this is for anne rice
now, read, ponder, and enjoy!
So you were never a saint,
And I've loved in shades of wrong,
We learn to live with the pain,
Mosaic broken hearts.
-Taylor Swift, State of Grace
Lena Luthor was 700 years old, give or take – it was hard to keep track of disasters upon disasters that mortals seemed determined to wreak upon each other.
She'd seen empires rise and fall. She was witness to plagues ravaging entire towns and cold-blooded rampages incinerating whole cities. She personally snuck into Hitler's chambers and made him drink enough of her blood to inspire him to put that gun to his head. She made alliances with presidents and monarchs, and collected favors like coins.
All in all, Lena had seen a lot in her relatively short life as a vampire.
But she didn't ever think this would come along in her immortal path. This being challenging her own brother to a duel. This being defeating said brother and tossing him into a prison cell lined with silver. This being inadvertently propping herself up to the very top of the Council of Elders just because she wanted to protect the person she loved.
Then again, she didn't ever think she could love either. Well, she loved once, and then her brother staked him through the heart, and she never loved again. Until one Kara Danvers came crashing into her miserable life.
"Let's run away," she suggested quietly, the day having transitioned into the night without her even realizing it. "Pretend we don't have responsibilities."
"I'd love that," Kara whispered, seated opposite Lena on the alcove, as if she didn't have a pack to look after. "Where would we go?"
"Somewhere I wouldn't feel so cold. A place where I wouldn't have to be the leader of the entire vampire network on the whole planet. Be diplomatic and stuff." Lena replied easily, picturing a beach and sun and wicker chairs.
Kara shifted closer to Lena, brushing a flyaway hair from her forehead. "Do you really want to do that?"
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. Sam had gone back to the hotel a few hours ago, after explaining the responsibilities that would fall to Lena's lap as a result of her winning the coup against Lex. She could already feel the onset of a headache at the memories.
She supposed she should have had more foresight when she decided to not allow her brother to go any further. Her name was relatively mysterious in the all-too-mysterious world of supernatural creatures. Vampires – let alone the other species – would not want her to lead them, and she wasn't sure she wanted them to.
"All I want is for you to be safe," Lena whispered, shuddering slightly when the shapeshifter ran tender fingers down her jean cladded thigh.
"And I am. Lena, look at me." When Lena opened her eyes, Kara was staring at her with all the reverence in the world. "Hey, were you the one who helped Catherine de Medici stage a coup against her husband?"
"He died during a joust."
Kara raised her brows skeptically and smirked. "Official history says that, sure, but unofficial history mentioned something about a maiden who was rather close to Catherine and pretty much steered the course of French history," she said. "It's a small world, especially among creatures."
"I'm anything but a maiden. I was a Duchess."
"Is that a confirmation?"
Catherine de Medici was certainly an interesting individual, her face still carved sharply in Lena's mind. Witty and ingenious – Lena had admired the woman greatly, especially in those times. Lena would even go so far to say that Catherine had inspired her resilience. To be a woman in an unforgiving world such as this.
"What's your point, Kara?"
"Remember a couple of months ago? You told me that the one thing you wanna do most in the world is to…die," the blonde hesitated, almost flinching at the notion. "Do you – is that still something you want?" There was no mistaking the apprehension in those blue eyes, all too fearful that Lena would eventually drive a stake through her chest just for the sake of it.
Lena inhaled deeply and leaned forward as well, tangling their hands together, illuminated by the moonlight blessing them this night. "I want to love you for as long as I am able," she confessed. "If you'll allow me."
Kara knocked their foreheads together, breathing the same air and sharing similar essences. "I understand if you want to…let someone else do the job, but I believe that you can do great things at the council. I believe you can make things better. Not just for vampires, but shapeshifters and fae alike," she said with conviction.
"What about us?"
"We'll figure it out," Kara replied easily, an optimistic smile on her face. "No matter where you are, no matter where I am, I will love you, Lena Luthor. Trust in that, at least."
Without further ado, the vampire pushed forward to press her lips against the shapeshifter's, two creatures on seemingly opposing sides with an inexplicable rancor between their species. She didn't care about that or even the council at the moment. She just wanted Kara.
"Take me to bed."
Kara obliged.
Word of the duel spread quickly, and of course, the fact that she challenged her brother to a duel due to her purported relationship with a shapeshifter would be brought to question the moment the other vampires had learned of her ungracious takeover. They attempted to embarrass her for even demeaning – in their words – their status by bedding a shapeshifter.
Except she felt no shame. And she wasn't going to lie. She had long since grown tired of the prejudice between species, as if they didn't have anything better to do. They literally had forever laid out in front of them.
