Hi there! I'm now back with the sequel to Newborn and hope so much you'll like it as much as the first story. Thanks again for the many reviews you wrote for Newborn. It really helped a lot to go on with the translations – now with Blood of the Lily. I'll try to post again each Thursday and Sunday but I can't promise to keep this rhythm with later chapters for I'm still writing this story. But I'll try. Would be great and motivating to get some reviews again. So I hope to hear from you soon and will be back at Thursday. Best wishes, Jenna
P.S. This first chapter is a bit shorter for it's more a prolog and it's a bit surprising I think. But you'll see…
Disclaimer: Mick, Beth, all other characters and the story-line of the second season are borrowed from the great Moonlight-show, that I miss so much, and so are the property of others.
Prélude
"I admit there is an element of evil inherent in power; but without that evil we would not have the good, we are searching within it."
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Versailles, 3 May 1789
The young woman was pale, her eyes full of despair and suffering. She didn't seem to be afraid, even though she was surrounded by so many men whose lecherous, greedy gazes slid constantly over her delicate body, clothed in a tightly laced corseted dress, circling like wolves waiting to attack their prey at any moment. Her pleading eyes rested solely on the powdered face of the man before her, whose feet she had, only minutes ago, thrown herself at, and whose bright silk pant leg she clutched, directing her pleading words to.
"Please... you've promised, mon maître," she cried out in despair, not realizing the circle of his illustrious, wig-wearing, festively dressed companions, closed ever more tightly around her. "Please... my family is hungry, my little daughter is very sick ... She will die if she doesn't get the medicine..."
The cool, fine-chiseled face of the man before her, barely stirred. He only raised his eyebrows a little. "I'm not a doctor my dear," he replied, making some of the other men laugh. "I don't remember having promised you medicine..."
"You've promised to admit me to the family," the young woman brought out in a shaky voice as her eyes filled with tears.
"Haven't I done this already?" the man smiled. "Well, you now belong to the honorable 'family' of my mistresses."
The mocking laughter that followed these words made the young woman wince in torment. The man leaned slightly forward to her, gently stroked her full, dark hair from her shoulder, further exposing what the vulgarly cut dress of the young beauty presented so generously: the sign of the Lily, burned into her shoulder only a few days before.
"You are now one of my possessions, Caroline...," the man whispered with relish, "This is a great honor for a woman like you..."
"Luis, please," the desperate woman uttered now much more loudly – much too loud for the nobleman's liking. He straightened insulted, raised the back of his hand and struck her face with such force that she was thrown to the side. Most of the other men laughed again - only one seemed to have pity on the poor creature. His cheek muscles twitched slightly and anxiety flared in his strange eyes.
Caroline propped herself up with great effort and lifted her tear-dimmed gaze. Her cheek was purple and her lower lip chapped, so that blood emerged from the split. She took a deep trembling breath and stood up, wavering, so that she was now the one looking down at the nobleman. The expression in her dark brown eyes had changed; burning anger had mixed with her despair.
"I am no one's property...," she uttered with barely-concealed hatred in her voice. "Never was, never will be!"
Luis stood up in one smooth motion, and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You're wrong! Quite wrong," he laughed aggressively into her face. "From this day forward you are the property of the whole family!"
Caroline said nothing. Instead, she spit with contempt into the nobleman's face.
Silence. Horrified, disbelieving silence. Luis let go of the young woman, reached with an expressionless face into a small pocket of his richly decorated waistcoat, pulled out a lace handkerchief and wiped the mixture of blood and saliva, which had dishonored him so much, from his face. Caroline did not move. She might have tried to flee, for it had to be clear to her that a drastic punishment would follow her action. But she waited; tense, with compressed lips, as if she had no other choice.
Luis lunged again, this time slapping her other cheek with full force. The young woman staggered to the side and was caught by one of the men still laughing. She tore herself away from him in revulsion, pushed against the chest of another monster approaching her and tried to get to Luis again. But it wasn't that easy anymore, as suddenly the whole group began to move. Hands reached out for her, touched her indecently, rudely tore at her clothes, her hair... as she flailed around trying to free herself again.
