My Little Ventrue Pt. 07 Ch. 23

Such a beautiful sight, Antoinette found herself watching. Jack coughed, and the ghouls giggled as they looked up to watch for a little while too. If Damien was aware, he did not show it. The man was lost to his hunger, his desire, hands groping and squeezing Fiona's naked chest roughly, with hard thrusts that had her whole body quivering, each earning a little squeak from her.

Antoinette had not imagined Damien could let himself go so completely. In her experience, creatures like him were wrapped in complexes so deep, no joy could be found within their fortress of solitude, bitterness, delusion, and hypocrisy. Claude Frollo, Damien was not. Upon her Black Hall, the man devoured his girlfriend, fucked her with reckless abandon, and gave into his desires.

The more she learned of the man, the less she disliked him.

"Mom?" Jack's voice.

On a concrete bench, near some of the sculpted bushes that decorated the grass around the Black Hall, sat Samantha and Jacob. They had been chatting, and laughing, until Jack spoke up.

Before Antoinette could say anything, Jack marched over to them, the impact of his feet a touch harsher than necessary. While it brought Antoinette much joy whenever Jack exercised some of his more masculine traits, there was a time and place for it. Now was not such a time or place, and she almost stopped him from interfering.

But she did follow him, as did Elaine.

"Jacob," Jack said. "Talking to my mom?"

"I was talking to him," Samantha said, frowning at her son. "Can't I do that?"

Jack frowned at the grinning elder, though he spoke to his mother. "You can. I just don't think it's a good idea."

For all Jack's obvious annoyance with the situation, Antoinette could not help but continue to smile. It was pointless to tell Jacob to stay away from her childe, strong and talented as the man was. Unless Antoinette locked her childe up in her tower, never to leave, it was impossible to keep Jacob from interacting with her, or whomever he wished, for that matter. The young Ventrue had to know that.

"I'm starting to feel judged!" Jacob said brightly, and he placed the tips of his right hand's fingers against his chest. "Can't I have a nice, evening chat with a beautiful woman?"

Antoinette's smile hardened. What game was Jacob playing?

"Oh, stop!" Samantha dismissed his compliment with a tiny flick of her hand, and she radiated joy from every pore. Jacob had thoroughly demolished whatever defensive measures Samantha had, with a simple word of admiration. Teaching her childe to defend herself against the words of others would take time, but Jacob was a master at manipulating people. Samantha would never be able to defend herself against him.

But, Jacob had no reason to come after her, unless he genuinely found her attractive or interesting, or both. Surely Antoinette's old friend would not attempt to use her childe to manipulate her? He was smarter than that. If push came to shove, Antoinette would destroy him in retaliation, and he knew that. For all the man's grand plans and hidden motives, he knew that she could kill him, if the situation was forced. But he had no reason to force her hand, and she had no desire to kill him.

In the end, she trusted him with her childe, to an extent. And if her request of Beatrice, to help the man out of his pit of depression over Minerva's death proved fruitful, who knew how he would evolve?

But regardless, she was not stupid enough to not keep a close eye on the old Nosferatu.

"I was talking to your lovely mother about history," Jacob said, head pointed at Jack. "Imagine my surprise when I learned she's never left Dolareido."

Jack folded his arms across his chest, frown unending. "You haven't left Dolareido in hundreds of years."

"Says you!" Chuckling, Jacob gestured to the streets beyond. "I've taken a few trips to various places, over the past few centuries. I was in France during World War II, for a few months. I was in South America a century ago."

"Oh, what was South America like?" Samantha asked.

"Hot. Very hot."

"You were close to the equator then?"

"Yeap. I was looking for some ancient, lost text about different rituals the indigenous people used to perform, many hundreds of years ago." Jacob gave Jack one last, quick smile, before turning his head to Samantha. "I was borderline naked, crawling on my stomach through the pitch black of the jungle. The foliage was so thick, I had to ditch the clothes. Centipedes crawled over my skin. Monkeys howled. An encounter with a jaguar taught the jungle I wasn't to be bothered, but I didn't expect the lesson to last. And worse, sunrise was in a couple hours."

