Part Two

It was almost dawn when Lacroix finally stepped through the door of the
townhouse.  He'd only intended on staying at the Raven a short while after his
monologue, but his departure had been delayed.  First by Nicholas, who had
come for a visit, and then Miklos with some problems that had needed
Lacroix's personal attention.  He stepped over the threshold with caution,
dreading a terrorist attack from that monster Marguerite called a dog.  He was
surprised when he was met with silence.

Entering the living room, he noticed Marguerite curled up, fast asleep in his
favorite chair.  She was wearing the top from a pair of deep burgundy silk
pajamas that she'd bought him.  In her lap was one of his books; a book of
Milton's poetry, if he'd recognized it right.  The dog was sleeping in front of
the chair, rousing himself only long enough to wag his tail in welcome.  Not
wanting to disturb her, Lacroix quietly made his way to the window seat and
sat there.  Hobbes, the cat, who was sleeping on the other side of the seat,
mewled softly at the motion.  

Marguerite had decorated the window seat with large throw pillows.  She
often sat there, occupying her herself with some project while he sat in his
chair, reading.  If she grew bored, she would ask him to tell her what life was
like when he was mortal.  She would sit in rapt attention while he was telling a
story, occasionally asking questions or relating something Kayla had shared
with her.  Never once did she criticize his actions; he had never shared so much
of himself with anyone before.  It was very...unsettling at times.

But there were some things that he refused to share with her.  When she'd left
his office, she hadn't taken Janette's letter from his hand.  He'd stared at it
dumbly for a moment after she'd gone, and then threw it on his desk as he left
to continue his show.  But his thoughts had kept drifting to the letter during
the rest of his monologue.  

The letter and Janette.  He would never admit it, but he did miss her.  She and
Nicholas had been his favorites, despite her accusations that he hadn't cared
about her as much as he did her brother.  Nicholas had simply required more
guidance than his other fledglings, while Janette had been the perfect child
from the start.  She had been eager to please; following his instructions and
doing as she was told.

He'd avoided his office for the majority of the evening, but finally his curiosity
had gotten the better of him, and he'd gone back to read the cursed letter.  She
was fine; living in Paris for the time being, but was thinking of returning,
perhaps to Quebec.  She had asked after Nicholas and Natalie, warning
Marguerite that she wasn't ready to talk to her new master yet.  Apparently
Marguerite hadn't limited herself to interfering with his life.  He was pleasantly
surprised to see that Janette had inquired after himself as well.

Lacroix leaned forward and very gently caressed her cheek with the backs of
his fingers.  She leaned into his touch as she came awake slowly,  smiling as
her eyes focused on him.  "You're late," she accused drowsily.

"Yes," he agreed.  "I hadn't meant to keep you waiting, but Nicholas came by
to see me."  He took the book from her lap and placed it on the table next to
her.  "Is your computer fixed?"

"Mmmm."  She sat up and arched her back in order to stretch it.  "I don't know
what I did, but Sasha fixed it.  Oh, by the way, I found out that creepy
woman's name for you; it's Branwen Alton."

Lacroix's forehead creased as he thought.  Branwen?  The name teased his
brain, as if he should know it somehow.  "Describe her."

"She was about Anastasia's height...about 5'8" or 9", long red hair...to about
halfway down her back, and blue eyes."

Branwen.  It couldn't be, could it?  He supposed it was conceivable.  He was
told that she'd disappeared from Seline's household soon after Divia was
'healed'.  He frowned; he couldn't have another immortal sibling, could he? 
Marguerite's voice interrupted his thoughts.  "You know her, don't you?"

"Perhaps," he said thoughtfully.  "Her name and description would be quite a
coincidence if it's not."


***Britain, 61 A.D.***

"Ah, Lucius, there you are."  Suetonius smiled as Lucius strode into the tent. 
"I was just trying to decide the best way to reward you for your actions."

"My actions?" Lucius repeated.  "I did what any soldier loyal to Rome would
have done, Governor."

"Yes, well, rest assured that the Emperor will be keeping his eye on you.  I was
thinking that in addition to any spoils you may have gotten after the battle, I
would gift you with something of my own."

"Thank you, Governor.  I'm flattered."  He tried not to look as pleased as he
felt.  

Suetonius wondered if the young legate would still be so appreciative after he
was gifted with the small hellion and her mother, who were being led in as they
spoke.  "You're quite welcome."  He gestured to the two captives.  "I am
giving these two captives to you."

Lucius smiled as he laid eyes on the pair.  The woman was pretty enough; she
was fair haired, grey eyed, and tall, with a proud bearing that he had never seen
on a captive.  He kneeled down to look at the little girl, who couldn't have
been more than seven or eight, more closely.  She had flaming red hair and the
brightest blue eyes that he'd ever seen.  She stared back at him defiantly.  The
governor's voice interrupted his inspection.  "You are to return to Rome with
me, are you not?"

