for 'everything'... right now. Adrian maintained that perfect discipline was never in a rush. Even the right actions rushed... could become wrong actions.

[Lamenting_Quill]

She couldn't begin to describe her frustration and confusion as she desperately fought the urge to lean in let her lips meet his, those lips that looked as soft as pure velvet, as sensual as a deep red rose.
Those eyes of his practically seemed to draw her face forward as if by some unseen sensual pull, Kiara bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from kissing him and simply finished the song with him; Though she had to admit that the sexy huskiness of his voice as he finished sent shivers down her spine, she just about melted and jumped the poor man.

Nervously, Kiara cleared her throat and smiled “That was beautiful, you are not at all a bad singer. I was impressed, to be honest”
Oh good lord, if he kept looking at her like she was a delicious steak, she was going to be a goner by the end of the night. Those eyes were just too damn sexy and smoldering, he was a modest woman's undoing. The very sight of him brought thoughts of dark silk sheets and candlelight, rose petals everywhere... His masculine but gentle hands caressing...
Alright! That was quite enough! She had to quit that little mental conversation with herself before she started a river of drool down her chin, she leaving soon and starting a romantic liaison with a man she barely knew was not something smart to do.

One thing was for sure, the moment she was able to leave here, it would be in her best interest to do so immediately. She didn't want to end up sleeping with Adrian or something like that and end up complicating things beyond her control.
“You are quite a tempting man, Adrian” Kiara chuckled a little nervously as she took a few tentative steps back “The kind girls dream about, you'll make a woman very happy someday”
She hoped her words might have given him the impression that 'a woman' meant a woman other than her, but that gleam in his eyes told her he was not deterred.
'Well, Kiara James' She told herself with a silent mental groan 'You are definitely going to have some full hands with this hottie until you leave here. The hardest part will be keep your OWN hands off of HIM'

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's lips ended up resting together as seconds passed. The seconds without the kiss that could have been. So her restraint hadn't been thrown over yet. He could tell from the slightest of goosebumps, from the racing heartbeat, from the now crazed anticipation that he certainly had a level of influence over her physically. While this didn't include using any paranormal activity as of yet, the more intense senses of the vampire came in handy in reading her otherwise well hidden expression.

His hands did little to stop her from placing some modest distance between them as she stepped away prior to addressing him. His eyes couldn't leave her for a moment, his tongue ended up seeping out, tracing a thin line between his lips before they rested together in a compromising grin.

...you'll make a woman very happy someday

"Nowhere near as happy as she will make me... I'm sure." his answer came spontaneously decisive. He wasn't interested in using the word 'they' because it could have implied a number of girls. A number of girls could give the illusion of a group, and a group excluded Kiara at the moment.

'She' was a much more adequate term for the moment. Kiara had succeeded in captivating him with such a tension that, upon instinct and spontaneous attraction could easily be viewed as 'spell-casting' of her own.

It became immediately clear as she seemed to struggle to maintain composure... that she was certainly a prize worth acquiring. Many a woman had come and gone from this mansion, many had even come and not been allowed to leave alive. But now, the history of the house seemed to be a moot point. Kiara was the new object of Adrian's interest and she had only managed to increase her value in his eyes by every small action she performed.

"But I do thank you for the sincere remark..." he offered.

"I don't know if you'd be interested in turning in for the night. The road you'll have to travel tomorrow is a long one."

He paused momentarily...

"-... unless of course, you'd prefer to stay."

The discipline she exhibited showed that she was still able to 'choose' to refuse him. He would have to work on that. The reality of the situation was that physically, he could take her... perhaps anytime he wanted. That wasn't the point however. The true method to acquiring a treasure was in taking them in mind and soul as well as physically.

Tonight, Kiara's subconscious would be Adrian's playground. Whenever asleep in a deep enough state, Adrian would be able to mould her dreams manipulating her senses of touch, smell, sight and sound.

He would fashion a world where her discipline and composure would be tested to the utmost. After all... wasn't that the beauty of one's subconscious? The beauty of a dream is that you can often visualize yourself doing things you would never do because there can be no consequences in a dream. Or is it more than that?

Whatever the case... Kiara could not know just how deep the danger she had fallen into.

