My Little Ventrue Pt. 10 Ch. 07

~~Jack~~

"There's going to be a lot of vampires there, Mary," Jack said.

"I know."

"They know you're a resurrected person. They're going to be watching you all night."

"I know."

"Some of them might even try and corner you, and, uh, 'convince' you to come with them." He air-quoted convince.

She laughed and shrugged. "I know."

Him, his sister, and his mom were in a limousine, currently on the way to the Black Hall, with a loyal thrall driving them. His thralls weren't coming. Maybe next time, but he didn't feel entirely secure with his three girls coming to the ball, not when Jacob was still an unknown factor. Antoinette wasn't bringing her ghouls, either.

Mulder stayed back at the mansion, playing watch duty with the girls. They'd gotten used to the undead familiars, and were probably playing with Mulder right now, making puzzles for him to solve with their shiny jewelry and stuff. Find the ring under the cups, dig in the couch for a bracelet, things like that. The birds' minds were never the same after being turned undead, but there was still a sliver of crow in there, and Jack was thankful his thralls were happy to play with them.

Scully, on the other hand, flew overhead, following the limousine, sending Jack updates about whatever she saw. She'd stay outside once they arrived, his scout. Maybe in the future he'd invite her into the ball, but for now he wanted her outside and doing recon, hopefully without anyone noticing.

"Not to mention the dress," he said, gesturing to Mary.

"Hey! I picked a nice dress."

It was a nice dress, white, with tiny straps that hooked around the neck and hugged a snug front to her chest, before ending in a skirt that went long, and split at the thigh. It could have even been a normal fancy dress, and not hyper sexual, if not for the fact the chest was really thin, width-wise. Her breasts were almost popping out the sides, held in only by the extra strap that pulled on the chest and went around the back, almost like a swimsuit. Topped with some fancy, but subtle jewelry, she looked great. Too great. Surrogate father instincts kicking in, maybe? Or just brother instincts.

"A little more revealing than I'd like," their mom said.

Mary gestured to their mom. "Pot calling kettle black, don't you think?"

Jack groaned as he glanced at his mom, and looked away. Yeap, Mary was right, their mom was dressed in an even more revealing dress, black, and pretty much the same as Mary's except the chest also split down the front to show off an absurd amount of cleavage, all the way down. Like, now he knew his mom shaved her privates smooth, all the way down.

At least they were wearing underwear, tiny thongs, but he wasn't happy being able to tell the color of them matched their dresses. That was information no man should ever have to know about his sister or mother, vampires or not.

"You know you could wear suits," he said. "Lot of ladies wear suits."

"To the ball?" Mary asked.

"I mean, a few... jackets open and shirts undone to only the bottom button... with no bra." Still, slightly more conservative than the dresses they were wearing.

"That does sound pretty sexy, honestly."

He groaned and shook his head. "Mom, please keep her out of trouble."

"I will... try."

"Mom!"

Their mom giggled, reached out, and gave his knee a slap.

"Come on, Jack! Mary's alive, and it wouldn't be fair of me to tell her she's not allowed to enjoy herself the way we have."

Jack put up a hand. "She's been alive for three nights. How about we ease her into things?"

"No!" Mary slapped his knee, much harder than their mom. "I've been a ghost for so long, I have a lot to make up for. I'm going to enjoy myself tonight, in whatever way I want. And unlike you two, I can get drunk."

The idea of his sister getting drunk at a Black Hall ball sent his mind spiraling into some very disturbing imagery. Disturbing for him, at least. He didn't want to stumble onto his sister getting fingered and Kissed by three vampires while lying on a table naked, like a meal. Which was exactly what a lot of vampires there would think the moment they saw her.

"Mary," their mom said, "I know I don't have to give you the sex talk. And I know it's not an issue with vampires anyway, but at least be careful? You can drink, sure. You can... 'socialize', if you want." She struggled hard with the word socialize. "But remember, it's a room full of predators. All of them will be looking for a meal, and that can be a fun time for both parties, but not all the predators play nice."

"Then it's a good thing your sire is the Prince, and she's going to make sure everyone gets along." Grinning like an evil imp, Mary nodded and drummed her palms on her knee. She was excited. "Don't worry. I won't leave the Black Hall without at least one of you."

Jack sighed, but nodded. That was a good compromise. Unfortunately, it meant she had the entire ball's duration to get herself into trouble, and she was good at that. Very good.

