Ysabel nodded at Marie. "That's my point," she said. "It was an escape, dressed up prettily as service. But it was the only option for many women, and better than the alternatives."
She smiled at the idea that Marie saw her as unable to fit into a peasant mold. "Perhaps now, it would be difficult to fall back into that role," she agreed. "Richard and Elsa insisted from the start that we be brought up as proper young ladies, and addressed as if we were members of the peerage. Those were the roles we played for a very long time."
Her blue-grey eyes lit up with understanding as Marie broached another topic, one she wondered if the girl was interested in. Obviously, she was.
"Dayle got into a little bit of trouble," she said. "Well, a lot, really. She was going to be executed. Richard turned her to save her life, but she wouldn't go without me." She watched Marie thoughtfully, gauging her familiar's reaction. "I was offered the choice. Elsa took me aside and explained to me what had happened with Dayle, and what they really were."
She lifted her shoulders in a graceful shrug as Elegy lifted of the ground. "We already knew that Richard and Elsa had some odd habits, and I confess the idea of drinking blood sounded absolutely daunting at the time but growing old and dying while my twin sister stayed eternally young just didn't feel right. And I loved my parents. They had given us so much, it only seemed fair to help them in return. So I agreed as well. As Richard turned Dayle, so did Elsa turn me."
Growing Pains
Ridding sidesaddle wasn't anything Marie had ever anticipated learning. Her human family had been part of the rodeo. She had learned some team roping and had been shaping up to be a good barrel racer before... Marie still didn't like to think about it, her family's death. It didn't hurt as much as it had, she had Ysabel now.
Ysabel had taught her so much, and Marie loved her. It was hard to believe she'd been her for two years now. She didn't take anything of this time for granted and always did anything she could to help her vampire. It could be a little awkward simply because of her age, there were something she couldn't do. But she did her best.
Although, like tonight, sometimes there were compromises. She was ridding sidesaddle as Ysabel had insisted she learn, but she was also wearing jeans. Marie usually rode Adagio, the middle child of the Friesians. They'd proved to be a good match. He wasn't so green that she was out of her league but he wasn't so experienced she couldn't learn and grow as a rider.
Drawing to a even balanced halt, she looked to Ysabel for approval. But slightly nervous. She'd been a bit edgy in generally lately. She'd be graduating soon and was afraid Ysabel would make her leave and go to school. Marie couldn't bear the thought of having to leave.
Ysabel
13 years ago
Marie
13 years ago
Marie gave a small involuntary shudder at the idea of those alternatives. They could have been as bad as or worse than her own situation. Apparently the world hadn't changed as much as people would have you believe.
"Fake it until you make it?"Â?
She giggled a bit having borrowed the phrase from some of her teachers and a few of her peers. It did seem to fit though. It made sense though, if one kept pretending to be a lady then eventually everyone, including one's self, would start to believe it.
Executed? Marie's eyes grew wide, both shocked and curious. But she wouldn't ask. How had Ysabel's sister gotten into that much trouble. However, it was the under lying message that was reassurance. Both Ysabel and Dayle had been loved enough to be offered a way to cheat death and the sisters loved each other enough to both face death rather than be separated.
"They hid it from you that long? You weren't their familiars?"Â?
Marie wondered if she would have figured out what Ysabel and Ambrose were if she hadn't been told. Truthfully, she didn't know. They were both just odd enough to make it easy to explain away a lot of what should have been obvious signs of being a vampire. All of a sudden she was less surprised that the sisters had been ignorant so long.
"Do you think they meant to eventually... ... or did they think you were too young and the thing with Dayle sort of made them rush things?"Â?
"Fake it until you make it?"Â?
She giggled a bit having borrowed the phrase from some of her teachers and a few of her peers. It did seem to fit though. It made sense though, if one kept pretending to be a lady then eventually everyone, including one's self, would start to believe it.
Executed? Marie's eyes grew wide, both shocked and curious. But she wouldn't ask. How had Ysabel's sister gotten into that much trouble. However, it was the under lying message that was reassurance. Both Ysabel and Dayle had been loved enough to be offered a way to cheat death and the sisters loved each other enough to both face death rather than be separated.
"They hid it from you that long? You weren't their familiars?"Â?
Marie wondered if she would have figured out what Ysabel and Ambrose were if she hadn't been told. Truthfully, she didn't know. They were both just odd enough to make it easy to explain away a lot of what should have been obvious signs of being a vampire. All of a sudden she was less surprised that the sisters had been ignorant so long.
"Do you think they meant to eventually... ... or did they think you were too young and the thing with Dayle sort of made them rush things?"Â?