Jacob proceeded to regale Samantha with a tale of adventure, with the discovery of ancient ruins, and the horrors that awaited within. And she was enraptured. Jacob was a masterful storyteller, and edges of his rather obtuse personality shone through as delightful accents to the pacing. Samantha only grew more enamored, and she watched the man with hypnotized eyes, drinking in every gesture the old Nosferatu made as he told his story.

"Mom," Jack said. "I... I'll... see you later, ok?" The hesitation in his voice painted a clear picture for Antoinette, and likely for Jacob and Elaine as well. He wanted to get angry, and act the protective father for his daughter. But for all his greater wisdom and intelligence in matters of their second lives, he was the son, Samantha the mother. "Jacob, don't do anything--"

"I'm half a millennium old, Jack. I know how to be responsible. I'll make sure your mom's home before sunrise."

"I'll be fine, Jack, really. Jacob's not so bad." And as she said 'bad', she smiled.

Antoinette could barely contain her own, resurfaced smile. Not due to her childe's strange interest in Jacob; she also wished the woman would leave the old man be. No, it was the inflection she used in the phrase 'Jacob's not so bad'. It was flirtatious, obvious without being too obvious, a compliment handled with a social mastery Antoinette expected of older Daeva. Delightful.

"Come, my love. Your mother will be fine." She set her hand on Jack's shoulder, drew him toward her, and offered Jacob a final glance. A flicker of knowing bounced between them.

Jacob was difficult to read. He always was. Even if he had eyes, and did not wear a bandage to hide them, he would have been as predictable as a chaotic wind. But she could see the hint of understanding in the muscles of his face, when he looked her way.

I know you are up to something, Jacob. Harm my childe, and I will kill you.

And of course, the man returned a wordless reply.

You'll never know what I'm up to. I'm too good at this. But relax, your childe's safe.

She frowned, but wiped it away before her childe could notice. "Samantha, I expect you to return to the tower before the night is over."

"Yes, sire."

A final glance for Jacob, before she left with Elaine, Jack, and her precious ghouls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jack," she said, once they stepped onto the stairs, leading down into the maze beneath her Elysium Tower, "do you mind if I speak to Elaine alone?"

"Um, sure." He seemed hesitant. No doubt, he wished to speak to his great grandsire in private as well. "I'll wait for you in the rec room, B4?"

"Very well. Ashley, Julee, go with him."

The two ghouls nodded, and joined Jack down the stairs to disappear around a corner. Leaving Elaine and Antoinette alone.

Elaine knew her way around the tower. As much as Antoinette updated it routinely with technological advancements, the purpose of individual rooms remained largely unchanged, and Elaine headed toward one of her smaller rooms, one meant for updating journals and recording personal developments. Sound proof, perfect for speaking, and in the modern era, for recording data privately.

They stepped into the small room, and Antoinette turned on the light, before sitting down at the large, beautiful, wooden table in the center of the black marble floor.

"You have been keeping secrets," she said.

Elaine laughed, sat down opposite from her, and snuggled into the luxurious leather chair. "As have you, and Jacob, and Daniel, and the others."

"Yes, but this is not a secret of the Danse. This is personal, Elaine. I..." Sighing, Antoinette pulled her hair over a shoulder, and combed it as she looked down at the table while she folded her legs. "Why did you not tell me?"

"About Viktor?"

"About Jack, and the curse."

Elaine matched her sigh, and managed a weak shrug. "I am free of its reins, Ann."

"But I am not." A frown sneaked its way onto Antoinette's face, and it took concentration to dismiss it. "The curse now infects my love, and my city. If it only affected him internally, that would be a different matter, but it does not. It expresses its power and desires outwardly, and has summoned the media to my city, ravenous for answers for the unusual."

"That, is part of the reason I am here, as I am sure you have deduced." Elaine traced a finger along the wood, eyes on Antoinette. "I wish to learn what I can of the curse, and if possible, to help your little Ventrue be free of it."

"Did you expect to do this without me learning of the connection?"

"Maybe?"