The limousine pulled up to the building, and he watched Mary's eyes light up as she looked out the car window. Their mom was right. He should lighten up and let her enjoy herself however she wanted.

Christ, she really was alive. This was his sister, a reckless, bubbly girl who never thought more than five minutes ahead. And she'd been happy back in the day. And she was happy now.

He smiled as he watched her, and for the first time in a long time, let himself imagine what it'd be like to have his mom and sister back together and in his life again. Terrifying, considering his mom was dating Jacob, and had become intimately familiar with Black Blood. Horrifying, because he knew it was likely Mary would want to become a vampire, and join the nightlife.

But maybe...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now presenting, Mister Jack Terry, Right Hand of the Invictus. Miss Samantha Terry, childe of the Prince, and young dragon. And... Miss Mary Terry, biological child of Samantha Terry." The presenter, dressed in a suit better suited for a penguin, actually did a double take at the card in his hand. Someone -- probably another one of Antoinette's thralls -- must have given it to him at the last minute.

"Holy shit," Mary whispered, leaning over to Jack. "That's... wow."

The Black Hall was a ballroom, but Mary apparently hadn't quite prepared herself for what that meant. It meant chandelier. It meant a huge floor filled with talking people, and tables with expensive and pristine white cloths over them. It meant lots of fancy clothes. It meant a second floor that you walked up to with either of two, giant, curving staircases that spread out and turned into a balcony that circled the ballroom. It meant a small orchestra playing live music up on the second floor, with the ceiling acoustics making sure everyone could hear it. It meant an entire building filled with black marble; it didn't have the same white lightning veins the Elysium Tower did, but it wasn't far off. It meant luxury.

Jack held out his elbow, and nudged Mary with it. She nudged him back.

"No, you idiot. Take my arm."

"Oh, right!" Giggling, she hooked his arm, and walked with him, their mom right behind them and closer to Mary as they moved toward the crowd. They had a small staircase to go down, a circular one that opened up in the ballroom, and Jack made sure they took each step slowly so the people could get a good look. A show of confidence.

Bella was nearby. They spotted each other instantly, and Jack held her gaze for a few moments. Friend? Foe? She looked at him, his mom, his sister, and frowned as she disappeared into the churning crowd. Neither then. Well, that was good enough for him.

More than a few people stared at Mary, leaning over to whisper to each other as Jack came closer to the crowd. Some actually stopped what they were doing to look at her, trying to discern if she was a vampire or not. It didn't take long before everyone realized she was not. The only non-paranormal in the ball not bound by the Vinculum, save for the hunters, and thus a huge Masquerade threat. But also deeply connected to the Prince and Jack, two people no one wanted to cross.

Jack didn't know if Mary knew how weirdly, quietly tense the whole night had become because of that, but if she did she didn't let it show. She was all smiles, genuine, big smiles, as she looked at the tables near the walls of the giant building.

"No food?" she asked.

"No, dear," their mom said. "I told you to eat something before you came."

"I did, a little."

"Good. The only food that'll get on those tables is other kine."

"Ooooh."

Jack bit down on his groan. Sex was everywhere in Dolareido, and he had to accept that his sister was going to get into it faster than his mom did. Like, maybe tonight fast. Hopefully she wouldn't end up getting involved with Jacob or witch orgies, but knowing Mary, she'd end up getting involved with some 'bad boys' or something.

Don't think about that, just focus on having a fun time at the ball.

Yeah right. He hated these things. Even with all his new found money, physical, social, and political power, he still hated these things. Too many people, too many shoulders to dodge, too many eyes to consider, too many everything.

But at least he was better at it. Socializing was a skill, and it was useful. So was wearing a good suit that made him look professional and sexy. He had both. The suit he wore now was silver, with a silver vest, black tie and white shirt, and all sorts of bits of flair, including a silver chain that connected from a vest button to a genuine handheld antique watch in his pocket. It was the sort of suit Viktor would have worn, fabulous and imposing.

"Jack!" Out of the crowd came a bouncing redhead in a green dress. A genuine ballroom dress at that, no cleavage or anything, with a big fluffy skirt made of a dozen layers. Her hair was straightened too, and bounced around her shoulders in waves.

"Fiona?"

"Aye! Ye like?" She spun around for him as he came down the last step.

