December 25, 1849
Rome, Italy
It was the wee hours of Christmas morning and children across the Western world imagined that Santa Claus was flying over them to distribute gifts. The popularity of Santa Claus and gift giving were not at the heights of twentieth century expectations, but in the last thirty years or so the myth of Santa Claus had certainly grown.
Lenore had arrived in Rome earlier this night to begin preparations for her clan's New Year's Eve Ball. It was one of the few nights of the year that all of them congregated in one place – their clan was too large to travel together anymore. In the 104 years since she left Kali to begin her ministry Lenore's efforts had found a good deal of success. Yes, many other – especially older – vampires laughed at her and not all who entered their clan were able to control their Need, but her group had grown to over two-hundred souls.
She credited Loki with part of that success. Since their friendship rekindled twenty-eight years ago she felt a new appreciation for life that transcended into her ministry work. They met up at least once every few months – with him teleporting to wherever she was – and Lenore enjoyed their time together immensely.
Not many of her friends had met Loki though. He preferred to keep a low profile but seemed to like Eli. Sadly, he hadn't liked Maria at all…actually the one time they had met a fight had almost broke out. Lenore had invited Loki over to meet Eli and Lenore a year after they reunited because, crazy her, she had thought it would be good for all of those she cared for to meet one another! But mid-way through the evening she had stepped out for just a moment to speak to a messenger from another vampire clan. Once she had walked inside, Loki and Maria had almost come to blows and neither of them would discuss what it had been about.
That had hurt, to see them not get along, but it didn't matter in the long run – her and Maria only lasted a few more months after that. It was sad but Lenore had just lost interest in her former lover. Maria had left to lead another branch group of their clan and while they were both friendly, there was no more love between them.
Since then Lenore had a couple flings with other female vampires but none of them had flared that spark within her. But when a woman was waiting for the love of her life to be born in about 150 years, it was hard to for others to stack up in comparison.
Lenore tore herself away from her musings and glanced at Signora Isabella Bellini, Director of Wolfram and Hart's Entertainment Department. The woman wore a revealing corset dress in tones of red and her thick brown hair was piled high on her head. They had been meeting for the last hour to finalize plans and were just wrapping things up.
"Baroness Lenore, I do believe we have-a the preliminary arrangements completed. The Fields of Damascus outside the city will play host to your party, forty Mortemzilinas will be imported from the Qur'Toth Dimension, plus several dozen assorted wild animals, and a…" Isabella squinted as she peered at the paper. "And a 'disco ball' will be provided."
Lenore stifled a laugh. "Yes, that will not be too much trouble for your department to create one based off my descriptions?"
"Oh no, Baroness, no!" Isabella declared incredulously in her thick Italian accent. "In fact, I think I like-a this idea verrrry much. Have you thought about patenting this idea?"
"Um, I don't know about that," Lenore shrugged self-consciously. "It's kind of someone else's design."
"Someone else?" Isabella spat over her right shoulder. "Who? I spit on them. No, you are ze designer now," she declared outrageously. "I make-a you verrrry rich."
Lenore laughed. She really did love thick accents, not to mention Wolfram and Hart's single-mindedness at turning a profit. If they weren't the only agency able to help her immortal self she would probably leave on account of them being evil, but she didn't have much choice. Besides, not every employee was evil.
Like, maybe five of them…
"I will think about it Signora Bellini. Thank you for taking care of this."
"Of course. Here at Wolfram and Hart we make-a all of your dreams come true no matter who we have to kill or what dimension we need to use a virgin sacrifice to enter!"
"Uh, yeah," Lenore winced. Wow, she really needed to look into new representation.
Isabella began leading her out but a young teenage boy approached her in the lobby. He wore tailored pants, a vest, and a suit jacket with slicked-backed black hair. "Baroness McLeod?"
"Yes?" For formal interactions, such as Wolfram and Hart, many called her by the old title she had inherited right before she was turned. It didn't bother her as much as it did in the beginning but she didn't care for it much – it made her feel weird.
