Lestat's Winter's Breath

You kept waking up or so you thought because suddenly Lestat's face was there and he would say something you couldn't quite make out and drift back into the darkness. This happened quite frequently for about a week. Finally, as the week ended, you opened your eyes and the darkness was gone and there, sitting by the side of your bed, was Lestat but he didn't look like the Lestat you knew. He had the appearance of a skeleton with skin! You could see faint scars and his eyes were dark from hunger or perhaps something else. It was as if he had stepped out of a horror movie. You sat bolt upright and looked right at him and yet he didn't move. You were a little dizzy but you didn't care. You swung your feet over the edge of the bed. As soon as your feet touched the floor, Lestat snapped out of his daze and looked at you for the first time since you woke up.

"Muirin, no. Don't get up. You are too weak still. You must lay down and rest," he said, concern etched on his withered features.

You sent a warning glare at him and pushed yourself to your feet.

"You think I;m gonna stay in bed now? I'm fine! I'm not lying back down. Don't want to, don't need to, don't force me or I'll kick your arse to kingdom come," you stated.

"Your a stubborn little thing, aren't you?" he asked and laughed.

You smiled a broad, mischievous smile and said," You got that right! Now get out of my way before I smacks you."

Lestat laughed again and took your hands gently into his own. He looked into your eyes and spoke.

"No, mon amour. I can't get out of your way. Your father, he had death in his mind. He wanted to kill you and he very nearly succeeded. I came too close to losing you and I never want t come so close again. You are the only person who has ever made me feel whole and has made this savage garden seem less savage," he said.

You looked at him. He seemed so sad. Did he really love you that much? You hoped so. So you made a decision right then and there.

"Okay Lestat. I'll make you a deal. You told me that when you don't feed, you look like shit. I'm guessing you haven't fed in a while because you look like a living skeleton with skin layed on it. I will stay here and take it easy only if you go out and get yourself fed. That's the deal. Take it or leave it," you said with all seriousness.

"Muirin, I do not want to leave you. I want to stay here and protect you from those awful people," Lestat said, gazing lovingly at you.

"Deal or no deal," you stated bluntly.

He looked you in the eye. He looked as if he was trying to determine whether or not you would back down. He sighed a heavy sigh.

"Deal," he said reluctantly. "While I'm gone there will be some maids here for you to keep you company and do what you wish while I am away feeding."

You nodded and urged him to go. He looked longingly at you and he disappeared. You heard orders being shouted at the maids and a door slamming. Two frightened looking women came into your room, laid you back down and tended to the bandages you hadn't even realized were there. About an hour later. Lestat came back into the room and he looked like his old beautiful self. He began taking excellent care of you. Even before you could say anything, he was already doing what you wanted. after about of week of this, you got annoyed with it all. When Lestat went to feed, you swung your legs over the edge of the bed and set your feet on the floor. You slowly put your weight on your feet, making sure they would hold you. There was a sharp pain in both legs but you were too stubborn to let it get you down. You would reach your goal and nothing would stop you, not even a little pain. You put one foot in front of the other and began to walk around. Soon you were all the way to the door. The pain had started to fade away and your steps became easier as you continued to walk around. You walked down the hall as if nothing was wrong with you, as if you had never had the worst beating of your young life. You heard a gasp and turn to see Lestat walking down the hall way and his eyes lit up with joy seeing you up and almost back to normal or what was normal for you. he ran to you so fast you didn't even have time to blink and you where in his arms he was holding you softly so he would not hurt you. When he backed up to give you some breathing space he took your hand.

"Where did you want to go, mon chere?" he asked happily.

"First I want to go to the kitchen. I'm getting hungry," you replied and walked all the way there as your stomach growled loudly. "I've never been so hungry in my whole life!"

You opened the fridge and looked around. it was completely empty. 'Why is the fridge empty?' you thought. Then it hit you. This was the house of a vampire, not a human so there was no food in the house that you would consider edible. You closed the fridge again and turned around only to be taken aback. There was all your favorites set out on the table. Pizza, spaghetti, fries, everything! you sat down at the table and looked at Lestat leaning against the wall.

