Lestat and Jesse walked in through the club doors, the music immediately pounding in their sensitive vampiric ears. He, himself couldn't stand it any less, but he felt obliged to make sure that his child was again, he also considered his girlfriend, which was odd since he hadn't had one since Anna Grace when he was still a young vampire and she was an older vampire.
When Anna had stayed with his mother for four days without any explanation, he had thought of her as nothing but another snotty girl, but would come to know her as more than just that.
As the two of them walked across the bustling floor filled with gyrating bodies, Lestat began to think of how he used to dance with Anna. Of course, they never dance like the people did today, but they danced nonetheless. He enjoyed those times, since he could always make fun of how Anna used to step on his feet every time, or even trip over her own. She never found it amusing, but the faee she used to give him would always make him laugh.
Tonight, he was to meet the rest of his band, the one that he had joined when he first woke from his hundred year nap, and preform a live show. The bar was in New York, as were many that he had preformed at before. This one though, was highly popular. It wasn't big like the other bars, but it was sure known for the drinks that they served. Even vampire drinks. Some kind of artificial blood that was supposed to serve as a substitute besides humans. The fake blood had never interested him, since he much quite preferred fresh, warm blood from a willing human. It was the twenty first century though. Things had changed since the seventeen hundreds.
Tugging on his arm, Lestat looked down to the redhead who was pointing away from them. When he caught her line of sight, he noticed that she was pointing to the men he'd talked with a few weeks earlier. They were the owners and managers of the bar whom he had negotiated with to preform here.
Nodding to Jesse, he began to make his way over to them, Jesse following close by his side. Once they were in front of the men, Lestat could smell the rather putrid cologne that the two men were wearing. It probably wasn't as vile as it was to them, since their senses were heightened and the humans didn't smell the things they did. Yet, pushing down the urge to throw personal hygiene comments the the two men, they began to speak quickly to them about how the night would go.
Neither of the two vampires were really paying any attention to the men, catching every fifth word or so, but when one of the men called to a girl that was not seen to the eye, Lestat's attention was caught.
Before he could ask who they were calling to, he saw her pacing towards them.
If it hadn't been for her familiar smell and purple eyes, then he probably wouldn't had recognized her, but when he realized who it was he could've sworn that his heart actually began to beat again.
Her form was still short and slender, but right then she looked rather underfed. The shiny and lively chestnut curls that once bounced around upon her head were now a dull brown, dead, straight, and appeared unwashed.
As a vampire, her skin was still deathly pale, but now it seemed to have a certain deathly grey tint to it which made her look more like an zombie.
She no longer had the bright, welcoming look in her purple eyes, which also seemed to have dulled, but now appeared like she was breaking and utterly disappointed that she couldn't age and die. The bags under her eyes told of little sleep or form of rest as well.
The most nerve racking part of her though, in his opinion, was the way she walked. No longer did she walk with her head up high, shoulders abroad, and chin in the air. She didn't strut along like she was the only person in the world and nothing could bring her down. Now, her shoulders sagged and she struggled to hold her head up. All of her limbs shook when she moved, but she attempted to keep them still.
It was painful to see her like this and Lestat was beginning to doubt if it was actually her, but when the men introduced her, it confirmed his suspicions.
"This is Ana Grey."
Ana Grey. That's what they told them her name was. Lestat knew better though. Her name was Anna Grace, a respectable and known name throughout his family. Not some pathetic name that sounded like exactly how she looked right then.
He could tell that Jesse was curious about the way he was looking at the new girl, but he could've cared less at the time.
Instead, he asked the question that had been running around his mind the moment he saw her.
"What is she to you?" he asked the men, who seemed taken aback by the question.
"She's our bartender, waitress, and errand runner. What's it to you?" the first man answered, then shot back with the same question.
"Just curious. She looks rather sickly tonight," he commented, hoping that maybe they would notice and take care of her, unless they already knew and just didn't care.
"I assure you, she is perfectly fine tonight and can do her job better than anyone. Isn't that right Ana?" he said, turning to look at the zoned out girl.
