for Tesla

[will_you_see]

Alcuin could feel the sword sliding into his flesh. Ah Elua, the pain! He thought at first that he was simply reliving his death again, but then he felt silk ropes knotted at his wrists. He was tied to a bed, and when he opened his eyes he saw Vitale Bouvarre pinning him down onto the mattress with the sword. He was naked and hard, his eyes

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[will_you_see]

"Then I will start at the very beginning," Alcuin said, and took a breath, relaxing a bit into Nikola's embrace. It was easier to tell it as a story. All of it, even if so much of it had once been secrets, such secrets. Now... here... it was little more than a fairy tale.

"Anafiel Delaunay was a poet," he said. "A very, very talented poet, and he won the heart of the prince of Terre d'Ange. Prince Rolande was engaged to be wed to a dear friend of Anafiel's, Edmee, in order to continue the royal line, but she was understanding of their relationship. When she died, Anafiel suspected that it had been murder. He wrote a poem that was a thinly veiled accusation of Nicola L'Envers, the woman who married Rolande in Edmee's place. In the aftermath of her anger, Anafiel lost his name, his title, and all of his poetry was destroyed. And shortly thereafter Rolande was killed in battle."

Alcuin leaned more heavily against Nikola. "You are perhaps wondering where I come into the story. Somewhere during that time, I was born. My father was a soldier in Rolande's army, and my mother a peasant girl in a border village who was cast out of her home at the first sign of her pregnancy. Rolande's honor made him promise to provide for my well-being in the soldier's place. And upon his death six years later, Anafiel upheld that promise in his place and when my village was under siege, he fetched me and brought me into his household."

[thedevamper]

Nikola slid his fingers down Alcuin's spine, holding the man close as he listened to Alcuin's story. Nikola was not good at comforting others, he left that to Helen and her band of merry men but well, for all his snark and dismissal he did in fact like Alcuin. Not that he'd say much about that. It didn't pay to let anyone else know that he had feelings.

"And what exactly did you do in Anafiel's household?" Nikola murmured.

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"I studied," Alcuin said after a moment. "I learned. Languages and history and geography and tumbling and dancing and music... and perhaps most importantly, the arts of covertcy. How to observe, how to listen, how to lie."

This was the part of the tale that always seemed to go badly when he imparted it here. No matter how he told it, he could not escape the implication that Delaunay had used him. And perhaps it was true.

"The understanding was that when I was old enough, and if I chose to, I would dedicate myself to Naamah, and use my position to gain information for him. His position was precarious due to his falling out with Rolande's wife, and there were some circles that he simply could no longer enter... but he had made a promise, to protect Rolande's daughter. It was a secret that not even I knew for a long time. All I knew was that I would do anything for him. Anything he asked of me. Though I think that if he'd known how deep my devotion ran he would not have asked so much. When I was fourteen, my foster sister Phedre and I dedicated ourselves to Naamah and I began learning the arts of pleasure in a purely academic way. A lot of books."

[thedevamper]

Nikola looked at Alcuin carefully, studying his face. It seemed like this Anafiel was a man after his own heart, using a long con to get exactly what he wanted. True, Nikola had never had the patience to use children but young men and women he could eventually evolve into vampires... yes.

"Of course you would," Nikola murmured understanding how subtle this Anafiel had been. And it certainly explained some of Alcuin's behaviour. "And then your learning of the arts was not academic was it? Someone taught you what you know now. Was it him?"

[will_you_see]

"It is remarkable how much one can learn academically," Alcuin said softly. "But, no, it wasn't him, not... for a long while."

He paused, and then said, "On my sixteenth birthday, my virgin price was auctioned. Anafiel had been... clever, cultivating an interest in me among the right people for years. The price I fetched..." He shook his head. "It was unheard of. And the man who won, his name was Vitale Bouvarre." There was suddenly more tension in his body. "He was not a very nice man. And he became obsessed with me."

[thedevamper]

"Yes but there are some things that have to be experienced," Nikola replied, tracing his hand up and down Alcuin's back. Fingertips tracing a pattern against his back, Nikola turned his head and listened to Alcuin attentively. Especially the part in cultivating an interest, the more Nikola heard the more Nikola... appreciated the man's work. "Is he the one you were dreaming of? This Bouvarre fellow."

[will_you_see]

Alcuin hesitated, and then nodded. "In part, yes. He..." He closed his eyes for a moment, wondering how Nikola was hearing this. Would he think Alcuin weak for allowing it to affect him after all this time?

"He tried to kill me. He contracted me time after time, and I accepted because he had a very important piece of information. Eventually I demanded the answer in addition to a high price - the remainder of the cost of my marque - in exchange for seeing him once more. He gave me both, and then sent someone after me. I was stabbed, nearly died - " The scar on his side. "And my bodyguard was killed. That was the last assignation I ever took. It wasn't until after that Anafiel found out how I'd hated it. And it wasn't until after I made my marque that I had the courage to seduce him."

[thedevamper]

Nikola's lips twitched as he listened to Alcuin describe his role. He knew there was a reason he liked Alcuin besides his obvious charms. Alcuin had played a situation to his advantage, true it had backfired but he had tried at least.

"Interesting, you only go up in my estimation." Nikola murmured, a hint of a smirk playing at his features as he drew Alcuin close to him. "I hope you at least got Bouvarre back for what he did. Or Anafiel did."

[will_you_see]

That, Alcuin thought, was an interesting assessment, when Nikola praised him. Though he immediately understood it. He was beginning to understand Nikola much better, he thought.

"He hanged himself in his jail cell," he said. Or Nicola L'Envers had had it set up to look like that. Either way, same results.

He decided to simply plow through with the rest of the tale. "As I said, Anafiel and I were together for a time, after that. A very, very short time." The happiest time of his life. "A month, perhaps? And then the intrigue surrounding Anafiel's promise to protect Rolande's daughter caught up with him, by those who would not see her on the throne. They came while my sister was away. Killed every servant in the household. I tried to fight, killed a couple, maybe, but I was only just learning to use a sword then - "

He didn't even notice that as he spoke his heart began to race again with the memory.

"I watched him die, first. I bled slowly enough to hold on until my sister found us. And then... then I was here. Whole. And yes, this is what my nightmares are made of."

[thedevamper]

Nikola took a little pleasure at knowing the death was made to appear as a suicide. Such cunning people in Alcuin's world, they would certainly make Nikola's life fun if he were ever to go there. The intrigue alone... but ah, he had other cons to play out and other games in motion.

"Your heart is racing, Alcuin you are safe here with me. For a given measure of safety of course," Nikola replied, sliding his hands down Alcuin's back and then up again. Moving his hand over his hip, Nikola pressed his thumb against Alcuin's scar. "This can't hurt you. Neither can your memories only if you let them and I won't let you. Understand?"

Nikola kissed Alcuin slow, reassuring, comforting. For someone unused to comforting others Nikola was almost quite good at it.

[will_you_see]

"Yes," Alcuin said when the kiss broke, and realized that it was comforting as well simply to have someone take control like that, right now.

"I'm sorry," he added as he felt the panic begin to edge away. "You're right. I know. I just... sometimes it sneaks up on me."

[thedevamper]

"I can only imagine," Nikola murmured, pulling Alcuin close and holding him tight to his body. Nikola couldn't imagine what his nightmares would look like, it had been so long since he had dealt with them. And if he was going to have one he certainly wasn't going to do it with company present. Imagine if he dreamed about James... No, he would just refuse to have nightmares. "I imagine in your world, the daughter- your sister would have had her revenge though."

[will_you_see]

"Something like that," Alcuin admitted. "She - Phedre - was here for a time. She'd lived on in Terre d'Ange for ten years without me. Her story... well, it is even longer and more complicated, but we can leave it for another day."

He kissed Nikola again then, just wanting something for a moment to make him feel present. Cared for.

[thedevamper]

Nikola smirked, kissing Alcuin back as he brushed fingers through hair and held him tight to him. Rolling them over once, then again so thaT Alcuin was on top. Nikola made a show of making Alcuin realise that he was cared for and certainly desired right this moment.

[will_you_see]

Alcuin pressed his body against Nikola's and kissed his neck before burying his face against it. "Thank you for listening. I feel better for your knowing it all."

[thedevamper]

"You can tell me anything Alcuin, anything at all." Nikola murmured, wrapping his arms around him. He meant it of course but not for the reasons that people would want Nikola to do anything nice.