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Claudia’s fangs ached as they slid into the pale column of Madeleine’s throat, the puncture echoing through both of their veins. The thick warm substance flooded Claudia’s mouth and she instantly felt a heady, overwhelming high melt it’s way through every inch of her small body. The top of her head knocked against Louis’, irritatingly reminding her that it was not just her and Madeleine that existed in this blissful pocket of forever. Claudia growled softly out of instinct and dove further forward to sink her teeth even deeper. The vampire heard rustling across from her, but her mind was shrouded by the euphoria of finally tasting Madeleine’s blood, at last being able to drink it down with the same fervor she had wanted to the day they initially met. When she heard muffled orders being panickedly shouted in her direction, it was still not enough to snap her out of this trance-like state she’d found herself neck deep in.
It was only when a large calloused hand shoved her backwards and her fangs disconnected from the woman’s neck that she realized Louis had been telling her to stop before she drained Madeleine completely dry. She panted heavily, blood coating her lips and chin. Claudia groaned as she wiped the excess coagulating ire onto the back of her hand.
“If you kill her, I can’t give it to her.” Louis had barked before sighing his ugly, fatherly sigh that always managed to crawl its way deep under Claudia’s skin. Claudia stepped backwards and furrowed her brows into upward curves as she furtively masked her annoyance. She glanced down at Madeleine, still lying on her back. She was most likely still phasing in and out of consciousness, teetering on the sharp edge of life and death that they both had placed her upon. She was gasping softly, fingers twitching as if to reach out for Claudia. It made the vampire’s desire to lunge forward and gather her up in her arms even worse.
Louis brought his wrist up to his mouth, as if to initiate a bite that would draw out his blood, but quickly aborted the action. He took the sharp nail of his thumb and dug it deep into the skin there. He sucked a sibilant breath through his teeth with his fangs unwillingly still on display. He then placed his wrist in front of Madeleine, which caused her to perk up like an animal in search of food. Her weak hands shot up as quickly as they were able to manage, holding onto Louis’ forearm as she drank from his life-force. Her body started to writhe underneath him, yelps and groans of relief slipping past her busied lips. She could not get enough, even as she tried her best to shove her face into the muscles and tendons of Louis’ wrist.
Claudia stood and watched in bittersweet jealousy. She was elated that she would at last have a companion, but oh how she wished it could have been her instead of Louis. She did not have enough of her own blood left in her stunted body to supply a young boy of her size, let alone the shape of a grown woman she would never grow into. The thought made her remember the disjointed flashes she had gotten of Madeleine’s life as she drank from her. Her family, possibly a younger sister, an affluent French childhood. Claudia saw Madeleine at the same age at which she was turned, so young and already decimated by the world around her. It made Claudia wonder how they would have ended up had they met at those ages, when Claudia was an abused neglected teenager living in Storyville with an aunt she was admittedly glad she’d mostly forgotten about. Would Madeleine have been as forgiving? As loving? Would she even give Claudia a second glance?
Louis ripped his arm from Madeleine’s grip, stumbling backwards and bleeding in thick streams onto the warped old wood flooring of Madeleine’s shop. Claudia looked back at Madeleine, racing to her side and grabbing her hand once more. Madeleine let out a large sigh, as if drinking from Louis had both exhausted and invigorated her. As her eyelids fluttered open and peeled back to reveal brilliant yellow iris’ erratically darting from one corner of the room to the next, Claudia could not hold back the grin that spread from ear to ear on her blood-stained face. She looked down at her companion’s mouth that hung open, drenched in Louis’ blood, and saw the long sharp fangs that protruded from her gums. Claudia reached her hand up to cup the side of the fledgling vampire’s cheek, running the pad of her thumb over the sheened cuspid now primed for the kill. Madeleine smiled as much as she could with her jaw still hinged.
“You’re beautiful.” Claudia whispered, a soft giggle cutting through her New Orleanian drawl. She moved her finger from the woman’s mouth. Madeleine shut her mouth as she inhaled a deep breath, lapping up the blood leftover on her lips.
