Author's Note: Hello everyone! I know this chapter was horribly delayed, but my readers should be happy to know that I am feeling much better and I got A's in all my classes for this semester! This means that delays should be much shorter (unless I go on vacation). Now then, this chapter will be through LaCroix's POV, and will serve to retrace his thoughts through some of the events we've already seen happen, along with dishing out a bit more of his history. I do hope that my habit of jumping around from different POVs and timelines isn't too annoying, but if it is please let me know. This chapter is a little longer than the average ones, but I assume that my readers won't mind too terribly much. Also as a side note, I only just recently realized with a fair bit of regret that some of my pop culture references were ones that are specific to 2011 – 2013 whereas this story takes place at the beginning of this century. I'm not going to change it, but if anyone does heavily complain about it then I will revise it. Anyway, without further ado I now present to you Chapter 24, enjoy!
Special Thanks: My eternal thanks to Topgallant for following my story, Lucius's Mistress for following & faving my story and especially to AluVkisser for faving and following not only my story, but me as an author. I also highly appreciate the reviewers of the last chapter who are: sofilise, aberdeenkev, Sasha Naruto, AluVkisser, Topgallant, LadylayDE, and Lucius's Mistress!
Responses: To sofilise: Your reviews never fail to make me happy! Accurately portraying characters is one of my biggest fears, so again I am happy to hear that I'm succeeding in this. By the way, feel free to guess at Valeska's true nature. Whether you're right or wrong I'll send you a PM letting you know. =)
To aberdeenkev: V.V. does certainly have bunny boiler traits, but without the violent streak that many of them tend to possess because it goes against her personality.
To Sasha Naruto: Hands of Destruction is indeed a dark path, but despite what some people might say about Strauss, I believe he has a dark side that he tries to keep hidden. Most Tremere after all do, and throwing that in was my attempt to make the reader question this. I appreciate your concern towards my health and I really liked that song by the way, thanks for sharing!
To AluVkisser: Thanks so much for all the support my new reviewer! I already sent you a PM so I don't really have to say too much here, but thank you again!
To Topgallant: Yay a second new reviewer! A short review is better than no review, and I'm happy to hear you like my pop culture references. They are my attempt in trying to make this modern (even if Skyrim only came out recently and this was based in early 2000's) and by giving Valeska a personality.
To LadylayDE: I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the last chapter, and you'll be glad to know that this one is longer! I hope you like it. =D
To Lucius's Mistress: I'm glad I caught your review, because I was just about to publish this chapter lol. I'm happy to see yet another new fan voicing their happy opinion on my story, and even more so that you're enjoying the romance. Eventually there will be a bit of rough physical interaction between the two, but I'm trying to take it slow for the sake of the story. I've seen too many potentially good stories fall by the wayside due to an overabundance of unrealistic fluff, but believe me when I say the two WILL get it on eventually lol.
Chapter 24 Anomalous Attraction
The night that LaCroix had returned to his penthouse after he had spent the day slumbering in Valeska's apartment, had been a very stressful one indeed. Waking hours that would have been better spent tending to the affairs of his city or signing important documents, were instead wasted with his ghoul who had successfully blown the sleepover situation out of proportion by overreacting to his presence in her bed. Granted he probably would have reacted in the same manner with even further amounts of anger if he had awoken to a woman in his bed, but he certainly would not have jumped to the conclusion that they had slept together. This little bit of Valeska's behavior had infuriated him as not only was such an encounter with a mortal below him, but it insulted him that she thought him capable of taking advantage of her when she was unconscious. He may not have been the most polite person in the world (not that he needed to be with his prestige), but he had been raised to know the correct way in which to treat a lady. Valeska was clearly not the most ladylike woman in the world, but that did not mean she was any less deserving of the common courtesy to not be unknowingly forced upon.
