My Little Ventrue Ch. 06

"You came back." She smiled again, and Jack found his toes tapping on the floor. The dress she wore was just as enticing and beautiful as the last time. Open back, it was again black and wrapped tightly to her figure, but this time the chest opened to reveal the large cleavage she carried before connecting together again just below the navel. The skirt it connected with split at the left hip and, while the skirt went down to the ankle, it only had enough fabric to cover her right leg. Her left leg was fully exposed, and Jack couldn't help but take a quick glance at the long, white limb, and the dangerously sharp six-inch heels she was wearing.

"Yes, my Prince." Every time he said that, he felt so submissive. He didn't mind, but it felt weird. What reason could she have for forcing people to personalize the title?

"I was sure Julias would convince you to avoid me." She pointed at the space next to her, and Jack slid over closer to her with a shy glance.

"Really?"

"Yes." Now that he was almost touching her, Antoinette slid just a few inches until they actually were. Her bare leg was pressed to his pants; god how he wished he wasn't wearing pants. "I assume he had warnings that I would manipulate you for my own plans, and that I was dangerous. Not only I, but others in the Danse Macabre would be a danger to you as well."

She slid closer still, but already pressed against him, her motion brought her torso a little closer to him as she put her arm behind him across the back of the booth. He tried his best to not stare, but he hadn't expected her to start snuggling up to him like this. It was so blatant, so sexual, inviting and imposing at the same time.

"Uh, yeah, he did. But I assured him my utter uselessness to anyone would protect me." He managed to crack a goofy smile, and the Prince giggled.

"You have such a low opinion of yourself for a Ventrue!"

"I prefer the predictability of realistic expectations, versus the gambling of delusions of grandeur." The straightforwardness of his words shocked him. Be careful Jack, before your social bluntness gets you killed.

"Oh, I see. But then, you are here, with me, the Prince. That seems a paradox." She tilted her head pensively.

"I... thought the gamble was worth the risk, my Prince. You've treated me with a lot more respect than other Kindred. I thought that... well... I'd hate to throw away a friendship like this one." He had to look away, and his eyes drifted down to the table in front of them. He waited with netted fingers, and his thumbs rubbed into his knuckles with worry.

"... is my friendship valuable to you? A powerful ally?"

"Yes... no! No I don't mean, I didn't mean that... I'm not here for an ally. I'm here because... other than Julias, you're the first Kindred I've talked to who's talked to me, not at me."

"I see." She gave him one of her smiles, less seductive, more genuine, and he relaxed. "I suppose you must be wondering why."

"Yes, very. I can't imagine what I could...."

"... how much do you know of the history of our kind, little Ventrue?"

"Almost nothing. Julias hasn't told me much."

"He tells you little because he knows little, because we know little."

"Know little? I... I don't understand. Aren't you 500 years old?" he said. She gave him a frown, and he immediately put both his hands up apologetically. "I'm sorry! But-"

"It is true, I am very old, as are Daniel, and Viktor, Tony, Jacob, and the other Primogen. But age does... take its toll on the mind." While one arm stayed behind Jack, her other came up to her face and palmed her cheek with thought. "Centuries cause memories to fade, to blend. They mix with fiction, with fantasy, and then torpor...."

"Torpor?"

"I suppose Julias would not have told you, as he has not done it himself, at least not for a real length of time. It is a sleep, a deep sleep full of dreams. When an elder such as I becomes ravenous, we must sleep before our hunger consumes us." She looked away. Was she ashamed? "Decades of dreams. They bend and twist the mind. For some, the effects are... wicked."

Viktor. She was talking about Viktor. She had to be.

"A coma?"

"Yes, in a fashion. It does fade the memory, and now... I cannot even remember my sire." She took a fingertip and ran it around the edges of a glass in front of her. Jack guessed the contents as blood; he recognized its consistency from Julias's.

