Come appraise me

VAMPIRIC PROMPTS ( @bratxprincexlestat )

“Is it!?!?!?”

Riccardo didn’t want to be here in the first place, and he should still abhor his master for letting him fly to New York to look out for Amadeo and his new infatuation: a blond rockstar who also happens to be a single father. Their conversation was definitely going the wrong way, and after Lestat told him the first time that he only wanted to be part of the family and not cut Amadeo off, Riccardo tried to let it go. But the more time he spent in New York and observing the chaos that was going on, the more he felt a headache creeping up.

“So rockstars don’t do these fuck orgies with drugs and too much alcohol?”

Before he could say more, he received a slap to the back of his head. It was Amadeo who had just returned from the bathroom. The three of them went bowling, as it was something Amadeo wanted to do so badly. A bonding moment for Riccardo and Lestat as future in-laws, as Amadeo called it.

“Don’t be mean,” Amadeo said and wrapped his arms around Lestat’s middle. Like a disgustingly in-love idiot, Amadeo’s eyes seemed to soften when he looked at Lestat before kissing the musician on the lips. Riccardo groaned and rolled his eyes. “Get a room, you two!” He tried to look away, but from the corners of his eyes Riccardo noticed how Amadeo’s hands slipped into the back pockets of Lestat’s way too tight trousers. Who would wear something like that? Wasn’t that painful and uncomfortable on the crown jewels? Oh no, Riccardo, you will not think about Lestat’s wiener. Disgusting.

“It’s your turn, annoying princeling!!!”

Riccardo gestured at the bowling alley. And another disgusting kiss with smacking sounds followed.

this barbie has the blood of akasha in her 💖🩸

It didn’t take Armand much effort to keep the mortals under control. If they were vampires, it would be much harder. And therefore, he could simultaneously focus on Lestat while controlling those mortals. He turned to the woman and asked her to bring them some clothes they could spare and two pairs of shoes they don’t need anymore. Lestat had a good heart; he wouldn’t want to take something important away from them, Armand figured. And so they were given clothes that did not fit pretty well and didn’t look new but worn out instead.

Armand leaned his cheek against the gentle hand of the other vampire while his eyes became bigger, much more doe-eyed than before. ❝I am. Do not worry about me. I did not get hurt, but you did. I will not let someone hurt you again when we leave this place.❞ He observed the wounds; luckily, they had already healed. But if his heart could still beat, it would beat so much faster at the realization that someone worried about him. He squeezed Lestat’s hand just a little bit, and he kissed the other vampire’s forehead. Armand and Lestat quickly changed their clothes and left the house again. Armand released the grasp on the mortal’s minds once they were outside again with all the supplies they needed.

Armand held Lestat’s hand the entire time as they made their way to the tower. Unlike Lestat, Armand appeared calm, mainly because he couldn’t feel any other vampire around. However, the younger vampire was so cautious that he even jumped in to cover Armand with his own body. The already big orange-coloured eyes widened even more at this act of selflessness. Armand caressed Lestat’s side and kissed his cheek, a silent thank you before they walked into the tower.

So this was the place Magnus used to hide from the coven. It smelt damp and rotten. This shouldn’t surprise him, but something of this place reflected the insanity Magnus inherited during his last years. Magnus, the vampire who was so hard to look at sometimes. An old man of no beauty at all. No word fell from his lips. He only looked around to take everything in while following Lestat. He saw the decayed corpses and the blond hair. This also didn’t surprise him. Magnus didn’t choose Lestat randomly.

❝I have never met him personally.❞ Armand finally broke the silence after so long. He walked to Lestat’s side and traced his fingers through the dirty blond tresses. ❝But no, it is not appealing.❞ He kept caressing Lestat’s hair, even massaged his scalp gently. ❝You must have been scared.❞ Armand mused and hummed softly. Oh, he knew that Lestat wouldn’t admit to any kind of weakness and maybe even find it offensive of Armand to say stuff like that. ❝I would have been scared here as a newborn and mortal alike. But Magnus was an old vampire. Alessandra told me that Magnus was over 300 years old. It’s powerful blood that runs through your veins. That’s why they fear you.❞ Armand leaned in to place a soft kiss on the shell of Lestat’s ear before he pulled back.  