Oh. The dress was plenty covering from the front, but it had no back. At all. The back cut so low he could tell she wasn't wearing any underwear.

"Nice ass," Mary said with a wink.

Fiona burst into giggles. "Damien said I should wear a dress that was nae so focused on my tits. I went with ass."

Jack looked past her to the crowd. A lot of people were still watching, but a lot had gone back to their conversing, too. One man stood there looking their way, and when he noticed Jack noticing, he nodded as he came over. Damien, wearing a far simpler black suit, but without a tie, and with many of the shirt buttons undone, exposing his lean body.

A few women were wearing the same sort of suit, but Damien had that pretty boy look to him that really sealed the deal, according to Antoinette. Romantic vampire mystique. Jack could see it.

"Hello," Damien said, nodding to the group. "Antoinette didn't come with you, Jack?"

"Nah. She's gonna arrive fashionably late, probably with Elaine. Anyone from the Circle here yet?"

"No."

"Uratha?"

"All here." He gestured around. "Mingling."

Jack had half expected them to group up. But apparently they'd gotten used to Dolareido enough to socialize with the vampires individually, many of them sipping alcohol while talking. Comfortable enough to get drunk, which meant comfortable enough to let their guard down, mostly. Not that werewolves would get drunk from just sipping wine, but it did look like a few of them were doing more than sipping. Hopefully they wouldn't get loose tongues.

Eric he expected, of course. With Jessy on his arm, slipping him more glasses, the man was going to get at least a little drunk. She was wearing a fancy blue dress, but of course it had a lot of skin showing. Marge, for some reason, stood with them, smiling and laughing as she sipped her own drink. It wouldn't take much alcohol to get a small kine like that drunk. And considering her history with Isabella, probably Kissed before the night was done.

Natasha was there with her boys. They were both wearing silk shirts, partly see-through, with most buttons undone. One in black, the other in white. Both in pants of the opposite color. Either they were playing off the fact they usually went everywhere together, or Natasha was.

The tiny Mekhet wore a black dress, something that hugged her body damn tight with laces along the sides, from thigh to armpit, no underwear. Latex? It was shiny, that was for sure, and it wasn't like vampires could sweat, so they didn't have a problem with the material. She turned to face Jack and waved to him from a distance, and he waved back, cocking an eyebrow. She smiled and shrugged. The latex also had a window between her small breasts, almost completely revealing them. God damn, she'd changed.

"You two look great, by the way," Damien said, nodding to Mary and Samantha. His socializing skills were getting better. Jack doubted his mom or sister could hear the likely dozen rehearsals in it.

Both women smiled bright.

"And you," Mary said, "look like the main character in a novel I read not long ago."

Jack shot his mom a glare, and she whistled innocently as she looked away. She'd heard that from Antoinette, and told Mary. And Mary naturally saw the opportunity for a joke.

"I know!" Fiona burst into giggles again as she hooked her man's arm. "But he's mine. Go find yer own."

"I think I just might." Nodding, smile growing larger, Mary looked around at the room. "This really is less a ball and more a night club with an orchestra.

"Vampires," their mom said. "It's, uh, a weird balance with vampires."

Her daughter nodded. "Pretentious but obsessed with sex. Sounds about right." Before their mom could stop her, Mary scooped a glass of red wine off the tray of a nearby serving kine, and downed it.

"Mary!" Their mom took the glass and gave it back to the server. "That could have been blood!"

Jack snorted on a laugh as he imagined his sister downing a glass of blood. Vampire humor.

"Nah, I could tell from the consistency."

Their mom gasped. "Don't tell me my daughter is an alcoholic."

"Wine connoisseur," Mary lied as she rolled her eyes. "Come on, Mom. Introduce me to some people."

"You don't want Jack to--"

"Jack can do it later. But I don't think he'll be able to get away from the... official capacity of his position." Mary snickered and grinned at him. "Everyone knows him, apparently."

"That's... true." Jack groaned and waved her off. "Yeah, she's right. Go have fun. But please don't drink yourself into a really stupid decision."

"I plan to do just that."

Their mom elbowed Mary in the hip, hard enough to get a small yelp out of her.

"Don't worry, Jack. I'll keep an eye on her."

Keep an eye on her until Jacob showed up, sure.

