Vivienne

Vivienne smiled as she kept looking over to her progeny that was slinked around her tightly.  Admiring the deep green nightgown Faye was wearing, Vivienne once again reflected on how Faye came to be in the gown.  The ancient vampiress had only mentioned that the spare wardrobe was on the third floor in the spare room that Casey had slept in the night prior, before the youngling darted off.  “I wanted to stretch my legs.”  Faye giggled when she reappeared.  The blue eyed doctor held out her hand and pulled them both onto the large bed, where they settled down and Vivienne started to gaze into Faye’s matching green eyes longingly.  A set of long nails, like cat-like claws, caressing her back lightly brought Vivienne out of the little reflective daze.

Tangling her legs into Faye’s, pulling them closer, Vivienne spoke first. “I did not expect you to do that, Faye.  You wouldn’t let me say anything at the time.”

Faye blinked her green eyes softly, “Like I told you, I wanted to give you something back.  Hours with you have already felt like months.”  She kept running her cat claws up and down Vivienne’s back. “All the time you spent helping me keep my mind as clear as possible and soothing my impulses, I thought about the one thing I could do now...”  She paused to swallow hard and fight back tears of blood, “...All I had left was the pool of blood on the table.  Blood that you could have taken but didn’t.  You thought of me first.”

“I…couldn’t lose you.  With your last living breath, you wanted to be with me.  You kissed me with such passion and need..”  Vivienne bit on her quivering lip a moment, “...blood was not on my mind.  Only filling your desperate plea, and my aching heart.”  Vivienne looked away from Faye’s starry eyes for a moment. “It was my fault that Drake had the chance to harm you, I should have never asked you to hide.”

Faye tapped on her partner's shoulder lightly. “My eyes aren’t up there on the ceiling.”

“This is true, mon amour.”  Vivienne rolled her blue eyes down to focus on the Asian woman. “I was just reflecting on what happened.”

“It was not your fault.  You didn’t make the bastard do anything.”  Faye remarked.

Thinking about Drake brought the letter he possessed forefront to Vivienne’s mind. “Speaking of that puke, he did leave a letter.”  She lightly kissed Faye before reaching on her nightstand for the bloody envelope. “Thank you for preserving it for us, my love.”

“Huh, I believe you mentioned that I didn’t have much choice in the matter.”  Faye coolly stated. 

Vivienne plucked the letter out, “Very true.  You did not have any choice in the matter.”  Vivienne teased. “Now then, let’s see what was so important that Drake would risk everything to talk to me.”  Vivienne unfolded the letter, “It appears that we have an artist.  Take a look at this lettering.”  She turned the short note for Faye to see, then started reading.

“Raven;

Two centuries have passed since I last looked upon your haunting blue eyes.  The night of “Tragic Woe” impacts most of us to this day, so it is with humility that I, Franco Tarsey, request an audience with you.  I do not ask this lightly, as I do cherish my eternal life and the lives of my eternal family.  The warning you gave us all that night weighs heavily against that balance and the ongoing events.

Allow my troupe, The Crimson Muse to be your host during the event itself.  We will gladly make any accommodations you feel necessary. 

There is a new council troupe meeting in Petersburg where discussions will be opened to address a new puzzle that even my eight hundred years has not experienced.

 

Peacefully,

F. Tarsey ”

 

Vivienne folded the letter and placed it back on her nightstand, then turned to face Faye once more. “Request denied, Franco.”  Vivienne leaned in to give Faye another kiss.

Faye quickly returned the kiss and then looked puzzled at her companion. “Request denied?  Any reason why?”

Sitting up on her elbow, Vivienne raised her eyebrow to Faye. “I made it clear to them that they weren’t to decide my fate or participation within the veil.  I killed every leader at the table that night.”

Faye winked at her beloved vampiress, “It doesn’t sound like he is deciding anything except the fate of his troupe, as he called it.”  She quipped and smiled. “Sounds like he is asking for advice.  A puzzle as the letter says.”

Vivienne returned the clever wink with a kiss to Faye’s chin. “It is a puzzle that I have no interest in.”

“What is the saying?  Desperate times call for desperate measures?”  Faye responded and gave a tiny purr from the kiss to her chin. “It sounds to me like a man that wants to save his family.”

“I just want to be alone with you, mon amour.”  Vivienne slowly whispered and continued, “It also puts us back into their world.  A world that I want no part of.”

“Why don’t you want to be part of it?”  Faye stopped scratching Vivienne’s back and sat up, crossing her legs.

Rolling her brilliant blue eyes, Vivienne reluctantly pulled herself into the same sitting position. “That is a simple question with a complex answer.”  Vivienne scooted against the small headboard and invited Faye to sit in her lap.

