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You’d never imagined that you’d been sent away. How the thought had never occurred to you, you couldn’t say. You were a daughter; biological property. A financial burden. No prospects; no hope for a future outside of your husband. Beliefs that were a product of the time. Still, when your parents packed up your belongings and sent you to Auvergne, you were still surprised and hurt.
The Marquis’ son was your age and unmarried. You were to be his wife. A trade agreement outlined your worth. A poorly written and defined trade agreement. You wanted to be mad. You wanted to voice your outrage. But you were a daughter, you didn’t have the right.
Lestat seemed as angry as you were, however for vastly different reasons. You were yet another dictation in his life. The youngest of seven. The one without a choice. He’d never inherit a title, everything in his life served only to maintain appearances and the family name. A son, treated as a daughter. If he hadn’t instantly resented you, perhaps he would have realized that you shared the same pain, reflected. You weren’t his enemy, rather a fellow victim. He did not see it.
Your wedding, which should have been a grand celebration, more closely resembled a funeral; thanks in part to your groom. He paraded his displeasure like a badge of honor. He stayed as far away from you as the night would allow. You sat alone. No one approached you. Your gift that night had been the pitiful glances thrown your way as Lestat drunkenly told everyone how much he despised you and how little he looked forward to touching you. You were 16 years old, humiliated, and utterly alone.
That night, your marriage was consummated; mostly because the Marquis stood on the other side of the door to make sure it happened. Lestat would not look at you. He barely touched you. He was in and out fast enough to say it happened, but nothing more. There was no pleasure in it for either of you. Immediately afterwards, he kicked you out of his room and banned you from ever reentering. He didn’t stop there, you were banned from his presence entirely. You would not exist to him.
Lady de Lioncourt was your only companion for the next 11 years. She welcomed you into her library, taught you to read, and gave you the only escape you could foresee. She never apologized for Lestat’s behavior, never made excuses for him. She just spent the time with you he should have been. She alone watched you blossom into a young woman. She secretly wishes Lestat had given you a chance, even now she could see that you would have been a great match, but she never broached the subject to either of you. It wasn’t her business, the affairs of a married couple.
You ran into Lestat one day, nine years after you had been married. He was leaving the library as you were entering. He bowed to you in passing, the perfect gentleman; he had not recognized you. You continued avoiding him. He began inquiring about his mother’s new companion. She shot him down with a well placed jab about not wishing to know her. Lestat was left confused for two years.
You had thought about him a great deal since that encounter. He had grown into a handsome young man. You wished that he had not taken to hatred with you so immediately. You could have been happy with him. You could be out in the world together now; maybe have a small family of your own. Beautiful babies at your feet. Then the disdain returned. He robbed you of that.
Just before Christmas, eleven years after you were wed, Lestat found Gabrielle in the library crying, holding your favorite book. He’s seen her companion reading it just days before. He had taken to watching her from afar; hoping for some clue as to her identity.
“Mother?” Lestat rushed to Gabrielle’s side, begging her to tell him what had happened.
“She’s dead. That poor girl is dead,” there was a rage in her that Lestat had never seen. “Your wife is dead.” She snatched herself away from him, he jumped back in shock.
The girl that Lestat had lusted over for the past two years; the one he had inquired about countless times because of her beauty, had been his cast aside wife. The air was knocked from his lungs. He clutched at his chest; chest tightening. It was clear now why he was never permitted in her presence. His shame was more than he could bear.
“How?” how had such beauty met her end.
“We don’t know the details. Just that she had gone to the village. The amount of blood had made the butcher ill and only her ring and shawl were recovered.” his father answered. “Not that you would care, but there isn’t even a body to bury. She’s gone.” a sob ripped from Lestat. He felt dizzy and sick. He collapsed on the floor as if attacked by a phantom.
“Why did she go out alone?” he was sobbing. He knew where the blame lie. He had been evil and cruel. She hadn’t been given a chance.
“Who would accompany her? The husband that banished her?” his mother’s venom was unbridled. His father did not intervene on his behalf. He curled into himself on the floor. Sobs turned into wails. He had condemned her to death. A stupid young boy, broke the one thing a young man desired. His brother finally hauled him to his room after his mother had had enough of his presence. She lamented that your death was what had been needed for Lestat to show you emotion.