His mom and sister walked off and disappeared into the crowd, and were immediately swarmed by people asking questions, mostly about Mary. Mary managed to handle it with her typical social enthusiasm, and any worry she might have had about saying the wrong thing, or that she was talking to literal killers, didn't seem to affect her. How the hell could she be so good at socializing naturally, when Jack had to spend years training at it?

Jack looked up. On the balcony, behind the thick marble railing, stood Daniel. He wore a fancy suit, nothing sexy about it, and he kept his gaze on the crowd below, scanning left to right. Usually the man preferred to be completely unseen during these events, or in a less obvious position. But there was a woman standing beside him, this time.

Athalia. And her eyes were pointed at Mary.

"Oh shit," he said.

Damien looked at him, and followed his eyes up to Athalia. "Oh shit."

"I fucking forgot. Christ, with all the shit that's been happening, I fucking forgot."

"Think she'll be angry?"

Jack winced as he stared at Athalia, but the Begotten's eyes were transfixed on Mary.

"I... think she might be. Fiona, Athalia say anything about Mary since she got a body?"

Fiona shrugged as she moved to stand in front of them both. "No, but I have nae talked to her much the past few days. She's been hanging with her lad, Daniel."

"Hopefully," Jack said, "he's been helping her stay calm. She's probably furious that Mary's alive while Angela... yeah."

"Ye think?" Fiona frowned as she shook her head. "I dunno. I think Athalia's a lot calmer these days, and she'll be happy for Sam."

"Or she's still deciding," Damien said, looking to Jack. "What do you want to do?"

"Let's just leave her alone for now. Daniel's with her. He'll keep things cool."

"Aye," Fiona said. "Good idea. Come on then! I want to show off." Smile unwavering, Fiona grabbed Damien's arm, and pulled him back into the crowd.

Poor Damien. He hated this shit as much as Jack did, and he looked to him with begging eyes. If it'd been anyone else pulling Damien, Jack would have saved the man from the unwanted social situation. But his girlfriend? Jack just smiled and waved, and Damien managed to glare at him before disappearing behind bodies. He'd pay for that later, probably. Ah well.

Mary and Fiona, and probably the Uratha, were here to have fun, socialize, get drunk, etcetera, while every vampire in the place was looking for a way to uncover some information that'd give them a leg up in the Danse Macabre. Balls weren't had for fun. They were had as a political arena free-for-all, where everyone got to engage and try and walk away from skirmishes with more information than the other person. Not coming wasn't an option, because even if you gave away more information than you earned in the arena, it was usually worth it for the information gained, anyway.

Which meant every political player would be here. Sure, some of the tunnel dwellers, particularly the more deformed Nosferatu, would stay out, despite the open invite. But any vampire who gave a shit about the city and their place in it was here. Sure enough, Jack spotted Michael, chatting with Maria. He spotted Garry, chatting with Isabella; no idea what that was about. He spotted Bella and her Carthian buddies talking with Avery and a few Uratha. He spotted Garry's childe Jeremy Long talking with Parker and Vicky, probably about their brothels in the seedier corners of Dolareido. Business propositions. Even the younger vampires, Tash's childe Vivienne, Gloria's childe Amanda, Jordan, Garry's boyfriend Mike, and even the Carthian Cory, had gathered to talk, probably to play the politics game at a more ground level, where young vampires lived.

Cory glanced over his shoulder, spotted Jack, and inched himself away until a random body stood between them. The guy would probably never forget what it'd been like to have someone punch a hole in his guts, literally.

Jack sighed, and stepped aside as a few more people were announced at the door. He found a corner to stand in, and sure enough, the corner opened up with more space as nearby vampires drifted away. They didn't want to look scared of him, but they made sure he had at least eight feet of free space in any direction at all times.

At least until Garry came up to him. Jack raised a brow at the man, but Garry just laughed as he parked beside him, a wine glass full of blood in his hand. He wore a suit, but it wasn't especially fancy or anything, soft blue with a blood red shirt under the blazer. Interesting choice.

"You really hate these things, don't you?" Garry asked.

"You don't?"

"I can enjoy a party. Maybe not this one, with everyone looking to stab each other in the back."

"They're not looking to stab each other, just... get an advantage over each other."

The Gangrel shrugged and sipped his drink. "Whatever, same idea. At a proper party, no one's looking to fuck each other over. Just fuck each other."