!NOTE FROM LACHANCE!
BLOODY CHAPTER HERE, AND THE FIRST BIT OF BABETTE/PHOENIX ROMANCE... I LISTENED TO THE SLEEPY HOLLOW THEME TUNE WHILST WRITING THE SECOND PART (AS IN WHEN PHOENIX IS RECOLLECTING HIS DREAM AND AFTER) AND IT GREATLY ENHANCES THE READING.
Phoenix sat alone in front of the fire, watching it crackle away in the darkness. As far as he could tell, it was early morning, and Babette the vampire girl was asleep... Should he kill her? Maybe. Kill her and move on... He already had blood on his blade, intentional or not. He shivered in the early morning breeze, as he heard the sound of light snoring coming from the tent where she lay to avoid the sunlight that would burn her skin... He could drag her out into the sun, that'd kill her, and it would erase his tracks... But could he do it? Kill and innocent little girl... No, not innocent, or a little girl. A crazed vampire was more the words he would use to describe her. With a sigh, he lay backwards, and rested his head on the ground, looking up into the rising sun. So nice for him, but so deadly for her; it could even kill her if he held her down in it, perhaps, or held her head under the water as he did it...
But he couldn't kill her. Phoenix had never killed intentionally or maliciously: the fisherman was in his own defence, and he hadn't been in his right mind when he'd killed Thorn and Mercury... Who else would he kill, if that happened again? Gods, who else HAD he killed? He shut his eyes, and tried to relax. It truly was a mad world. He suspected it was something to do with the dream he'd had, but how could a dream lead to homicide? Mother Mara, he didn't even know.
"Boy?" the youth heard Babette's sleepy voice. She'd started calling him "boy" (because apparently she disliked the name Phoenix) but it didn't seem to be insulting. They'd been up all night chatting, and Phoenix found himself rather liking the little night-spawn. She was cynical, witty, funny, and had a dark sense of humour that really got him laughing. An intriguing specimen, to say the least. He couldn't kill her, and he knew it. "Babette, when are you leaving me?"
There was silence for a second. Phoenix had been expecting this, and wanted to ask her as soon as possible so he could begin to plan his new life. He couldn't go back to Cyrodiil, he'd have to stay in the unfamiliar, unwelcoming land of Skyrim... He wondered which unreputable city might take him in. Riften, perhaps? Or Windhelm? He knew that his new-found friend couldn't take him with her.
"Few hours." she said, with a shrug. Then, she giggled. "Or a few days. You never know with me." he laughed, and she stuck out her tongue childishly. For a three hundred year old vampire, she really did act like a 10 year old... "We're near Dragon's Bridge, and I've got business in Solitude. I'm afraid we'll probably have to go our seperate ways... Where were you thinking of going?" Babette beckoned for him to come and sit opposite her, and he did so, crawling across the ground. She smiled warmly at him. "Riften? Whiterun? Or leaving Skyrim entirely... Pretty face like yours would be hard to forget." she teased. He snorted, shaking his head, and they stared at the rippling water. It was a slow river, almost like a slug, and it ran gently. Wistfully, Phoenix watched it, remembering the freedom he could feel in water.
"Dunno. Somewhere with water." he shrugged. "And a place I can get a job in an acrobatic troupe. But since I can't go back to Cyrodiil..." he shook his head, and thumped his fist on the ground. It made a dull thunk, but neither of them paid it any attention. Then, suddenly, he had a thought. Turning to her, he crossed his legs, and tilted his head to one side. "Babette, I just realised... Well, before I killed these boys," he refrained from saying their names, in case he burst out crying. Swallowing, he continued, "I had this dream. A strange dream; strangest dream I've ever had in fact. I wondered if you, being a vampire, might know something about it..."