You awoke surrounded by the most beautiful paintings you had ever seen; the skittering of insects you could not locate, and a strange man watching you. Normally, you would have been afraid, but you had a suspicion that the worst was already behind you. You were 27 years old, no longer alone, and a vampire.
You took to your new life with grace. Every lesson Marius had for you, you devoured.You mastered your gifts with ease ad precision. You loved it all. Even the constant darkness could not damper your spirits. How could it when the darkness revealed the stars?
Marius was a gifted painter. Your talent was music. He’d given you the greatest gift; and eternity with your sheet music. You could imagine nothing better. Marius painted you often in the earliest days; you were an angel hunched over the sheet music at your piano. No greater muse had ever existed. You composed your life. Innocence shifted to profound sadness, the sadness turned into broken notes; a fear of ending hung heavy with those notes. The notes shifted to something dark, but even in the darkness, there was an uplifting hope in the melody. The song ended in unrestrained power and happiness. In your joy, you couldn’t have known that your music was calling to the one vampire that had broke you.
Lestat heard your music in the air; having fallen victim to Magnus in Paris. You felt him approaching. Both of you knew what his arrival would mean for your newly found happiness. Marius sent you away. The only way he knew he could protect you, his most beautiful creation. You had the skills to survive on your own now, and you had an ability to see the beauty around you in the night. He did not fear for you. He hid away the paintings of you. Once again, you were alone because of Lestat. So you drifted. You experienced the world around you.
You found yourself in Paris. Marius had instilled vampire customs in you while traveling. You announced your arrival to any vampires that may be inhabiting the city. A voice responded. You recognized him the moment you laid eyes on him. Amadeo. He was known as Armand now. The maitre of the local coven. When you explained that you were passing through with no destination in mind, he extended an invitation to join his coven. You declined.
Despite rejecting the offer, there was something about him that made you stay. You couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He spent his free time with you. When he was busy, you found yourself at the Theatre des vampires. You had taken to writing music while you listened to him work. He felt like home to you, but you had an unnameable misgiving about the coven that kept you at arm’s length.
You loved Armand. The first time you had ever been in love. It reflected in your music, uplifted and joyful notes that filled every corner of the theater. You stayed with him in his coffin most days, sleeping peacefully in his arms. You felt like you were home. But his coven wanted you. With each refusal they got more adamant. Armand feared for you should you not join. I was with a broken heart that he eventually sent you away. He regretted it before he had even carried it out. He didn’t want you to unwillingly join him and your happiness to fade. You were too important to him.You held no ill feelings towards him. It had been the best decade of your life.
It would be two hundred years before he would hear your name again. A familiar pain in his chest when he heard you on the radio. The year was 2010 and you were being catapulted into stardom. He was with a companion named Louis then, but they both were front row of your nearest show and backstage congratulating you.
Armand must have told Louis about you. You discussed your human lives and your early days as a vampire. You learned that Lestat had made Louis and that they had been companions for almost thirty years. You learned about the murder attempt and how he had found himself in Paris. How he and Armand had started their relationship. You gave cliffnote versions of your own relationship with Lestat. Unsurprisingly, he had never mentioned you.
Louis and Armand kept track of your tour schedule and had you stay with them when you were local. You still felt at home with Armand. Your feelings had not changed for him. But now, there was a deeper level of friendship that had not been there before. Not to say that you weren’t friends in Paris, because you were, but you understood him better now, removed from the coven. You saw Armand the person. Not just Armand the Maitre.
You were still going strong in 2024. You were still chart topping and living your best life. Marius had joined you along the way, insisting on helping you manage the delicate balance of being a vampire in the public eye. You were loved and loving life. Your world was blooming. You discovered that Gabrielle was alive; the first fledgeling of Lestat.
You cried when you saw her. She wasn’t much for physical affection, but she didn’t let you go for the longest time. You had escaped. She became a mother to you. She even found a place for herself with your tour; she had been looking through your wardrobe with disdain when you mentioned that your costume designer never listened to you. They were fired the same day and she joined and revamped the wardrobe for not only you, but the entire band. The new style was an instant hit.