Laughing, Antoinette shook her head. "What I cannot understand, is why you did not tell me about Viktor, and the curse? Surely you must have realized the curse was dangerous."

"It was centuries ago, Ann. I cannot remember Susanna, and I can barely remember embracing Viktor."

"But you did remember. And you remembered the curse."

Elaine shook her head. "A lingering shadow in endless mist, at best."

"Do not hide behind your age, Elaine. When you embraced Viktor, your memory would have been intact. When you let Viktor join me in my plans to create a new city, riding the colonial wave, you must have known, then."

"I... hoped, perhaps, the curse would fade away. I can remember, and I know I have it written, that I was forever unable to free the curse from its binds, and use its true power."

Antoinette squinted her eyes at her friend. "You attempted to?"

"I... did. I can barely remember, and I did not catalog my efforts well. I have written some remarks about Susanna, small things, hinting at her great power." The poor woman shuddered as she dug through her memories. A painful process for any elder, to dig through memories destroyed by the centuries and torpor. "I scratched the surface, I believe, but in the end I failed."

"All that, and you never thought to warn your friend that Viktor carried this infection?"

"I should have, but it was a shadow of my past I wanted to forget. And, after my failed attempts to unleash the curse's power, I did all I could to be rid of the nightmarish presence." Again, more shudders from her old friend. "I found someway to remove it, and I broke all contact with Viktor."

"You did not offer Viktor a way to remove the curse?"

"I... never told him of the curse."

Antoinette sighed heavily, and buried her forehead in one hand, while the other continued to comb her hair. "Why?"

"I was unable to summon it. I assumed Viktor would not be able to either. And the idea that maybe he would manage to accomplish what I could not, and unleash its power, was terrifying. After my own failed attempts to summon it..." The poor woman. It hurt, to watch her suffer as she dug through her faded memories. Antoinette almost asked her to stop, but this conversation was too important. Their friendship depended on it.

"Why go on a quest to remove the curse?"

"I am not sure. My journals mention that the curse... clawed at me." She laughed as she looked down. "I wiped it from my past, and cast Viktor aside."

"Is that why the two of you avoided each other, during your visits?"

"I imagine yes. And, he had come into his own, without my help. I suspect he resented me, ignorant of my reasoning. Or... that, perhaps, the curse wore away at him, and devolved him." Elaine leaned in closer, and a hint of vulnerability passed her face. "It had crossed my mind, to perhaps speak to the man, after your stories of how much he had become... twisted, and cruel, crueler than I could have imagined. But then you told me of Julias, and how great a man he was."

"Julias was a great man, and... and gone."

"And gone. I cannot imagine the pain your little Ventrue is going through."

The two shared a sigh, and Antoinette reached out to pat her friend on the hand. "You thought, if Julias could be such a good man, surely the curse was something that faded between sires?"

"Yes. And now, to learn that my great grandchilde is not only plagued by it, but has unleashed it? And that he is your beloved? I had to come." She withdrew her hand from Antoinette's, and looked up. Misery draped her shoulders. "Why must our past haunt us so?"

Elaine was not telling her the whole truth. Something else was on her mind, and if Antoinette had to guess, it was something to do with the curse, and the Coils Elaine pursued. She was a master of Coils that dealt with the Beast, and Jack was likely of great interest to her, professionally. And perhaps personally, since the boy had managed to do something Elaine admitted to not being able to do: free the curse from its chains.

Antoinette trusted her friend with much, but she was no fool. She would have to keep an eye on her friend, as one dragon competing with another. But, in matters personal, she felt far more comfortable sharing her secrets and feelings with Elaine.

"Such is our curse. And... I must apologize, for plotting Viktor's demise."

Elaine chuckled and shrugged. "I bear you no ill will for that. Tony died as well, did he not? You plotted to kill both of them."

"Yes, and..." Sighing again, Antoinette leaned back in her chair, and looked down at the table. "Jack killed them."

"Jack?" Elaine's eyes went wide. "Your little Ventrue?"