❝How long did you live here with him or alone?❞ They needed to find dinner. But… Armand sighed softly, approached Lestat, and wrapped his arms around his middle, nuzzling their cheeks together. His hand caressed through Lestat’s golden hair again. ❝Stay here, my jewel. I will bring us food. I am too scared to let you go outside again tonight. You lost blood; your body had to heal itself. It weakened you a little.❞ 

Well Armand had long thought the very thoughts Lestat preached, but Armand would not admit that, would he, not when Lestat had worked so hard to convince him to leave... "I was terrified as a mortal. When he bit me. When he starved me. When he grabbed me from my cell and threw me to the floor and laughed as I kicked and punched him injuring myself, no saints, nor the Holy Mary came to my rescue. I thought that was it- the worse fate a boy can endure in Paris as his cold wet hands touched me. I closed my eyes...convinced myself that if I closed my eyes when it happened, I could pretend it was not happening. I would think of Nicolas. I would close my eyes and think of Nicolas, a little rough from the wine...and it would pass. I survived so much, I would survive that too." Lestat admitted how he feared that Magnus brought him to this tower to brutally rape him.

"But it was a coronation. My crowning started with fear, but I chose to survive it. I did choose to endure...I found I had a capacity for enduring. And then...a mere gesture to a pile of gold, and into the fire he perished. I tried to feed off the corpses, bloated facsimiles of me...it made me a little sick." He gathered the gold and handed some to Armand to keep safe in his pockets.

"I did rather well for myself, I think. All things considered. Seeing as I had no guidance—" With many blunders and mistakes but he was still alive wasn't he? "Who made you? Who made them? What is the purpose of us?" Lestat finally asked the questions he so wanted answered to. "Who was the first of us?"

"Why do we exist? Why do we endure at all? Are we evil? Is my evil sanctioned by my nature or divine error? Why did wish to leave me?" Even the thought of Gabrielle's longing to be free of him caused his eyes to turn pink with the threat of tears.

His thumb almost gently caressed over Lestat’s chest once his hand was placed above it. “I don’t read your mind when it isn’t necessary,” Marius answered, his voice barely above a whisper before he pulled Lestat flush against his body.  It was like his always so calculated mind turned off and he let his urges to kiss those pink lips take over. He lifted Lestat up, waited for the younger’s legs to wrap around him before he wooshed them over to the couch. Passionately, his lips kept moving against Lestat’s, his hand on the side of the younger vampire’s face as he hovered above him, making sure Lestat’s back was comfortable on the couch. His tongue slipped into the other’s mouth, tasting him like he didn’t taste anyone else in a long time.

Long, pale fingers nestled on the shirt Lestat wore. A soft groan fell from his lips when those sinful lips kissed his neck and nipped on his ear. “You are not dreaming, young prince,” Marius whispered. He tilted his head to the side to give Lestat a little more space to kiss his neck. Frankly, he was surprised that it felt so good. His hand slipped under those garments, exploring the soft skin with his cool fingers. Marius moved back just so slightly to pull Lestat’s shirt over his head.  

"I want you..." he purred into Marius' ear tracing his shell with a talented tongue. "I have longed for your touch since Greece." A long, long time. "I thought you were whisking me away to an idillic island to seduce me...I would have resisted just enough to make you chase me...and then relented. I thought it was other things you would have taught me" he whispered huskily, daring to trace down that firm back and find bum.

Harley’s head fell back as she laughed and gave Lestat’s shoulder a soft squeeze to keep herself standing and moving with the music. “Not just any owls. The Court or Owls. A silly not so secret society runnin’ the city. If it was actual owls that woulda been way more fun.”

Harley had lived in the slummiest slums of Gotham. She knew how bad and how hard it was to get out of there without the right help. Maybe now something could be done. Maybe Lestat could give that help. “You’re absolutely, brilliantly right! Ya could make a real difference babe. I won’t say spend all your money workin’ on it, but I bet any party of yours would raise more money than stuffy ol’ Wayne’s parties. The last one only got twenty thousand bucks! Your party would easily make double that!”

She laughed with Lestat’s idea of decapitation and distribution of wealth in the city. It would be much easier and faster than whatever the hell the rich people were doing now.

Harley could see it now. Lestat in a fancy old school suit and her in a matching dress, the height of eighteenth century elegance with the modern comforts of air conditioning and indoor plumbing.

“Wonderful idea! Let the cash and blood flow down the streets, washin’ away the grime and disease of the city! As long as ya keep your neck away from the beautiful blade my Columbine.”

