With the how thing with Angela being resolved, he could rest assured that she wasn’t going to be hunting down the “savages” like she had when he first found her. And Melina could rejoice it as well; Raeguel knew that she was tried again and again by the little redheaded goddess. He could hardly bare her for being so stressed out as of late with having to deal with her mentor like that. If anything she deserved a wonderful night with him, a getaway from their duties.

So it was rather convenient when he discovered that there was a ball of sorts going on in the Hanging Gardens, and he heard it from none other than his brother Reaver as he planned on going there himself. It wasn’t hard to figure out why he was going- to get his love back and Raeguel encouraged him to do so. While that happened, an idea hit him as well; Melina hadn’t been to a party outside of the temple before. At least he was sure about it, so he wasted little time in running it by her. Fortunately it seemed like everything was set and now they just needed find the right wares and get there.

On that night, they were met with the array of beautiful lanterns and lights surrounding the gardens. Music of unknown origin and laughter of the other guest filled the air as they stepped onto the main floor. Raeguel was dressed in a dark formal suit, complete with a gold lion’s mask and his white mane flowing down freely. He could already smell of the scent of Reaver being here for a little bit now, but he wouldn’t bother him yet. Instead, he turned and looked to Melina and smiled. “How are you feeling about this now?” He didn’t want her feeling overwhelmed by any of this and she would know that he could keep her grounded if needed. All that mattered to him right now was to make her happy. “Tonight is truly about us, love. Let’s steal the night away.”

The poor clergy member had almost been tearing her hair out. She had sat in her room staring at a gray hair that had popped up in her mess of brown. She was trembling! Angela would get her killed for sure! The little monster. She was growing now and she was for sure that Angela was done being a gremlin. She was disturbed from her thought as Angela came in her room. Melina stood up and looked at the now grown goddess. The woman took the time to notice the gray strand. “If you pull it out fifty more will pop up.” Melina whimpered at Angela’s words.

“I am going to get old and die aren’t I?” Melina didn’t want to leave Raeguel in this world. She didn’t want him to watch her grow old. Angela reached her hand out and ran her fingers through Melina’s hair. She felt magic sparking and Melina’s aging features seemed to go back to the day Raeguel had met her. It was true that even though she was young Melina was getting lines and grays. Her responsibilities were many and it was showing in her features. “What did you do?”

Angela smiled a bit and left the room. Melina was dumbfounded for a bit. Looking in the mirror she sought out where her grays were. They were gone. Matter of fact, her eyes looked charged with energy. She turned around and jumped. There was a long green dress with elbow length sleeves. The sleeves were lace. The more she looked at it. The green wrapped around the skirts and bodice of white like a robe but was held together with a spring green ribbon. The dress was so sheer except for the silk bodice and the skirt of the dress was made of silk from the thighs up. 

Flowers and gems, both white and green littered the bottom of the skirt. She found a light green mask of the same spring color next to it. It had a plume of white feathers sticking off the side of it. When she slipped the dress on she found that the bodice almost went up to her neck and was thankful that Angela knew she was a modest sort. When Raeguel did show up she was in the middle of trying on the dress. He spoke of the party and things made a little bit too much sense. “Well, Angela gave me this dress and mask.” She said. She was sure he could see the differences in her as well.

The night of the ball came and she put the mask on her. She was staring at Raeguel with a lot of love. She loved the way people stared at him. He was regal just like the lion mask he wore. “I’m feeling fine actually.” They had performed their rite and she was good for twenty-four hours. She took his arm and reached up to kiss him. “Let’s steal it!” She was excited as she took the elder vampire’s arm and dragged him over to the paper lanterns.

She shifted through all the colors. Every once in a while she would look up at him and her face would twist as she dropped the color in her hands. Finally, she found a deep shade of magenta. She brought it up and her face lit up. “When I think of us. I think of a warm color like this.” She had been searching for just the right color. Together they lit it with candle lighting stick. They let it go up into the skies and stared at it while it went up.

“It goes so high Raeguel. What are on the other tiers?” She had wanted to go to the Hanging Gardens since she was a child. It was only with the freedom granted by Angela and Raeguel that she could see all of her favorite storybook places.

