"Yeah," Liza said emptily,"fathers can be...something else sometimes."

She turned her face sideways, looking idly at a nearby rack of pattern magazines and arts and crafts booklets. A faint glow could be seen in her eyes, but only briefly, as it faded out within seconds.

These memories, this pain...Dammit. Will they ever fade?

Liza turned back to Alice, a thin smile on her face, though it looked forced,"So, ready to go? I don't mean too rush you or anything, but we should get back home before too long. Daylights' burning after all." Liza said, noting the nearby cashier.

"Yes Ma'am!" Alice beamed at Liza. For once after a long week, her life was looking upwards! Eager to get back to the apartment Alice was about ready to drag Liza back to apartment. Clapping her hands, the tailor beamed up at the other woman. "Oh I can't wait to get back!" The bliss at being able to work again, pleased the newly made vampire to no end. She liked her work and it had been killing her that her shop had been off limits and essentially abandoned.

Oh if she ever got her hands on Liam agian! Alice swore up and down she would make that man pay, and some how she would get her shop back! Tailor lovely dresses, and suits again! Sighing happily at the thought Alice tried to keep herself positive. Liam had been an utter ass in doing what he did, but Alice was not going to give him the ultimate victory by losing everything! Plus she was getting comfortable in the fact that her 'maker' was not going to show up again. Turning her thoughts away from that night and towards the dress she was going to make, Alice hugged Liza and shooed her towards the door. Eager to get back and started on her work.

Liza stifled an indignant grunt as Alice ushered her out of Fancies.

"Take it easy," Liza grumbled, though she held a joking air,"you'd think you were late for prom or something."

In truth, Liza was somewhat pleased to see that Alice was in such good spirits. Though Alice's debacle was quite different from Liza's when she was first turned, Liza still knew what it was like to have your whole world flipped upside down, to have your life taken from you and to be forced into a dark, lonely new reality. Forever isolated from the rest of the known world to a unique extent.

Liza pushed these thoughts aside as she hailed a cab, and returned to the beaming pleasure that radiated from Alice. In a way, it was inspiring, warm.

Liza allowed Alice to get in first with her bags before rushingly hopping in herself to avoid further sun exposure.
She gave the driver her address and sat back in her seat.
Rather tired from her night shift and the small amount of daytime exposure, Liza intended to do nothing more than collapse into bed when she arrived home.

Alice fell back on the bed her hands aching slightly from three days of constant work. After a week off it was going to take time to get her former nimbleness back. It was getting late in the day and Liza would be back from her errand soon, and then there was the masquerade that was coming up. A small smile flickered across her lips as she looked over at the dress she had created. The fabric wasn't up to her normal standards but Alice was pleased over the final outcome. At the end of the day, she had created a beautiful a dress of the Victorian style. Closing her own emerald eyes and sighing out a weary breathe, Alice smirked slightly. She hadn't had the time to sew the sleeves of the desk, so she had gone with a alternate style detailed with lace and ruffles.

And Liza had joked about frills but Alice was good with them and they were easy to sew. The spare fabric laid neatly folded on the desk next to the rest of her supplies. "I'll even have enough for a shirt!" She squealed at the thought, as she beamed up at the ceiling. Though she had the odd thought that Liza was sick of coming home to constant humming and whirling Alice did about the small apartment as she picked and preened over each ruffle's exact placement. On top of that she had finished the mask as well! Pleased with herself, the vampire sighed and buried her head into the pillow. She was slightly worried by the upcoming ball, however. Raking a hand through her damp hair, Alice sighed and stared across the bed at the dress. A work of art.

The woman sighed in only part happiness. A masquerade was exactly what she needed to lift her spirit, yet she was terribly afraid of anything ruining that brief time. Even after a week and three days she had not asked Liza about the immortality of vampires. Nor for three days had she worried about her beloved shop. Now as she had set down the needle the worry came back like it always did. Was she going to suffer so because she had been a romantic? Still was, Alice thought with a slightly sad smile. All she had wanted was a kiss, and she had gotten it at the cost of her life. Now she was trapped in a life she had never wanted, and she feared what else this strange new world contained. Without Liza she was essentially defenseless. The good news, Alice thought with some relish, was that Liam was gone and done. After all this mess, that serial killer-vampire wasn't coming back. That was the thought that kept her moving along with the hope that she could get her shop back someday.

