Horror Fan Fiction ❯ Choices of Nature ❯ Walk at the Beach ( Chapter 3 )

 

 

 

Dinner part 2

 

 

Lestat was kind of worried Mom didn't take to him, but I reassured him that it was alright. “You've got good appetite, cherie. I Read that you like them with mayonnaise. Come, eat more.”

 

I chomped on the fries, grinning away. Delicious!

 

“Which name do you prefer to be called?”

 

“Um. Bianca's my alias name. Like yours is Francoise. I chose it cos I don't want anyone to know me. Am I different from Krystal?” I enquired.

 

“Bianca, I like that better. Krystal is your real name? You don't wish for me to know that?” Lestat chuckled, not offended as I would have thought. He dabbed his lips with the napkin, then sipped from his champagne glass.

 

“Yea.”

 

“Krystal… is a very sweet feminine cherie name. It's about the pureness of the heart, the crystal solution. I like that. However I wanna talk to you as Bianca, since it is the name you chose.”

 

I smiled. Cute guy, I'm trying not to be excited by this immortal, but he's making me laugh a lot. “What about Lestat? Any meaning to that?”

The vampire grinned, showing his white teeth, slightly edged than the normal man's.

 

“Frankly I don't know. Lestat is my mother's choice for me. I suppose it would mean she wanted me to be well, handsome, charming? My father did not get involved with me. I'm the youngest child.”

 

Oh he had read my thoughts. I was thinking----- where does dad come in? I got really thrilled. “Youngest?? Wow, I saw this program on birth order. It did a survey on the order of siblings. I am the eldest, I'm humble, responsible, organized. The youngest is um, charming, spoilt brat, affectionate, sociable, possessive and very open to change. Are you like that? ” I didn't mean the parts of negativity.

 

My companion was unfazed, he still looked upon me in awe. I felt embarrassed. What, it's a date, not some science theory lesson. But he said in an eager voice, gesturing animatedly, “It's all so true. I am a spoilt brat, I am affectionate, I love to meet new people! I learn something new tonight. Thank you, Bianca. Isn't it wonderful? Please, don't feel so shy. How can I make you feel more relaxed?”

 

Lestat poured me ice tea, insisting he would pay. His perfume was making me woozy, I didn't drink any alcohol. Feline grace, no flaws, no problems. “You can refill as much as you need, love. Don't worry.” He filled his glass up too, downing it quickly.

 

When the bill came, Lestat placed a credit card on the tray, smiling naturally at the waiter. He even made conversation with him. He carved Francoise in signature, left a generous tip for him.

 

Viper fangs. Oops. Why do I always forget I am with a mind reader?

 

Naughty child!---------- Lestat chuckled, making it light. Ok, I'm bored to death reading your mind. Come, talk to me. I am so pleased to be in your company.

 

I want to go home. Safely. My mother….

 

The gentleman assured me I would be safe. We walked outside, waited for the traffic. Lestat's arm was comfortable, if not his skin felt cold. He asked me to hold him. I felt like I was in the retro past. We met my mother a few streets down. Her blue MPV, I recognized it. She gave me a high alert look. Sized Lestat de Lioncourt up with large serious eyes.

 

“Hello Madame. My name is Lestat.” She let him kiss her hand, scrutinizing. My companion smiled, soon making conversation. Mum loves it when people say she is young and pretty. It's not because she is mad at my dad, she just cannot resist liking someone that can see the aesthetics. She is a good dresser, but does not makeup. You can see the age.

 

Apparently they could understand French well, as I walked ahead of them, Mum was saying `oui' and Lestat replied in French. Then they switched to English, mum deciding she could trust him. “Girl, be careful.” Telepathically, I heard her recite the animal law: Survival skills. Do not put your trust totally yet. She told me to be home by eleven.

 

I did not know what to talk about. I seriously hoped I would not make a total ass of my people, Lestat leaving me tonight mistaking that all shapeshifters are boring and theoretical professors at studies. The night life was at its fullest, 9pm. Crowds thronged the market bazaar. Lights made it hot. I looked through the wares. Lestat seemed interested. We got by not needing to talk so much, occasionally I told him about some culture. Freemandling is free for all, Chinese food, Mexican, Sri Lanka in addition to the usual Western fare. I licked my fingers after finishing a taco bell.