At first, Anna didn't reply to the question and continued to stare off into space, thinking about whatever she could to distract herself from the hell she was being forced to live. She only responded when she received a hard slap across the face, that caused her head to pound.
She looked at her boss, who was a surprisingly a human, and arched her brow in question, her eyes beginning to water with tears from the slap. Normally, she could've taken a slap like that and it would feel like merely a tickle, but since the treatment that she received from her employers was beyond what her vampire body could handle, it hurt like hell.
"I asked you if you were feeling well tonight," he hissed, narrowing his eyes at me, his partner doing the same.
Of course, I would've loved to tell him that I was feeling like all the silver in the world had been placed on my shoulders and that the sun was everywhere I went, but that would land me back in the, "dungeon," as they called it, but it was actually a basement laced with silver and UV lights.
They would turn on the UV lights and place silver chains on me, making me wear a silver cross necklace as well. Of course, they only did this to the point where it would cause me excruciating pain, not kill me, though I knew that they wanted to very badly. They needed me though. Wanted me as well. They only wanted me for my blood though and ability to draw in customers by offering them my body, which apparently no man could resist.
Weekly, they would draw blood from me and sell it to secret buyers who knew that drinking my blood would give them certain inhuman abilities, and even slow their aging process. The loss of blood weakened me, but they always made sure that I had a bit of artificial blood to keep me going.
When I looked in the mirror that was kept in my small bedroom above the bar, I could tell and clearly see, as anyone could, that I was no longer the young woman I knew myself to be. Before this, before all of this, I remember being just the daughter of a widowed maiden living in rural France. I remember being young and alive, completely human. I remember the animals that I tended to during the day and the stars that I watched at night. Most of all I remember the change in my life that took place on that warm, August night when the strange man in black and red came and took me.
He took me far away, away to a cave in the mountain side overlooking my home. I never knew what happened to my dear mother, but the man I came to know as Castor, told me that she was in a better place then. You know what? I believed him. I believed him completely and wholly, like he was my own father. The father that I lost when I was only a the small age of three.
Over time, he took care of me, told me that when the time came he would teach me all that he knew. Once again, I believed him. And once again, he kept his promise.
When I was twenty-eight years old he bit me. And no, I don't mean in the way you think. I mean, that he showed me who he really was. A creature of the night and being that fed off his previous kind.
A vampire.
When he bit me, he had the means of drinking my blood so that he could create what he called a 'blood bond' with me. It would allow him to "feel," and know where I was at al times. It would be like being one in the same.
After he pulled away from the artery in my neck, he bit into his own wrist, which frightened me, and then held it in front of my face like he wanted me to lap up the blood or something. And that's exactly what he wanted me to do. He told me that to complete the blood bond I had to drink his blood as well.
At first I was reluctant to do what seemed to be such a vile thing, but after I realized that to be a vampire, the only way to survive was on blood, I decided to go with the flow. No pun intended.
The moment I go my first taste of vampire blood I couldn't get enough. It was like the nectar of the gods, no matter how nasty that sounded. When he pulled his wrist away, I had whimpered, wanting more, but before I could reach for his rapidly healing wrist, I blacked out.
"You wench! I asked you a question! Now answer it!" I heard my boss yell in my face, spit flying off his lips.
Yet, before I could come up with a useless reply, another man spoke for me.
"Don't speak to her like that," the man standing in front of us hissed.
Immediately, I turned to see who had been so bold as to stand up to my boss, because I sure didn't know anyone. My boss was a rather cruel man and didn't take shit from anybody. The man that had spoken had been my boss's client. He was tall and lean, yet rather muscular, and his skin was as pale as the moon. Almost, but enough to give away to anyone who was looking, that he was a vampire. His eyes held a rather intimidating stare, but they were the color of melted chocolate. His dark brown, almost black hair fell to his shoulders, and when I took in his full appearance, I could've sworn that I'd seen him before. He seemed like a rather powerful person, and didn't understand one bit, why he would stand up to my boss, just because of the way he'd spoken to me. Still, I didn't hear my boss respond, but rather his partner in crime.
"Excuse me, but as far as I know your not the one in charge here. Especially, of her," he replied with venom in his voice.