Rather than discipline her for her imprudent accusations like he should have, for some reason he had allowed her to escape his wrath while he passively accepted her apology. It was very unlike him to do such a thing, but perhaps it was because he knew the importance of cleaning up and returning to his penthouse that this slipup had been made to occur. Yet even when she had thrown sass in his direction after his shower, he had only threatened her mildly before seating himself upon her sofa bed. The amount of work he was responsible for that evening did little to motivate him to vacate the premises, for strangely enough he felt relaxed in Valeska's dingy little apartment. Part of him whole heartedly believed that this was because the surroundings reminded him of the vacation cottage his parents had owned within the mountains. He had always enjoyed visiting that area, as the location had been acquired years after his sister's death, and thus proved to be a refreshing change when compared to the bittersweet memories he had shared with her on the ocean shores of Calais. At this specific point in his life it was a nice to be away from his refined penthouse every once in a while too, because though it effectively served in allowing him to keep an eye on his city, it sometimes felt more like a prison rather than a haven.
As much as LaCroix wanted to believe that it was his ghoul's apartment that had kept him there though, there was another part of him that had placed his faith in the absurd belief that he hadn't quite wanted to leave just yet specifically because of Valeska. Something about her was obviously different compared to his past ghouls, but he wasn't sure if it was due to her delectable blood or the way her personality kept constantly flipping back and forth. One minute her actions mirrored that of an Anarch rebel, and the next she was submitting to his every command. He preferred his underlings to be as loyal as possible, and this occasional outspoken streak of hers made her completely unpredictable as well as a possible risk to his reputation. However, what made this especially exasperating was that he wasn't entirely sure whether he despised or admired this little quirk she possessed. Naturally he should have outright hated the fact that he never knew what to expect from her, and in return severely reprimanded her until she was the perfect model of how a Camarilla servant should be. Yet he didn't.
In his mind was the perfect theory as to why that was, but this reasoning made him appalled with the immaturity his personality seemingly had. Nonetheless, no matter how he looked at it the Prince enjoyed a good verbal battle. Not one where the opponents fought viciously like cats and dogs, but one where someone challenged his authority only to be quickly knocked back down to the low levels of reality that they belonged. With Valeska, she would mouth off to him with some sarcastic wording and he would remind her of just how insignificant she was to him. He enjoyed exerting his power over another, but especially so with his new ghoul for one main reason.
Often was it that most of LaCroix's late night dealings varied between either his employees fully obeying his every demand or the Anarchs outright insulting him to his face. Both of these character traits could grow to be very tiresome for him to put up with, but his ghoul fell right in the middle of these extremes, being neither completely defiant nor one hundred percent obedient. She was rightfully fearful of what he might do to her, but not to the point where she would become a mindless robot incapable of voicing her own opinion. She made him feel even more capable than he already was at manipulating people, while at the same allowing him to feel almost…normal when they conversed.
His other ghoul, Mercurio, had possessed the opportunity to behave in the same manner, but the events that centered around his family in New York had pretty much made him emotionally dead for quite some time. He had been quiet and overly compliant, which was nearly completely opposite from the man that Sebastian had been observing from afar for months before taking him under his wing. Only in the last decade or so had Mercurio truly begun to regain the prominent traits of his personality back, but he was still cautious when interacting directly with the Prince. It wasn't something that was too surprising though, as Mercurio was an intelligent man who viewed others with just the right amount of friendly suspicion. He no doubt probably suspected or at least held the vague belief that his master had been behind the death of his family, and to a small degree he would have been right. Like many vampires tended to do with promising subjects, LaCroix had been testing Mercurio by slowly applying more and more difficulties into the jobs he ran within the mafia. The Prince had been confident that his future subject could handle it, but to be fair he had not planned on things unfolding the way they had. All his goal had been was to challenge his potential ghoul's resolve, which ended up snowballing into a tragic situation that could have been easily avoided. Still, in the end his family's deaths had served to tie up quite a few loose ends, so tragic or not, it really had been for the best.