Who she was sleeping with definitely shouldn't be any of their business.
Who I'm sleeping with isn't any of your business, she replied to their angry emails, because yes, even they could adapt to modern technology. That little snarky reply was followed by a snarky list of tasks that she intended to achieve with known vampire communities across the globe, whether they liked it or not.
Of course, they didn't like it. Vampires, immortal as they were, were highly conservative and traditional, keen to stick to the old ways without disturbing the set unwritten rules since Dracula. But she didn't give a shit.
She would make the changes. She would fix everything that Lex and his predecessors had broken. She would make things better. Kara believed in her, and she could do it.
"I'm old."
Kara huffed and nuzzled her muzzle into Lena's thigh. It was probably a noise of disapproval or maybe mirth. Lena was too tired to identify, only leaning back against a tree and running her fingers through Kara's golden hair.
Before the shapeshifter had boarded the plane from Italy to return to her pack, they had made a promise to see each other at least once every two months. Either Kara would fly over to Italy or Lena would make her way to National City. Coincidentally, this time around, Lena managed to fork out time from her unbelievably busy schedule around the full moon and run with Kara.
It had been six months of this back-and-forth, and Lena often wondered if it would last. When would Kara grow tired of the commute and choose to stay? When would Lena finally disappoint the blonde so much that they would break things off? When would Kara grow tired of her?
But for now, she would stay here, basking under the moonlight with the woman she loved.
"You're very fast," she lamented. "And I'm 700 years old. Around there, I think."
Kara huffed again and shifted to place her head on top of Lena's thigh, gazing up at her with abnormally blue eyes that seemed more pronounced in her wolf form. Her tongue lolled out a little, panting slightly at the exuberance they had taken earlier with their short-range venture.
"I'm significantly younger than, like, 80% of the vampires. And yet, they're children. One day, I think I'm gonna stake all of them just because," Lena complained, fervently wishing she didn't have to return to Italy in two days.
The enclosure was, by no means, large. Lena had run in larger places, larger forests. She'd hunted and killed and still found more. But this enclosure, small as it was, served as an…oasis, of sorts. The owners certainly didn't like that there was a vampire lingering, but Kara was the alpha of the pack, so what she said went.
When she first came here, it was to escape her brother's constant hounding for her to join him on the Council of Elders. And then Kara came bounding to her in her majestic golden glory and saved her life in one fell swoop – all because Lena forgot to check the calendar.
Then Lena found herself coming back, because for some reason, she found herself unable to stop thinking about the golden wolf that had defied her pack to spare her life. By all rights, she had been totally at the wolves' mercy. After all, she was the one who encroached upon their property, and rules dictated that creatures had full authority in their designated areas.
And now, Lena would love nothing more but build a small shed somewhere in the enclosure. Hide away forever. Just be in love with Kara and be worried about nothing else. She should have never let Kara convince her to stay on the council.
Ignorance was bliss, as the old saying went. As Lena rested in her lounge, she couldn't agree with it more. There were mountains of letters and documents piling up in the study, detailing complaints and requests from the community, and she didn't want to look at them.
So here she was, hiding from her best friend and her assistant, though she reckoned they could easily find her if they wanted to. Hence, she was simply grateful that they were allowing her this brief respite to put a hand to her forehead, pretending that she would be able to sleep with all the concerns running in her head.
It was broken though, when a knock sounded on the door, which opened barely a second later, revealing Sam with a phone in her hand.
"Do you know an Alex?" Sam asked. Lena frowned, the headache disturbing her ability to process information as fast she used to. "Alex Danvers," the brunette clarified.
Lena's frown deepened. She had never officially met Alex or the rest of Kara's pack, except for that first time when they were ready to tear her part with their very sharp teeth. Kara had never mentioned introducing her, and Lena hadn't pushed either – she wasn't even sure she wanted to ever meet her would-be killers.
She sat upright, groaning at the displeasing pounding in her head. "What's going on?"
"She's on the phone. Sounds panicked. Sounds hot too, actually."
Lena rolled her eyes. Leave it to Samantha Arias to find a woman hot just through her voice. She wiggled her fingers aimlessly and waited for the phone to be placed in her hand. "Ms. Danvers," she greeted drolly.
"How fast can you get to Madagascar?"
"Hi, I'm Lena Luthor. You may know me as the vampire your sister saved," Lena remarked sarcastically – honestly, shapeshifters could learn some manners. Alex scoffed. "You know I can't go to Madagascar, especially being what I am now."
