(Don't forget to read yesterday's chapter first)

"Here."

Marquise slowly shut his mouth, then turned his head and looked down at what had been set on the bed beside him.

Oh?

A little curious, he carefully scooted to the edge of the bed, then grabbed the top article of clothing beside him. Holding it up, he couldn't help but be honest.

Absolutely gorgeous.

It wasn't anything crazy, just a midnight blue shirt with a faint bit of black fur around the collar, but he really liked it. Deciding not to bother wasting time since Taru had already come up to check on them, Marquise set the shirt aside, then tugged his own over his head.

He soon replaced it with the dark blue shirt, then looked at the other items waiting for him. The gold watch slid onto his wrist and clasped easily enough, then he stood up and slid on the pair of black pants after removing his own. Thankfully, they weren't really dress pants, but more leather with a few pockets and belts here and there. His old friend would have been proud to see such a thing on him.

Once his pants were bottomed correctly and the belts were fastened, he sat down and pulled on his boots, then grabbed the long coat he'd left on the nightstand and draped it over his shoulders.

"Hang on, I've got two more things," Vrasje said, making Marquise finally turn around and acknowledge the man.

"Here," Vrasje said as he reached over and slid an earring into Marquise's left ear.

He was just about to turn and look in the large mirror the man had above his dressing table when Vrasje gently settled three fingers against his jaw.

"Wait a moment. Close your eye, please."

Marquise immediately recoiled, but Vrasje just rolled his eyes.

"If I wanted to do something to you, I could have done it plenty of times already."

He... wasn't wrong.

Giving the man a scowl for his attitude, even though he was the one that clearly had one right then, Marquise closed his eye. It didn't take long before he felt Vrasje patting a slightly cold substance here and there, making him confused and curious as to what he was doing.

"Alright, see? Didn't take long at all," Vrasje said as Marquise squinted his eye back open, then looked toward the mirror.

Wow...

He'd never been one to mess around with makeup before, but as he approached the mirror, Marquise couldn't help but lift his hand up toward his now unblemished skin.

That hand was thankfully caught by Vrasje, who gave him a look when he glared at him in response.

"Don't touch it or it will come off."

Oh, right. That is how it works, isn't it.

"Ready to go?"

Marquise turned around, then blinked, a bit surprised. He hadn't noticed that Vrasje had already cleaned up the bit of blood he'd gotten on his neck, then changed clothes. He looked really good in his black suit and blood red shirt.

Those braids on his left side, too...

Quickly grabbing his cane that was leaning against the wall, Marquise licked his lips and nodded. When Vrasje reached out a hand toward him, Marquise bristled, but bit back the quiet growl he wanted to release. He had just taken a nap so he was feeling pretty good, but he knew that it wouldn't take much to wear him out again. So, biting back his frustration, he allowed Vrasje to take his hand and lead him from the room.

"I'm just letting you do this because you helped me earlier," he said after a few tense moments.

Instead of returning his attitude with his own, Vrasje simply lifted their joined hands a little, then squeezed gently.

"I accept your gratitude," he said instead, adding a content smile to his words.

Marquise bit his tongue and yanked their joined hands back down... and just in time, too. His left leg dropped his weight abruptly, forcing him to grasp Vrasje's hand tightly and use his assistance and his cane to keep from falling.

Embarrassed, Marquise cast aside his previous frustration and walked appropriately, not daring to let himself get distracted again. He could have caught himself easily enough, but he had been too annoyed with Vrasje to react quickly enough.

He could also tell that Vrasje wanted to say something, but the man thankfully held his tongue. By the time they got downstairs he was panting quietly but still reasonably steady on his feet. They could both hear the music faintly coming from down the right hall as they turned towards it. After a few moments they began walking forward, but with each step they took Marquise could feel his heart speeding up.

Soon there was no differentiating between the extravagant violin tune and the nervous thumps of his heart. He didn't normally get stressed in front of a crowd, but for some reason he was feeling quite uneasy about walking out in front of a bunch of people right then. Especially since he'd be representing Taru at that moment.

When Vrasje stopped a good ways back from the open door in front of them, Marquise glanced at him.

"I need a minute," the elder vampire said as he finally released his hand and walked over to one of the large open windows lining the long hall.

When the man didn't say anything further and just continued to stare out the window, Marquise took a step closer.

"I'm a little stressed, but I'm fine. We should just go in and get it over with."

When Vrasje didn't respond, and instead leaned on his hands and lowered his head as a faint breath of wind blew in, Marquise frowned and walked a bit closer.

"You don't have to pretend to be worried for me. I can handle this," he said, trying to get Vrasje to see that it really wouldn't be an issue.

Except, when the man turned around and sat up on the windowsill, watching him with red-rimmed eyes, he realized that he had misread the situation.

"You really are a bit of a brat," Vrasje eventually said, making Marquise scowl and glare at the wall beside the vampire.

"Why do you look so stressed out? I'm the one who might get eaten alive tonight," Marquise said, stealing another glance at the man before averting his gaze.

Shaking his head, Vrasje met his gaze with his own solemn one for a brief moment, then gave a painful smile.

"Marra, this is not only your introduction to society and your confirmation party as my sweet Taru's heir. This is also a celebration of the young man I saved, then raised as my own for nearly a century."

He... had a point.

Looking down, Marquise rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking," he eventually said, apologizing for thinking that the situation was all about him.

Looking back up, he felt his heart fidget in his chest at the sad smile on Vrasje's face. Garlic, especially, took note of the expression and gave a quiet whine in his mind.

