A Turn of Events

Bright blue eyes opened slowly as the sun sneaked across my face. The curtains had allowed a small sliver of light to illuminate my face, to cast over the naturally beautiful features there. High cheekbones and lips just the right fullness. It was a face that one would think a smile would grace, for one as lovely as mine should not look sad. That’s what everyone told me anyways.

I stretched slowly, my long limbs getting even more tangled in the white sheets on my bed as I did so.
Another day.

With a soft shake of my head my natural blonde waves fell away from my face. It was still a mess. Not another care was given to my appearance as I stood and left my room. To say I was well off financially was a pretty accurate statement. I lived in a lavish home in New York, it was a gift from my parents when I turned twenty. I knew they wanted me out of the house, I was trouble. I did not fit in with the other wealthy sons and daughters and I refused to have a vampire slave. Just that was reason enough to warrant an ominous visit from the enforcers. A group of secret police that could strike fear into anyone. After they came my parents were much more strict with me, I was the reason of their visit.

My thoughts were taken from the past as my cell phone rang; I took it from the counter and answered it, putting it to speaker before beginning to search through the fridge for a quick meal.

“Lydia darling?”

A soft sigh left me lips, Juliana. She was one of the few people I considered a friend, but right now I wasn't in the mood for whatever event or outing she had cooked up.

“Yes Juliana?”

“Oh don’t act so down, did you honestly just wake up dear, it’s almost one o’clock in the afternoon!”
“It’s a Saturday,” was the only reply I felt the outbreak deserved.

I heard her sigh; sometimes I wondered why Juliana put up with me. “Yes I know this, and do you remember what tonight is?”

No, I honestly didn’t, my silence seemed enough answer for her though and I could almost hear her pout in her voice, “it’s Damien Strandon’s annual party!” she said happily.

Oh, that. A celebration of how we forced the vampires into submission forty years ago, something Damien put together each day. He was the heir to an incredible fortune; his father was one of the five men who had taken over as our government. He was not the one fully in charge but very close to it. Damien took on the role of the highly desired bachelor, he had power and he knew how to use it to capture women’s attention. I called him a playboy, Juliana considered him royalty.

“I’m not really feeling well-“

“Nonsense, you can’t skip this party two years in a row,” her tone sounded like a warning and I sighed. Juliana was smart, which was the reason I still considered her a friend, she knew I was lying and knew exactly what the consequences would be if I skipped these events when it was expected that I attended. It would be seen as an act of disobedience and rebellion. Two aspects that earned you a visit from the Enforcers.

“I suppose I can make it,” my tone was much less excited than what hers had been.

“Lovely!” She said happily, “Jackson and I will be over in a few and we can start getting ready!”

Juliana hung up before I could protest, Jackson was her vampire slave. It was typical for us to have one if we were from a wealthy family, Juliana had had Jackson since she was eighteen. I didn’t like having him over here, he was one of the very obedient slaves, the way Juliana bossed him around and how he would obey every command made me sick to my stomach. No one was meant to be treated like that.

I quickly ate a bowl of cereal, then washed and put away my dishes. She would be here soon, she lived only a few minutes away from me with her parents, they had no reason to be ashamed of her and send her away. By the time I had changed into a nice pair of cream colored pants and a navy blouse she was at my door.

My haste in answering the door was so that Jackson was not standing in the sun longer than he had to. I knew they could be in the sun for quite a few hours, but the time spent in it still drained them.

“Lydia!” Juliana sang happily as she hugged me, her vampire servant standing behind her quietly with all of Juliana’s things she would undoubtedly need to prepare for tonight.

“Hey Juliana, how have you been?” I ask, a small smile on my lips. As far as friends went nowadays, she wasn’t too bad.

“Wonderful, wonderful, now let me see the dress you plan on wearing,” her voice was all business. To her this was a very important night; everyone important would be there, all of the rich families and famous socialites. Without waiting for me to lead her she put a hand on my back and steered me back to my room, “come along Jackson,” she called; I could barely hear his soft footsteps as he followed us up the stairs.

She opened the doors to my room and I quickly moved to shut the curtains as Jackson entered behind us. Whether or not the dim glow of sunlight in the room bothered him I could not tell, I hoped it didn’t. In all honesty I had not planned to go tonight, when I received the invitation I had put it straight into the trash bin. But Juliana was right; my absence would not go unnoticed while I was already being watched. I opened my closet and sought out something that could work for tonight, I had a few things that might work but they were not formal enough for this event, the only gown I had was very old. When I turned around to face Juliana and admit I had no dress to wear I saw her holding two dresses and I had to grin. The girl was smart.

“I knew you were not prepared so I got you a dress as well when I got mine,” she held the dress up to me as she spoke. The fact that she could foresee this happening spoke of how long we had known each other. “Now let’s get ready, I refuse to be late.”

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Four long hours later we were done. Jackson was outside of my door as Juliana and I slipped into our dresses, I hadn’t paid much attention to what she had picked out for me until I caught my reflection. It was fitted in all the right places and a very rich red, not too dark and not too bright. The dress was strapless and the neckline dipped down just slightly, the back of the dress scooped down to show off half of my back. The back showed off just enough skin to interest the imagination yet still remain classy. My hands smoothed over the rich fabric of the dress, the chiffon feeling feather light in my hands. “You have certainly outdone yourself Juliana,” I said softly as I looked away from my reflection to the brunette. She looked stunning, since she had very soft and delicate features she had gone with a light blue dress that flowed around her with every step, it was almost opposite of my dress, but Juliana had always been the more conservative one. “You are going to have every man’s eye on you tonight,” I said with a grin as I moved over to her.

She smiled before speaking, “I don’t think you got a good enough look at yourself, I’m sure Damien will notice,” with that comment she winked at me and reached up to fix my diamond necklace.

I scoffed, “you had that in mind when getting this dress didn’t you? I’m quite positive I told you how I feel about trying to set me up.”

Juliana did not look ashamed at all, she felt what I needed in my life was a man. She had her many suitors constantly trying to get her attention and she loved it. I used to be a very sought after person, but after you refuse enough dates they soon get the picture. “Well, it’s not like you have anything else to wear, and honestly just one date wouldn’t kill you,” she almost sounded like a mother lecturing a child.

Well, she had me there. I slipped my black high heels on as Juliana did a final check in the mirror.

“Ready?” She said, the excitement bubbling up in her.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied, standing up and fixing my hair, it fell down my back in soft waves that had taken Juliana an hour to perfect.

“Lovely!” She said and grabbed my hand, Jackson was waiting outside of my room and he followed us down the stairs without a word. “Now, it starts in fifteen minutes, that gives us plenty of time to get there just after it starts, don’t want to be too early,” it was like she was planning something much more serious than just going to a party.

“Don’t you have a date?” I asked, I had thought I would be meeting her there.

“I’m going with you tonight, keep my options open, there’s no telling who will be there and I don’t want to be stuck on the arm of some drab boy from town.”

“Of course, what a terrible way to spend the night,” my voice was overly dramatic as I spoke. Juliana just sighed heavily and gave me a little shove to get in the car. The things she had to put up with when it came to me.