I got a review that said my authors notes were annoying. Well Laura D as much as I appreciate your review and he fact you liked my take on mixing the worlds, no one will ever escape my authors notes. I like to write them cause it makes me feel like I'm connecting with my readers.
Note for this chapter: I'm making Jason pomme de sang for Jean Claude and making it known to Anita a lot sooner than it was in the book. (I think, I haven't read over the series in a while.) Also I'm giving Jean Claude a backbone, which he still did have, at least a tiny sliver of one, during the earlier books. I hope the major reconstructive surgery didn't harm him to much. ;)
__
Jason hurried through the lower levels of the Circus. The sun would be setting in a few minutes and Jean Claude liked to have breakfast in bed. Well more of a breakfast waiting by the coffin, rather than bed, but you get the general idea.
He had rushed home to the Circus imediately after seeing Richard depart with the two strange women. Both of them very pretty, one of them a werewolf. He'd dropped the bag of assorted sandwiches and burgers of in the kitchen for the people who had ordered them, and then hightailed it to the coffin room.
He got there just before the lid to Jean Claudes coffin opened. He was cutting it close. From now on someone else played delivery boy for the werewolfs that stayed at the Circus.
A few minutes later Jason was leaning against the wall, trying not to fall over from lightheadedness, he knew from experience it would pass soon.
And it did. But when he finally regained his center of balance Jean Claude was nowhere to be seen.
Yeesh. Just drink and run. And Jean Claude talked about respect for your Pomme de Sangs.
Leaving the coffin room, he headed up the stairs to Jean Claudes office.
"Hey, Jean Claude, you'll never guess what I saw when I was picking up, oh hey Anita." Jason stopped talking and smiled charmigly at Anita as he stood a few steps into the office. Anita Blake, the Executioner, and the woman who would probably end up going on a shooting rampage, of which he would most likely be the first victim of, if she heard what he had to say. She had a tendency to overreact like that.
She also liked to threaten to shoot him. Though he had no idea what brought that urge on.
"Jason." Jean Claudes melodic voice said, his tone hinting that he wasn't pleased with being interuppted. "What is it that you needed to tell me so urgently?"
"Uh." Jason glanced discreetly at Anita and shook his head, "Nothing important. I'll leave you alone now."
Apparently his glance hadn't been as discreet as he had hoped because Anita said, "Stop!" Right before he reached the hallway. Before he turned back to face them, Jason plastered his best innocent smile on his face.
"What can't you tell him infront of me?"
That smile never worked on Anita.
"What? You? No!" Somehow he didn't think that was going to cut it.
And he was right. See he was smarter than people gave him credit for. He *had* gone to college.
For a little while at least.
This could go on for days. Jean Claude knew this, because he looked at Jason and said sternly, "Jason."
"Fine. Just don't shoot me or anything." Anita looked slightly hurt at those words. "As I was saying, I was picking up the food for the wolfs and the people who stay over. Apparently cotton candy and pop corn isn't good enough for them any more-"
"Jason."
"Right. Anyway, I went to the Lunatic Cafe because Mark had a craving for one of thier triple decker burgers. And thats the only place you can order them mostly raw without getting weird looks and lectures on health codes. Hey hey, no need to get angry. I'm just setting up the background like any good story teller would.
"Right I'm not a great story teller, I'm a lowly werewolf.
"So I had just payed for the food and the door to the backroom opened. And out walks Richard. But he had two women hanging off him, one of whom was a werewolf I didn't recognize and the other was just a normal human."
Anita had turned an interesting shade of red. It didn't seem to fascinate Jean Claude as much as it did Jason though, because he just looked at him and asked, "Anything else?"
"Did I mention they were both hot? Cause they were."
Her teeth would probably break under the pressure she was forcing upon them clenching her jaw like that.
"I'm gonna go." Jason announced suddenly when Anita's hand drifted down to the butt of the gun on her hip. Jean Claude merelly nodded as he rounded the desk to crouch down in front of Anita.
He left after that. And got far away.