"Oui, my little Ventrue. He killed my childe, and your childe," she said. Elaine's stare was powerful. Rare, for an elder to let their shock show on their face. "Self defense. He was caught between them as they fought over the fabrication I had sent them after. He set the building on fire, a cotton mill, in order to prevent Viktor from killing him."

"Oh... god. I had no idea."

"Of course you did not. I did not speak of it. I have no desire to involve you in the Danse here in Dolareido, Elaine. Surely you must struggle with your own games in England."

"Yes, but... but if I had known--"

"Nonsense. Viktor has been his own man for over two hundred years, Elaine. His actions are not of your make. If Julias could suppress the urges of the curse, then Viktor had no excuse."

A smile slowly returned to Elaine's lips. "You are correct, of course. And... I must say, I am surprised. Jack did this?"

"Oui. Forever the boy is thrust into circumstances no neonate should face."

"And yet he thrives."

"Thrive is not the word. He has nearly died several times, and the death of his sire, and sister, hit him hard. Considering the stress that befalls my love, I fear for his sanity."

Elaine laughed. "Knowing you, you have likely pampered and spoiled the boy rotten, in order to soothe him of his pains."

"Ben oui. That is why I have let you get so close to him, after all."

"Oh, is that how it is, old friend? I am nothing but a tool for you to use, to overindulge and mollycoddle your lover?" Lightheartedness had returned to her friend's voice, and Antoinette laughed with the joy of it.

"Naturally."

A twinkle shone in the woman's eye. "Naturally. And I admit, I look forward to it. He is a scrumptious morsel, is he not? But, I am worried that this... unveiling of my past has damaged that possibility."

Laughing again, Antoinette shook her head. "Jack trusts me. And I trust you."

"Trust is dangerous."

"Quite, but I do nonetheless."

Elaine's smile brightened. "Thank you."

"And despite the surprises this evening, we both saw the look in my love's eyes."

The old Ventrue licked her lips with a hunger Antoinette recognized. "Yes, indeed. I am surprised a man who has seen so much violence, and has grown into such a powerful individual in many ways, can be rendered so paralyzed by the sight of breasts."

"As strong as Jack is, in will and mind, something about him cannot seem to fathom the existence of women, of breasts and legs, and sex."

They both laughed. Surely there was a time in her life when such stubborn innocence in a man would have been thoroughly unappealing. Now, with endless years of experience to draw upon and sculpt her outlook and tastes, Antoinette found it extremely enticing. And so would Elaine, before the night was done.

"But, he has been your lover for two years now? Surely he is comfortable with sex, considering you... are you." A sly grin announced her true meaning.

Antoinette rolled her eyes. "As if you are any different to me."

"I did not arrange orgies of over fifty kine, Ann."

"No, but you did join them. Excitedly, if my blurry memories do not lie to me."

With a playful sigh, Elaine shook her head. "They do not."

Nodding, Antoinette stood up, and motioned for Elaine to as well. "Jack defies my attempts to acclimatize him to the sexual possibilities of sharing his bed with an elder Daeva. Every night, his eyes fill with wonder as I take him into my arms. And every time I treat him to a new experience, he paralyzes, as if struck dumb by the sheer idea that multiple women find him attractive." Nodding, she pulled out her phone, and prepared a message. "No matter how many times I have bathed him in not only my sexuality, but also that of my ghouls, he is still shocked by such pleasures."

"He lacks confidence?"

"I considered that, at first. Now, I believe the boy simply cannot ever be bored with erotica."

"Lucky you."

Antoinette grinned her playful, devil grin. "Indeed."

For all the insanity the evening had wrought, secrets upon secrets shattered and innards exposed, everything turned out well. Her invitation for Elaine to visit her in Dolareido had not backfired with the new knowledge, and if anything, she understood her old friend better now. Telling her who killed her childe, and Elaine's childe, had been a strange moment, balancing on a knife's edge. But Elaine did not care for Viktor anymore than Antoinette did Tony. The threat of ill will passed, and Antoinette found her tension fading away. Tonight, was a wonderful night.

"Who are you texting?"

"Ashley and Julee. My pets will join us. We will feed, and then I will show you how wonderful my little Ventrue can be."