Vivienne

Vivienne gracefully glided through her back door and saw Faye cuddling Casey on the sofa while the two watched the news. “Well.  Doesn’t this look cozy.”  Vivienne laughed and headed downstairs.

Faye watched as her partner breezed past them both. “It isn’t cozy…”

“It’s not?”  Casey quipped and laughed.

“...That isn’t fair, you are cozy.. but..”  Faye twisted so she could see Casey’s face and started laughing as well. “Alright, you got me.”  Faye redirected, “Vivienne.  It isn’t like you think.”

“Pray tell me what I am witnessing then, Mon amour.”  Vivienne returned with a bottle of chilled champagne.

Faye sighed and rolled her eyes. “I was doing testing.”

“Indeed, Faye. I was certainly not thinking that.”  Vivienne retrieved three long stemmed champagne flutes and popped the cork on the dark bottle. “I thought Casey had fallen for your many charms, Miss Park, Of the Ocean Lily.”  Vivienne winked and smiled as she poured the light bubbly. “Provide me with the information on this test and the results.”  Vivienne swaggered over to the sofa and handed Faye the first glass.

Lost in thought with the way Vivienne’s hips swayed, Faye barely noticed when the raven haired beauty offered her the drink. “I-I, um..”  Faye swallowed hard and sat up, dislodging Casey. 

“Hey!”  Casey complained while half-asleep. “Rude.” Casey huffed and sat up and shook off the dreamy look in her chocolate eyes.

Finally gaining enough control of herself, Faye stood up and took the glass from Vivienne. “Testing, right.  I successfully fed from Casey.  Three times as a matter of fact.”  Faye beamed, “I counted to five both times and just stopped.”

“Yeah she did.”  Casey purred and smiled at Faye. “Feel free to keep testing.”

Vivienne handed Casey the second glass and raised her eyebrow. “Casey.”  Vivienne smiled and got her own glass from the table. “I have come to the conclusion that you enjoy being bitten.”  

“It is difficult to explain, Vivienne.”  Casey spun the champagne glass in her hands, “I know what you both are doing, and I can only think about your tongues and my blood.”  She paused and looked at the twin vampires, “I feel it all over, I tingle and almost..burn.”  Laughing just after her ‘burn’ comment, Casey shook her head. “I just realized something.  Both times you have fed from me Vivienne, I have attacked Brian afterwards.”

Vivienne pulled Faye to her feet and held her tightly. “Mon amour, you are simply amazing.”  She leaned in and kissed Faye lightly on her soft lips. “A small celebration is in order.”  Vivienne turned and faced Casey. “Would you mind adding some…flavor to our bubbly?”

Grinning wide and flipping her hair, Casey exposed her long neck to Vivienne. “With pleasure.”  She purred and walked over.

Vivienne reached out for Casey’s hand and pulled her fingers straight.  Quickly looking back to Faye, “With your permission, Mon amour.  I did say my kisses are all yours now.”

Laughing, Faye shook her head. “This doesn’t count as a kiss.”

Vivienne willed her fangs down where they locked in place.  She opened her mouth to bite Casey’s fingers and stopped and looked at the television for a second before actually biting into her ward’s tender flesh.  Vivienne retracted her fangs and watched Casey’s blood drain into her glass, mixing with the champagne in little red wisps that popped the bubbles making the mixture hiss.  Vivienne added just as many droplets of blood to Faye’s glass and licked Casey’s fingers closed. “Thank you, Miss Rivers.”  She raised her glass. “I used to always celebrate a hunt, when I was younger.  What we just accomplished is like that.  Our first successful task together is complete.  Thank you.”  Vivienne winked at Faye and sipped from her glass.

Faye smiled, “First real team I have been on, I think.”  She shrugged and took a small sip.

Vivienne winked at her partner and they both looked at Casey, “Delightful.”

“Here we go again.”  Casey took a sip as well. “Didn’t we already have this conversation?”

Vivienne kissed Faye one more time and finished off her blood laden sparkling wine and set the flute down. “Stage one complete.”  She paused and looked at the television and to the stairwell. “Interesting.”

Faye looked at Vivienne then to the television. “What is interesting there?  It is just news, the guy is going over the weather.”  She turned to Casey, “Mind if I enhance the rest of my drink here?”

“Sure.”  Casey shook her head and held up her fingers again. “Under one condition, you stop calling my blood delightful.”

“Deal.”  Faye gently suckled on Casey’s fingers for a moment, and clamped down with her fangs and felt the hot sanguine liquid squirt across her tongue, making her quickly flutter her eyes.  She swallowed the two tiny streams that pulsed, before pulling Casey’s digits from her mouth and watching with delight as the beverage took on a pink undertone. “Mmm, Thank you, Casey.”  Faye offered and licked the punctures.

