"Well, somebody's at the castle," he said thoughtfully. "I can't tell exactly who from here......" Chpt 5, Vachon and the Mischevious Mortals ****************************************** Kiana Kiana looked unhappy. Teri's earlier teasing, whilst hurtful, was closer to than the truth than she'd known. Kiana really didn't like LaCroix, something about him made her nervous. Janette, her other favourite vampire, always told her she was being silly, that if she showed him a little respect and then stayed quiet, he'd never bother with her, but Kiana couldn't help but still fear him. She really needed to go and see Janette one of these days, she missed her. //Goddess, it's been nearly three months since I saw her last// she mused. //As soon as I get a minute, I'm going to go see her. If I'm lucky, Miklos will drop me off.// But back to LaCroix. She usually planned on avoiding him whenever possible, and if he was the one in the castle, she would rather take a dunk in the ice-vat than go in, which proved how much she was afraid. "Vachon...can't you tell who's in there?" she asked hopefully. "If you really tried, maybe if you got closer..." Vachon turned to snap at her that he was trying but his gaze softened a touch when he took in the fear in her big blue eyes and the nervous way she was looking around. Teri had stepped closer to reassure her, their argument in the past already. She was looking around as though sheer will power could tell her who was in the castle. "Maybe you could fly closer and see who it is," Teri suggested reasonably. "That way if it IS LaCroix, Kiana doesn't have to run into him straight away, we could divert him to the Nunkies," she smirked, imagining LaCroix over-run with the Nunkie fanatics. "What about us?" Kiana said nervously. "What if Vachon goes to the castle, and LaCroix actually proves to be around here." "You can't have it both ways!" Teri said, exasperated. "Either we stay here and let Vachon go and look, or we all go and if it is LaCroix, you'll have to deal with him." "But at least that way I'll be with you guys and you seem to have some wierd mini-liking for LaCroix," she pointed out, reminding Teri of her earlier words. "You can "show him some respect and kiss his ass from time to time" and then he'll be just like a pussycat," she paraphrased Teri's earlier words. "And whats up with that anyway? I mean Teri...LaCroix? I think the Fanati-Nunkies have done something wierd to your sense of logic cause..." "Oh come on..." Teri barged in before Kiana finished her sentence. "Tell me you haven't thought about him...especially after all the conversation about him in a wet toga!" Vachon's eyebrows shot up but Teri didn't notice. "Tell me you didn't once think about him..." she taunted her vaq-sis. Kiana blushed and Teri let out a triumphant cry. "See! I knew it!" "So maybe I wondered...during the toga thing but that doesn't mean he doesn't still give me the creeps!" Kiana tried to defend herself, but the look on Teri's face made her throw her hands up in exasperation. Okay...so maybe, just /maybe/ she'd wondered...just a little...about LaCroix in the Toga. Just the odd thought...and that dream...she cut off that line of thought, she wasn't even going to think about what that meant. Vachon cleared his throat, and both girls looked up, suddenly remembering that he was there. Kiana blushed slightly and locked the door on the last memories of her dream. "Now..." Vachon said as he came closer, noting the way Kiana's cheeks were lightly flushed and Teri's expression. LaCroix in a toga? This is what /his/ mortals were thinking about? He'd have to do something about that...But he'd have to deal with it later. Picking them up, so he could carry them safely, he ignored their protests and flew towards the castle. Whoever was there, he thought with a glint of amusement in his eyes, would probably be more afraid of his mischievous mortals, than they would be of him or her... ****************** To Be Continued......