Whilst dancing with the man who I came to be known as Nocte, I vowed to myself then and there I was NOT going to fall in love with him. Eventually, the music stopped and he led me back to the table again. As I collapsed onto the chair, I looked right at him.

“Why did you ask me to dance with you?”

“I just felt like it.” Nocte shrugged.

“You really are a strange one….”

“Did you not like it?” He asked with a curious look.

“I never said that.”

With a tiny smile, he sat down and crossed his legs. As I observed him, I wondered what his game really was. But, as I watched him, I noticed that he seemed like he noticed someone and, shortly afterwards, he excused himself from the table and disappeared into the crowd. I was once again alone and there really was nothing else to do other than observe the crowd. As I did, I ended up locking eyes with someone, and they smiled back at me. I just couldn’t help myself, and I ended up smiling back. Before I knew it, the person that I just smiled at was coming straight over towards me.

“G’day.” They said with such an award-winning smile.

“Hi there.”

“Are you bored, I take it?” As he asked me that question, I realised that this man had an Australian accent, along with beach coloured hair and very pretty silvery blue eyes that I could just about see behind a black mask. To top it all off, he had such a nice tan.

“Me? Oh, not really. The one I came here with went off somewhere, but they’ll be back.”

“Ah… You don’t mind me if I sit with you, do you?” The man pointed to the empty chair.

“Oh, no! Go right ahead!”

With another smile, he took a seat.

“My name is Ethan. Ethan Vermillion.”

As I blinked at him, I swear that name sounded familiar to me but, for some weird reason, I couldn’t pinpoint why.

“I’m Alexis, but you can just call me Lexi.”

“No second name?”

“Oh! It’s just Valentine. Alexis Valentine.”

“Valentine, huh?” He looked amused. “I take it that you’ve had all the Valentine day puns thrown at you?”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Not as much as you think.”

“Hah, fair enough! So what brings you here? I get the feeling that this isn’t really your sort of crowd?”

Well, he was pretty smart, or he was just observant. So he had the looks and the brains, huh? A full package deal.

“I just happen to know the host.”

“You do?” He looked intrigued. “I happen to know him as well.”

“Nocte?”

“Yes, him. He’s pretty much an odd guy, but I owe him.”

“Really? Huh….”

“How about you? How do you know him?”

“Me?” I pointed to myself. “Oh, I just work for him. As an assistant.”

“Oh, really? Well….” He nodded to himself quite contently. “You have a good employer.”

“Ah ha, I sure hope so.” I smiled back at him. It was weird. This man that I only just met for like five minutes? Was so easy to talk to, and I had the strongest feeling that he was near my age too. But, for the life of me, I swear that I’ve heard the name Ethan Vermillion somewhere before but, for the life of me, I could not remember where. Eventually, Nocte made his return, and he instantly noticed the tanned, blonde man.

“Ethan? Long time no see!”

“It’s been awhile.” Ethan stood up, took Nocte’s hand and pulled him into a half hug. “How the devil have you been?”

“Quite well. However….” Nocte looked right at me. “I see you met my new assistant.”

“Yes I did. But I best head back. Nocte? Don’t be a stranger, and…” Ethan looked at me. “I’ll see you around, Miss Valentine.”

“It was nice meeting you.” I told him with a little smile.

“Likewise….” With a heartfelt wave, he walked off, leaving me with Nocte, who took the seat that Ethan was just in.

“You sure are a busy bee tonight…. First Rupert, now Ethan.”

“And yet, they both came to me.” I kindly told him.

“Well, that I can believe.”

“Heh…. By the way, how do you know Ethan?”

“He’s Charlotte’s grandson. If I remember correctly, he’s her youngest daughter’s kid.”

“Wait, Charlotte as in THE Charlotte?”

“The one and only.”

I blinked at him and then, somehow, it finally dawned on me. I finally realised who Ethan was. I never actively watch action or superhero movies, but the man that I was just casually speaking to just moments before was, in fact, Ethan Vermillion, the famous action hero movie star. I pretty much just spoke casually with a movie star.

“Nocte?” He looked at me as I said his name. “Did or did I not just speak to a movie star?”

“You mean Ethan? Yeah, I heard he does those.”

“Oh my…. An actual famous movie star knows my name…. I mean, I didn’t realise it was him, but then it just came to me!”

“Ok, don’t go into that headspace, or you’ll become star struck.”