"I am s... sorry." He dared the word, but he recoiled a little just in case she decided shred him for the offense. She did not.

"I am as well. Things are lost, including our history. I would trust only the Lancea et Sanctum to have any literature worthy of a historian's eye." Her eyes narrowed and she glared daggers into her glass. "And I do not allow those zealots to practice in my city."

That was not a playful glare or a toying glare or a teasing glare. She was legitimately angry. The beast in him cowered in such close proximity, and an almost overpowering desire to flee rippled through his limbs. Even his eyes went wide, just glancing at her red eyes glaring at the table.

When she turned to look at him though, her eyes softened. Apparently she saw that she scared him, and she made herself calm for him. At least, that's what it looked like, and that she made the effort made him smile.

"I remember almost nothing of my time as a youngling, little Ventrue. Who could I talk to about it? What fresh neonate would share their life story with me? As you said, I am lonely."

Jack had to stop for a moment and just look at her. She was so upfront. This ancient, almost mythical entity was asking him to share his life story? All because he didn't know when to keep his mouth shut?

"Have I said too much?" she said.

"No! No I... well yes." She blinked at him, but he gave a shy grin at her. "But I like that."

She laughed, outright laughed with a wholesome volume that he could feel through her leg.

"And I you, little Ventrue. Perhaps we can play a game?" Her arm behind him drifted down a little, just enough for her claws to find his ear on the far side. He shivered with her touch.

"A game?"

"Trading questions. I am sure you have many."

"I do, but... you'd really answer my questions?"

"Indeed."

"Even personal ones?"

"If you ask me, but be prepared to answer one just as personal." She gave him a wicked grin and licked her dark lips. This was a dangerous game.

"... I'll play."

"Wonderful." She leaned in nuzzled against his little body, just a tad, to the point her breasts were almost pressed to his suit jacket. "You go first."

"Oh, wow um... uh...." He was so very thankful his body wouldn't sprout random erections anymore. "Why... is your hair white, and your eyes red? I haven't seen another Kindred with such unique features."

The hand on the table rose and ran through her hair, and she pulled a large portion of it onto her chest to rest between her breasts while she combed it.

"I honestly do not remember. Daniel believes it may be because I was one of the first members of the Ordo Dracul, and am perhaps linked to Dracula. The coils back then were new and untested."

"Dracula."

"Yes."

"The Dracula?"

"Yes, butchered by fiction, but yes. I would... prefer to avoid the details, what little I remember."

Jack had to nod. That was fair. He had no idea what coils were, but that was probably stepping into the details realm.

"My turn." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "What was the first thing you thought, when you finally, truly realized you were now a vampire? That you were now a dead thing?"

"Oh..." He ran his fingers over his buzzed head. "I, er... haven't even told Julias this. But I honestly thought... how the hell am I going to lose my virginity now."

Antoinette stopped, completely stopped. She stared at him with bewilderment for almost ten full seconds before she cracked a smile, and then erupted into laughter.

"That is... that is so delightedly honest. You have no idea." She even gave him a hug. An actual hug, with her right arm hooked around his neck and pulling him to her side. "Many Kindred lose their taste or interest in sex. The act of feeding replaces it. Daeva, such as myself though, are not so quick to forget the simple pleasures of the body."

Dangerous game indeed. He gulped from pure habitual reflex.

"Your turn."

"Oh! Right, um... wow this is hard. Uh... why did you ban the Lancea et Sanctum? I understand they're holders of a lot of our history?"

"I have banned the practice because it is idiocy. They are self-deluding fools who convince themselves of all manner of lies and deceit to condone their actions and their hypocrisy. The Judges are disgusting, illogical, worthless tyrants. In God's name, they say. In God's name, over and over, to convince themselves of anything that fits their fancy, if they can bend the words enough to serve their bible. Longinus indeed!"