Ysabel
13 years ago
Ysabel nodded at Marie's term and listened as her young familiar continued questioning. She knew there was a deeper purpose to it, knew that she had at one point offered to turn Marie if it was what she decided. Apparently Marie was still considering that. It was good to have options.
"We were never their familiars. We noticed they were odd in some ways, but it wasn't as strange then as you would think. It wasn't uncommon for the nobility to stay up late and rise late, and since the main method of travel was by horse and carriage, Richard and Elsa always went in an enclosed coach. It was possible for them to go out by day as long as they never actually exposed themselves to the sun."
She considered all of her memories. Yes, there were oddities. "Dayle and I were so young when we moved in with them," she pointed out, "we were happy to have a home. We went from being poor and hungry to having everything at once. And Richard and Elsa were glamorous and beautiful; we would have overlooked anything to stay there."
Had they? Ysabel was no longer sure; Richard and Elsa had just always been Richard and Elsa. She'd grown up with them so maybe that had made their odd habits seem less so.
"I'm sure they considered turning us from the start," she told Marie matter-of-factly. "We made an entire family, all of us, and we made our way through the centuries each playing different roles in our own histories. When Dayle got in trouble," Ysabel shrugged again. "It might have been slightly earlier than they wanted, but we all loved each other by then. Planning had less to do with it, and keeping our family intact was the most important thing to us."
"We were never their familiars. We noticed they were odd in some ways, but it wasn't as strange then as you would think. It wasn't uncommon for the nobility to stay up late and rise late, and since the main method of travel was by horse and carriage, Richard and Elsa always went in an enclosed coach. It was possible for them to go out by day as long as they never actually exposed themselves to the sun."
She considered all of her memories. Yes, there were oddities. "Dayle and I were so young when we moved in with them," she pointed out, "we were happy to have a home. We went from being poor and hungry to having everything at once. And Richard and Elsa were glamorous and beautiful; we would have overlooked anything to stay there."
Had they? Ysabel was no longer sure; Richard and Elsa had just always been Richard and Elsa. She'd grown up with them so maybe that had made their odd habits seem less so.
"I'm sure they considered turning us from the start," she told Marie matter-of-factly. "We made an entire family, all of us, and we made our way through the centuries each playing different roles in our own histories. When Dayle got in trouble," Ysabel shrugged again. "It might have been slightly earlier than they wanted, but we all loved each other by then. Planning had less to do with it, and keeping our family intact was the most important thing to us."
Marie
13 years ago
"I'm not sure I'd have ever guessed you and Ambrose were vampires. Maybe, but since I didn't really believe in vampires probably not."Â?
Ultimately, Marie decided, that is what it came down to. She had out grown the belief in vampires, there were other scarier things on the streets and she wouldn't even have considered the idea.
It wasn't all that different from her situation. Not really. Perhaps some sort of fate or karma was involved. Maybe some day Marie would be in a position to take someone in and give them a family.
"I'm glad they gave you a family."Â?
She left the rest unsaid, the fact that because Ysabel had had a family she did now too.
Pausing Adagio, giving her whole attention to the next question Marie asked quite seriously,
"Do you like being a vampire?"Â?
Ultimately, Marie decided, that is what it came down to. She had out grown the belief in vampires, there were other scarier things on the streets and she wouldn't even have considered the idea.
It wasn't all that different from her situation. Not really. Perhaps some sort of fate or karma was involved. Maybe some day Marie would be in a position to take someone in and give them a family.
"I'm glad they gave you a family."Â?
She left the rest unsaid, the fact that because Ysabel had had a family she did now too.
Pausing Adagio, giving her whole attention to the next question Marie asked quite seriously,
"Do you like being a vampire?"Â?
Ysabel
13 years ago
Ysabel looked back at Marie, nodding happily. "I am too." There were unspoken words, plenty of them, that reminded Ysabel Marie wasn't completely 'little girl' anymore. She was growing too quickly. Ysabel had forgotten how fast it happened, how in an eyeblink of a vampire's lifespan a human child would be grown and raising a family of his or her own.
Marie's next question was blunt and honest, and Ysabel answered it immediately. "It has its ups and downs. I wouldn't have imagined it for myself when I was a girl, but now I can't imagine anything else."
Having been a vampire for far longer than anything else, Ysabel's reasons were probably obvious. "I have had more than my fair share of relationships with humans," she said with a little smile. "Probably more than many of our Clan mates. But my friends and my family, for the most part," she said with a slight nod at Marie, "are also vampires. You learn to do that, when you continually face losing the people you care for otherwise."
Again she stopped, for she did care for Marie. There were very few humans who she'd told her secret to over the years. Two of her husbands, one of their sons. And now Marie.
