happilyeverbeginning | i sense there's something in the wind... (vampires/arranged marriage/sneaking around)

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i sense there's something in the wind... (vampires/arranged marriage/sneaking around)

Antoine had been so loyal and obedient to his parents his whole life that when it was finally time to object to one of their plans, he didn't have the will. It was more important to the family that they keep the bloodline strong and pure, and that meant matching Antoine up with another vampire from a noble family. Perhaps over a year ago, Antoine would have agreed. But things had changed, and despite his heart not beating, it was breaking.

Despite understanding his parents wishes, despite knowing Bunnie would be better off without him, despite the fact that a secret like this would destroy what little unity vampires had with mortals - despite all this, Antoine still waited in his gardens to see Bunnie again. Under the moonlight, it had become their secret meeting place. He craved her warmth, her kindness, her voice - he craved one thing most of all, but he'd fought that dark urge with every fiber of his being. But he'd have to learn to live without them all, no matter how hard it was.

He plucked off one of the reddest roses, quietly beginning to chip away the thorns.

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Things in the Rabbot household proceeded as usual. Bunnie's parents were so busy handling their new roles in mediating between the two races that they barely had the time to delve too deeply into what was going on with their daughter. The mid-day naps, the unprovoked excessive happiness, daydreaming, and the constant tired yawning that persisted through the day weren't beyond their notice. Thankfully, being busy allowed Bunnie to get away with these things unquestioned.

As had become routine at night, Bunnie made her way out of her window and into the nearby forest. This night she carried with her a bag filled with all manners of things they'd need for the night. She brought something to fix Antoine's hair up all nice, something for him to eat on the way back to his home, and she couldn't have him goin' without seeing the new scrapbook she'd told him all about during their last visit. Not many people took an interest in letting her go on about her hobbies.

Of course, not many people were like her Antoine!

She trotted up with a bright smile, blissfully unaware of the sadness that plagued the coyote. "Moons so bright tonight ah didn't even need a--" But as soon as she saw his face, her smile faded. She could tell. "Antoine, what's wrong?"

Antoine looked toward her, and for a moment, there was happiness. She was so astonishingly beautiful, and it still amazed him that he could make her so happy. Just looking at her was enough to make him feel better about everything - but that wouldn't work tonight. He could see the bundle she brought along and knew this would be even harder. She'd clearly planned for a romantic evening, and he planned to hurt her.

"Mah cherie." He said softly, fingers twitching from the desire to touch her. He shut his eyes and forced his head to turn away. "...My parents... Zey hold our family's future een high regard. Zey want to guarantee ze glory of ze D'Coolette line." He kept delaying it until he could reword it no further. "... I am to be married."

"Married?" Her mind, fortunately, didn't jump to the worst conclusion possible. A plethora of possibilities crossed her mind at that point, some of them happy and others were just confusing. Judging by his expression she couldn't mean to her.

"What do you mean they want you ta' get married?" She set her things down in the grass before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Tell me what all of they said."

Antoine had almost hoped the news would enrage her, so she'd storm off and hate him forever. Maybe that would make it all easier.

"Zey have decided zat since relations with mortal-kind are going so well, zey can focus on my future. Zey want to make our family stronger by aligning zemselves with another rich family. Zey have already decided everything..." He reached to touch her hand, cherishing its warmth yet taking it off his shoulder. "... I am to be married next month."

A hard swallow. "I cannot be with you, my darling."

The very thought caused her expression to shift to shock and sadness. "Ah thought things were.." Weren't the mediation between their kinds going so well? Her parents never gave her any indication that it was going badly..! She tried spitting words out, but the news was such a shock that none of her thoughts would even allow themselves to be finished. "Well, that's just..!" Pause. "Ah.."Pause. "It's not.."

Bunnie took a deep breath, puffing her chest up in the process, her mouth turning downward in an angry frown. "If they think they can just decide your future just like that, Ah've got a few words for them." She picked up her things in one hand and grabbed Antoine's arm with the other. "C'mon. We're gonna go have a talk with your kinfolk and straighten this right out. Ah'm gonna march right on over there and give them a piece of my mind for puttin' you through somethin' so crazy."

In hindsight, he should have seen this coming. Bunnie was a fighter, and she was never shy about her feelings. She didn't take things lying down.

"No no no no no!" Antoine grabbed her by the arms, hoping to stop her before she could take another step. "Zey would tear you to shreds!" Maybe literally. "Eef we start some sort of dispute, zis could put ze mortal and vampire relations to fall apart! Zey would see ze zis as an insult!"