---
"Ma petite." Jean Claude said, his hand reaching over to still the one stroking the butt of her gun. Startled she looked up at her vampire boyfriend, her eyes holding the faintest shimmer of tears. Jean Claude felt a bolt of anger course through him. Not just at Richard but at Anita as well. "You've moved on is he not allowed to as well?"
"Of course he is." No he isn't! Her mind scramed irrationally, shaking her head to dislodge the thought she looked at Jean Claudes nose and began to speak, "But I never really expected him to. You know. And with two women..."
"Ma petite you don't know for sure what happened. And anyway you have no say at whatever he does." Her eyes narrowed at this, like she refused to accept that. Shaking his head in minor disgust, at both of them, Jean Claude said, surprising himself and Anita when he did, "I think you should go."
"What!" Anita exclaimed, "Go where? After Richard?"
"No. I think you should go away from here. I'm not masochistic enough to spend the night watching you pine away over a man whom your no longer with."
"Jean Claude."
"Please go ma petite. Perhaps we can reschedule for tomorrow."
"I have a raising tomorrow."
"Well maybe next week then."
Anita made a sound of disbelief in the back of her throat and looked at him for a long second. Finally she rolled her eyes and left the room muttering to herself.
Unfortunately she didn't run into Jason on the way out. She really needed to shoot something.
---
Richard found himself smiling despite himself. The three of them were at a Chinese Restraunt, their table was loaded down with main dishes and they were all picking food off eachothers plates. Anya was a pro at using chopsticks, while Willow was reduced to stabbing food with hers or even *gasp* resorting to using the forks the restraunt so kindly provided.
"I never really had any practice with them." She defended herself, "We rarely ate chinese food and when ever we did end up going Jesse would always end up sticking them up his nose." She gave the two of them serious looks, "You don't really want to eat with something, or touch for that matter, something thats been up someones nose."
"Who's Jesse?" Richard asked.
Willow waved a hand, "He was one of my best friends. He died a few years ago."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, you didn't kill him."
"Willow doesn't like false sympathy." Anya pointed out fom her side of the table, reaching across to the plate infront of him and grabbing a potsticker.
"Well it wasn't false. But I'll leave it at that."
"Good." Anya said, nodding and taking a drink out of her cup of tea. Turning her attention to Richard she appraised him like you would a painting in the mueseum, slowly and thouroghly. "So, Richard. Tell me about my new king. You married?"
"No."
"Divorced?"
He shook his head no.
"Seeing anyone seriously?"
"Nope." He said quickly.
"Ah. You just break up?" Anya nodded sagely, ignoring the kick Willow landed on her shin. Continuing to stare at Richard, making him fidget as he struggled to come up with an answer.
"Yeah." he answered finally. Both females clucked thier tounges in sympathy, Willow reached a hand over to his forearm and rubbed a small circle with her thumb.
"Why didn't you ever say anything?"
They were good at this part. This is a vengence demons area of expertise. Getting the mark to finally open up and talk about thier heartache.
Richard merely shrugged in response to her question.
"Were you together long?"
"A few months."
"Was it really serious?"
"We were engaged for awhile. Then we weren't."
This seemed to strike with Anya. "She broke up with you after she commited to a relationship with marrige in the future?" Anya muttered a few words that if Anita had heard them, would probably end up with Anya sporting a nice new bullet hole.
"I was left at the altar." She finally explained, after he had just stared at her, wondering at her reaction.
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry. But no she didn't break up with me after that. She just started dating this other guy too. Then she slept with him and then we broke up."
"My first boyfriend cheated on me. Then he left the country." Willow confided. The three of them just sat there in silence for a few minutes, the mood around thier table had become much more depressed.
"I told you this would happen." Richard finally broke the silence with a sad laugh.
"Oh it's fine. So who is she?" Willow wanted to know.
"I really don't want to talk about it."
"Why. We'll tell you our humiliating love stories, if you share yours." Willow offered.
"I don't think so."
"Thats fine." Anya said suddenly, "We promised to get you all liquored up if need be to cheer you up. We're living just up the street, we'll stop, get some alcohol, and get drunk."
"I don't think so."
"Come on."
"No." Richard repeated firmly. Letting a bit of his power creep out to remind the girl that he was her master. Her dominant. That fact didn't seem to reach her.
