Love.

For the first time in what must be years, I find myself considering the word. Alice has it. Aluna has it. Bree, Twirls, even Maria Baudelaire has found it! They are soulmates, married women. Compared to them, what do I have? Flimsy crushed that are torn when we are forced to move again. I love my family dearly, but in an entirely different way.

Love.

Is it this feeling that I have now, this attraction towards the man beside me? But how could I feel this way about him? What history do we have together- one dance, one walk in the park? I bite my lip to keep from screaming.

I know that he is tall. I know that his name is Leonard Garrett, and that he is an amazing waltzer.

In short, I know nothing at all.

"So," I begin carefully. "How old are you, Mr. Garrett?"

"I'll be nineteen, come February."

"Really?" The dismay must show on my voice, because he chuckles. "Has the horror that is aging really started to show on my face already?"

"No, I was merely-" My words jumble themselves, I am tongue tied. "it's just that-"

He laughs. "Sonia, my dear, I was only joking."

"Oh," I say, more than a bit stupidly.

"And how old, may I ask, are you?"

This question requires a bit of thinking. If you are counting years, I am nearly 150. I still look 13. But for all intensive purposes, I lie and say, "I am 14."

Now it is his turn to look flustered. "So young?"

"Im not getting any older," I mutter, too low for him to hear. Then I give him a large, sweet smile, and say, "ah, but age is irrelevant. Better to have lived and lost then never to have loved at all."

"Shakespeare." He notes. "A girl who reads. What a rarity."

I shrug. "Not so in my family."

He smiles. "You are delightful," he murmers, then slowly, hesitantly, he leans over and kisses me.

It lasts for twenty two seconds, at which time the only sound I can hear is his heart beating loudly. It's as if the rest of the world has ceased to exist.

At last he pulls away, red as a tomato. He points at a door, slightly opened, halfway across the garden. "Do you want to take a walk?" he inquires.

I nod my assent, and off we go!

I turned around with a gasp.

"Mic!" I exclaim drawing her into a hug. At the twins' inquiring look I explain, "Mic is my sister. She had been visiting relatives in Germany and she wasn't supposed to make it to tonight's event!"

"And miss seeing you and everyone else? Proposterous!" Mic interupts.

"Oh by the way, Mic this is Xachary and this is James, they're twins." I tell her.

Mic eyes them and giggles, giving me a look. I smile at her mischeviously.

"Hey Miss Rana, Mic, the musicians have-"
"started playing a Fugue-"
"would you like to dance-"
"with one of us?"

Mic's eyes bulged and she giggled again.

"Yes we would love to." I say for the both of us.

I never spend an entire ball with simply one person but I didn't mind it at all! Anthony was a great companion and I adored the way he spoke. I even got caught staring at him once. He had definitely changed from that young boy I used to know into a grown gentleman.

After dancing with him again we decided it would be best if we (meaning he) rested for a while. We walked over and grabbed some refreshments before taking our seats.

"This was a lovely ball, don't you think?" Anthony asked me.

"Indeed. One of the best balls I've ever been to."

I was enjoying myself alright and I saw the rest of the family was to. My sisters were dancing with Xachary and James. Sonia just left with an insanely gorgeous man. Mama was chatting up a storm with Emily Baudelaire and was that Anthony's mother?

I little almost frail young lady came walking towards us, a proud escort in tow. Anthony rose and kissed the young lady on the cheek as she approached us.

"Maria! It's so nice to see you again, cousin!" Anthony greeted her with another kiss. "I believe you remember, Miss Dasha Rathbone."

"Of course. It's wonderful you were able to make it to our little ball."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I replied.

She turned to her companion, "Byron! You knew Dasha didn't you?"

He looked up and stared into my eyes and bowed graciously, "Miss Dasha."

I inclined my head in reply, "Sir Benton."

One of the boys held out his arm for me with a bow. i placed my palm on his arm with a curtsey and we walked out. He spun me around once and we danced.

"Might I ask which I am dancing with? I don't know you well enough to tell you apart!" I laughed lightly.

He grinned. "I am James. Miss Rana is dancing with Xachary."

I smiled. "You are an excellent dancer, James." I told him. He chuckled once and we continued to spin graciously.

"My parents are well. They are around here somewhere." I said laughing lightly.

"Well, its been a pleasure, Aluna, Jackson. I shall talk to you soon." Emily walked away.

"I feel bad for her." Jackson said quietly. "Trying to marry off her daughter before the dear girl passes away."

"Well, that would be why they would want a New Years Wedding. But I heard that Maria was pregnant with Sir Bentons child." Anna immediately stated.

