My Little Ventrue Pt. 06 Ch. 18

"Her too?" Grumbling, Jessy folded her arms on her chest and squirmed on the couch. "Because she might find out you killed Lucas?"

"N-No," Tash said. "Because there's... a p-possibility she's trying to revive him."

The Gangrel threw her hands up. "No one's been revived! Any of you know anyone, or know anyone who knows anyone, who's ever even heard of a successful resurrection? Why're we suddenly concerned about this?"

"A feeling in my guts," Jack said. "Something's going to happen. I... I can't say more. I don't want to involve you two in things you don't need to be involved in. But something's going on in the city, something bigger than the hunters. It might have something to do with Jacob, or Maria, I don't know, but... keep an eye open, ok?"

Something else? Natasha looked at the small man, and he met her gaze. There wasn't only confidence in his gaze, but an awareness, knowledge, a look of wisdom and intelligence that no man his age should have carried. It was frightening.

"... ok."

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~~Antoinette~~

The first seven nights since her embrace, Samantha spent alone, other than visits from her child. Jack and Antoinette both knew to give her her space, and while she enjoyed and embraced her son's company, there were many moments where she wanted to be alone. Through the laptop Antoinette gave her, the woman was able to watch the news, monitor the changing of life now that hers was gone, and indulge her misery. A part of the grieving process, to be sure. Antoinette had a thrall monitor the laptop, to make sure her new childe did not attempt to contact anyone; a gross violation of privacy, but a necessary one for now.

Samantha did not attempt to contact anyone. As Antoinette predicted, she found videos of her two children, school events and such, and spent several days weeping over the imagery. Some of that time she spent with Jack, and while she attempted to spend time with Antoinette as well, the elder kept interactions with her childe moderately short. It was better to let Samantha grieve on her own for now, and with Jack's shoulder to lean on, not her own.

But after seven nights, Samantha was ready to take her first steps in her new life. Or rather, Antoinette recognized the signs of her Beast's hunger, no longer satisfied with bottled, cooled blood. It wanted to hunt, and to sink its teeth into living flesh. Antoinette had no choice but to oblige it, lest Samantha suffer a frenzy, and that was the last thing the poor woman needed to suffer at the moment.

"You... know my measurements?" she said, eyes wide as she gazed upon the clothes before her.

"Oui."

"But I never gave them to you."

"I have indulged in fashion since before you grandmother was born, Samantha. I could accurately guess your weight, if you wish for me to prove my skill."

"Um... n-no thanks." She smiled as she said it though, the first smile the woman had made over a humorous comment.

The two of them stood in her primary fashion room, where rows upon rows upon rows of clothing were to be found. Antoinette stored much here, fashions from ages past, fashions from ages only to recently meet the runway, and fashions that stood the test of time. Clothes were held for Natasha as well, though Antoinette had yet to truly indulge her fashion vice with the little Mekhet.

"Come, explore. I have purchased eighty-seven different ensembles you may try. Skilled as I am, doubtless only a third of them will fit properly, but we can have them tailored to adjust." Nodding, she held out a hand to her little Daeva on her stool.

Samantha gulped, reached out, and took her hand. Slowly, with delicate precision, Antoinette pulled her along into the sea of coat racks, wardrobes, and vanity sets. Hundreds of thousands of American dollars, spent on something as meaningless as fabric; a true indulgent sin for any Daeva.

At the moment, Antoinette was dressed in one of her robes, black, with plenty of skin showing. She often wore such clothes for the enjoyment of it, or to drive her little lover wild, but tonight it served a different purpose: sparking Samantha's interest in fashion. It was an enjoyable tool, fashion, to prepare oneself for the hunt.

Samantha wore a white robe, with no skin showing. It was thick, fluffy, and comfortable, perfect for someone tending to a wounded soul.

The small woman looked Antoinette up and down several times as she sat on a stool. She had yet to see this side of her sire, and was no doubt surprised at Antoinette's rather tall physique being on display. Combined with her white hair and red eyes, it made the elder's unusual body all the more blatant.

"You're so beautiful," she said.

Antoinette smiled at the small woman. "Why thank you my childe. Though I hope you realize, you are quite the attractive little creature yourself."

"I don't... I don't know. Really?"