"Luthor, Kara's about to get whiplashed to death because she's fucking you. I don't fucking care about borders right now," Alex snapped.
Lena straightened and shot Sam a panicked look. "What?"
"Get your ass here. I'll send you the coordinates." And then Alex hung up.
The raven-haired woman leaped up from the couch and shouldered past Sam to get to her bedroom. "Shapeshifters really could use some manners," she grumbled, trying her best to suppress the way her blood was rushing through her veins – if she was alive, her heart would be pounding.
"She still sounds hot though."
"Get John Jones on the phone for me," she instructed.
"You're not seriously –"
"I have to save her."
Lena ducked into her closet and unlocked the safe with first her fingerprint, then iris, then her voice. The safe opened with a soft hiss, very old-school James Bond vibe. Sam was leaning against the door panel of the closet, but Lena ignored her and proceeded to grab her passport and identity certificate as the leader of the Council of Elders.
When she pocketed a vial of turquoise blue liquid, Sam burst, "Why are you bringing that?"
"Collateral."
"Lena, this is crazy."
"I have to save her," Lena repeated, grabbing a duffle from the top shelf and shoving clothes in them without actually looking.
Everything she had done for the past year to keep Kara safe, as much the other woman didn't know it. Kara didn't know the hoops Lena had to jump through or the negotiations she had to endure to keep her safe. To keep them both safe. In their little bubble, so that they could run in the woods as if they had nothing in the world to worry about.
All the while, she supposed she was waiting for the coin to drop. There was simply no way that she could anticipate everything at once. Except Lena had never fathomed that Kara's own species would turn against her, given that she was an exceptionally good alpha who had built a Samaritan reputation all on her own.
Well, that coin had dropped now. And at the top of her head, Lena could only think of the vial. Drastic measure, sure, but Lena had promised herself that she would protect Kara with her life, after all.
"Ms. Luthor, can't say your company is a pleasure."
Lena lifted her chin and crossed her arms, doing her best impression of the regal vampire who led the entire vampire community in the known world, despite blood rushing in her ears and panic rising in her brain at the sight of Kara chained up with silver. She was also doing her best to not rip through the occupants of the hall for doing this to the blonde, but they didn't need to know that.
Sam and Jess flanked her from both sides, ever her trusty lieutenants. She had given them clear instructions on what to do if all else failed, even made them do a blood oath so they wouldn't defy her.
The most important thing right now was to get Kara out of those chains and skip out of Madagascar as soon as possible. Damn everything else to hell and back, not that Lena would ever see it, if legend about vampires not having an afterlife was true.
"Rhea," she greeted icily, eyeing the woman who sat on the throne as if it rightfully belonged to her, as if she didn't snatch it from right under Kara's parents. "I can say the same for you," she remarked, determined to not gawk at Kara.
"You have done quite a marvelous job thus far," Rhea said, her voice dripping with reluctant admiration. "Treaties and negotiations with all species that exist. You've created…peace, somehow, fragile as it may be. I didn't think I'd ever see the day. I have to say though, I was quite offended that you choose to go after the pawns rather than the queen herself. Me."
"I save the best for last," Lena replied, refraining from saying that she would rather die than deal with a dirty old hag like Rhea who had never in her life played a fair hand. "So here I am, ready to negotiate with you."
From the brief glance she had of Kara earlier, the blonde had definitely been through it. There was blood running down her forehead. Her eyes were little dimmer than usual, but it brightened with uncertainty when she saw Lena entering the building. And she was chained, like an animal.
Lena would do anything to get her out of those chains. The vial in her pocket was proof enough. Her instructions to her lieutenants was proof enough. She was ready to burn in the sun.
"You and I, vampire and werewolf, have…tolerated one another for eons," Rhea started with a chuckle. "We don't cross each other if we don't need to. But there is a line, Lena, and you've crossed it when you decided to fraternize with one of my people."
Clenching her jaw, the raven-haired woman said, "I don't remember that rule in the handbook. Is there a handbook?" A flash of resentment crossed Rhea's eyes. Just a flash. "Besides, they're not really your people, is it? You killed people to call them your people."
"Watch your mouth –"
"If you really want to discuss terms of peace with me, Rhea, you really should start with releasing Ms. Danvers," Lena interjected firmly. "Otherwise, we can forget about peace. I'll rain hell on you, and that's a promise."
"With what leverage? You're barely holding onto your power as is. Word goes around, you know, and what I heard through the grapevine is that any second now, someone is going to stage a coup against you like you did with your brother."
"With this." The vampire brandished the very vial that had survived centuries to get here.