Placing all thoughts of Mercurio aside, the main point here was that whether LaCroix wanted to admit it or not Valeska had unknowingly worked her way into his good graces. She had just enough skill of her own to be useful to him, her blood had unique properties to it, and her personality proved to him that there was a lot of room for her to grow in his organization. With a bit of time and work, she could probably easily work her way to being his top employee and because of this he felt the need to protect her. Or at least he hoped that was why because if not, then he wouldn't have had a good reason for blatantly assaulting her landlord. It was true that the insolent man had challenged LaCroix's authority which was mainly why he had given into his impulsive desires, but there was another underling reason for his actions and it was one that he feared was changing something deep inside of him. The thought of defending a woman's integrity came naturally to him, but actually doing so signaled that it was much more personal than he would ever let on. He had told Valeska that his actions were done out of the sensibility of protecting his investment, but he couldn't help feel that this was partially a lie. Of course he would never admit to that, but the thought remained with him even after he had left his ghoul's apartment following their little bit of verbal conflict.
Nights later when Grout's dinner party was set to occur, LaCroix found himself pacing his office trying to rush a decision based on the actions of one stupid vampire that had frenzied in the streets and exposed himself to a handful of mortals. He had intended to leave early when the matter was brought to his attention, and he was left to choose between severely punishing the Gangrel or letting him off with a simple warning. Normally this would have been a very cut and dry process of having his Sheriff haul in and execute the man before the Prince, but this individual in particular had proven himself relatively useful in the past. It was worth considering that since the person in question was from the Gangrel clan he was understandably closer to the Beast within him, and that it might be good for the Prince's image to display a bit of mercy. At the same time though, there was no real excuse for someone to give into their darker side, and granting too much forgiveness could border on giving him the reputation of being weak. If he really wanted to make the right impression as a Prince to his people, he could only do so by making it known that he was strong leader that valued Camarilla justice. Useful or not, considering any other course of action for the Gangrel vampire was clearly out of the question.
Since the guilty party had willingly brought himself to Venture Tower (perhaps in an attempt to escape being killed), LaCroix ordered that he brought in and disposed of by the Sheriff. Of course the Gangrel had begged for his life, as all except the very proud or stunned do, but the Prince stood staring down at him with not an ounce of sympathy in his eyes. He had places to be, so he didn't have the time to justify his actions or listen to the ramblings of a pathetic man who had no dignity within him left. Next, because he despised any kind of filth, he had his secretary find someone to clean his office before immediately heading to Valeska's apartment.
During the short time LaCroix had spent away from his ghoul, the work surrounding his business had successfully distracted him in thinking about her. Sure her image had popped into his head here and there, but so did everything else in his life. Just like he had hoped, drinking her blood had been quite effective in un-clouding his mind and refocusing his thoughts. While such a planned victory should have made him happy, it unfortunately did not. Having a calm and collected head was always nice, but if it meant being incapable of handling his responsibilities unless he had direct access to Valeska's blood when it was needed, then it was not definitely not worth it. Perhaps he would simply restrain himself from feeding from her until he had a better understanding of her blood's promise. However such a promise, no matter how logical it may have been, would not be easy to keep considering his mild obsession. Additionally, gathering research would be no easy task considering the fact that such a job would be better suited to a set of individuals that he would not trust to maintain this secret for a minute (the Nosferatu or Tremere for example). At best he might obtain some useful information, and at worst he might be blackmailed. Understandably then, it was something he was going to have to think very hard on before making an actual decision.
When he had finally arrived at his ghoul's living quarters, he hadn't expected to be very impressed with what she had chosen to wear. Her personality tended to be so blunt sometimes, and based on their most recent argument he almost anticipated walking in to see her dressed in something ridiculous to infuriate him. Instead he ended up literally doing a double take at her appearance, which was so surprising to him that he had a hard time believing that the woman standing in front of him was Valeska Latimer. Since he had wanted to keep an eye on her at least for the first few months, he more or less knew exactly where she was at all times. During the previous evening, he had gotten word that she had been visiting a number of shops in the Santa Monica Mall that weren't of the best quality. Interestingly enough though, she had had Mercurio at her side and now that he saw her, he could definitely see his older ghoul's influence all over her.