A fund named after her? Wouldn’t that be something. Harley never thought her name would be attached to anything worthwhile. Maybe some sort of law against a new crime she would invent, but nothing that could actually help people. That lit a bulb in her head, finally giving her the idea that would get the reporters phone.

“Help from my uncle and a well earned gymnastics scholarship.” Harley smirked with a wink. “I was set to get into a few big competitions, but I got into psychiatry instead. That felt like a better cause than gettin’ a couple medals and a shoe sponsorship.”

"That makes sense and how intelligent you were to choose science and medicine instead of an athletic career; it certainly has more stability as a lifelong career. Although your current athletic capabilities say much that you could have had a long athletic career. I know you have helped me immensely with the tools you acquired through your studies, and I am so proud of you for achieving higher education, ma belle, you were both very lucky and very determined and an inspiration for young girls. I am certain, many young girls in Crime Alley and Park Row idolise you, what are you if not a demostrator and an activist raising awareness the only way you can" Lestat saw her, truly saw her, not the petty thief but this anti-hero that cared for her city and it's deep corruption...and do they not idolise Robin Hood? Do they think he kept nothing for himself?

"I would have studied Theology if my brothers did not drag me out of the monastery. I wanted to be a priest. It was deemed beneath a man of my titles by my father, an embarrassment." Lestat admitted and stopped dancing as they reached a corner near the reporter anyway. "So believe me when I say I am so very proud of your academic achievement ma belle-"

Something about seeing Lestat bleeding like that, seeing him in pain, triggered anger within Armand. He couldn’t forgive Allesandra for what she did, and it circled right back to what they did to Amadeo’s brothers. Once again, they hurt those Armand wanted to keep close to him. Once again, they hurt something that was dear to him. Even though Lestat was not as important as those years-old relationships Amadeo had with his Master and his brothers. But once again, she tried to destroy Armand’s life. And he wanted revenge. He wanted to rip her heart out; he wanted to eat her brain and watch her suffering. But one thing was for sure: the Mad Queen was much older than Armand, and her true strength was unknown to him. He was not sure how well his Mind Gift was developed to stand a fight after not feeding for three days.

And so, Armand had to admit that Lestat was right. He put on the rings he took back from the mortal and moved over to the horse. He’d give Lestat the rings back when they were safe, but for now, they had to hurry. 

The horse was spooked, but somehow they made it on its back. It tried to throw them off several times, and it took Armand quite a bit of balance to stay on the horse until Lestat had gotten full control over it. Armand reached back to place one hand on Lestat’s thigh as they galloped off into the distance. With his eyes closed, Armand tried to use his mind gift to figure out if they were being followed. He shielded them, especially Lestat’s mind, which was the one he shielded to make it harder for anyone to find them.

❝I’m so sorry, Lestat,❞ Armand whispered because he knew that the younger one had to leave everything behind. No matter if Lestat said it was alright, he still had to leave his things behind. The older vampire appeared almost small, pulled close to Lestat like that, even though he was far from that. He didn’t show his potential yet. He didn’t show why he was made a coven master just yet. It was better to make Lestat think that he was not in great danger around someone like Armand.

At some point, Armand noticed that they were getting closer to Magnus’ tower. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder to Lestat, who seemed to be looking over his shoulder. ❝We are the only ones. I don’t feel any blood drinkers around.❞ Armand reached for Lestat’s wrist and pulled his hand closer, then he put the rings back on Lestat’s fingers and let go of him. ❝I will find us something. I’ve been taking clothes from my food all the time for centuries.❞  

Very careful not to spook the horse even more, Armand got down. His naked feet touched the slightly muddy ground. The vampire’s amber eyes tried to make out the surroundings, then he found a house promising enough to become a source of garments. ❝Secure the horse and follow me.❞ Armand moved closer to the house that seemed to belong to a mortal low-middle-class family. He didn’t knock but opened the door with ease. Time seemed to stop around them as Armand walked inside. A family of a mother, a grandmother, a father, and two boys one in his late teens and one in his early teens were around a table eating bread and what seemed like a stew. They were frozen in their movements. ❝Do you want shoes only or more?❞ Armand asked without looking over his shoulder. He could only stop time for so long. ❝Tell me what you want, and I will make them bring it to us. If you feel bad for them, you can give them something in return, but I will wipe their memories anyway.❞ Armand loosened the grip around time, but just then, he entered the minds of all five mortals. The vampire stood very still while he held them in a tight grasp. Mechanically, the mortals stared at them with no emotion in their eyes, waiting for Lestat’s orders.