Raeguel could see the sparkle in her eyes the moment they reached the Hanging Gardens. The sacrifice of a little bit of blood for her happiness was hardly a toll in his eyes. But it was well worth the rewards. Letting her choose what they would do first, Melina brought him over to the lanterns after sharing a sweet little kiss with her. He couldn’t help but to wonder what she was looking for specifically while she cycled through them. “Anything in particular, Melina?”, he asked with a raised brow right up until she found what she sought out. He reached to inspired the chosen lantern himself and thought for a few moments before agreeing with her. “I think you are right.” He wasn’t too familiar with these sort of customs but fortunately for him, she helped him along the way and letting it and releasing it into the night sky. “So, what’s the tale about all of this? I know it's a celebration of lovers but that’s about it really.”

Raeguel kinda felt awkward about not knowing these sorts of thing; obviously being as old as he was, he should have known a lot more things and be the one to tell her them. Looking around, he could see that this was the floor where the guest would enter and conversate, but as far as the other floors were, he was unsure himself. Turning to her, he gave her a warming smile, “Don’t know, but I think we should do some exploring. The night is fairly young and we have plenty of time to do everything this party has to offer. It was his turn to lead her away.

The two eventually made it onto the floor where a river flowed into the very ocean itself and he brought her onto the dock surrounded by beautiful flowers. The moonlight illuminated the water with its shine, the calming sounds of it flowing contributed to the peaceful scene. His hand held onto hers with a soft but tight grip as they strolled around. “There’s something different about you”, he spoke up as he fancied the setting before glancing down at her. “Kind of reminds me of when we first met somehow.” He’d just assumed that it was her growing curiosity of the world, much like how innocent she was when she was introduced to him.

Melina smiled a bit at him and thought about it. “I don’t know the whole tale only what Angela has told me. The man loved a woman so much he declared his love for her. He was poor but he had his hands to work with. He made her things, gorgeous things. She turned him down. When that didn’t work he got the plans for Tarishitar and used the magic from there to build this place for her. Everything is hand carved even the river. He imported so many flowers for this place and enchanted it never to die. It was his life’s work. When he finally showed her he was frail and old… She still scoffed at him. She was an elf so his mortality bothered her greatly, to begin with. Not to mention he had no money or land to his name. He had sunk it into this place.”

She knew that he was still new to this world so she didn’t mind helping him. She took his arm and kept him close. “Some exploring would be lovely. I’ve always wanted to come here.” When they got to the river she froze up. She looked at him for a moment. “Well,” she tilted her head and looked away from him down to the flowers. Her hand gripped his. “I’ve been aging Raeguel. You haven’t noticed because it was slow and people don’t tend to notice the things in front of him every day.” 

It was a sad smile. “Gray hair and wrinkles…” She stifled a whimper. “Truth is I’ll die just as fast as someone like you will blink. That’s what it means to be a human right?” She gripped his hands taller. “I was contemplating everything when Angela came in and rejuvenated me. I’ve noticed it for a bit now.” They had been together for some time now and still, her life was slowly slipping away every day. “And I can’t be turned. I can’t get longevity aside from Angela.” Her hazel eyes looked up at him. “It just makes me sad is all. Though I have contemplated asking Angela to do something about it. It is a selfish want I have to be with you forever. It's not a simple possibility but she could do something I am sure."

“A tragic tale”, he said solemnly in thought. Truly it must have been heartbreaking to put some much effort and time into trying to win the heart of someone that would never let themselves fall for. Life was fickle and for a lot of people, it was unfair. For all that he had accomplished in his life, many of them were terrible deeds and he himself was far from a perfect person. Day by day though he made it his point to correct those errors and help those he could. “The poor guy…I take it that he died sometime after that.” He couldn’t help to think of their own situation in that he could likely see several more centuries while Melina, truth be told, wouldn’t even see one. It was a nasty thought to keep hold of.

Unfortunately after spending some time at the dock, she revealed what was bothering her as they strolled about and looked at flowers. Raeguel’s smile dropped as he considered her words. “Are you sure it hasn’t just been stress that’s been giving you those things”, he asked, referring to the gray hairs and wrinkles. Perhaps it came even quicker when she had to babysit Angela and hell knew that watching a powerful entity with the mindset of a four year was taxing even for the best of them. He was fairly sure that Melina had her fair share, but there was something deeper about her words. Although the daywalker knew that she was just barely into womanhood, she was right in the sense that humans lived and died rather quickly in comparison to most races.