Vivienne cautioned, “Casey doesn’t have an infinite supply, love.”  She pulled out her phone, “Stage two.”  She headed to the chair where she and Casey had the ‘ward’ conversation and sat down, regal. “First, we need to prepare for going to Petersburg.”

“You act like that is an undertaking.”  Casey smiled and nibbled on the fingers that the couple had opened. “Can’t we just take one of the cars?”

Faye opened Vivienne’s laptop and quickly pulled up the website for the City of Petersburg, “It is only about an hour and a half away.”  Pointing her thumb behind her at that front door, Faye added, “We could just zip out there now.”

Vivienne frowned and held her hand up, “One does not just appear without arrival plans.”  She pointed at the laptop, “Faye, I do believe that you had an issue with the clothing choices you have available to you in the wardrobe.”

Faye wiggled her eyebrows and laughed, “You called them leftovers.  I don’t want to be reminded of your trophy meals.”

“Who is the comedian at this point, Mon amour?” Vivienne commented and didn’t wait for a response, “I have a solution to your attire issue as well, Faye.”

“Which is?”  Faye inquired and hopped in Vivienne’s queen-like lap. 

Taking a few seconds to pull her hair out of the bun she’d put it in to go hunting, Vivienne shook out her silky black hair and it fell across her chest. “I assume you know how to shop online, Tigerlily.”

“Yes, that I remember how to do.”  Faye frowned and looked at Casey. “Does she do that to you?”

“Yep.  Confuses me and doesn’t answer things in order.”  Casey looked at the stairs and looked at Vivienne. “Did you smell that?”

“Indeed. Coffee.”  Vivienne confirmed, and refocused on Faye. “There are a number of lovely stores that are local and will deliver within an hour.”

“You have to be kidding me, Vivienne.  You need time to process the order and have it delivered.  The delivery time alone can be an hour.”  Faye retorted.

Vivienne pointed at the laptop, “Should you decide that you want to have clothing and items of your very own, I have places bookmarked that you can use.  If you have any problems, tell me the store and I will call them personally.  I assure you, once you login with the saved credentials, anything you order will be here in an hour.”

Giving Vivienne a kiss and a hug, Faye jumped up and hurried over to the small computer. “Do I have a spending limit?” Faye inquired.

“Don’t worry about it. Just buy what you want to.”  Vivienne responded flatly, then looked up once more at the stairwell. “Casey, do me a favor and look around upstairs and see if anything seems out of place.  I keep getting a strange feeling.  I can’t quite understand why.”

“On it.”  Casey stretched and headed upstairs.

Faye turned to watch Casey dart upstairs and secretly wanted to as well. “You know, Viv, I am kind of bored.”  She loaded a ‘cart’ with various things that appealed to her, “What do you do when it's … well this slow?”

Vivienne didn’t look up from her iPhone, “Go flying around and watch people as they go about their business.  I watch and try to adapt to what I see.”

“Like what?” Faye countered and added more to her shopping list. “You know this is getting expensive.”

 Vivienne looked up at her progeny and shrugged, “Well, I enjoy watching how people court each other.”

“No one calls it that, old lady.” Faye giggled and hit the checkout button. “Um, that was about three thousand dollars.”  Faye looked at Vivienne worried, “Are you sure this is okay?  That was a ton of money on a few things.”

“I said don’t worry about it.”  Vivienne snapped her fingers. “Found it.”  Vivienne looked up from her tiny screen, “Enlighten me then.  What would you call it?”

“It’s called…say it with me… dating.”

Vivienne blinked her entrancing blue eyes, “Yes, I knew that.”

“Then stop sounding like you are from what, the 1800s?”  Faye hopped to another site and started browsing, “Mind if I get things other than clothes?”

“Mon amour, do not concern yourself with the costs.  Whatever you purchase can be brought along with us to Petersburg.”  Vivienne held up her finger. “I have to make a quick call.”

Casey came down from upstairs with a look of slight embarrassment on her face, “Viv, nothing going on up there.”  She shrugged and looked at Faye. “She completely ignored me.”

“Like you said before, she does that.”  Faye looked away from her latest purchase and pointed it out to Casey. “What do you think?”

Casey bounced over to the back of the sofa and leaned over the fledgling vampire, “Faye, that’s a laptop.”  Casey shrugged, “I guess it looks nice?”  She hopped over and sat beside Faye and pointed to herself, “Marine biology.  You want information on a shark, I’m your girl.”  She poked at the screen and the image of a silver laptop, “That stuff never interested me much.” She put her hair up in a ponytail and noticed a text come in from Brian when her phone let out a light tone.

