[The story is based on Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire the AMC series]
During the 1870s and '80s, it gave rise to the Industrial Revolution which paved way to the concept of capitalism dominated by social elites: the aristocrats - who played...
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1876, Mississippi Artisan Paradise Art Gallery
SCULPTURES OF MARBLE, CLAY, AND BRONZE, stood for us to behold. Stones like flesh, they mingled in a soft caress. Each a beauty to behold, ones that could surpass the images caught in paint on canvases pinned on the white walls of the halls.
Elites clad in jewels and fine silk strutted around me with champagne glasses, muttering criticism like they were strict professors of art and philosophy. But I knew better, for I had commitment and dedication, whilst other only chased clout. This gallery was alive because of me. Without my investments, it would wither and die. I saw a potential when others remained blind. So yes. I was better.
In the midst of the crowd, muttering like restless bees, a person clad in white stood still and quiet before a sculpture of Achilles and Patroclus. While others feign their awe and turn it into noises, he kept his ardent admiration internally where he's the only one who could hear it, and marvel it in his own secret world.
His intense gaze swept over the figures with a reverence that matched my own. I couldn't resist the pull to approach him, drawn by the shared connection we seemed to have with the art.
"Quite the captivating piece, isn't it?" I offered, trying to mask the fluttering in my chest.
He turned to me, his brown eyes sparkling with an otherworldly depth. "Indeed, it depicts a love so fierce and true, transcending even death."
A soft laugh escaped me, a sound like the gentle rustle of leaves. "You have a way with words."
He smiled back at me.
I offered him my hand. "I'm Lestat de Lioncourt."
"Lestat," he repeated. My name rolled off his tongue like a whispered caress. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Zacharias Mayfair."
We both glanced back at the sculptures before us. "I couldn't agree more about the art here." I spoke up. "It seems we share a passion for it."
Zacharias' youthful gaze sparkled and he couldn't help but smile again. "Yes, it seems we do."
"Have you seen all of the collection?"
"Seemed so, yes."
"Oh, cher, you still have more to see."
He chuckled. "Sure about that?"
"My magnum opus is hidden away, not for anyone's eyes."
Zacharias moved in front of me. He stepped an inch closer then traced the collar of my shirt with his thumb. "And you deemed me worthy to see it?"
I grabbed his hand from my collar, but I pulled him toward me. I stared at him deeply. "We share the same passion, so I see those eyes' worth."
I could see his lips forming a smile again. "And where is this?"
