CHAPTER 11: Like Phoenix from the Ashes

Author: Vampiress Belladonna

Date: 06-07-04 09:31

The Vampiress Belladonna stood in the lawn of the new manor, her hands on her slender hips, as she surveyed the new mansion. It was even larger and grander than its predecessor, and though construction had ended just last month, and furnishing continued, the gray stone and gothic ornamentation of its facade made it appear centuries old, like so many of the medieval cathedrals and palaces she had visited with Dahlia over the past five years. Thoughts of her lover made Belladonna turn around and look west. From this mountainside she could see all the way down the secluded valley to where the Pacific Ocean still burned red with the recent sunset. The sanguine glow reflected her own mood.

Nonetheless, Belladonna sighed. She wished Dahlia would have returned with her to see the opening of the new Sanctuary. But the melancholy that had impelled Dahlia to return to her beloved Italy remained. To Belladonna, to see someone she loved spend so long a time in a blue funk was frustrating, but she kept reminding herself that Dahlia was thousands of years old, and so this moody spell was for her a mere moment out of a full and exciting life. Everyone, even the most influential Kindred in the world, was entitled to an occasional ill humor.

Besides, Belladonna recognized the honor Dahlia, her Mistress and Sire, had bestowed upon her. Belladonna, a mere fledgling, upon this earth for a scant quarter century and among the Kindred for less than six years, had been given the task of relocation and rebuilding a Sanctuary to serve an entire Continent. Briant, of course, had provided essential and invaluable assistance, taking care of the practical arrangements and day to day details of real estate, construction and acquisition. However, final decisions pertaining to all substantive questions, such as location and design, he ceded to Belladonna. The failure or success of the new Sanctuary rested entirely on Belladonna's thin shoulders.

The last traces of the day died upon the horizon, and although the moon remained hidden behind the mountain, it frosted the valley below with a soft silver light. Belladonna smiled slightly as she turned back toward the mansion. It always seemed to flicker a bit when she first looked at it, like a dim projection of a real object. The spell Aradia and her coven had cast was still fresh and strong, playing tricks on even immortal eyes.

Aradia had explained that it wasn't really what most people thought of as "magic." It was actually a manipulation of the Earth's magnetic fields and many other natural forces too subtle for modern "science" to yet detect, although Aradia mentioned that physicists were getting a glimmer of understanding through something called quantum mechanics. Belladonna thought back to her last semester at the University (the one she had never finished after meeting Dahlia during Spring Break). She had taken a course with the unlikely name of "Physics for Poets." She remembered that quantum mechanics looked at the strange effects caused by the fact that subatomic structures had the properties of both particles and waves. Thus, at any time, a bit of matter or a photon of energy could be in a myriad of potential locations simultaneously, its location ultimately depending on how, when, and even by whom it was observed. Aradia and her Sisters somehow used these principles to obscure the manor from most human eyes. Fortunately, the acute predatory senses of Vampires, and many other ancient offshoots of humanity, could pierce this illusion.

Belladonna blinked, reaffirming the solid reality of the mansion. Her high heels clicked on the cobbles of the walkway, and she ascended the wide stone stairway to the entrance. The door opened as she approached, and Briant stood there, holding its massive brass handle.

"Good evening, Miss."

"Good evening, dear, dear Briant," Belladonna replied exuberantly. Even on tiptoes, she had to reach up behind his neck and pull his head down to bestow upon him a deep and passionate kiss, complete with tongue, to which he politely and efficiently responded. They had never made love, and surely never would, but Belladonna adored him unreservedly, and even five short years among the Kindred had taught her to always express her affections as fully and physically as possible. She finally released him, and stepped back to smile up at him brightly. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Miss," he replied simply, but Belladonna had come to know the venerable -- he was, after all, at least as ancient as Dahlia herself -- Vampire too well not to recognize his unease as a thousand unfinished tasks circled in his head. He obviously knew that she knew it, and repeated an explanation he had given countless times over the past two years. "It is just that in the past, we have always taken decades to plan a new Sanctuary, and always while the old one still stood. I cannot help but feel...."

"Enough of that!" Belladonna interrupted sternly. "It wasn't your fault. We had too many young Vampires over-hunting an area and making too many careless kills. You had no choice. If you hadn't incinerated the old mansion...."