"You were preparing yourself for the hunt before the madness occurred, were you not? For a man? Your son noticed that you had lost weight, and were taking better care of yourself."

She sat up straight, eyes widening, trapped in disbelief. "He noticed?"

"I would have hesitated to sire you, Samantha, if you had not done so. An eternity is a terribly long time to spend with a body you do not like. Trust me, you have done well, and any man — or woman — will be delighted to slip between your thighs."

"A-Antoinette! I... I haven't thought about things like that in a long time. At least, not so brazenly!"

Antoinette chuckled, and motioned for the woman to one of the racks of clothes, filled with outfits for her new childe. "One of the few joys of your second life, Samantha, is your ability to indulge and enjoy sex in ways you could not before. Pregnancy and diseases are things of the past. So too are societal judgments. If you wish to fornicate only rarely, that is your choice, but you and I both know sex is most entertaining, and addicting. And in our night society, many Kindred, of whatever sex or gender best describes them, indulge in sexual delights beyond imagining." Maybe a little more context, something a little more tactile? "I have two ghouls, young women, that I both feed from, and share with your son, both for food, and for when we are in the mood to indulge our sexual cravings."

She brought her hands up to her cheeks, as if trying to hide the blush that did not come, eyes widening to the extreme. This woman was quite sincere, genuine, and delightful, to the point of almost being drôle. It did earn a chuckle, and a giggle, from the Prince.

"My son... I..."

"I am sorry if that was too much, my childe. But, I felt it necessary to paint the reality thick with color for you. If you wished to bring three man back to a nest for the night, strangers, lonely widows, virgin youths, or dangerous wanderers, no Kindred would think less of you for it." Antoinette fished through the clothes, and withdrew a dress meant for a night club. A black skirt of latex, only barely long enough to cover the buttocks, and a top that was nothing more than a glorified bikini top with a few extra straps, but triangle fronts that would barely cover the nipples.

"I can't wear that! It... it doesn't even have underwear!"

"You could wear a thong with it, if you desired, but many of the garments here are meant to be worn without. Sex is much easier to have, if all you need to do is lift your skirt, or slip it aside." She withdrew another outfit, a long skirt black dress, a classic that any woman should own. The skirt was split up past the thigh and hip, and the dress's front had small, loose traps that would do a poor job of hiding the breasts.

"Prince! Maybe we should... look for something a little... more tame, for my first night out?"

Antoinette sighed, drawing out the sound in a very deliberate way, emphasizing her disappointment. A game, of course, only meant to tease her new childe. While her heart broke for the pain Samantha was dealing with, setting that misery aside and focusing on the pleasures her new life offered her was proving all sorts of fun for her sire.

"You are Daeva, Samantha Terry, free to indulge and feed your ego and your vices. You are beautiful, and can bend kine to your whim with only a few words." Nodding, she set the black dress upon the childe's shoulder. "Did you shave as I recommended?"

"Yes." She squirmed a little, reached down, and rubbed at her ankle under the hem of the robe. "I mean, I know 'shaved' is in-fashion these days," she said, air quoting 'shaved' with the same mannerism as her son, "but it looks a little strange on me. I'm old and—"

"Do not be ridiculous. I sired you at a ripe age, Samantha. Men everywhere will refer to you... as a... milf, dare I use such a ridiculous term. A woman such as yourself, dressed in clothes obviously meant to lure hungry eyes, only to reveal smooth skin to wandering fingers? You will not need to use a Kindred discipline to seduce your target. They will throw themselves at you eagerly."

The poor woman squirmed with every word, and Antoinette chuckled once again. Oh what fun her new childe was.

"Do all Kindred use sex, when hunting for food?"

"At one time or another. While all Kindred, save for the Nosferatu, can openly use sex when hunting, we are the only bloodclan that can persuade kine with such an obvious bias. The Ventrue can use Dominate, to bend and break the minds of kine, and the more skilled, subtle Ventrue could use it to invite kine into their bed." Julias was such a man, but she dared not utter his name. Mentioning him could send Samantha spiraling, perhaps reminding her of Julias's sacrifice to save her, or of her daughter's death. Tonight was to be a night of joy, not pain. "But Daeva can use Majesty, and twist kine around our fingers."

