Chapter Six

   The mansion was full of life with preparations. The aroma of food filled the air along with the chatter of the staff. Chimes rang over the conversations, announcing the flow of guests arriving. 

   Esper was constantly trotting towards the entry and welcoming guests as they entered. Senna and Saffron would then escort the guests to their room to allow them to get settled before dinner. In between guests, Esper would check in with the staff to see how they were progressing. She never knew how overwhelming being the head of a house could be. It made her wonder how her father managed to run a fine-tuned household and a business empire as well. He never ceased to amaze her.  

   After several long strenuous hours of keeping on top of all the mansion's inner workings, Esper was finally allowed a small break to get ready for dinner. She took a deep breath and readied herself both mentally and physically to face a room of strangers. She got dressed and then headed down towards the dining hall.  

   As she entered, the young vampire took in a deep breath and let it out slowly in relief to see that she was the first to enter. Esper took her seat at the head of the table and put on a façade of confidence, not showing a single drop of weakness or fear. She was filled with even more confidence when her two best friends entered and sat by her sides. As long as Esper had Senna and Saffron, she could conquer the world.  

   The rest of the night carried on with ease. Dinner was a great success, and all of the house guests seemed to be pleased with Esper. At the end of the night, she thanked everyone as they went to their rooms. Just as she was about to turn in for the night herself, Esper heard the front door open. Wesley and the group of male vampires had finally returned. Esper ran up and gave her father a warm hug as she welcomed him back home.  

   "How was the trip?" Esper wanted to hear all about their excursions. She released Wesley from the hug and looped her arm in his.  

   The tall brunette man chuckled and patted his daughter's head. "It went well. We got your birthday presents for later on this month." 

   Esper was taken aback with surprise when she saw that all of the men had shopping bags. The young vampire chuckled to herself. Of course, her father would drag them around to go shopping. It was his form of a test to see if they were worthy of his daughter.  

   "Dad, did you really drag them along all day just to go shopping?" Wesley chuckled at his daughter; she had caught him.  

   "Only the best for my girl." Wesley patted Esper's shoulder before breaking free from her hold. The aging vampire bid the group a farewell before retiring for the evening. The males quickly followed suit, not wanting Esper to peek inside the bags at her gifts, and bid a goodnight before heading to their rooms.  

   No longer ready to go to bed, Esper made her way to the kitchen. She had become restless with newfound energy from her father's arrival and needed to find a release. Baking always helped her destress. The house staff thought her obsession with food to be strange for a vampire until they saw her creativity of incorporating blood into the recipes. It was a talent everyone learned to appreciate very quickly.  

   Getting to work, Esper pulled on an apron and began gathering ingredients and utensils. Humming to herself, Esper combined the components into three bowls. One had a white mixture, the next had red, and the final bowl was purple. Happy with the consistency, the vampire poured each bowl's contents into a dome mold and placed the container in the blast chiller.  

   Next, Esper placed a double boiler on the stove and melted white chocolate down with condensed milk and added gelatin to make a mirror glaze. As she was stirring the liquid, the vampire heard the door creak open. Esper turned to see the caramel-haired vampire, Lucca, walking in. He stood at the entrance nervously in his pajamas. He hadn't been expecting anyone else to be up still.  

   "Sorry, I was just coming for a snack. I couldn't sleep." Lucca looked down as he nervously stammered. 

   Esper flashed a friendly smile at the male vampire as she pulled the glaze off the heat. "Well, you are just in time." 

   Setting the pot on the marble counter, Esper pulled out the chilled mold. She popped the contents onto a cake stand and poured the glistening glaze on top of the dome-shaped dessert, then finished off the cake with a light dusting of edible galaxy glitter. Esper let the cake sit for a moment before slicing into it. She carefully lifted each slice and placed them onto two plates.  

   "This is a Trollkrem cake. It is lingonberry, blood, and vanilla mousse. Bon Appetit." Esper passed Lucca one of the plates and watched as he dug in. Lucca's eyes lit up as the velvety dessert melted on his tongue. 

  

   "This is amazing. I thought I was the only one who enjoyed food." Lucca took another bite, savoring the decadent dessert.  

   "I want to open up my own patisserie, but my parents always called my passion an obsession. They hoped one day I would give it up." His bright copper eyes dimmed as Lucca recalled his parents' disappointment. Esper reached over gently grasped his arm.  