"But if we had only...."

"Only what?" Belladonna insisted. "Killed another cop? Perhaps a whole squad of them? This isn't the Dark Ages... well, at least not the one you lived through.... Governments today have limitless resources that they will expend freely to find cop killers. Hell, they might have decided it was terrorists causing all those unexplained deaths and disappearances, then we'd have had an ARMY searching the woods around the old manor. You had to obliterate the old mansion, or they might have found something.... Maybe you can't imagine how the modern world would react if it became common knowledge that we're real and not just the stuff of horror movies and bad novels. I can imagine it; I was part of that world not so long ago. They would find us by analyzing death patterns with supercomputers, track us using the internet, corner us with surveillance drones, and kill us with smart weapons so powerful that they would leave us as less ash than a cigarette... no regeneration... no immortality... no Kindred! THAT's what you prevented by destroying the last Sanctuary."

"Yes, Miss."

"Now, I ask you again: Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Miss." This time the ancient butler grinned slightly, an uncommon sight.

"That's more like it! Now fetch a bottle of our best bloodwyne and fill a carafe. I expect we'll have company soon." Belladonna strolled up the length of the foyer and without realizing it, held her breath before turning into the parlor. As she had ordered, it was essentially identical to that in the last mansion, right down to the decor and furnishings.

She sighed as she entered and crossed the room to the chair Dahlia had usually occupied. It was the only piece of furniture in the entire manor that had been used in the old house. Briant had shipped it to Dahlia shortly after she had returned to Europe. Dahlia, in turn, had sent it back to America when the time came to furnish the new mansion, with a note reminding Belladonna that it was hers to fill in her Mistress' absence.

Belladonna settled into the old chair slowly. She had sat in it countless times, without a second thought, in their villa in Tuscany. But here, with all it represented, taking this seat was almost a sacrament.

Briant appeared only long enough to set a goblet of wyne on the small table next to her. She then sat with only the crackling fire and her own ruminations for company. That was enough. She knew soon she would have more than ample companionship...

The Sanctuary known as Crimson Kiss had returned.

Confused New Beginning

Author: Countess Varsuviya Ignatious

Date: 06-07-04 16:51

I awoke with a start and searched about the clearing, finding myself deep within the thicket of the woods. My face felt abnormally hot, as though I was only inches from the great ball of fire that illuminated this land and flushed it with ultra violet light nearly every morning. My neck felt cramped, and I passed my hand over my forehead, removing the tiny droplets of sweat that had formed. My hair was in absolute disarray; instead of its long fluid look, it was now stringy and filled with split ends.

All was silent mind the occasional howl of wind through the trees. But where was I? What had happened?

I closed my eyes and tried my hardest to remember where I last was. I had been out with Cassandra and the others...and I vaguely remembered myself cradled in Countess Hathora's arms....before...it all turned black. My memory cut off from there. It was as if I had stepped into an entirely different time and place.

I felt old..perhaps by a few years. Being an immortal, I still maintained my sensual look, but found that I was too weak too move. I jumped with a start, when I heard the sound of crunching leaves just a few years from me followed by several yawns.

"Hmm....what happened?" I turned to find a beautiful dark haired young woman crawling from the the blanket and baggage she had with her. I hesitated. Who was she?

The mysterious woman smiled an equally mysterious smile and moved closer to me. "Varsuviya? What's wrong babe?"

Again i was silent, not sure of what to say or do. Everything suddenly seemed so new...so horrifingly different. What was going on?

"Who are you, may i ask?" My voice came out hoarse and throaty.

She maintained that amiable smile and took my shaking hand in her own.

"Why, its Cassandra of course! Your beloved!"

I blinked and stared hard at her. "I...Im afraid I dont' remember you..."

She seemed a little stung by my words, "We had many sexual rendezvous and you used to tell me how much you loved me. How come...you don't remember?"

I shook my head and squeezed her fingers between my own. I was gradually beginning to come to my senses again.

"Cassandra, why are we out here?"

"What?"

"Why are we here? With all these things? In the middle of nowhere?"

She sighed but didn't reply.