"I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing that."

Antoinette nodded, and began fishing for other clothing options for her childe. "You are a Kindred, but a fledgling, and not far separated from your first life. You will struggle with that separation for the rest of your second life. It is our curse, to struggle between our Humanity, and the Beast that now lurks within you." Nodding, she tossed her childe a couple more ensembles, some more conservative, some less so. "But make no mistake, you are a vampire now, Samantha. Humans are beneath you, on the food chain."

"I... I'll... try and remember that."

"See that you do. It would be horrible if you perished, because you refused to feed." Sighing, Antoinette sat down beside her childe upon another cushioned stool, and set a hand on her shoulder. "Especially considering how much work I have put into my city, turning it into a haven for our kind."

"You mean, so that we can feed so openly?"

"Oui."

"I... I'm afraid, sire. Feeding, the Kiss? It sounds so... overwhelming. Last week I was going to go shopping for toilet paper!"

Antoinette laughed, got up, and started looking for apparel for herself for tonight. "Once your fangs pierce their skin, it will come naturally to you, childe. Your target will melt into pleasure and relaxation. Their muscles will release, their body will go limp, and pleasure will course through both of your forms." Antoinette grinned as she moved aside some clothes along the rail. Ah, a dress with terribly flimsy straps and front, meant to be worn with tape to hold it in place on the breasts. A bit much to wear in front of her childe on her first hunt. "If done during sex, it will guarantee an orgasm for the both of you."

"I d-don't think I'll be... sleeping with anyone." The small woman held out the first dress Antoinette had passed her, and she looked it up and down with a curious gaze.

"And that is perfectly alright, Samantha. Do whatever you wish. Whichever kine you feast upon will be rendered catatonic in bliss, and then with exhaustion, as you drain them. And as long as you do not drink until the blood runs dry, they will survive."

Samantha continued to examine the dress, and spent more than a minute gawking at how little its top was meant to cover. "You're not worried about getting into... I don't know, dangerous situations? I hear horror stories about women, getting... you know... if they put themselves in bad positions..."

"You overestimate such dangers. The majority of men are courteous and civil, if perhaps a bit persistent, once intrigued." She plucked a dress from the rack. Perhaps this one? "And you are a Kindred now, Samantha. Any Kindred is far stronger than kine. As a Daeva, you are especially strong, and will have little trouble breaking even the strongest kine with one hand."

"You say that, but I can't imagine—"

Antoinette reached over to one of the cushioned stools beside her, set a hand atop it, and broke off one of its thick, wooden legs, with all the effort of breaking a toothpick. As her childe's eyes went wide, she handed the wooden leg to her. It was several inches thick, and well beyond the ability of a woman her size to break.

"Take this, and break it in half."

"... really?"

"Oui. It will be easy, little Daeva. The strength of the Kindred, vitae, you will feel it coursing through you as you set your mind and heart to a task. Try."

Her childe, with eyes wide in disbelief, took the hard stick in her hand. She frowned at it, and Antoinette struggled to not giggle at how terribly adorable it was. Samantha was as cute as a button, and her timid nature only increased how positively joyful it made their interactions. Better yet, was the surprised squeak that Samantha made, when the wooden leg broke in half with a loud crack.

"Oh my god!"

"Your body is durable, your strength great, and you have tools to hunt, either with seduction, or through force. You are a predator, Samantha. And tonight, you will be able to have any man or woman of your choosing."

She gulped, coughed on her dry throat, and took a peek at the more revealing dress Antoinette gave her. "Oh god, if Jack saw me wearing this."

Antoinette giggled, stood up, and resumed digging through her endless clothes in pursuit of something appropriate. "Jack has seen hundreds of women wear far less, at this point."

"My boy, sleeping around?"

"No, but as I said, sleeping around is not a concern in our society, Samantha. Do not judge others, and they will not judge you. Besides, what I meant was, in our night life, clothes are often risqué, as are the acts Kindred perform when feeding. No doubt you will see many kine at Bloodlust tonight, wearing less than either of us, and likely engaged in sexual acts."

Samantha looked at the broken wood in her hands, took a long sigh, set it aside, and got up. "I... I need to change, don't I? I mean, my mind, how I think about things."