A few seconds after he had let some of his power out her head swung around to look at Willow. Anya's eyes widened for a second and she turned to look him in the eye, before dropping hers to the table in a submissive gesture.
That was odd.
He shrugged it off and bowed out of the celebration party to go home. Willow didn't protest, just walked out to his car with him to talk when Anya volunteered to pay.
__
"Sorry about Anya. She's kinda intense if your not used to her. She's intense if you are actually. Come to think of it. I didn't mean to get you in a funk." She looked up at him apoligetically. Richard waved off her apology.
"It's fine. I'm glad you dragged me out. I've been in a funk as you put it for too long. This actually helped."
"Well I'm here to help." She replied with a smile, "My purpose in life."
Reaching out her arms she pulled him into a hug, surprising him. Not upsetting him though. Instead he leaned down to hug her back.
She had become a good friend over the past few weeks.
When he turned his head to give her a kiss on the cheek, as a thank you, he met her lips instead. Both of them stilled for a second in surprise...
But neither one of them pulled away.
___
TBC
Oooohh. Who saw that coming? I loved writing this chapter. I was going to end it when Anita left the Circus but my internet went on a temporary fritz so I had nothing better to do but continue to write. But it's back on now, and this is a good place to end it.
Laura D, I know this bothers you, but I only seem to get reviews when I demand them. So thats what i'm doing.
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I've been adrift i a sea of sadness cause I only got 3 reviews for the last chapter. And one for the they first four chapters that I finally got around to posting on fanfiction.net.
REview PLease. Make me smile, make me write another chapter sooner than the few days it took me to churn tis one out.
That was me bribing all my loyal fans.
I currently have no set plan in mind for the next chapter, so no preview.
*****************************
I have a tiny challenge for you though...
What do you think Richard should wish for, I'll post my favorite with the next chapter. I might even ask to use it cause I have a few wishes in mind some of which will ruin the continuity for the future books and the future stories for the series I have planned.
Extra points for really creative wishes that make me laugh, and ones that sound like something Richard would actually wish for.
They can be towards either Anita or Jean Claude, but if you have other intesting victims for the wih to be instilled upon, be my guest and post it.
****************************
Thats all for now. Until next time.
Note for this chapter: I'm making Jason pomme de sang for Jean Claude and making it known to Anita a lot sooner than it was in the book. (I think, I haven't read over the series in a while.) Also I'm giving Jean Claude a backbone, which he still did have, at least a tiny sliver of one, during the earlier books. I hope the major reconstructive surgery didn't harm him to much. ;)
__
Jason hurried through the lower levels of the Circus. The sun would be setting in a few minutes and Jean Claude liked to have breakfast in bed. Well more of a breakfast waiting by the coffin, rather than bed, but you get the general idea.
He had rushed home to the Circus imediately after seeing Richard depart with the two strange women. Both of them very pretty, one of them a werewolf. He'd dropped the bag of assorted sandwiches and burgers of in the kitchen for the people who had ordered them, and then hightailed it to the coffin room.
He got there just before the lid to Jean Claudes coffin opened. He was cutting it close. From now on someone else played delivery boy for the werewolfs that stayed at the Circus.
A few minutes later Jason was leaning against the wall, trying not to fall over from lightheadedness, he knew from experience it would pass soon.
And it did. But when he finally regained his center of balance Jean Claude was nowhere to be seen.
Yeesh. Just drink and run. And Jean Claude talked about respect for your Pomme de Sangs.
Leaving the coffin room, he headed up the stairs to Jean Claudes office.
"Hey, Jean Claude, you'll never guess what I saw when I was picking up, oh hey Anita." Jason stopped talking and smiled charmigly at Anita as he stood a few steps into the office. Anita Blake, the Executioner, and the woman who would probably end up going on a shooting rampage, of which he would most likely be the first victim of, if she heard what he had to say. She had a tendency to overreact like that.
She also liked to threaten to shoot him. Though he had no idea what brought that urge on.
"Jason." Jean Claudes melodic voice said, his tone hinting that he wasn't pleased with being interuppted. "What is it that you needed to tell me so urgently?"