I was growing impatient. "Well? Where are the others?"

"Others?"

"You know! Lady Vladira, Dei and Hathora! Why aren't they here?"

Cassandra shrugged. "How should I know? That was 2 and half years ago. Times have changed since then and so have we."

"What in hell are you talking about woman?" I snapped. "Enough of this bullshit! Lets go back to the manor. Ill bet those other women abandoned us after what was intended to be my birthday outing and left us here after we were nice and drunk...."

My lovely English accented companion shook her head sadly. I ceased my complaining and stared at her.

"Varsuviya, you didnt' hear what happened to Crimson Kiss did you darling?"

"Don't call me darling. I...I don't know you like that." I was shaking madly, not realizing the frosty cruelty of my words.

She kept her resolve; and stroked my stringy dark hair away from my sweaty face. My chest was heaving. How I longed for answers!

"It's been 2 and half years since its burning. We had returned from the outing with the other vampiress, only to find our home burned to the ground. You had passed out from my arms...you were so drunk. You and I have had to go from place to place to find shelter. And here we are." She said indicating the beautiful wilderness around us with a sweep of her arm.

"And those bags?" I asked, glancing behind her.

"Thats our stuff."

"Why?"

"I already told you," Cassandra said with an edge to her voice. "Crimson Kiss Manor was destroyed. A new one is still in the construction stages."

"What? How did this happen?"

I thought of all my belongings; the friends I had made at the manor. I longed to be with them. Were they all all right? Damn it I couldn't remember any of these happenings!

"Wow Varsuviya what the hell was in your drink?" My companion's eyes were opaque with disbelief. "Good God, you can't remember anything can you?"

I waved her comment away. "Fuck off will you? Im trying to adjust."

I suddenly found myself leaning forward and ceasing Cassandra by the shoulders, gazing seriously into her eyes. "Please," I said in a pleading voice. "Explain to me what has happened. I feel so drained of energy and life. What is going on?"

Remembering the Enjoyable Night

Author: Vladira

Date: 06-08-04 17:20

It was more of a home away from home to me. I mourned the loss of our last hiding place, somewhat, but, managed to move on.

I managed to find Belladonna again, and found where the new manor would be. I had left with my chylde, Deianira, and my servant, Jonathan, to go to my homeland of Transylvania. I showed them where I had lived, and died, only to become a vampyress. How I remember that night clearly. Then, we somehow parted ways after the loss of the manor. Having been separated has depressed me.

My uncle, Vladmir, had allowed our family castle to become run down. I managed to find some people to help restore Castle Lucarda to it's full grandeur again. I even had the family crypt restored. There interred were my father's and mother's remains.

I had discovered sometime back that the Abbess Yvain was also my mother. I had sent word to her about how well the restorations were going. The nearby villages were very helpful to me, as they were glad to be no longer under Vladmir's merciless control.

As I wonder where the others might me. After the night Deianira, Varsuviya, HathorRa and myeself had decided to go on a "hunt" for Varsuviya's birthday. When we had enjoyed ourselves at a nearby country club. A night I know Dei and I would not forget!

She and I had our "quarry" in a nearby boathouse. Both of us taunting our mortal men with seduction, waiting for Varsuviya and HathorRa to appear. And they finally did.

I could see that Varsuviya and HathorRa had been enjoying the eveing so far. At least, with each other. They both noticed our "entertainment" and had brought along their own as well. We fianlly began our night of pleasures.

The men were eager for the fun and we vampyress taunted them. The four of us had known how to take our time, and see how long they would last. As we all were undressed, things began to become heated. Entwined bodies in embraces that only we managed to take control of.

I managed to stretch my hands out towards Varsuviya and hear her moans as my fingers found her intimate places. I felt her swollen flesh throb with excitement as I stroked her. Her man was seated behind her, her head resting on his left shoulder as he caressed her breasts. She and I had never been together like this. The man I was with was biding his time as I felt his lips and tounge moved along my breasts. I looked up to see my chylde, Dei, smiling down at me and then we kissed, hard. Her tounge plunging deep into my mouth, and entwining with my own tounge, as the man she was with had his face buried deep between her thighs. HathorRa was laying next to me, her prey laying across her, moaning.