Lestat tried to secure the horse but it was so spooked that before Lestat could tie the reins, it fled. Guess they would walk the rest of the way. "Shoes will do. I have some gold stored in the tower, enough to buy us passage and an abode for a while until Roget can be reached." Lestat would take only what they needed. "Perhaps some clothes; we are in our bed garments." While Armand kept them to his command, Lestat would find a work bag and in that they could put their bed garments to keep for later.

"Are you alright?" Lestat asked with concern and cupped Armand's cheek. "It will all be alright – we knew this would happen. And look, I am alright too" Lestat's wound had healed by now and just the crimson stain on his blond hair remained. "We will grab gold from the tower, find dinner...and make way to the border...or the harbour and find ship's passage.

"We will travel and be far away from this. Just you and I-" Lestat took Armand's hand and kissed his knuckles after they changed into more suitable shoes. The clothes were a little big on him, the shoes a size too big but they would suffice for now. They would walk the rest of the way to the Tower in relative silence, on guard and alert and Lestat was a little jumpier than he normally would be considering that a carriage hit a rock as it rode past and Lestat jumped to cover Armand with his body shoving him against the wall...but no threat came. It was just a rock that got caught on a wheel and ricocheted, hitting the pavement near them, a common enough occurrence.

The Tower was large and smelt of damp...and in this horror house Armand perhaps would see glimpses of a past Lestat would not speak off. The corpses had long decayed past recognition, their blue eyes eaten by rats and vermin, but their golden hair still...spoke hints.

Lestat had long cleaned that stain of blood of the stone floor...his blood... with a shovel at the basement he dug and unearthed a small box. An emergency stash of gold, should something occur to him for Gabrielle. He had not turned Nicolas yet when he buried it and left instructions to his mother of where it was...cautioning her to never go into the Tower unless he was no longer around to take care of her.

“I did not lecture you. I gave you advice for your future.” As soon as Lestat got back into the right position, Marius sat back down as well to continue the painting they had made for Anthony’s home. No word left his mouth, and he seemingly remained focused on the painting, but Marius listened rather closely to what Lestat was saying. 

Nothing he said was a surprise, but Marius was also not happy about what he heard. Lestat seemed to be determined to break every possible rule, and at some point, it would backfire on him. Marius pressed his lips together to hold back a comment for as long as Lestat spoke. At least the young vampire wanted to get along with everyone, which eased Marius’s mind already. He did a few strokes on the canvas as he was starting to work on the shading and highlighting, some of the key aspects that could ruin the entire painting within mere seconds.

“Some rules make sense and should be followed.” Marius finally said after way too much thought and silence. “You shall stay among mortals, but disclosing to them what you are is against the laws, and I advise you to follow that one. Not just for yourself but for all of us. The mortal mind is not capable of processing what we are. You will scare them, and you will endanger us all.” He spoke calmly but with a certain tone in his voice that emphasized the importance of his words.

“I never disclosed my true self to my apprentices or any other mortal I surrounded myself with. But you certainly know the outcome of the Palazzo. You endanger mortals as well.” From the corners of his eyes, he looked over to Lestat as if he wanted to study the other’s appearance again. “The covens, especially the Roman coven, follow their satanic premises, which I do not agree with. Religion in general is not something you find me talking about.”

"Is it not? You spoke so much about purity and Botticelli's angels and tainted angels; you had me believing you were piously Christian. I am relieved that is not the case, I am too proudly against rigid institutions, including religion. There is an ocean between Christ and me" Lestat was actually relieved maybe they had a lot in common after all.

"No? I am merely curious to get to know you?" Lestat seemed surprised at the accusation. "I was hoping we could become fast and steadfast friends, and I merely wished to get to know you as a person outside the concept of the ancient vampire. Mayhaps I am trying to find what value I can be to you in said pursuit of friendship; it is only fair that your wise counsel is not merely offered with nothing gained in return. Teachers often learn parts of themselves through their pupils, do they not? It is for the young to challenge outdated ideals and for the wise to assess and consider in a new world what is to be the standard of etiquette." Lestat kept very still.