He knew it'd be a hot button. Why'd he have to ask? He was sure he'd wet himself if his bladder still functioned, but all he could do was sit there and not move an inch. Jack was still in her half-embrace, and he was sure if he tried to move enough to at least break their touching legs, she'd shred him like an tiger.

The Daeva eventually calmed down, and Jack made mental note to be careful with the topic in the future. He'd thought it perhaps a political reason, but apparently it was not. She had removed them from the city for more personal reasons.

"We are better without them. Instead of looking to the past in some pointless attempt to embody dead ideals, we can look forward and embrace truth, logic, and intelligence." She gave Jack a long, quizzical look, and he turned away with her scrutiny. "That was a dangerous question, little Ventrue. I am impressed."

"Th-thanks."

"Oh, did I frighten you?"

He dared a glance, he had to. Like a moth to the flame, he raised his head to meet her eyes, and quickly lost himself in her red gaze. She was looking directly at him, into him even, and he could feel the beast in him grow silent with awe.

"Yes."

"Good. I would hate to see you grow dumb with your courage. Now, my turn." The Daeva tapped her chin a fingernail. "Do you miss the things you've lost, since being embraced?"

Jack sighed. He knew he didn't need the air, but the question was so powerful and something that had been on his mind all the time. How could it not?

"... My family thinks I'm dead. I was never that close with them, but now... now I miss them." He lowered his eyes but did not turn away. Julias's words came back to him with a sting. "My friends think I'm dead. I miss them. I even miss that stupid job." He chuckled a bit, but it caught in his throat. "I don't really miss the sun, or food, but... but sometimes I get hit with it, you know? I'll sit down and just... miss things. Random, stupid little things."

"Such as?"

"The small things you never even think about. Shaving. Trying to beat the rush hour. Trying to pick which spice for your chicken. Worrying about vitamins. Exercising. Trying to find motivation to exercise. The security of a boring, predictable job." His voice grew soft. It never seemed like much, just thinking the things, but saying them out loud was different. He had to cough to stop the urge for a quiet whimper.

"The nuances of life." Antoinette's fingers found his buzzed head and traced along his crown.

"I guess, yeah." He went silent. His question had angered Antoinette, while hers had sent him into a spiral of depression. This was not the same night as last week.

"I am sorry, little Ventrue. I understand Julias embraced you to save your life."

"Yeah. I had been stabbed after leaving his place. I... it was a shock."

"You have handled the change well. Many soak in misery for months, even years."

"Julias has helped me a lot... so have you." He scratched at his buzzed hair, but tried to keep eye contact. He was rewarded when the Prince smiled at him. Such a lovely smile, when she wasn't playing a manipulative Daeva. He couldn't deny it was definitely in her nature, but if he said just the right thing, she rewarded him with something genuine.

"You are most welcome. Also, your turn."

"Oh, right. Hmm." The conversation had grown very serious, but empowering. They had asked each other meaningful questions and gotten meaningful answers. What else could he ask? "Do Kindred ever have relationships?"

Yeap. If he was going to get himself killed, it'd be in a bad attempt at flirting with the Prince of Dolareido, and an insanely powerful Kindred to boot.

"Oh! Are you not full of big surprises, little Ventrue." She ran her fingers upside the temple of his head opposite to her. "I suppose you mean a romantic relationship with another Kindred?" He managed a small nod. "Yes, we do. The last I had was with Tony, my childe. A sad story that ended when he ceased being my pupil decades ago, and left the Ordo Dracul."

He remembered Tony. He'd seen him at a distance once, at the Elysium. He shivered. The man was terrifying. If Viktor was the bull he had to avoid, Tony was the serpent.

"He is not the man he once was. He despises me now, but I suppose that is true of many scorned lovers. I leave him as a Primogen though, so I may hear the voices of his worthless, directionless lot."

"You let him have such power?" She had banned the Lancea et Sanctum after all, why not this thug?

"Yes. I disagree with him, his methods, but he is not a mindless fool incapable of adaptation or logic. His council is valuable."