Suddenly, Madeleine hissed loudly and shot onto her side. She roared in pain, the sound echoing off the walls as she grabbed at her stomach and throat. Claudia’s eyes widened, panic inducing as she watched her companion squirm and thrash in discomfort. She swiftly looked back up to Louis, who was still turned away from them both. She was about to call out to him, beg him to help her or explain what was going on. Had she not taken to the gift? Was she going to die, all because of Claudia’s own selfishness?
Louis interjected her rapid thoughts.
“She’s dying her human death. Body turnin’ inside out. She’ll be fine, go clean yourself up now.” Louis mumbled, turning back around while he inspected the leaking wound on his wrist. Claudia was suspicious, she didn’t remember her turning being so violent, but in all honesty she didn’t remember much more than flashes of that fateful night. She remembered the fire, the smoke, her aunt calling to her helplessly from the adjacent room, Louis pulling her out, Lestat’s blood, and then the next thing she recalled was being entirely cleaned up and dressed in new fancy clothes that she would never have dreamed of being able to afford. Maybe she had blocked out that pain, because Louis clearly remembered his— and here Madeleine was, whining and whimpering in extreme pain as she held her pounding head. Maybe what Louis had failed to mention, days after it had happened when he decided to explain what filled the gaps where her own memory failed her, had been the same pain Madeleine was experiencing now.
Claudia picked at the underside of her pointed pale colored nails before maneuvering around the room to push past Louis and leave. She stopped to swivel around and grab Louis hand, the one still trickling blood. She gazed into his emerald eyes and spoke.
“Now, we’re even.”
She ignored the dead look in her brother’s face and turned to leave once again. The small kitchenette off to the left that sat behind the main lobby of Madeleine’s shop had a sink that she would then use to wash the blood off of her lower face and neck, the blood sliding off her smooth, blemish-free skin with unnatural ease. She heard the echoes of slams and groans from the other room, knowing it was Madeleine. Claudia tried to ignore how the pained noises made her ache with anguish herself. She would not regret this decision, Madeleine would not be a ‘mistake’. She would be hers, and Claudia would be Madeleine’s.
Though what exactly, she asked, would she be to Madeleine? A forever forbidden friend? A friend to pass the cold nights? She couldn’t possibly ignore the feelings that bubbled inside of her for too long, and Claudia would have been lying if she didn’t confess to looking through the winding corridors of Madeleine’s mind to find she most certainly had taken a liking to Claudia in the same way. It put her at ease at the time, and perhaps it would have still served to settle her nerves if Claudia had not worked herself up. The calmed nerves had only been frayed once more by the flashes of Madeleine’s life Claudia had seen as she drank from her in her last moments as a mortal. She saw Madeleine’s… sister? At least someone she had clearly lost at a very young age. She wondered if that had left a hole in Madeleine, one she was looking to fill. Why else would she want Claudia? To be a doll? A mannequin for her newest dresses?
No, Claudia assured herself defiantly. Surely, Madeleine’s complex inner feelings for Claudia were not those of a sibling scorned, looking to patch the emptiness that remained. She adored her enough to sacrifice a mortal existence for eternity with her, so she knew that she shouldn’t worry. She shouldn’t start to breathe quicker and heavier, nor should her eyes start to brim with reddish tears that threaten to slide down her quickly heating cheeks.
Claudia scrubbed at her skin, the red, bothersome irritation subsiding as quickly as it appeared.
It’s been two months since Madeleine and Claudia left, and the wretched thought had been chipping away at the interior of the older vampire. They left Paris, although they had not left France. Madeleine suggested they should visit Orleans, which had made Claudia laugh at first. They did end up going, although Claudia couldn’t help but compare it to her home— her true home, back in Louisiana. Old Orleans just doesn’t match up , she’d say. To the trivial upset of Madeleine, Claudia told her stories of the new while bringing in the old. They had gotten a place there, Madeleine using her secure fund of inherited wealth to get them a nice place, and settled in nicely. Although the plan wasn’t laid out in exhaustive detail, they knew they wouldn’t be there permanently, so they just decided to rent.