His eyes loomed over the flowers as he tried to figure out something they could do. “Well that narrows down the list; it will have to be something Angela can do.” In truth he wasn’t sure about turning her to begin with, but that wasn’t even an option. There was something that bother him though and he turned to face her. “If you are part vampire, then sure we could find someway to play into that, my dear.” As diluted as it could be, it still ran through her blood. Perhaps they could discuss it with the goddess.

“No, I understand it. We should be able to live together for as long as possible. I do not fault you for it, Melina.” Raeguel planted a kiss onto her lips and caressed the side of her face. “If that makes me selfish too, then so be it.”

Melina looked at him for a second before shaking her head. “It’s that I know it can be a lot worse Raeguel.” She frowned at him and knew that the stress wouldn’t ever go away. “It’s that I know… that if we had children it would be worse, or if you went away for a while it would be worse, and there are many other things.” There were so many things that could kill her that wouldn’t kill Raeguel.

Her eyes of brown and green turned up to him so she could watch him looking at the flowers. “It’s only something a god can do.” She hadn’t even thought about the vampire blood that had been purged out of her. “That is true. Longevity might still be in my blood somewhere. I am a blessed human who cannot be turned into a vampire anymore. We’ll call it a right that my family has lost. It just becomes humorous that the one thing my family ran away from is the one thing I want so badly right now… if only to be with you.”

She gave him a smile as he kissed her. Slowly she pushed herself up to meet him again just so she could kiss him back. She didn’t want to leave him at any time but it was truly only something a god could do. She was sure of it. “Some people would view it as selfish but I don’t care. You’ve been hurt too much to worry about mortality taking some you love.” She frowned a bit but she took his hands and kissed them gently. 

“We’ll figure it out later. Tonight we can just enjoy ourselves. Angela has my age under control right now.” She laughed a bit. “If she keeps doing it eventually Lucian and Nerezza will be older than their own stepmother.” She knew the children saw her as such but it amused her for the time being. Sometimes they came to her over little things because she viewed things differently than their mother. Especially Nerezza’s wedding when Angela had been gone. The poor girl had lost her guidance and really clung to Melina for help.

She dipped down and picked up two lotuses. They were beautiful in their pink color. She put on in Raeguel’s hands. They were larger than average but she gave a smile. “Did you know this particular lotus means devotion?” There was no limit to the devotion that Raeguel and Melina had for each other. They did whatever it took to make the other happy. Together they lowered the flowers into the river. She watched them dance before they fell into the wide ocean. 

She looked up at Raeguel took his hands. “You know I’ve never seen you dance before. You have to know how to with all the years under your belt. It would be disappointing otherwise.” Her eyes were playful and it showed she was teasing him.

Raeguel never had to worry about mortality before- he could outlive generations with a blink of an eye. His children were able to do the same with their heritages and most of his recent lovers didn’t have to worry either. But Melina did. Perhaps it was the biggest problem he was facing was losing her. She was right; despite her age right now, it wouldn’t be long before another half century would come and she may or may not make it to that. There were outside factors that could also kill her and thought he had struggled with whether or not to propose turning her, he didn’t want to do it out of selfishness. But that was off the table now.

“I know.” There were hints of sadness in his tone, he felt powerless to help her with the one thing she wanted now. The blood that she carried was an option, but he was unsure about what to do with it on its own. Angela may had a clue or two, especially if she had known Melina’s fears like she said. He hoped that she could find someway to solve this eluding problem.

“The children have their own problems to handle, luckily to keep from reminding you then”, he said, allowing a soft laugh out. Lucian was coming into his own as a knight finally and Nerezza was still seeking to regain her magic while she was preparing for her wedding with Kaiser. He was proud of the both of them as any father could be. And they were blessed with having Melina in their lives as well, and heaven knew that they didn’t want to think about her passing either.

Raeguel looked at the lotuses and then back to her. “No I hadn’t, but I’ll keep that in mind, Melina”, he said, nodding before following her lead as they brought them into the river and watched them flow into the sea. “Devotion is something that doesn’t go away, even in death.” He thought more about this situation for them but in the end this was to be a happy moment. He didn’t want Melina upset in any regard, but to have fun and leave the problems if just for a little bit. The daywalker blinked at her before laughing again. “Actually I do have quite the experiences. Life tends to get boring after a century or two and it helps to learn how to do a lot of things. Doing the waltz and other dances are an easy feat. How about you? I don’t think I have ever seen you dance?”

