Belle Vie

Eve of Christ

New Orleans yielded to a cold blizzard in the winter of 1910. Snow blanketed the townhouses, fires lit warmly within; choirs sang carols along the streets; many a wretched soul would squander their wealth on prostitutes; the gamblers succumbing to their addictive tendencies over a "friendly" game of poker, bucket loads of alcohol following in suit for the purpose of drowning their losses. But those select, tasteful few would find their respite from the cold in the Theatre d'Orleans, sat precisely between Royal and Bourbon Street. The musings from the Opera within beckoning those very souls to its doors for a night of splendour. Well, on any other night, that was.

For on Christmas Eve, it would play host to none other than Shakespeare; its performers having travelled the globe to portray the famous Playwriter's many masterpieces; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, As You Like It. Akin to a Swan Song, Lestat de Lioncourt felt destined to see none other than this year's decadence; Romeo & Juliet, his very favourite. Having recalled performing the very same play in his human life whilst living in Paris, he simply could not miss such an opportunity to relive those years, once again. His young fledgling Louis, however, was not as easily convinced; deciding to spend Christmas Eve with his family, his human ties remaining strong regardless of his maker's instruction to sever them.

As Lestat meandered the streets of the city, the brisk air paled in comparison to his icy flesh; stepping into the foyer of the theatre, the conversations and thoughts of those insignificant mortals merged into one, echoing through the vampire's mind. You heard correctly; Lestat de Lioncourt was a vampire. An immortal. A creature of the night. However, it was those insignificant thoughts of his potential feast of the night that he had grown to resent, over the decades. Those thoughts he could no longer possess, nor pretend to possess. Though he obtained the gift of endurance, Lestat had tired of his immortality, a great deal.

Nicholas de Lefent, his previous love and fledgling, did not share his maker's affinity for endurance; having lived his vampiric life for less than a decade before ending his very existence in flames. Lestat, broken by this act, took over a century to mourn the loss, finally trying again with Louis de Pointe du Lac; the very embodiment of his lost love with his cynical views and pessimistic nature. Even Louis, however, could not fully repair Lestat's broken heart. The blonde immortelle masked his pain beautifully, gorging on blood, wine and the excitement of his nightly kills.

"May I take your coat, Sir?" The voice of an attendant addressed the vampire, severing his train of thought, much to his slight agitation. Lestat raised his nose in confirmation, allowing his garment to fall into the man's arms. Grasping his cane firmly, the immortal made way for his box seating, having reserved it in its entirety. It was easier for him to separate the performance from human thoughts, that way. And the viewing was unparalleled.

Silence befell the theatre, once the last of the seats were filled. Lestat waited in anticipation for the curtain to rise, the Narrator emitting to introduce the play to the audience. Evidently underwhelmed, Lestat withheld his disappointment, occupying his mind by opening the programme for the evening; he knew the script by heart, after all. It was the commencement of Act 1 Scene 3, however, that caught him entirely off guard. As the actress portraying Juliet ventured onto the stage, Lestat's gaze fixed onto the young beauty.

"How now! Who calls?" Her voice, softer than an angel, kissed the vampire's ears. By some impossible feat, the girl's face appeared even more beautiful than her vocals; her eyes like violets, sapphires sparkling within; hair the colour of chocolate and caramel. Her delicate features and porcelain complexion made Lestat question whether she was of his blood, for a brief moment. But his suspicions were swiftly squandered at the sound of her heartbeat; erratic, filled with adrenaline and excitement as she stood under the watchful guise of the audience.