My 3 Contract Lovers

[2]

[Bianca]

Vampire

A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence of the living.

I stopped reading as my mother shifted and my gaze fell on her fragile form. I waited to see if she would wake up, but she settled and I sighed softly before returning to the old phone.

Werewolf

In folklore, a werewolf, or occasionally lycanthrope, is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction with the transformations occurring on the night of a full moon.

I huffed out and then looked up the city of Ethine.

Ethine

Ethine is the capital and most popular, the city is known for its modern culture and the relationship between humans and immortals.

I frowned as I continued to scan the information. Aside from mentioning immortals, I was then referred to the Convocation organization. I looked that up and was taken to their official website and my eyes went wide as I read through their introduction.

The Convocation Organization was established in the early 1800s by the founder, Gregory Brown, after discovering the immortals. The Organization formalized a peace treaty in order to maintain the balance between the two colliding worlds.

I scanned through the rest of the site until I came upon the announcement of their Consort Ball.

The Consort Ball was created to give the immortals an opportunity to select their consort.

That was it. Nothing further, so, I logged out before I leaned back against the wall and stared out the window. So far, I had found out that the so-called immortals ran freely in the city of Ethine and lived among us. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, and in all honesty, I was still a non-believer. Casey, on the other hand, insisted that I would have learned everything if I just finished school. I hadn’t been able to finish because of my mother, but it was the past and there was nothing I could do about it. In the meantime, the ball was tonight, and I had yet to find anything to wear. I didn’t own anything formal and after looking through my mother’s clothes, I realized she didn’t have anything either. I turned away from the view and got up. My aunt hadn’t returned home, and she was the only one who may have something. I crossed the living room to get to her bedroom and it was immaculate. Then again, she was hardly ever home.

“I hope you have something decent,” I commented aloud as I went over to the tiny cupboard in the corner of the small room. I was met with the strong smell of her favorite perfume as I pulled the door open. She had a few dresses hanging up and some folded items of clothing – which I ignored. I shifted through the dresses. “Seriously?” I remarked as I took the first dress out. It was pitch black and looked very short and tight. I set it back and pulled out the next dress. It was a pale blue with thin straps and looked short and tight. I sighed in frustration as I put it back and took out the next one. A golden glittery dress that looked to be even shorter than the previous two. This wasn’t going to work, and I quickly eyed the other dresses. All of them were revealing, tight-fitting, and extremely short. I definitely wasn’t comfortable with any of them and yet, I knew I wouldn’t have much of a choice. I certainly couldn’t attend a ball in jeans and a t-shirt.

“What are you doing?” I jumped, startled, as I dropped the fiery red dress and turned to see my aunt standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

“Um…”

“Have you decided to join me?” she asked and I hated the smug look on her face. However, I quickly shook my head but before she could say anything further, I held out the invitation I had stuffed in my pocket. “What’s this?” she questioned as she entered the room and took the invitation. I watched her closely and her eyes went wide. “You? You’ve been invited?”

“It would seem so,” I remarked casually. I still wasn’t sure what this consort ball thing was all about, but according to Casey, it was her ticket out of Ethis.

“Oh!” she then exclaimed, and I was taken aback by her excitement. “Oh! Oh!” she dropped the invitation on the bed and picked up the dress. “No, no, none of these will do,” she then said. “Come on,” before I could argue or think better of it, I was following her out of her bedroom and out of the apartment. Vivian headed three doors down before she stopped to knock on the door. I wasn’t friendly or familiar with any of our neighbors, so I wasn’t sure who lived there. However, a woman dressed in an old yellow robe pulled open the door.

“It’s too early – oh, hey,” she smiled as she stepped aside and allowed us to enter her apartment. I glanced around and I was, admittedly, impressed. It looked pretty much the same as ours, except it was filled with shiny things. The couch was a rich dark brown with a few colored scattered cushions. The coffee table was wooden and piled high with magazines. She even had a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. Her kitchen had a large fridge, stove, and microwave, and judging from the smell, the woman had been enjoying a cup of coffee.

“Milly, you won’t believe it,” Vivian gushed out as she plonked herself down on the couch. Milly simply went into the kitchen and removed two porcelain cups from the cupboard. My mouth watered as I watched her pour coffee from the fancy machine she had on the counter. The smell of it was enough to have me moving forward. Milly eyed me but handed over a cup, which I accepted gratefully. I wasn’t going to ask for milk, cream, or even sugar.

