Louis glanced back at the house and the forlorn figure pacing back and forth behind the large, living room windows. Why did Lestat have to pull this on him? He knew his fledgling hated the idea of being watched as he fed, and then to sulk when his company was refused...
"You can be such a child at times," Louis sighed in irritation. "Why should I be afraid of the night? I don't need your protection."
He rolled his eyes to himself, knowing he was just trying to convince himself, then turned and wandered away, heading for the park. The mile long wlak would settle him down. He walked along the cobblestone streets, still admiring the old architecture that lay buried under new shops and slums.
The night was dark even to his eyes, the moon was black and the stars didn't even exist behind the storm clouds. A peal of thunder echoed across the sky, threatening rain and perhaps even hail. It was certainly cold enough. It was one of the coldest winters in New Orleans on record, and one of the coldest Louis remembered. He quickened his step and hurried along the road, staring distantly at the sky.
"Gimme all yer cash!"
Louis glanced at the man standing in front of him, brandishing a nasty-looking knife. The man wa obviously a killer, the mugging was just an excuse to his deranged mind to get someone under that knife. As proof, Louis could see his last victim, a young man in his late teens, laying kilter in the shadowed gutter by the street.
He reached forward, grabbing the man by his throat and bringing him forward. Lightning flashed briefly, lighting up the whole street as he drank, and then the man joined his victim, his own knife stuck in his chest. The vampire sighed, let him drop, and began to walk home.
There was a loud pop, and then a sharp pain in the side of his neck.
He reached up and found something embedded in his skin. When he yanked it out, he saw that it was a dart with bright feathers on the end. "What on earth?" he mumbled, feeling drowsy for a moment.
Something hit him hard from the side, knocking him to the ground. His head hit the pavement so hard that tears actually sprung to his eyes. He rolled to the side, standing sluggishly.
"Damn, he's fast," he heard a feminine voice say.
"C'mon, get him!" came another voice.
Another dart hit his shoulder, and he couldn't remove it in time. His sight blurred, went black, and he only had time to whisper "Lestat" before he fell to the ground.
He woke later, his head throbbing in pain. He tried to move his body, but he found that his arms were held tight behind his back by something strong and cold. Whenever his hands jerked, something metallic rang in his ears. Same for his legs. He could even feel the cold locks around his ankles and calves, restraining him on a wooden floor. He moaned as he sat straight up, trying to stare around the room. The only light came from a dim candle, and even that made his eyes hurt. And he was not alone.
"Hey, it woke up," he heard one voice, in his drugged mind it was louder than a gunshot. He whimpered and looked away, wishing he was somewhere else, somewhere quiet. The library would be nice. He couldn't keep his mind on anything.
Rough hands tangled in his hair, jerking his head up cruelly. He cried out in pain, but that only made them laugh.
"I guess they really do feel pain," the feminine voice said.
"Then let's end its pain. Kill it."
"I said no, Bryan. It said something before it went under. Maybe it was the name of its master."
"Maybe it was the fucking Queen of England, just kill it." There was the sound of a scuffle, then a thud.
"Dammit, Bryan, you pull that shit one more time and I'll stake _you_ through the heart!" We don't kill it 'till we know its name and master."
"Like it'll tell us now," the girl said sarcastically.
Louis felt someone near him, gently caressing his cheek. "You feelin' better, darlin'?" she asked, a slight drawl to her voice.
"I've felt better," he mumbled.
"Hungry?" she asked.
He nodded silently.
"If you tell us the name of who made you, we'll give you something to drink."
"Don't believe you."
"Hell, I guess it does have brains," Bryan said.
The obvious leader of the group knelt beside her. "Cassie, don't get too close. It's still dangerous. It could still hurt you."
"Why don't you just give it a damn truth serum?" Bryan growled. "Don't lie to it."
Cassie sighed. "Yeah, and that'll give us time to finish with it. Eric, get the gear. I wanna do this as fast as possible."
There was the sound of wood hitting glass, and when Louis glanced up, he could make out the shape of one of the humans filling something up in his hands. Whenthe human held it up, he realized it was a syringe. Then came the harsh stab in his arm,and the terrible feeling of even further discombobulation and sickness. He felt nauseous and lightheaded and sleepy at the same time.
"Well, who's your maker?"
"What?" he asked in confusion. Were they speaking English or French?
"You idiot," came vague voice, "you gave it too much."
"No, I didn't, it just must be real weak. Come on, tell us! Who made you?"
"My...lover?" Louis asked.
"Lover? Sure, if that's who made you? Who is she?"
"She?"
There was a long silence.
"You don't think...?" the girl asked slowly.
"Why not? We know vampires're real perverted. Okay, who's your boyfriend?"
Louis started to laugh. Calling Lestat a boyfriend? Oh, that was funny.
"Yeah, that worked," one of them said sarcastically.
"You got a better idea?"