 

Now we were outside the bazaar, few people thronged. Lestat asked if he could talk. I said go ahead.

 

“You still fear me. Why? I always keep my promises and at the moment, I'm full. I won't eat you alive.”

 

“It's because we're different. You drink blood, and I happen to have a lot of it. So it is still scary. In case you go out of control. You do, right?” I answered matter of factly. Lestat smiled tiredly. Vampires don't feel that, or was it because he was running out of patience? I prayed he really would keep his word. Now I was some distance apart, refusing to stand close to him.

 

“I am sorry.” Sorry that I still could hurt him by my mere opinion.

He put his hands into his pockets, frowning as he strolled.

 

“No. It should be this way. You have a point. Do you collect things?” Lestat did not intently gaze into my eyes, he looked elsewhere. I sighed to myself.

 

“Yep. I like to collect stamps, postcards, making jigsaw puzzles… ah but I lose patience now. I used to love them, the cute cute mickey mouse ones.” Lestat laughed. “Shoes. All sorts of shoes.”

 

“Really. That is unusual. So what theme do you concentrate on? For stamp collection?”

 

He genuinely sounds intrigued. Does he not collect things? “I like animal designs. Um, especially would like to get South American ones. I watch the documentaries, wish I could stay there.” I flushed, why had I spoken so personally? But Lestat did not laugh. He stopped and sat down, patting the space beside him. I wished to stand.

 

“I feel kind of tired. Hope you don't mind,” he said.

 

“Why? You're full of stamina.”

 

“No, not always. We do feel weak and small at times. Hey, I wish I could change shape too. Our dark gifts are so similar. It must be really cool.”

 

I grinned. “Glad you don't think we're boring people then!” Another silence. And me thinking he must be a social boy. He does not seem to be the machine gun chatterbox kind. Perhaps he wanted to give me some comfortable distance. After a while, I felt tired too and sank down beside him, facing him so my neck wouldn't be open. I touched his blond locks, feeling the wavy thickness against my fingers. He smelled good. He had shampooed before taking me out.

 

“Sorry, sniffing at you. Am I rude?”

 

“No it's ok. You're so adorable, my love. I am not so sensitive.”

 

“Oh. I thought vampires don't bathe.” He laughed, his little fangs showing quite indiscreetly. His unnatural pupils infused with joy.

 

We walked to the railings overlooking the beach. It is really long, stretches about 50 miles across the coastline. The white sands are illuminated by the moon glow, sparkling as if jewels can be found within its riches. The waters glittered blue, green in the day, but black at night. I loved the peaceful beach. I don't like it in the mornings when humans step about, shouting or screaming. Building sandcastles are irrelevant. It's a natural habitat that should be untouched. Unfortunately it is a resident area, so my musings would fall on deaf ears.

 

Lestat completely agreed when I told him the gist of this ranting.

“You are right, cherie. It is so beautiful. The breeze comes regularly, sweeping at our clothes, messing our hair, but that can be dismissed in the light of its ethereal serenity.”

 

Whoa. “A poetic mood, Lestat,” I replied. He said something modest.

 

He wanted to know how I cultivated patience. He was too hot headed to sit still, he admitted. “The patience thingie, you can cultivate…”

 

“Thingie?” he asked puzzled.

 

“Thing. Sorry, that's a colloquial. Like reading. You like reading? Yes then, you know when your mind forces you to sit down. Read, absorb and think about what the person has conveyed in his or her words.”

 

“Um. You talk well. You don't need to be shy, love.”

 

I shrugged. “Thank you. I guess…. shyness isn't the focus. It's like, I'm not shy with others of my kind. I feel shy with such a handsome person like you.”

 

“You flatter me. I enjoy flattery,” Lestat answered. “I wish I could be mortal again. If only to experience how the sandy beaches look in the day. I will never know. You are so lucky to be mortal, Bianca!”

 

“You cannot take even a little light? At dawn it isn't so hot.”