"Don't you dare, you beasts!" she cried out with a mixture of fear and anger in her voice, but no one paid her any attention. There was only insatiable greed in the glowing, rapidly turning eyes of the men grabbing at her, descending on her tender body. And then teeth dug into her neck, sharp, long canines. She cried out, digging her fingers into the wig of the monster behind her and pulled it from his head. But he didn't let go, instead he greedily sucked her sweet blood into his mouth. More teeth dug into her body, everywhere they could reach: Her arms, her shoulders, her cleavage. The young woman screamed and fought like a wild cat, but she had no chance, she was buried among the many bodies that pressed against her.
Luis, on the other hand, only stood by and watched it happen with an expression of deep satisfaction. His gaze roamed to the only one not involved: the man who had previously shown something like pity for the young woman, the man with the black eye.
"What?" Luis asked with slight anger in his voice. "What keeps you from partaking in a little bit of that, something you have always longed for, for such a long time?"
The expression on the man's face became even darker; he turned without a word and walked to the door of the extravagant dining room.
"Laurent?" The anger was evident in Luis' voice.
The man stopped in his movement, but didn't turn around, but just took a deep breath. There was no time to say anything, because at that moment, the doors with their ornate golden carvings, were thrown open before him and another man entered, tall and dark with eyes almost glowing with rage. He was not wearing the typical white-haired wig, but had longer, dark hair that was tied at the neck. But his silky, elegant clothing showed that he was also a nobleman.
"Luis!" His deep voice boomed through the hall making the crystals of the magnificent chandelier rattle. The addressed one seemed to freeze, as well as his blood lusting friends. One after the other they released their victim, letting the young woman fall to the ground, while fear and great respect showed in their again turning eyes.
The new arrival moved with large, smooth steps toward Luis, his glowering agitation radiating ahead of him, causing the others present to retreat anxiously. Only Luis was left standing still and allowed himself to even smile little.
"Michel," he said with mocked enthusiasm in his voice. "To what do I owe the honor of your so unexpected visit?"
The angry man was only half a meter away from Luis. His sparkling blue eyes stood in stark contrast to his otherwise dark looking appearance, and peered deeply into his opponent's eyes.
"Get out!" He uttered angrily and it was obvious he was referring to the other men who watched him with wide eyes from a safe distance - even though he had not looked at them directly. "Immediately!"
No one dared oppose his command. Like a startled group of shy deer, they left the room at once, until the door closed silently behind the last of them. They had quickly forgotten the young woman who seemed not to move anymore...
Michel took a deep breath, but could not dispel the tension in his body. "How... how could you dare do this?" he uttered trying with difficulty to remain composed.
Luis tilted his head to one side, contemplating his question. "I assume that you speak of Louis," he said in a velvety voice. "That was a sign of brotherly generosity..."
The blow came so quickly and so unexpectedly that Luis had neither the time to brace for it nor to duck it. It was violent, so violent that the young man was thrown to the side and had real problems staying on his feet.
"You selfish bastard!" Michel growled and immediately followed the clearly alarmed looking Luis, who was now forced to hastily retreat from him. Gone was his arrogance and self-confidence, even though he clearly tried to regain it again. "Are you so mentally deranged that you expected such a deed would go without consequences for all of us? Louis is the King of France! It was a gesture of love and affection, that he invited you and your entourage to his castle, even though I told him not to - and this is how you thank him?"
"He didn't feel well," Luis defended himself and now stopped bravely, holding his chin out defiantly by several centimeters to the larger man. "I gave him new strength for the upcoming events..."
Michel planted himself threateningly in front of him, pulled his dark brows together angrily. "You have significantly weakened his political position! It is seething and boiling in the population. We are on the verge of a revolution that will shake the order of the world! Because of this he will need the support and assistance of other princes! And you know exactly to whom most of these princes belong. Good Lord, many of your own family sympathize with the Legion! The peace between us was already on shaky ground before! And you turn your brother into a vampire? The King of France?"
"I'm the rightful King of France," Luis blurted out now uncontrolled. "This is MY kingdom! MY people, MY..."
This time it was not a slap in the face, which brought the young man to silence, but a severe blow to his chest, which slammed him against the nearest wall.