Marie's next question was blunt and honest, and Ysabel answered it immediately. "It has its ups and downs. I wouldn't have imagined it for myself when I was a girl, but now I can't imagine anything else."
Having been a vampire for far longer than anything else, Ysabel's reasons were probably obvious. "I have had more than my fair share of relationships with humans," she said with a little smile. "Probably more than many of our Clan mates. But my friends and my family, for the most part," she said with a slight nod at Marie, "are also vampires. You learn to do that, when you continually face losing the people you care for otherwise."
Again she stopped, for she did care for Marie. There were very few humans who she'd told her secret to over the years. Two of her husbands, one of their sons. And now Marie.
Marie
13 years ago
"So... it's not much different than staying human is it? Good days, bad days and its own sets of problems. How do you keep a job?"Â?
Not that she had a career path in mind, but it was a bit of a life style change it wasn't like registering as a Democrat or Republican and you couldn't undo the choice either. But it couldn't be impossible, Ysabel had lived a full life, still did and she knew Ambrose worked.
Losing people, she'd already lost the people who had mattered most to her before Ysabel. Marie didn't think she could bear losing Ysabel too.
"Do you think... I could... I should..."Â?
Maybe she was too young to consider this. Maybe she should because she'd lose this special bond with her vampire. Maybe she just wouldn't be good at it, she wasn't vampire material. It wasn't so easy to express though, she was counting on Ysabel to fill in the blanks.
Not that she had a career path in mind, but it was a bit of a life style change it wasn't like registering as a Democrat or Republican and you couldn't undo the choice either. But it couldn't be impossible, Ysabel had lived a full life, still did and she knew Ambrose worked.
Losing people, she'd already lost the people who had mattered most to her before Ysabel. Marie didn't think she could bear losing Ysabel too.
"Do you think... I could... I should..."Â?
Maybe she was too young to consider this. Maybe she should because she'd lose this special bond with her vampire. Maybe she just wouldn't be good at it, she wasn't vampire material. It wasn't so easy to express though, she was counting on Ysabel to fill in the blanks.
Ysabel
13 years ago
"We work a lot of nights, if we have to work." Ysabel wasn't even going to try to explain the potential for making money over a period of hundreds of years. "You learn different values. You see things a different way. You aren't human anymore, Marie."
She looked at Marie out of blue-grey eyes in the face of a six-hundred year old doll who looked not a day over eighteen. "You'll see people as they are, sure, but they're also food. You can't love them in exactly the same way anymore."
Marie faltered, and Ysabel drew Elegy close, leaned over, touched Marie's young cheek with her cupped hand. "You should go to college," she said softly, with a reassuring smile. "You should enjoy your life until your path makes itself clear to you. I won't go anywhere without you."
For as the familiar was banded to her vampire, so was the vampire bonded to her familiar. Not that Ysabel was compelled in the same way that Marie was, but she was still attached. And she loved Marie.
"Any time you want to talk about it, we'll talk. And if you ever make up your mind one way or another, we'll talk about that too."
She looked at Marie out of blue-grey eyes in the face of a six-hundred year old doll who looked not a day over eighteen. "You'll see people as they are, sure, but they're also food. You can't love them in exactly the same way anymore."
Marie faltered, and Ysabel drew Elegy close, leaned over, touched Marie's young cheek with her cupped hand. "You should go to college," she said softly, with a reassuring smile. "You should enjoy your life until your path makes itself clear to you. I won't go anywhere without you."
For as the familiar was banded to her vampire, so was the vampire bonded to her familiar. Not that Ysabel was compelled in the same way that Marie was, but she was still attached. And she loved Marie.
"Any time you want to talk about it, we'll talk. And if you ever make up your mind one way or another, we'll talk about that too."
Marie
13 years ago
"I'm getting good at nights."Â?
Marie said playfully. Actually neither Ysabel nor Ambrose made it necessary for her to be up at all hours. In fact, Ysabel encouraged her to get to bed at a reasonable hour so she'd be ready for school
She turned that thought over in her head a few times. It wasn't that bad. She'd grown up with livestock and some cows you named and some you didn't. They were a way to feed the family some of them you ate and some were an investment. Not that she liked to think of herself as livestock, and she didn't think Ysabel saw her that way either.
"But you don't turn into a monster either and you can love them. Can't you?"Â?
You must be able to. Ysabel was just keeping her as a pet or for food. Maybe partially and that was OK and understandable but it wasn't -just- that.
Marie closed her eyes and leaned into Ysabel's hand. Just that little touch was all the reassurance she needed. After a second she pulled away and regarded Ysabel with serious steady brown eyes.
"Do you promise?"Â?
