Evaline | L. Lioncourt ✔

[05] Predator And Prey

A week or two had passed since Evaline had accidentally set foot into the desolate mansion in which Lestat had been seeking refuge. And ever since then she had visited him quite often, despite the fact that she knew he was far beyond strange; refusing to live like other humans and staying confined in his ruin preying upon rats and other animals. Merely surviving, as he used to put it often.

Though at times she would question herself what he really was for none of his attributes resembled any of the people she had encountered in her life. There was a rather mysterious pull that she felt towards him and even though at first she had only visited out of kindness, by then she had become interested in the tales he told from his past.

The man was extensively educated, able to speak on any topic and with the most fascinating tales she had ever heard. He could recount whole plays from memory and had the most vivid explanations for many historical events. And even though he had been trapped in for so long, he had stories in abundance and each one of those tales was far intriguing than the last.

What she did not know was that he had seen most of those places and events firsthand and all his historical accounts were reflections of his own life. He had been around for so long and had seen so much that when he recalled his own memories to her, he would label them as tales of the Old World.

And while it was difficult for Lestat to resist the temptation, he would keep a leash on himself; distracting himself by those tales he recounted, the cities and people he recalled, relishing in the thought that after so many years of simply narrating his tales to a dead audience, there was finally someone who listened.

That was the only reason he had not killed her yet. She was genuinely interested in his stories and listened closely, proving to be the perfect audience one could ask for. And after so many years of fruitlessly recounting his memories, the fact that she took interest seemed nothing short of a blessing to him.

She was a frail little thing with a curious nature and a thirst for knowledge. Her pondering questions and calculated remarks showed that aspect of her clearly. And with time, he had learnt to quench his thirst by merely drinking the shine in her curious blue eyes and the delighted laugh that echoed through the room whenever he made a witty yet humorous remark.

As for Evaline, even though she enjoyed his tales and yearned to learn more about the past and the Old World from him, she could not help but think that everything about Monsieur Lestat was oddly different from others. 

He had survived for twenty years without proper food and water. He fed on animals but not on their meat, instead those carcasses were always shrunken as if each drop of blood had been wrung out. He avoided the sunlight at all costs and awoke only at the fall of night. And last but not least, he asked her strictly not to step any closer than the threshold of his room.

Almost as if she did not abide by his request, he would do something that they would both regret.

And as she sat at the threshold, observing his sunken face and hollow eyes, she finally asked the question that had been plaguing her for so long, "Monsieur Lestat, are you not human?"

He paused in the midst of whatever he was saying, looking at her with an unfathomable expression, "pardon, chérie?"

"I mean... You are different. And ever so mysterious. I can only wonder how a man could learn so much and remember it all too with such ease..." 

He edged forward, a small smile playing on his chapped lips, "there are many a scholar you could find in this world, able to recount whole histories without as much as a single pause."

But it seemed as if his answer had not satisfied her, "and how a man could be burnt so badly yet survive for another twenty years in as desolate a place as this? Pardon me for being so outspoken, but dead rats are not what can help one survive for so long."