Well into the night we carried on with our prey. Even seeing which of them could handle the most of us, and for how long. Then, the night came to and end. Each one of us took our prey to a different part of the boathouse and we feasted upon them. Mine was quite lucious. His willingness to continue the orgy was amazing. His stamina was great. But, when I had him sitting against a support beam, I stratled his lap and felt his shaft deep within me. As I slid my lips along his neck, I found his pulse point and fed. It was all over.

The New Door

Author: Damiana

Date: 06-09-04 09:10

Damiana got out of the still running car, and stood by the door. She was still unsure of herself in the company of other Vampires, but she'd been unsure of herself in society for too many decades for that to mean much at all anymore. Rob sat patiently in the passenger side seat of the tough little Mercedes roadster she had bought them for the trip out here, to this place that had called to them both. By now he knew her well enough to realise that she needed time to truly come to a decision, just as much as she needed to be the first of them to enter, in order to feel that it was actually her decision.

A door opened in the vast edifice that she could just barely see, flickering away behind the illusion of being just another sheer, anonymous rockface abutting the mountains. Soft candlelight flickered across a face, and with a sigh, she saw the once-familiar features of Bryant, the butler from the previous Sanctuary. It was amazing how easily and quickly one forgot the faces of one's past companions, how they gradually faded from your waking thoughts until one day, when you saw them again, it was as if you had awoken from a long dream of being alone. Not that she had been alone of course. There had been Rob, there every step of the way, from the time the old Manor had to be abandoned, through the destruction of the cult of Nuestra Señora de las Cenizas, Our Lady of the Ashes, as they had come to call her over the year and a half that she and Rob had spent caring for thier own pecular food source. In the end, as so many cults tended to do, they had all committed suicide...although with a little urging from thier "dieties". They had left shortly afterward, some few months before the actuall final moves required for the destruction of the Sanctuary. Seeing Bryant was a bit like looking in a mirror and seeing her own reflection from prior days staring back at her.

How she had changed! In the strength and use of her powers, she was certain now, and that certainty, although at times still masked by social apprehension, shone through, to give her a subtle air of authority that she had never before possessed. She had come to terms with her anger and contempt for the mortals that she preyed upon, and putting it behind her, no longer gave in to the fits of temper and violence that had plagued her before. Oh, she still enjoyed manipulating them, causing them pain...but she no longer let the desire to inflict her will and desires upon them control her actions. She had found the depths of her needs and explored the ways the emotions of her victims nourished her, and she had put that knowledge to use. She had examined the depths of what could be called her soul, and had learned to live with what she had found there. It was only natural that she should wish to signify the changes within by effecting some changes to her appearance. She had cut off all of her hair, and adopted a more "businesslike" manner of dress, wearing mostly finely tailored (although much more closely cut than traditional) classic-style garments that enhanced her idea of the image of a woman with a well-ordered mind.

She took a step towards the open door, paused and stepped back to the driver's side door, and opened it. Smiling, Rob reached across the seat, and handed Damiana her little beaded clutch. How well he knew her! She shook her head, and turned back to the Manor and the open door. She was very glad the drive was paved, even with Vampiric reflexes, it was better not to chance gravel on stiletto heels, especialy a pair as high as those that she was wearing. But some thoughtful Vampiress, probably without even considering fashion, had seen to the safety and comfort of her guests in all ways. Damiana was looking forward to meeting her, and eager to see who had returned from the prior Sanctuary. It would be good to catch up.

"Good evening, Bryant." She said, still needing to look up slighty in order to reach his eyes, in spite of the five-inch heels she was wearing. "How have you been?"

"Fine, Miss."

"Is the Lady of the House accepting visitors yet?"

"Please allow me to show you into the parlor Miss." He shut the door bheind her. "I trust your...companion...will be joining you later?"

"Rob will be returning to the hotel for the rest of our luggage. I was a bit more interested in getting here quickly than I was in bringing all of my clothing in one trip." She smiled, "And so, a small fast car, with a trunk roughly the size of my shoe." Somewhat nervously, she patted a hand over her short, dark hair, ran the other down her suit to smoothe out any wrinkles as they reached the door to the parlor. The layout was the same as that of the previous Manor house, as was the artwork that they had spent so much time secreting away prior to the destruction of the last Sanctuary...not good days, certainly, but by far not the worst. Bryant opened the door to the parlor. "May I present to you, Vampiress Balladonna, the Vampiress Damiana."