Much to the Prince's irritation though, Valeska's drastic change in attire made it so he was unable to speak as confidently as he would have liked for the first few minutes. It was absolutely preposterous, but he actually found himself saying 'uhm' more than once, licking his lips nervously, and fidgeting slightly. There was not a single reason for this juvenile behavior of his, and while he had straightened himself out quickly enough when he realized what he was doing, he only hoped that his ghoul was not as perceptive as she had shown herself to be.
On the way to Grout's mansion, his ghoul wound up once again surprising the Prince with the level of planning she had put into her work. He had employees that had worked for him for several years, but besides Mercurio and a select few, they rarely if ever actually impressed him. Often it even seemed that they actually put more effort into purposefully irritating him by failing the tasks appointed them rather than doing the right thing by successfully completing them. Yet here his new ghoul was, pleasing him not once, but twice within the same week with the latter job only being granted a couple of days for preparation. Perhaps it was the level of dedication his blood had inspired her to work so hard in his favor or maybe she was simply that capable. The results of tonight would tell him the answer, since devotion only went so far when compared to true skill.
Arriving at their destination as quickly as they had would have normally delighted LaCroix, but in this instance he had to deal with the irritation of an obviously insane door greeter and a minor flash of jealousy when he saw his doe-eyed ghoul gazing at his chauffeur. It would not have upset him nearly as much as it had if his driver weren't staring lustfully back at her, but he was, so the Prince had been swift in snatching Valeska away following a menacing glare directed at the man. It was likely that he held the pathetic belief that they shared some kind of connection because she was a ghoul the same as he, but in reality they was vastly different. A primary reason for this was because it was LaCroix's blood that flowed through her veins and not some other vampire, which made it so she was far more superior when compared to the average ghoul. No matter how talented he was or whatever wild flights of fancy he might have been imagining, his driver had no right looking at his property in that manner.
From then on, events unfolded in a rather predictable fashion except for the surprising fact that his ghoul was able to maintain a successful conversation with the dinner host himself, Dr. Aleister Grout. LaCroix initially figured that Valeska was playing friendly in an attempt to get on the Malkavian's good side, but he soon realized that her compliments were actually genuine. For the life of him he couldn't understand why, but somehow she found his disturbing painting and cheap lighting tricks to be awe inspiring. His jaw almost dropped toward the end of their chat though, when she was so blunt in sharing her poor opinion on Sigmund Freud that he was sure at any moment he would have to step in to apologize on her behalf. Instead, the Malkavian Primogen actually laughed in agreement with her comments, and it seemed that the two were becoming fast friends. It was almost inspiring for the Prince to observe because not even he could work that fast due to the natural suspicion from some personages that came with his title. Things would have continued to go smoothly, until his ghoul decided to divulge who she worked for. With his superior perceptive abilities, it was clear that Grout eventually would have put two and two together on his own, but it was still a shame that Valeska had destroyed her chance of getting closer to him for information.
Of course then the Prince had no choice but to enter a short discussion with Grout, which had been full of ambiguous double meanings and huge amounts of paranoia that emanated from both sides equally. It was a game that was completely meaningless to anyone that wasn't directly involved, and to the untrained eye it probably appeared as though they were simply sharing a polite conversation. Although it was possible that Aleister Grout wasn't plotting against him, it was highly doubtful based on his recent behavior and his initial reaction to seeing LaCroix's presence that evening. In his mind then, there was no harm in promising the very vague threat that if he was crossed the consequences would be dire.
After this, LaCroix ended up snapping at Valeska in private for no reason other than because he could. She didn't really deserve it, but her actions with the Malkavian Primogen irritated him, and not just because he had ordered her to keep her words brief. He needed a scapegoat for his fury with the tension in the air, and though he had no reason to hate her, he wanted to. He would have loved to say that the woman cowering before him was as incapable and useless as most of his employees, but because she was not, he found it hard to deal something he wasn't used to. Whereas some superiors might have reacted with undue praise or humor to such a situation, LaCroix was not known for either and instead resorted to his natural defense mechanism of anger. In some small way though, his feelings were justified because of Valeska's previous comments about him supposedly being lonely.