"Do you mind? I don't like being watched eating. It's unnerving," you said.

He nodded and left you to eat in solitude. As you ate, you thought about the comment you had made to Lestat. You never really thought about it before but you really didn't like people watching you eat. You were always beaten if you ate with your parents so you had learned to take your food to your room and eat there in relative safety. That way you could do what you felt like online and eat too. Once you finished, you stood up and was startled to find Lestat by your side.

"Don't scare me like that!" you cried and placed your hand over your racing heart.

"I am sorry, mon chere. Where to now?" he asked you lovingly.

Your eyes widen in shock then you glared at him.

"I'm going where you can't follow me, savvy? Follow me, and I swear to God, I will find a way to send you to kingdom come," you stated bluntly.

For a second he looked startled and scared. But he backed off. This surprised you. You weren't expecting him to back down. It was almost as if you expected, or wanted, him to argue with you about the subject.

"Alright. Go where you may, but promise me that you'll return. I'd kill myself if I lost you," he said and caressed your cheek with his soft, chilled hand.

"I promise I'll come back. You have my word. Besides, I'm not really going all that far," you said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

You turned away from Lestat and walked into the bathroom where you did what business you needed to do. As you gazed into the mirror you saw how nasty you looked. You looked bad, really bad. You hated that Lestat saw you liked that. In fact, it made you angry. It was then that you remembered that Lestat had offered ti turn you into a vampire like him. You took one more look into the mirror. It didn't really look that bad did it? Those wounds weren't something that time couldn't heal really. You just really needed a hair brush and a fresh set of clothes and things would look better.

You walked out of the bathroom feeling a little better about everything. You decided to go back to your room to find a brush and a fresh change of clothes but as you waled up the stairs, you tripped and fel flat on your face. Lestat ran over to you and scooped you up into his strong arms and carried you up the stairs bridal style. 'How romantic?' you thought happily as he carried you to your room

"Why are you carrying me?" you asked out of curiosity.

"You've walked enough today. I should get to pamper you while your like this, even if you don't much care for it," he stated.

"Me? Not want to get pampered? I've never been pampered in my life! I don't even know what it's like!" you laughed.

"I guess I will have to pamper and spoil you into oblivion," he said, smiling broadly.

You sighed happily. He was smiling that smile that you loved so much. He entered your room and layed you gently on the bed and covered you in the soft, satin-y sheets.

"Lestat?" you asked.

"Yes, mon chere?"

"I've thought about it and I don't think I want to be a vampire. At least not yet. I really don't know why but it's like something is telling me to stay human for a little while longer. I'm not Bella Swan. I don't want to beg and plead to turn when I still have things -- human things -- that I still need to experience. I promise, as soon as I'm ready I will tell you to turn me," you said.

You looked at him and saw a sad look on his face. As you began to feel guilty for saying you didn't want to be a vampire yet, the look disappeared. He smiled at you kindly.

"It's okay, mon amour. I have all the time in the world to wait for you," he said and gently kissed your forehead.

"Thank you Lestat. You are my hero. Your my own personal knight in shining armour," you said and embraced him.

As you pulled back from the embrace, you swore that if Lestat could blush, he would have at that moment. You fell asleep, feeling safe in Lestat's strong embrace. In the middle of the night a loud commotion jolted you into consciousness. You got up to investigate and walked to the top of the stairs. You looked down over the railing to see Lestat's broken body and a strange man standing over him. The pain in your heart threatened to take over. 'Not Lestat, not him!' you thought.

"Lestat!!!" you screamed. "Lestat get up! Please!!!"

He managed to open his eyes a little and he looked at me. Even from the height you were at, being at the top of the staircase, you could see the pain in his eyes, not just physical pain, but emotional at not being strong enough to protect you properly. 'Please be okay, please be okay' you thought over and over again as you began to make your way to stairs. You felt a breeze and a chill ran down your spine. You turned and there was the strange man standing behind you with an evil look on his face.

"Hello, Muirin," he said.

"Marius , NO!!!" Lestat screamed.