"Yes, but much of what I ask will come naturally to you, Samantha."

"I don't know if I can change that much. I... I haven't been with anyone since James. That's a long time! And... and I was working up to... getting back into sex. Trying to build my confidence." She walked over to one of the vanity mirrors, and held the first dress Antoinette had given her in front of her. "And now you're telling me I can use it as a tool for hunting, that I can indulge in it whenever I want, as much as I want, with whomever I want, and that I'll... I'll be... fine?"

"You are a deadly predator now, my childe. Be confident. Rest assured, dealing with kine will be easy, once you are familiar." Antoinette nodded, came up behind Samantha, and set her hands on her shoulders. A tiny woman, several inches shorter than Ashley or Julee, but with a larger derrière, thicker thighs, and larger breasts. Motherhood, and then a year returning to health and fitness, had crafted her a beautiful little physique, thin but curvy, a small waist accented by the developed bust and buttocks. Hourglass. It was a build Antoinette knew many men and women craved to have in their bed, and one she knew some women were paradoxically self-conscious about. Samantha would grow confidence with Antoinette's help, and learn to use her body as a tool for hunting; and a tool for pleasure, if she desired.

"Are you sure we should go out... tonight? D-Don't you have, um, a prisoner to deal with?"

"Your son, my student, and my sheriff are handling the interrogation of the monster, Samantha. For now, you are my priority, and teaching a childe to feed is a task all sires must perform." She pat the woman on the shoulder, before she turned and stepped over to her own vanity mirror. Without hesitation, she slid out of her robe, and held one of the dresses against her naked body. A peek over her shoulder showed that Samantha had looked to her, and a little eye contact earned a squeak from the small woman.

"You're so... so beautiful! And tall!"

"Merci, little Daeva. Though, I assume my great height, unusual curves, and white hair, are a product of experimentations I must have performed upon myself, centuries ago." A part of her thought she should have, perhaps, felt shame over that. A much larger part of her knew to accept that past, and move on.

"Assume?"

Nodding, Antoinette took another dress into her hands. Yes, this one would do. A silver dress, open back, with plunging cleavage to the navel, and front straps that would only barely cover her breasts. A necklace would be required, to offset the extreme cleavage. The skirt was split up each thigh, reaching far above the hip, with a small string upon each split to keep it tight about the waist. The skirt would reach low on her calf, so extravagant shoes would have to go with, of course.

The flimsy, loose, dangling front would mean she would have to be careful with each step, to prevent her breasts from becoming exposed. That was part of the fun, after all, teasing wandering eyes with the fair chance she would display her bust. She would not; centuries of wearing different forms of clothing of varying degrees of comfort had long molded her into an expert of flaunting, without fault.

"I explained it upon your first night with us. After centuries, Kindred as old as I struggle with memories of ages past. I can faintly remember beginning experiments with my order long ago."

"The Ordo Dracul? I... I'm still not sure what your covenant does."

"Experimenting with what makes us Kindred, seeking to discover the secrets of our species, and other hidden gems of knowledge within the endless dark." Antoinette slid the dress over her head, and let it fall upon her body. After tying the little strings upon its left and right to her waist, ensuring it was snug to her flat stomach, she adjusted the front over her breasts, before turning and joining her childe. "My unusual body has been an... interesting dilemma, for me. Most men find me far too imposing to engage of their own volition. Your son, I engaged on my own."

"Really? Why?"

"Simple curiosity at first. He was obviously out of his element, attempting to hunt in Bloodlust on his own. But when I invited him to conversation, I found myself surprised at his courage, and the depth of his mind."

Samantha smiled at the mirror. It was obvious that complimenting her son was the best way to brighten her mood, and Antoinette would use the tactic freely.

"I'm so proud of Jack. I mean, I'm furious that he didn't tell me he was alive, but what he's managed to become in just two years? Wow."

Antoinette's smile did not falter, but there was no denying the cold stab Samantha's words wrought. Her beloved Jack had indeed accomplished much in those two years, and the burdens he now bore were unjust, and horrific.

But now was not the time to share such details with his mother. Tonight, she, her childe, and several other women, were going to enjoy themselves.

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"Oh... my... god." Samantha's jaw dropped, and she looked around and around, eyes wide as she took in the sights.