Phoenix broke off. He knew he must sound ridiculous, desperate, but what else could he say or do? He WAS desperate. And perhaps, if someone else confirmed that it wasn't his fault, he would be able to live with himself... The guilt was overwhelming. Unwillingly, he conjured up thoughts of their faces in his mind, and gulped back a sob. These boys who he'd shared his life with... gone. Their families would be grieving for them. Screaming, crying, cursing his name... Or maybe they wouldn't even know. After all, he'd only been out for a few hours. He had no idea how fast couriers could run... He was a wanted man in Hjaalmarch. Only a few miles away from him, the troupe would be panicking, searching for him, perhaps... Sylvia. She would know what he'd done. Know what he was. A killer. Remembering back to his dream, he couldn't stop himself shivering in ecstasy. The beautiful feeling as the girl kissed his lips, as she fed him blood, as she... as she stabbed him through the chest, even. The pleasure had been ridiculous. Even then, he almost became erect thinking about it. Even... well, especially when she stabbed him through the chest, and tore out his heart. Truly, if he ever got the chance to meet his Goddess... His heart was all hers.
"Mmm...?" Babette replied, eyebrows raised, a hesitant smile on her lips. Phoenix turned to look at her, and his gaze was almost pleading. "Well, I had this dream about, well... a woman..." Babette choked with laughter, and Phoenix shook his head, a reluctant grin on his own face, as he pretended to slap himself in the face and fell backwards. "Not like that! Well... sort of... but that's not the point." Babette was trying to keep her giggles under control, as she watched him, trying to keep her face straight. She liked this poor kid, and he reminded her of someone... Silvanus, that was it. And some Astrid in there too; in the way he looked, and also the way he acted. He'd shown some of Astrid's seductiveness earlier, he had her green eyes and facial features, and Silvanus' awkwardness, pale skin, and long, white blond hair. The way he laughed, too, a quiet, throaty chuckle that made shivers go down her spine...
"Please continue. But if this is a x-rated dream, beware, I will not hesitate to sink my fangs into your face." she mocked, and he laughed, and shook his head at her. Then, lying back, he shut his eyes. Once again, Babette felt a strange feeling of recognition in her, as she stared almost hungrily at his flawlessly pale skin. How beautiful it had looked with crimson blood running down it, the way the red and white went so well... She licked her lips. His neck lay so bare, so vulnerable, and she just wanted to sink her fangs into it, to straddle his waist and drain him of all the blood he had... But she rather liked this kid. She wouldn't kill him, or hurt him in any way... Although it was a desirable thought.
"Well... I was in some sort of black plain. Nothing anywhere, except me and this woman. Smoke everywhere, and it felt high up, almost like we were in the clouds, except everything was dark black and seemed to go on forever... So empty." screwing up his eyes tight, he tried to recollect every detail of the dream. "Well, uh..." he tried to stop himself blushing, and failed. Immediately, Babette missed the paleness of his cheeks, but was made happy again by the raised blood in them. "She was... erm... naked except some of the clouds covered her... err... private parts," already, Phoenix was regretting talking to her about it. Babette laughed, and made a note to think that this kid had showed some seductiveness EARLIER, but that was clearly draining away. The awkwardness she had sensed was coming out with a vengeance. But the hilarity was gone, as he bit his lip, looking nervous. "And she was dancing." he muttered, looking into his hands. They were twisting in his lap, knotting and unknotting fervently. "Dancing this... well, I don't know why, but it looked like the movements of stabbing someone... But a dance. It was strange, I wanted to follow her to worship her... So I did. Then we stopped, and she spat blood... she was so beautiful..." his eyes were glazing over now.
Babette watched him with a kind of fascinated horror. She'd frozen the second he started describing this dream, momentarily distracted by his awkwardness, but now she was riveted. Could... could this be? "Describe the woman." she said quietly. Her heart pumped hard against her chest, and she waited, with bated breath, for a reply... He thought for a second, then pursed his lips, frowning.