   "They don't know what they are missing." Esper gave him a reassuring smile along with a gentle squeeze on his arm. Lucca returned her smile with a small one of his own.  

   "Now, if you don't hurry up and eat that, I'm going to finish this cake all by myself." Esper chuckled as she cut herself a second slice of the Trollkrem. 

   Lucca greedily gobbled down his piece and held his plate out for a second one. The two vampires slowly demolished the cake and talked about their favorite foods. Both of them were so happy to have finally found someone else who shared their passion.  

   "You know, Lucca, I think the two of us will be great friends." Esper gave the golden-eyed boy a smile as she cleaned up their snack. Lucca stood up to help and gave the silver-haired vampire a bright smile of his own. He liked the sound of them being friends. He never had a close friend before.  

   Once they were all cleaned up, Esper took hold of Lucca's arm. "Come on. I want to show you something."   

  Esper pulled him out of the kitchen and to the elevator. Esper clicked B1, and they descended. The metal doors opened to a short dark hallway with large double doors at the end. Esper continued to lead the way and stopped as they reached the doors.  

   "Ok, now close your eyes." With Lucca's eyes closed, Esper placed her hands over his eyes to be extra sure and led him in the doors. They walked a few more steps, and Esper removed her hands. Lucca looked around and gasped. They were in an underground tunnel with a jellyfish aquarium wrapping around it.  

   "Is that an Atolla jellyfish?" Lucca exclaimed as he ran towards one of the walls pointing at a blue jellyfish with a golden ring. Esper smiled and nodded. It was nice finding out they had more in common.  

   "I like to come here when I need to re-center myself. It's a safe place." Esper walked over to the panel and turned down the lights to let the jellyfish's bioluminescence be more prominent. She then pulled over a bench and patted down for him to sit.  

   "Now, we both know why I was up late. Is there something on your mind?" Esper sat and smiled, waiting for Lucca to join her. The male sat down and hung his head low. Was he that easy to read? He ran his hands through his curls and then let out a sigh.  

   "I just feel kind of lost. My coming here was my parents' idea. I know I should be trying to win your heart, but I would be much happier just being friends. This all just feels a little wrong. Not that you are bad or anything! You are beautiful. I just..." Lucca trailed off. 

   Esper looked at the distraught male and pulled him into a hug. She wasn't sure what else to do, but hugs always made her feel better. Lucca held onto her tightly, burying his face into Esper's shoulder. Her smell and touch were calming.  

   Feeling the male relax, Esper rubbed Lucca's back and hummed Judy Collins' Gaelic Lullaby. The humming continued for several minutes until Esper heard soft snoring. She smiled, knowing Lucca had finally fallen asleep. Esper gently picked up the male, surprised that he was much lighter than he looked. She carefully carried him up to his room and was surprised that it was heavily decorated in pinks. There were many complex layers to the man she considered her friend. Esper pulled back his blankets and slowly laid him down. She tucked him in snug and placed one of Lucca's teddy bears in his arms. The male vampire gripped onto the stuffed animal and nuzzled into the blankets instinctively. Esper smiled and tiptoed her way out of Lucca's room, heading towards her own. 

   Esper paused in the hallway when she saw her father's study light still on. She approached the door and gently knocked before coming in. Just as she thought, Wesley was still up and working. 

   "You deserve a rest every now and then too, Dad." Wesley looked up at the sound of his daughter's voice and smiled. "You are one to talk. What are you still doing up so late?" 

   "I got a second burst of energy," Esper said with a shrug. 

   "Then how about we both go to bed." Wesley set his pen down and stood up to walk towards his daughter. He planted a kiss on the top of her head and tousled her hair. "That means no staying up late to read more of your history books." 

   "I promise to only read ten pages." That was a blatant lie. Esper could read about vampire history for hours. 

   "Five pages," Wesley bartered. "And I will be sure to check in on you in an hour to make sure you are asleep." 

   "Dad, I am an adult. I can manage my own sleep schedule," Esper tried to argue. 

   "Yes, but you will always be my daughter, so I can manage all I want." Wesley gave his daughter a gentle nudge down the hall. 

  "Alright, fine," Esper said with a smile. "Good night, Dad." 

   "Good night, Sweetheart."