The large Victorian-style room glittered golden under the lights and the air smelled of expensive perfume. Distinguished guests milled about, dressed in black, formal wear. Kari felt transported into a different world, a world where she didn't belong. Not that she ever wanted to be.

Squaring her shoulders, she held the tray of hors d'oeuvres, slowly wading her way among the sea of guests. The sparkle of jewelry as they picked from the tray and their crystal-clear laughter mingled with the rich ambience of the place.

'Well at least they all seem to be enjoying themselves,' thought Kari, half her attention on making sure she didn't trip on her high heels.

A young man, of about 18 years of age, with unusual amber eyes gazed appreciatively at her as she passed. He didn't take anything from the tray but instead, raised his glass slightly at her with a smile. He was in a small group of similarly attractive-looking guests--his family, maybe?

Cheeks slightly flushed, Kari hurriedly turned away to serve the next group of guests. She quickened her steps, wondering why his appearance reminded her of Taren somehow.

As she crossed to the east side of the ballroom, near the oversized double doors, she stopped, almost dropping her tray. 'Speak of the devil—!'

Taren stood there not ten feet from her, looking very sharp in a black suit, his silver hair catching the light. Standing beside him was a pretty girl with the same amber eyes as the boy earlier. She had her arm around his, talking animatedly.

Feeling warmth suffuse her face, Kari frantically looked away, suddenly unsure of herself. Ignoring the strange ache in her chest, she spotted a group of guests nearby, and started heading in their direction.

'What is he doing here? Is he a guest of Mr. Collins? Wait! Don't tell me he's—' Realization dawning on her, Kari glanced back at Taren across the room-- and saw him looking straight at her.

Taren's bright blue eyes stared at her, a surprised look on his face.

He said something to the girl beside him, politely extricating his arm from her grasp.

'Hold on—wait—don't come here, you silver-haired oaf!' Kari winced inwardly as Taren's long strides quickly closed the gap between them. The least she wanted tonight was to attract any attention! And this boy drew a lot of attention, just by breathing!

"Kari?" Taren asked in a perplexed tone. "What are you doing here? I mean, sorry—of course I know what you're doing—but how did you come to be here?"

'At least I'm not the only one that's flustered.'  Kari thought.

"I—uh—work here? As a part-time gardener, that is. But the head maid was short on staff and so I offered to help out."

"I see."  Taren's brows furrowed, seemingly distracted about something, before shaking his head slightly as if to chase the thought away. 

"You look—good." He let in a breath as his eyes took her in softly. "I mean that the uniform—er—suits you—" His hand flew to his face, flushed and appalled at what he had just said. "Not that I think of you that way! I meant that I think you look great in whatever you choose to wear."

Kari could tell her face right now was red as a beet. "Th-Thanks. You look—good yourself."  That was an understatement, she thought; she'd never met anyone near as attractive as him.

"Taren," a woman's voice called out.

Kari looked over Taren's shoulder at the girl walking gracefully towards them. Her amber eyes flicked murderously at Kari.

"Are you enjoying these hors d'oeuvres all to yourself?" Stella picked a delicacy from the tray. "Umm...délicieuse!"

Kari glanced at Taren, his expression had changed to an unreadable mask.

'I'd better escape while I still can.' 

Kari nodded her head slightly, "Please excuse me."

She turned and walked briskly, not daring to look back. She made her way to the southwest end of the ballroom that led to the kitchens, intending to refill her tray, although she wondered how she would make it back out again.

"I see you've drawn more eyes than any of the fine folk around here, my dear." A voice drawled lazily behind her back.

Kari spun around.

Leaning against one of the carved stone pillars, the young man with amber eyes regarded her with amusement. 

"That was quite the spotlight of this otherwise boring party. To see the young master of the house, Taren Leinier, so enamored by the likes of you."

Kari glared at the older boy incredulously. "What are you—"

His golden eyes transfixed her like a raptor as he approached. "Tell me, what hold do you have over him? Some kind of devious magic or witchery?"

Kari stood frozen as those eyes bored into her. 'This guy is crazy, or he's had too much to drink! But—why can't I move?'

He leaned close to her. "I'll give you this advice my dear, for your sake. Your worlds, your very natures don't even come close. As they say, don't go too near the flames. You'll burn yourself to ashes without realizing it."

"I'm well aware of that! I don't need your advice." Kari whirled away from him, suddenly released from whatever was preventing her from moving.

As she did so, her left foot slipped. All she could think of was her freaking high heels as she struggled to regain her balance.

A strong arm suddenly encircled her shoulder from behind, steadying her.

"Leave her alone, Lucien."  Taren's low voice was filled with menace, directed toward the other boy. Somehow he had caught the tray with his other hand before it tipped over.

Kari glanced up at Taren, surprised to see him when he was at the far end of the ballroom. His eyes seemed to glimmer with a feral, ice-blue light.

Lucien held up his hand, taking one step back, a cold, slight smile on his lips.

Giving the older boy a last warning glance, Taren shifted his hand from Kari's shoulder to her left elbow, guiding her toward the ballroom's side doors.

Passing the tray to one of the nearby attendants, he said, "Tell Beth to come find me in the red drawing room."

"Yes, Master Leinier."  The man bowed.