"Yes, sir.  The Emperor has requested that I return to Rome."  He reached out
his hand, and the young child lunged and tried to bite it.  Lucius deftly avoided
injury and grabbed the child's face firmly.  This one would require extra
discipline.  "I believe it is going to be an arduous journey back to Rome,
Governor.  When do we leave?"

**********************


When she had been brought across, she was taught to leave her mortal past
behind her.  Her sire's master, the ones the Romans called the Ancient One,
had brought Divia across.  It had been bad enough to have had to play
nursemaid to that evil brat.  Now she had to spend eternity near her, too.  And
then, she was dragged away before she'd had a chance to get her revenge on
Lucius. 

But they were dead now:  her sire and Qa'Ra.  She never found out what had
become of the others that were traveling with them.  She hadn't thought of
Lucius in years, believing him to have perished in the ashes of Pompeii.  But
when she'd heard his voice, every bit of anger and hatred that she had ever felt
towards the General and his people came rushing back.  Now that she'd found
him, the time for vengeance was finally hers.

Branwen gulped at the blood in her glass as she looked out the window.  It
was such a clear night; one could see all the stars in the heavens.  It was a night
such as this that they began the journey back to Rome.


***Britain, 61 A.D.***

He was hurting her, the Roman pig.  If she didn't have these shackles on, she
wouldn't have had to settle for trying to bite him.  She would have spit on him,
but her mouth had gone dry when he'd grabbed her.  But she continued to stare
at him defiantly; he would *never* see her fear.  She hated them all.  They had
killed her father, along with most of her family and friends, and hurt her
mother.  Worst of all, she and her mother were to be given to this man.  She
would be taken away from her homeland, and taken to this place, Rome, to
live.  She would hate it there, she was sure of it. 

The other night, when she was supposed to be asleep, Branwen had heard her
mother talking with the other prisoners in their tent.  They had all vowed not to
give in to their Roman captors.  She had vowed to herself to do the same, and
help her mother whenever she could. 

**********************


He hadn't thought of Branwen and her mother, or the way in which he had
acquired them, in a very long time.  He frowned, thinking about what had
happened in the following years.

"Lucien?"  Lacroix turned his attention back to Marguerite.  She was wide
awake now, and he could sense that while she wasn't exactly tense, she was no
longer relaxed.  "You don't think she's looking for you, do you?"

"I rather doubt it.  She disappeared from Seline's villa long before I returned to
Pompeii.  Most likely she believes that I perished along with everyone else
when Vesuvius erupted."

Perplexed, she asked, "Who is she?"

Lacroix sighed; this was going to be a long explanation.  "Branwen was a
slave.  I was in charge of one of the legions responsible for suppressing the
Boudiccan revolt.  She and her mother were given to me as a reward.  When
Divia was born, I gave Branwen to Seline as a gift."

Marguerite nodded in understanding.  She'd read about the revolt, of course. 
She had dozens of questions, but she knew that Lucien wasn't up to answering
them.  In time, he would confide in her, and she was willing to wait.  "And let
me guess when she disappeared.  You don't think..."

"That Divia brought her across?  I don't believe so.  Divia thought herself far
superior, even as a mortal child; I doubt she would have brought a slave
across."  His eyes narrowed as he studied Marguerite's reaction.  "I know what
you're thinking."

Trying to gauge his reaction, she asked, "Is it okay with you?  Kayla might
know what happened to Branwen; she was there, after all."

"As long as you don't use this as an excuse to have her come home.  I know
you miss her, Marguerite."  His gaze softened.  Thinking of Janette's letter, he
was all too aware of what it was like to be separated from someone you...cared
for.

"I won't."  She rose from the chair and slipped behind him on the window seat
as she spoke.  "It's just that you've been so...edgy lately."  She began to
massage his shoulders.  Lacroix sighed in contentment, and began to relax.  "I
think it's this vampire's presence, whether or not it's Branwen.  I just think that
knowing will ease your mind a bit."


++++++++++++++++++++


The next night...


Shane walked through the entrance of the Raven and looked around.  Dani was
already there, he noted.  She was talking to a small group of young vampires,
looking more relaxed than he'd seen her in a long time.  Branwen had ordered
them to come in separately and not associate with each other while in the club.

He made his way to the bar and ordered a drink from the very serious looking
bartender.  Drink in hand, he turned to face the crowd.  This was an interesting
place.  A slower song was on now, and he watched a mortal approach Dani. 
He supposed that Dani would consider him attractive.  Which reminded him
that he'd better circulate, too, otherwise Branwen would not be pleased.

********************

"I can't do this!"

"Try."

"This isn't easy for me, you know," she complained.

"Natalie, you are going to have to attack sometime," Lacroix said patiently.