In the 1500s, a young vampire, hellbent on bloodlust and savagery, came across a young Paracelsus, hellbent on revolutionizing medicine. They struck up an odd friendship – perhaps even a rivalry of sorts – always throwing ideas involving botany and herbal remedies. Toxicology was their favorite subject.
Lena had been well aware of her own monstrosity at that point, but still failing to curtail her own urges. She was – let's say she wasn't in the best place of mind. Hence, an obsession with poisons arose. Nothing simple like hemlock, because her kind was essentially immune to all poisons. But something specific – something catered to her, for whenever she had had enough of it.
So in her hand was the byproduct of her obsession and Paracelsus' constant fascination with medicines. All in one vial, undiscovered anywhere else. She made the poison and she destroyed the recipe.
"This is a poison," she announced. "One sip, and it can kill a vampire faster than a stake through the heart could. I made it. Funny joke, that one," she added with a mirthless laugh.
The rest of the room erupted with whispers and speculation, but she kept her eye on Rhea, who was studying her with watchful eyes.
"You do realize you just brought a tool that would allow us to wipe your kind out?" Rhea questioned.
"Oh, yes, yes, certainly," Lena replied offhandedly, waving her free hand dismissively. "Except I destroyed the recipe." Rhea's eyes darkened with displeasure. "And do you really want to deal with the war that would come to you when my people realize that their leader died in your territory?" Lena questioned calmly, a smirk tugging at her lips.
"Lena, no!"
The raven-haired woman spared Kara a glance, taking in the utter panic that had consumed her expression. "Hush, darling, I'm negotiating." Then she turned back to Rhea. "You see, Rhea, my plan isn't to kill you. My plan is to save Kara, and if that means I have to kill myself, then so be it."
"Lena," Kara whispered desperately, harshly.
"Then again, if I do end up killing myself, then I suppose you'd end up dead anyway, because regardless of my precarious position, my people value loyalty, and they're loyal to me, at the end of the day. Huh, I guess my plan might be killing you after all," Lena announced with a mock wince and a shrug.
"You insolent –"
"Young lady, I'm quite certain I'm much older than you, so show some respect." Rhea shut up at that, and Lena smiled sardonically. "But that doesn't have to be my plan, if you're willing to – what's the word – negotiate."
The murmurs and whispers continued. Kara's eyes were burning into the side of her head. Lena kept on staring at Rhea, who bristled at the impossible ultimatum the vampire had laid out before her.
Frankly, Lena wasn't wholly confident that this plan would work, but it was the only one she could come up with in the seconds that followed Alex's call. As John smuggled them to Madagascar and pronounced that the leader of the Council of Elders was here, Lena managed to come up with a Plan B that would certainly guarantee Lena's death.
But she hoped, so ardently, that it wouldn't have to come to that, because by god, she was in love. And she didn't want to die. Not anymore, at least.
She wanted to live a life with Kara, however long she could. And when that was over, then maybe she'd think about dying again, but that was something for future Lena to think about.
"What are your terms?" Rhea finally relented.
"Mother!" a man who looked rather prepubescent even with the beard protested.
"Silence, Mon-El," Rhea hissed. "What are your terms?"
Lena grinned.
The vial was back in her pocket. The shapeshifters walked out of the room, all the more fearful of this vampire leader who appeared much more on the edge than her brother. Rhea swept out with her tail between her legs, followed by her prepubescent son.
Once the chains were released, Kara stumbled over to Lena, injured and all. "Are you insane?" the blonde seethed, cupping Lena's cheeks and checking her over like she was the one injured, like Kara wasn't the one who had gone through god-knows-how-many beatings to end up being chained in the first place. "Why would you do that?"
"I love you," Lena declared, lowering Kara's hands to check her wrists, which were predictably burned from the silver. "Oh, darling."
Kara shook her away and wrapped Lena up in her big and strong arms. "Don't you ever do that again, you crazy woman. I really thought I'd lose you."
"I thought I'd lose you," Lena whispered into Kara's golden hair. "You should have told me you're in trouble."
"I thought I could handle it."
"Clearly not."
"Can we not talk about my failures? Can we talk about how crazy you are?"
Lena chuckled and only tightened her arms around Kara's waist. She would probably actually drink that vial of poison if she ever lost Kara.
"Kara, I almost killed my brother for you," she reminded gently.
The blonde was quiet for a long moment, still heaving from her injuries, which Lena would definitely have to attend to with utmost patience later. But for now, she just wanted to hug Kara.
"I love you so much," Kara pronounced.
"I know, darling. I know."
this was...kind of fun actually
i might come back to it