Yet as infuriated as he wanted to be with her about that, everything that she had shared on her comparison of his personality and his living space had more or less been accurate. Her words had been genuine and even pleasing for him to listen to because of this, but when she had informed him of her opinion on his desire for company it had affected him more strongly than he would have originally thought. He reacted defensively to her comment as he always did when someone presented him with a piece of evidence that portrayed him negatively, though in this instance even more so because it was the truth. Indeed he was constantly surrounded by people that tended to his every need, but it wasn't for him that they did their duties but for their own selfish ambitions. Such a simple little comment had sent him into a contemplative state of remembering that there was no one he could truly trust, and it was because of this that he spent much of his time alone in his office. It wasn't that he really enjoyed solitude either, but as a Ventrue Prince it was something he had forced himself to appreciate due to the work he was responsible for and the dangers involved by those who plotted against him. Besides, it was better than playing to the masses by listening to the ludicrous prattling of the Primogen, or the childish insults thrown at him by the Anarchs who seemed more content to brood away in their dirty havens while being full of contempt.
It was shortly then after that Therese Voerman had interrupted the pair and he had been forced to deal with her slightly less than obvious brown nosing in the attempt to gain recognition; another reason why he probably preferred to remain alone in his tower. There was no doubt that she was an intelligent and capable woman, especially when it came to her business ventures, and despite her ego she behaved respectfully to a moderate degree. Additionally, as far as he had been made aware her leadership abilities in Santa Monica were decent enough, even if there were only a handful of vampires that lived there. If she were a Venture he would have been much more lenient in accepting her unofficial application to be granted a high ranking position within the Camarilla, but she was not. She was a Malkavian, and a highly unstable one at that because of her supposed sister who was constantly doing anything in her power to undermine Therese's authority. Jeanette, as she was apparently named, was vulgar, rebellious, and immature, or basically everything opposite of her sister. Prince LA wasn't sure which sister was the true one or even if they were aware that they shared the same body, but since he was aware of this flaw it wasn't something that he would tolerate so easily. Especially after Jeanette emailed him lewd photos of herself that bordered on pornographic material. Evidently this had been made to be a joke, but when he had to interact with Therese every so often knowing that he had seen most of her naked body by accident, it was not something to be taken lightly.
Luckily their conversation didn't last too terribly long, and he was able to move on to the task of socializing with the other vampires. Most of his efforts were dedicated toward the duties of his domain, like making sure there were no rumored threats lurking on the horizon, discussing the recent actions from the Anarch movement, guaranteeing the safety of a few anxious vampires, and of course, reminding those around him of his authority when it was needed. Like most of the individuals who had recently relocated to California, there was a lot of tension in the air along with questionable doubt on whether or not their current Prince was skillful enough in handling the Anarch situation. It wasn't that he needed to prove himself to his people, but a good leader knew the importance in restoring the public's faith every once in a while.
During this time, the Ventrue vampire had been attempting to keep an eye on his ghoul, but it seemed like a pointless thing to do seeing as how she wasn't doing very much at all. She had taken to sitting on one of the sofas next to the refreshment tables, though this had probably been done in the attempt to subtly observe the party guests. He would have preferred her to take a more active role in obtaining information, but he had after all ordered her to keep to herself. It was better this way though, and it pleased him that he wouldn't have to hold her hand through every task he gave her. Knowing that she was well enough to be on her own, he had decidedly let her be while he left the room for a moment to speak with a vampire that had requested his presence in private. This tended to happen frequently at these sorts of events, so it wasn't really that abnormal for LaCroix to spend most of time tackling personal issue after personal issue instead of enjoying the festivities. However, it was soon after he left the room that something odd did happen.
Now normally when it came to mortal heartbeats, LaCroix had learned early on how beneficial it was to cancel out such distracting noises. Obviously they were still there, but mortal pulses tended to blend into the background like any other sound that vampires eventually adapted too. It was strange then, that when Valeska's pulse had suddenly spiked, the Prince had immediately became aware of it and even excused himself from the personage he had been speaking with in order to find his ghoul. Something was very wrong, and he could sense it all the way from outside of the ballroom by her heartbeat alone. He wasn't sure if she was being threatened or if her true intentions had been discovered, but it was something that needed to be handled and quickly.