Faye looked up and to her side, “Going to have to face the music sometime.” 

Casey opened the text and scanned it, “He’s just wondering where I am, since I am not at my mom’s.”  She tossed the phone on the table and sat back, “It just means he called my mom and she told him I wasn’t there.”  She smiled at Faye, “He did apologize though, so that’s something.” Casey pointed to Vivienne. “What is she doing?”

“I know you heard her.”  Faye clicked another button then looked up at Casey. “I get the feeling I was never very good at small talk before.”  Faye giggled and smiled, “I am getting toys.”

“Geek.”  Casey muttered and scooted beside Faye, bored.

“Hasselberry Associates, How may I direct your call.”  Vivienne put the phone on speaker, “Good evening.  Whom am I speaking with, please?”  Vivienne lightly asked.

 “Laura Hasselberry.  How can I assist you?”

Vivienne nodded to herself, “Please connect me with Alyssa Hasselberry, I am her biggest client.”

“Uh…um…”  Laura stuttered, “Her biggest client?  Give me just a moment please.”

Pleasant music started playing, and Vivienne looked at the two on the sofa, “Odd.  I never had this problem before.”

“What problem, Vivienne?”  Faye answered and looked at Casey, “What do you think?”

“Do it, that matches your hair.” Casey affirmed.

“This music, or being told to wait.”  Vivienne huffed.

Faye and Casey looked at each other and then to Vivienne. “You’ve never been put on hold before?”

“No.”  Turning so her glittering blue eyes shone for both of them, Vivienne added, “I find I am not a fan.”

Casey and Faye turned to each other and started giggling wildly. “Too funny.” Casey blurted.

Vivienne heard the music stop, “I-um.  I have her accounts here, um…I have instructions to a-a-ask for a code?”

“Finally.”  Vivienne calmly replied. “1790VM.”

“O..oh my g-god.  It’s true.”  Laura gasped. “Mis-um-Doctor Moreau..I apologize.”

Vivienne heard the confusion in the woman’s voice. “I should tell you th-that Alyssa passed away a few years ago.”  Laura gulped and continued, “I-I am handling the business now.”

“I am not familiar with Alyssa having a daughter named Laura, her daughter’s name was Miram.  Kindly inform me as to who and why I should trust you.”

“M-Miram is my mother.”  Laura expressed. “H-how can I help you?”

“I will require you to open the Manor.”  Vivienne paused, “I can assume you have the instructions for opening Ravenstead Manor?”

“Yes Ma’am.  According to this, it was closed by my grandmother sixty-eight years ago.”  Laura added, “I will have the manor open as soon as possible.”

“Tomorrow night.  My entourage will be arriving in the morning, I will arrive about an hour after sunset.”  Vivienne’s French accent coaxed the lady on the other end of the line.

Faye looked up with a shocked look in her green eyes, “Manor?”

Casey shook her head and giggled, “Entourage?”

Laura’s voice went higher, “M-D-Doctor Moreau.  You are asking the…”

Vivienne cut the young woman off, “I will also need a PODS container, number 1478BB delivered and unpacked on the first floor display room.  I will send you precise instructions on how to display them after this call.”  Vivienne looked over and winked to the others, “You will also need to renovate the kitchen at this location and then close my beach house.”

“I-I…”  Laura’s voice sounded desperate.

“Calm down, Ms Hasselberry.”  Vivienne spoke softer and calming to the woman. “Your grandmother and I discussed these things long ago, I recall that she wrote it all down.”  Vivienne kept her tone even and elegant, “Compensation is only part of what you will receive when the list is complete, Laura.”

“I understand.”  Laura’s panic seemed to wash away, “Ravenstead Manor will be ready when you arrive.”

Vivienne heard a tearing and the sound of paper being unfolded. “It would seem that you found my instructions, my friend.”

“I have them here, yes.”  Laura got silent for a couple seconds, “This explains to have guards onsite, but not what kind. Do you require armed surveillance?”

“That would be ideal.  When we arrive, coordinate with my personal assistant.  Her name is Casey Rivers, I sent that update a few days ago.”

“Yes, Doctor.”  Laura cleared her throat, “I apologize for putting you on hold earlier, I was confused.  I never thought this would happen.  Nana and mom made sure the main house stayed updated, but overall it is like how you left it.”

“I expect to meet you when I arrive, Laura Hasselberry.”  Vivienne smoothly added. “I will see you tomorrow evening.”

“Yes, Doctor Moreau.”  Laura added, “I have to get started, are there any other requests?”

“I believe that will be all until I arrive.  Further instructions will be given at that time, Laura.”  Vivienne disconnected the call and looked over at the two shocked faces glaring back at her. “What?”