Her soft blond curls were fluttered in the wind, and he heard laughter. A peal of true laughter that came from deep inside her chest, and the kind he hadn't heard in quite some time. It filled him with joy. She started to turn around to call out to him, but just as he was about to identify who she was, he woke. He rolled over, hoping to see the girl of his dreams lying beside him, but was surprised to see Hannah instead. He didn't try to hide his disappointment.

"Honey, are you okay? Are you having bad dreams again?" Hannah ran her fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him.

"Were you blonde once?" He asked. Hannah surprised, halted her stokes. She chuckled, but Michael knew it wasn't genuine, not like the laughter of the girl in his dreams.

"A long, long time ago I was. Now get ready," she said as she climbed out of bed. "We have a ball to attend tonight." She slipped on a silk robe that hung on the bedpost.

"You're right, and I can't wait," He jumped up and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her toward him. He gave her a long kiss on the lips before walking to the bathroom to get ready.

Downstairs, Elijah conducted the preparations for the ball. Everyone could see the inflated ego he developed over the months, Hannah included. She approached him as he hung a portrait of himself on the wall.

"Elijah, I hate to ruin your good mood, but Michael is having those dreams again. They are getting more vivid too. He asked me if I had ever been blonde this morning. Any minute now he will know Kara was erased from his memory," she whispered.

"Okay, Hannah. I was wrong and you were right. I will erase her again tonight," he said, with a tad bit of indifference, which infuriated Hannah.

"Just because you got rid of that girl doesn't mean he's not going to kill all of us when he finally realizes what happened. This is nothing to procrastinate about!"

Anger flashed in Elijah's eyes, making her cower. "Hush! There are ears other than ours in this room, child. Rest assured that Michael will stay loyal to you as long as I am the head of this household."

*

*

*

Night had finally arrived, hordes of humans and vampires flowed through the doors of the mansion, Kara and Alex among them. Alex looked splendid in a black suit, silver tie, and silver mask with bits of onyx and black crow feathers weaved into it. Kara clung to his arm, disguised in a silver strapless gown with an elaborately beaded sweetheart neckline, and a long sparkling train. Her mask was black and also had crow feathers, it merged into the curly wig of black hair that she wore on her head.

The feedback from the microphone screeched as a voice crooned through the speakers, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Michael and Hannah Caswell, the benefactors of this fabulous ball. Give them a round of applause."

After the clapping died down, Michael began to speak. "Thank you for joining us for another annual masquerade ball. Enjoy the food, drinks, and countdown to another year!" he said. She felt nauseated as she watched him kiss Hannah and raised his glass for a toast, everyone following his example.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she said to her partner of the night, raising her glass.

"Not before we get my son back," said Alex, pulling her closer to him.

"What if we can't, what if Michael is a lost cause?" Kara was not one to give up, but she couldn't deny that things were looking dire.

"Did I hear my name?" They both turn around to find Michael standing before them.

"Yes, my Lord. Salutations," said Alex, without a hint of nervousness.

Kara looked at him in admiration; nervously, she started to reach for her hair before remembering that she was wearing a wig.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting. Are you part of the Powell Clan?" asked Michael. Kara's knees shook as his eyes traveled up and down her body. She couldn't believe that he didn't recognize her.

Alex nudged her with his elbow, and she cleared her throat. "Um, yes. We are new here. The name is Kara. Nice to meet you," she said, wondering if her name would mean anything to him.

"Well, thank you for joining us, Kara, and please make yourself comfortable," he said, without an ounce of recognition in his eyes at all. He bent down and kissed her hand. "Beautiful necklace. My mother had one just like it." His eyes then moved toward the next group of guests, "Enjoy." he said, leaving to converse with others.

Kara felt like a ton of bricks had just dropped on her. She let out a huge sigh as she clinched her necklace, "Okay, so we're here, what exactly is the plan?" She turned toward Alex as the reached the hallway.

Logan walked up beside them, wearing a sparkling emerald mask that was modeled in the shape of a tropical bird. "Making Michael remember you, of course. Amy told me that Michael has been having dreams of you. His memory is breaking through Elijah's compulsion."

"Impossible. He didn't even recognize me just then," she said, her face flushing. Suddenly, Kara noticed a strange look flash between Logan and Alex. "What's are you planni−" Kara felt a sharp pain as the world flipped to its side. Her vision faded until she was left with nothing but darkness.