The boy bowed and presented her with a letter.
Frowning, Lenore looked down at the letter. It was a large cream-colored envelope with a red wax seal affixed to it. She opened it up carefully as Isabella waited patiently next to her (anyone who spent and invested as much money as Lenore always got plenty of excellent customer service here).
Baroness Eleanor Amelia McLeod O'Neil, I know that you recently arrived in Rome and I wished to extend my formal greeting. I have heard of your adventures throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa and must say I am curious to meet you. Would you do me the honor of attending my annual ball tonight? Send word back with my servant. I will then send further instructions. Sincerely Yours,
The Immortal
"Who the heck is the Immortal?" Lenore asked in a puzzled voice.
Isabella gasped out loud and clutched her chest while the boy looked at her in surprise. "My Lady! Don't you know of ze Immortal? Ay, he is," she licked her lips with a lustful look. "He is-a a longtime patron of Roma but he travels as he pleases. He is an immortal, though none know of his true heritage." Isabella leaned in close. "I saw him but-a once at a festival and I assure you he is-a the most attractive man I have ever-a witnessed."
"Oh, okay," Lenore chuckled. She usually didn't go for men – actually she never been with a man yet, even if she had been attracted to a few in her life – so she doubted she would enjoy this Immortal as much as Isabella. "But what does he want with me?"
"I cannot know for certain," Isabella shrugged. "Ze Immortal is neither on the side of light or dark, rather he does as he pleases. He is a wild card, a wolf removed from the pack, a stallion without ze bridle."
She shrugged casually. "Ze Immortal, he like-a meet ze new supernatural power players in town. He-a like to know-a what is a-going on-a in his city."
"Uh huh," Lenore raised her eyebrows in amusement before she turned to the servant boy. "Tell your master that I will attend his ball."
"Grazi, Baroness," the boy bowed before leaving.
Lenore just hoped that this Immortal guy wasn't interested in causing any trouble – she was already stressed enough by her Christmas plans for tonight and planning her own ball.
A knock on the door sounded and Lenore smiled at herself in the mirror. She dressed up naturally – in both of her lives she had always been a fan of skirts and dresses – but tonight she had styled her hair and done her make-up. After all, it was the holidays – wasn't it sort of expected? Not to mention she had this mysterious ball to attend.
She opened the door with a wide smile and was engulfed in a huge bear hug. Loki twirled her around as she giggled uncontrollably. "Lo-ki! Put me down!"
He obliged with a cheeky grin. "I love that I can make a 177 year old vampire giggle like a little schoolgirl."
Lenore rolled her eyes and took Loki's coat. He was dressed in the Italian fashions of the day, tight grey slacks and a long black jacket, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" he asked her suspiciously.
"Your clothes," she smirked.
"Hey! These came straight from Castangia, which I'll have you know is only the elite tailor house of the city!" he stated defensively as his hands ran up and down the smooth lines of his jacket.
"Okay, okay," Lenore said as she held up her hands. "I'm just saying, I really cannot wait for the twentieth century fashions to come."
Loki eyed her own outfit and smirked. "Like you're one to talk."
Lenore looked down at her carefully selected dress . It was similar to most dresses of the time and had a wide hoop skirt with flaring sleeves. The Jacquard woven silk fabric was cream with dark blue floral patterns. Its wide neckline that showcased her shoulders and fell right above the line of her cleavage. Matching bows were set in her hair and she even had a delicately sewn shawl that went with the dress.
"You don't like?" she pouted.
Loki gave her a gentlemanly bow and kissed the top of her hand. "I love it, Lady Lenore." He grinned as he stood up. "In fact I haven't seen you this dressed up since the Summer Solstice about a decade ago."
Shrugging her shoulders, Lenore sat down on her hotel room's loveseat. "Well it is Christmas. I figured, why not?"
