PRESENT CHAPTER 5: THE PARTY There was a strange feeling deep within Gualtiero’s chest, as he held Diana’s soft hand, taking in the chaos of his surroundings. He had gone to customary parties before, that usually turned into bloodbaths in no time. He was no stranger to this. Yet, he felt as if the air was being sucked out of him. The music was so loud. The humans were acting wild, as they always do on parties, Gualtiero noticed. Still, none of the outward noise was as loud to him as the strange sound of something he seemed to be hearing coming from within him. Diana held him even tighter, and smiled at him. She must have been feeling whatever strange sensation he was feeling. He smiled back. The beauty of nature had always fascinated him but he did so well for over two centuries to avoid human interactions as much as possible, making him not that appreciative with the beauty of humans themselves. Diana was beautiful, and being that close to her, it was hard to deny the truth any longer. He never believed most stories about humans and vampires. He sighed. He could only wish the stories weren’t true – because if they were, that would mean Diana must be compelled, even if he was not really compelling her - to find him interesting to talk with and to invite him to a party that obviously meant a great deal to her. Diana introduced her friends to him as he observed each one’s personality by listening to their heartbeats without them realizing what he was doing. He was busy thinking to himself that he wouldn’t feel bad if every one of these humans die tragically, when in an instant, his eyes met someone’s that looked familiar to him. She also stopped in her tracks giving him the look of recognition. “Anastasia, this is Gualtiero, my – the guy I was talking to you about,” Diana said to her friend. Anastasia looked so much like Althaia. Could she be…? Anastasia looked so transfixed, her lips forming an O. “Hi, Gualtiero. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, once she regained her composure. Judging by how she was looking at him, Gualtiero realized she knew exactly what he was, just like he knew exactly who she was to him. Anastasia must be his new familiar. Diana whispered to him, something that sounded like ‘tell her it was nice to meet her too,’ but he was too busy taking in the fact that Diana was so close to him; he could feel her breath so close and it was suffocating in a good way. There wasn’t anything nicer than that. Not even meeting his new familiar. “It is nice to be here with you, Diana. There isn’t anything nicer than this,” Gualtiero told her with a smile, truthfully. He decided there wasn’t any good reason to keep the good thoughts to himself. He didn’t notice everyone else gawking at them. He was just staring at Diana’s face who had suddenly gone tomato red. “Do you want to dance?” Gualtiero asked. She was calming her breathing and for a moment he was worried he had offended her unknowingly, until she smiled the sweetest smile at him and said: “Sure.” There are just some things you don’t need professional training in to know exactly how to do it, he realized. Slow dancing with Diana is one of those. He couldn’t get enough staring at her face as they danced. He was gazing at it, memorizing every contour, every line. He had never seen anything as beautiful as this perfect creature in front of him. He found satisfaction drinking in her pulchritude. “You’re… you’re cold. Are you okay?” Diana asked, suddenly with a concerned look on her face. “I mean, I have noticed you were cold since we got here but it never really went away. I am starting to wonder if you are actually feeling sick.” “I am not sick, Diana. I am feeling great. Pardon my temperature.” Diana laughed at that. She seemed to find a lot of his word choices amusing, but he didn’t really mind. He liked her laugh. “Of course, the only reason the orphan would rejoin the society is when she meets a really hot guy,” Zari suddenly interrupted, clearly inebriated. The mocking tone was not lost on Diana, but she let it go. She didn’t really want to cause a commotion. Zari could be nasty when she’s had too much to drink. “You, hot guy,” Zari called. He looked up with an unreadable expression on his face. “You really look familiar. Have we met?’ Gualtiero didn’t speak. “Come on, babe. Are you serious? You’re going to flirt with this Walter guy on my birthday?” Oliver said mockingly. “My name is Gualtiero,” Gualtiero calmly stated. “Who the fuck cares what your name is, Walter,” Oliver said, laughing. Roman and some other guys Gualtiero forgot the names of, laughed along and chanted “Walter, Walter, Walter.” “Be nice,” Diana said sharply. “Stop it, you guys. Come on.” She led Gualtiero away from her drunk friends. “I’m sorry about that.” “Sorry about what? It’s not your fault their brains cannot remember my name and keep getting it wrong,” Gualtiero said. Diana laughed. “Okay that was funny,” she said. “Mean, but funny.” “You think I am funny?” he asked curiously. “It is a good impression, isn’t it?” “It is,” Diana said still amused. “Actually, you’re just funny without even trying. You make me laugh.” “You make me happy, Diana,” Gualtiero responded. “This is the happiest I have been in my life.” Diana touched his face and he didn’t know whether to touch her hand back or just soak in the feeling of her finger on his skin. “Diana, come on, don’t bore yourself with that weirdo. Dance with me,” Roman was suddenly standing beside them. It made them both jump out of surprise. Gualtiero looked at Roman and then back at Diana. She clearly wasn’t thrilled with Roman’s presence. When Diana didn’t respond, Roman forcefully took her hand. She swatted away his hand too quickly. Gualtiero felt an anger from within. The horrible human was clearly upsetting Diana. Before he could think sensibly, he pushed Roman to get away from Diana. Perhaps too hard than he intended. “Gualtiero, no!” he heard Anastasia yell, but he didn’t care. He was going for Roman once again. This time, three other guys stopped him. One of them whom he recognized as the one named Oliver, tried to throw a punch at him but he was too quick to parry it. “What the…” Oliver stared in angry disbelief and tried to punch again, but Gualtiero avoided his fist without any difficulty. Two other guys tried to hold him but he was too swift. Everything was happening in a blur. The people in the party couldn’t tell anymore if they were actually witnessing someone unbelievably dodging attacks with a lightning speed no human could possibly possess, or they just had too much to drink and were hallucinating. Gualtiero wanted to rip these guys’ throats open but he knew he needed to stay patient. He mustn’t expose himself and his kind. Instead, he imitated what they’ve been trying to do to him. He punched their jaw as hard as he could. One by one, the guys fell. Too much blood, too much blood, Gualtiero panicked inwardly. “Gualtiero, stop!” Diana’s voice suddenly made him momentarily come back to his senses, but the sight of blood on the guys’ faces was still too much for him. “I’m – ” he stammered, not really knowing what to say to her. The bloodlust was still so strong inside him. He wanted to drink all the blood he was seeing. He could taste it on his tongue. “Gualtiero, come with me,” Anastasia cut through the scene with a sharp tone in her voice. “Diana, please, go home. The guys would be fine, I’m sure. I know exactly how to calm Gualtiero down.” With that, Anastasia led him away from a very confused Diana, and an entire crowd that was seemingly under an odd spell.