Blood Lily

"Sorry," he chuckled after noticing my helpless stammering. "I can't stand formality either, but father would drain me of my blood if he caught me introducing myself any other way. You know, first impressions and such."

"Y-Yeah," I agreed, feeling only the tiniest bit of pressure relieved knowing he shared the sentiment. 

"However, as obvious as it is that you're the new heir for House O'Sang, given the unmistakable silver hair and all, I would love to know your name," he sincerely asked.

"Ah, w-well..." I started, finding it difficult to explain my current name situation. "You can just call me Li-"

"Wait wait!" he said as he pressed a finger against my lips, drawing both silence and a blush from me. "Let me guess..."

As I remained speechless, he withdrew his finger from my lips. Our eyes remaining transfixed on each other, I felt the delicate flower effortlessly slip out of my gentle grip.

"A girl as pretty as you..." he began, his hand slowly brushing against the skin on my cheek, tucking the loose hair behind my ear and forcing my heart to skip a beat.

"...must be named..." he continued as he nestled the flower into my hair. Then, leaning in close enough to feel the heat from his breath against my neck, his voice turned into a near whisper.

"...Lily."

"I-I... m-my n-name... i-it's... b-but..." I incoherently muttered while fighting the sparklers he set off in my belly, my entire face a warm scarlet and my heart beating unnecessarily loud.

He took a step back, seemingly in almost as much shock as me.

"D-Did I actually get it right for once?" he asked himself more than me. "I-I mean, since O'Sangs tend to name themselves after flowers, I figured you might have been named after the lily you were holding, and judging by your reaction..."

He caught himself ruining his own act.

"Ahem," he restarted with yet another handsome smile. "I'm Sebastian. Nice to meet you, Lily."

He stretched out his hand, offering a friendly shake. Deciding that a handshake couldn't worsen the nervous shaking I was already experiencing, I accepted the offer. Shakily.

"N-Nice to m-meet you, too," I quietly responded in kind as his hand practically cupped mine in a tight squeeze, shrinking the volume of my voice to near silence. "B-But my n-name is-"

"So, Lily," he unintentionally interrupted after breaking our handshake. "Tell me about the garden."

"...The garden?" I asked, no longer bothering to attempt correcting him about my name. "W-What about it?"

"Anything, really. I've heard a lot about it, but this is my first time seeing it in person," he said.

"Oh... It's my first time seeing it too..." I admitted.

"...Really?" he asked rather skeptically. "You've not once visited this beautiful place until now? I'm not sure if I believe that..."

"W-Well, I only learned about it yesterday," I reasoned.

"Just yesterday?" he asked, bewildered. "How long have you lived here?"

"Um... a few days," I honestly said.

"Oh," he replied. "How interesting. Hrmmm, in that case..."

He took a seat on the stone bench just in front of the fountain and motioned for me with a few pats against the stone. "Have a seat, Lily."

I felt an odd sense of joy every time he called me that, probably because it sounded dangerously close to Lil'. Probably...

Seeing no reason to decline, though, I sat beside him, our bodies just a foot apart.

"So..." he started, his head resting on his fist as he propped his arm against his knee. "Which lesser family managed to buy you a spot among House O'Sang?"

"H-Huh?" I asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if you weren't born into the family, then some lesser vampire family must have amassed enough wealth to buy your way in. That's the only realistic explanation I can think of."

"I... well..." I wasn't sure what to say. I mean, I guess he probably had a point but...

"I was nobody," I blatantly said. And it was the truth, I was nothing. I was empty and aimless, and I still would be if it wasn't for... "Mother found me alone on a park bench... I woke up here like this a few days ago."

He started to laugh, but, noticing the dead seriousness in my face, he quickly stopped.

"You're serious? Were you an orphan?" he asked with renewed intrigue.

"Something like that," I nodded. I don't know if I could even begin to explain that I was shackled by my ex-parents.

"As difficult as it is to believe... I think you're telling the truth," he said.

"Really?" I asked. I honestly thought I would have to do more convincing than that.

"Yeah, it's your reactions and mannerisms that give it away. You certainly don't act like most girls I've met," he explained.

"W-What do you mean? Am I not acting like a... a normal girl?" I asked rather self-consciously. I-I mean, of course I wouldn't be acting like a normal girl, I wasn't one until a few days ago, not to mention this is the first time I'm even wearing a dress.

"Well... most girls slap me the moment I hit on them, but you seemed to enjoy it," he teased.