Biting gently on her lower lip, Faye turned and slid backwards into the open arms of her partner. “We have an eternity, by your own words.”  Faye snickered and turned to gaze on her creator.

“This is true and you deserve some answer.”  Vivienne winked and hugged Faye tightly before rubbing her shoulders. “The least complex part of the answer is, I didn’t have a choice.  I was turned without warning in the middle of the night, supposedly in the safety of my own bed.  He clutched my throat so I couldn’t scream, and took what blood he wanted from me.”  Vivienne touched Faye’s neck and the tops of both her breasts lightly. “Much like yourself, I lay there bleeding, crying and dying.”  Vivienne paused and closed her eyes visualizing the events, “I was forced to watch as he slit his own wrist, forced his blood in my mouth and then embraced me.  I tasted death and life at the same time and he was gone.”

Faye’s green eyes seemed to glow with understanding and compassion, “I…our embrace, I recall the strange feeling of life and death.”  She pulled Vivienne’s hand to her lips and suckled on her fingers one at a time lightly. “I…somehow knew it was still you with me.  Even though that was the first and last living kiss we had…I…knew it was you.”

“I…I…”  Mournful, Vivienne’s light French voice caught for a moment, “...I wish I had more time to let you make the decision, Faye.”  She leaned down and kissed the slender shoulders she was rubbing. “Perhaps you would have said no to the embrace given more time to consider what it all meant.”

Faye turned to look at her gorgeous partner kissing her shoulder, “I…it…is all still a haze.  I just have the feeling I was desperate.” Cupping Vivienne’s chin in her hand, she whispered, “...I am clear on one thing…I…wanted this chance to be with you.”

“Desperate.”  Vivienne blinked her shimmering blue eyes, “Faye…I…My hands shook before I woke you.  I had to force my hand steady to inject you, just to ask that question.”  She pulled Faye’s hand to her lips kissing her fingers. “I was desperate to save you, mon amour.”

Nestling back into Vivienne’s chest and pulling her arms around her once more, the new vampire grinned to herself with the way the conversation had turned. “So, what do you say?”

“Excuse me? What am I to say?”  Vivienne sounded perplexed.

“Let’s go visit Franco, in Petersburg.”  Faye giggled openly.  “Sorry, I know I kind of tricked you.”

“Very manipulative of you, my dear.”  Vivienne lifted the short black and pink hair away from Faye’s neck before kissing and nibbling lightly, drawing a heavy sigh from her progeny. “Very well.  I will need time to mend my bodysuit..”

Faye had been caught in the rush of heat pulsing in her body with her partner’s fangs biting gently on her neck, but suddenly came out of her stupor upon hearing about the bodysuit. “W..what?”  She stammered trying to push the radiating heat back, “N…no…go as..Viv…st… don’t stop, but stop..”

Vivienne pulled back and whispered gently into Faye’s ear, “You really want me to stop?”

“No.”  Faye blurted, “Yes.”

Vivienne smiled and peered into Faye’s sizzling green eyes. “Confused?”

Faye bit on her lip, “You know I am.  You did that on purpose.”

“Humm, Maybe a tiny bit.”  Vivienne giggled. “Now why did you want me to stop?”

“Bodysuit, that blue feathers thing of yours?”  Faye shook her hair back over her neck.

“Yes.  It is the persona I adapted long ago when dealing with our brethren.”  The ancient vampire retorted.

“Hang on a second.  Are you telling me that you have never talked to them at length?” Faye sounded puzzled.

“No interest.”  Vivienne started running her fingers through the strands of pink in Faye’s hair. “I told you, I didn’t want anything to do with them at all.  I hunted them, I wanted to be left alone.”

“I am finding it hard to believe that you weren’t slightly interested.”  Faye closed her eyes and sigh-purred lightly. “So far the journey for me has been lovely.”

“I am still not the least bit interested.”  Vivienne quipped, “I am only doing this because you…”  Vivienne then giggled and started to braid the pink strands, “...you tricked me into going.”

“Hey, I was finally able to think clearly enough to do it, so I am proud of myself.” Faye reached down and started running her nails along Vivienne’s calves. “Viv?”

“Yes, my love?”  Vivienne finished one of the small braids and started on another strand.

“Don’t go in that bird thing.  Let’s go there together and…live a little.”  Faye offered with a hint of excitement in her shy request.

“Comme vous le souhaitez, mon cher.”  Vivienne purred heavily in Faye’s ear, kissing her lobe gently.

“T…that…”  Faye shivered as her mistress vampire’s luxurious breath teased, “...W..what..Vivienne, you h-have to t-teach me French.”

