Belle Vie

Vows

Lestat would announce his presence in the theatre, merely minutes prior to the curtain rising. Louis waited in the stalls in anticipation, intrigued by his maker's fascination with the mortal Celeste, waiting with baited breath for her to traverse the stage. But Lestat would be the first to grace the stage with his presence, as the performance of Romeo and Juliet always played out. The moment Juliet appeared, however, Louis immediately understood what all the fuss was about.

Enraptured by her beauty along with the rest of the audience, the vampire could feel a certain envy beginning to eat away at him; the same questions plaguing his mind as they plagued his maker's and Celeste, herself; what did he want with her?

And, though Louis had not harboured feelings towards another woman in many years, he found himself questioning...Did he long for her, too?

It was all beginning to frighten the blonde immortal, now. But all those worries faded when they shared their first kiss on the stage; Louis invisible to Lestat, whenever Celeste was in the room. It took a great deal of strength for the fledgling to remain in his seat, watching enviously as the two embraced, their characters falling in love with one another. Though, he was unsure which of the two he felt jealousy towards; his mind in emotional turmoil.

The play concluded, Romeo & Juliet being the last to grace the stage at the encore as the audience rose to their feet and cheered the performance. As Louis waited in the foyer, the actors made their presence known as floods of people made their way over to Lestat and Celeste. But the blonde immortal used his vampiric ability of persuasion to divert their attention onto the other cast members, the pair swiftly making their way over to the brunette man with glowing, green eyes that sat at his own table, away from the bar.

"Celeste, this is Louis," he introduced, the girls eyes widening as she glanced upon him. Lestat's fledgling. The brown-haired vampire rose from his seat as he extended a hand to her, "A pleasure, Miss," a forced smirk traversed his beautiful lips, Celeste accepting the gesture as he took her hand to his lips and placed a small kiss upon her knuckle. Lestat tensed at her side, covering his anger at the notion as his hand snaked around her waist.

"The pleasure is all mine, Louis," Celeste forced a smile in retort, wriggling her way out of the vampire's embrace. Louis noticed this, as much as he noticed the fury in his maker's eyes, as he tried to force away an amused grin. This woman knew how to rile Lestat; he was unsure, however, whether this was a good or bad thing. It appeared, his maker had finally met his match.

"Both of you were enrapturing, tonight. It is such a shame you will be leaving us in a few, short days," Louis feigned pity, as Celeste's eyes flickered a brief moment with sadness. The inevitable was upon them, both. Lestat, however, glared at him, "I will see you at home, fledgling."

Without another word, Louis left the two, speechless at the words that had escaped his lips. Only the questioning remained which Lestat now had his answer to. He had decided. Turning to face her, he took a deep breath; her eyes searching the vampire's for answers.

"Meet me in the auditorium, once the theatre is empty."

And he was gone, before she had a chance to answer. As opposed to socialising, Celeste made her way to the backstage and sat by her vanity. Her breath hitched at the additional presence of a new bloom. A single, red rose. And, even those that did not know of the Victorian Flower Language knew the power and meaning behind a red rose.

I Love You

'Come to me,' Lestat's voice echoed through the girl's mind, beckoning her to the stage. Celeste did not protest, her body willing her to the wings as she found his angelic silhouette standing beneath the spotlight.