Not wishing to seem less than polite, Damiana stepped forward and offered her hand to the Vampiress who rose to greet her from a vaguely familiar chair. "Hello, Belladonna. What a pleasure it is to meet you." All the time she was looking at the strange Vampiress, Damiana couldn't help but wonder, what adventures would this new era bring?

First Encounter

Author: Vampiress Belladonna

Date: 06-10-04 08:57

The broad, oak paneled, sliding doors separating the parlor from the foyer parted dramatically, drawing Belladonna's attention from the fire. The butler stepped aside to make his introduction. "May I present to you, Vampiress Belladonna, the Vampiress Damiana."

The woman walked in with the grace inherent to the Kindred, despite the preposterously high and thin heels of her delicate sandals, as though she tiptoed on clouds as white and clean as her perfectly tailored jacket. Her short hair gave her a sassy, almost boyish, look that Belladonna could not help but find sexy, reminding her of how long it had been since she'd been with Dahlia.

Belladonna knew that the guilt aroused by her immediate, and therefore obviously hormonal, attraction for this woman was misplaced. Dahlia would never begrudge her chylde such feelings, thoughts, or even actions, especially among the Kindred. But having herself been part of Immortal society less than six years -- as opposed to Dahlia's millennia -- Belladonna still often felt constrained by habits and attitudes developed during her two decades as a human.

Of course certain acts of courtesy are universal. As the visitor stepped forward, Belladonna stopped admiring her loveliness and politely stood.

"Hello, Belladonna," Damiana said quite formally. Her strong hand manifested the cold vitality of the Kindred, sending a pleasurable chill up Belladonna's arm to tingle along her spine. "What a pleasure it is to meet you."

"Greetings Damiana. On behalf of my Mistress, Dahlia, and her entire household, I welcome you to Crimson Kiss Manor. Please, make yourself at home, for your home this truly is." Belladonna wondered if Damiana noticed the hesitation to release her hand, but Belladonna finally let go and returned to her seat as Briant entered with a tray of goblets and a carafe of bloodwyne.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," Belladonna gestured to another chair near the fire, facing hers. "You are the first to arrive. I hope, and I trust, that you will find our new sanctuary well suited to your needs."

Second coming

Author: Rob Baez

Date: 06-10-04 12:21

For two people who had spent most of the last few years almost constantly travelling, Rob decided the amount of luggage he and Damiana had managed to accumulate between them was really quite extraordinary! With no passenger and the soft-top of the little Mercedes Roadster lowered, Rob was only just able to get it all crammed tightly in. He would have to drive slowly to avoid accidentally losing any of it on bends, and if a patrol cop caught sight of the precariously over-loaded Roadster he was likely to pull him over and book him for driving a vehicle he could barely see out of. That would be unfortunate for the cop, and as he had already fed that night Rob hoped it wouldn't happen.

The road to the new Sanctuary wound languorously up the side of the mountain, offering to Rob's acute night-vision a panorama of the moon-washed valley and the silvered crests where the ridges met the dark-grey velvet sky. As he drove he felt again the Manor gently calling its children back home like a tidal pull in his blood. That same call would be felt by other Kindred of this continent and draw many of them to the rebuilt safe haven. Old friends and old enemies: Rob's fingers beat a soft tattoo against the leather covering of the steering-wheel as he pondered this latest twist his life had taken.

From the night he had been made, Rob had never looked back with futile regrets or tried to fight his new nature and what it entailed. He was a realist, and having made his choice he had simply accepted it and moved on where it took him. He had made mistakes and survived them; he had made discoveries and survived those too. In the exploration of his powers he had developed his own idiosyncratic quirks, as some of the Kindred did. Maybe because of the unusual manner of his making he had retained much of his humanity and had never developed the contempt for humanity Damiana had. In contrast to the ruthless hunter or playfully vicious predator his sibling could be when the mood took her, he killed his prey gently and cleanly but just as often left them alive and bemused.

