Disclaimer: I do not own Blood+.
After The Ball Is Over
Solomon glanced at his watch briefly. The prom has started for some time, he noted. It was almost time for him to leave. Before he left the mansion, he straightened his white coat and checked his reflection in the mirror one last time. A blue rose was pinned neatly on his blazer, on the right where it was close to his heart. It was a token of her, his queen, his Diva.
He wasn't very fond of attending balls and proms. More often than not, he attended them for mere business purposes. To him, it was just an event where women drench themselves in artificial odors and flaunt their jewelries while men get to drink their wine, smoke their pipes and boast their ego. One can never have a real conversation let alone find true love at these events. He had lived too long to know better.
Sometimes he would invite some of the girls to dance only when he wanted something from them. But he is not a cruel person. He would let them dreamed on just a while longer until he got what he wanted from them. Then he would excuse himself politely and before they realized it, it was already over. He was out of their sight, out of their life and they would never see him again. He would make sure of that.
He had made it a point to arrive slightly late after the ball had started when the crowd began settling down and busy engaging themselves in conversations. Yet his attempt to evade attentions was futile - every girl at the ball dropped whatever activities that they were engaging and turned their head to his direction as soon as he stepped into the hall.
Solomon cringed inwardly at the attention that he was getting. But he remembered to keep smiling nonetheless. He was told by Nathan that his smile was most charming among them. A smile can hide a thousand things. He remembered Brother Amshel's lesson well.
But right now, he was thinking fast to find an opportunity to escape from those admiring eyes. He was careful not to let his gaze lingered any more than necessary on any one of the girls as he glanced across the crowd in search for his opportunity. He knew he had found it when he laid his eyes on a girl at a quiet corner.
Diva... her name came to his very first thought when he laid his eyes on that girl but he dismissed it in an instant.
The girl has Diva's face but he was certain that she wasn't Diva. He knew Diva would crave for attention. She wouldn't be standing alone at a corner, wearing that distant expression on her face as if there was an invisible barrier around her that separates her from the crowd.
Solomon was sure that he had heard her name from somewhere before but he just couldn't recall it at that moment. Yet it conveniently slipped his mind when he stood right in front of her and she looked up to meet his gaze. Instead he made a gesture to ask her for a dance.
It amused him a little when the poor girl quickly looked over her shoulders as if she was sure he must be asking someone else behind her. And he thought she looked somewhat cute with her innocent eyes blinking in disbelief. Unlike her, Diva had mischievous eyes. He couldn't help but found himself kept comparing the two. His Diva was special, he reminded himself. No other girls ever came close to Diva. But for a moment when she looked into his eyes, he wasn't quite sure of it.
When he realized that the girl hadn't made a move, he reminded her gently, "Put out your right hand."
Her hands felt warm when she laid them lightly on his arms. He noticed that she was blushing too as they began to dance.
"You shouldn't stare at your partner while you dance," he teased her. As a result, his words made her blushed in a deeper shade of red. Solomon almost chuckled. He hadn't remembered when was the last time he had smiled sincerely like this. Not even when he was with Diva. That thought itself made him felt somewhat guilty but he hadn't let it sank deeper than that.
She was a little clumsy in her dance but he hadn't minded it that much. In fact, he wouldn't mind to dance with her for a while longer but he knew it was time for him to leave when he felt the presence of his brothers. For once, Solomon wished the ball hadn't ended so soon for him.
"Saya…"
Just as he turned to leave, he heard someone calling that name from behind. It was then that he realized he had forgotten to ask her name. But he need not do so as he already found out her name.
Saya.
As he repeated her name quietly to himself, Solomon knew that he wouldn't forget it the next time they met again.
-
That night, Solomon had plucked a pink rose on his way back to the mansion.
-
"I have never seen a blue rose before. Where did you get it from?"
"My garden. Do you like it?"
"It's lovely but it isn't my favourite colour."
"What is your favourite colour then?"
"Pink."
-
He had remembered that too, long after the ball was over.
-End-
A/N: I've always wanted to write something about this pairing: Solomon x Saya. So here it is. Hope you'll enjoy it.Do tell me what you think about it. Thanks.