Something sparked in his eye at the word 'Christmas' and Lenore had to restrain herself from saying anything. Almost three decades into their renewed friendship and he still had yet to say anything about his other identity. Lenore was trying real hard to remain respectful of his decisions but her curiosity was killing her.
"Also," she added, "I got invited to a ball tonight."
"A ball? Tonight?" he questioned suspiciously. "Who the heck could be throwing a ball on Christmas?"
"Someone named the Immortal," Lenore shrugged as she stood up to randomly straighten a painting on the wall.
"What?" Loki shouted. "What's he want with you?"
Lenore glanced at him in surprise. "Geez, Loki. Overreact much?"
Loki approached her and grabbed her upper arms. "Lenore, the Immortal is not someone to be trifled with. Not to mention, he's a giant dick. Why are you going?"
Now she began to feel nervous about her plans tonight. "Well, I was at Wolfram and Hart—"
"—Hmmph!" Loki made a noise of disgust. He hated that she had an account with them but he had never provided a better alternative for her, so too bad for him.
"—And I got a letter from him inviting me because he heard I was in the city. Apparently he considers this, according to my Wolfram and Hart representative, to be his city and I bet he wants to meet me before the End of Year Ball that I'm hosting. After all, nothing like two-hundred vampires in your city to freak you out."
Rolling his eyes, Loki sat down. "Maybe," he snorted. "But I don't like the kid – he's an arrogant sonofabitch."
"Tell me how you really feel," Lenore commented dryly.
Loki tossed her a glare. "Fine," he then sighed reluctantly. "You can go to this ball but I'm going with you to make sure he doesn't start trouble."
Her first impulse was to be happy that Loki was going to the ball with her – they never went to public events together. But as his words seeped into her mind she found herself grimacing. "Oh, gee, thank you for your permission, Loki," she hissed angrily as she crossed her arms. "I'm so glad I have you around to help me make my decisions."
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"Loki! I'm almost two-hundred years old and certainly do not need your 'permission' to attend, nor do I need your assistance." He opened his mouth to speak but Lenore cut him off. "I'm strong and I know how to fight using both my body and magic. Don't you think I can take care of myself?"
"Well, yeah, sure! But it's not that that I'm worried about," he defended himself as he shifted uncomfortably.
"Well then what?" she rolled her eyes at the pagan god.
"The Immortal is kind of a…man-tart," Loki explained with a shrug.
"A…a what?" Lenore laughed.
"You know! He just likes to sleep with every infamous babe in history! Trust me, the Immortal is not to be trusted," Loki grumbled.
Laughing, Lenore sat next to Loki on the love seat. "Loki, you're being silly. I'm sure the Immortal doesn't want to sleep with me," she scoffed. "Besides, I'm not really an 'infamous babe'."
"Trust me Lenore, you're definite 'babe' material," Loki smirked with a long look over her body. "And infamous, too."
"Oh you sweet talker you," Lenore silenced with a smack on his arm as she rolled her eyes.
"Don't you know it." Then he got serious. "And okay, fine, I am taking away my 'permission' for you to go. Now, may I please join you at tonight's ball?" he asked with all the nicety of a young child begging to stay up past their bedtime.
Lenore pretended to think it over before she smiled. "Okay. I suppose I should be nice since it is Christmas, after all," she smirked.
"Speaking of Christmas, do you have my prezzie?" he asked excitedly as he lightly bumped his shoulder against hers.
"Is that all you think about?" she laughed. "I didn't even think you celebrated Christmas, Mr. Pagan God."
"Silly, silly Lenore," Loki sighed as he patted her hand fondly. "Don't you read your history?"
"Well," she began with a raised brow, "I have read the Bible many times over and quite a bit of history."
"Don't you know where gift giving came from?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"The Magi? Those guys who gave baby Jesus presents?"
"Nope!" he declared with a grin. "It's actually a Germanic tradition derived from, oh, I don't know – Norse mythology!" Lenore laughed as he stood up and did a little victory dance.
"Do tell," she said curiously.
