Vilainous Deeds

I wasn't quite sure what I expected to happen the morning of the dance, but surely nothing as odd as what did occur.
Layla was gone, and a maid had come to dress me.
"Master, you have much preparing to do, so you must be dressed immediately. I am here to help you as Miss Layla requested."
I allowed her to suit me up, pinning in the suit where it needed, and finally she fussed over my hair and then left me alone.
I knew I had quite a while before anyone was coming, but I needed to get some things ready. All of the servants were getting ready. I quickly ran to town where I met Dominus Saxon.
“Did my shipment come in?”
“Yes. they should be arriving at your house any moment now.”
“Excellent. Thank you. When shall I fetch your feeders?”
“I’ve already taken care of it, Mercator Hewitt. Calm down. Everything ought to be at your house soon.”
“Alright. Thank you. Are you attending the ball tonight?”
“Yes, I am.”
Despite our rough beginning, the two of us were now much closer than we originally had been.
“Excellent. I’ll see you then.”

⍬

“Our guests have arrived,” I announced, and allowed my servants to trickle into the ballroom, a few at a time so as not to all enter at once, and after they all had entered, I was about to enter when my name was called quietly. Tara was standing behind me.
“What is it?”
She silently held out her hand and passed me something small and silky, a vibrant gold in color, with small, dark green swirls. “Layla asked me to give this to you.”
I thanked her, and ushered her into the room. I was disappointed not to notice Layla, but I was sure she was there. It had started a little while ago.
I walked slowly down the stairs, and was greeted by a man offering champagne. I politely declined. Wine was much better, and I was not in the mood to drink champagne tonight.
“Are you sure you don’t want any champagne? Mr. Hewitt has generously provided us with some delicious champagne as so few bother to do. It actually tastes good,” said a presumptuous girl, and I turned, seeing that even behind her mask she held an air of royalty, and I knew she was a Dominus at least.
“Who is Mr. Hewitt? I’m afraid I don’t know him too well. I came to attempt to meet him. What’s he like?”
“Well I certainly don’t know him, but rumor is that he’s a recluse, and probably won’t be attending this party. People say he only threw it so people would like him, or maybe to make his sweetheart happy.”
“Well, why did you come?”
“Why, for the fun, and the champagne of course.”
I politely excused myself as I saw someone standing on the staircase, making a request.
“This has thus far been a wonderful gala, and I myself am greatly enjoying the time here. But if we could please meet our host, I’m sure all of us would be very pleased. We have done as we were asked. Our marks are covered,” he said, holding up his wrist for the ‘host’ to see. “We have worn our masks. Can you please remove yours?”
A woman emerged from behind him, and smiled from behind a dark green mask with gold swirls that was the exact opposite of mine. “I am one of your hosts,” the woman announced elegantly. “I am sure you can spot my sweetheart amongst you.”
The people around me gasped and backed away, leaving me a clear path to Layla. The man on the staircase quickly fled down, and I ambled up to meet Layla. I grasped her hand, and addressed the crowd.
“Now, I am very sorry for the interruption. My name is Sebastian, and yes, I am hosting this event in an attempt to bring us all together.”
“What do you mean?” some chorused. “We already are close!” others chimed.
I smiled at Layla, and whispered, “Be ready for an uproar.” Then to the crowd, “Amongst you are many of different classes. My rules remain. The marks stay covered, or you must leave. And masks stay on. But there are many here, from a very few Haeres to those in the slave class.”
People gasped. “You have intermingled such distant classes!” “That’s preposterous!” “We would know immediately if there were slaves here.”
I laughed at their outrage. “Let me tell you something, my dear vampire-kin. We are all alike. We all need blood to live well. We all need to have our heads intact and our bodies unburnt. So why do we insist on separating ourselves? We make ourselves weak. Who amongst you thinks that Dux fight better than Mercators?” No one spoke, so I pressed on. “Better than undesirables? Slaves? Anyone care to speak?” A quiet filled the room between my echoing words. “No! We all have our abilities and in dividing our classes and refusing to intermingle, we are weakening ourselves! In our armies, do we not need more fighters? Do we not need to protect our town from invaders? Why should slaves be any less capable? They are not. They are vampires like us. And if you have a problem with my generosity extending to some that you dare to deem ‘beneath’ you, then you may go, and feel free to leave your refreshments here,” I added, and Layla looked shocked.
I grabbed her hand, and dragged her into the kitchen where I grabbed a bottle of wine, and poured us both some. She had always liked it too.
