BLOOD.FANGS.N'.FIRE

Martinna smiled lightly, but her blank eyes contradicted the smile she showed.

"He is fairing excellently, your Majesty. Thank you for your concern." Owen replied instead

"Well then, that's excellent news!!" Gavriel smiled brightly upon hearing the man's response.

The mother and son duo gave a blank response to the king's reaction. If only one could hear the thoughts that ran amuck in their heads, they would appreciate their self-control.

"A toast! To his health!" The king raised his glass and so did the two and downed their drinks in one gulp.

"I believe dinner will be served soon. I'm looking forward to sharing the same table with you, Auntie, and brother." The king said with a full-blown smile

It was like a trap in case the family of two thought to leave the ball early, but now they couldn't disobey the King's direct invitation to dinner.

The two looked at the retreating proud back, and Martinna whispered, "Soon my dear, soon."

Stephen had never seen his sister or anyone at that down the contents of alcohol as fast as his sister was currently doing so.

He had stopped counting at eight glasses of wine and two shots of whiskey, "You know, Sis as fun as it was to watch you empty all those glasses, are you sure you can mix alcohol and twirling around on the dance floor. " Stephen asked his older sister, who was clearly drunk but was insistently dragging him to the dance floor.

'Dum duum duum,' was all Florah could hear her heart was pounding loudly in her ears she thought she was going to faint.

"As we rehearsed everyone, make sure all your lines are on your fingertips. The stage is ready. The play commences anytime from now, "PLACES EVERYONE,!!" The director announced, and everyone shuffled on their feet to go where they were supposed to be.

"Ti ti ti ti," the sound of a fork hitting a crystal glass rang in the enormous room. "May I have your attention, ladies and gentlemen!" The head butler exclaimed

"A pleasant evening to you all refined ladies and gentlemen, His Majesty's palace is pleased and grateful for gracing this place with your presence for the annual Midnight Ball," Matthew paused for an organised round of applause to echo in the room to which he bowed.

"I am pleased to announce that after all of you distinguished guests dine, there will be surprise entertainment shortly after. Please enjoy your meals."

The butler bowed, and the kitchen door opened for numerous male and female servants to come out bearing trays, trolleys, plates, and silverware.

The servers placed each and everything on every table in a careful but quick manner.

The food served consisted mainly of different mildly cooked meats and minimal vegetables.

The main table was centered in the middle with the high and grand brown chair placed at the north of the table. It was no secret whose it was as everyone stood waiting for the man to sit.

Gavriel took his sweet time to comfortably sit for the feast to begin. The moment he sat, he raised his glass to his lips, and everyone followed suit to sit in their respective chairs.

One who knew the traditions knew that the king was supposed to give a speech before sitting, but the last time his speech involved the death of someone and he declared that the speeches were very much unnecessary.

The long wooden table sectioned in the middle was meant for royalty and the most influential rulers of the empire.

The table currently sat his Majesty the king, the three Duke's and their immediate families, the Marquess of the different provinces, the oldest pureblood families which included the Bladens and obviously the other rulers also came from the old pureblood families.

Everyone at the table was either sipping their beverages or forking their plate for food.

Gavriel sat lazily in his chair as he sipped his blood wine, not minding any of the gazes that kept on glancing his way.

" You look lovely, lady Stacey."

Lester complimented the brown haired vampiress that sat across him

Stacey was taken by surprise given that the man had completely ignored her the whole time until now.

She quickly regained her composure and said,

"Thank you, kind sir, you look very dashing yourself."

Lester raised his glass, and so did Stacey, and the two smiled and toasted each other.

Everyone, of course, saw this interaction but didn't care enough to insert, but the beaming proud smile on Lady Roselinda's face couldn't be hidden.

Such a scene caused Caroline to glance at Jeremiah, who sat across her, two seats to her left. He was seated next to his date of course Karrina Thornhart, her cousin.

Vile thoughts swarmed her mind, but she just wet her throat with more alcohol.

She knew that at some point, she was bound to get drunk, or she was already drunk but in denial.

All because of this same stupid ball four years ago, she had harbored these self-destructive feelings for four years, bizarre..."hihihi...." She giggled

When almost everyone turned to throw questioning glances at her, she just smiled and poured herself more wine without minding them.

Gavriel had barely touched his food from the moment he had sat down but rather just sat in his chair with half lidded eyes already looking exhausted.

"Dearest Caroline, with only a few more bottles, I believe any man here will be able to accompany you for the rest of the night." The king commented, breaking the silence.

"Hihihi," she giggled again and said, "Are my intentions that obvious, dearest Gavriel?"

Roselinda felt like she was going to pass out just by hearing her daughter's words.

"Caroline, I don't want to see that glass anywhere near your lips for the rest of the ball." Her father Duke commanded

Caroline pouted with angry eyes and looked at her cousin, "See what you did, cousin," she said

Gavriel just smirked at her and said, "You should try the food dear, your sister seems to be enjoying more of it nowadays." he commented without even looking at his younger cousin

Stacey's hand that brought a fork with meat stopped mid-way, and her cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment, "Did he just call her chubby?"

Before she could even register the indirect insult thrown her way, her sister added to the fire.

Caroline rested her head on Stephen's shoulder and asked, "So you suggest that I become chubby?"

"Hahahaha," Gavriel chuckled and ignored her, but Stacey was fuming, "Why is it that they always ganged up to spite her?" She was clearly minding her own business.' She argued internally.

She was about to retort but felt her mother's hand on her knee and decided to keep her mouth shut, and she just swallowed her retort.

"Unlike last year's ball, this one is rather mundane."

A pin drop silence echoed across the long table as the words resonated among the listeners

"For the entertainment, I mean" he added