"Legend says that my old friend Odin used to ride around on an eight-legged horse and all the good little children were encouraged to leave food for him and the horse. In exchange, Odin would leave prezzies."
Loki rolled his eyes. "The Catholic Church is adept at exploiting pagan traditions in order to convert the locals," he explained.
"Uh huh," Lenore mused. See, it was times like now that Lenore figured she had something wrong about her hypothesis. Every once in a while Loki would say something against the church or religion that made her think he couldn't possibly be an angel. "Well that's interesting."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Enough talking, more unwrapping," he waggled his eyebrows.
With a dramatic groan, Lenore reached to the side of her love seat and picked up a small wrapped box. "Merry Christmas, you crazy pagan god," she smirked.
Feigning disappointment, Loki sighed.
"What?" Lenore asked hesitantly. "You haven't even opened it yet!"
"I know. I was just hoping my prezzie was going to be you jumping out of a cake nude or something," he leered.
"Oh for the love of…just open it!" Lenore huffed. Honestly, Loki hadn't changed from the day she first met him.
His eyes widened in surprise as he opened the box, in awe of what she had given him.
"I figure we met 150 years ago – well, come January first will be our technical 'anniversary' I 'spose –so I wanted to give you something special." He didn't say anything but just continued to finger the contents of the box, so she continued to speak nervously. "I mean, hey! Pagan gods are pretty hard to shop for, what with them being able to create whatever they want out of thin air and all, so I figured I should make you something."
She leaned closer and carefully pointed out different parts of the item. "See, I figured that most of our time together has been under the moon, especially hunting and all those Capture the Flag games with the wolves. So I created this spell that gathered the light of the moon during each full moon, hardened it, and turned it into rock. The silver chain that holds up the moonstone pendent has protective spells etched into the metal. I mean, I know you can protect yourself, hello pagan god, but I figured it couldn't hurt." Realizing she was babbling, Lenore snapped her mouth shut and waited for him to say something.
"Lenore…how long did this take to make?" he whispered as he delicately fingered the moonstone. It glowed a soft white, was in a perfect circle, the shape of the moon itself, and was about five inches in diameter.
"Um, not really that long," she stammered in an embarrassed voice.
He gave her a sharp look. "How long?"
"Um…Well the spell took several years to figure out and the moonstone took…um, twenty-five years to form," she answered with averted eyes.
"You've been working on this gift for that long?"
"Y-yeah," she shrugged self-consciously. "I mean, it's not a big deal or anything. I just, well, you scared me when those demons had you so I wanted to create a protective charm for you. The moonstone can emit no light at all or will release a light that burns anything impure – at the discretion of the wearer, of course."
Loki put the pendent over his neck, kissed her cheek, and hugged her. "Well, damn. Thank you Lenore. This is the best gift anyone on Earth has ever given me. Hmm. The only bad thing is my gift doesn't match up at all!" he said sheepishly.
She waved away his concern. "I'm sure I'll love anything that you give me."
"No way! I can't let the vampire show up the pagan god in the gift giving department, can I?" he grinned. "How about this? I give you my original gift as a consolation prize and work on something much more kick ass for later?"
"Okay," Lenore shook her head with a smile. "Gosh, you're so competitive."
"Duh. I am only the most competitive person in the world!"
Lenore just let out a heavy sigh. "Why are we even friends again?" she asked in a tired voice.
"Cause you love me!" he retorted with a lopsided grin and twinkling eyes.
Lenore and Loki stood outside a magnificent villa made of rich marble with a sloping roof and high columns. Lit torches identified the entrance and as they walked in a servant took their cloaks. The mosaic floor was home to a multitude of ancient statues, notably in the form of several Greek and Roman gods according to the bronze plates attached to the statues' base, if Lenore's Greek and Latin was correct. Another servant led them down a long hallway until they came to the center of the villa, which was filled with dozens upon dozens of milling partygoers. Flickering torch flames lit the expanses of the room, a string quartet played in the back corner, and a bountiful table was filled with typical party food, as well as very atypical items such as deer hearts, a pitcher of blood, and a bowl of live kittens.