The apartment door opened and in stepped Liza. She was casually dressed in a white T-shirt and blue skinny jeans with her black sparies on her feet.
She had told Alice when they first awoke that late afternoon that she had a few things to do that day, and left Alice alone to prepare for the ball that night.

In the last two hours, Liza had paid rent, payed her cell phone bill, and paid off her credit cards. While she was at it, she had stopped and chatted with her nurse friend at the blood bank and let her know that her "stock" was running short and she would be by later that week to pick up a fresh supply.
Though Liza was held over for probably the next couple of weeks, and Alice seemed fine too, Liza preferred to keep a hefty stock of blood bags on hand.

Now she was back, and from what Liza could see, Alice was ready for the ball.

"I gotta' say those look great, Alice." Liza said as she closed the apartment door and approached the bed to look at Alice's costume, an admiring smile on her face.

"I like the mask, and the dress is good too I will admit." She said, her cheeks riveting with dimples her famous sideways smirk formed on her face.

"So are you ready to go?" She looked at Alice inquiringly.

Alice looked over at Liza and gave the waitress a smile that was anything but shy and full of pride. "I did tell you I know my job." The tailor said in a faux insulted voice. Giving an eyeroll to underline that statement. "My dear, I do this for fun. Goodness help me if you want to see what I can do with fully equipped studio!" But she nodded to Liza's question.

The tiny woman was more than ready to be away from this apartment. To be among people she could understand and talk to. For all she was not a fan of the lavish life, she understood it and knew how to cater to clients in it. It was one of the reasons she was so successful, perhaps she could find a way to keep her shop and dreams alive. Vampire or no, that was really all Alice had at the end of the day and thus she aimed to keep it.

With a short smile Liza replied,"I'll admit you are very good at what you do. Well enough chatter, let's go, you don't want to be late."



After snatching on her work clothes, gathering her effects, giving Alice time to change, and locking up the apartment, Liza hailed a cab outside and she and Alice were headed Downtown for the masquerade ball. The sun was already down past New York Cities' towering skyscrapers and was steadily lowering itself past the distant western horizon. It was a charming sight, the golden-orange sky of the setting sun, how it romanticized the evening theme and the events to come.

In the back of the cab, Liza looked around to Alice, saying,"Dalton said he'd meet us by the front door outside. He has yours and his tickets so don't worry about getting in. After I've seen you off I'm off to work for the night. When your ready to leave, take a cab back home. I left the spare key under the doormat so you could get in. Alright? Any questions?" Liza inquired.

Alice smoothed a few of the wrinkles in the black lace that accented the green and black gown. Her own raven hair swept up into a shy knot on the back of her head with a few ribbons made of the same cloth to add some color. It was very kind for Dalton to hold a ticket for her, though Alice had little doubt he would rather Liza be in her place. Though, she said the frilly wasn't for her. Alice could see Liza in a sleek gown perhaps a risque cut up to her tight, A low bodice that showed just enough to be daring yet retain modesty. Oh, it would be lovely to work on such a gown. Though with Liza's slim neck, Alice thought she might look better in a high collar and her hair up in a bun. Something to make Dalton's jaw drop.

Her mask was in her lap as she mussed and smoothed the ribbons. Lifting it to her face as they went outside she tied it so the ends and knot were tucked into the bun. Making it hard for any who wished to remove it. Giving her roommate a small smile with lips that had been painted red, Alice chuckled slightly. Her blushing cheeks only thusly partly make-up. The emerald eyes highlighted by dark black lining and light green shadowing. Looking over Liza shyily. "I- have been meaning to ask this. Am I- Are we-? Is it true vampires live forever? Immortal?" Her voice was timid and a barely audible whisper.

Liza's face darkened at this question as she turned to face Alice, the faintest of glow to be seen in her eyes. Eyes that darted around at the cab driver up front, a pudgy man with short, balding hair and a face grizzled with age marks and rough black stubble. He seemed oblivious to the two behind him as he cruised along in Downtown traffic.

Liza's gaze returned to Alice, the crimson flecks now gone from her eyes.
She leaned toward Alice slightly and spoke, lowly.
"This one time I'll entertain your question, but from now on, no more questions about our...'true selves' in public."

Liza exhaled slightly, and answered Alice's question.