“How much sugar?” Milly asked Vivian, who was now gazing through one of the magazines. My aunt seemed to remember the reason for our visit as she shot up and threw the magazine on the couch.

“Two lumps, listen, Milly, you will not believe who got an invitation to the consort ball,”

“Not you,” Milly remarked, and I smiled as I watched them interact. However, Milly’s bright brown eyes focused on me, and she smiled. “Congratulations…although, I’m not sure if it’s a good thing,”

“Don’t do that,” my aunt warned while I continued to watch them as I sipped on the delicious coffee.

“Sorry, so…what do you need?”

“It’s tonight and well…she…I mean, look at her!” my aunt waved her hand in my direction, and I blushed.

“Don’t worry,” Milly said as she looked me up and down carefully. “I may not have the perfect outfit, but…I can definitely work with this,” and by work with this, she meant what she called a makeover. I was sent back to the apartment to shower, and I was told to scrub, scrub, scrub. Once I was clean and my pale skin was pink from the hot water – a rarity that I had taken advantage of – I dressed in a pair of old worn – but comfortable – sweatpants and a t-shirt before I headed back to Milly’s place. She led me into the second bedroom, and I couldn’t help but smile as I looked around the room. It was similar in size to the one I shared with my mother, but it was clean and jam-packed with clothes and shoes, and whatever other accessories. She set me down in front of a fancy-looking dressing table and I was momentarily confused as I gazed at the numerous bottles and other strange-looking items that were scattered across the surface.

“Don’t make her look cheap,” my aunt remarked from her spot by the doorway. Milly waved her hand dismissively before she put on some music. The soothing sound of instrumental music filled the room and I felt myself relax as the slow, soft beats created something amazing. I didn’t say a word as Milly got started. She started by combing through my thick golden blonde hair and I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the attention.

“You’ve got beautiful hair,” she commented, but I didn’t say anything as she got to work. I wasn’t sure what she did, but my hang was pulled, tugged, and even trimmed. She then placed a pretty golden headband with tiny red jewels on my head and it helped complete the look. I was awed as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. She had only done my hair, but it shone and bounced as I moved. The large curls were loose, and I was finally thankful for letting my hair grow out. Since my mother had been diagnosed with cancer, she had insisted that I didn’t cut my hair. Although Milly had given it a trim, I suspected it was just to get rid of any dead ends. Milly then twirled me around on the stool and I gasped in surprise before she gave me an amused look. She then got to work on my face, and I sent up a silent prayer that I wouldn’t look cheap. My aunt tended to overdo her makeup and, while I understood why I didn’t like it. Milly used so many different products and items that I ended up losing count and, since I wasn’t facing the mirror, I had no idea what she was doing. I guess I just had to have faith.

“I need to pee,” I informed her after sitting for so long.

“Almost done,” came her reply and I huffed out as I crossed my legs. “Ok, but no peaking,” I nodded as I stood up and rushed out of the room. The layout of her apartment was the same, but the sight of her bathroom made me freeze. The first thing I noticed was it didn’t smell like stinky feet. The bath was shiny and clean. It looked new. The shower was luxurious in its size and the toilet beckoned me and once I was done, I almost didn’t want to leave. However, the temptation to look in the mirror is what finally drove me to leave the bathroom. “Did you look?”

“No,” I said truthfully as I sat back down. More time passed and when Milly finally stepped back, she smiled.

“You are a beautiful child,”

“I’m twenty-two,” I deadpanned, which made her laugh. She then twirled me back around and my mouth fell open at the reflection before me. My skin looked smooth, and my cheeks held a soft pink blush that made my red lips smile. My green eyes shone brightly with some heavy black that made them pop and it wasn’t overdone, and I was amazed and impressed. “You made me look good,” I remarked.

“Child, the canvas was beautiful, to begin with,” I wasn’t sure what she meant by that but when I turned around, I spotted her going through the many dresses that hung out in the open. She selected a black dress and held it out to me. It was pitch black, but it was shiny and although it was short, it was pretty. “Try this on,” she then said, and I nodded as I quickly undressed and, even though I stood completely naked in front of this woman, I was too nervous to worry about what she thought about my figure. I slipped on the dress, and it felt incredible.

“It’s softer than it looks,” I said as I ran my hand over the material.

“I’ve never worn it,” she remarked as she came up around me and zipped it up. She then guided me to the mirror, and I had no words. “And your signature…the thing that will give you confidence is the shoes,” I glanced over my shoulder to see her pick up a pair of bright red stiletto heels and I gulped.