"What?" Jackson became completely engrossed by the conversation.

After Rana, Sonia, Mic, and Dasha had wandered off with men, I decided that moping around in the corner would get me nowhere, and I walked over to chat with some of the people at the party, though I knew very few of them.

As I was chatting with a sweet girl around my age (or the age that appeared, at least) named Anne, a man walked up to me and asked me for a dance. I would have refused, but I saw Sonia catch my eye and nod, and I realized it would be dreadfully rude not to, so I took his hand and walked onto the dance floor.

After chatting for a few minutes during the waltz, I learned that his name was Benjamin Gordon. He was a polite and considerate man, but he somehow managed to have a sense of humor as well.

When the waltz was finished, he kissed my hand and walked off, chatting amiably with people he passed. I was a bit baffled, since I had never been kissed before, not even on the hand. However, fulfilling my promise to my sisters to dance at least one dance, I went and sat down where I hoped no one else would spot me. I preferred sitting and observing to being out on the floor.

I watched Mic and Rana dancing with the twins--they seemed to be enjoying themselves. I saw Rana glance in my direction, with her cheeks flushed and a grin on her face, and I could tell she was enjoying this party very much. The dance ended, and Rana came over to visit me.

(Guys, I'm just making sure you all know that is is before i met Andy. I'm not cheating on him lol)

When the dance ended, James asked me for another dance. I smiled and nodded.

I saw Rana go talk to Kat. I hoped Kat was okay, she wasn't one for the whole social and dancing thing.

"Are you and your sisters close?" James asked me, noticing the direction of my look.

I smiled. "Yes. Especially myself and Rana. We've been through many interesting moments. Rana is our joker. I'm usually in on the plot. I'm like her partner. On myself, I'm the fashion queen. Nothing gets worn more than once, and if i don't like what you're wearing, beware." I laughed. James laughed with me.

"A delightful evening this is, yes?" Anthony decided he was to break the awkward silence among the group. Maria smiled at him and replied with a simple "indeed."

Sir Benton looked up and turned to his fiancee, "Your family always knows how to throw one party, dear."

Anthony took my arm and placed it in his own before he excused us from Maria and Sir Benton. I was thankful we left as soon as possible since I could no longer tolerate Sir Benton for the entire evening.

"Thank you." I whispered to Anthony.

"I knew you were a little uncomfortable." He replied.

We stepped outside and took a stroll in the garden. He then led me to a deserted drawing room which would have been filled with people if it were somewhere nearer to the ballroom. We sat in a chaise by the fire and talked some more...

"I'm really sorry about the whole Maria thing." Anthony began.

"it wasn't your fault. They just happened to walk up to us. We were being polite..."

"I know of your past with Sir Benton."

I rolled my eyes at his comment, "Who doesn't?"

"I'm just trying to be happy for my cousin. But I'll always be there for you."

I held his hand and kissed it, "Anthony, you're such a caring person. I'm glad to have you as my friend."

"Kathryn darling!" I squeel. I pratically glide toward, and sit down breathlessly. "Sooo! How was your dance with Benjamin? I saw he kissed your hand, how darling!"

Kat smiled and ducked her head down. "It was alright. He's a very nice dancer."

I smiled at her since I could tell she actually enjoyed it. I looked on the dance floor and saw Mic dancing with James again and to my surprise Xachary was walking up to me again; he usually never danced with someone more than twice.

Kat was speaking to me and another girl named Natalie about the latest gossip and I joined in full-heartedly since I loved talking to Kat about things. In the corner of my eye I watched Dasha and Sonia with the men they were with, eager to speak with them about it later.

"That is what i heard." I said. I knew I was cooking up trouble but its been years since i started a rumor or added to the rumor mill. Of course, this is completely true! She is pregnant. Haha... oh this was going to be fun.

"I haven't heard that! Who did you hear it from?" Jackson said. When he is'nt devouring pastries he's gossiping with us girls... haha... too bad for him!

"Is Benton the father?" I asked.

"Rumor said that he is not the father... that Anthony is ... but thats rumor. We will never know unless she tells us." Anna said.

"This is true, Alu." Jackson said.

I sat down to talk to Rana and a girl named Natalie about the latest gossip, but when Natalie left, I started telling Rana the information I gleaned from being a wallflower. I had watched everyone dance and laugh and have a good time.

"Rana," I said. "I am very concerned about Dasha, though. When she was talking with Sir Benton, I could tell she was not faring well... Luckily, the man she was dancing with most of the night, Anthony, seems to have helped dissolve the situation, but I could see from her face that it was awkward and uncomfortable."