The last item made Lenore shiver in disgust – it also made her wonder if Spike's friend Clem had a great-grandfather around here somewhere.
"Interesting party," Lenore commented as she took in the various humans, human-esque, and straight out demonic denizens of the place.
"Yeah, real interesting," Loki said in a distracted voice as he looked towards the center of the room.
"What is it?" she asked as she followed his eyes. There, in the center of the room, were a group of laughing men and women – some of the most beautiful people she had ever seen in her life. One man caught her eye in particular. He had rich black hair that swayed along with his laughter and bright blue eyes that sparkled under the firelight. His finely tailored suit encased over six-feet of broad-shouldered muscled man – a sight so divine that had even Lenore second-guessing why she usually preferred women over men.
It was then that those twinkling blue eyes swiveled to meet hers and suddenly her throat felt dry. His face was classical Greek; chiseled and handsome with a straight nose, thin lips, and a healthy, tanned complexion. Wisdom lurked in his eyes but so did a good deal of passion that she suspected was often at odds with the former. He smiled at her then, said parting words to his companions, and made his way towards them.
"Oh great, here he comes," Loki muttered. "Freaking walking like a peacock, that one."
"Loki, hush. He'll hear you," Lenore hissed.
When he stepped up to them to kiss the back of her hand, Lenore fought to deny the shiver that ached to run down her back. "Baroness Lenore, I am the Immortal. It is a pleasure to finally meet you," he spoke in a soft accented voice. "I am pleased that you decided to accept my invitation."
Lenore found herself giggling in response, which was something she normally never would do but she couldn't seem to help herself. "Of course, thank you for the invitation."
The Immortal glanced down at Loki next to her. "Ah, you brought a little friend. How nice," he stated lightly but she could tell he was perturbed.
"It's Loki, you ass. Don't pretend like you don't recognize me."
A slow smile slid across his face. "Loki. Of course. You just seem shorter than when I saw you last."
"You and I both know I could take the form of an extremely pissed off polar bear wearing freaking armor if I wanted to right now," Loki said in an irate voice.
Lenore clasped his elbow. "Loki, calm down," she begged. Huh, maybe this was the reason why they never socialized with others.
"It's alright, Lenore," the Immortal grinned. "Loki and I go way back – ever since I slayed the foul Jörmungandr back in the day."
"Jörmungandr?" Lenore whispered as Loki began shaking in rage.
"My son," he spat with burning eyes as his hands curled into fists.
"Oh," Lenore whispered as she looked between the two. Now she remembered that Jörmungandr, a great serpent, was Loki's other son with the giantess Angboda, if what she had seen in that old Norse mythology book years ago was correct.
"Loki, come now. Surely you must be over that? Jörmungandr was threatening to destroy the world," the Immortal scoffed.
"He never would have done it; kid was all talk!" Loki muttered. "Asshole."
"Suit yourself, Loki," the Immortal sighed.
"As you say, Heracles," Loki stated snarkily.
Fire flashed through the Immortal's eyes as he took a threatening step towards Loki. "Watch yourself Trickster. None know of my true past and that is how I wish it."
"Hmm. Would be a shame if I accidentally shouted it out loud then, wouldn't it?" Loki grinned evilly as he, too, took a step forward.
As Lenore debated on what she should do, while also wondering just who 'Heracles' was and if he had something to do with 'Hercules', a ravishing young woman appeared between the two, placing her palm on each of their chests. She wore a cleavage-baring gown, had thick curly blond hair that cascaded over her shoulders, and mischievous blue eyes.
"Calm yourself, gentlemen," she ordered with a flirting smile in Loki's direction.
"Aphrodite," he whispered in surprise as his eyes traveled over her attractive form. "I didn't know you'd be here."
The woman – who Lenore was guessing was the Greek Goddess Aphrodite but couldn't really believe it – suddenly gave Loki a deep kiss that left the other pagan sputtering stupidly.