Pressing her silky lips to Faye’s ear, the doctor whispered once more, “I said.. As you wish, my dear.” She paused, “We will travel to France so you may learn it properly.”  Vivienne felt a small pulse of electric current rifle down her spine and spark her scent, reminiscent of rosemary, to fill the air between the couple.  “However..”  Vivienne coos lightly, “...To fill your request, we need to leave for Petersburg in a day or so.  The meeting is supposedly three days from now.”

Her new vampiric senses caught the sexy scent emanating from Vivienne instantly.  Faye felt the tiger within her start to prowl close to her conscious. “If…If you don’t stop doing that…”  Faye pushed the little crouching tiger back a bit, “... I’m going to…Vivienne..I…it…I want this to be the right…er, um…time…”

Vivienne pulled away from Faye’s ear and leaned forward to look into her progeny’s eyes. “Oh, Tigerlily.” She picked up the bag of blood that still hadn’t been consumed and handed it to Faye. “I see the hunger in your eyes again and the sun just came up, I should not have done that.”

Faye grabbed the supple plastic quickly and drove her fangs into the bag, suckling its contents almost frantically.

“Slowly, if you please, mon amour.”  Vivienne coaxed softly with her commanding voice.

Faye felt herself give into the soft words Vivienne spoke, relaxing and slowing her pace.  The burning in her throat subsided and the tiger prowling at the edge of her mind slowly settled and started to sleep once more. “I…um…T…thank you.”  She held the bag so the contents wouldn’t drain and pressed her bloody lips into Vivienne’s smearing the precious fluid between them. “Mmm, what is mine is yours, Viv.  You have to be hungry too.”  

Swiftly the ancient vampiress kissed her partner once more and pulled away after a few seconds with a mouthful of blood.  She breathed lightly while holding the precious sanguine essence, allowing the cinnamon-chai scent of Faye’s blood to permeate between them.  Vivienne swallowed the tiny mouthful and smiled.

“You bit me!”  Faye exclaimed once she registered that her partner had bitten her lip and pulled away before she felt it.

“Only a little, mon amour.” The blue eyed beauty giggled and swallowed what she’d stolen.

Faye touched her lips and blinked a few times. “How..that was…how did you do that?”

“Many years of practice, my dear.”  Vivienne waved for Faye to keep drinking. “Now then, keep going with the bag and go slowly.  You can do it without my assistance.”

Faye pressed her lips back over the small holes she’d punched and started drinking again, not feeling any compulsion to drink slowly. “Your assistance?  You made me slow down, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did.”  Vivienne resumed massaging her half-Korean lady’s shoulders. “I said before I have total control if I choose to enforce it.”  She paused for a moment, “Though I would prefer to not use it at all.”

“Then why are you?”  Faye sighed under the gentle pressure on her shoulders again.

“Faye, you are only a few hours old.  I have interceded only when it comes to your well being.”  Vivienne leaned down and pressed her violet lips to each shoulder once. “I have no real desire to control what you do, I much prefer your natural reactions.”

-She’s doing it again, clouding your thoughts!-  Faye’s mind sought some relief from the pressure on her body as Vivienne trailed the soft kisses on her shoulders.  Pressing the bag against her lips and taking a healthy tug of blood to cool her scorching throat, she was able to clear her mind enough to speak. “The idea of being an automaton isn’t appealing to me, Viv.”

“Let me put your mind to rest, mon amour.  I can free you.”  Vivienne offered between her kisses.

“You can?” Faye sighed gently. “...Y..you have to be controlling me now, your lips on..my shoulders…”

“I most certainly can free you, with just a thought.  Just ask.”  Vivienne stopped kissing long enough to watch Faye’s reaction.

Faye finished off the blood bag and twisted herself to face Vivienne, and trailed her fingers over the slender shape of her partner's cheeks. “I am a youngling, like you have been saying all evening.  Still struggling with everything in my heart and head.  I need time to absorb this on a more personal level.  Having you as a safety net is comforting.”

“I am relieved to know that the subject is settled for now.  Though I am guessing that you have more questions?”  Vivienne inquired as she moved the couple to lay flat again, hugging Faye to her close. “Let me guess.”  Vivienne playfully tapped on her lips for a moment and then raised her eyebrow. “You want to know about what kind of blood you can drink.”

“H..how the…what the..How did you know that?” Faye lifted herself to look into Vivienne’s eyes, a confused look on her face.

“I didn’t read your mind, I can’t do that.”  the mistress vampire playfully added, “I know our nature.  We revolve around blood, as I said before when you were worried about being a monster.”

“Oh.”  Faye settled back against Vivienne’s chest. -I can’t even read my mind- She thought to herself, still wishing the fog of death would lift enough to recall her deeper past. “Blood.”  Faye whispered as her throat started burning. “Just thinking about it is making me uncomfortable.”