Oh, she was stomping like a woman on a mission for those first few steps before she got pulled back!

Bunnie glared while Antoine proceeded to explain. As much as she hated it, what he said made sense. Not that she was an expert on politics, but that did seem like something that could upset them. Possibly.

"If'n what you're sayin' is true, relations ain't goin' so well to begin with." Sigh. She stood in place. "Are you plannin' to go through with this?"

His grip loosened, and his eyes began to lower. He couldn't look at her as he admitted this.

"I... I cannot defy zem. Zey are my parents. I owe zem so much, and I know zat zey are doing what ees best for everyone."

His hands slowly began to slide down her arms. "Your life...compared to someone like me, yours will be gone in ze blink of an eye. You deserve to be happy."

"Antoine, you deserve to be happy too." She gave him a smile and patted his hand. "If they're your folks, all they should want for you is a happy life! Not to force anything on you. You gotta talk to them."

"Eet ees not so easy!" he withdrew his hand, his voice getting sharp. "Could you imagine zis with your parents? Neither of us even wanted to meet een ze first place, and we still did. Zey will want to know why I'm refusing..."

She gave a heavy sigh and relented. His sharp tone of voice was just enough to cut the wind from her sails. "Then..." Her eyes grew sad. "You wanna just... quit an' leave?"

"Eet ees more zan that." He turned away from her shamefully, a hand over his mouth. "I do love you,mah cherie, and I would rather die than hurt you. But... every time we meet... even now..."

He clenched, the urge whispering to him even as he admitted it. "I still want to... to bite you."

Bite her? She knew Antoine for a while, but admittedly there was still a lot she had to learn about their customs and instincts. She got the rough idea that biting was part for nourishment and part something else.. though she'd never delved into what that 'something else' was. But if that was the case, and it was a bad thing, him not pitching a fit about this marriage was probably some guilty way of trying to protect her from it.

She wrung both hands together.

"W-well, maybe ya should." If that would settle his mind and get him off the crazy idea that she would be better off going back to a 'normal life', then it could be worth the risk. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Antoine whipped his head around, staring at her. He knew on some level she couldn't understand, even if he explained it. It was pure instinct, and they were wholly different creatures. He knew it wasn't her fault that she didn't comprehend his thirst, yet anger was in his voice all the same.

"I could KILL YOU! ZAT ees ze worst zat could happen!" He snapped, his sharp fangs glistening in the moonlight. "Blood ees more zan just food to something like me! Eef I lose control, I could... I could drain you entirely! Zere might not even be enough left to turn you eento something like myself.."

Her eyes grew wide and both hands sharply stuck to her chest as he reared around in such anger. She never saw him that angry before. It was frightening, and just enough to push her past the point of being able to handle everything in such a detestably 'calm' manner.

Bunnie's eyes began to glisten with tears and her cheeks grew bright red. She managed out a strange and pitiful squeak, but nothing much else in return.

Seeing those tears hurt worse than a stake through his heart. Antoine wanted to reach out and wipe any tears that may fall, but he knew if he touched her again he'd never let her go. It was almost enough to make his own eyes water.

"Maybe zis ees a sign we were never meant to be together." The words felt like needles on his tongue yet he endured. "I would only bring you pain and suffering. Someone as wonderful as you deserves a man who can hold you with warm arms..."

"Don't say that." Bunnie said between uneven breathes. She ducked down and wrapped her arms around him.pressing the side of her face into his icy chest. "You're heart is warmer than most folks who are flesh n' blood like me."

Antoine's arms came around her by sheer instinct, even though his mind told him not to do it. He buried his nose in her hair, and she smelled sweet. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, but that's all I'll do."

He ran a hand through her golden hair, and then his fingers brushed by her neck... and lingered.

She dampened his shirt with the tears that escaped as she let her eyes fall shut. If he felt the cold night air, it might have caused a shiver, but beyond that rustic blue fabric she couldn't feel the rhythmic beating like she could with her own family. "And you can't think of anythin' that would change their minds? Anything at all?" Though that could easily run into 'what if' territory. It might've been far fetched but.. a girl could dream.

It was getting harder to think clearly. His fingers stayed on her neck, tracing a vein. She was so impossibly warm... Her blood would probably be warm too, and rich, and...

He sucked the inside of his cheek, trying to remain focused. "Zey want pure vampire grandchildren. And ties that would make our reputation as immortal as we are."

Antoine should have pulled away, but instead he held her closer, and leaned his head down further. He could feel her heartbeat, pumping blood all throughout her body, and his fangs began to ache. Just one bite, if he could have just one bite...