"Uh." Jason glanced discreetly at Anita and shook his head, "Nothing important. I'll leave you alone now."
Apparently his glance hadn't been as discreet as he had hoped because Anita said, "Stop!" Right before he reached the hallway. Before he turned back to face them, Jason plastered his best innocent smile on his face.
"What can't you tell him infront of me?"
That smile never worked on Anita.
"What? You? No!" Somehow he didn't think that was going to cut it.
And he was right. See he was smarter than people gave him credit for. He *had* gone to college.
For a little while at least.
This could go on for days. Jean Claude knew this, because he looked at Jason and said sternly, "Jason."
"Fine. Just don't shoot me or anything." Anita looked slightly hurt at those words. "As I was saying, I was picking up the food for the wolfs and the people who stay over. Apparently cotton candy and pop corn isn't good enough for them any more-"
"Jason."
"Right. Anyway, I went to the Lunatic Cafe because Mark had a craving for one of thier triple decker burgers. And thats the only place you can order them mostly raw without getting weird looks and lectures on health codes. Hey hey, no need to get angry. I'm just setting up the background like any good story teller would.
"Right I'm not a great story teller, I'm a lowly werewolf.
"So I had just payed for the food and the door to the backroom opened. And out walks Richard. But he had two women hanging off him, one of whom was a werewolf I didn't recognize and the other was just a normal human."
Anita had turned an interesting shade of red. It didn't seem to fascinate Jean Claude as much as it did Jason though, because he just looked at him and asked, "Anything else?"
"Did I mention they were both hot? Cause they were."
Her teeth would probably break under the pressure she was forcing upon them clenching her jaw like that.
"I'm gonna go." Jason announced suddenly when Anita's hand drifted down to the butt of the gun on her hip. Jean Claude merelly nodded as he rounded the desk to crouch down in front of Anita.
He left after that. And got far away.
---
"Ma petite." Jean Claude said, his hand reaching over to still the one stroking the butt of her gun. Startled she looked up at her vampire boyfriend, her eyes holding the faintest shimmer of tears. Jean Claude felt a bolt of anger course through him. Not just at Richard but at Anita as well. "You've moved on is he not allowed to as well?"
"Of course he is." No he isn't! Her mind scramed irrationally, shaking her head to dislodge the thought she looked at Jean Claudes nose and began to speak, "But I never really expected him to. You know. And with two women..."
"Ma petite you don't know for sure what happened. And anyway you have no say at whatever he does." Her eyes narrowed at this, like she refused to accept that. Shaking his head in minor disgust, at both of them, Jean Claude said, surprising himself and Anita when he did, "I think you should go."
"What!" Anita exclaimed, "Go where? After Richard?"
"No. I think you should go away from here. I'm not masochistic enough to spend the night watching you pine away over a man whom your no longer with."
"Jean Claude."
"Please go ma petite. Perhaps we can reschedule for tomorrow."
"I have a raising tomorrow."
"Well maybe next week then."
Anita made a sound of disbelief in the back of her throat and looked at him for a long second. Finally she rolled her eyes and left the room muttering to herself.
Unfortunately she didn't run into Jason on the way out. She really needed to shoot something.
---
Richard found himself smiling despite himself. The three of them were at a Chinese Restraunt, their table was loaded down with main dishes and they were all picking food off eachothers plates. Anya was a pro at using chopsticks, while Willow was reduced to stabbing food with hers or even *gasp* resorting to using the forks the restraunt so kindly provided.
"I never really had any practice with them." She defended herself, "We rarely ate chinese food and when ever we did end up going Jesse would always end up sticking them up his nose." She gave the two of them serious looks, "You don't really want to eat with something, or touch for that matter, something thats been up someones nose."
"Who's Jesse?" Richard asked.
Willow waved a hand, "He was one of my best friends. He died a few years ago."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, you didn't kill him."
"Willow doesn't like false sympathy." Anya pointed out fom her side of the table, reaching across to the plate infront of him and grabbing a potsticker.
"Well it wasn't false. But I'll leave it at that."
"Good." Anya said, nodding and taking a drink out of her cup of tea. Turning her attention to Richard she appraised him like you would a painting in the mueseum, slowly and thouroghly. "So, Richard. Tell me about my new king. You married?"