[Lamenting_Quill]

The words that left Adrian's lush lips was enough to make blood run cold as she realized she had just landed in a very awkward position, she only hoped very much that he simply meant a few more days until the mud was dry enough for her father to help her get her tires unstuck.
“I um, imagine you must mean just a few more times until the mud is dry enough, well if it becomes necessary, I see no reason why not” Kiara replied, gulping nervously as she tried to avoid getting lost in those smoldering sexy brown eyes “I really should get to bed now, I've had quite an ordeal and I find I am very tired. Um, see you tomorrow, Adrian”

Before Adrian could speak another word or stare at her a second longer with those seductive eyes that promised long steamy nights of passion, Kiara turned and hustled from the room and made her way back to the guest room she was given faster than a jack rabbit on crack.
She closed the door behind her and sighed as she walked over to the bed, sitting down with a plop.

“Well, this is interesting enough, isn't it” Kiara said herself softly “A totally gorgeous man I am attracted to physically as well as intellectually is totally putting the moves on me. What the hell am I supposed to do? Can I really hurt Hayden like that?”
Hayden seemed to deeply desire a long term relationship with her, whereas she had no idea just what Adrian's intentions really were.
Sure Adrian was far sexier than Hayden, but Hayden was very sweet and sincere about his feelings.
“Ugh” Kiara added to her own thoughts before she allowed herself fall backwards onto her back “Could this get any worse?”
If Kiara knew any better, she may not have been so foolish as to speak those immortally cursed words.

Deciding all she needed to clear her head was a good sleep, Kiara laid back and got comfortable before she closed her eyes and allowed herself to slow down her breathing.
Soon enough before she knew it, Kiara was in a deep sleep, unaware of what would come next.

[Alexis Sapphire]

"What do you think of her?" Adrian's voice came from behind the padded comfort reading chair upon which armrests, his elbows were firmly positioned. The room was quiet enough with the subsiding of the storm for the most part.

"Ms. James seems delightful enough sir." Geoffrey's voice broke the sound of the crackling fireplace and the constant 'ticking' of the room's wall-top clock. He had been with Adrian enough now to never be startled by the resounding voice coming from the most unlikely of places.

He continued to advance, a dusting cloth folded neatly over his arm before him as he helped himself to the empty glass atop a coaster on the desk nearest Adrian's chair.

"She is... isn't she."

Adrian's voice was almost observative in its clarity moreso than a question of any type. The all too familiar thoughtful tone in his master's voice earned a side-glance from the loyal butler, though he'd be nowhere near obvious about it. His sweeping motion giving the desk a firm dusting before placing the coaster back in place and keeping the empty glass in his white-gloved hand was the task at hand.

"Rather ill-fated all of this..." he decided to pry at his master's thoughts in a way that only years of service could fashion him to do.

"... but the storm seems to be clearing up nicely and I would imagine by morning she could be on her way again. Depending on the condition of her automobile of course, she might need to find an alternate means. I'd say by noon she should be more than ready."

Geoffrey's eyes did little more than dart to and from his master's own orbs. They flickered with the shining that was briefly presented from the fireplace. An ungodly red could almost be seen and thrown off as a mere side-affect of looking straight into the fireplace in such a dark room.

"Yes..." Adrian's voice inferred an admission of common sense to his butler's remarks. It was not even a handful of seconds that passed before his single syllable was joined by contradicting sentencing.

"-... Or perhaps not."

Geoffrey had not yet been puzzled enough to consider himself 'confused'... but certainly felt the need to hear more from his Master's train of thought. Since Adrian was in such a contemplative mood at the moment, the only way to do this was to 'jolt' the conversation with small word sentencing that might bait Adrian into speaking further.

"Perhaps not?"

It worked as expected. Adrian's reply was relatively swift after mere seconds of thought.

"There's something about this woman. I'd not mourn the opportunity to have her in my presence for a longer period of time."

Geoffrey's understanding was immediate. Adrian's ambitions and business strength were well refined, his power and manipulation were incredibly fashioned after 125 years of living. In the greatest sense of the word, Adrian was literally almost twice his age, but in a more practical sense, for one who would live forever, Adrian was still a young man.

To Geoffrey it seemed as though his 'regular' pace of aging gave his age more 'validity' in terms of 'real life' thinking simply because of the fact that he would die one day. He would live a full life while Adrian might live countless lifetimes, but never a 'life'. Perhaps this is why Adrian viewed this butler who had lived half his age to be a great wisdom figure. Perhaps this is what validated Geoffrey to Adrian in such a way that he thoroughly respected the man.

In this case, Geoffrey's discipline prevented him from gazing into the eyes of his master. Geoffrey would not confront him openly about a thought process... but rather talk it through, see if he could not lead Adrian to talk 'himself' out of it.

"I see. I take it you haven't discussed this with her yet?"