No more words were spoken between my bosses and their client. They just stared at each other. Actually, more like glared at each other. I still didn't even know why this man was defending me in the first place. He didn't even know me. Maybe he was just another that wanted to pay my bosses for me. But he wouldn't had defended me from my bosses then, he would've tried to bargain with them.
When I looked back to my bosses and the man before them, I found that he was no longer looking at my bosses, but staring at me. I caught gaze and stared back at him wide-eyed. This man was beginning to get on my nerves, and aI wasn't sure in a good way or a bad one. It was like he was trying to figure me out or something. I had never opened up to anyone before except Castor, but he was gone now, and I wasn't planning on opening up to anyone again anytime soon.
"You're right, but last time I checked," he said smirking, "Was that I have every right as to know how the people I work with run their business," he finished, a smirk still evident on his pale face.
My boss and his partner continued to glare at their client, but knew that he was completely right. Any person employed by another should have knowledge of how the business and the people they are working for run things. It's just how the business world worked these days. Back then, you got a job, were told how to go about the job, then expected to do it. Just like that. Not anymore. Today, things were more complicated. And for once, just this time, I was glad that things were that way.
With one last glare and a big huff, my bosses turned on their heels and began to stalk away from their client. I, however, was still awestruck and filled with a happiness that I hadn't felt in a long time. That man had stood up to my bosses without blinking an eye. For me.
I was going to thank him, but before I could, my boss yelled my name and screamed at me to come along. When I heard his voice again, I cringed, but knew that it was definitely better to follow him than have him lock me in the basement again. That was the last thing I wanted, so without taking another look at man who had been so bold, I trailed after my bosses. Yet, as I was leaving, I could still feel the man's eyes on me, and it made shivers go down my spine.
CHAPTER 2:
"Come now Anna," Castor called to me, standing at the entrance to the cave we resided in.
"Where are we going now?" I whined, dragging my feet as I made my way to my maker's side.
"Today, we are going to go and do whatever my little girl desires," he told me, smiling a fang-filled smile.
"What if I wanna stay here all day?" I asked, hoping he'd just give in and let me be lazy tonight.
"That is not an option," he replied, making me frown and sigh in defeat.
Ever since I'd been turned into a vampire, my maker, Castor, has been all about learning and adapting to the world of the night. He taught me evening until sunrise and made sure that I had all of his information seared into my brain like a brand on a cow's backside. Of course, I couldn't really deny him anything, since he had been the one to give me a better chance at life and had done it out of the last bit of goodness in his dead heart. That proved to me that the tales of his kind, now mine, were not as bad and evil as the seemed. They like they were our kind, but not. It was complicated and explaining it would be a rigorous task.
Nonetheless, my life as a vampire was slowly getting better and better, and even more normal to me. No longer was I afraid or ashamed of what I was. This time, I was proud. Not proud that I gave up my ability to walk in the sun so that I could live forever and never age, but because I had taken upon me a second life, when I could've continued to be human and live a life of my own choice. Instead, I decided to keep the devil himself company.
As my boss and his partner stormed back into their office, still angry with the way their client had stood up for me, they slammed the door behind them, leaving me alone in the hallway. Sighing, I knew that leaving my spot outside the office would only result in a hour or two in the basement, so I just slide down the wall and rested my back against it. I closed my eyes, and let everything slip away, trying my best to just take in the much desired moment of silence.
I knew that whenever my bosses were angry or frustrated with something, that they would spend a fair amount of time in their office, raging on about everything that was wrong in the damned city. Luckily, they never brought me into there fits of rage, and just left me to wallow in my self pity. Tonight, nothing was different.
Continuing to sit there and rest my sore muscles, I began to drift off a bit, but not quite. Besides, vampires didn't really sleep, but rather...meditated in a way. I found that I liked it much better than sleeping like a normal human, since it was so much easier to wake up and still have energy even if the nap was only fifteen minutes long.
I began to think about Castor, and how much I missed him, wishing that he'd come back and take me away from these cruel humans. I never even knew that humans could be so cruel. I thought that vampires were supposed to play that role. Guess not.