Marie said playfully. Actually neither Ysabel nor Ambrose made it necessary for her to be up at all hours. In fact, Ysabel encouraged her to get to bed at a reasonable hour so she'd be ready for school
She turned that thought over in her head a few times. It wasn't that bad. She'd grown up with livestock and some cows you named and some you didn't. They were a way to feed the family some of them you ate and some were an investment. Not that she liked to think of herself as livestock, and she didn't think Ysabel saw her that way either.
"But you don't turn into a monster either and you can love them. Can't you?"Â?
You must be able to. Ysabel was just keeping her as a pet or for food. Maybe partially and that was OK and understandable but it wasn't -just- that.
Marie closed her eyes and leaned into Ysabel's hand. Just that little touch was all the reassurance she needed. After a second she pulled away and regarded Ysabel with serious steady brown eyes.
"Do you promise?"Â?
Ysabel
13 years ago
"Some people do," Ysabel said thoughtfully, "but those people were usually monsters from the start."
She knew a number of people who could fit that description. She could herself, depending on what your standards for monster-hood were. "Of course we can still love, though. We still do many things we would have done as humans, although we don't necessarily need to. Eating, for example."
Some of this was ground they had covered before; Ysabel was just making a point. "Really, it depends on the kind of person you are, and the kind of people you surround yourself with."
Marie's next serious question was met with an equal gaze. Ysabel had promised long ago, when she'd made Marie her familiar, not to leave her if she didn't want it. "I promise."
Such serious questions for a a girl still not yet a woman, Ysabel mused, but then, Marie hadn't had it easy. She'd always had serious topics on her mind.
She knew a number of people who could fit that description. She could herself, depending on what your standards for monster-hood were. "Of course we can still love, though. We still do many things we would have done as humans, although we don't necessarily need to. Eating, for example."
Some of this was ground they had covered before; Ysabel was just making a point. "Really, it depends on the kind of person you are, and the kind of people you surround yourself with."
Marie's next serious question was met with an equal gaze. Ysabel had promised long ago, when she'd made Marie her familiar, not to leave her if she didn't want it. "I promise."
Such serious questions for a a girl still not yet a woman, Ysabel mused, but then, Marie hadn't had it easy. She'd always had serious topics on her mind.
Marie
13 years ago
That Marie could all too easily believe. She hasn't forgotten the man who'd attacked her in the alley. And even Ambrose, who she trusted, had been scary as hell when he'd taken that guy out. She'd just make sure that she never became a monster and stuck with good people. Which would be easy as she wouldn't leave Ysabel.
That promise was more than enough for Marie. She visibly relaxed. Her human family, her first family had died. That wasn't something she had to worry about with her vampire. It took some acrobatics but she reached across and hugged Ysabel tightly.
There wasn't much she could say , but that promise meant the world to Marie. Perhaps she shouldn't need that security and reassurance, but it didn't hurt to have it either.
That promise was more than enough for Marie. She visibly relaxed. Her human family, her first family had died. That wasn't something she had to worry about with her vampire. It took some acrobatics but she reached across and hugged Ysabel tightly.
There wasn't much she could say , but that promise meant the world to Marie. Perhaps she shouldn't need that security and reassurance, but it didn't hurt to have it either.
Ysabel
13 years ago
Her words seemed to have reassured Marie, and Ysabel meant them. She had promised to care for Marie and keep her safe, and Ysabel took that sort of responsibility seriously. Human or not, she cared about Marie. And if her familiar thought she might want to be turned Ysabel would consider it. That sort of thing wasn't done lightly; being a familiar wasn't necessarily a pre-cursor to becoming a vampire. It had, in fact, occurred to Ysabel more than once that if Marie were to get married and start a family eventually, it would only add to the Yolgraves' flock of familiars.
She wasn't sure she wanted that for Marie though, or that Marie even wanted that for herself.
Ysabel shook her head over the whole matter. No sense putting the cart before the horse, as it were. Let Marie enjoy being young. It would only happen once no matter what her future held. She hugged her young familiar back and stroked her hair just once before pulling away. Ysabel might have had a family in England, but she had also created her own family here in Nachton, and she would do just about anything to keep them safe.
((ooc: Ysabel and Marie out))
She wasn't sure she wanted that for Marie though, or that Marie even wanted that for herself.
Ysabel shook her head over the whole matter. No sense putting the cart before the horse, as it were. Let Marie enjoy being young. It would only happen once no matter what her future held. She hugged her young familiar back and stroked her hair just once before pulling away. Ysabel might have had a family in England, but she had also created her own family here in Nachton, and she would do just about anything to keep them safe.
((ooc: Ysabel and Marie out))