Outwardly he had changed little, though in the first year he had dutifully experimented with all the stereotypical archaeo-aristocratic garb of the male vampire: lacy shirts and velvet frockcoats, cravats and embroidered waistcoats. He had quickly decided such theatrical trappings were all too laughably ridiculous in this century, and reverted thankfully to his leather jeans and t-shirts. The combination of brooding Hispanic good-looks and feisty attitude of a working-class steel-welder's son was good enough for him, and he could care less what anyone else thought about it.

A small smile played about his lips as he wondered what kind of reception Damiana was getting at the Manor. Whether or not having made their way to the new Manor they would actually stay would be her choice, not his. He had always left such decisions to her. Throughout his stumbling development into the vampire he now was, Dami had always been there. Loneliness had brought them together, and companionship kept them together. Despite the unorthodox manner of his making and the predictions of older Kindred who had been confused by their relationship, they had forged a deep bond, despite (or maybe because) they were both naturally somewhat solitary and socially shy by nature.

The ribbons that invisibly bound Rob to Dami ran deeper than friendship, closer even than any ordinary family tie he had ever known. Almost uniquely for Kindred, it was not a relationship founded in or formalised by sex. As much by mutual and unspoken agreement as because of Rob's own preferences, they never had been lovers in the physical sense. Also, right from the beginning Rob had chosen to mark a clear line between his sexual partners and his victims. It was one of the reasons why although it perplexed Damiana, he only ever drank from his victim's arm or wrist as he had instinctively done that first time, shunning the more sexual intimacy of supping from the bigger veins in the neck or thigh. He always chose his prey from those who didn't sexually attract him, and out of some lingering nostalgia for Peter, he never ever hunted ethereal blonds. Peter himself was gone - when the time had come Rob had stood back and let his lover die willingly with the rest of the coven. He couldn't grieve about it; by then both of them were a long, long way from the innocent college boys who had fallen in love with each other.

The gentle scrunching of stones beneath the wheels of the heavily-laden little car ceased as the driveway turned to paving, and Rob brought the Roadster again to a halt at the glimmering entrance of the Mansion. By now he reckoned Dami would have had chance to meet the hostess neither of them had met at the old Mansion - the Vampiress Belladonna, he recalled as he clambered out rather stiffly.

Shaken from their precarious position on top of the dashboard, a small leather bag and Dami's crocodile-hide vanity case bounced out onto the driveway and Rob shook his head at them with a rueful grin as he gathered them up and approached the monumental doors of the Mansion's entrance. Thankfully Briant must have heard the car coming and opened the door to admit him while he was still working out how to free a hand to knock.

"I hope we don't have to do this too many times a century," Rob informed the deadpan butler. "Next time, I'm hiring bloody pack mules!"

Briant glanced over Rob's shoulder at the Roadster and almost smiled. "Let me show you to the parlour, then I will see to it that your luggage is brought in."

From California with love...

Author: Davis Santiago

Date: 06-10-04 18:32

It was a strange return for him, and he thought perhaps it would be the same for Bianca as well. Their few years away from Crimson Kiss were as close to perfection as he could have thought. Before 'disaster' befell their home, they had talked of places to see, places to visit, and California had come up for the both of them. Perhaps it was fate that did indeed bring them together as they slipped away across the country. Word was spreading within the manor about the possible discovery of what they were from outsiders, and the kindred in the manor were getting very nervous. He did not want to lose Bianca like he lost his sire...to the evils of mankind...and so they sat, and they talked all night, forgoing feasting before the long trip, figuring out where to go. The beaches and mountains of California appealed to the both of them, and so off they went, discovering a new life, and discovering more of each other. But that life was to be interrupted as well...it seems all they ever did was run, and when they moved back inland towards middle America, the both of them could feel the pull, the lure, and the calling that this powerful mansion already had on them.

They were at the doorstep, bags in hand.

"Bianca, is this where we really want to be again?"

He scratched his head, and looked at her, wrapping an arm around her waist as they approached the stone archway. It looked almost exactly like the old manor home, only this time, far more hidden, and far more discreet. But it was like coming home again. He merely looked to the door, waiting, watching to see what would happen, to see if they would connect with this manor, wondering if they would call this home once again.