They’d gone coffin shopping first thing, Claudia revisiting the first time she got a coffin of her own. She spoke of it with reverence, despite the hatred she felt for some parties that were unfortunately involved, she could not deny that the happiness was there. They were a jovial family once, and she could still look back on those moments with the same feelings of glee and comfort. Especially now, that she had finally, truly , escaped.
Madeleine enjoyed picking out a coffin of her own, a sleek white casing with plush red cushioning and golden accents on the inside. Claudia’s own was black with a padded lilac interior. The inner latches of their coffins were swapped, a golden hinge for Claudia’s and a silver one for Madeleine’s. It was a detail they absolutely insisted upon.
Their life was sweet, peaceful even. A sharp turn from Claudia’s usual, and it had frightened her. The absence of turmoil and grief, no abuse or harsh words. In a sense it unnerved Claudia’s senses— which were acclimated to tragedy. It was nothing like her fathers’ relationship. It was so… unfamiliar. They rose in the evenings and laid their heads to rest in the early peaks of dawn. They hunted together, explored sights together, and just existed together.
Claudia’s eyes blinked open and met the unending darkness of her custom made casket, pushing the top of it open so she could rise. When she did so, slipping out of the case, she stretched her small, lithe body upwards to relieve herself of the itching growing pains that still rippled through her very-much-not-growing bones. Madeleine’s coffin was left open and empty, which made the other vampire sigh and roll her eyes lightheartedly as she delicately shut the lid to her fellow immortal’s coffin.
When she made her way into the mostly unused kitchen that stood center of the house, she saw Madeleine sitting on the counter with a sketchbook in her criss-crossed lap. She was scribbling away at the paper, drawing in abstract jutted lines. She was only interrupted when Claudia had mindlessly wondered what idea she was designing, which made her perk up and smile brightly at Claudia’s presence.
“Claudia! You’re awake!” She gleamed as she hopped off the countertop, chucking the pad of paper onto the surface and barreling towards the other vampire. She hoisted Claudia up into a hug and twirled her around, and Claudia began to giggle while trapped in the loving embrace.
“Didn’t know you missed me that much, we might be too codependent.” She commented as she wrapped her arms around Madeleine’s neck and looked down at her. She twirled her clawed fingers through the messy auburn curls as Madeleine chuckled in response. She set Claudia back down onto the tile floor of the kitchen gently and spoke.
“Ah, oui. Nous passerons une éternité ensemble, autant devenir codépendants.”
Claudia laughs brightly.
“You gotta point, whatcha workin’ on, ma chérie?” She asks. Madeleine detached from Claudia and sped over to her drawings, bringing them back over to Claudia as she began to ramble on about her newest designs and how they would look on Claudia’s body and what materials and fabrics she would use to make sure it looked right and flourished in all the right places. Claudia simply followed along, letting her eyes rake down all the new concept sketches. Madeleine had been talking a lot about new clothes she wanted to design for Claudia. They were only just settled in the house they’d just bought, so she only now had the time to scribble her ideas down in abstract lines and curves. The wardrobe she had worked up was pretty, all with colorful collars and fabric bows at the necklines or waists. Pretty, but… childish. Madeleine did not mean harm by it, she knew, but Claudia could not ignore it. It was all she thought about after all.
She sat down at the kitchen table, sighing faintly as she ran her thumb down the pages. Madeleine tilted her head to the side cluelessly while standing above her.
“Is there something wrong with them?” She asked softly, kneeling down to match her level and placing her overlapped arms on the surface of the table. Claudia shrugged, crooking up a halfhearted smile. The change in position did not help Claudia’s overthinking.
“They just seem a lil… juvenile. Don’t know.” She explained. Madeleine stood to her full height once more and gently took the sketches from her companion.