When he finally happened upon Valeska, he found that she looked very sickly indeed. Her breathing was erratic, she was more pale than usual, and her heart was beating even faster than it was before. However, when her eyes met with his, these symptoms seemed to vanish almost entirely while she had even addressed him for the first time ever as master. With such glaring evidence, clearly something menacing must have happened to her when he was away, but she confessed nothing and instead appeared relieved to see him. Had his ghoul actually been concerned for his safety? He had assumed she would know better than to think someone would attack him directly in a public place, but then again she had barely spent three weeks in his service, so this definitely seemed like it was the case. Even if it was probably just his blood that was having this effect on her, it was nice to know that at least someone was happy to see him as such favors he had not been used to for several over a century and a half now.
Rather than call her out on her obvious lie to his request if she was alright, he had asked her to dance with him instead. Dancing, which was a hobby the Prince quite enjoyed, had unfortunately become a custom that was slowly dying out in the modern age when compared to only a few centuries ago. LaCroix himself had been a very talented dancer back in his earlier age, as once his parents had acquired their great fortune they had spent vast sums of money on his education in becoming a gentleman. Those times during his late childhood had been harsh and lonesome, as it had been only shortly after his sister's passing. What made her death even more painful was that not even two days after she had passed, the case LaCroix's father had been working had been won, making it so their family could finally move out of the slums. If this had only happened a couple of days earlier they would have had the money to get a doctor, which ultimately would have possibly given her a fighting chance. Instead, it seemed that the god his family once revered so highly had wanted to add insult to injury.
Sebastian's emotional state might have developed a bit better if his parents had given him some much needed support, but Danielle's death had served as the building blocks of a cement wall that would keep the small family apart for years. His father had understandably turned to burying himself in his work related obligations of being a lawyer in order to support his wife and child, but his grief stricken mother had insolated herself in the rose garden her husband had commissioned for her. The cheerful woman he had once loved for her tolerance of constant dress pulling in order to share some new found sea creature, had turned cold and distant within only a matter of months. Rather than be there for her obviously suffering first born, fate had decreed that the rest of Sebastian's young life be handled by nannies and tutors.
At first his emotional anguish made it so he had struggled with his lessons, but soon the thought came to him that if he were to excel in them then the possibility of his parents remembering the love they once had for their son would be higher. Reading, writing, general math, dancing, proper etiquette, piano, painting, and even fencing were just a few skills that he were taught and quickly became superior in. However when the time came to seek the approval of his mother who he had not been aware was drinking at the time, she reacted with an explosive fit of rage and even went as far as to blame him for Danielle's death.
At the time, Sebastian had already been feeling a great deal of guilt due to the harsh fact that if the siblings hadn't snuck out to play in the rain, then Danielle wouldn't have gotten the high fever that eventually lead to her death. Yet his younger sister had always had the persuasive ability of begging her brother until his ears figuratively bled and he subsequently gave in to whatever she wanted. He may have pretended that he didn't care when he ignored the random sea shells she shoved in his face, but when the time came to it he would literally step in the way of gangs bullying his baby sister, only to return home with black eyes, a bloody nose, and bruises aplenty. Being told by his mother that he not only never cared for her, but it was without a doubt his fault she had died, had completely devastated the Prince with the guilt that had already been eating away at him.
When his father failed to defend him after that incident, it was then that LaCroix realized the importance of working not for the approval of his parents, but for the betterment of his own self. He would take fate into his own hands by utilizing his parent's fortune, and then moving on when he was done with them. He was polite and took their orders in the rare event that they demanded something from him, but for the most part he was more of their tenant or a trophy to be polished rather than their son. Danielle's death had unintentionally transformed them into something that could barely be considered a family, so consequentially when he left for the Royal Military Academy to acquire an artillery officer's training, there was very little if any emotion involved in his farewell. He hadn't known it then, but it would also be the last time he would have ever seen them, seeing as how after his graduation he immediately enlisted to join Napoleon's military force which eventually lead to his vampiric embrace.