"I was not close to my father. I attached so fast to Anthony in my need for a mentor. A male figure to teach me what it means to be a vampire, a good man- and in turn I would like to think I ignited some fondness for the world long forgotten by a vampire somewhat closing his heart off from grief. I shall never be his companion, but vampires can love in many different ways, to learn that he can still find space in his heart for someone must have changed a part of him he thought long gone, do you not think? He has great love for me, he cares for me, he adores me and finds me charming and delightful in my silliness." Lestat sighed fondly. "I never had tutors...not real ones like you. Nicolas, my first love spoke of his...and I always wondered if it is a thankless profession or if shaping the minds of men was thanks enough-"

Finally the painting would be finished. "Do you believe your existence boring?" Lestat asked and then looked at his portrait. It was a very factual portait, he could say that. But he was not sending it off to suitors hoping to get married, where was the zest he radiated? The bubbliness? A little embellishment surely could be forgiven?

That sweet kiss to her hand brought her diminishing blush back at full force. Such a small thing from Lestat was as intimate as lying naked together in bed for Harley. It was sweet. It was vulnerable. It was unexpected.

With her hand over Lestat’s heart and her eyes locked with his the world quieted and darkened until Lestat was the only thing she saw and his voice, the deep reverberating sound that gave her goosebumps, was the only thing she heard. No music could compare to the way his voice made her feel. That aching love that seemed to fill her with every sweet word spoken for her benefit.

He had a way of captivating her and leaving her hanging in every word that came from his lips. Harley was no poet, but she knew good poetry when she heard it. And this was the good stuff. It made her head swim and every cell in her body squeal with delight. Anywhere else, any other night, she would be bouncing and giggling, unable to hold back her ecstasy at having such wonderful things said about her. But she wanted to be on her best behavior to not embarrass Lestat. The giggling squeals would have to happen later.

As he took a step closer, not nearly close enough, Harley’s heart leaped in her chest and her breath was stolen. A god coming closer, wanting to be close to her. It felt too good to be true. But like every night, there he was. Wanted to be close.

The thought of Lestat running to her made her giggle, thinking of the first concert after they met when they almost ran to each other. The passion that was there that night was evident even now. Anyone that saw them could see how infatuated they were with each other. How utterly devoted.

“My sweet Columbine, I can never say no to ya. But I’ll apologize if I step on your toes.” She slipped her arm through his with a smile and joined him in the center of the room. Harley wasn’t great at more formal dances, but she knew a few steps and how to follow Lestat’s lead.

She could hear the whispers of course, but for some reason they never bothered her when she was with Lestat. As long as he loved her the nasty things they could be saying didn’t matter.

Harley didn’t make it obvious that she was looking towards the stairs and caught sight of the reporter, her eyes immediately returning to Lestat’s face after she saw the woman that she had kidnapped a multitude of times.

She gave an imperceptible nod and let out an amused hum at the idea of Lestat’s mission. “Well if there’s a prize at the end of it then I’m in.” Harley would have agreed either way, but she loved the activities Lestat had in store for her. Already her mind was running with ways to sneak the phone away, but then Lestat’s voice brought her attention back to him. How did she let it wander from him in the first place?

“We write our own stories, huh sugar fangs?” She smiled with a light squeeze to his shoulder as a substitute for the drawn out kiss she wanted to give him.

"I was thinking the Wayne Gala. Or the Met Gala. Which ever invites us first- beautiful dresses, well-tailored suits and a story that will steal the limelight away from everything else. It would be so like me to commandeer a charitable event do you not think? Have you seen how dull Wayne's Galas are? I am told last year it was invaded by owls" The court of owls not mere wild birds. "The children remain sick, the infrastructure atrocious, and the potholes of Gotham keep wreaking disaster on the suspension of my beautiful cars. And we live in Cherry Hill, I dread to think how slummy the poor neighbourhoods are" Very slummy.

"Praise me, I can throw a party and advertise how much I care about the sick and dying. One day we ought to throw a gala, theme it after Versailles and solve the city's problems by decapitating the wealth" Lestat seemed to have temporarily forgotten that this would include him as well. "Oh-" Yeah there it was, it just dawned on him. "What if we set up a charitable trust named after you? It will make a good tax deduction...nothing too sorrowful. Education funding for women in STEM very non-offensive. Did you get a scholarship? Student loan? I have neglected to ask how you accessed higher education." All the while poor Harley had to focus to not step on his feet and he was demanding conversation on top of it.