The girl knelt beside him again, stroking his hair. He started to forget where he was, why he was there. It wasn't that hard now. "Come on, who made you? Who do you live with?"
"Lestat..." Louis trailed lazily. "I like living with him. He takes me to bed all the time..."
"Lestat?" Bryan asked in awe. "The Lestat? Lestat de Lioncourt?"
"Mmm, yeah..." Louis sighed.
"So that means you're Louis?" she asked.
Louis nodded, really loving whatever they had given him. His eyes closed as the drug really kicked in, slowly spiralling toward sleep even though the dawn was almost an entire night away.
"Maybe we can get rid of these two with one stone," one of them said.
"But we have to work fast. Better wire his jaws shut. We'll finish him up at the park."
Louis woke up with a searing pain in his eyes and mouth. He groaned, trying to see in the darkness, when he realized that he couldn't see because he couldn't open his eyes. He tried to call for help and discovered that his mouth also couldn't open. Then he remembered one of the humans had mentioned wiring his mouth shut.
"Wakey, wakey," came the girl's laughter. "You shouldn't have gotten up so soon. I still have to do your mouth."
"What?" he mumbled through his teeth.
"It's the way we make sure you can't hurt anybody while you're still alive. I'm gonna sew your lips shut." As soon as she said that, Louis felt the cruel sting through his skin, dragging the searing heat behind it. She had obviously done this before. She laughed as he whimpered and cried, ignoring his pain as she brutally tightened the strings. There was a sick tearing sound and then she pressed a huge wad of duct tape over his mouth. "Now, just to make sure your maker doesn't go ballistic when he sees you, let's put this over your head." He felt something soft drop onto him, shielding his mangled face from sight. He knew that his eyes had also been sewn shut, and if Lestat didn't come to rescue him soon, he might never open them again.
Oh baby, you are the only thing in this whole world that's pure,
And good and right.
And wherever you are and wherever you go,
There's always gonna be some light.
But I gotta get out, I gotta break it out now,
Before the final crack of dawn.
So we gotta make the most of our one life together
When it's over you know, we'll both be so alone.
He tried to stop his tears. It hurt to cry, but that just made him cry even harder. He tried to move, but he was wrapped in chains against something rough, perhaps a tree or a post. He legs were stretched in front of him, also chained and bolted to the ground. They must have moved him when he was asleep, before they sewed his eyes.
Louis heard the sounds of crickets chirping and a snake slithering not too far away. Definitely outside, then. He tested the threads on his mouth, then winced when the slightest pressure drew blood. The pain began to fade, an donly then did he realize that he was freezing. The ground was wet and the wind was bitingly cold.
If only I'd listened, he thought sadly. If I'd just let Lestat come with me like he wanted--
A sick thought entered his head, unwanted and inevitable. Lestat could never love him again after this. Why would he? How coudl anyone love something that looked like...like he did now? Louis no longer prayed for Lestat to find him. Instead he prayed that he could die before the night was out, before Lestat could see his torn face, his broken eyes and lips. Lestat always called him Beautiful One. He wouldn't be so beautiful anymore, would he? He wouldn't be so loved, either. Who could love damaged goods?
"Where is he?" came the familiar roar suddenly, piercing the night air.
"There he is!" one human yelled. "Get him!"
Louis lowered his head. He had no idea what was happening. He just wanted things the way they had been before he left the house. He wanted to go home and sleep in Lestat's arms.
He could almost see the light through the hood and his shut eyes. The humans were going up in flames. Louis could tell by the screams and the warmth, but he didn't care. He wanted the shadows to swallow him up before Lestat could see what they had done to him.
Hard yet gentle hands untied his legs first, then undid the chains around his arms. The hood was off of his head before he could hold it down, so he spread his hands in front of his face, trying to hide the damage. All Lestat could see were bandages around his eyes and the duct tape over his mouth, but the strings hanging from the edges told him all he needed to know. He took his fledgling into his arms and flew them home, not forcing anything from Louis.
"It's all right, chere. I've found you. Just relax, we'll be home soon."
Only when they were home did Lestat begin to treat him, taking him to the bathroom and sitting him on the edge of the bathtub, leaving him with a firm command to stay put. Then he hurried to the bedrooms and brought back two softly padded chairs, setting them by the sink. He lay his arms around his fledgling's shoulders and took his hand, guiding him into a chair, then sat across from him. He reached out and touched the bandages, but Louis jumped and backed away.
"Louis, you need to hold still," Lestat tried to scold, but there was no sting to his voice. Everytime he tried to touch something, he fledgling dodging his fingers, pushing him away. It was obvious he would never hold still of his own choice. Lestat growled but he forced himself to be patient. Instead of giving into his anger, he got up and retrieved a long length of silk rope from the bedroom. Once he returned, he took Louis' hand and began to loop the rope around it. Louis, once he realized what Lestat meant to do, tried to resist, but Lestat was far too strong to fight. Lestat bound Louis' left hand down to the arm of the chair, then bound his upper body down and moved to his other arm. He took the rest of the rope and tied Louis' legs up. All Louis could do was whimper in fear, which he did profusely.