Unwelcomed?

Author: Bianca The Bloody

Date: 06-11-04 06:29

"Bianca, is this where we really want to be again?" Davis asked her as he wrapped his arm around her. She gave a deep sigh as they reached the door.

"I don't think that's the question we should be asking, my love. The pressing matter, for me at least, is will we be welcomed in this manor as we had been in the last?" Bianca looked up into his eyes, then back at the door, as it swung open. Before the two lovers stood Briant, the faithful servant to the manor.

Bianca hesitated a moment before speaking. "Good evening, Briant. Pleasure it is to see you again." Briant gave a small bow in response.

"Do come in, won't you?" he said moving back to allow Davis and Bianca entrance. Bianca took hold of Davis' hand and grasped it tightly as they entered through the foyer. Briant, then moved ahead of them and stepped into a parlor, almost an exact replica of the former parlor, and announced the couple's arrival. Bianca rubbed the back of her neck nervously and entered the room along side Davis.

"Good evening, mistress," Bianca said to the standing vampiress, who was ultimately beautiful in her graceful movements. Now it was to come...were they welcome?

Don't you remember?

Author: Cassandra Belmont

Date: 06-11-04 12:19

Cassandra was shocked by the way her lover had reacted to everything. She hadn't exactly welcomed her back with open arms, and now she wanted an explanation for everything. Not that Cassandra knew that much about it.

Varsuviya pleaded with her to tell her something, ANYTHING, about that night, but Cassandra could do nothing but stare.

"Varsuviya, I'm sorry... I don't know that much. It's been two and a half years since the manor was destroyed, that's pretty much it. I'm so sorry..."

Yet there was something else Cassandra desperately needed to find out, something she needed to know to live..

"But Varsuviya" she began, "don't you remember... us?"

Varsuviya's head snapped around and looked into Cassandra's deep brown eyes. "Us?"

Cassandra nodded. "Yes, us... we were together, and I was so sure you would remember it, but apparently..." Cassandra stared at her lover with slight dissapointment, "you don't."

Varsuviya listened to Cassandra talk a little more about their relationship but didn't utter a word. Cassandra only hoped that she was beginning to remember. God, she knew she couldn't go out without her! What would she do? What would she become? Varsuviya had been her pride and joy ever since she first arrived..

She continued her story. "I first came to the manor to search for one of my own flesh and blood whom I believed resided at the manor, and.. then I met you" Cassandra said with a chuckle.

"However, at the time I met you, you were with a young woman by the name of Victoria Kiss. You were lovers, and I was heartbroken. I suppose I honestly believed that you would fall for me at first sight just as I had for you. Yet nothing happened.. you were still dedicated to your lover. You obviously cared, and I was left with nothing but a broken heart..."

Cassandra noticed how Varsuviya was still clinging to her every word, not saying anything.

"Do you remember?" Cassandra asked her. "Do you remember me.. us?"

Varsuviya remained silent, as if in deep thought.

Cassandra gently placed her hand in Varsuviyas and looked deep into her eyes.

"Varsuviya, please, I'm begging you.. just say something.."

Returning alone

Author: Vampiress Narcissa

Date: 06-12-04 11:06

It had seemed like such a long time, but in reality, for the life of a kindred, it was only a mere blink in time. Guillaume knew that trouble was on the way. It was as if he woke up one evening and knew they had to leave...others were coming to close, outsiders, mortals. They were looking in the woods, around Belle's lakehouse, down the road. It was time for all kindred to disperse and he made her pack up, and leave quickly in the night. Rumor had it the place had burned to the ground, and not by accident, probably by the hand of Briant when he knew all had cleared out of the manor, or perhaps, just by a slim chance, Dahlia had returned. She had a vicious streak in her, and perhaps the kindred had done wrong in her eyes in her manor, and with her own hand, burned her manor to the ground. It didn't matter though as Guillaume had recieved word there was a new home, far away, even more remote then the original and now it was time for them to return home.