"Heavily-lidded eyes..." he frowns. "Her eyes were red, like yours, only darker. Long eyelashes, and long, curly blonde hair. And she had this smile... Twisting, like poison, ready to say words of both love and hatred. She... she had fangs, like you. Quite tall, slim and curvy... So perfect..." he was almost in a trance as he remembered the feel of her body pressing against his own, the feel of her hand against his lips, hell, the feel of her lips pressing against his... Babette had her mouth slightly open, as the words flooded through her. This description fitted only one person... Well, some parts could fit two, but the red eyes and fangs... But how did this child know Scarlett? If he had said green eyes, and forgotten about the fangs, she would have said Astrid, but... Scarlett had asked Babette to transform her a few years ago, when Scarlett was twenty one. Babette had happily obliged, and the Speaker/Mistress had been a vampire ever since, and loved it... How had she appeared in this child's dream?
"Finish the dream... Finish it..." Babette's voice was breathless, as she grabbed Phoenix's hands in her own, and stared into his green eyes with such passion and ferocity that he knew he must continue. He, too, was out of breath and, eyes firmly on hers, took up his story in a whisper. Their foreheads were practically touching as, as if in a dream, they stared at each other, eyes wide. Their hands were still held together, and they were linked. If someone had come along, at that moment, the two of them would have ripped that poor person to pieces: they both felt stark mad as they looked at each other.
"The blood came from her mouth... And I drank it... It was so AMAZING!" he cried, throwing a crazed smile to the heavens. "I... I thought I might die of ecstasy! The taste- it was like... It was unnearthly. She's my Goddess, so beautiful, so flawless, so PERFECT!" he was raving now, an evil smile on his lips as he looked at her. Her heart was beating faster and faster as she watched the handsome youth getting into his stride. There was madness buried deep underneath his exterior, and it made her... He hadn't made her feel like this before that night, nobody else had apart from Silvanus... But this boy. This boy... "The blood ran down my hands..." a sadistic look of glee formed on his face, as he smiled crazily at her. "And I licked it up. It turned into a puddle at her feet, and I lapped it up like a fucking dog! I would've done anything... I would do anything... To taste that sweet. Sweet. Sweet taste again..."
Phoenix was crazed. The memories filled his head, as he remembered the amazing feeling, the joy he had felt... Taking her face in his hands, his lips inches away from hers, he continued in hushed tones, "I licked up more, and she touched my face, and I kissed her hand..." his voice was building up again, and the mad desire consumed both of them as they smiled insanely at each other. "I thought her beauty would BURN me! Such perfection cannot be looked at... And yet I look at you." the words had escaped his lips before he meant them too, and nervously, they both laughed, brought back to the time and day as he accidently complimented her... And Babette blushed. This kid could be like Astrid yet... But he was continuing, and the normalness was, once again, disappearing from those deep green eyes... She stared into them, and felt like she was falling under his spell. Dream-like, she stroked his face, eyes wide. "She was speaking words... Such strange words- words that I didn't understand. Words of the night. But they hurt me: it hurt so much, I thought I might die. But I didn't, and she leaned down to me, pinned me to the floor, and we kissed... Blood was running from her mouth into mine, and it was like some sort of bond! I don't know, but... She said 'So Heartless' and pulled out a dagger, and stabbed me in the chest... But I was inside her, we were having sex, just as she tore out my heart... It was beating in her hand! And she loved it, as my own blood poured onto my chest... And she said 'Your heart is mine', and I woke up. To find Mercury and Thorn's mutilated remains." he chuckled darkly.
Silence. Babette's mind was whirring: this was a Child of Sithis! A demon! He had to be- the way he'd dreamed about the Void, had the dreams of blood, the way he laughed, now, about the murders he'd committed... Slowly, she smiled, showing her fangs. And then, violently, she pushed him backwards onto the soil. He cried out as he hit the ground hard, but she leaned over him, straddling his hips like she'd dreamed of earlier... "Do you want to be a vampire, like me?" she hissed, and her eyes glowed an even deeper red. "I want to infect you. I want you to know the bloodlust I feel... And I can show you."
He watched her with those green eyes, so young, so deep... "What will you show me?" he replied.