"It's all right, baby," Lestat whispered. "I won't hurt you. I just have to make sure you don't move while I work."
Louis seemed to look up in surprise. It was hard to tell.
"Yes, Louis, I know what those monsters did to you, but now I'm going to undo it. Just don't move, all right?"
Louis nodded slowly. His body relaxed as he acquiesced to his lover. He felt the strips around his eyes removed, revealing the horrific strings through his eyelids.
"Now I'm going to cut through the threads," Lestat said. "It will hurt a little, but the pain will pass, I promise."
Louis nodded again, but the moment the scissors clipped the first string his entire body stiffened and his hands clenched into fists. But he held his head still.
"That's it, just hold still," Lestat said, constantly talking to give his lover something to focus on. "It's almost done. Just a few more strings. You're doing good, just a little longer. There!"
He pulled the last bit of thread away, then soaked a washcloth in warm water and cleaned the blood away. He made a tiny bite on his finger and evenly spilt the blood over the wounds, healing them.
"Now just keep that eye closed while I do the other," Lestat whispered, moving on. Louis sniffled as his lover worked,trying not to cry and failing miserably. Finally Lestat finished, but before he could open his eyes, Lestat wrapped fresh bandages over them. "You shouldn't open them tonight. Let them heal first. I'll take the bandages off tomorrow when you wake up. Right now we need to work on your mouth."
Louis started to shake his head emphatically. Lestat sighed, then reached forward and held him still. "Louis, it has to be done before daylight so you don't heal with those in, otherwise it'll just hurt more. Please let me do this."
Louis' shoulders were shaking with his muffled sobs and he shook his head again. Every request was met with another refusal until Lestat grew frantic.
"Louis de Pointe du Lac," he started sternly, "you have a choice. Either you will let me do this now, when you're awake to help me, or when you are asleep and I am drowsy and alone. But I will not stand back and watch you hurt yourself!" He slipped forward and leaned close enough so that his fledgling could rest his head agianst his. "Please, darling, let me help you."
Louis cried even harder, but he nodded weakly. Lestat gave a small, sad smile of relief, gently drawing back. He took up the scissors again, then gingerly began to pull the tape back. As each bit of thread was exposed, he snipped the strings as close as he oculd so that the excess didn't pull much on the sore skin. Louis winced and whined the whole way, but he never budged an inch.
"And now we have to break those wires out," Lestat said as he took the last string away. "This won't take long, just hold still. It shouldn't even hurt."
Within an hour of arriving home, everything was out. Lestat washed away of the blood and dirt and stickiness left by the tape, healing as much as he could. He couldn't put bandages on Louis' lips, so he forced a few drops down Louis' throat, ignoring his half-hearted protests. The wounds healed in a few minutes, but the eyelids were more delicate, they would take longer. Then he drew a bath for Louis, who was starting to shiver now that the pain was gone. Once the water was immaculate, he untied Louis and undressed him. Louis took his hand and followed him blindly to the water, eagerly taking to the heat. The bath was less for cleansing him than for relaxation therapy. As he drowsed, Lestat caressed his hair and ran his hands down over his body, reminding him he was there and that he wasn't alone. Louis sighed and leaned closer to him. Questions ran through his head, what had happened during the fight? how had Lestat found him?, but only one question really mattered right then.
"Lestat?" Louis mumbled.
"Shh, you shouldn't speak yet."
Louis shook his head, he had to ask. "Lestat, do you love me?"
"Of course I love you, darling, what a silly question."
"Even though..."
"Even though what?" Lestat stared at him, trying to understand.
"My face..." Louis whispered, obviously in despair.
Lestat's eyes opened wide and he understood. "Oh, Louis, do you really think I'm so shallow. I'll always love you. And besides, there's no damage done. Tomorrow you'll wake up and I'll take those bandages off of your eyes and you'll see how beautiful you are. And then, once I know you're rested, I'm going to ravish you and drive out all those terrible memories."
Louis smiled despite himself. "But during the day, I'll feel so alone." He felt a caress on his cheek, his only reply.
Lestat let the water go and toweled his lover off before carrying him to bed. Only once they were snuggled together beneath the blankets did he give Louis a better answer.
"You're never alone, chere. Just dream of me and I'll be right there. Now go to sleep, you've had one hell of a night."
Louis almost gasped in shock. "One night? All of this happened in one night?"
Louis nodded and lay his head on Lestat's shoulder. "But you will ravish me tomorrow, yes?"
Lestat laughed. "Yes, we won't even get out of bed tomorrow."
And on that happy thought, they both fell asleep.