One night, while you were enjoying the stars, you felt a presence behind you. It was sad and lost, but you knew him immediately. Armand. Fresh from the hell of the Dubai interview, you had been his only thought. He joined immediately as director, friend and companion. Your world was complete. Every meaningful person from your life was here with you now.
With every tour came interviews. Marius rehearsed with you from the list of permitted questions. You had been at this for a while so really it turned into a catching up session. Armand right next to you the whole time. All of you laughing and enjoying life together. Marius got an email mid discussion of modern art and the catastrophe it was.
He was not smiling when he returned. There had been another band on tour in the area and they wanted to do a joint interview. The up and coming Vampire Lestat. The room went cold. Marius offered to cancel the interview. Armand begged you to let him. You disagreed. It was time to face the past. Armand insisted that he be present the whole time, right there where you could see him, knowing that he would intervene for you the moment things shifted.
With an army of support waiting in the wings, the time came for you to take your seat beside Lestat. With a new name and 200 years separating your meeting, Lestat did not recognize you. Louis was there too. He came over and said hello. You caught up with Louis briefly and vaguely while Daniel Molloy set up for the interview.
“What's a beauty like you doing with a gremlin like Armand?” he did not hide his disgust as he asked his rude question. Thankfully Daniel was signaling that he was about ready to begin.
“The company I keep is of no concern of yours.” Louis chuckled. He was 100% on your team right now. He knew enough about your relationship that he really needed Lestat to get his.
“I’m joined today by the Vampire Lestat de Lioncourt and Miss (Y/N) de Romanus.” Lestat preened for the camera, showing off for you as well. You smiled politely at the introduction. “How are your tours going?”
Lestat jumped in immediately. The star of the show always. You were instantly irritated. Armand walked over and stood next to Daniel, you gave him the signal that you were fine. He backed up and stood alone.
“My tour has been everything I hoped. Though, I confess, it would be better if (Y/N) was there though.” It was Louis turn to be irritated with Lestat. You gave him the ‘I got this’ look.
“I’m sorry. I don’t believe there would be room enough for you, me, and your ego.” Lestat sat there, dumbstruck. “I don’t enjoy being cast aside into the shadows, so I think I’ll stick with my own venture.” Daniel was shocked. Louis beamed at you. Armand gave you the nod. Lestat felt that the jab was oddly specific.
“How’s your tour, (Y/N)?” you smiled. Bombs ready to drop.
“I have the best family on tour with me. It truly is a dream for me. Marius keeps me going. Gabrielle, my stylist is impeccable and the mother I never had. And Armand, he is my best friend, my companion on all the long nights. I love him so much. He always knows exactly what I need, even before I know it sometimes. I love them all with my whole heart. And the fans, they are my world. They make it all worth it for all of us.” you could pinpoint the precise moment that Lestat had figured it out. Armand said something to Daniel. You think it may have been a suggestion to press the issue further.
“I get the impression you know each other?” Daniel could not contain his excitement.
“I knew Lestat a long time ago. He was arrogant then too. It seems that the only thing that has changed is me.” You shrugged and Armand smiled at you, encouraging you.
“I have changed. I can now admit I was wrong. I apologize. I allowed my bitterness to overshadow the truth. We were the same.” He didn’t look at you, but you knew it was probably the most honest he had ever been in his life.
“What happened?” Daniel coaxed out.
“A personal matter between us.” Lestat got up and walked away. Daniel was stunned into silent observation. Louis followed Lestat out after giving you a thumbs up, making sure you were good first. Armand took Lestat’s seat.
“You handled that with more grace than he deserved, My Love.” Armand took your hand and kissed it.
“He only wants me when I’m not his.” you looked Armand in the eyes.
“You know, you have a whole mob of people who choose you,” he paused. “I choose you. And I will always be sorry that I chose the coven over you then. I have regretted it since the moment it happened and I will spend eternity choosing you now.” you pulled him down to the floor in front of you so you could look him in the eye.
“I knew you did. That’s why I never stopped loving you.” you were kissing Armand when Louis and Lestat returned.
“If we finish this, I want my companion and good friend both to join us.” Louis was mic’d up and seated next to Lestat. Armand joined you on your other side. “Shall we begin again?”