~~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.