Even now he didn't really miss them, or even feel sorrow that they had passed away during his time spent in the war. Things could have been so different between the three of them, but they were the ones that had unwittingly chosen to be nothing more than a stepping stone in his path to greatness. With their purposes fulfilled there was no reason left in him to care about them, even if they had left him the estate and their remaining fortune. The only family member that he still held any kind of affection for was his sister, and the loss of her life burned bright in his memory like a raging wildfire. Whoever it was that said time heals all wounds was obviously incorrect, because in over two centuries Sebastian's pain and guilt had at best dulled only slightly.
Due to how excruciating it was to remember anything about Danielle, LaCroix had become quite adept at keeping her locked away along with the other memories and emotions of his mortal life. He was a Prince, and one that was still only on the beginning steps of achieving his destined power, so he couldn't get caught up in useless sorrow and distracting thoughts. How surprising it was for him then, that he openly shared bits of his past with Valeska that he had never divulged to anyone except his sire. During the beginning of their dance he had been content to listening to his ghoul ramble on about herself, something else that he wasn't in the habit of doing very often. She was incredibly odd, almost to the point of being better suited to be a Malkavian's ghoul, but she was easy to talk to and there was something about this side of her that was refreshingly sincere. She wasn't wearing some fictitious mask to manipulate him or even blend in to those around her; she was simply being herself and sharing information about her childhood that he was more than willing to listen to in order to gain a better understanding of her personality. Gary Golden's report had been useful, but there was only so much that could be told about a person when compared to an actual account of their history.
History or not though, LaCroix was enjoying himself a bit more than he should have, especially after Valeska nearly tripped and he had pulled her closer in order to prevent this from happening. Inhaling the flowery perfume that she had never worn before with the combination of her usual scent was quite intoxicating for him, and being so physically close to his ghoul almost made him want to lead her into the next room so he could feed from her. He had yet to eat that evening, an unfortunate habit of a workaholic, but rather than drink from Valeska so soon after their last encounter, he decided that he would wait for the main course that occurred after the traditional dance that usually happened at Grout's dinner parties. Exercising a bit of self-control was not a challenge for the Prince, so really the only issue at hand was that hunger was not the only reason he had kept his ghoul so close to his own body.
This dance was not meant to be romantic in any sense of the word, but their close proximity would have definitely stated otherwise to the public. Knowing this and judging by the way his smiling ghoul was dreamily gazing into his eyes, he should have increased the distance between their bodies, but he didn't. He tried to mentally tell himself it was to prevent her from tripping again, but he knew this was only an excuse. He enjoyed the feel of her smooth skin against the palm of his hand as well as the fact that for the first time he was actually paying attention to her heartbeat. It was unusual for a mortal's, in that it remained slow and steady despite her obvious stimulation to his touch, but however sluggish it was still a distraction that he really did not need.
It didn't help matters either when his jealousy spiked for the second time that evening in regards to his ghoul informing him that she had been flirted with. She was his ghoul and no one else's, so it was infuriating to think that someone had the nerve to unashamedly disrespect his authority by toying with his property. It was unsurprising though to learn that the person in question had been the overly flirtatious and poor excuse for a Toreador, Miss Velvet Velour.
The fact that one of Isaac Abraham's best associates was here was more than a bit suspicious in itself, and it worried him that he hadn't made note of her presence yet. A quick surveillance of the room revealed to him that the Toreador was currently dancing with Maximillian Strauss, which only served to increase his levels of paranoia further. Why on Earth would a Tremere Regent be fraternizing with someone who was in league with a well-known Anarch? Surely it wasn't because of some ridiculous attraction the Primogen had for the woman, but then again, many vampires for some reason as of late had been partaking in rather repulsive interactions with mortals and even one another. He had held the belief that Strauss was above such things, but even if he weren't, any respect the Prince might have had for him was significantly lowered if not gone all together.
