Heart of Ashes

Party Planning

Dmitri smiled at both of them as he rested his hands on the giant doors to the ballroom, "Are you ready for it?"

Caine rolled his eyes, "Bloody hell, Dmitri, just open the damned doors."

Dmitri gave the doors a shove and they opened to reveal the new and improved ballroom. Evelyn could smell the faint aroma of fresh paint and wood varnish. The hardwood floors had been polished almost as well as Caine's shoes and everything looked so perfect. Luxurious, maroon curtains with gold fringes and tie-backs hung from gold rods, with ornate finials, over the arch-shaped, stained glass windows. An enormous, old world, black chandelier hung from the ceiling. On the other end of the room were steps to a raised platform where, Evelyn quickly realised, was where a band or small orchestra might play during a party. The platform was flanked by another set of very long, heavy, maroon curtains. Looking around, Evelyn saw - what looked like - gilded gas lamps mounted on the walls, two panels apart. It was a very beautiful room, she'd never seen anything like it.

"And? What do you think?" Dmitri asked, clearly unable to contain his excitement.

Evelyn let her eyes do one more sweep through the room and sighed, "It looks beautiful."

Caine shrugged, "I don't know what you're excited about. It looks the same as it did before."

Dmitri's smile, if possible, broadened even further and he reach out to pull both of them into the room. He turned them around and pointed above the door, "That's what you think."

There was a gilt dragon's head - the same one in the great hall - directly above the door with two portraits on either side of it. The first one on the left - closest to the dragon's head - was of Caine. Whoever the artist was, they had accentuated the red in his hair by creating an unseen light from the top right-hand corner. He had a solemn expression on his face but his eyes were dark and full of mystery. Next to his portrait was a woman. She was exceptionally beautiful. The artist had portrayed platinum hair in a complex-looking updo, glittering, pale green eyes and a cool smile on full, sculpted, crimson lips. On the right side of the dragon's head was another man - Vlad Dracula, himself, as Evelyn later discovered - with long, charcoal coloured hair and glittering, golden eyes. He had a slightly longer face - but not too long - and defined cheekbones. He had a well kept moustache and a small goatee type thing under his bottom lip which branched off, when it reached his chin, to cover his jawline. Like Caine's, his face was solemn but his eyes seemed to harbour a deep resentment or anger towards something. Next to his portrait, was Dmitri's. He looked exactly, in the painting, as he did standing with them in the ballroom except, instead of a haphazardly arranged ponytail, his hair had been tied back, rather neatly, with a black ribbon and he was wearing a cravat. In the painting, his face was completely clean-shaven and there was an expression that suggested he was suppressing something on it. Evelyn noticed Caine staring at Vlad's portrait. His eyes had glazed over as if remembering something painful, then they flickered over to the woman and a grimace pulled at his lips, though it was only there for a moment then it disappeared and a distinctly false smile replaced it.

"Where did you unearth these?" Caine asked.

Dmitri shrugged, "I found them in Lillith's section of the vault. I thought it a shame to keep them hidden."

Caine nodded, "Mm, Lillith was very talented."

Evelyn cleared her throat, "Umm, who?"

"Lillith," Caine said, "the first Nekrosenti. The first woman to become a true vampire."

"She's beautiful," Evelyn said.

"Was," Caine corrected, "Yes, she was very beautiful."

The two of them appeared to partake in a moment of silence for their fallen brethren then Dmitri spoke.