"Yes," she said, bluntly yet meaningfully,"Vampires are immortal Alice. You and I, we will live forever. Eternity lies before us. Or at least until some Inquisitor is lucky enough to finally knock us off." She finished grimly.

She kept her eyes locked onto Alice's face, anticipating her reaction to the least.

Alice cringed as she had been a tad foolish, perhaps more than a mere tad, to ask such in public. Liza was very right on that account. But the answer. It chilled her and she felt a sharp pain at the knowledge that she would watch those she cared about dwindle and die. Her eyes dropped to her lap as her fingers interlaceds thoughtlessly with each other. A sorrowful and partly terrified look. For what would she do with eternity? Fashion had always been her passion. But to do it forever?

Was it blessing or curse? She could watch her beloved shop fall, disappear into time, then come back. There was some comfort in that, thought it was not the comfort she wanted. Waiting that long. It irked her and her fingers itched and trembled as she sought some form of her passionate craft. "Forever." She whispsered, before falling into silence. Nodding her head slightly to Liza, the poor tailor properly chastened for her lack of thought. Alice glanced over at Liza with apology in her eyes, before glancing out the window as she waited to arrive.

A twinge of sympathy pinged inside of Liza, her lips slightly parted as she looked at Alice.

I've been there before too, Alice. I know exactly how your feeling right now. All you can do...is bare with it. Liza thought somberly.

Liza caught herself from speaking and looked back forward, out the front of the cab.
The sun had set, the sky was dark, shrouded by the early hours of the night.
The streets were lit up with the headlights of cars and the never ending stream of window lights and street lamps. The sidewalks were crowded with pedestrians even at this hour, mobs of people that walked to and for up and down the concrete.

"We're here." Came the sudden voice of the cab driver.


The towering penthouse stood before them as the cabbie pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the sky scraping wonder.

Liza stared at the building from her side of the car, a curious wonder to her mind.
This is far from Dalton's style. Why would he invite Alice to something like a ritzy tux and gown ball in the Downtown district? A cheap drink after a bad dinner is more of his speed. Liza thought with grim humor.
She said nothing though, not wanting to damper Alice's mood further.

"Well," Liza said,"have a good time. Anything you need before I go?"

Alice felt her jaw nearly drop as she stared at the glamorous building. After so long in Benny's and the various streets about Liza's complex... It wasn't that they were bad places, they were just a step below her own shop in wealth. The Timeless was her baby and she would do anything to get the shop back. But this towering penthouse? It was the life she had left for the Timeless. What she had been raised in, even if it was to a lesser extent than this. Alice's life had been one of boarding schools and road that was paved for. Though she had cast it, and the cost that was paid with her soul, for the freedom she had lost when Liam had turned her.

"Are we at the right place?" Alice whispered slightly as she stepped form the cab. Fidgeting with the green and black gown. Her hands smoothing wrinkles that were not there. Looking back to the woman who had taken her in. "I'll try to!" The tailor tried her best to give Liza a encouraging smile as she cast a worried look over her gown. Certain it would not hold up to the wonders within that ball. Though she was not about to back down now! Not at this chance to live once more! It was a wine she loved more than the red liquid held within fragile human bodies.

"Well, don't you look the stunning sight." A voice suddenly rang out.

Approaching Alice from ahead was a gentleman adorned in a black suit with a black tie, and underneath his jacket he wore a white dress shirt, and black trousers matching his jacket.
It was Dalton, dressed crisply yet subtly. One might say he looked simple yet dapper still, dressed finely.

He approached Alice with a broad, confident stride. A look of content on his face. In his right hand he carried a simple white mask, nothing too fancy.
In his left hand he grasped two thin pieces of white paper, tickets for the ball.
He now stood before Alice, his pleasant expression holding firm.
He looked past her into the cab and, seeing it to be Liza, raised his left hand in a closed finger motion, not wanting to drop the tickets.
Liza responded with a short wave and a smile.

He does clean up nicely... Liza thought with a stirred fidget before catching herself. That dreaded since of longing returned, along with an odd ping of jealousy, and she was forced to shove it aside.

"You two have a good time," Liza called with slightly forced jubilance,"I'll see you at home, Alice."
And with that, the cab went roaring off down the street.