"YOU ARE DEAD, LUIS," Michel growled and his powerful voice again caused the chandeliers and mirrors on the walls to quake. "You were dead before you even reached your tenth birthday! Now you're just a distant cousin of the King! Don't even try to touch his legacy! Louis is a far better king than you'd have ever been!"
"He's weak!" Luis snapped angrily. "He's not worthy of the royal blood line!"
"No, you're not worth my blood," Michel uttered full of contempt and Luis looked as if he had beaten him again. "I'm beginning to regret that I ever took care of you and enabled you to begin a new life! I saw so much in you, so much potential..." He shook his head bitterly and turned away from Luis, who straightened again with an expression of deep hurt in his eyes.
"I was never meant to be anything other than a king," the younger one brought out softly. "And I'll never be satisfied with anything else."
Michel uttered a resigned sigh. "A king is not defined by the land and the power he possesses, Luis," came now the much calmer response of the elderly, "but by his actions that should be guided by wisdom and discretion - qualities that I've tried to find within you to no avail..."
Louis eyes flashed angrily. "Well... since you are my master and I am only your pupil... Who of us has probably failed...?"
Michel turned slightly in his direction, but did not come closer again. He seemed to have calmed down somewhat and could now tolerate the verbal attacks of the young man with more composure.
"Maybe you're right," he said softly and walked across the room, looked thoughtfully at the walls, covered with red damask, and precious tapestries. "Maybe I am the one who has failed in your education. But you are no longer a child that needs my help and guidance, but a grown man, in a powerful position. You could help your brother to fight the hunger your people suffer from, you could care for the poor and weak ones... and what do you do? You think only of having one bloody feast after another, of plotting and causing turmoil among the nobility, and turn random people who fawn over you and take their rage out on the weak and needy..." He pointed in a troubled gesture to the young woman who lay barely two feet from him still on the ground, uttering a slight whimper. "And the sad thing is that you're not even aware of what harm you're bringing to your entire family with your actions. You will tear it apart, make them hunt and destroy each other..."
"Yes, because that's what they deserve!" Luis hissed through gritted teeth full of hate. "They brushed me aside... they despise me. I don't need them anymore! I have my own family now – a family that will become stronger and more powerful than all the princes of France put together. Seven brothers, united through my blood, Michel! Better than men, than princes and kings, better than all other creatures of this world - like gods! And you... you're the father of us all, Michel... if you would only want to. The father of a king... and of a kingdom of immortality, of infinity!"
Michel looked down and shook his head. When he looked at Luis again he smiled, but it was a sad smile. "You are not immortal, Luis," he said softly. "I just hope you understand that before the war begins..."
The younger man raised his eyebrows arrogantly. "War? They are all just peasants and bourgeoisie, weakened by the famine. How should they harm us?"
Michel didn't look at him, but approached Caroline silently, who had once again whimpered in pain. "Never underestimate the power of despair...," he murmured softly.
Luis laughed. "These are just humans... I will assign them their place in the new society..."
"A society you will dominate?" Michel raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"And you..., if you want to," Luis added gently, and then ventured to come closer. "We could control the entire world, if we want to..."
"And finally, you'd be a real king," Michel added for him.
"I would only get what I was legally entitled to - what I was born and revived for."
Michel uttered a slight laugh again and crouched down next to Caroline, turned her face gently to him. Again something changed in his expression. There was bewilderment and only seconds later anger flared once more in his bright eyes. Luis tensed. He expected perhaps a renewed outburst of his master. But this time he very slowly turned his face to him, pulled up his eyebrows and seemed to think seriously about something.
"What exactly is she doing here, Luis," he said with an audible lurking in his voice. "She's a Sangsujet!"
"I know." A malicious smile twitched around Luis lips, but did not dare show it openly. "But nevertheless she's one of my people now, Michel. Unfortunately our claim of ownership seems to overlap here..."
Michel gave him a false smile. "Indeed..."
"Since I've found her first," Luis gave back provocatively, "I have made her mine and she will serve me as every smart subject should. She knows who her true king is and will give me everything I need..."
"What you need... I see." Michel looked again at the young woman's pale face. "Is that the reason she must die now?"
"No. She wanted a wage she didn't deserve."
"And for this she deserves to die?"
Louis crossed his arms over his chest almost stubbornly. "She won't die... she only has to suffer a little while. She's still sometimes so... so... stubborn. She must understand who comes first and foremost."