Vivienne arched one of her long eyebrows and tilted her head, “Uncomfortable how?  Do you mean how we get it, or the topic itself?”

“Neither.  My throat is burning and I want it to stop.”  Faye let out a small growl.

Vivienne felt the pain coming from the woman she loved just from her words alone. -You remember that pain do you?- Her mind asked, and displayed images of her own first feedings.  Flashes of her biting without mercy into whatever her fangs could pierce, just for a few minutes of relief from the hot brand that tore at her throat.  “Perhaps we save the discussion of this for a more gentle time?”

“No, I think I can handle this for the moment.  The feeling has been there since I reopened my eyes, it’s just that thinking about it is making me both hungry for more and pressing lava in my throat.”  Faye said and rolled onto her back sighing.

Watching for the few seconds it took Faye to flop in frustration on her back,  Vivienne turned and noticed the red haze in the verdant orbs for what it was.  The young vampire was more hungry than she let on. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were suffering? I can see the ring of hunger, mon amour.”

The black-pink haired vampire looked back into her partner's azure and concerned stare. “I really wasn’t all that hungry until we started discussing it.”  She rolled back to Vivienne’s arms, “Sorry about that, I took it out on you.”

Without saying a word, Vivienne held onto Faye’s back gently and brought her free wrist up to her mouth.  The ancient woman opened four holes in her wrist and waited for the burgundy fluid to start seeping through the openings. “Here.  This will help and nourish you.  It will cool the burn and keep that lovely tigress inside.  You will stop when I ask you to.”

Faye’s fangs slid into place and her mouth filled with saliva the moment the four holes started squeezing out the one thing she desired equally as much as Vivienne herself.  The youngling wanted to pounce on the four openings and like she did with Drake hours before, but didn’t.  Finding the strength within herself Faye waited until Vivienne placed her wrist against her lips.  Her eyes rolled up and fluttered closed the moment the cool and thick blood from her partner crossed onto her tongue.  Gripping Vivienne with both hands, Faye started pulling from the holes as fast as she could, enjoying the heaviness of the iron and the hint of rosemary as its presence did everything her partner said it would.

The sensation of being fed from drove another electrical spike along her form and she let out a soft sensual moan with every pull from Faye’s newborn lips.  Until that moment, Vivienne had thought the idea of being fed from would be something to fear and be repulsed by.  -Stop her, Vivienne.- Her mind called out and brought her from the entrapment of the moment.  She shook off the magic of her partner's lips and firmly spoke. “Faye, Stop now.”

Faye heard the forceful words and she pulled away after the last sip of the icy taste.  She licked her lips and just looked at Vivienne.  “I didn’t want to stop, I still don’t.  I want nothing more than to crawl right back over there and keep feeding from you.”  A frightening feeling washed over the new vampire. “I know I wouldn’t stop until you were dust.”

Vivienne brought her wrist back up to her mouth and licked the four holes closed, without a scar to hint that anything had occurred. “I am aware.  I also know it wouldn’t have been intentional.  I learned something in the process.”  pulled Faye onto her chest and ran her thin fingers in the short black hair. “I learned that I enjoyed it.”

“Then you can’t let me do that again.  I don’t..can’t lose you.”  Faye curled on Vivienne’s flat stomach.

“You won’t, my love.” The French woman reassured her progeny.

“How can you be so sure?  I just said that if given the chance I would turn you to dust.”  The guilt poured from Faye’s voice. “I just admitted that I love blood more than you, I think.”

“Come now.  You are a vampire and the precious anima that we have to consume is always going to be a priority.”  Vivienne slid her hand down to entwine their fingers. “Your reaction alone tells me all I need to know.”

“I don’t want to think of you in terms of feeding, Vivienne.”  Faye muttered and continued, “I am still in love with what happened in the tub.  That is the feeling I want to keep with you.  Love and being loved.”

“I was in no danger at all, Faye.  I assure you. You are far to young to do any real harm to me, Mon Amour. You would have to be within five-hundred years of my age to have any chance.”  Vivienne gently soothed. “You are not the only one learning this day.  You are the only progeny I have ever made, Casey is the only ward I have ever made.  I have learned how your lips affect me, just as much as hers do.”

Faye felt her stomach tighten and her anger flared up, “Are you telling me you kissed, Her?”

“Indeed.  I thought I explained to you earlier how our lips are the source of most everything.”  Vivienne felt Faye’s hand tighten around hers. “Careful, you will hurt yourself if you squeeze much tighter.”

“You. Kissed. Casey.”  Faye repeated.

“More accurately, she kissed me then I kissed her, yes.”  Vivienne corrected and freed her hand.