“Well, shall we go see if anyone has bothered to stay?” I asked, and she laughed.
“Sebastian, I think you scared them half to death.”
“That’s quite alright. Let’s go see who’s left.”
With our wine in hand, we returned to the gala, where I was glad to see a good number still remained. Maybe a quarter of the guests had left, but I didn’t care. This would be a wonderful time.
“Mercator Hewitt!” some shouted when they saw me, and I raised my wine glass to them.
“Thank you all for staying and at the very least considering my views. Perhaps one day I can share them on a broader scale.”
“You know that will cause a vast number of problems, right?” someone disagreed.
“That’s not the way our society works.”
“Maybe it’s how it needs to work.”
A few people clapped, and the party resumed.
Every now and then, someone would approach me and offer me another drink, and I took a few of them, glad to have a distraction. Layla was off socializing. Despite her lowly entry into the vampire social caste, she fit in well. Better than me, despite my upbringing, simply because I had such a hard time getting along with people I didn’t know if I felt uncomfortable. I’d rather be tearing off their heads, honestly.
“Mercator!” came Warren’s voice, and I swivelled to see him in a mask with a pretty woman at his side, and I recognized her as one of the feeders.
“Hello, Warren.”
“This gala has been wonderful, and I wanted to thank you. Have you had a drink tonight from a lovely lady?”
“I have not. I prefer to drink in private,” I added, and he nodded his understanding.
“Well, take her with you, then. She looked lonely all by herself. And I think your idea to combine the slaves and the higher classes together is a great one. Have a good night,” he added, and sauntered off, leaving me alone with the girl.
“My name’s Delia. Are you thirsty?”
“I am, I suppose.”
She smiled, and led me upstairs, and out of the room.
“Where can we go for your desired privacy?”
Something felt wrong, but I couldn’t detect quite what it was.
“Well, there’s my office, I suppose.”
“Take me there, then.”
I did, and when I drank her blood I knew immediately what was wrong. I spat it out but it was too late. I had ingested it. No wonder she was acting so flirtatiously. She’d digested some potent aphrodisiac, and now I had too.
“You... Warren did this?”
“I don’t know. Someone gave me a drink I suppose, but it wasn’t him. Some woman.” she murmured, and pressed her body against mine. I melded to hers, but it felt wrong, wrong, wrong.
“No,” I said quietly. “Stop it.”
“Come on,” she pouted. “I really want it and don’t you too?”
“There are two reasons I am saying no. One, you’re human, and that’s just plain disgusting. Two, you’re not my Layla.”
“Is she the one in a green mask?”
“Yes. She’s the only one I want,” I said, and pushed Delia farther from me.
“She gave me the drink,” the girl said, and I knew exactly what had happened.
I stormed off, angry. How could Layla do something like that?
“Sebastian,” Layla murmured when she found me sitting on the porch a little while later, downing a bottle of ale.
“Yes?” I asked curtly, and she frowned.
“Are you alright?”
“Is everyone gone? Are the guests gone? The slaves in their quarters?”
“Yes. Tara has taken care of dealing with the servants for the night and the guests have gone. Are you mad at me, Sebastian?”
“Confused.”
“Please put the bottle down,” she requested, and I did, but then stood, slightly unsteadily.
“Who are you to tell me what to do? To test me? That’s just not fair, Layla. And aphrodisiac? After I’d already had a fair amount of wine? Were you intending to make me fail? What did you intend to do if I slept with her?”
She frowned. “Master Sebastian, I was trying to get you to loosen up. I know the night was hard, and I wanted you to have a drink. But what on earth are you asking about and aphrodisiac?”
“Her blood was tainted with lust drugs.”
“I had nothing to do with that.”
I frowned. “Then who did?”
“I don’t know, Sebastian. But if it is true that you were influenced by an aphrodisiac... Is it still in effect?”
I could feel my face flushing as she looked down, and apparently she was well able to see that it was.
“Would you like to ignore it or simply... ah... satisfy your cravings?”
“I know not, Layla. I trust you will make a good decision for tonight, seeing as I am a bit indisposed at the moment.”
She thought for a moment before she rushed forward and embraced me. “I would very much like to find a way that we can be together without worries of a child. And then we can afford to give into our desires. I am sorry, but I think we had better wait.”
I nodded. She was right, despite my displeasure at that fact.
And now, after all the hard work that had gone into preparing the dance, it was over. And fortunately, it had gone relatively smoothly. I hadn’t expected as many people to stay as they had. My servants had all stayed, of course. But others had too. Maybe more would come to see my viewpoint in not too distant future.
Now all I had in mind was finding out who had worn a green mask, and who had tried to hurt Layla and me like that.