Queens of the Night

by

Elizabeth Springbrook

A/N: I just want to let everyone know that this story involves Lesbianism. If you are against this then please do not read this. I will be happy to reply to any flamer: "I warned you about the content." This also gives me a clear conscience concerning this. Now, those of you who do not like lesbian relationships should turn back now. You have been warned, DO NOT think that you can flame me just because of the story content. It's your own fault that you read this story and I can write whatever kind of relationship I want, thank you very much

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Chapter One: The Countessa's New Suitor

Vampyres are among the most noble of the ancient humanoid "monsters." To insult a Vampyre was to ask for your head to quickly leave your body. But, even in this glittering night world, there were classes and casts. The highest was the High King and Queen, descendants of the first Vampyre, then came the counts and countessas, then the warriors, then the blood merchants, and lastly there were the common Vampyres who had no power whatsoever. They merely followed the Count who ruled over their village. Of course, in the small villages, the common Vampyre had more say in the affairs of the village but, common Vampyres in the large villages had very little power at all. History dictates that the smaller villages will be much happier than the large ones because the commoner has more power. Even if it's the king who makes the decisions, its the common villager who will decide whether those decisions are good or bad for the people. In this tale we travel to the Vampyre city of Relinas, ruled over by Count Walmond and Countessa Lucinda. The countessa has bore three children to Count Walmond and the eldest is the Young Countessa Vanessa. Vanessa is a lovely Vampyress with blonde hair and the red eyes of her people. She is exactly eighteen years old, a very young Vampyre by all standards, and will soon be married to Count Stephan, a Vampyre over two hundred years old. This match was created by her father in order to form an alliance with Stephan. Stephan could not complain, he was looking for a young bride ever since his last wife was slain by Vampyre Hunters. Everyone knew this union was wrong, he was two hundred years her elder! Vampyre law held strict codes about arranged marriages, the groom must not be over a hundred years the bride's elder and vice versa. However, no one could say anything against this union, the commoners were all to afraid of what Walmond and Stephan would do if someone complained. If the High King and Queen ever got word then there would be a scourging of the villages for any supporters of the marriage and those supporting it would probably be tied out and left for the sun to claim. No, no one breathed a word against the marriage. Not even those considered rebels and traitors to the village Counts.

One such "rebel" was the young Vampyress Danica. Danica was an open opposer to the marriage of Vanessa and Stephan. She was a strong supporter of free-marriage and the laws decreed by the High King and Queen. Danica was also eighteen years old and very rash. She lived with her brother on the outskirts of the village, kept her head down when in large throngs, and was a very efficient thief. She thieved both for personal reasons and for those willing to pay for the stolen artifacts. Her brother, Raoul, was a practicing sorcerer and excelled at his practice. He could charm the skin off of a snake if requested to. They were quite the pair, Raoul and Danica. No one knew if they had parents or even where they originally came from, and the two young Vampyres weren't interested in giving out details to the common Vampyre on the street. That was what made them so interesting, they never wanted to reveal anything. Now, it came to pass that Vanessa wanted to know what her future cold hold for her, besides a marriage to the Count Stephan, and so she went to the best fortune-teller around, Raoul.

Vanessa's slender hand reached up to the brass knocker on the door. The sign above indicated: "Raoul, Magician and Fortune-teller extortionate." Several of the house servants had informed her of his accuracy and his kindness, so he was the most logical choice to have her fortune told. When the young Vampyress learned of her marriage to a high-ranking Vampyre lord, her heart had jumped for joy but, when she heard that Stephan's last wife was killed under suspicious circumstances, she began to doubt whether this was a good match or not. The gypsies in service to her father informed them that it was a very good match and there probably wasn't any better prospect to be found but Vanessa wanted a second opinion. So, she asked around and heard about Raoul. The last thing she wanted was to go to some silly mystic who would charge her a high price then give her very little information. But from what she heard, Raoul sounded like a fair and honest Vampyre. Thus, she went and found the location of his shop and was now ready to knock. Before she could, the door opened to reveal a young Vampyress near her own age. Her hair was blonde and set into dreadlocks and her outfit told of one requesting free movement.

"Raoul said there was someone coming. I suppose you're here to get your future spelled out for you, come in," She said, not even offering an introduction. Vanessa entered the shop and found herself in a room with very little lighting. All Vampyre dwellings were windowless and lit by candlelight but this one was lit by a large fire, casting eerie shadows on the wall. The decor did indeed speak of a sorcerer with animal bones, strands of various herbs and a large pot boiling over the fire being just a few things around the room. In a corner of the room was a couch with a small table in front of it laden down with tarot cards, a crystal ball, and several other fortune-telling devices. On the couch lounged a Vampyre, no older than twenty-two, his eyes were closed as if he were asleep, his hair was a dark as pitch, and he commanded a great presence.

"Poke up, lazy. You've got a customer, just like you predicted," the girl snapped. The Vampyre's eyes opened slowly, revealing deep, blood-red orbs of thought.

"Thank you very much, Danica, but I was not sleeping. Welcome, I trust my sister hasn't said anything too harsh," Raoul greeted, smiling warmly at Vanessa.

"No, she hasn't," was all Vanessa could reply. Danica scoffed, heading over to the pot on the fire. Next to it was a kettle, which she brought over to a second table and began pouring its contents into cups.

"Well, please sit," Raoul said, motioning to the cushion in front of the table, while sitting back up on the couch. "So, you want to have your fortune told, right?" Vanessa nodded her agreement. "I charge a base-line fee of two Arbis then one Rir for every additional explanation. Does that sound fair to you?"