Rana nodded--she had noticed the same thing as me, though she was dancing and did not hear what the conversations were about. That was one benefit to just sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else dance--you are not busy doing something else, so you can just relax and people watch.

"Also," I said, "I think I have heard something about Anthony before... I think that he is somehow more closely related to this all than we think."

Vampires do not forget much, and I KNEW I had heard Anthony's name before. THe problem was thinking of where I had heard it--it was not more than a passing mention.

With the serious talk out of the way, Rana turned the talk back to Benjamin. She had seen that I enjoyed myself dancing, which I could tell made her very happy. I explained to her that I enjoyed the dance, yes, and that Benjamin was a nice person, but that I was not attracted to him. I saw her face fall a little--many of my relatives seemed to be on a quest to find the perfect man for me--but she seemed glad that I got up and danced with at least one person.

We sat and chatted for a bit longer before I got up and walked outside for a bit of fresh air.

The night was slowly coming to an end. Anthony and I had already walked back inside when guests slowly began making their way out. Clearly it was the older members of society who were retiring early. Many of the younger people stayed to go on with the festivities.

I could see that everyone in the family clearly enjoyed themselves during the party and that made me glad. Hopefully there weren't any big scandals that occurred while the party was on. You never really want to draw any attention to yourself - especially with what we were.

Anthony was about to walk off and hurry back to his apartment because of an early appointment in the morning. He kissed my hand gently and promised he would call on me soon. I inclined my head in reply and began walking towards my parents who smiled from ear to ear, satisfied of what they had accomplished for the evening.

"Where is everyone?" I asked as I came up to them.

"There somewhere around here. You know, it is extremely difficult to keep an eye on all of you because you all wander off so quickly." Mama replied, smiling.

"What exactly were you up to tonight, Mama?"

"I'll tell you in the carriage, dear." She smiled grimly.

"Did you enjoy the party, Papa?" I asked, turning to see his face stuffed with pastries.

James and I danced for a bit longer together before i smiled and told him i needed to get some fresh air. He kissed my hand softly and said, "hopefully we can have another dance later?"

I bowed my head ever so slightly, acknowleging and accepting another dance. He grinned and told me he would find me later.

I walked over to Rana, who was sitting on a chair along the wall. I inclined my head towards the outisde, signalling I wanted to talk to her. I'd been away on my personnal trip for what seemed like ever, and I hadn't talked to my sister since our quick exchange earlier.

A good chunk of the older guests were retiring for the night. I had been sitting by myself though plenty young men asked me to dance. I politely declined their offer, saying that I had weak ankles.

Eventually Mic came up towards me and I got up, since I knew she wanted to talk, as did I.

We hold hands and walk out to the veranda.

I squeeze her hands and give her a huge hug. "Oh Mic dear, I missed you so much!! Don't you ever go away again with me or without bringing me a present." I tell her endearingly and kiddingly at the same time.

She laughed and said, "Who said I didn't get one of my favorite sisters a gift?"

My whole face lit up and then in a joking undertone, "One of your favorites?" I laughed, unable to keep up the charade and ask excitedly, "So what is it?!"

Mic smiles and says "Hmm... not now. I want to make you wait."

"Prepostrous! You must be joking!"

"Nope." She answerd wryly. Just then Kat came and said, "Mother wishes us to go, besides have any of you seen Sonia? I've been looking but I can't seem to find her."

Mic replied, "I haven't seen her recently."

"Though I do remember her visiting the women's room not too long ago, she may still be there." I tell Kat.

Kat thanks us and walks off to look for Sonia.

Mic and I grasp each other's hands and begin to walk back to mother and father.

On our way there, we were intercepted by the twins, James and Xachary.

"Hello ladies." They said at the same time.
"Would either of-"
"-you mind if we paid-"
"-you a house call one of these days?"

Mic began to giggle again, for she seemed to find great humor in the way the twins could finish each other's sentences. I looked at her and winked slyly, though only she saw and understood what I wanted to do.

"We would love it-"
"-if you would come-"
"-and visit us. We had-"
"-a simply wonderful time." We say together.

The twins laughed and promised that they would come soon and Mic suggested that he should come with Anthony's famiy, since they were good family friends, to come over the next Friday.

We eventually found Mother and Father waiting by carriage for us. Kathryn and Sonia arrived just as Mic and I sat down.

I seriously don't like that woman." I said. "Making her daughter marry just cause she's pregnant... or whatever it is... I don't think that is right."

"Alu, the day will come when marriage and children won't go hand in hand... and then you will think that it should." Jackson said with a chuckle.'

"That entire family is weird... i'm completely serious."

"Well, we can't help those things."