"G-grandchildren.." Amidst the tears, she had to admit the thought of children--let alone grandchildren--was a daunting thought. She knew she cared for Antoine but the proposition of getting straight to that was taking a big leap all at once.

"They got your life all planned out for ya, don't they." She sighed, "Must feel awful knowin' that your entire life is planned out before ya get to live it."

"I never cared about it, until I met you." His thumb pushed against her neck, but now he had enough sense to stop himself and pull his hand back. "I didn't care about so many things, even myself until you came into my life. I'll never forget you." He closed his eyes and kissed her hair.

"Wha--?" There was a couple shocking pieces of information. One, he'd known about this arrangement from the start...? The second was even more horrifying. "Why are you sayin' it like you'll never see me again." Bunnie gripped his vest in her fists. "You can't just say goodbye to me just like that!!"

Antoine was surprised at her surprise - didn't she understand that this was what it was all coming down to?

"I have to! We have to! Eef I see you again, I know I won't be loyal to my bride-to-be." He was still a gentleman, even in the most annoying of ways. "I can't keep my hands off you, and you are impossible to resist." He wasn't trying to compliment her or flatter her - to him these were genuine facts. "Eef I see you and can't have you at the same time, I'll go insane."

Of course she didn't know! It wasn't like she was liking him with the expectation that it was all just going to be taken away one day.. Maybe that was overly optimistic of her to think.

"Then..." She balled her hands into fists. What she said next might just be the very last words between them. She had to make them count. 'Ah can't... just ask him to ...'

She stayed silent for so long that when her words burst out of her mouth they seemed all the louder. "Then Ah'll just be like you! Ain't no problem for me just to be a vampire. An' it'll look like negotiations are goin' better if my folks have one of your kind livin' with 'em."

"... What?"

She must not understand the situation at all if she'd ask - no, she was demanding such a thing. When it came to Bunnie, she didn't hesitate or tiptoe. It was one of the things Antoine loved about her while also frustrating him to no end.

"You... you have no idea what you're suggesting! You'd be turned into a wholly different creature!" He touched her hands, trying to make her understand. "You'll never be warm again... Never be able to face a sunny day... And you'll have to live on blood. You would be losing everything."

"Then why can't we just turn you human!" She spouted as she finally, regrettably broke into a sob. Bunnie tried to choke it back and put a hand to her face, letting her ears droop behind her head. She let a couple sniffs out before wiping her eyes with the back of her palm. "It ain't fair.. To finally have someone as strong, kind, and carin' as you and it just gets taken away. Just like that. Ah know it's selfish, but...h just wanna be selfish for once."

Now she was just reaching for what she knew was physically impossible. There was no known way to turn a vampire into a human - one that didn't wind up killing them, at least. Hearing her sob was worse than any of those ways - worse than a stake through the heart, worse than the harsh sunlight, worse than any cross. He almost wished he could die properly right then and there so he could stop hurting her.

"Please forgive me." he quietly begged, reaching over to stroke one of her ears. "I never should have told you how I felt. How can you call me kind when I give you such agony?"

"Cuz ya are." Sniff. "You're the only one Ah've ever known to even wanna see my work an' mean it." Most just asked what she did for fun out of something to talk about, and to take the edge off their comments about her physical appearance. "Takin' the time to do somethin' like that and really listen, it's how ya show you really care."

"Zere must be someone else who can see all zat you are and all zat you can do." Antoine cupped her cheeks, trying to use his ability to instill confidence in herself for a different cause. "Zere ees no way I could ever be ze only one to find you so beautiful and amazing..."

The unfortunate side effect of this position was that now he really wanted to kiss her - among other things.

His reasoning made sense when she thought about it with her head, but it made no sense when it came to how she felt in her heart. "Ahm sure there are lots of people out there that care," She looked down. "But there's only one Antoine. There's only one person who cares like you do."

She grabbed both of his hands. There was no frantic crying, just red cheeks and glistening tears. "Please. Ah'll try anythin' to make it work. If it takes me going to your folks and beggin' for them to find a way, Ah'll do it."

Why would they listen to the pleading cries of a species they saw as inferior? Bunnie had to know this, as Antoine did, so he didn't say it. He pressed his forehead to hers for a moment, letting the agonizing moment hang in the air. If his words wouldn't kill her hope, maybe the quiet would.