Somehow, even on the mildest of mannerisms, Geoffrey knew better than to use the word 'ask'. This was not the first time this conversation had been had. Surely it wouldn't be the last. Adrian was an Immortal with a developped sense of entitlement. Any hint or advice to 'ask' anything implied that Adrian couldn't 'take' it.

'Discuss'... Yes, through the years, Geoffrey had learned that 'discuss' went over better with Adrian. It implied less authority to Kiara than if Adrian had to 'ask' anything of her.

"Not in so many words..." Adrian's tone seemed to be more fixed as his eyes seemed to glaze over, staring idly into the flickering light of the fireplace. Weak peeling scales of wood shrivelled and dissipated into briefly floating cloud of sparks which rose and disappeared into the image of the fireplace as a whole again.

"And there are times when a creature of such extravagence, of beautiful rarity falls into one's hands. The last thing they can afford to do is lose it."

Geoffrey nodded slowly, permitting himself time to absorb Adrian's commentary. It was nothing he hadn't heard before about other 'gems' but again, in knowing the ambitious young man... Geoffrey had learned to understand that Adrian could potentially fall in and out of intense lust several times over.

To continue the conversation and not drive his master to end it feeling that it was none of the butler's business or that the butler had no say whatsoever, Geoffrey was compelled to continue his assertion. His aim was to keep his master talking in a way that his master might eventually talk himself out of yet another rash decision.

"Such creatures often turn on those who's hands extend to help or save them, but tighten when they want to fly away again."

Adrian's head nodded slowly in understanding.

"True enough, I suppose. They say that if you love someone, you should let them go. If they return to you, they were always yours, if not, they were never yours. I can bring myself to understand the 'gamble' dynamic of fate... but when a treasure is so valuable, losing it by being careless and sloppy is just as bad as losing it because it chooses to be lost."

Adrian's considerating produced a very clear mindset to his loyal butler. To Adrian, losing Kiara due to his own fault or stupidity was just as bad as losing her because of her free will to leave him. If both were considered equal failures, then there was no way Adrian would accept losing her.

Her free will, it seemed, was becoming less and less important as the conversation continued.

In continuation of his casual method of developing an understanding of his master's idea or plan... Geoffry continued in a last ditch attempt to see if his master could compare this type of behaviour to something less than 'humane'.

"Indeed... indeed sir you are right. There are such creatures that we seem obligated to preserve and maintain. Their will is often put aside because of our better judgment and perhaps even our desire. Such places as... zoo's... exhibition parks... and so forth?"

The comment seemed to earn a response from Adrian that was so minuscule it could have been missed had Geoffrey not been intently focused on his Master's expression. The response was the slightest twitching of Adrian's lips. His eyes remained on the fire momentarily, but his lips tugged into a partial grin. It was as though he had just been caught in a joke of a riddle. His eyes then turned to face Geoffrey's in a way that Geoffrey couldn't consider to be nearly as casual or joking as he was used to.

"... That'll be all for tonight Geoffrey."

The tone matching the grin didn't frighten the butler exactly, but he had to wonder if maybe he had pushed his master a little far by comparing his 'metaphorical' treatment of Kiara to that of a precious animal in a zoo or center. On the one hand, he felt he had made his point since Adrian had abruptly ended the conversation, but on the other hand, people were often careful about pushing Adrian over any kind of edge.

The smirk Adrian gave him was somewhat comforting however. The 2 men often joked back and forth and if he was in any kind of danger every time he disagreed with his master, he wouldn't have lived a fraction of his age. Whether they agreed or not, there was a common respect between both men and it was with this confidence that Geoffrey gave his slight tilt of the head in professional stride before leaving the room.

"Have a good evening sir."

His footsteps exited the room and once again, silence engulfed the dark room which flashed vividly and sporadically with the random patterns of the lively fireplace.


The rain that was heavily falling long ago had been reduced to droplets that moistened the air more than anything. It was now no heavier than a typical sunshower that could be more refreshing than anything else. All it really lacked was the sun... and Adrian was quite fine with that.

A heavy black fog flooded the room through the crease of the doorway engulfing everything in it's steady path.

The room was dark enough, but the dark mist that shrouded it further seemed to remove any moon-light distinguished items in the room. Specific colours, tables, carpeting, dressers and all other means of furnishing seemed to be drowned in swirling dark mist.

A chilling breeze would have invaded the room to bring Kiara to a conscious state. She could look around to see the same window that was there before, but rather than a portion of the lake, the trail and forestry in the background, what Kiara would see through the window was a moonlight sea. Active waves that might give the illusion of floating.