"I-I, uh..." I stuttered, caught up in his flirtatious web once again. To think I had managed to calm myself down a bit, too...

"But no, really," he said after chuckling. "You're clearly not used to formal situations. It would also explain why Miss Magnolia seemed to avoid directly talking about you."

"Oh..." I said, still blushing, before remembering I was on a timer, sending me into a small panic. "Is the meeting over?"

"Nah, it's still going on, I just excused myself before I fell asleep. Even the pair of attending maids looked about ready to drop to the floor."

I grinned knowing he probably meant Amber and Millie.

"I see. That's a relief," I expressed with a sigh.

"Why is that?" he asked, latching onto the words.

"Err... well... I guess you could say I'm not really supposed to be here..." I confessed, though the truth was slightly more complex.

"Oh? Already making trouble, are we?" he teasingly asked as he repositioned his head, tilting it into his palm as his fingers ruffled his own raven black hair.

"N-No..." I reflexively answered.

"List all the mischievous things you've done so far, then," he nonchalantly requested.

"Uh... well..." I started, compiling my recent memories together. "I eavesdropped on my friends, blurted out embarrassing things... several times, almost tore this dress to pieces, and... I broke a priceless mirror..."

Oh. Maybe I have been making a little bit of trouble... just a lil' bit...

"I see, I see..." he said nodding along. "Seems to be on the tame side, but I'll give you a solid B+ for effort."

I don't know why, but he was making me feel a bit competitive.

"What's the worst you've done, then?" I asked much to his surprise.

"Me?" he asked, innocently pointing at himself. "I've done nothing out of place. Well, except two things..."

I leaned towards him, eagerly awaiting his tale of dirty deeds.

"I kidnapped and hid my only brother so father would have no choice but to turn me instead," he said while maintaining an innocent smile.

…

After a moment of awkwardly staring, I couldn't help but start giggling the same moment he broke into a laugh.

"And the other thing?" I encouraged him to continue.

"Well..." he started, "when I excused myself out of the meeting, it was to use the bathroom. I never received permission to enter the garden."

"They think you're in the bathroom then?" I asked in giggly amazement.

"Yep. If father asks why it took so long, I'll just have to lie that there was no toilet paper left. I certainly can't say I strayed into the garden and had a conversation with a cute girl," he said with a cheeky, but effective, wink.

"W-Well, sounds like I caused more trouble overall," I said, deflecting the compliment with less giggling and more blushing.

"Pfft, fine, you win in quantity," he conceded. "But not in quality. Fair?"

"Mmm!" I happily squealed. I liked victory, ok?

Once there was a lull in the conversation, however, I noticed how close he was... the distance separating us had somehow shrunk to a mere inch and, while our bodies were not contacting, his presence was palpable. My heart began to speed up as I felt a warmth spreading and tingling...

I honestly couldn't say if he had moved closer to me or if I had moved closer to him, or both, but it was clear I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"W-Well," he started, "speaking of that meeting, I should hurry up and return before I really do need to come up with a lie."

"Y-Yeah, I should probably go back to my room before anyone else sees me..." I agreed, my eyes darting away from his.

He was the first to get up and the first to say goodbye.

Standing tall, a bit taller than Magnolia even, he straightened himself, giving me the clearest view of him yet. He had a black, button-up shirt with elbow length sleeves, the collar was slightly lifted and the top two buttons were loose. He wore a pair of slacks and shoes as well, both matching in color with the shirt. He was well built, too. Not bulging with muscles or anything, mind you, just fit. Of course, he also sported ear-length, raven black hair and deep, blood red eyes that had a fondness for winking at me.

"My detour turned out better than I could have hoped for," he said. "It was nice meeting you, Lily."

"I-It was nice meeting you, too... Sebastian," I honestly replied, still feeling those weird feelings.

Just before he reached the door, however, he had one more thing to say.

"Oh, and, by the way, you'll ruin the bow on your dress if you keep playing with it like that. That would be a shame, too, it's beautiful on you, Lily," he deviously flirted.

Becoming self-aware of the subconscious action, I embarrassingly jerked my hand to my side, and, before I could respond to him, he was gone.

Still sitting on the stone bench in front of the fountain, I pressed a hand against the cheek he had caressed earlier and felt how warm it was to the touch... my mind focusing on what he insisted on calling me as a light, giddy smile formed across my lips.

"...Lily."