They paused for a second, locked in that position. Then, Babette's hands went to his own, pushing them back behind his head, pinning him effectively to the ground. With a dark smile, she chuckled, and narrowed her eyes down at him. The sensible Babette from earlier was gone: all that was left was a wild, blood-crazed animal that wanted this child as it's mate... "Everything. If you let me transform you, I will show you EVERYTHING." she whispered.
Babette waited for a moment, waiting for his reply, to whether or not he would be hers... Slowly, eyes never leaving hers, he nodded. "Yes. Transform me, and make me like you." he breathed. "I want to tear people's souls open, and drink that blood. You will show me my Goddess. And then, I can live the life I was born to. I... Something has awoken in me. Something strange. The Phoenix I was only a few hours ago... Is dead. Turn me into one of you."
He looked into her face, trustingly. He knew there would be pain that she would technically kill him... But all he wanted was to taste blood again, to feel that ecstasy that his Goddess and now Babette would make him feel... Maybe she knew who his Goddess really was? Maybe this strange young vampire could introduce them? And then Phoenix could worship her properly, in real life... Memories of Sylvia and the Circus, and his life apart from this new bloodlust left him. All he wanted, at that moment, was to tear things to shreds and to bite and to kill and to torture... Gently, he eased back his head, exposing his young, pure, untainted neck to her bite.
Babette surveyed the flesh greedily, eyes filling with pure desire. She would choose carefully: she had a great amount of desire in her, and she would be rid of it all. Then, she and "Boy" could go on a rampage together... Perhaps, when she had changed him, he would forget about being called Phoenix. That would be good. She truly hated that name with a passion: showy, and clearly not his real name. He was an orphan raised in the circus, sure, but that didn't mean she had to approve of his name. There was a particularly succulent looking bit of flesh just beneath his jawbone, that was ripe for her fangs... The vampire shivered in delight as, slowly, she pressed her lips to his neck, and began to kiss the spot. He moaned in pleasure, hands still pinned down, and pulled his head back further, allowing her complete access. Babette grinned into his neck, and nibbled softly on the skin, eliciting another groan from him.
"Babette..." he whispered, and, encouraged by his use of her name, she widened her mouth, and let the tips of her fangs tickle against his neck. Then, she began to kiss and lick the spot she planned to bite, worshipping his skin with her lips. He grunted and moaned as she worked away at the skin, trying her hardest to leave a mark. Then, finally, she pulled away, and looked at him. He was panting for breath, and looking up at her with adoration in his green eyes... Pity. She would miss that fresh colour; they reminded her of poison. Identical to how Scarlett's had been, in fact... She frowned. But then, as he whispered her name once more, was reminded of her task. Slowly, shutting her eyes, she pressed a butterfly kiss onto his lips.
His heart was fluttering, like the kiss had been, and he looked up at her with gentle eyes. Taking one hand from under one of her own, he brought it to her cheek, and stroked it. What had started as bloodlust had become outright romance as they stayed in that position, enjoying the feel of their bodies against each other. Then, Babette descended back to his neck, as she eyed the spot. And then, with a dark chuckle, she sank her fangs into the soft flesh.
Phoenix screamed out in what was almost like orgasm: the feeling of pleasure and joy that feeled his body was incredible and immense, as he shuddered in both pain and joy at the feeling of her tongue deep in his neck. Then, what seemed like cold liquid began to emmenate from the tips of her fangs, buried in him, and he hissed as the venom began to infect his body. Lying there, he shuddered and jolted as he was infected, as bloody tears ran down his face.
Babette watched him, eyes tender, as he began to cry as the pain and pleasure became too much for his young body. As he blacked out, she pressed another gentle kiss against his lips, then licked the red teardrops from his pale face.
"Sleep well." she breathed, kissing him one last time, before she sat up, and stood guard over his sleeping body. When he awoke, they would go on a killing spree together. The thought practically made her wet. All thoughts of her mission in Solitude were gone as she watched his dreaming, perfect face... Silvanus' face... Astrid's face...
Who was this child?