Melina gave Raeguel a smile. “I love them all the same. They are good kids.” She laughed with Raeguel and it made her feel better about the entire situation, at least for right now.  They watched their flowers and smiled back up at Raeguel. “Even if I did die Raeguel I wouldn’t want you to be caught in that. Not forever. I know what death has done to you in the past. That’s not something I want you to repeat. You are a good man and I would hate to see that change.” She leaned up and kissed the top of his nose.

She was happy to hear he could do it. She chuckled a bit and kissed him softly before bringing him over to the dance floor. “If anything Angela loves to throw parties. I do know how to dance you have just never asked.” There were still some things that Raeguel didn’t know about Melina but she would rather him find it out the hard way. It kept a spice in their lives. 

She pulled him onto the magic dance floor and looked below them. “Look at all the lanterns!” She looked around them to find all the ones in the skies. It was almost like an invisible net was keeping all of them there to light up the top halo. She kept herself close to Raeguel almost scared to fall through the air. She held herself close to him and positioned herself to dance with him. She wasn’t as good as he was, she was convinced, but it made her happy all the same.

“I love you Raeguel,” she said it after a time of just watching his eyes. She was happy. She reached up, though it was quite the distance, and kissed him softly. “Do you think the children are here?” She tilted her head. “You said you had a brother.” She was curious about everything. She wanted to meet everyone. “What about him?”

Death not only changed changed a person, but it could have effects onto their loved ones. In his past, he lost so many and it changed him for the worse. His families, one by one, were plagued by the curse of death and it turned him into something vile. Something disgusted and wretched and he didn’t want to be that person again. Never again. He nodded softly to Melina’s whim- she meant well and knew that underneath all that he had done, Raeguel was trying to change for the better. “You shouldn’t speak of such things, Melina. We will find a way, believe me. I won’t stop trying.” His hands fell onto hers with some grip, and he looked her in the eyes. “Believe me.”

Before long, they arrived at the dance floor with the other guests as the music flared up some more. The area was more lively than when they were on the more private floor. “Aye, I’m not usually a stickler for such things. But for you, exceptions can be made.” Raeguel was more so into knightly things or spending time with her and the children. While he was aware of the Goddess’ bashes, he usually didn’t attend them without reason. Alas, such thoughts were put aside when they started to dance. It started slow but soon they got their bodies into rhythm. He moved along with her as fluid as possible, each step precise as can be. To him, a dancer was only as good as how he could lead his partner. It didn’t matter to him at what pace they went, he only cared about her having fun tonight. His eyes sunk down towards the lanterns below them and then met with hers. It was the first time she had spoken those four words and without wasting time, he dipped towards her and met her in a kiss.

“And I love you, Melina”

He spoke once the embrace was broken, his face would have went red if he was able to blush. “They might be around, I do not know. Nerezza could have dragged Kaiser out here and Lucian and Episcia could be around here somewhere.” He thought for a moment about her curiosity about his brother before he spilled the beans while they continued to dance. “Reaver? Well, he’s somewhere around. Not sure if this would be a good time to find him, considering he’s trying to get back his own love back right now. It’s complicated.”

She was giddy as she kissed him back. He put energy into her that most of the time she found herself without. It wasn’t life energy like Angela had done but it’s own unique pattern that just Raeguel had for her. She figured that was what being love struck felt like. It made her so happy as they danced. 

She tilted her head at him and smiled a bit. “Well, at least we sort of know where they are. Some parents have worse children.” She laughed a bit and listened in about Reaver. “Well, I still need to meet him. Also, he hasn’t met the twins yet and we really should invite Reaver to Nerezza’s wedding. WHICH I’ll remind you is coming up soon.”

There was a small smile on her face. “She let me help Angela pick out flowers. It felt sort of surreal.” She wasn’t the child’s stepmother yet, hell she wasn’t even a child. Though it made Melina’s heart fill with joy since Nerezza cared about what Melina thought. Her choices were more subtle in color than Angela’s but in a way, Nerezza liked that better. Angela would laugh and say she was more used to doing the planning without anyone’s help. It was a fun time for all three women.

They were all glad to be together. She didn’t know how many women in Angela’s and her own situation could sit at the same table together and pick things out. Melina was practically sharing Angela’s mothering duties. “Do you think Angela minds all that much that I help with Nerezza and Lucian?” She had been thinking about it for a while. “Especially Nerezza… I’ve been helping with her wedding a lot lately.”