 

“It starts burning, my flesh. It will be painful. The death sleep comes to claim me at the first light. I cannot. I once challenged that when I took possession of a mortal body. It's too long, I will tell you another time.”

 

I nodded. “Can you see color?” To a certain extent, but not as much as a human's perception. To make up for that, a vampire's preternatural senses are heightened, he can see where or how a person is like. If he is evil, the approximate age, size of a victim. Fascinating. He clarified my concepts; my thinking was warped, strangely comical to him. If I were living with a house of vampires, I would probably extinguish them. By sheer carelessness.

 

“Good heavens! No, you can't leave the house uncurtained and open. We will all be burnt to a crisp!” he exclaimed. I laughed unable to stop. He shook his head. I felt like a student. My fear and prejudice fell away.

 

“Crosses, stakes. They can kill right?”

 

“Nah, we hardly feel the effects. Chruches are nice structures to sleep in. Dracula concepts. We are more powerful than Dracula.”

 

Something worth fearing then, I added to myself. “Lestat, does he exist?”

 

He considered this. “A strictly heterosexual vampire. A king among Transylvania. He does. But I'm not afraid of him. Our kind can transcend genders, we see the beauty in both males and females. Dracula does not have to abide by rules or laws. Our laws are set up by the head vampires. Dracula is a free soul.”

I asked him other personal stuff, but I only write this excerpt. It's more memorable and I don't appear stupid in it.

 

“ Lestat, do you collect anything?”

 

“Um, paintings by Rembrandt, Leonardo Da Vinci. I love Renaissance artwork. Books. That's all. I cannot take small objects or they will get lost… my room is very disorganized.”

 

“Paintings. I don't know much about them. Maybe I could view them sometime?” He smiled. I grasped his hand, cold as marble block. He seemed emotionally wrought.

 

Why not now? I would love to let you see them.

 

Omg. The time! It's 11.45pm! ------------- I gasped. My mum will go berserk. My dad is home tonight.

 

Let's go then. We'll get a cab. Lestat said, hurrying to the stand. Before the cab came, the blond preternatural being said something very personal. It almost made me weep.

 

“Thank you for being my companion tonight. I feel so much better. I love your company ma cherie…. It has been a meaningful and simple, joyful moment. It was pleasurable.” He sounded choky, thick. It was too dark to see, except wetness on the cheeks.

 

“You are welcome. Are you ok?” he scrubbed his face with his hand roughly. Crying? Lestat was crying. I took out a packet of tissues. He chuckled feebly, grateful for my help. Had I hurt him when I thought `death should come swiftly. Then he will not be this damned creature.' ?

 

It's alright. You don't need to conceal your true feelings. I do not mind-------he Sent.

 

But did you feel sad? I was too harsh.

 

No, no child. I feel so happy that I cried. Come get in.

 

I felt uneasy seated next to Lestat, just a little, but I wanted to try and put myself into his shoes. That he must feel awfully lonely when people shun him. He had stopped weeping and sent me his joyful exuberant thoughts.

I am overjoyed, cherie. You like me! I like you, it's the first time someone has mutual feelings with me. In the past, Bianca, I forced people to be my companions. I kind of forced you when I entered your dream. I hope you do not mind too much.

 

It was no prob, man.

 

Mental laugh. We shared this. His voice is even sensual, vibrant in colours of purple and gold when he connects with me.

 

I'm sorry if I was a brute. I can be a perfect French gentleman if I want to. Will you give me the chance, little hawk?--------- Lestat asked.

 

Prove that to me. I love the evening dress. You dress like it's the 1800s though…

 

I am old, an ancient generation. Yes I still favour this clothing. Fortunately or not?

 

I fingered the shiny material. Lovely. No it's ok. Your dress sense is better than the modern man. Cool!

 

He Sent me rainbow colors of happiness. It was not often Lestat could be himself. I find it hard to admit, but this moment was the beginning of my roller coaster trust and distrust of the vampires. I was honoured in fact to be his friend, no matter how much I feared his instincts of killing and sucking blood. Louis will come in later. He is very much in this journal too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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