It's okay, little one. I'll do my part.

He'd asked the pup to stay put for the time being, so he would take responsibility for the situation.

"It's not your fault," Vrasje eventually said.

Relaxing a little, Marquise walked the rest of the way over, then hopped up onto the windowsill to sit beside Vrasje. Their legs were nearly touching, but the vampire's attention remained on his face. When Vrasje lifted a hand up and moved a length of hair away from Marquise's eye, Marquise blinked several times, then looked out the window as he felt his face heat the slightest amount.

"He saved me because I looked like his brother, right?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

Vrasje turned to face forward, giving him some reprieve from his despondent gaze.

"Yes, he did. I was spiteful about it, at first. I had loved his brother, and seeing you, a rotten werewolf rolling around in the mud looking almost exactly like him... I wanted you to drown in that lake so much, but I couldn't do it."

Marquise pursed his lips as a cool breeze rustled his hair and the bit of fur around his neck.

"But I am here," he said, earning a nod from the other man in his peripheral vision.

"You are."

Marquise looked back at Vrasje as his heartbeat picked up again.

"Why is he not? Why is it Taru who is here, and not his brother?"

He knew that it was likely rude to ask, but he had been curious for a long while, and considering how special tonight seemed to be, he really wanted to know what had actually transpired to create their situation.

"It was terrible... but there was nothing any of us could have done. I was already a vampire at that point, but Taru and his brother were humans. During the middle of the semester several students at the university began to get sick with something. At first, it didn't seem that bad. Just an elderly death here and there out of a hundred sick within the town. But then things began to change. Soon there were four dead, then eight. The university closed and the town fell under a strict quarantine, but it wasn't enough. People don't like being told what to do, and young ones? Especially not. Taru's brother was the more mischievous of the two and snuck out several times to run around with friends.

I had kept in touch with the brothers out of concern, but by that time I was already rather smitten with True. Of course, I was worried about him running around during the quarantine period, but what could I do? I was just his professor. I had no right to chastise, especially since I was a vampire and did not have to adhere to restrictions, since the sickness could no affect the undead."

Marquise swallowed down his growing anxiety. He had asked, and even though the answer was making him uncomfortable, he refused to tell him to stop.

"Things ended up as one would expect. True began to not feel well soon after returning from one of his raucous trips around town. He soon fell ill, and since the brother's shared a room at their parent's home, Taru also got sick rather quickly."

Vrasje took in a deep, calming breath, then exhaled as he looked up at the ceiling.

"They would both soon be on their deathbed. True was worse, his skin terribly marred with pustules, but Taru was not far behind him in sickness. He just had less outward signs. Neither would survive, unless..."

Marquise looked back at him.

"Unless you changed one of them. Would you not have chosen True, though?" he asked quietly.

Vrasje gave a sad, quiet cough of laughter as he continued to stare at nothing.

"Yes, I chose him. I wanted to choose him. I was very fond of Taru, as well, but True had my heart in the palm of his hand. I wanted to use my ability to choose an heir and change True. I wanted to save his life the moment I received the letter about their declining health. Their parents begged me to change one of their sons, and it wasn't just them who sent me letters, either. Every vampire in town that didn't have a registered heir was hounded with mail every single day, but my heart never wavered. As soon as that letter came, I immediately went to their home.

The boys were in terrible condition, with Taru having taken a turn for the worst faster than True. It was hard to watch him suffer, but I had already set my mind to changing True. Not wanting to draw things out for fear that True might begin struggling worse, too, and not being able to survive the change, I walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge, then took his hand in mine. I was going to tell him what I was going to do at that moment, but he beat me to speaking.

His voice was frail and barely audible, but I heard him perfectly through his and his brother's ragged breathing. He requested a favor. I thought for sure that it would be to save his life, so I agreed immediately to grant whatever he wished of me."

He knew what he was going to say next, but he stayed quiet and let Vrasje finish speaking. He also reached over and gently settled a hand on the man's arm, then squeezed softly.

"True requested that I save his brother. I wanted to argue, because to be honest, Taru's chances of surviving the change in his state were close to five percent, if not closer to zero, while his brother's chances might have been closer to fifteen, but when True just smiled and stared up at me with his exhausted, black-rimmed eyes and pox-mottled face, I couldn't find any words to say.

I did as he requested... and Taru somehow survived the change. I had him registered as my heir the next day, and after making sure that he was beginning to recover at my home, I returned to True's side. Minutes after I sat down on his bed and took his hand in mine, he passed away."

Marquise had no words.

Even Garlic was silent and still.

So, when Vrasje didn't say anything else, and didn't move a muscle, they just seemed to silently decide to sit there for a little while and let the evening air drift around them. The party could wait as long as it had to.

Leaning to the side, Marquise settled his head on Vrasje's shoulder, then closed his eye as he hugged his arm to his chest. He wanted to apologize again for thinking that tonight would only affect him, but he knew that words weren't what were needed right then. So, he just sat there calmly, patiently, and silently.

Quite a length of time passed before Marquise felt a hand gently rustle his hair, drawing his eye open.

"It's time to go, Marra. Our Taru is waiting," Vrasje said as he slowly stood up, then turned and helped him down from the windowsill.

The man quickly helped him straighten his coat, then handed him his cane with a warm smile.

"Let's go make your sweet master proud, hmm?"

Marquise met his smile with a smirk of his own.

"Let's," Marquise said with a determined nod as they both turned toward the open doorway before them, then started forward with their backs straight and their heads held high.