Chapter 1: A MAN IN BLACK
"Claire, you will behave during the ball." The gentle but firm voice hid sharp thorns.
Claire Hudson looked at her stepmother with irony in her eyes. However, she nodded without saying anything else. She did not have a choice but to obey the woman for now. She did not have rights in the Hudson family.
Her best hope was finding a good man to free her from the clutches of the woman. It was the only way she could leave the Hudson home.
However, she was reluctant to marry without love. It would be just a new prison. She had seen her mother wither away as a child due to the discovery of her father's open unfaithfulness.
How could she surrender herself to the same fate?
"You might not get a good match because of your rowdy reputation as a boisterous tomboy. However, your sister has an opportunity to rise through the ranks." Her stepmother added.
Claire looked at her stepsister with an assessing eye. Her blond hair matched her mother's, and she had a tall and willowy figure that attracted the eyes of every man. Furthermore, she had a quietness that implied grace and maturity.
However, Claire thought with pettiness that her sister's quiet demeanour was designed to hide how utterly dull she was. She could not hold an intelligent conversation, and her eyes had a vacancy only seen in those with an empty skull.
Of course, she did not say those things aloud.
Her sister was pleasant enough despite her lack of wit. She did not plot against her or even speak ill of her.
Still, Claire could not bring herself to like her because they were the same age. Her father had been unfaithful to her mother from the day of their marriage, and Lucia was the evidence of that unfaithfulness.
Moreover, Lucia's mother, her stepmother, was not as nice as her daughter. She did not hesitate to plot against her and ruin her name in the Ton.
Her father, Jacob Hudson, the Baron of Cloveshire, thought that she was an uncultured girl, like her useless village-borne mother. Her stepmother had made sure that his opinion of her plummeted over the years.
Furthermore, the public shared his thoughts due to some careful machinations by her stepmother. The rumours had only become worse as she grew older.
The entire peerage theorised that she would be left on the shelf and become an old maid.
On the other hand, Lucia had been welcoming a myriad of suitors since her eighteenth birthday. She was considered the gem of the Season.
After all, what man of the aristocracy did not want a beautiful but mild wife to hang off his arm?
"Do not draw too much attention to yourself!" Nellie, her stepmother whispered harshly as they entered the ballroom at the Langdale Keep.
"I know," Claire responded with irritation at the nagging.
"Do not take that tone with me. Your sister has a chance to be a countess or even a duchess. When she rises in position, she might even help you find a suitable match." Nellie added with pride.
Lucia remained quiet and docile as the three of them walked to greet some of their acquaintances. Within moments, Claire was pushed back and segregated from the happy group.
Furthermore, her brown clothing made her a complete wallflower. She blended in with the old castle while other ladies looking for a good marriage wore colourful clothes. The gown was carefully selected by Nellie Hudson, just like Lucia's lovely pink dress.
It was frustrating.
Claire did not want to stand out and attract everyone. She was not suited to be the belle of the ball. However, she also did not like being treated like air.
When the dances began, she knew Lucia would be spoilt for choice due to the partners scrambling to fill in her dance card.
However, she would remain in a corner unnoticed. No one would ask Nellie for permission to dance with her. And if they did, her stepmother would probably reject them to ensure that her daughter was the only Hudson girl deserving of attention.
When she thought about it, she was a little angry. The lack of dance partners only made her reputation worse. She would have liked to have a few people ask even if she turned them down. Then, people would know that she was not alone because she lacked a choice. She was alone because she wanted to be.
Of course, she could try to stand out to attract a few gentlemen. However, she knew the result. People would shun her even more for being jealous of her sister and using cheap tricks for attention.
It had already happened once on Lucia's fifteenth birthday when she had presented a painting she drew. Everyone insisted that she had bought it and claimed it as her own work for attention.
She had sworn that it was her work to them and said that she could redraw it as proof. However, no one cared about it because copying was not nearly as hard as creating from scratch.
After that, she had given up on changing public opinion.
As the first dance began, she walked out of the ballroom without care and went to the garden. She could feel insecure in her heart, but she would never allow people to pity her when she was down.
Leaving the ballroom without a chaperone was a big risk. Young ladies often fell into scandalous situations in the garden quite often.
However, she did not think anyone would come near her. All the gentlemen would be afraid of being saddled with her for the rest of their lives if caught.
The garden at Langdale Keep was quite beautiful. It had the most beautiful red roses that seemed to glow in the sunset. She caressed a few petals.
If she had a home, she would plant countless flowers around the house. Colourful and beautiful flowers….
As she was lost in thought, she heard a noise coming from the other side of the live hedge. She looked around her and found that no one was around.
In an unladylike manner, she climbed with some difficulty on a tree in the garden. Truth be told, the rumours about her tomboyish behaviours were not completely unfounded.
She craned her neck and looked over the fence. On that narrow path, a man in black was fighting a grotesque creature.
The creature had greyish skin on its face and a few patches of hair on its head. It was snarling with a row of ugly teeth exposed.
Claire was stunned for a long moment and watched as the man in black subdued the creature before plunging his hand into its chest. He pulled out a black heart and crushed it. In the next moment, the grotesque creature turned into ash.
The man in black turned and looked directly at shocked Claire on her perch on a tree.
His eyes were glowing red and prominent fangs were exposed as he smiled at her as if she had not witnessed the most shocking thing in her life.
A vampire! That monstrous creature of legend…
Her fear caused her to fall off the tree.
When she thought she would fall to the hard ground, she felt strong arms catch her like she was as light as a feather.
Those glowing eyes and sharp fangs faced her once again.
Her mouth opened, and she let out a scream.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone