Story - Embrace, ch. 19 & Epilogue

[maderr]

Now I totally don't know what to do with myself.

Also, I doubt any story will ever write this fast again. Don't get used to it.

Let's hope I didn't botch it at the ver last. My brain, it is fried.

Marianthus

(chapter nineteen)

Aubrey tilted his head back, looking up at Ruthven, still behind him. "What in the hell are you talking about?"

Ruthven sighed, and looked down at him. "Five Regents, goes the legend, who chose to defend their lord and master at the cost of their own lives, simply so that he could wipe out all his people." His eyes flashed. "To hell with that. I have been alive for more than two hundred years, and I still do not believe my people are so despicable we deserve to be destroyed. Are humans any better? They do not drink blood, and they do not have my strange gifts – but they have other methods which can be just as cruel. No one wants to wipe them out."

He could think of nothing to say, taken aback by this bitterness he had never heard before.

Without even thinking, he reached up to touch Ruthven's cheek, soothed in his own way by the soft, warm skin. "Ruthven."

Strangely, Ruthven seemed startled by the touch. He reached up to capture Aubrey's hand, as though afraid Aubrey would change his mind and withdrew. He kissed the palm, then continued speaking.

"He told us his decision, that night over dinner, and could not understand why the five of us were so angry – I think he believed we really would follow him blindly. But unlike him, we were not ashamed of what we were. We spent more time in the real world than he, tending to the problems across the country while he stayed in his castle and bemoaned his fate." His lip curled in contempt. "I was his lover, it was true, but when we became lovers he was quite different. At that point in time, we were growing apart, and I was not terribly sorry for it. It was around that time people had taken to calling me the Consort, and it amused him enough to let the title stand."

"I cannot believe you're more than two hundred years old," Aubrey murmured. "How is that possible?"

"There were ten of us, at the start, who had the power and the longevity. Two killed themselves, for reasons long since lost. Two others were slain. Those four were reclusive. Six of us chose to stand in the light, and rule, and accept the risks that brought. The one they eventually began to call the Prince started out a fine leader, but he let the words of humans get to him, convince him he was a monster, and nothing we said could change his mind. He believed it so much, the people began to believe it – or at least many of them did. Even our powers could not sway their minds."

Ruthven sighed, looking down at Aubrey again. "The agreement was all but made, and we decided it was not to be bourn. So I waited until we went to bed, and let him have his way with me, and when he was sated and asleep I fed upon him. By the time he woke enough to realize something was wrong, it was too late to do more than struggle feebly. That's why my eyes the way they are, you know."

"They're like that because you killed him?" Aubrey asked.

"Because I fed upon one of my own," Ruthven said. "It's a stigma, or was, once. It's not unlike cannibalism, after all. I took his blood, his life, and gained all his power in addition to what I already possessed – it was the best and surest way to kill him, but I took no pleasure in i. No vampire that knew my eyes would have anything to do with me, save those four who stood with me, and knew my intentions that night."

Aubrey freed his hand and sat up just enough to turn around in his seat, frowning in confusion. "They're dead now, though, right? The other Regents?"

Ruthven laughed. "Hardly. After I killed him, Tepes stepped forward to assume control, and said we chose enslavement over death. Not long after that, the five of us made certain we were largely forgotten, and scattered to the winds. We have traveled since, always keeping an eye on our people, ensuring that we are as well as we can be."

"There's four more of you out there?" Aubrey demanded.

"Yes, master," Ruthven replied, laughing again. "It is one of them whom I thought would be able to play escort to your sister. I believe Varney is not too far from here."

Sangre snorted. "If you think I am letting my daughter roam foreign lands alone with a vampire who is probably at least as wily as you—I have more sense than that, thank you."

Ruthven grinned. "He would bring suitable female companionship, of course. She would be properly chaperoned." He paused a moment. "There would be no challenge otherwise?"

"I am not amused," Sangre said darkly.

"Oh, please, papa," Carmilla pleaded. "Ruthven would never do anything to hurt Aubrey, which means he would never harm me. Look at all he's done for us. Please, papa?"

Sangre heaved an aggrieved sigh.

"I think she will be safe enough, darling," Elisabeth said, smiling at Carmilla, then looking up at Sangre. "Come now, you are hardly one to moralize."

"I damn well am when it's my daughter," Sangre growled, but sat back in defeat. "Fine," he said, "summon your friend. But if he does not meet with my approval, this entire ridiculous affair is over." He pointed at Ruthven. "You are a born troublemaker."

Ruthven smiled. "So I oft am told, though this is the most trouble I've caused in decades."

Aubrey shook his head. "You cannot truly be that old. It makes even less sense that you are here – I do not believe for a moment that Gille picked you out. Why are you here?"

The levity on Ruthven's face faded, replaced by a terrible sadness. "A little over a decade ago, I heard many rumors about three people who were making great gains in the freeing of Pets. We dare not let it happen, and so I set out to persuade the three to quiet their efforts. I wanted to explain to them why we had done what we had, and why it should remain so, at least for the time being."

He looked at Sangre. "I arrived too late. The day I arrived here, a funeral was taking place for two of the three with whom I'd wanted to speak."

Sangre's eyes widened. "I remember—but I have never recalled your face before. You said you were a supporter, who had only recently arrived in town, and was sorry to have arrived at so awful a time. Why have I never remembered all of this before?"

Ruthven looked away, his eyes landing on Aubrey. "I have been alive a long time, and done things in that time that will never cease to haunt me. The Prince was not the only vampire I killed, nor the only one I fed upon. There will probably be others, for it is my duty to help control the Pets, until three hundred years have passed and the arrangement can be renegotiated. That day, after I spoke with your father, I saw you. You were a very pretty child, Brey, and quiet sweet." He smirked. "I guess the temper came later."

"Che," Sangre said, but said nothing more when Aubrey glared at him.

"You made me smile, and that was something I had not done in longer than I cared to count. I left a few days later, but always kept tabs on your family. More than once, during my work, I saw you in a bookshop, or a café, or racing down the street to your classes." He smiled. "When I learned by chance, checking on the Pets still waiting to be purchased, that someone was seeking a Pet for you…I could not resist the impulse, or did not. Every time I saw you, I woke just a little bit more. It's good to feel alive again, and you alone are the reason for that, master."

Aubrey could only stare.

"I think he's redder than your hair, Carrot," Gille said drolly.

"You be quiet," Aubrey hissed, turning redder still.

Sangre glowered. "If your friend is even half so smooth a talker, Carmilla is going nowhere."

Carmilla rolled her eyes, then giggled at her brother.

"Ruthven," he finally managed. He shook his head. "You really should just stop calling me master. Honestly."

"You are my master," Ruthven said, and kissed him briefly. "Are there any more questions, or may I be allowed to put the past where it belongs?"

"What are these powers you keep mentioning?" Sangre asked.

Ruthven grimaced. "Many and varied, and I seldom bother to use them anymore. I can manipulate minds, to some degree. The way I transferred blood from Aubrey to Gille is not something most vampires can do – it is harder than you might think. There are other things, most of them listed in the various myths. Using them requires a great deal of energy, and the only way to restore it is to rest – which you have seen me do twice now – or drink vast quantities of blood. I prefer not to use them."

"We are so talking about this 'manipulate minds' later," Aubrey muttered.

"Yes, master," Ruthven replied, smirking.

Aubrey made a face at him, then turned around and dropped back down into his seat. "So I have a two hundred year old vampire with magic powers for a Pet. Gille – you are never allowed to pick out Pets, again."

"Apparently I did not pick him," Gille said dryly. "Tell your Pet to stay out of my head."

"Where do your powers come from?" Stregoni asked.

Ruthven shrugged. "I could not say. There were ten of us, in the beginning, but I remember little of those early days. Our powers were never passed down, I could not say why. When the five us finally die, one way or the other, all the powers will die with us. I am not the only one who prefers not to use them. They have always been more burden than blessing."

"Intriguing," Sangre said pensively, then shook his head. "It is a matter for another day, however. At the moment, it is nearly three in the morning. I think it's long past time we all found our beds."

Stregoni yawned. "It sounds a fine plan to me. Anything requiring thought can wait until the morning. Coming, Gille?"

"If I must," Gille groused, but did not protest when Stregoni tugged him from the couch, and kept hold of his hand as they left the room.

Sangre held his arm out to Elisabeth, who gathered up her skirts and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Come, Carmilla, we will walk you to your room." He slowed as they passed Aubrey and Ruthven. "Thank you, Ruthven, for everything."

"My pleasure, my lord," Ruthven said, bowing his head.

"Good night, to you both."

Aubrey smiled faintly. "Good night, father. Milla, Elisabeth, pleasant dreams."

A moment later he was left alone in the study with Ruthven. Yawning, he leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the lingering scent of forget-me-nots that permeated the place, probably the remnants of someone's perfume.

He opened his eyes as arms slid around his waist, a weight settling on his lap. He looked down to see Ruthven's head in his lap, looking weary and somewhat sad.

"I’m sorry we pressed you," he said quietly. "I guess I should learn to keep my nosiness to myself."

Ruthven moved in a way that suggested he was trying to shrug. "It would have come up, eventually – if only because at some point it would have been noted that I'm not aging."

"So you'll be young when I get old?" Aubrey asked.

"That is a discussion for another time, master," Ruthven replied, "if that is all right with you."

"Of course," Aubrey said, yawning again. "I really don't want to think about anything, least of all the fact that I seem to be attached to a vampire who is over two hundred years old. It's positively…incomprehensible."

Ruthven looked up, dark eyes as unfathomable as ever. "Is it really so awful, master?"

"I never said you were awful," Aubrey snapped.

"Not in so many words. If I am a trial, I will go…"

"Of course you're a trial," Aubrey said, tugging at Ruthven's hair in irritation. "You play at being submissive and it drives me crazy. You call me master even though we both know I'm not. You're impertinent and bold and take entirely too many liberties when told expressly not, you're entirely too clever for anyone's peace of mind, least of all mine—" He coughed, throat suddenly going tight. "Of course you're a trial, and you thrill at being so. But the idea of you leaving is unbearable, so I guess I shall simply have to learn to deal with you."

Ruthven lowered his lashes, and looked up through them, the submissive gesture completely ruined by the satisfied smirk on his face. "I'm certain, master, that I could find ways to make my presence more bearable."

"I've no doubt you could," Aubrey muttered, refusing to look at him and give in. "You're such a brat."

Soft laughter washed over his cheek, tickled his ear, and Aubrey turned back to make it stop, even knowing what was coming – and could not muster even a token protest as Ruthven kissed him, but sank his hand into Ruthven's hair, holding tightly as he gave back as good as he got.

"I still don’t understand why you call me master, of all people," he said when they finally broke apart, unable to reconcile all he'd learned about Ruthven with the fact that Ruthven so obviously wanted him.

Ruthven scraped his teeth across Aubrey's throat, making his shudder. "I killed my lover to save my people, and bear a stigma of which I will never be rid," Ruthven said. "I survive that night, but felt as though I were dead. Something about you made me feel like living again, master. "

He yelped in surprise as Ruthven grabbed him and hauled him down to the floor. "Though, it does not hurt that you take so well to the bites. You are well-suited, master, to a vampire's embrace."

"Whatever," Aubrey muttered, grabbing the lapels of Ruthven's jacket. "I really don't care about any embrace but yours, so shut up already, unless you really want to keep talking."

"I live to serve, master," Ruthven said, and did not give Aubrey a chance to voice his scathing reply.

Larkspur

(epilogue)

"Brey! Stop being such a lay-about!"

Aubrey opened one eye and scowled at his sister. "What's the bloody point of a picnic if I can't be insufferably lazy? You want to run around in this heat, by all means. I am staying right here to wallow in sloth."

"You!" Carmilla said, and kicked him lightly one last time before running off to play badminton with Elisabeth.

Soft chuckles from nearby stirred him just as he was slipping back into a light doze. "You are being awfully lazy today, master."

Aubrey turned to look at Ruthven, who was determined to make him commit yet another sin, dressed only in a white lawn shirt and pale green collar embroidered with apples.

He closed his eyes again. "So says the man who kept me up all night."

"I did not hear any complaints," Ruthven said, more than a little smugness in his voice.

Aubrey did not deign to give him the satisfaction of a reply.

Instead he simply listened to his sister and Elisabeth, the occasionally called advice or gentle taunt from his father, the more distant voices of Gille and Stregoni, who had wandered away to go fishing, off all things.

"Is there any wine left?" he asked.

"Could you be bothered to get it if there was, master?" Ruthven asked.

Aubrey would have rolled his eyes, but that required opening them. "It is entirely too hot to be impertinent."

"I rather like the heat."

"You're insufferable."

Ruthven laughed, then fell silent.

Aubrey yawned and rolled over onto his stomach, wishing the shade offered by the tree they were beneath were a bit more expansive. He cracked his eyes open to look at Ruthven, flushing when he realized Ruthven had been staring at him all the while. "What?" he asked.

"The sunlight suits you, master," Ruthven said – then smirked. "Even if it does make you as lazy as a cat."

"Shut up," Aubrey muttered, and pointedly turned away to face the other way, watching Stregoni and Gille at the pond a little distance away. It looked as though they had about as much interest in fishing as he did in moving.

Snorting, he turned to face Ruthven again. "I might be as lazy as a cat," he said, "but you looked like you helped yourself to the mistress' canaries."

"Merely enjoying the view, master."

"Brat," Aubrey said, and closed his eyes again, too hot and sleepy to muster the energy for a sharper retort.

The sound of a footman's voice did stir him though, and he dragged himself to a sitting position as he watched the footman talk to his father.

A moment later, Sangre beckoned to him.

As he drew close, he realized that Carmilla looked too excited too contain herself.

"What is it, father?" he asked.

Sangre looked at Ruthven, who stared blandly back. "It would seem a sudden guest has arrived, claiming to be a friend of a certain Pet on the premises."

"Hmm," Ruthven said idly. "I did not expect him for a couple of days yet."

"Liar," Aubrey muttered beneath his breath, but was given no chance to say anything further as a man drew close, escorted by another footman.

No way, Aubrey decided, sharing a look with his father. No way in hell was he taking Carmilla anywhere – least of all out of their sight.

He had long blonde hair, pale enough it was almost white, neatly pulled back by a red silk ribbon. His waistcoat was also red, entirely too bright and flashy for Aubrey's taste. His eyes were a pale blue, almost more gray, really. He was also more than a little bit handsome – almost pretty, in fact, and at least as tall as Ruthven.

Carmilla, he decided, was staring inappropriately. Non too gently tugging his sister back, he stepped forward. "You are Ruthven's friend?"

"Yes," the man said, smiling in a way that showed he did, indeed, have fangs. "My name is Varney. It is an honor to meet all of you." He swept into a deep bow, then glanced up at Carmilla, holding out his hand. "I believe you are the fair princess I have been asked to show the world?"

Carmilla put her hand in his, cheeks going pink when he kissed her knuckles.

"Unhand my daughter at once," Sangre said sharply.

"Oh, papa," Carmilla said with a sigh. "Do not start growling."

"I will growl all I like," Sangre said.

Carmilla exchanged a look with Elisabeth, who placed a placating hand on his arm. "Dear, it's far too lovely a day to start picking fights." She looked at Varney. "You were, I believe, to bring a proper chaperone for her ladyship?"

"Yes, my lady," Varney replied. "She follows in a carriage, and should be arriving within the hour. She is, technically speaking, my master. I have been her Pet for twenty years. A very sweet woman, and you will be happy to know she relishes putting me in my place. Alas, she is far too good at it." He smiled, making Carmilla and Elisabeth laugh.

Aubrey shared another look with his father, and another with Gille as he and Stregoni at last joined them.

Before they could start in on the man, however, Elisabeth clapped her hands briskly. "Well, then, I say we all sit down and get to know one another in civilized fashion. Shall we return to the house, darling, or continue to enjoy the fine weather?"

"The weather," Sangre said, and gave her his arm to lead her back to the blanket, though he did not completely abandon glaring at Varney.

Who offered his arm to Carmilla.

Aubrey ignored the amused looks Ruthven was shooting him, and lead the way back to the three, and the large blanket upon which he'd been so recently napping.

From the warning glint in his sister's eye, he suspected they were going to lose the battle to keep her from going off with Varney and this supposed chaperone on her way – but they could have fun trying, and making certain the man was fit to take away his sister.

"Aren't you sitting just a little too close?" Gille demanded, glaring at Carmilla, who had chosen to sit next to her potential guide.

"No," Carmilla said airily. "No worse than you and Stregoni at the fishing hole."

"That was entirely different," Gille snapped.

Stregoni laughed and dragged the picnic basket close, coming up with a bottle of wine, which he quickly decanted, passing the glasses around until everyone had one. "Come now, it's bad for the health to bicker this early in the day. Just look at what it did to poor Aubrey – he cannot even stay awake."

Aubrey rolled his eyes, but obediently lifted his glass as Stregoni did.

"To new friends," Stregoni said, elbowing Gille to raise his own glass, "and best wishes to Carmilla, when she leaves on her travels."

"She's not going with him," said Aubrey, in unison with his father and Gille.

"Are they always like this?" Varney asked, amused.

"Always," said Carmilla, in unison with Elisabeth, Ruthven, and Stregoni.

Aubrey rolled his eyes, but laughed along with everyone else.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, this was an absolutely wondrous story. Thank you for sharing it. I did manage to catch a typo, all the way at the top of this chapter - "it was the best and surest way to kill him, but I took no pleasure in i." You simply missed the 'T' at the end of 'it', so the typo isn't too serious. The epilogue was maybe a bit rushed, but considering the speed with which you updated, it isn't bad at all. Thank you again for sharing the absolute win!
Covah

[shattereternity.livejournal.com]

no no no no no i refuse to believe that aubrey will ever die and leave ruthven alll alone to become a listless vamp fated to wander the world as the vampire's boogeyman. Uh uh not happening

that aside...

*__* has anyone told you you're awesome??? because you totally (i can't believe i just used that word --;;) rock

but do you also realize that you left a lot of room for drabbling/sequals?? Cause now i'm really curious about the other vamp-originals (and of course little snippets of ruthven/aubrey and gille/stregoni wouldn't hurt :) since the muses seem to be happy)

and was wondering, probably missed this while i was speed reading, are vamps born or made in this world?

Now i think i should go back and reread :DD

[charisstoma.livejournal.com]

Second and third and fourth...
drabbles..sequels.. the other members of the original court..Carmilla's trip.. we only just met Varney and haven't met his mistress..Aubrey's little conversation with Ruthven about their unequal aging, example "So you'll be young when I get old?" Aubrey asked.
"That is a discussion for another time, master," Ruthven replied..."
There are lots of questions that are drabble worthy and sequel sufficient.
Not least of which is; Ruthven is running around in only a ribbon collar and a white lawn shirt??! No pants? yum ok someone draw that for me.

[aggybird.livejournal.com]

Awww, I loved it! And now Camilla gets to have adventures with Varney the Vampire!

I kinda hope you do more with this world - the Pets are a really cool twist to the vampire genre. I'm glad Aubrey and Ruthven will be 2getha 4eva. I get the impression Ruthven might make Aubrey a midnight snack in order to ensure that this happens. The only one I felt really bad for was Francois - totally in love with his bastard master and then death by garlic. Some vampires should not get out of their coffin in the morning.

(Hey, you know what you could, um, do with yourself? Maybe read the latest story I stupidly started and then tell me if it's worth continuing? Eh heh. 9_9;;)

[dameange.livejournal.com]

{claps} wonderful story, M, absolutely wonderful!

[vera-dicere.livejournal.com]

*happy dance* ^_________________________________^

yay!!! it's finished and lovely and i enjoyed every second of it. i was kind of expecting ruthven to be relatioed to the mythical vampire prince somehow, but not quite in the way it turned out. very interesting. and i love that he picked brey out, rather than gille picking him out.

overall, fantastic, as usual. i must admit, though, that i would dearly love to see brey/ruthven smex in some future drabble. i can only imagine the banter that must go along with such an activity.

[stoplightgodess.livejournal.com]

Have a cupcake luv. Done, now GLOMP! Mwah! Thanks for a lovely, lovely red and absolutely vunderful chars. As always, the best kind of read, the kind I will go back to read at three in the morning coz I must.

[(Anonymous)]

♥

Do their eyes change just from feeding from another vampire (which Camilla did) or does the change require feeding from another to the point of death?

Ah, anyway, will be suffering from withdrawal until your next story. ^^

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Carmilla was a bit different -- she was much more like a babe feeding from a mother, so to speak. More like a baby bird, really, in that Ruthven had already processed the blood. That was so her half-human body could learn what to do with blood.

[(Anonymous)]

*facepalm* I forgot to factor in her being half-human and that she's never had blood before. Thank you for the answer~

(Because I forgot to say it last time: Ruthven is so, so shameless. *g*)

[bleedtoblue.livejournal.com]

I've enjoyed this a great deal, thank you so much.

[animeartistjo.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you so much! Your fingers and brain must be so tired right now, but I'm so grateful that you finally finished those initial chapters on your website. I've been waiting and waiting so I could finish it in one fell swoop, so I'll get on with it so I can actually give you some constructive (maybe) feedback besides some inarticulate squeeage. <3

[kiyoshi-chan.livejournal.com]

Yay! Now I can read it all at once! (Pity I don't have a four-day weekend though.)

[mechante-fille.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't believe it is finished. It feels oddly like the beginning of a new era or something. Everything before was B.E. and now we are moving into A.E. Also, my brain works in weird ways this time of night.

That said, it was a wonderful story. Loved all the symbolism, and the toying with mythology. Loved the characters, and love the potential for more, whether it ever gets written or not. Just knowing there are paths that can be seen from here is fun.

Congratulations!! Have fun with your new free time, whatever you decide to fill it with. <3

[cornporngirl.livejournal.com]

who was determined to make him commit yet another sin, dressed only in a white lawn shirt and pale green collar embroidered with apples.I know what you meant, but lines like this always make me think - no pants? hehe I'd love to see that ^_^

that was so fantastic! I loved this and I can't wait to see what you do next, are we going to see Camilla & Varney's story? or what Ruthvan plans for Aubrey when he starts to get older ??

[mordred-risika.livejournal.com]

I love this. THe last part with the split group is amazing, and had me laughing. I wish there were more because I really like these characters, but it makes sense to leave it here. Thank you!!

LOVED IT!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Megan;
"Embrace" - What is not to love??
Thank you for finishing it So quickly! I promise Not to get "use to it." Hahaha! I, for one, Very much appreciate it!
For quite a few chapters I had no idea where you were going with this tale. You caught me unawares numerous times - which is So intriguing!
Speaking of "love" what is not to love about Brey & Ruthven and Stregoni & Gille??
Ruthven's inpertinence, alluring style & Power is just So sexciting!
Thank you for another Excellent adventure!
Not to be impatient but I Can't Wait for the next journey!!!!
I am "almost" embarrassed to tell you that I have read Many of your stories more than once - way more than once.
Hell I know a prolific Authour when I find one!! You Definitely fit the bill!
Thank you for Many hours of Sheer Enjoyment!

Gary

[i-hate-reenters.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! Congratulations on finishing yet another wonderful story! I have a friend who has been rabidly waiting for Embrace to get finished and she's going to be simply ecstatic!

All loose ends have been tied so well now, but I do hope we get a drabble or two about the relationship that was there between Francois and Gille? I think because we never got to see the relation from Gille's eyes, it is still a bit of a mystery.

Brey is going to have his hands full and more with the Royal Pet. But I'm sure there will be a time or two when he stands his ground; would make the relationship more equal, methinks.

I love how fast you've written and still retained the attention to detail! And I ADORE that the title fits so well, that you've had this point in mind since years ago when you first started the story!

So, congrats once again. Hope to see many more wonderful stories from you coughmeanttobecough!

-anin

[aqua-eyes.livejournal.com]

<3<3<3<3

It was obviously well worth the wait it took for you to get the right whatever it is to finish this fic.

[camden-rehab.livejournal.com]

The first time you wrote Embrace I found it rather confusing, so I was kind of hesitant to start reading the updated version, but boy did you ever make it awesome. The twist on the vampire theme and Gille's daddy-issues? Brilliant. ( ^.^){<3)

[kalldoro.livejournal.com]

I can't believe this story is over IT IS AWESOME I AM SO SAD! *sob*

Best story ever, I love Ruthven, I want a pet just like him. *laughs*

[avalon13.livejournal.com]

Sorry I haven't commented on the other chapters. D: But you've simply been writing them faster then I can read, not that I'm, uh, complaining or anything.

Oh wow oh wow. You've finished it. For me, this is the end of a years long love affair. I have watched you begin to rewrite this before, and I must say I love this newest version best, and I should think it obvious. This is far more refined and flowed beautifully. I would adore seeing more of this 'verse, but I won't push. I love how Gille was scared stiff for Streg, and how Gille really probably would be the stay at home mum if he and Streg set up house. Hee. I feel sorry for Francois because he didn't really deserve to die. And I loved the significance of every single flower you mentioned. And I looked up each one religiously, like the good little fangirl I am. My favourite chapter will and always will be 'Love Lies Bleeding' because that's where your writing shone and where you described the entirety of Gille with a flower, and simply because I found it beautiful. The ending of one of your stories is always a cause for a little sadness if only because I'd like to see them go on forever.

Bravo, my sweet. You sit back, and wait while I drabble you up something.

[avalon13.livejournal.com]

Out of every single stolen moment between them, the moments he treasures best are not among them. The moments he treasure are not the sunsets where the sky burns the same shade as Stregoni's hair, nor the afternoons Gille spends alone, waiting for him to come back. What he loves best are these, when night sets Stregoni's skin with a pale glow, and his hair slides like midnight fire in his hands and between his fingers. It is not the pleasure each thrust brings him, or hearing his name screamed.

It is the time after, when Stregoni is at his most soft, and lies contentedly in his arms, with lips that lazily graze his mouth, his cheek, and fingers that comb through his hair and a voice promises him the world. And sometimes, sometimes, there is no need for the voice at all, because Gille has no need for the world, but only this.

And there is Carrot, his Carrot, who looks at him with love, and adoration, and he can scarcely believe that he is his for keeps, and there is no reason to be scared any longer, and those are the times he holds on the tightest, until his knuckles turn white, and there are bruises in Stregoni's flesh but he never complains, merely holds unto him just as tightly.

And there is the time in the sun, when Stregoni goes off to work, and when he comes home, and Gille cannot wait for him to come through the door and instead meets him halfway and kisses him in front of whoever is there. It feels like the final break of winter, like the sun has come again after a thousand years of night. And these moments, when neither of them has to hide from each other or anyone else, does he treasure best.

[dmlpacker.livejournal.com]

What an adorable ending! I'm sad this story is over (but hopefully there will be future drabbles?), especially since I could look forward to updates pretty much every single day (and multiple times a day). I look forward to up-and-coming original works.

[akerushin.livejournal.com]

:D Eee happy ending. And oooh GIlle and Stregoni. :D

*melts into a puddle of goo*

[unusualmusic.livejournal.com]

Marvelous! I absolutely LOVE your characters and your plots!

[twilight-angel.livejournal.com]

Oh, very, very nice! I absolutely adore all of the flower imagery, how you associate various flowers to characters and how the appropriate flower shows up at certain circumstances. I'm impressed!

But I have to ask, was this in response to reading one too many penny dreadfuls? (Varney the Vampire and The Vampyre by chance? ^_~)

Another wonderful story, and I can't believe you've finished Embrace. Wow. And it has certainly grown from its previous incarnation, grown and matured and -- pardon the pun -- blossomed. Lovely!

[maderr.livejournal.com]

The flowers were fun ^_^

Not a response, no. More, I just thought it would be fun and funny to name most of the chars after vampires, or characters in vampire novels. I think almost everyone is - Jonathan, Mina, and Lucy (his wife) were all from Dracula, Aubrey and Ruthven you obviously got, Elisabeth is named for the Bloody Countess, Gille for Gilles de Rais, and Stregoni Benefici is a type of good vampire, I think. Carmilla is another vampire book.

Thank you very much ^__^

[kubikukuri.livejournal.com]

MADERR O_O You have finished this story while I was not looking. You are amazing and you should be put on a pedestal and worshipped or something. Thank you so so much for finishing this story. I've been waiting for Embrace for... hasn't it been a year? Or more? Since you first started writing. I must say that it's different from what I expected based on the original story, but since this is a revamp I love it for what it is. (And the speed you wrote it with!) Also, Gille and Stregoni. I love you. Thank you. Thank you for finishing this story. Thank you so much. This has made my day, week, month.

P.S. Squee! I bought your book 'Prisoner' on Amazon, and it is now in my greedy, grubby hands. It shall entertain me greatly as I endure 13-hour-long airplane rides (an excuse to blubber and wibble all over the Wolf of Kria again). (Maybe I will also transfer the drabbles to my ipod to keep me even more amused.) Um, I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but I hope you answer. Did you include Dagger's story — the new version — in any of the Fairytales Slashed books? Also, why are the 'Fairytales Slashed' books not available on Amazon...? (or am I just not looking hard enough?)

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Thank you ^__^ I'm glad you liked it so much. I wish all my stories wrote that quickly and without fuss.


yay ^__^ I hope it keeps you distracted. The new version of MG is in fairytales one. In a couple of weeks, the fairytales should be up. I just finished reformatting them yesterday. All I have to do now is design the cover.

[bitchypixii.livejournal.com]

*takes breath*

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

I've spent this weekend catching up on all that I've missed, because I haven't had any time to myself since - chapter four? that sounds right. So I've pretty much overdosed on the sweet and the love and the angst and the HAPPYENDINGSQUEEEEAL!

I-I-I-I have nowhere to start with the utter awesomeness of this all. Gille and Stregoni and Ruthven and Aubrey and Sangre and Mama!Sangre and Mina and LOVE.

*gathers self, attempts coherency*

So. I loved the Gille/Stregoni plot, not least because utter bastards are terribly fun once you get a humanizing element in there with them. I kind of liked them better than Aubrey/Ruthven (though they were lovely too) but I'm a teenager, I'm allowed to make silly decisions like that. The piano was the doing-in point for me on that note. (argh, horrible pun, but the only words I can think of to go here are musical references. this is the least-bad of them.)

Ruthven was awesome and Aubrey adorable. He's the kind of prickly, persnickety vulnerable that makes me just want to gather him up and hug him. My arms ache to do so, at times.

And Lord Sangre! I cannot even tell you how much I loved his plot. I mean. It was like burning. So loving, and so cold because of it. And so horribly protective it comes off entirely wrong to one of the people he holds most dear. He just seems so human - he made mistakes, is still making them in fact, but he does the best he can and soldiers on.

I've missed your serials. Not that it made a huge amount of difference for me, personally, this time around, because I read it all in one chunk anyway, but in the five minutes a day I got to check my flist, it made me smile to see a new chapter had come up. This whole story was lovely, and I'm glad you've (re)written it.

[broken-moons.livejournal.com]

Okay, I know I haven't been commenting on this story, but I have been reading it avidly like you wouldn't believe. And i'm going to write down all my thoughts here and now. ^_^;

1) I rather suspected Ruthven was some kind of vampire lord. What with the powers, and the respect he got from Elisabeth. The truth, of course, was even shinier.
2) Ruthven! Ruthven, Ruthven Ruthven! I love that name ♥. Aubrey is also a beautiful name, and lol Sangre is an apt name for the family (especially Carmilla). *snicker* I have to say, though, that Stregoni always struck me as a surname, not a first name, and my mind keeps wanting to read Gille as Gilles.
2) Speaking of Carmilla, I figured her out about three lines before it was explained. Go, me? I guess not. But, awesome.
3) Speaking of Gille and Stregoni, oh, the poor things! I figured Gille had to have a reason for his behaviour, because it was simply too focused for him to be an actual bad guy. Plus, he did good stuff as well. My heart broke during the chapter when Stregoni went for Gille and they fought with his father. Nasty, nasty piece of shit. I cannot write villains like you do. :(
4) Flower names are entirely beyond me. ^_^; I should go look up what they all mean. But as a narrative device, I think it's cool. Though, you know, the flowers were a big part of the beginning of the story, and then at the end it had rather died down.
5) At one point I suspected that the vampires had tricked the humans into 'enslaving' them, and were secretly running the world behind the scenes. Again, the truth is probably better, though I would not mind reading a story like that.
6) This is my favourite vampire story, truly. Not so much with the 'oh, woe is me' laments or hissy fits or the 'I cannot love a vampire because they eat people, oh noes!'
7) Speaking of vampires, I take it in this verse a vampire's bite is not infectious? The only way to become a vampire is to have (at least one) vampire parents? Also, I would very much like to learn more about how it all started. Were Ruthven and his crew the original vampires? If so, where did everyone else come from? Or were they a second batch of some kind of experiment (because he does say they were created rather than evolved, right?) that was less potent? And I see these vampires have no grudge against daylight, yay. I always thought the whole allergy to sunlight was a BIG part of all the woe and emo-ness in other vampire stories. No wonder, because humanoids are not made to live without sunlight, vampire mutations or not.

Anyway. Rambly like hell, sorry. If you skipped it all, I'll just say again that I adore this story. And I'm happy for you that it wrote so fast; more stories should write like that. ^_^;

[element-rogue.livejournal.com]

Absalutely gorgeous ending, i loved every bit of it!

One question: Will Aubrey get old and Ruthven stay the same?

[chris-king-2005.livejournal.com]

*sighs happily*

What a treat!

You continue to to rock my world.

Well done! Again!

[madmax0r.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Loved the whole thing to bits. Good job! : )

[alice_montrose]

Whew, I finally managed to catch up with this story. I honestly do not regret any moment sent reading it, because your vampires are awesome. And the vampire lore related names managed to crack me up, hehehehe!

Thanks for bringing us yet another awesome story. It was a lovely read, and I am pretty much in love with Ruthven. He's made of win! XD

[jladi.livejournal.com]

Love love loved it! I do hope Ruthven changes Aubrey or something so he doesn't get left behind. And Carmilla running of with Varney is so full of juicy potential ^_^ I do wonder at Gille not showing any pain that Francois is dead, maybe I missed it, but I didn't notice it. Except maybe the part where William was brought back? Hmmm. Its nice that Gille's story didn't actually have anything to do with vampires. I thought it did. I even suspected that he was half as well, dunno why. He was just so secretive about everything. And the part where Ruthven fell asleep the first time, when Francois and Stregoni were fighting puzzled me. But I really like this story, loved it since I read the first chapter a long time ago, and am so glad you finally finished it :)

[skylark97.livejournal.com]

*is puddle of happy goo* <--sorry, you're not going to get much more comprehensive stuff out of me other than that. *tackle hearts* You are totally the roxxors. <333333333 *twirls you about* ^_________________^

[hsavinien.livejournal.com]

Awesome. That worked really well. I'm glad your rewrite happened. Very shiny. Though many of your complete jerks who turn out fluffy seem to have Daddy Issues... ^_^ <3 Stregoni still. He was my favorite overall.

[oconel]

lusiology recced me your stories and she wasn't wrong at all. I've enjoyed this a lot: the names of the characters (and the surname Sangre, of course), the interactions between Stregoni and Gilles, Ruthven and Audrey... you've done a wonderful work with this story.

[ciraarana.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that was such a wonderful story! I know I say that way too often, but it's true nevertheless. I really liked the idea of a society that kept blood-drinkers as status symbols. Like I think it was Aubrey said: only humans could think that fashionable. *gg*

And it was so much fun to identify the different vampire tales you took their names from! Lucy, Wilhelmina, Jonathan - that's Dracula; Aubrey, Ruthven - that's Polidor's Vampyre. Carmilla - by Sheridan Le Fanu. I must admit defeat at Gille and Stregoni, though. Are they vampires from literature, too? Oh, and not to forget Sangre. My French isn't as good as it once was, but I understand that. Meh, I'm such a fangirl of the Lovely Little Detail. ^-^

[maderr.livejournal.com]

Yay! ^___^ I'm always happy when people get the little details.

Gille is based upon Gilles de Rai (though, I am presently butchering the spelling, I think), who was a real life 'vampire' in the time of Jean d'Arc. Stregoni Benefici is essentially a good vampire.

[cjandre.livejournal.com]

I have to say that I enjoyed this story very much, got through it all in one day!

I am enjoying working my way throug much of the fiction on your website as well. The Lost Gods Series is one of the best fantasy series I have ever read - pro or amature! You have great talent!

[lycias.livejournal.com]

Awww. That made me so warm and melty inside :)