Taren ushered Kari down a short hallway.  Entering a pair of double doors, she took in the room's elegant interior. The walls were a burnished red the color of wine, with intricate gold-painted filigrees spanning the length of the wall. Dark bookshelves lined the east side of the room, while tall narrow windows adorned by scalloped, crimson curtains dominated the west side. A black, grand piano stood overlooking the windows. Paintings in different sizes with bronze-colored frames hung on the wall behind sofas and lounge chairs embroidered with red rose patterns. 

Taren led Kari to sit on one of the plush, lounge chairs.

"Thanks for saving me from falling on my face. That would've been so embarrassing." Kari looked up at Taren gratefully.

The boy only nodded, his eyes filled with concern. "You shouldn't be here. It's not safe. Those people--notably that jerk, Lucien--are not what they seem."

Kari sighed, rolling her eyes. "If it's that amber-eyed stalker you're referring to—I can take care of myself."

Taren opened his mouth as if to say something but thought better of it. Instead, he glanced down at Kari's left foot.

"May I?"

At Kari's nod, the boy knelt down and gently took off her shoe, as if her foot was the most fragile thing.

"I had no idea you lived here." Kari said, looking down at Taren's head of unruly silver hair. What must it feel like to run her fingers through it? 

'For heaven's sake, keep it together, Kari!' She chided herself, appalled at the random thought.

"I've always assumed Mr. Collins bought and owned this place," she added.

"Evan Collins is my guardian. Technically he did buy this house, since I'm not yet of age. I only just found out that he hired you." He examined her foot critically, his touch light as a feather. "I'm sorry I wasn't very forthcoming. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

Relieved, he pronounced, "Thankfully, it's not sprained. Try not to put your weight on it too much for the next couple days."

"Thank you. I'm sure it'll be fine by tomorrow morning."

As Taren got up, Kari took in the room's forlorn, rustic elegance. "So...if I'm right, this is the house's famous haunted Red Drawing Room, I've heard about in the town's history books. It was said that the Elburke family's oldest son, Claude Elburke, a renowned pianist of the late 1800's, had died in this very room."

Taren's lips turned up in a smile. "Very astute of you. Because of that tale, hardly anyone comes here, which is why it's my favorite room second to the library."

Kari gestured at the grand piano, eyes wide. "Don't tell me that's Claude's—!"

"No," the boy grinned. "That one was chucked way before we were even born."

"Do you play the piano?" Kari asked tentatively.

"A little." Taren shrugged reluctantly. "It's not the instrument of my choice."

Kari's eyes lit up. "C'mon, play something--anything!"

"Alright."  Taren laughed at her excited tone. He walked over to the piano, slid onto the bench, and lifted the fallboard. "It's been a while since I played—" He eyed the keyboard doubtfully.

His slender fingers touched the keys uncertainly, but then he nodded once, finally deciding on a piece.

https://youtu.be/cvQ3CEBevIE

The soft notes tumbled like a waterfall from his hands, slow at first, then as he warmed up, gradually increasing in pace. His music flowed as the notes happily soared into the air, brightening up the dreary room and filling it with life.

Kari sat up, surprised by Taren's skill. It wasn't perfect, but the emotions emanating from his music more than made up for it.

When he finished, she remained transfixed, her heart full.

Taren got up from the bench. "You okay?" He grinned, walking toward her.

"That—was really beautiful!" Kari exclaimed. "I've never heard anyone play Einaudi's 'I Giorni' that way!"

"Thanks," Taren smiled, genuinely pleased. "I haven't played in years but I guess it never really goes away. My mom was a tireless teacher. I wish you could have seen her play."

A flicker of sadness crossed his face before he quickly masked it. She was about to say something when they heard a knock on the door.

At his word, Beth entered the room. She glanced at Kari with concern before addressing Taren, making a slight bow.

"Please accept my apologies, young master. I had asked Miss Kari to fill in for an absent staff. I should have stayed with her." Turning to Kari, she added regretfully, "I'm so sorry for what happened out there, young miss."

"No need to apologize, Beth--" Taren waved a hand.

"It wasn't your fault--" Kari voiced hastily at the same time.

Beth's eyes darted between the two before sighing in relief. "I'm so glad nothing untoward happened!"

Taren looked at Kari before saying, reluctantly, "I had better head back or Evan's going to kill me."

"I've arranged for Mr. Fallert to drive Miss Kari home." Beth stated.

"Thanks, Beth." Taren said. "Kari, I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you at school." Kari smiled with a little wave of her hand.

Taren smiled back, before closing the door behind him.

* * * * * * * *

The young man looked out the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the hotel's penthouse, 300 meters above Osaka City. His emerald-green eyes scanned the myriad city lights, glittering like jewels beneath the starless night sky.

This isolation has advantages as well as disadvantages. The only way he could move freely about in the city was to conceal his appearance, but his influence over mainstream media more than made up for it. They catered to whatever he wished, and this country was no exception.

No, it wasn't time to reveal that side of himself.  Every piece has to be in place to create the perfect snare for the revert, one with no hope of escape.

'Your love, your hopes, and dreams—I'll crush them all until there's nothing left but the emptiness of despair, as you surrender everything to me.'

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ 

Author's note:
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the above music/video. All rights belong to the Owner. No Copyright Infringement intended.