"Yes sir," Vanessa answered as Danica brought the cups over. Contained within was Hot Blood, obviously laced with some herb for extra flavor. A cup went to Raoul and Vanessa each before Danica retreated to a chair next to the fire, flipping open a leather book and pulling out a quill. Obviously she was going to keep track of how much Vanessa owed.

"Refills extra," Danica said, looking down at the book. Raoul chuckled.

"Don't mind her, the drinks are complementary. I hate to drink anything in front of guests and Blood laced with ginger helps me think. Now, what method do you prefer your futures to be read in?" Raoul asked, sipping from his cup.

"I didn't know there was a difference in the way futures were told, sir, I don't have a preferred method," Vanessa replied, also drinking. Raoul smiled from behind his cup.

"Alright then, I'll just use the easiest for me," Raoul said, from underneath the table he pulled another, large cup. "This is the bone method. Inside this cup are bones inscribed with characters from the Archaic Vampyre Language. I will shake the cup and spill the bones out on the table, allowing them to stay where ever they fall. I will interpret the characters to form your future timeline." Vanessa watched with pure interest as Raoul placed his hand over the cup's opening and shook it hard. He then removed his hand and spilt the bones over the table. Indeed, they were inscribed with Archaic characters that Vanessa had never seen before. Ancient Vampyres had a language all their own while the modern Vampyres had adopted human language for their language, it allowed for easier transactions when the humans decided to be friendly with the Vampyres. Very few Vampyres took the time to learn the Archaic Language but Raoul was apparently one of those who thought it was important. Vanessa watched as Raoul touched each individual bone, looking for a coherent timeline.

"What do you see?" Vanessa heard herself ask. Raoul paused, taking a quick glance at Danica. She didn't return his gaze.

"You are to be married in the very near future, as early as a month, but it will not be to the one you expect now. One year after this marriage, you will conceive a child. This child will be loved and abhorred by many of the Vampyre community. Two years afterwards you will conceive again, this second child will become a mighty leader of Vampyres. That is all destiny will reveal to me," Raoul replied, sitting back and running a hand through his hair.

"All that destiny will reveal? Who is this Vampyre I am to marry?" Vanessa asked hurriedly, not thinking about the extra charge for more explanations.

"Destiny is very fickle, she does not like to give away all of her plans, even when one of her favorite pawns asks her nicely. As for your marriage, I cannot say, the bones are too jumbled to be very clear. All I know is that you have met you intended," Raoul explained, taking a large sip of his blood. Vanessa wanted to know more, she wanted to entreat him to reveal who her new intended was. Did destiny have to be so vague? And what was causing the troubled look on Raoul's face?

"Please, there must be something more you can tell me," Vanessa began, Raoul held up his hand.

"Ask no more of me, milady. I cannot reveal anything else to you. All I can say is that the future doesn't like to be revealed wholly, you may have to do more searching to discover who you are supposed to marry and, by that time, you may have every answer you need at your fingers. Because the prediction was so vague, I will wave the charges. I ask no money of you, no matter what you say, Danica will show you out," Raoul said, getting up and sweeping through a darkened doorway. Vanessa was left speechless. She had hopped to get something a little more substantial out of the mighty Raoul. And what could cause him to wave the charges just like that? Vanessa was going to get to the bottom of this mystery, no matter what.

"Well, my brother certainly does know how to make a dramatic exit, eh?" Danica stated, getting up from her chair by the fire. "In three hundred sessions with various Vampyresses, I have never seen him so flustered. Tell you what, I'll talk to him about it and tell you what I find out, okay? Meet me at the fountain in the village square this time tomorrow night, if I don't have your answer I'll at least have some explanation as to why he waved the charges." Vanessa smiled at the spunky Vampyress.

"Okay, the Fountain in the Square tomorrow. I hope to see you then," Vanessa replied, exiting as Danica closed the door behind her.

Danica then went back into the main part of the house where Raoul was dunking his head in the water basin.

"She's gone, Raoul. Want to explain your performance in the shop?" Danica asked, putting hands on her hips like their mother would when she was asking for an explanation. "Honestly, we could have at least charged her for the fortune, if for nothing else!"

"Come with me, Dani, I'll explain everything when you see the character," Raoul said, leading Danica back into the main room. The bones still lay on the table, untouched. Raoul pointed to the bone next to the one bearing the character for "marriage". "See, destiny can't be avoided, merely delayed."

"But it could be a mistake right? I mean, it's not like destiny hasn't screwed up before," Danica stammered, looking at the character with dread in her eyes.

"Destiny doesn't screw up, Danica, destiny is trying to get our attention," Raoul explained, looking grim. Danica sunk down onto her brother's couch. It didn't add up, it was first in her fortune, now in the fortune of this young countessa. What was destiny playing at?

"How do you explain the conception part then? How could such a feat be accomplished if this were true?" Danica asked, trying to find a way out of the future destiny had planned for her.

"I don't know, I suppose that'll explain itself later, right now you have to focus on the first leg of your journey. Do you know how hard it's going to be, explaining to her about this?" Raoul added, sinking down next to his sister.

"Yeah, it'll be like trying to get a human to wed a Vampyre. But it has to be done, no escaping Destiny's firm grasp. Looks like I'll have to court the Countessa."

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An Arbis is a bronze coin the equivalent of ten U.S. dollars.

ARir is a copper coin the equivalent of five U.S. dollars.