“But a movie star…”

I must’ve gone a bit starry eyed, because he tapped my head.

“Earth to Lexi….”

“Ehhh?”

“There you are. Welcome back to Earth!”

“Ah ha…. Sorry, but even if I don’t watch his movies…. I still met an official movie star.” I grinned ridiculously. “But wait, isn’t Charlotte french? With Ethan being Australian, how does that work?” I remembered his Australian accent.

“If I remember the story…..” Nocte moved his hand to his chin. “Charlotte’s daughter moved out to Australia and, while she was out there, she met his father and, well, ta da! If you’re even curious, Charlotte’s husband was British. It’s one of the reasons why she lives here in England.”

“And you know Ethan because of Charlotte. I gotcha….” I must’ve been becoming starry eyed again, because he hit me on the head again.

“Are you a fan of Ethan then?”

“Me? Well…. I do know of him, but I’ve never really watched any of his films. It’s why I didn’t notice at first. But I’m more of a romance gal, and he’s the action hero.”

“Hmm…. However, I did hear that he was trying to get into the romance route.”

“Really?”

“That’s what I hear anyway, it’s not public knowledge though, so keep that hush hush. However…” He leant forward. “Maybe, since I know Ethan, he might be a stepping stone for your acting career, yes?”

“Are you really going on about that here?” I glared at him.

“Soooo?” 

“No. No. Too early….”

Nocte sighed as he leant back. “Fair enough….”

Somehow, I had a sneaky suspicion that me meeting Ethan was all part of Nocte’s plan, like he was barely even shocked that I was speaking to Ethan. Somehow, I don’t think him leaving me and then Ethan spotting me and coming over was all just a coincidence. This man has brought it up several times, but he seems to be hell bent on seeing my childhood dream come true. But, as nice as it may seem, I can not do it now! Which, if that was the case, man this guy sure was sneaky.

“By the way….” He started to speak again. “The auction is starting soon, if you want to tag along with me.”

“Oh, yes please!” I shot to my feet before he did, and he gave me a tiny smile as he too stood up.

“Someone is excited, this way.” He turned and started to head off and I followed him.

True, I may be a little excited. Going to an auction is something I’ve never done before, so this will be a whole new thing for me. 

“Are you going to bet on anything?” He questioned me when we came to a large wooden door.

“I seriously doubt it….”

“Well, you do have an income, I can give you an advance if something really takes your fancy.”

“Again, I seriously doubt it.”

“Fair enough….” He moved to open the door and ushered me inside.

As I took a step inside, I quickly noticed that there were just two seats with a table in between them. I wondered to myself: was this perhaps a private viewing balcony? Nocte walked in, and gestured for me to take a seat on one of the chairs, which I did and leaned over the railings. True enough, I realised that this was a private balcony, and it overlooked the whole place. Hordes of people were piling in and taking their seats all in front of a large stage. In some ways, the building reminded me of where stage plays are played.

“On off days, this is just a theatre.” Nocte pointed out basically confirming what I thought.

“It hosts plays?” I turned back to him and I saw him sitting crossed legged on the other chair.

“Musicals too.”

“And this is seriously all in your own house?”

“Basically…. The front of the house is a place of business, with the back being my private area.”

“Riiiiight…. Seriously, what are you?” I half rolled my eyes as I turned back to look out at the people.

“Hah!” I heard him snort behind me. “By the way, I hesitate to ask you if you want a drink, since, y'know, considering the last time….”

“Oh, trust me….” I leaned back in the chair. “I learned my lesson from last time, I’ll take it slow.”

“Good girl. So, one bottle then?”

“Sure.”

However, his ‘good girl’ sounded like he was telling a dog that she did a good job. Was it weird that I liked it?  But before my mind wandered even more, he got out the chair and walked over to a hatch that I didn’t realise was there. I heard him speaking to someone and the sound of glasses clinking together

“Is low alcohol good for you?” He asked me as he held up a bottle as he walked back over.

“Low alcohol… Really?”

“Unless you want a repeat of last time.”

“.... I already agreed to one bottle.”

“You can’t be too careful… Light weight.” He winked at me as he said that and sat down back on the chair.

“Oh, come on. It’s just that I haven’t drunk much in a long while, and that stuff was really good.”

“Maybe I should give you the hard stuff and see how you react.” He pondered as he started to pour the white wine.

“Wait, what hard stuff?” Did I somehow miss a step?