Guillaume had taken her to Europe, to see his birthplace, to allow her to explore his world, to educate and liberate, to form her into the mistress she was destined to be. The time in Europe had refined her as they stayed away from the other kindred, living together, feasting together and enjoying the time away. He had mostly returned home to take care of financial business, tap into old equity and land he owned, and prepare them both for their long future together. It was during this time she had secured her place as not just his chylde, but would be considered his eternal mate. During this time, she had grown to not just love him, but adore him, cherish him and confirm that she wanted nothing else in unlife, but to be with him.

But he did not return to the States with her...he stayed behind to tie up loose ends, things that were taking far longer then either of them had anticipated, but he wanted her to return to the manor, establish her place in the kindred society at the new manor and wait for him to return to her and their old life. It was a long tearfilled goodbye as she left him in the country of his birth, his death, and his rebirth, their last quiet night alone filled with nothing but the stars and sounds of the woods in his manorhome. And off she flew, taking a redeye flight out of England, and back into the states, touching down and grabbing her bags just before the sun rose. And as the sun departed the next day, descending in its lavish dive, she awoke, and followed the calling, honing in on the unique sound and pull the manor had upon its kind, a sound Guillaume had taught her about, a useful tool when finding other kindred, and within hours, she was at the doorstep.

She placed her bags down and looked up, the archways completely the same, as well as the structure, doors, lights...everything was exactly as she and Guillaume left it. But the scent was different, and there was obvious anticipation eminating from beyond the doors. Before she could even think twice, Briant had answered the door and welcomed her into their life once again. She stepped in and moved her silvery emerald gaze about, without the unrestrained youth she once had. This time, her reservations were at hand, forcing her not to assume anything about the current manor, situation, or any that might already inhabit the place. She stepped into the light of the hall, hearing the voices quietly speaking in the reproduced parlor. And all she could do was stand in place. Without Guillaume at her side, she did not feel whole.

First Among Equals

Author: Vampiress Belladonna

Date: 06-12-04 13:08

"Good evening, Mistress," the exotically beautiful vampiress addressed Belladonna.

Mistress? Belladonna liked the sound of that! The thrill it sent through her body was more than just sexual, although she had to admit to herself that the aura of power that attended that title was itself a turn on.

So Belladonna did nothing to correct the new guest. After all, Belladonna was Dahlia's representative here, and would not have thought twice about anyone addressing her Siress in that way. Come to think of it, Belladonna decided it was only fitting that the others should address her so, out of respect for all she had done, on Dahlia's behalf, to resurrect this Sanctuary.

"Good evening," Belladonna replied with cordial politeness, then realized she did not know the new visitors' names. They had entered the parlor together before Briant had a chance to announce them. Belladonna glanced suggestively at the old butler, knowing he never missed such details.

"May I present to you, Mistress Belladonna," Briant began, confirming that he never missed a thing, "the Vampiress Bianca and her consort, our Kindred, Davis Santiago."

"Welcome Bianca," Belladonna smiled, then, calling on some of what she learned while traveling Europe with Dahlia, she adopted a formality so archaic, only an immortal could appreciate it. "Y, bienvenida a usted, Sr. Santiago."

After greetings were exchanged, Belladonna nodded to the woman seated near the fire. "Are you acquainted with my other guest, the Vampiress Damiana?"

Meeting the Mistress

Author: Davis Santiago

Date: 06-12-04 18:09

He appreciated the language Belladonna spoke to him, using the tongue from his homelands, although he rarely spoke it himself. It has been years since he formulated an entire conversation in spanish, but it was something that never escaped him. He stepped foward taking Belladonna's hand in his own and leaned down offering a kiss to the top.

"Buenos Noches mi Senora Belladonna. Mis de es agrador para quedar usted."

He backed away looking up to the dark haired woman, another beauty with the fairest of skin and the darkest of hair, much like his own Bianca. But there was something much more exotic about Bianca, something that reminded him so much of home. He moved back into the comofort of speaking english and looked around.

"I have met those who were in the manor before, but I'm curious to know why it was destroyed before."

He eased into the room, feeling a bit more comfortable now that the pleasantries were over, and wrapped an arm around Bianca once again. As he pushed her in, he looked over his shoulder to see the fire haired vampiress merely standing in the hall, alone. All would be aquainted soon enough and he was ready to relax amongst the sanctity of the kindred again. Indeed they were welcomed here.

***