The Danse Macabre. She would keep this man she once laid with, this man she no longer loved, and who despised her in return, as council purely for the information it gave her. Jack had to wonder how many ancient Kindred had weaved such interesting webs between them.

"If questions are going to get this personal, well then." She leaned in again, and with her hand on the other side of his head, hooked some of her fingers around his jaw to guide his face to look up to her. His heart would have stopped were it beating as she put her nose to his "Would you like to kiss me?"

Oh sweet mother of god.

"I... er -- uh, um... uh...."

"I assume that is why you asked, no?" She leaned in closer, but you can't get much closer than touching noses. Her lips were literally only an inch from his, and if he moved there was a good chance he'd accidentally kiss her.

"Well... I mean...." He tried to move away, but her grip was immovable; he couldn't even turn his head. She put her other hand on his leg, and simply stared into his eyes like a hungry snake. The Daeva side of her was coming out to play.

"There is no one here but us, little Ventrue." She raised her head just a touch, then lowered it, so her nose nudged playfully against his.

Too fast. It was all happening too fast. The gorgeous woman nudged her nose against his so lightly, again and again, just so the tip grazed his. It was so close. Her red eyes were so fucking beautiful. It was all so fucking beautiful. Her long white hair pulled over her shoulder and down in front of her, and she raised her hand from his leg to comb it with her fingers in a blatantly seductive way.

He really wanted to kiss her, but she was a god. She was just toying with him, she had to be.

"Please, I... it's...."

"You can say no, if you want. I will not hurt you. But I am no fool. I can see where your eyes slide." The hand holding his head toward her tickled his jawline. "If I wanted to, I could break your will with a discipline, Jack. I could twist and corrupt your mind so that you would care for me and only me." She leaned in just a little closer, so her forehead grazed his, and her red eyes were practically glowing. "But I have not and will not. You came here tonight of your own desire, and... I appreciate that. More than you know."

Everything froze.

Antoinette had stopped moving. She was just looking at him, smiling at him, waiting and watching. Those sultry eyes of hers looked into him until he could feel the ancient, colossal power of the vixen. She wasn't using her power on him; the doubt in his mind about the insanity of it all proved it. But that didn't mean she wasn't a woman. A deadly, scary, godly powerful, seductive, ancient undead woman.

"I... I don't want to...ruin...."

"If you spend your whole unlife waiting for good things to happen, little Ventrue, you are in for a long wait." With a playful smile, she turned her head left and right so their noses lightly rubbed together. Eskimo kisses. "You need to make them happen."

Fuck, Julias had said the same thing to him, the same damn thing. Jack was always waiting, always playing it safe, always aiming for the easy goals with no risk. Methodical, and boring. That was then though, and that old life was gone. Gone! He was a different person now, a different creature in a different world. If there was any time to change....

He half-closed his eyes, and leaned in just a single inch, but it was enough. His lips found the Prince's, and she gave the smallest smile into his own before she too leaned in. She only half-closed her eyes as well, and they looked at each other while their lips met.

God her lips were so soft.

"Thank you, Jack," she said, barely breaking the kiss but able to speak with perfect enunciation. "It has been... so very long since a Kindred has kissed me." Before he could respond, she'd already leaned back into the kiss and took control.

He held still, and let the crazy situation take him. The most powerful being in his wildest dreams was kissing him, her dark lips nudging into his, her tongue sneaking out just long enough to give a little lick. For a second, he pictured a snake tasting the air of him, but then she lowered her lips, and lightly plucked at his lower lip before pulling away.

She laughed then, pulled away, and combed her long hair over her shoulder with one hand while the other tickled along his jaw. The jaw had dropped by that point, and he found himself unable to lift it until she did it for him. He couldn't stop staring at her.

"Mister Terry," she said, and put a finger to his lips, "I do hope to see you again. Would you like that?"