He moved again, kissing her cheek, feeling how wet it'd gotten because of him. He kissed it again, and before he could stop himself, he lowered his head and kissed her neck. Chaos, she smelled so good and felt so warm. He wanted to bite, wanted to bite, wanted to bite, wanted to bite...

Bunnie might've not been as perceptive as some of the other members of her family, she could understand what the silence meant. The final nail in the coffin, as it were. There was nothing more she could ask him if he simply refused to say anything in return.

She could also recognize when one of his kind was... thirsty, for the lack of a better word. "Do it, then." She put her hand against the side of his head. "If you wanna taste it so bad, Ah guess you might as well. This is gonna be your last chance."

She says I can, there's no need to hold back-

I can't! I'll kill her!

Just a little bit, just a little drink...

I can't hurt her! I'd rather die!

I'll die if I don't have one taste...

A screaming battle was raging within Antoine's mind, with tears threatening his eyes. But love, lust, and hunger is a powerful combination, and with Bunnie offering no resistance, her fate was sealed. He opened his mouth, and sunk his fangs in deep.

Granted, it wasn't painless. Being bitten was, at first, like a pinch from several needles all at the same time. The feeling gradually grew to a gut-wrenching pain, and it forced Bunnie to squint her eyes and tense up to keep from crying out. No! She'd told him it was all right, she couldn't show him that it wasn't.

At the same time, she could feel the warmth drain from her body. At first her fingertips turned cold, and the feeling gradually crawled up each arm to her very core.

She couldn't do much else but hold on and shiver from the cold.

Antoine had become oblivious to her reactions as he was consumed with hunger. While many stereotypes about vampires were false, their beastly desire for blood wasn't one of them. He wasn't satisfied with one bite - and it became more than just about filling his needs. It was if he was claiming her so no one else could have her. She belonged to him forever and always, and nothing and no one could take her away.

As he drew her dry, traces of blood escape and rolled down her neck. Not wanting to waste any of it, he forcibly yanked out his fangs so he could lap up the runaway drop. But once he'd removed himself from her neck, his sanity returned - as did his horror.

"Mon dieu... What have I done?!" He cried out in shock and disgust at himself.

She turned limp in his arms as he pushed past the amount of bloodloss which any normal mortal could handle. As more time passed, Her expression turned blank and limbs cold before he finally came back to his senses. By then she was nothing more than a ragdoll who easily buckled under her own weight.

If she had any hope of survival at all, it would be turning into a vampire herself. No choice about that now.

Damn it all to hell! Antoine wished he could die instead of her, but there was no time for guilt. He had to finish the job, even if it sickened him to do so. With tears in his eyes, he pulled her up close, and punctured her neck again.

He would beg her forgiveness once the dreadful ordeal was over, even if he didn't deserve it. He pressed his fangs in deeply - he'd never turned anyone before, nor had he ever seen it done. This would have to all instinct.

It was strange.. All the while, she felt like she was under some spell that made her fall into a deep sleep. If that was death felt like, it felt peaceful. When her eyes fluttered open again and saw Antoine against the moonlight it almost seemed like a confirmation of it being a dream scenario.

Then the sharp pain hit. Bunnie made a muffled noise - the only noise her body would let her make - and she tried to sit up.

Once he felt her move, Antoine removed his fangs and held Bunnie close to his body. "I'm sorry." he whispered as tears rolled down his cheeks harder than before. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... Please forgive me, my darling..."

"Forgive...?" Everything was much too hazy for her to comprehend what had happened straight out of the gate. Bunnie looked up tiredly. "What'cha talkin' about? What happened?" Her fingertips felt.. oddly cold. As did her hands. Arms. Everything felt like she had taken a dip in the river during the winter. But it didn't feel like she was shivering to compensate for it..

Antoine slid his arms around her, lifting her up. "I'll take care of you." His voice was gentle as it broke, standing up as he carried her in his arms. He intended to take her inside his home and to hell with whatever his parents had to say about it - although he lamented not having that same conviction moments ago.

"Rest now,mah cherie. I won't leave your side." Until she inevitably demanded him to.

Her mind wanted to question more of what he said, but her body wanted to listen to his request and rest. "...Why...do..?" She felt exhausted and couldn't explain why.. perhaps that was what the bite of a vampire did? Just make her tired? That wasn't so bad.

But if it wasn't so bad, why did he look so ...torn apart?

"...." She tried her best to roll to her side and against his chest. It proved to be a futile task for the most part, but she closed her eyes and did as he said, unaware that she was missing the sound of a heart beat.

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i sense there's something in the wind... (vampires/arranged marriage/sneaking around)

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