Melina sighed in joy, happy about the movie. It had been great and did justice to the series, unlike the common sequel flop that happened a lot among the second movie in a series.
She looked at her aunt and from the smile on her face, she knew her aunt had enjoyed it too. Melina was glad her aunt had taken, their seats being in the center of the theater. A perfect place for viewing the movie and the actors.
But what surprised her the most about the whole thing was that she and her aunt were currently standing in front of the female lead - Helena Grace, an A-list actress.
Not only that, but it seemed that the actress was the one who had given the tickets to her aunt and Robert to view the premiere. And it seemed the two were close, almost like they were friends.
Melina stared at the blond hair, brown eyed woman, wondering how someone could be so beautiful. It was almost as if she was a doll, not a wrinkle in sight despite being in her fifties.
"Anyway, Helena, I think I should properly introduce you to my niece, Melina." Mena said, bringing Melina back to reality.
"Um…hello Mrs. Grace." Melina exclaimed, a little nervous at meeting one of her favorite actresses. "It's nice to meet you."
"Hello there dear." Helena smiled, Melina noticing a fang peeking from her mouth. "It's nice to meet you too."
"Helena dear, the actors are gathering for photos." The director said, appearing from behind Helena.
"Looks like I have to go. It was nice meeting you Melina. Let's meet up for lunch next time, Mena." Helena laughed, waving her hand before disappearing with the director.
Melina watched as the two headed for a small stage in the front of the hall room, gathering for press photos. Some of the press were even asking questions to the main actors and the director.
"Helena is a vampire." Mena whispered in Melina's ear. "And the director is her familiar."
Melina looked at her aunt in surprise. She had thought for a second there was something supernatural about Helena and now her aunt was confirming it. However, she was shocked to know that the director was her familiar.
From what she had read, vampire familiars were the human equivalent of a lover, their marriage status. The familiar could be any being, even another vampire, humans being rare cases it seemed. From what she noticed, most beings stayed away from humans as it complicated things for everyone involved.
The only time vampires broke the rule about having humans around them was when they told a thrall, but that status was more of a slave status. In a way, the human was basically their living blood bank.
It used to be common among vampires to have human thralls but with the rise of blood banks, the practice had become less common, vampires using the banks instead for their needs. She had also learnt her family was in the blood business, helping vampires get access to the blood with their bribery skills.
"Is he human?" Melina whispered back, wanting to confirm her suspicions.
"Yes." Mena nodded. "As you know that's quite rare but it seems the two get on quite well. Of course, he'll probably live a little longer than a normal human unless Helena makes him a vampire. But she'll need to get the council's approval for that."
Melina understood what her aunt was saying. Despite being a vampire's familiar, a human couldn't become immortal. They would live about two hundred years, but after that their body would become too weak, the vampire power no longer able to slow down their aging.
The only way was to become a vampire themselves, but they needed the council's approval for that, a group of vampire elders who made sure certain rules were followed and things were kept fair among vampire covens.
"Oh…that makes sense." Melina replied.
Mena smiled. "Alright, I think we should head home now. Dinner will be ready soon and you're still grounded."
"Okay." Mena said. "And..um thanks for today. It was a great day."
"Sure kiddo. It was no problem." Mena exclaimed. "Now, let me quickly say goodbye to Helena before we go."
With that, Mena walked over to Helena who was talking to a bunch of press journalists. Seeing Mena, she paused for a minute and went over to Mena, the two talking for several minutes. Helena then looked at Melina's direction and waved.
Melina waved back and soon her aunt was making her way back to her. Afterwards, the two left the afterparty, heading back to the car where Gabriel was waiting.
As they walked, Melina suddenly asked her aunt, "Aunt Mena is it okay for you to be so um open in public…You know with your whole fake death."
"It's fine now that most have forgotten about it. Besides, everyone knows that your father has a sister. They'll think it's me and if not well, they won't say anything. All those press guys are controlled by the Rana family. Nothing will be getting out about supernatural beings, especially considering most of the people are supernatural in some way."
"Really?"
"Yip. A lot of famous, good-looking people are supernatural. You think a fifty year old human could look as good as Helena, who is about four hundred years old."
"No way?!" Melina gasped. "Helena's four hundred years old. Isn't she meant to look older, you know with the aging thing vampires have."
"She is, but vampires can control their aging and from what I've heard, the type of blood they drink affects their looks." Mena laughed.
Melina shook her head, not believing a word her aunt was saying. As they approached the car, Gabriel got out of the driver's seat and opened the back door for the two ladies.
Getting in, they soon made their way home, arriving just as dinner was announced. In the dining hall, Melina found Kai grumbling, upset about the fact that her aunt and her had gone out without him.
Robert was not there, apparently only coming back the next morning. However, Melina felt happy, enjoying the memories she was making with her family. Even if they weren't all there.