Roses for Rachel

Chapter 12.

The second my feet left the stage Pedro was there, looping my arm through his and grinning like I hadn't seen him do before. "That was....I am not even sure what that was, but whatever it was, it worked." He gushed. He squeezed my arm like he wanted to hug me but he was fighting the urge. "I will admit, I wasn't sure about anything other than the fact that you look fantastic. I was pretty sure even the glare of a beautiful dress wouldn't hide whatever it was you planned to get up there and say, but you surprised me." Pedro ushered us through the corridors as they began to fill with people rushing out of the ballroom while the servants prepared it for the ball to follow. "I've never been proud of someone before." Pedro muttered to himself and I smiled up at him.

"You're proud of me?" I laughed, still feeling the high from the cheers.

He rolled his eyes. "If I was going to be proud of someone, I suppose it would be you." I figured that was as close to a compliment as I was going to get with Pedro.

Fern met us in the hallway. "Oh, Miss!" She cheered when she saw me, stepping out of her usual professionalism to hug me quickly. "You were unbelievable! I count myself lucky to be the maiden assigned to you." She pulled away only to come right back and hug me again. "So happy for you, Miss. I'll see you tonight after the ball. I can't wait to hear all about it." She told me as she rushed away into the crowds.

I plopped down onto my bed the second we walked into my room. "Well, I'm glad you're happy about my performance because, honestly, I thought I was going to vomit the entire time." I admitted, then my stomach began to rumble again. "Actually," I told Pedro. "I think it is still a possibility." Then I flopped back, staring up at my ceiling.

"Oh, hush." He said with a smile in his voice. "They loved you. I told you, fickle fickle vampires. You impressed them."

I smiled for a second. It's about time I got something right around here, and I have to admit it felt good to actually be liked by the people who were claiming to hate my guts just a day before. The moment was short lived though. "Well, they aren't the one I cared about impressing." I reminded him.

"You'll see him soon at the ball, and speaking of...I have a surprise for you."

The tone of his perky voice made me sit up. Pedro was standing over by the clothing racks and he pulled one of the long dress bags off and brought it over to me. "If the speech didn't seal the deal, this dress will." He said seductively as he unzipped the white bag, revealing a deep burgundy gown with a low scoop neck, which was totally backless.

I blanched when I laid eyes on it. "You have got to be kidding. What's wrong with this dress?" I asked glancing down at the beautiful bodice of my sparkling gown.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me to stand up. "Nothing is wrong with it, but you want to keep the momentum going. Everyone will be buzzing about you if you have a wardrobe change in-between events like this. The other girls aren't returning to their rooms, they all got ushered into a waiting area. I pulled some strings for you because the media will eat this shit up like it's a plump eighteen year old girl."

I leaned away from him, pinching up my face. "Ok, that's disgusting." My voice trilled in horror.

Master Pedro only rolled his eyes. "You'll see what I mean one day. There's nothing better than a human fresh out of a feeding school." Then he shoved the dress into my hands and pointed me toward the washroom. "Hurry and change, we don't want to be more than fashionably late." He scolded, tapping the large faced watch on his wrist.

I walked briskly into the washroom and changed into the new dress as quickly as was possible. This one was just as snug as the last one, but at least the fabric had a little more give, so moving around would be easier. I tried really hard not to think about what Pedro had said, but the thought of all those poor unsuspecting girls back at the feeding schools made me feel sick to my stomach. I splashed some cold water from the sink on the sides of my neck to calm me down, but it only helped marginally.