"I will."

"Before the approaching millennium?" he inquired.

Natalie shot him a dirty look.  "I don't think I'm ready."

Lacroix sighed and paused the game.  "You see these men?"  He pointed to the
left side of the computer screen.

She rolled her eyes.  "Yes.  They're my allies."

"Not for long," he corrected.  "While you have been devoting your time to
moving all of your army to attack your enemy, your 'ally' has been slowly
moving his troops into your territory.  When he is ready, he will attack, and
your villagers are defenseless."

"What's going on in here?"  Marguerite had to struggle to keep the laughter
out of her voice.

Lacroix had quickly darkened the screen at the sound of her voice, and stood
to greet her.  "Nothing."

"Nothing," she repeated.  She turned to Natalie.  "You're not letting him teach
you 'Age of Empires', are you?"

"Well..." Nat trailed off.

"Lucien!" she scolded; it was getting harder not to laugh.  "You are
*obsessed*!"  She leaned up to kiss his cheek.  "Will you be at the Raven
later?"

"If I'm done with my game," he teased, straight faced.

Marguerite smiled; she was glad to see that he was in a much better temper this
evening.  "At least I'll know where to find you.  Meanwhile, Natalie and I have
some shopping to do."

********************

Eric had been watching the petite girl from across the room.  She moved
through the crowd easily, stopping occasionally to have a brief conversation. 
Finally, she was alone.  She looked towards him and smiled invitingly.  His
heart beat wildly as he made his way over to her.

Dani had been aware that this man had been watching her for awhile now. 
After she'd collected enough information for Branwen, she decided that it was
her turn to play.  As he made his way over to the side of the dance floor where
she was standing, she took the opportunity to look him over.  He was almost
six feet tall, and nicely built.  His dark brown hair was tousled; she wondered
what it would be like to run her fingers through it.

When he finally reached her, she had to look up to face him.  Her brown eyes
stared into his hazel ones.  "Hi.  My name's Dani."

"Eric."  He could barely get his name out.

She gave him a sexy smile as she reached for his hand.  "Would you like to
dance, Eric?"

*****

Shane was about to make his way towards a small crowd of young vampires
sitting in the far corner of the club, when he was spun around.  Suddenly, he
was face to face with the vampire from the store last night, who did not look
happy.  "You may as well leave," Alejandro growled softly.  "She's not here."

"Who's not here?"  Shane realized that he'd neglected to get the beauty's name.

Alejandro grinned ferally.  "All that time, and you couldn't get her name?"  

"I didn't ask her for it," Shane replied coolly.

"If she were interested in you, she would have offered it.  Take that as a hint,
and leave her alone."

Shane ignored that remark.  "Look, this place was recommended to me, and I
thought I'd check it out.  If you have a problem with that, tough.  I rather
doubt that you own this place."

"No, but I'm sure the owner won't like you hanging around either."  Alejandro's
smile turned knowing.  "Stay as long as you like."  He turned and strode away.

*****

Dani sipped at her drink as she listened to Eric talk.  It had been quite an
enjoyable evening so far.  Shane had left a little while ago, most likely annoyed
that his newest crush hadn't shown up.  She was free to do as she pleased, at
least for a little while.

She smiled at him over her glass, trying to decide if she should try to lure him
somewhere quiet tonight, or delay the inevitable for another day or two.  While
she normally enjoyed the chase, Branwen's game--whatever it was--would
probably monopolize most of her free time from now on.

The scent of his blood was so enticing.  She took a deep breath, inhaling the
heady aroma. She placed a hand on his forearm and leaned towards him.  "It's
so loud in here.  Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"I don't think so."

Dani looked up in annoyance, letting the barest hint of gold show in her brown
eyes.  They met with a pair of brilliant green eyes, and they did not look
amused.  Dani could sense that she was also a vampire, but she wasn't about to
allow someone to get in between herself and a meal.  Ready for a
confrontation, she stood to face the woman...and stopped in her tracks.  This
vampire was *much* older than she was.

Marguerite was very annoyed.  Yet *another* newcomer, and this one was
getting ready to make a meal of Uncle Nick's partner.  In fairness, Miklos had
been watching, and would have intervened if she had not gotten here first. 
Ignoring a very confused Eric, she stared at the young vampire, waiting to see
what she would do.

Dani recovered quickly enough.  The vampire facing her might be much older
than she was, but Branwen was at least double that.  "And why not?" she
demanded, her voice full of bravado.

"You're new here, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt,"
Marguerite explained in a low, patient voice.  She didn't want the young
vampire to be aware of Eric's knowledge of their kind.  "We do not hunt in this
club; it's not tolerated by the owner."

"You mean Lacroix?"  Dani asked insolently.