"No."
"Divorced?"
He shook his head no.
"Seeing anyone seriously?"
"Nope." He said quickly.
"Ah. You just break up?" Anya nodded sagely, ignoring the kick Willow landed on her shin. Continuing to stare at Richard, making him fidget as he struggled to come up with an answer.
"Yeah." he answered finally. Both females clucked thier tounges in sympathy, Willow reached a hand over to his forearm and rubbed a small circle with her thumb.
"Why didn't you ever say anything?"
They were good at this part. This is a vengence demons area of expertise. Getting the mark to finally open up and talk about thier heartache.
Richard merely shrugged in response to her question.
"Were you together long?"
"A few months."
"Was it really serious?"
"We were engaged for awhile. Then we weren't."
This seemed to strike with Anya. "She broke up with you after she commited to a relationship with marrige in the future?" Anya muttered a few words that if Anita had heard them, would probably end up with Anya sporting a nice new bullet hole.
"I was left at the altar." She finally explained, after he had just stared at her, wondering at her reaction.
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry. But no she didn't break up with me after that. She just started dating this other guy too. Then she slept with him and then we broke up."
"My first boyfriend cheated on me. Then he left the country." Willow confided. The three of them just sat there in silence for a few minutes, the mood around thier table had become much more depressed.
"I told you this would happen." Richard finally broke the silence with a sad laugh.
"Oh it's fine. So who is she?" Willow wanted to know.
"I really don't want to talk about it."
"Why. We'll tell you our humiliating love stories, if you share yours." Willow offered.
"I don't think so."
"Thats fine." Anya said suddenly, "We promised to get you all liquored up if need be to cheer you up. We're living just up the street, we'll stop, get some alcohol, and get drunk."
"I don't think so."
"Come on."
"No." Richard repeated firmly. Letting a bit of his power creep out to remind the girl that he was her master. Her dominant. That fact didn't seem to reach her.
A few seconds after he had let some of his power out her head swung around to look at Willow. Anya's eyes widened for a second and she turned to look him in the eye, before dropping hers to the table in a submissive gesture.
That was odd.
He shrugged it off and bowed out of the celebration party to go home. Willow didn't protest, just walked out to his car with him to talk when Anya volunteered to pay.
__
"Sorry about Anya. She's kinda intense if your not used to her. She's intense if you are actually. Come to think of it. I didn't mean to get you in a funk." She looked up at him apoligetically. Richard waved off her apology.
"It's fine. I'm glad you dragged me out. I've been in a funk as you put it for too long. This actually helped."
"Well I'm here to help." She replied with a smile, "My purpose in life."
Reaching out her arms she pulled him into a hug, surprising him. Not upsetting him though. Instead he leaned down to hug her back.
She had become a good friend over the past few weeks.
When he turned his head to give her a kiss on the cheek, as a thank you, he met her lips instead. Both of them stilled for a second in surprise...
But neither one of them pulled away.
___
TBC
Oooohh. Who saw that coming? I loved writing this chapter. I was going to end it when Anita left the Circus but my internet went on a temporary fritz so I had nothing better to do but continue to write. But it's back on now, and this is a good place to end it.
Laura D, I know this bothers you, but I only seem to get reviews when I demand them. So thats what i'm doing.
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I've been adrift i a sea of sadness cause I only got 3 reviews for the last chapter. And one for the they first four chapters that I finally got around to posting on fanfiction.net.
REview PLease. Make me smile, make me write another chapter sooner than the few days it took me to churn tis one out.
That was me bribing all my loyal fans.
I currently have no set plan in mind for the next chapter, so no preview.
*****************************
I have a tiny challenge for you though...
What do you think Richard should wish for, I'll post my favorite with the next chapter. I might even ask to use it cause I have a few wishes in mind some of which will ruin the continuity for the future books and the future stories for the series I have planned.
Extra points for really creative wishes that make me laugh, and ones that sound like something Richard would actually wish for.
They can be towards either Anita or Jean Claude, but if you have other intesting victims for the wih to be instilled upon, be my guest and post it.
****************************
Thats all for now. Until next time.