Dalton watched the cab depart, then turned to Alice with a smile,"You certain look the sight, and I mean that in a good way," he said kindly,"so, are you ready?" He raised up the tickets in his left hand.

The, now quite literally, Timeless tailor looked over at the voice that had called out. The glance having spared her from noticing Liza's stir of discontent. Giving Dalton a friendly, if timid, smile and incline of her head. The masked Alice Lynche flushed under the emerald mask. "You flatter me, but thank you." It was nice to hear that her work was still good, even if she was a week out of practice and working with inferior materials. Sacrifices for the art, she supposed.

Though looking at Dalton, Alice did have to admit he could pull of the simple colors of black and white like no other. It surprised and delighted the fashionista, though the fact also made her itch for a pen, paper, and a good stout length of measuring cord. Watching the cab, and thus Liza, depart Alice desperately wished the woman had joined them. Resolving to make it up to her at some point, and the next time Alice was getting a chance to go to something like this? She'd drag along the vampiress will she or no. A keen ear caught Dalton's words as Alice glanced over at him. The man was a kind person, though Alice had been a good deal shy of him at first. Who wouldn't be after the week she had? Being turned, the police, the hospital, and people trying to kill her! It was the twilight zone if she ever heard of one. "Not at all, but we shouldn't stand around out here unless we want to get a chill." Alice smiled a fond look at Dalton. Though it was merely that, and nothing more. The man wasn't her cup of tea in romance, though she was staying a healthy distance away from the general idea of falling for anyone.

Liam had disabused her that notion after all.

"Hmph", Dalton smiled crookedly,"funny, I guess."

He then raised the mask from his hand to his face, placing it firmly and slipping the thin black strap comfortably around his skull.
It was nothing fancy, a simple white mask that covered his eyes, forehead, cheekbones, and nose, leaving only his lower cheeks, mouth, and chin exposed.
The eyes of the mask were aligned straight across, giving the mask a "face of neutrality".

Dalton handed Alice her ticket and ushered her inside of the grand penthouse.

The lobby was grand, with caramel brown floor tiles, crystal chandeliers, and eloquently decorative pillars and columns that supported the thirty foot ceiling. There was a fire place on the far side, ablaze with yellow flame, and brown oak furniture placed throughout the lobby.

Dalton lead Alice to the large elevator across from the lobby.
After they had entered, Dalton pressed the twentieth floor button, which was the ball room of the lavish building.
The elevator cruised upward at a smooth speed, shadows and lights of the floors they passed brushed along the bottom of the elevator door.

As the elevator raced upward, Dalton looked around to Alice with a narrow smile,"I hope you don't mind, but I invited some 'friends' of mine tonight also. They're both up at the ball already. I'll introduce you to them when we get there."

The lobby, the elevator, the building was typical of what Alice expected from such an establishment. The refined and classic taste that higher ups usually had. Her heels clicked with that sharp note she had missed this long week. The same sound that often was echoing about the Timeless as she worked. A flicker of sadness welled in her eyes as she dwelled upon what had become of her shop and designs. So she sought another outlet for her focus. Her heart heavy with sorrow she could not fix.

Lucky it was that Dalton provided just that. Admitting that he had invited some friends to the gathering. Doing the thing that came natural to her, Alice beamed at the man from behind the black lace that covered her mask. "Not at all! Liza has been at me to get out more." She mentioned with a slight apologetic smile. "Though I wish I had the time to get her into a dress herself. The woman would have looked stunning." She noted, with that same air of irritated regret in her voice as she felt at that fact. "I'll be glad to meet your friends, Dalton. I'm sure they are exquisite people, much like yourself." She teased and partly flirted harmlessly with the man. He was not her type, and even then... Liza had first dibs so far as Alice saw and she was not about to step over the woman she owed so much to!

"'Exquisite'," Dalton repeated,"whatever you say." Dalton said, grinning from behind his mask.

Ding.

The elevator double doors came sliding open, slowly but smoothly.

The ball room was a site to be held. The ceiling was a good forty feet high, from the golden ceiling tiles hung chandeliers of thousands of pure crystals.
Columns of spiraling ornament and classical and impressionist art pieces lines the walls, paintings and statues of great diversity. Candle holders of bronze lines the walls, lit with fresh green candles ablaze with golden flame.