The vividly blowing scarlet red window-curtain was constantly taking different shapes and sizes as it bent and folded with each string of breeze that interrupted the stability of the room. The breeze itself seemed to enhance the motions of the dark cloud that scattered and hovered along the floor.

It was as though it were a smoke show of some magician's trick. In the midst of the wavering red window-curtain, Adrian's form resided, dark and dreamy of course, but with a completed phantom mask covering his forehead, nose and upper cheeks. Only punctured holes for his eyes provided vision through the item that masked his entire upper face.

He seemed to wade through the floating dark mist as though he were merely hovering in thin air... as much an illusion as the rest of it. His hand outreached towards the bed-seated beauty taking only 3 steps towards her in order to instill some confidence that the dark smoke wouldn't suck her into the floor entirely.

His form had barely remained in the moonlight ray which meant it was considerably more faded into the dark mist than before. Only the swirling contrasting red draping of window curtain folding against his form, then releasing it twirling about gave pure physical proof that he stood there.

His outreached hand was covered in a fine black silken glove as his fingers curled twice as a gesture for her to rise and follow him. The hand did not remain extended any longer however as his attention turned back to the gaping balcony where moonlight shone through.

His hands falling to his sides once more, he took a step towards it, then disappeared behind the flailing curtain where the wall of the room would have to have been removed to see out onto the balcony. The room was filled with a sense of vertigo, a brief straining of the stomach that just tugged as though you were in a car and drove along a narrow descent. That sense of 'falling' or dropping downward left in your stomach if you were on a roller-coaster or, on a slower scale, being on a ship.

When you were on a small enough boat that the waves could rock it, you had that initial feeling of added weight when the boat was lifted by a wave... but then, an immediate removal of weight. Your body began a descent that you might not feel externally because your feet were fastened to the boat, but internally, your stomach twisted ever so slightly, you felt that sense of free-fall even though you weren't actually 'falling'. You were firmly stood on something that was falling.

This was perhaps one of Adrian's favourite aspects of boating. The feeling that was generated as the boat climbed a wave... then as the wave strung out and flowed downward, the boat was brought down with it. As momentum shifted and another wave formed, the boat would be lifted again... until that wave died down bringing the boat back down. The repetitive cycle is what created the entire experience. One could experience sea-sickness from the event... or one could experience a chilling sensation internally that was second to none. Human instinct is to maintain balance and void losing control. Boating provided the natural inclination to follow your human instinct and maintain firm footing... but above water, you could only hope for firm footing on an item that was still at the mercy of the waves beneath.

When you couldn't control the height of the waves, or the scale of the descent... you could only enjoy the tension and anticipation of riding every wave. And that was only the internal element. That didn't go to mention the ability to watch the beautiful streaming that occurred when the front of the ship splashed along, violently parting otherwise calm waters. White bubbling disruptions formed all manner of abstract imagery along the smooth surface of the water as it was interrupted. If it was the calmness of the water you enjoyed, you needed only look out a small distance beyond the water that was affected by your boat's motions. Moonlight crystallized the swaying surface of the lake. It provided a silver shimmer which was the direct contrast to the golden shimmer that sunlight would provide.

Each rise and fall of the small boat provided an enticing splash that was quite more active than the typical (yet beautiful) sound of naturally galloshing waves that merely wind provided. Each time the ship scaled a wave, there was a comparative stillness as the waves lifted it... then as the wave was forced to dissipate and give way, the ship descended in a brief shaving splash which was beautifully soothing as silence again seeped in, waiting for the next wave that elevated the boat and would thus lead to another violent splash sounds into the air before dissipating in turn.

If Kiara were to accept the invitation to walk out onto the balcony, this sensation would have been given visual confirmation. She would see the waves around, the crescent created by the fluid surface being brought to shimmering life by the moonlight.

The balcony was still relatively small, no more than 12 feet long with the rail at the edge forming a sturdy semi-circle. Standing, back to the rail, the suited Phantom let his palms rest steadily over the defining rail.

The dark mist that had shrouded the room completely blanketed this world outside as though everything except the ground she stood on and the waves around her were engulfed in it.

If her eyes were to then study closely and focus on one point for any amount of time, she'd see that she was standing on the upper balcony of some kind of floating boat, perhaps near the sail itself. The intense dark fog and heavy smokey mist seemed designed to blur out any other specifics except for the very basics of where she was and what she could see.

This was so clearly a dream... but designed to feel so evidently real.

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