Marguerite smiled at her, but it wasn't a friendly gesture.  When she and
Natalie had first come into the club, one of the waitresses had pointed this
young one out, mentioning that she had been circulating among the others
earlier in the evening.  "Brianna told me that you've been talking to the others. 
If they told you who Lacroix is, then I'm sure they mentioned his...temper."

Dani stared at her in stony silence.  She *had* been told of Lacroix, and his
disposition, by several people here in fact.  But as she had yet to see the
Ancient for herself, she didn't quite believe it.

"Now, I'm glad you had a good time with Eric," Marguerite said loud enough
for the detective to overhear.  "But he has plans with us that I'm afraid he can't
break.  If you'll excuse us?"

She spoke politely enough, but Dani could hear the underlying threat in
Marguerite's voice.  She decided to cut her losses and leave Eric alone for
now.  It shouldn't be too difficult to find him again; he'd told her that he was a
detective with the 96th precinct.  She glared sullenly at Marguerite and stalked
off.

As Dani walked away, Marguerite turned her attention to Eric, who was
standing there with a look of puzzlement on his face.  He was a little annoyed
at her reaction, but he knew that she wouldn't have done something like this
without a good reason.  He glanced at Natalie, but couldn't judge the
expression on her face.  He looked back to Marguerite, who was watching him
with a concerned expression.

"How are you, Eric?" she asked neutrally.

"I'm fine," he answered distractedly.  "What was that just now?"

"Not here," Marguerite said as she linked her arm with his.  "People are
watching."  The trio moved to the back rooms of the club.  Noticing that the
'on air' light was on as they passed near the sound booth, she decided to hold
their meeting in the office.  Letting Eric and Natalie precede her, Marguerite
leaned against the door for a moment after closing it behind them.  She stared
at Eric a long moment while she decided where to begin.

Eric looked uneasy under the scrutiny.  "What?  Do you know Dani or
something?"

"I don't need to know her to know what she is, Eric.  I've told you to be careful
in here."

"I am," he said defensively.

Marguerite rolled her eyes.  "Don't tell me that you weren't going to go with
her, Eric.  I've used that tactic often enough myself."  She pushed off of the
door and walked towards him slowly.  She concentrated on his heartbeat as she
did, and by the time she reached him, he was under her 'spell'.  Her eyes were
glowing now, and Eric stared into them with horrified fascination.  "Tell me
the truth, Eric.  Are you scared?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"Give me your hand," she commanded in a husky voice.  He did as he was
asked, his eyes widening now.  He hadn't been afraid at first, but he was
growing more scared by the minute.  She wouldn't snack on him here, would
she?  Nick would be upset, wouldn't he?

Marguerite could sense his growing fear, and while she hated doing this to him,
the vampire in her loved it.  But he needed to be taught a lesson, and scaring
him was probably the best way to do it.  "You see, Eric?  You aren't a Resister;
you wouldn't be able to stop her from doing whatever she wanted.  I wanted
you to feel your fear, but I could make you think this is what you wanted more
than anything in the world."  She took his hand in hers, and allowed her fangs
to drop.  She brought her lips to his wrist, and licked it very slowly.

Eric's heart was hammering in his chest now, and as scared as he was, some
sick part of him almost hoped she would do it.  He'd wondered what it would
feel like.

"Maggie?"  Nat's voice was concerned.  Somehow she'd managed to stay quiet
throughout this whole thing, but what she was sensing now...she had to do
*something*.  She could feel Marguerite's arousal at the prospect of a meal,
and it was affecting her as well.

Marguerite turned her eyes toward her child.  Natalie was right; things could
get out of hand very quickly if she didn't stop now.  She hadn't really
anticipated what this little 'show' would do to her daughter.  Letting go her
grip on Eric's will, she forced her fangs to retract.  But when she faced him, her
eyes were still golden.

He withdrew his hand from her grasp, watching her warily the whole time.  A
little shaky from the whole experience, he allowed Natalie to guide him to the
couch.  Marguerite went to the bar and poured herself a drink.  When she was
done and felt her eyes return to normal, she poured a drink for Eric and turned
back to them.  He accepted the drink and gulped it down.

"Next time, do you think you can just yell at me?  That was *way* too
intense."  Marguerite looked at him and arched an eyebrow.  Being around
Lucien so much did have its benefits, she thought to herself as Eric almost
choked on the last bit of his drink.  "You're right; there's not gonna be a next
time."

"There'd better not be, because if you fall for her act, you probably won't be
around for another talk.  Natalie and my uncle are different, and it's easy to
allow yourself to think that we're all the same way.  But we're not like you
anymore, Eric, and you can't forget it."

Eric rested his head against the back of the couch, exposing his throat as he did
so.  Marguerite allowed her eyes to linger on the sight, and then smiled
teasingly at Natalie.  Unaware of the whole exchange, Eric mumbled, "After
tonight, I don't think that's likely."


End Part Two