His ghoul apparently hadn't been able to pick up on his irritation though, or if she had she was very foolish in that she had thought she might be able to test him with her little mind game. He was over two hundred years old and was well aware of the trickery that liars and manipulators often employed, especially since he often used them himself. Bringing her even closer to his body in order to threaten her for her stupidity gave him a rush of power that he hadn't quite expected, and once again she had caused a long forgotten set of others emotions to stir within him too. The closest thing he could compare it to was fighting the caged Beast within him except without the deadly consequences.
Even though he had not really wanted to speak with Primogen Strauss after seeing him with Miss Velour, LaCroix was grateful for his interruption. At least he was until he realized that the Regent desired to speak with Valeska in private. If it had been anyone else he might have been more willing to leave her alone, but knowing the Tremere clan, and this Regent in particular whose loyalties were now in question, he was rightfully hesitant. The Tremere's motives were always obscure and with his ghoul's blood being as unique as it was, the last thing he wanted was Strauss discovering this abnormality.
Eventually the Ventrue vampire gave in after he was told that the other Primogen sought his council. His duties as a Prince naturally took priority over Valeska, so he left the pair alone only to be informed by the clan leaders that they didn't really have anything in particular they wished to discuss with him. Grout, however anxious as he was, was able to tell the small group though that his presentation and the main course was set to begin, so everyone slowly began to gravitate into the next room except for the Prince. He was quite irritated in that it seemed as though the Regent had deliberately lied to him, which struck him as odd since the man always appeared to be more of the secretive and subtly manipulative type that preferred to avoid trouble by remaining in the background. It was possible that the Tremere Primogen had been mistaken in the assumption that Sebastian's presence was required, but after tonight's events it was quite suspicious either way.
Returning to Valeska however, he found that she was not only alone so that it ruined any chances of the Prince questioning Strauss, but that she looked as though she had seen a ghost. She was as pale as she was earlier when her heart had been beating wildly, while her face was full of confusion if not outright anger. When questioned of course she lied straight to his face again, but rather than dealing with her pathetic excuse of her supposed migraine, he set into motion the subtle order for her to get moving on the mission that she was responsible for. He could always interrogate her later on what the two had discussed, because happening right now was the perfect distraction for her to slip away unnoticed. Luckily she got the hint, and even did well enough to perfectly remember every single word that they had previously rehearsed.
As he watched her walk away, he noticed with annoyance that his eyes fell to her hips which her dress clung tightly to and inevitably flattered her body well. An hourglass figure was a historically attractive feature on women everywhere, but it was not something an elder vampire should have been affected by. Logically speaking, such feelings should have died within him long ago, but whether it was Valeska's blood or something else, clearly this assumption was wrong. No matter how infuriating this issue was though, it was not something that could be currently tackled. Grout's presentation was going to begin any minute now, and while it was not something he enjoyed wasting time on, as the city's Prince it was a necessary evil. Humoring the Primogen, settling petty arguments that were beneath him, leading a secretive double life in something as public as business, all of these were normal events in his everyday life. With such a busy schedule there was not a lot of room for his fascination of Valeska Latimer, and continuing to passively accept the fact that her blood was delicious with no concrete reasoning was not going to be tolerated for much longer. Soon something drastic was going to have to happen between them, whether it be that she no longer be under his employ, or that she reveal to him exactly what it was that made her so different.
Author's Note: So like I said, this chapter was a bit longer than the ones I usually write. I know it was delayed, but from now on hopefully chapters will be published every few days. There was a lot that went on in this chapter, what with LaCroix's history and his developing attraction toward Valeska. His history I had hoped would give readers a better sense as to the possibility of why the man is such an asshole as well as very cold/indifferent toward the deaths of those around him (let me know your thoughts on this!). My main worry though is that I don't want to rush Sebastian and Valeska's romance, but I feel like I'm doing it anyway. Is this a good pace for everyone or am I going too fast? Let me know your thoughts on this since staying in character is always going to be one of my primary concerns in writing fan fiction. If you have any other comments, suggestions, critiques, or anything else you want to share, I'd love to hear about it so please feel free to share! =)