As I looked at him for an answer, he stopped pouring, raised an eyebrow and handed me the wine glass.

“Wine. Obviously.”

“Oh! …. OH!” I nervously laughed as I took the glass and quickly searched for something to change the subject entirely. “Oh, are you betting?”

“It depends….” He poured out his own wine.

“On?”

“If it interests me.” He raised up the glass and stared at me through the glass.

“I suppose that does make sense….”

“I usually don’t, unless it’s a gift for someone.” He leaned back on the chair, with his glass in hand.

Turning my attention to the stage, I saw that the lights started to dim and a man in a dazzling suit came out.

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I am your host for this evening's charity auction. We have some fine objects up for sale this evening, and we’d love nothing more than for you to dive deep into your pockets. Remember, it’s all for a good cause!”

I watched as each item came out, got paraded about and then the bidding wars took over. Various items went by and I noticed that nothing sold for less than £200,000! I could maybe buy 2 small houses for the price of some of these objects! But then I saw it, something that caught my attention. It was a painting that was painted by Marco Romano, in late 17th century Italy. At last, something I recognised here.

“I know that item….” I pointed out as it was placed on an easel in the middle of the stage.

“You do?” Nocte sounded rather surprised behind me.

“It’s the Fall of Mephisto, isn’t it?” I turned to look at him, and he looked rather intrigued, so I kept talking. “A man who started a war in the early 16th century with so many countries because, if memory serves, he was bored? Then, as the story goes, God was mad and sent Angels down to stop him and then the war was over just like that.”

“It’s interesting that you know about that….” He looked rather amused.

“I mean I never learned about it at school, because they can’t prove that it truly happened. I just happened to read about it once, and it interested me. I had to admit, even if they can’t prove that it happened, it was a lot better than the history that I DID learn in school.”

“How fascinating….”

As we talked, the bidding for the painting started to go off, and I turned my attention to the crowd, searching for the future owner of the painting. The bidding finally stopped, and it was sold to someone, but I couldn’t figure out who.

“Congratulations. You are now the owner of that painting.”

“Ehhh?” Feeling confused, I turned around to look right at him and he was giving me quite a smile. “Wait a minute, did you buy that painting?”

“Yep.”

“But why?”

“A gift. For you.”

“Woah, woah! Back up a second! You really didn’t have to.”

“Trust me, it’s better with you. I know for a fact that some of these items that have been sold tonight will just get resold somewhere else.”

“But where am I going to put a 17th century painting?” 

“Your place?”

Did he seriously say my place? True, my place was nicer than some places, but that was thanks to my dad, who refused to let me live in a dump.

“Well, the value of my place just went up….” I sighed and slumped into the chair, I was just going to have to accept the fact now. The fact I have a painting, I kinda wished that I didn’t mention it.

When the auction came to an end, Nocte led me round the back, and I saw that there, as clear as day, was the painting, sitting on top of an easel.

“Oh yeah, did I forget that this is the original.” Nocte casually points out.

“Of course it is….” I mumbled as I took a step toward it.

It was just the same as I remembered from the photos. The outline of a man in front of a large black dragon, which was known as Mephisto’s symbol, and a bunch of Angels descending from the heavens. The contrast between the dreary earth side and the light from the heavens really gave it the regal look. I can’t believe I’m standing in front of the original though, and it just happens to be mine now? A painting that I liked as a kid was mine. I would be really excited if it wasn’t going to end up in my house or that it was bought for me.

“I will admit… It’s a stunning painting.” 

“It’s something, alright.” Nocte came up to my side and looked at the painting with me. “It’s a bit weird with the Angels though.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Aren’t Angels usually white? I mean I’m not religious, but are they not? These Angels have different colours. I mean…” He points at one Angel. “This one here is all dressed in black, and has a face of a gibbon’s arse. It’s not even smiling either… Aren’t they usually happy too?”

“It’s probably what Mr Marco wanted.” 

“Perhaps….” He bent down and picked up a piece of cloth to cover the painting, before picking it up. It wasn’t a big painting; it could easily fit under Nocte’s arm. “Let’s go.”

I started to follow him as he took off.

“So, I take it that you know about that painting too?” I asked him as we walked.

“I read…. A few years back, I read about this painting and what it was a painting of. If I look into more details about the main guy in the art? There are so many different stories as to what actually happened to him, with some asking if it even happened.”

“Hmmm….”

“Am I boring you?” I questioned him.