About twenty minutes later, my boss and his partner finally came out of the office, their faces still red from the rage boiling inside them. They glanced around quickly, looking for me, then caught sight of me on the floor, and merely yanked me off the ground and onto my feet again.
Dragging me back down the hallway and returning to the bar area, my boss instructed me to go back and attend the bar once again. I obeyed without a second thought, and quickly hurried through the swinging doors and to the glass rack, where I began to wipe down used glasses for later customers.
Behind the bar wasn't all that bad. It was definitely way better than being a waitress. Every time I was waiting tables, some drunkard would always reach out to touch me and I was helpless to stop him. If I tried, my boss would always side with the customer on my "misbehavior."
I didn't realize that I had begun to wash one glass specifically hard, to the point where it began to make an awful squeaking noise and a crack formed on the edge, until a voice snapped me out of my angry thoughts.
"Excuse me miss," the voice said with an rather calming, but controlling tone of voice.
Jerking my head back up to face the owner of the voice, I found that the one who had called to me was the man from earlier. The one who had stood up for me out of the blue. He looked the same as before, even if it had only been a mere hour of two that I had last seen him. When he noticed how surprised I was to see him once again, he smirked and placed a hand on the counter.
"Oh...uh...I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. What can I get you?" I asked, plastering on my best fake smile, and placing the now broken glass in the trash.
"Your name," he almost cooed, smiling wider, causing me to turn away from his gaze.
"My...my name?" I asked, my eyes widening as I took in the question.
"Yes. Will that be a problem?" he asked, arching an eyebrow in my direction.
"Oh...uh, no," I paused a moment. "My name is Ana. Ana Grey," I answered him.
When I uttered my name, he seemed to flinch back in disgust. I was slightly offended, but I'd been there one too many times, so I passed it off. There was then a quite, awkward silence, that neither of us attempted to break. He had his hand on his chin, as if in deep thought, and I was dying to know what was on his mind then. Chances were slim that he was going to tell me though.
I noticed another man come up to the bar and since the previous man was still in his own world of thought, I turned away to go and serve him. Yet, before I could get even get a inch away, my wrist was grabbed in a firm, cold grip. Shivers ran up and down my spine, even if I was already in generally cold.
I turned to face the owner of the cold hand, only to come face to face with the one who had asked me for my name. He was no longer focused on some off subject topic, but was fiercely staring at me with those brown eyes of his. For a moment though, his eyes seemed to soften somewhat and I couldn't think of one reason why. I stared back at him, waiting for him to order something, so that I could move on to the next customer, but instead, he asked me something I would've never expected.
"Spend the night with me," he said, but didn't sound demanding like the others I'd come across.
For a brief moment, I merely stared at him, shocked by his request. Normally, those who called upon me for the night were harsh and straightforward, not even thinking once about if I wanted to do whatever they desired or not.
Licking my lips only out of nervousness, I opened my mouth to speak again.
"I know that I cannot say no to a customer, so yes. And I'm guessing that you want me to come now, am I right?" I asked, arching an eyebrow in worry.
"Yes, if that's alright with you," he smiled back at me, as if he thought that I was going to deny him.
"Of course," I smiled back nervously, nodding to the now pissed off customer on the other side of the bar.
Whenever someone requested my presence, I would never ask where they were taking me. My bosses found that rude to ask for some reason. I was only curious though, and even though curiosity killed the cat, I was already dead.
As I followed him, I found that we were heading towards the door of the bar that would lead out to the busy streets of New York.
"Wait, where are we going? There are rooms in the back already?" I asked, confused and worried that my bosses would realize that I was missing from my assumed position.
"We are going to my apartment," he replied with ease, like he expected me to know that already.
"But my bosses will notice that I'm gone and I will be punished," I pleaded, hoping that he'd see reason in staying here.
"Don't worry. After tonight, you're bosses will be the least of your worries," he told me, reassuringly taking my hand in his own and dragging me into the night.
His last words to me made me rather nervous and I didn't really know how to respond, nor did I have a response. What did he mean by that? My bosses have always been at the top of my things to worry about list and now here he is telling me that I will never have to worry about them again? This guy might seriously be crazy.