To the far right was an oak wood bar about twenty feet long, spanned with leather topped stools. The shelves and counter behind the bar was lined with an assortment of wines, champagnes, and hard liquors of expensive brands.
To the far left was an arrangement of tables and booths in a carpeted area, far across the ball room was the dance floor, hardwood and shining under the lights above, and just past it was a grand balcony that looked down on New York from thousands of feet high, a truly majestic sight.



The ball room itself was filled with people of costumes of all variety. One man wore a blue suit with a smiling monkey mask, another wore a black tuxedo with a dreadful black skull mask. A woman in red wore a red traditional masquerade mask with a smiling face, another wore a white dress and wide-brimmed hat with a golden cat-like mask. Waiters scurried about with trays of alcohol and orderves from back in the kitchen, while patrons waltzed on the dance floor to the gentle melody of the band nearby.

"Tickets." A voice commanded as a man in a black "STAFF" shirt with khaki colored slacks stepped from the right, his hand extended outward to take their tickets.

Dalton handed his ticket to the man, who then turned to Alice for hers.

Alice nearly fainted in bliss at the sight of lovely glamour and elegance that she had missed so much since that fateful night. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for Liza's aid, she was!, but the tiny tailor enjoyed the elegance of life. The flow of the dance, the chatter as she pinned someone's dress in place as gossip was passed between two people. Often times Alice found tidbits she could use to tailor the dress and make it even more suited to the customer in subtle ways. It was a game to Alice and she enjoyed it like nothing else. Her emerald eyes bright as she gazed at the different styles and masks. They were memorizing! Absently she handed her ticket to the staff. Her mind elsewhere.

Her body however gave a involuntary wince at the monkey masked man. The mask was not fitting, she thought, but who was she judge? It was his choice to dress as he would. Though she would give the credit due to wearing a decent blue suit. The red woman, a classic as far as Alice could judge. Her elegance and her smile matched in such a way that it was a professional job that made Alice sniff slightly. She would have made a better dress, the tailor assured herself. Envy welling inside her as she fought back the urge to scamper away and make a better ensemble than that outfit! The white and gold cat masked woman was too elegant and Alice almost sighed in another wave of envy. She really wished she had her sketch pad with her and a shop full of materials at her beck once more! But as her eyes turned to the black skull, she gave it an absent thought that it was a daring look. Terrifying yet most likely a perfect gentleman that simply was pulling a few legs with this masquerade style. Looping her arm in Dalton's the tiny vampiress smiled at the mans she was going to set Liza up with some day. "Thank you, again, by the way."

"It's no problem at all, doll face, no problem at all." He said with a smile.

He squeezed Alice's arm and began to step forward when he heard his name called. He looked off to the left to see a woman in black emerge from within a group of partygoers huddled near the seating area. She wore a solid black dress with white lace trim and a white mask with a smiling face and red tinted cheeks. The woman's hair was snowy white and hung freely past her shoulders down to the middle of her back. She was of average size, slender, and walked with unmatched elegance.

She approached Alice and Dalton in a casual demeanor. As she closed in she looked to Dalton first, saying,"Glad to see you here."
To which Dalton responded saying,"Likewise, Aleera."

The mysterious, white haired woman then looked around slowly to Alice, her voice low and oddly soothing as she spoke,"And who might you be? Are you a new lady friend of Dalton here?" She smirked coyly yet unseen behind her shrouding mask.

Alice rolled her eyes at Dalton's comment, though she didn't argue. Doll face indeed! She wouldn't lie as she did often look similar to the porcelain dolls that lined shop shelves. With her pale skin, large green eyes and fashion choices it was a common parallel that people drew. Not that the tiny tailor really minded. But her attention was torn from replying as a woman dressed in black approached.

In all reality, Alice was feeling a bit under dressed for the occasion, but there was no hope for it. As she flicked a keen gaze of the woman's garment, the young vampire found herself appreciating the selection. Good taste did count for something, as well as good care for one's clothes. But this Aleera, was it?, Alice found her comment a little off putting. Not wanting to be assumed as Dalton's date. After all, that wasn't her intention in the least. Not towards any man after that fateful night. "Merely a friend's friend." Alice answered softly, looking a tad bit embarrassed at the thought of being Dalton's anything. "So you are quite correct in some regard." Her smile was a small one that was polite but nothing more as she skated by giving her name. Uncertain what to say and not wanting to reveal herself or lie.