"I…wha…wow," Loki sighed as he stared at her.
Lenore was felt a wave of displeasure wash over her at the realization that these two knew each other in an intimate sense. Geez, who hadn't Loki slept with at this point?
Well, okay…so far she had only met two goddesses, but still…
"My brother told me he invited the Vampire Saint, so I assumed that you would be travelling along with your pet," Aphrodite smiled as her hand curled around Loki's left bicep.
"Wait, Vampire Saint? And, I'm not his pet!" Lenore declared with folded arms. Honestly, what was with gods and goddesses thinking of people – mmkay, vampires – as pets?
Aphrodite gave her an amused look. "Many stories associate you with Loki, as well as Kali. I just assumed you were the pet of the gods, Lenore." Then she directed a salacious look between her brother and Lenore. "But perhaps you are interested in a new master?"
"I have no master," Lenore stated sternly. "And please do not call me a 'Saint'," she added in embarrassment.
"It is what they call you," Aphrodite shrugged, much like she didn't care one way or another. "The Prophetess of the Lord who struggles to redeem her fallen vampiric race."
Then Aphrodite turned her batting eyelashes to Loki as she ran her hands over the front of his shirt. "Loki my love, it has been too long. Perhaps you would like to 'catch up'?"
Loki gulped and barely spared Lenore another glance. "See you later, Lenore," he called as Aphrodite led him away.
The sight of them leaving sparked a strong feeling of jealously within Lenore. Not that she cared for Loki like that…at least she didn't think she did. Sure, she found him plenty attractive and sometimes she found herself recalling that Valentine's Day moment on the mountain where a part of her wondered what would have happened had that comet not crashed into the mountain …but…no. She didn't. And she couldn't. He was her best friend – their love was perfect as it was.
Not to mention she knew Loki didn't and couldn't love her. He was just a friend, that was all.
Yes, she was just jealous because Loki was her friend and here was this floozy Goddess of Love carting him off and leaving her alone with the Immortal. Speaking of which…
"Would you care for a tour of the grounds, Lenore?" the Immortal asked with a charming smile as he held out his arm for her.
Lenore found her heart beat stronger at his nearness – goodness the man was a perfect example of male beauty – and answered him almost shyly. "I would like that."
A/N:
The Buffyverse character in this chapter is the Immortal, who was featured in Angel Season 5 as a rumored lover of Buffy.
Thanks for reading!
References:
* Origins of Santa:
*"The Immortal is neither on the side of light or dark, rather he does as he pleases. He is a wild card, a wolf removed from the pack, a stallion without ze bridle." -Description of the Immortal from the Angel S5 episode "The Girl in Question': .com/wiki/The_Immortal
*Quor-Toth Dimension: The dimension featuring in Angel – the place where his son Connor grew up for 17 years.
*History of men's fashions, which began picking up in 1850: .com/fashion/men-fashion
*At the time Lenore was there Italy was not yet a single country although it was close to being there: .org/wiki/History_of_Italy#Unification_.281814_to_1861.29 & .org/wiki/Italian_unification
* Map of Italy before it became a single country in 1871: .org/wiki/File:Unification_of_Italy_
*This is how I imagine Lenore's dress to look like
*"You and I both know I could take the form of an extremely pissed off polar bear wearing freaking armor if I wanted to right now: A reference to The Golden Compass, where their polar bears get to wear armor! ;)
*Loki's other son, Jormungandr: .org/wiki/J%C3%B6rmungandr
*Jormungandr was killed by Thor in Norse mythology and Thor is also compared to a certain other god-figure due to their similar weapons, so that's why I had the Immortal kill Loki's son instead of Thor: .org/wiki/Thor_(god)
*Aphrodite: .org/wiki/Aphrodite
****special note: I took several Women's History courses in college, including 'Women of the Victorian Age' and that included researching women's dresses. Hence, my interest in providing you with the extra clothing info ;)