Michel looked at him again and this time with such a determination in his eyes, that Luis lost his arrogant smile instantly.
"You need to understand this as well, my boy," he said firmly, as he pushed his arms under in the limp body of the weakened woman, picked her up from the floor and placed her on the long dining table. "For from this day forward you will no longer be the one who makes the decisions in this house and within this 'family'. You will no longer decide anyone's destiny." In one swift movement he bared his wrist and under Luis' horrified gaze dug his fangs into his own flesh.
"No! Michel!" Luis uttered angrily and tried to grab his hand. "She's just a whore... you..." He got no further, because Michel's fingers had instantly closed around his neck and constricted his throat so tightly that he could only utter choking sounds. He raised his heavily bleeding wrist to the half-open, pale lips, of the barely breathing, young woman and let the dark, viscous fluid drip into her mouth. It took only a moment until her tongue slipped out and licked the blood from her lips. Michel lowered his wrist down to her mouth and she instinctively closed her lips over the wound, and began to suck at it in greedy gulps. The old vampire closed his eyes and let the gasping Luis go again, who immediately staggered a few steps away from him.
There were words of a strange language heard, which came quietly over Michel's lips, an ancient language that no one was aware of anymore.
"Diĝir ene ra, lugal ene ra, šeš ĝu ene ra… nam ti níg ba mu…"
He broke his wrist gently from the woman's mouth and waited, tense, for a reaction from her maltreated, now again so lifeless appearing body. It took a few seconds, and then suddenly Caroline tore open her eyes violently and took a deep, almost panicked breath. Her formerly dark brown eyes were now brownish-white and clearly expressed the confusion that befogged her mind. A touch of disappointment stirred for a brief moment in Michel's facial features, and then he smiled gently and pressed her back onto the table.
"Stay down, you need to rest to help you get used to your new constitution," it slipped in a very warm tone from his lips and the young woman obeyed him without showing the slightest signs of resistance. Instead, her trembling fingers tentatively touched the back of his hand.
"Thanks," she whispered in a choked voice and tears welled up in her eyes. "I... I thank you so much..."
Michel nodded to her and turned to the now panting King's son, struggling to retain his composure. "Don't you think that I don't know what you've done behind my back, Luis, what you've stolen from me, only to set yourself up one day as the ruler of the world," he said softly. "Unfortunately, you don't own the intellect to understand what extent your selfish, thoughtless action will still assume and that some things simply defy your power and will come back to bite you one day. If this only concerned you, I would never have appeared here - but unfortunately, all others of our species and many innocent humans will have to suffer through your stupidity, and I can not allow that to happen, even if I don't know if I still have time to avert the disaster in its entirety..."
His eyes roamed once again to the now much calmer breathing woman before him, whose skin tone was slowly becoming noticeably paler. Then they were directed back at Luis, who had not uttered a single word, but instead clenched his hands into fists struggling against his enormous anger with twitching cheek muscles.
"Greet your new sister, Luis," Michel said to him coolly and his gaze became hard and unyielding. "From today on, there's no difference between you two. You will never be a king and she's no longer a whore." He lifted the still very weak Caroline in a fluid motion from the table, carried her to the adjoining room. Naturally, the other vampires had not really gone. They had been waiting to see what would happen to their master, and now seemed even more frightened than before.
Michel scanned the faces of the persons still quite strange to him and finally stopped on that of the man with the black eye, which seemed to be familiar to him. He only needed to nod and the man came quickly over to him, took, without needing a further instruction, the confused young woman from his arms.
"Take care of her until she can take care of herself," Michel instructed him quietly. "She now belongs to your family, Laurent. Just as Luis. If anything happens to her or she causes any harm, I will make you personally responsible. You will not be allowed to fail again."
Laurent nodded, turned quickly and took Caroline out of the room. Michel looked around with a menacing expression on his face and took a deep breath. "My word is above that of Luis. My will is above his. What I order will happen - no matter where I am. For you, from today on there is only one sovereign... and that's me! If you want to live, you better take this to heart."
He paused, which was just as threatening, as was his whole demeanor.
"You will now retire to your chambers, tomorrow we leave Versailles!"