“You think so?” She said before walking to sit at the opposite side of the table. She laid the pad out for both of them to inspect. It set the playing field for the discussion, and the older immortal appreciated that. Claudia nodded.
“They’re beautiful, they just look like somethin’ a kid would wear. Next to you I’d look like a baby.” A ginger giggle followed to smooth the tension, but only made it worse.
Like your little sister , she wanted to mumble along with her concerns. She knew no one would assume they were related in the slightest— she’d already gotten her fair share of that treatment as they moved around the little bit of country they’d explored. That wasn’t exactly the idea she was getting at, just that she would look like some young girl tagging along with an older woman. Maybe some charity case adopted baby, she thought begrudgingly. She didn’t want to look like that, she didn’t want to be a stand-in sister or daughter for a woman she now could admit she’d developed strong feelings for. She played the dutiful younger sister for Louis, despite the fact that she knew he would always view her as a daughter, and she did not want to go through the same song and dance with Madeleine.
The dressmaker nodded along, eyeing the designs now with a more critical eye.
Why didn’t you tell me sooner? This is the same design I did for the first dress I made you.
Madeleine’s heavily accented inner voice swirled around in Claudia’s mind. It usually calmed Claudia, but now it had set her on edge. The defensive tone made her kick into fight or flight.
Claudia tamped it down and just shrugged.
Worried about other things.
Madeleine hummed. She knew there was something else, Claudia could tell that she knew.
“When you were turned, I saw lil flashes of your life when you were dyin’.” Claudia commented bluntly. Madeleine looked up from her sketches to meet her companion’s pinkish eyes. Madeleine shivered as she thought back to that night, Claudia sensing the discomfort setting into her system as she drudged up the painful memory.
“Oui, et alors?” She asked, prompting Claudia to continue.
“I saw a little girl.”
Madeleine rolled her eyes.
“My sister, Aimee. She died with my parents. She was… an interesting young girl.” She said, giggling. Claudia chewed on her bottom lip.
A thick pause passed.
“You miss her?” Claudia asked in a small voice.
Madeleine furrowed her eyebrows together.
“I have lived longer than I ever knew her. I don’t remember much about her, I remember that… she used to eat pine cones. I remembered my parents calling her the family idiot, and I laughed along because I agreed. Not much other than that. Why are you asking?” Claudia noticed her voice seemed more accusatory now. Madeleine sat up in the chair properly, letting her hands fall into her lap as she looked cantankerously at her. She had become hostile, and the older vampire was much too tired from her experiences with hostile French vampires in her own past to engage. Claudia sighed and dug the pads of her fingers into her eyes to remove the annoyance from them.
“Don’t be like that.” She said calmly. Madeleine stood and grabbed the pad and shut it abruptly. The sound made Claudia jump and gawk at the woman who’s red hair flowed like a fiery halo around her head as she looked down at Claudia. No, no no no, Claudia’s mind raced, transporting her back to the fights back in Nola.
“You know how I feel about you Claudia.” The younger vampire assured pointedly. At that, Claudia shot a befuddled look her way. She scoffed and retorted.
“Do I? You been dancin’ round it for weeks now, I’d like to hear it from you.” She said, standing as well. It didn’t feel as powerful when she did it, she noticed, as Claudia’s companion had a few good inches on her. Madeleine shook her head and began to walk away from her. She began nonsensically rambling in too-quick-French that Claudia didn’t care to keep up with. Claudia followed.
“You can’t walk away from me everytime I try to talk to you about this, you always try to avoid it. What am I to you, Madeleine? A replacement lil sister? A mannequin to put your newest dresses on?” She called out as they both angrily stomped into their shared boudoir. Madeleine whipped around and gaped at the claims.
“What I have done with you is nothing I would do with my sister.”
Claudia felt the blood rush to her face. She remembered a question followed by Louis and Armand’s sharp words. Are you companions? Yes— no. It had been the quickest no she’d heard from Louis’ mouth. While holin’ up in each other’s rooms and whisperin’ sweet nasty nothin’s into the other’s ears, Claudia reminded herself.
No, not yet.
“But it is somethin’ you’d do with some half-wit fuckin’ soldier boy waltzin’ his stupid ass down into your boutique. A teenager, might I add. In 20 years, you gon’ find some other teenager, huh? Am I enough for you? When you can’t even say it out loud?”
Madeleine’s piercing golden eyes widened.
Silence followed.
Claudia regretted it. A foreign taste coated her gums.
“That is the worst thing you could have said to me.” Madeleine whispered, a nasty spindly aura of betrayal emerging from her words.
“And when you’re hurt you deflect.” Claudia whispered back, narrowing her eyes towards her companion. Madeleine’s eyes glossed over with a sheen of transparent red.
“Whatever you think I am, I am not. All I’ve ever wanted was to survive with someone, to love a love that will keep me alive. When I found you, I learned that I can love even in the face of my death. Your age, your body, it means nothing to me. I want… to be with you.” She assured Claudia pointedly. She did not believe Madeleine’s claims.
“And you still can’t say it, so sit in your choice, Madeleine.” Claudia ordered, a thick feeling catching in her throat as she suddenly heard her father’s— brother’s voice in place of her own. It made her dizzy, sick to her stomach even, but she needed this conviction to live— she always had. Madeleine stumbled back before moving past Claudia to leave the coffin room. After a few stilted moments, the entrance to their home slammed shut.
Claudia groaned and ripped her coffin open, climbing into it and deciding to sleep for longer than she needed.
The girl awakened a few hours later, and decided to brood in the dark of her coffin. In times past, she would use this opportunity to angrily grumble to herself, scribble down some choice thoughts in a fresh new diary, and let it simmer; but, she promised to herself that she would not harbor that kind of secretive resentment the way she did with Louis… and him . She would simply stew as long as she needed to before emerging with a much clearer head to either apologize to or speak with Madeleine. She hadn’t quite figured out which, yet.
A few moments before she made a move to leave her coffin, she heard the front door open and subsequently shut. The sound of it echoes through their residence, casual enough to forget the blowout they’d had hours prior. Claudia sunk further into the plush cushioning of her coffin to observe what Madeleine would do.
As it turns out, she made a straight line for the coffin room.
Claudia braced for the coffin lid to be forcefully tugged open, but it didn't budge. All that comes after Madeleine’s assumed entrance to their room is a chorus of unnervingly gentle knocks on the smooth material of the case. Claudia froze, not sure if she should respond or not. Instinct took over her body, and she could not bring herself to move an inch. She then heard Madeleine sigh before dropping something on the floor next to the coffin. It clinks and jingles, like some kind of jewelry, and Madeleine exits the room. Claudia noted that she decidedly does not leave their home.
Claudia peeked through the opening she made in her coffin to scope the room, assessing that nothing else had been tampered with. She opened the lid all the way and sat up, leaning over the side to inspect what Madeleine had dropped onto the floor near her.
She scooped up the loose jewelry— earrings to be exact— into her hand. There were around 4 pairs, with some extra loose ones that were unpaired. They were all golden, some dirtied with blood at the spikes. Claudia ran her thumb up and down the studs and drop jewels. They were gorgeous. Unfortunately, she could not wear them, as her ears were not pierced when the dark gift was thrust upon her all those years ago. Claudia had tried back in the early 1920’s, when she was living on Rue Royale and trying to fit in even back then. The needles would not go through her ears lobes, or rather they would slide through the soft flesh there but would reject almost instantly. She’d always worn clip style earrings for that reason exactly.
Somethin’ Madeleine clearly hadn’t cared enough about to notice, Claudia noted. It infuriated her further, closing her small fist on the earrings and pushing herself up and out of her coffin. She felt the pin pricks of pain in her palms as the spikes punctured her skin.
As she entered the kitchen, where Madeleine sat at the table while smoking a cigarette, she slammed the earrings onto the table in front of her companion. Madeleine slowly turned her head away from whatever empty space she was staring into before, now looking up at Claudia.
“Nice gesture, but I can’t wear ‘em.” She bit out, stepping back and crossing her arms across her chest out of habit like a petulant child. The thought made her drop her arms instantly.
“Je te vois porter des boucles d’oreilles très souvent, the first time we met you paid me in earrings similar to these.” The other vampire replied level-headedly, which only proved to anger Claudia more.
“I paid with ‘em because I couldn’t wear ‘em. Can’t go through my ears, ‘cuz I didn’t get ‘em pierced before I was turned.” She explained bitterly, turning on her heels to stomp out of the kitchen before Madeleine called out.
“Wait, Claudia.”
Claudia waited.
“I can add clips to the back of them, yes?” She asked.
“Sure.” Claudia replied, her tone deadpanned. She left the kitchen, and returned to their coffin room.
The rest of the month continues the game they’ve initiated, wherein Claudia defiantly ignores Madeleine and Madeleine brings her gifts and souvenirs from each of her victims. She had converted all the earrings into clip-ons in a mere cycle of the sun, and dropped them in the same place near the coffin that Claudia slept in. Claudia had taken to waking up when Madeleine went to sleep, just to avoid her incessant begging for attention. It felt wrong, it threw her off in more ways than one. The dynamic felt like a ghostly echo of the only other romance she knew.
Soon after the first of the new month passed, Madeleine had become even more desperate to get Claudia’s attention. She had been making her kills more… extravagant. It did not soothe the bubbling rage that still rippled through Claudia’s small body, if anything it had served to simply remind her of times past and reignite the fury. All she had wanted was for Madeleine to confirm her love, her feelings, and she’d just gone through all of these elaborate means to avoid it. Claudia did not warm, she became colder and colder. It reminded her of what Louis told her in the six years they spent at 1132 without Lestat, of how he had acted towards his own companion in her absence. It became increasingly clear to Claudia that she had only stepped into the shoes of her father.
Soon, it had become enough.
Claudia sat on the couch with her legs crossed in one of the many sets of clothes that Madeleine had made in this tumultuous time, ones that had remained unworn. It had a dark red jacket and a skirt of the same color, although Claudia chose to only wear the skirt and pair it with one of her white short sleeved shirts. Her hair was unpressed and uncut like she had kept it since their departure from Paris.
Madeleine walked into the apartment, removing her blood soaked coat from over her forearm and setting it over the dining table. She stepped towards the coffin room before catching sight of Claudia in the lounge. Her golden eyes widened before she walked into the room and sat on the recliner that sat opposite her companion. Madeleine had also neglected to do her own hair much recently, something that Claudia knew was unusual. It was still dark out, probably around three or four in the morning, so perhaps that was the reason that Madeleine was less concerned with the perception she garnered from the Orléanais residents.
“Salut.” She whispered the greeting, to which Claudia nodded wordlessly. She watched the small box television in front of her with feigned interest, disregarding the drone about French politics from the singular channel as largely uncaptivating.
“C’est bon de te voir, chérie.” Madeleine said, crossing her leg over the other. Her fidgeting hands fell into her lap as she gazed longingly at Claudia.
“C’est bon de te voir aussi.” Claudia replied softly. Madeleine visibly tamped down a hopeful look at the words.
“Je suis désolée de ne pas t’avoir dit à quel point tu comptes pour moi et à quel point je t’aime vraiment. You were never meant to be a… what is the word?”
“Replacement.” Claudia offered somberly. Madeleine nodded in response.
“Oui, a replacement. I do not long for Aimee, I have not since I was very young. Being truthful, ma famille comptait très peu pour moi. I allowed the soldier into my home because to me, he was the youth and life I lacked in a dark hour. He was nothing but a scared boy who fell into my arms when I needed a warm body. You have always been more to me than that, more than a head-strong girl blazing through my shop with a purpose or a powerful vampire who saved me when no one else would have.” Madeleine’s voice became more confident as she continued. Her eyes never left Claudia, who had looked away from the television to return her gaze.
“Quand Armand m’a demandé si je voulais devenir un vampire, je lui ai répondu que non. Je lui ai dit que je voulais être avec toi. I don’t care about anyone or anything else, Claudia. You are what I want, and I have reconciled that in this solitude. Je t’aime et tu es avec qui je veux partager mon éternité. Personne d’autre. You are the love of my life and I do not want to lose you over my own anxiety.” Madeleine spoke with reverence and clarity. Her conviction almost startled Claudia, as this was the last thing she had expected. What she was prepared for was a screaming match and an impossible sight of either one of them dropping to the ground in a battered state.
Claudia’s eyes filled with crimson tears.
“Thank you.” She whispered, standing from her spot on the couch. Madeleine stood as well, crossing the distance and engulfing Claudia with her arms. She was lifted off the ground in an instant and was twirled around the same way she had when this entire fight began. Claudia and Madeleine’s laughs mingled in the air before Madeleine set Claudia back down onto the floor. Her hands slid up onto Claudia’s full cherubic cheeks before she pressed a kiss into her full lips. Claudia reciprocated and let her own hands dangle on Madeleine’s forearms.
A peaceful moment passed, and the full hum of the TV was the only noise to fill their ears as they swayed together. Madeleine tugged herself minutely from the kiss to speak.
“You look good in your skirt.” Madeleine said suavely against her companions lips, a smile spreading onto both of their mouths. They giggled softly before continuing to kiss, stumbling backwards to make their clumsy way into the dark of their coffin room.
“Bet I’ll look better when I’m not in it, huh?” Claudia joked as they closed the door behind them, her arms reaching up with much effort to wrap around her much taller partner’s neck. They rested on Madeleine’s shoulders as her hands wandered the seams of the garment.
“You read my mind.”
“No, just a bad line.”
Madeleine laughed and ducked as she stuffed her face into the crook between Claudia’s neck and shoulder. She spread soft staining kisses down the rich deep skin there, both of them trying to reach back and open up Madeleine’s coffin. Claudia got a whiff of the blood that had coated Madeleine’s face when she fed before returning home. It reminded her of something.
“We gon’ have to leave soon with all that killin’ you been doing. Already suspicious enough” She murmured in between their kisses. Madeleine smiled and nodded, ignoring it to join Claudia’s struggling hand in opening up her coffin so they could fall into it together and forget about their past worries. Once one of them managed it, they both did just that, and the last thing heard was the snap of the lid closing and echoing off the walls of their boudoir.
A few more months passed, miraculously with little to no spats. Admittedly, they aren’t perfect, but thankfully no big blowouts. The new year had been rung in, and it was 1950. Madeleine and Claudia had moved once again, but only to a town southeast of Orleans named Nevers. When they arrived, Madeleine and Claudia visited the chapel that displayed a glass shrine holding Saint Bernadette’s body, which they both found to be morbidly fascinating. They also noted that the body was most definitely not real, and just made of some kind of wax molding. They knew how bodies decayed rather intimately, especially considering the immortal couple had started a small flower garden in their backyard that they used bodies as fertilizer for. The humans they fed upon would then sit under the dirt and worms that held their new blossoms. It was a sweet reminder of obstinate softness even in the face of their macabre and inherently reprehensible nature.
It was a climate day when Madeleine approached Claudia, who was sitting in their little nursery while tending to the delicate flowers that had bloomed from the cold dead bodies buried in the earth. She sat next to her silently, smiling lovingly as she watched her companion care for the flora. There was a certain peony flower that Claudia had grown fond of. Madeleine herself enjoyed the sprouts of lavender and sweet iris.
Claudia finished up what she was doing and sat back on her calves, tilting her head curiously as she looked at Madeleine.
“What’s on your mind, sundrop.” Claudia asked, dusting the remaining dirt from her hands. Madeleine giggled brightly at the endearment, leaning over to pluck a small stunted lilac flower from the garden that refused to grow. She placed it behind Claudia’s ear before she spoke.
“Where are we off to after Nevers?” She asked. Claudia hummed an undecided tune in response.
“I dunno, where do you wanna go?”
“What if we don’t settle in one place, what if we travel? Just… wander.” Madeleine suggested.
Claudia grinned, nodding in agreement.
“Yeah. Wander,” Claudia could feel her cheeks start to hurt from the lack of room for her growing smile, “I think I like the sound of that.”
Madeleine responded with a giddy laugh before shooting up onto her feet. Her baby blue slip dress swished in the cool breeze of the French evening air. Claudia got up to her feet as well, a bit slower while commenting about how she was far too old to be doing any of this. The vampire couple wrapped each other up in their tangled arms. Madeleine said something, but her words were muffled by her face pressed into Claudia’s soft hair.
“What was that?”
Madeleine pulled her face back and cupped Claudia’s cheeks in her palms. She could feel the running warmth of their recent kill flooding under her skin.
“We should see Louis once more. Tell him goodbye, yes? Leave on better terms. I can feel he loves you, and that you love him.” The taller immortal proposed, looking down at her companion with glee. Claudia shrugged lazily as she craned her neck to look up at Madeleine. She looked gorgeous in the moonlight. Her eyes shined brightly, like each star floating in the sky had been condensed into two perfect irises. Her fiery curls warmed to a dark auburn in the dim luminance, and everything about her invited Claudia in.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt, tell him I’ll be okay and get him to stop acting like my daddy.” Claudia conceded, a wry chuckle leaving her lips. Claudia disconnected herself from the hug and rubbed her palms up and down Madeleine’s upper arms.
“I’m gonna call him and see when we can come, aight?” She confirmed before walking into their lounge and taking a deep breath, preparing herself to hear her brother’s voice again. She hasn’t made contact with him since she had fled Paris with Madeleine. She’d wanted to appreciate the time she had gotten to live without him, considering the only other time she’d been away from him was…
Claudia shook the worry from her body and sat herself down in the burgundy loveseat that was in their living room. She tucked her legs underneath her and let her eyes flutter closed. She allowed the voices of many to flood her mind one by one, crashing into her like a wave. She slowly but surely waded through the sea of voices before she found Louis.
Louis?
No response at first, so she tried again.
Are you there, Louis? It’s Claudia.
Claudia! How are you, sis?
The girl cringed at the forced nickname, ignoring how it tumbled out of his mouth as unnaturally as she imagined it could.
I’ve been good, we’re in Nevers
Where?
Nevermind that, we were wonderin’ if we could come up to see you.
A pregnant pause follows, which confuses Claudia at first.
Yeah, yeah I’d like that. Armand says he knows a place. We can make it a double date, yeah?
Claudia’s fists clenched instinctively.
Sure, just let me know when, okay?
Claudia tries her best to stop her inner thoughts from coming through imagined gritted teeth.
Of course, stay safe now.
Of course.
Claudia pulled herself from the fog of thoughts and sighed. Madeleine walks in at just the right time, as was usually the case.
“So, how did it go?” She asked cheerfully as she plopped down next to Claudia. The older vampire immediately melted into Madeleine’s side.
“He’s gon’ tell us when we can go up there, we’ll see him and Armand.” She explained, wrapping her arms around Madeleine midsection and tucking her head into her chest. Madeleine nodded and hummed approvingly.
You can say your peace with him as well, better than leaving the resentment. I want your mind to be at ease when we are traveling the world together. It’s what you deserve.
Madeleine voiced the reason, which Claudia appreciated heavily. An easeful end, a new beginning, a love that burnt bright, and Louis— who she’d always be beside, whether physically or in spirit.
It’s what she deserved.