“Guests always get lost at parties, especially when looking for a restroom. I don't think this is something that will make others suspect us of something bad,” Dante's words came out unobtrusively. He didn't look strenuous at all but his steps were hasty like he wanted to leave immediately.
“So we'll be at the estate until the end of the evening?”
“No,” he said, and finally they came out to an archway guarded by two males in uniform. Their eyes followed Violette and Dante, hardly interested in them.
“We'll leave now. But I need you to cause a little chaos.” A furtive smile crossed his face.
“Chaos?” She shuddered.
“Yes, distract the guests with something, but don't draw attention to yourself,” with these words he patted her on the shoulder and rushed to the stairs into the courtyard.
“Wait! How will I do this? Dante!” Violette hit her heel on the marble floor, groaning under her breath.
Her skirt swayed towards the ballroom, eyes wandered around the hall between the guests, trying to find at least something that she could cling to.
Create chaos…How did Dante even imagine this? And on top of that, to remain unnoticed!
No matter how angry and confused she was, she had to focus on her new mission now. So she breathed and tried to gather her mind together.
There were many ways to ruin the party but it wasn't in her plans: she wanted to do something harmless and something that would engage the guests only for a moment, not more. Anything that wouldn't invoke much noise or cause a scene.
Her eyes slid to the windows, then scanned the guests, a champagne pyramid, tables…champagne pyramid!That could be something. But it wasn't enough. Her gaze retreated to the other side of the room, tracing around the butlers, the chocolate fountain and the snacks. The idea came to her mind almost immediately.
“Okay, let's try,” Violette hummed under her breath and reached into the pocket of her dress.Sticking out her wand just a little, she pointed it straight at the champagne pyramid and whispered a spell. One blink and a rumbling noise scattered through the ballroom, drawing all the guests' attention to the corner where the glass shattered and the champagne spread over the floor. The squeals, followed by surprised sighs, blew into the air. Violette used this moment to cast a spell at the other corner of the room. She shook her wand lightly and in a moment a woman who was walking away from the table of regale dragged the tablecloth sticking to her corset. The noise of fallen trays and gold plates evoked one more situation to everyone's discussion.
Great. Played like clockwork.
Lastly, she needed to slip away while everyone was distracted, even the guards' observation was brought to the mess in the ballroom.
Violette scooted out the hall, rushing to the main gates as her gaze locked with one of the guards.
“Did you see something suspicious? One woman said she can't find her diamond ring, it better not be stolen,” the words naturally came out from her mouth as she was making up the story just to get his attention to something else.
The man's eyes went round. An unfeigned concern flew across his face instead of the usual serious grimace. The last thing she saw was his back, quickly disappearing in the crowd.
Violette raised the hem of her dress, bolting through the arch to the entrance. A few more steps led her tothe marble staircase, down where the familiar dark carriage came in sight just in time.
Dante pulled the door.
“Jump in!” he exclaimed, peering at her from inside.
She immediately shot to the carriage, and reaching the ground, she almost flew into the carriage into the vampire’s arms.
“I see you're indeed pretty good at evoking chaos,” he said with a proud smile.
Her eyes met his. She wouldn't want to admit to him that it was kind of fun and she might enjoy this night more than she showed. Something sparkled inside her after such a gamble, not because of the robbery but for the feeling of adventure filling her body. It was nice to feel so lively, to feel a glimpse of merriment. As much as she loved her life and her potion shop, for the last couple of months she rarely felt joy or any other emotion except of determination and sadness, even if hope still lived inside her heart. The pleasant feeling of boldness and intrepidness sowed confidence in her and it felt like waking up after a long dream. A breath of fresh air after drowning.
Dante fixated his gaze on her, an impish smile danced on his face. For the first time, curiosity burnt in his eyes.
“And how are you feeling about this eveningnow?”
“It was,” she tried to measure her words, “it was interesting.”
“Oh, come on, you can tell the truth. I'd say you enjoyed the mess you did in the ballroom.” He relaxed into the back of the seat. His fingers traced to his collar and he let out groans of relief, pulling the fabric of the coat and unbuttoning its first buttons.
“Well, it was fun,” she admitted and lifted her chin. “But it doesn't mean I approve of any of this action.”
“Did everything with the Lord go according to the plan?” His eyes turned back to her, his facial expression no longer as playful as it was, drowning in his seriousness, though he still looked quite relaxed.
