Graham quickly downed a glass of champagne when he reached the table that held the slim, elegant glasses, and then picked up another that he would take his time on. He figured he would need as much alcohol in his system as possible, without turning belligerent, to make it through this shindig. He hoped they wouldn't be here too long. He could see some of the looks he and his family got from some of the more stable families. At first they seemed surprised that so many members of the Bishop family could be under one roof without murdering each other, but as the party went on the looks turned to ones of disdain and, towards Graham, what looked like pity. Not everyone at the party seemed like a pompous twat though, just most.

A few minutes passed and Graham’s sister approached him. She seemed to have escaped the conversation with Gloria.

“I can’t believe you just left me like that,” she said angrily, grabbing a glass of champagne.

“You know mom would kill you if she saw you drinking,” Graham replied, taking the glass from her. “She still gets mad at me.”

“Uhm, I just killed someone last night. I think I’m old enough to have a glass of champagne,” Jenna rebutted as she snatched the glass from his hand.

Graham didn't argue with her, as she made a good point. And when he thought about it, it wasn't fair to make her go through this sober. As he watched her take a sip, he realized how old she looked in her fancy dress and makeup. She wasn't the little girl playing in the mud that he thought of her as anymore.

“Ooh! Cake!” she squealed, noticing the dessert table. Maybe she wasn't [i]that[/i] much older.

Graham glanced away from his sister as she scurried over to the desserts, almost tripping in her heels as she went, and noticed Sebastian across the room. He returned a half-hearted smile and a slight wave as Sebastian waved to him.

As Graham stared at Sebastian, the clatter of a silver tray hitting the marble floor and glass shattering pulled his eyes to the other side of the champagne table. Graham’s eyes darted about the area as he put together what happened. He noticed the obviously intoxicated kid, the empty glasses on the table, the mess on the ground, and the bewitched butler hurriedly cleaning it up. [i]Drunk already?[/i] Graham thought, smiling to himself as he realized someone else couldn’t stand being here as well.
Graham’s eyes followed the drunk as he stumbled over to Sebastian and some other kid wearing a witch costume. Graham couldn’t help but laugh as he watched the three. They were quite a bunch.

As the temporary distraction faded, Graham realized once again where he was. With a sigh, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He had some trouble using his left hand to dial the number, as the cut on his hand from the magic he performed the night prior was still healing and had a bandage covering it.

“Yo Addy. You wanna come to this party I’m at, maybe liven up the place. Help me, I’m dying,” Graham said to her voicemail. “Wear something revealing,” Graham laughed as he continued. “I’ll text you the address, you better be here soon.”

---

Once everyone had arrived to the party, Gloria ascended to the top of the stairs towards the back of the ball room. She gave a brief welcome speech, with all the formalities a party host is inclined to spout, and then welcomed the leaders of the family upstairs to go over things. She wanted to get the treaty out of the way before anyone got into a fight.

After her speech, Gloria turned and finished her ascent upstairs. She walked down a hallway, over a scarlet red runner that stretched the entirety of the hall. The walls were covered in pricey oil paintings and ancient tapestries.

She pushed open the large oak door to the lone room at the end of the hallway and moved to the end of a large, smooth mahogany table. Several leather-lined chairs were placed around the table, one for each leader. Three walls of this room were covered in bookcases filled to the brim with leather bound books that looked older than time. The fourth wall was taken up largely by an enormous window that overlooked the gardens in the backyard.

Light drops of water pecked against the glass as the rain started.