Living as Lenore: Chapter 24 “A Whole New World”
Title: Living as Lenore
Author: Luna (aka Luna_del_Cielo on lj)
Fandom: Supernatural/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Cast of Characters: Tara/Lenore McLeod, Fergus McLeod/Crowley, Loki/Gabriel, Anya, Castiel, Kali, Eli, Angel, Darla, Spike, Drusilla, Dean, Sam, Scoobies
Rating: T
Summary: Willow tried to bring Tara back…and she did. Unfortunately, she was brought back to life in 1672. Now 'Lenore' has to deal with witches, demons, pagan gods, and even angels, as she struggles to find the red-haired woman she sees in her dreams.
Pairings: Multiple pairings that will include the characters: Anya, Gabriel, Kali, Tara/Lenore, Willow - at least.
Spoilers: BTVS S6E19 ‘Seeing Red’, SPN S2E3 ‘Bloodlust’. Spoilers for Crowley's past in S6 “Weekend at Bobby’s” and Trickster/Loki's past in S5 ‘Changing Channels’
Warnings: Character death, Femslash (nothing explicit)
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If I did then fewer people would have died in each of those shows :)
Read specific chapters here: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22| Chapter 23
Or all of the entire story here: Living as Lenore
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“A Whole New World”
Alexandria, Egypt
May 7, 1852
Meetings with other vampire leaders had been altered in their approach since the debacle with Salvatore Petrali.
For years Lenore had been far too trusting - in both that she would be treated with respect and that she could always count on her magic in defense. But clearly that trust had been broken last November. With the loss of her smaller clan at Petrali’s hands Lenore recruited the best and brightest of her entire two-hundred soul vampire clan to travel with her. These vampires were older, smarter, faster, and stronger. They were the ones who would not make great clan leaders but made excellent followers - and especially bodyguards. These seven vampires accompanied her to every meeting; several went inside with her and others patrolled the area.
Today was her first meeting with a vampire leader since Petrali and Lenore was feeling anxious while she waited. The vampire was called Bilquis and it was rumored that she was the Queen of Sheba herself. However, like many ancient vampires, legends cloaked her like thick fog and no one knew the truth of her past. All Lenore knew was that this vampire had requested to meet her here in Alexandria so she had come.
Four male Arab vampires, all dressed in warrior gear with swords at their sides, had shown Lenore and her two clan members - Jae and Theodore - to a modest hall and were waiting with her for Bilquis to show. The room was adorned with rich tapestries and Persian rugs sitting under colorful thick pillows.
A light breeze was the only announcement of Bilquis’ arrival; the old vampire was certainly light of foot.
“Lady Lenore, leader of the Animal Drinkers, how fare you? I hope your travel here was uneventful.” Bilquis spoke in the smooth voice of a woman who was experienced in diplomacy. Nodding in her direction, Bilquis then sat across from Lenore on a purple pillow embroidered with gold. Her nose and mouth were covered by a silk black cloth that was supported by gold thread tied at the back of her head; it flapped slightly as she spoke. Dark brown eyes were outlined with kohl and her black hair was piled on top of her head in an intricate design. Her dress was more modest than Lenore would have presumed; it was white with flowing sleeves and a tight bodice - nothing terribly fancy.
“Uneventful and pleasant,” Lenore affirmed. “My clan and I thank you for your hospitality.”
The corner of her eyes moved and Lenore knew the other vampire was smiling under her veil. “Yes, well it is the least I could do for the murderer of my childe.”
Lenore’s eyes sharpened and she felt her Jae and Theodore fall into battle stances. “Of whom do you speak, Bilquis?”
Her eyes glittered with amusement as she glanced at Lenore’s clan members. “I speak of Salvatore, darling. I made him during my Mediterranean travels long ago. I heard it is because of you that my childe is dead, indirectly as it may be.”
Lenore summoned the strength of her magic and let it leak into the room. “That bastard tortured me for an entire day. His death was well-deserved.”
Bilquis’ laughter tinkled like shattering glass. “Oh young one. Don’t you realize that if I had wanted you dead it would have already happened? I have lived since the tenth century B.C. - before the birth of your precious Christ. Even your impressive swell of magic is no match for my abilities.”
Still alert, Lenore lowered her defenses slightly. “I admit then I am puzzled, Bilquis. Why invite me here?”
Bilquis’ dark eyes glanced towards her guards. “Leave us,” she commanded. They did as she said and gave Lenore an expectant look. After a moment Lenore excused Jae and Theodore - if Bilquis tried anything it’s not like any of them could stop her.
“I was asleep for many years - a common activity for us ancients. Once the invading Caliph Omar burned our precious library in 640 and the Muslims conquered this land I left. Upon my travels I found Salvatore.” Her face turned thoughtful. “He was much different as a human. Softer, kinder.” Bilquis turned her gaze to Lenore. “But the demon affects each of us in different ways, does it not?”
Lenore didn’t like to think that a demon was affecting her at all, thank you very much, so she just shrugged.
“Anyways I went to sleep during the Dark Ages for I was bored and no longer amused by the creativity of humans. But you, yes you, awoke me when Salvatore was killed. I felt it in our connection and knew he had met the final death.”
The dark eyes of Bilquis seemed to fade to black and the pressure in the hall heightened as Lenore felt the full weight of the almost 3,000 year old vampire’s powers. Lenore used her own powers to wrap her body in a tight cocoon of protection.
Then the feeling faded and Bilquis smiled again under the silk cloth. “Fear not, Lenore of the Animal Drinkers. I am not upset by his death. I have heard a great deal of stories about my once-dear Salvatore - it seems during my slumber my old lover sank into a greater sense of madness than previously known.”
“Oh,” Lenore said in surprise. “Well, I am glad you are not upset,” she said cautiously as she wondered why the ancient vampire had called her here.
“You are likely wondering why I asked you here, if not to kill you?” Again, the amusement in her tone was evident.
“Indeed.”
Bilquis nodded. “Indeed. It is a good question. You see Lenore, I have lived through many different religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I am even featured, from my human years, in your precious Old Testament.”
Lenore nodded. She read the Bible every day in support of her ministry efforts to save the souls of her fellow vampires. The tale of the Queen of Sheba meeting King Soloman was well known.
“But you see, I am beyond religion - as are all vampires. It is not our place to contemplate God because God simply does not exist.”
She felt herself bristling at Bilquis’ words. “That is a matter of opinion, my dear Bilquis.”
Bilquis laughed again, and this time the tinkling of her voice felt like sharp pinpricks on Lenore’s soul. “As I said before, you are young. You are idealistic and full of energy but you are living in a dream. God does not exist nor does he deserve your adulation.”
“I am afraid you are wrong,” Lenore said with a hardened look. “I know he exists. My entire existence is due to the blessings and curses thrown into my life. I was a Prophetess of the Lord, once. I have even had a Guardian Angel. Therefore, I know God exists.”
With a sigh, Bilquis unhooked her face mask and let the silk covering fall to her lap. “Lenore, trust me. I understand how you feel. As a human I thought I had been convinced of God’s greatness through the efforts of King Soloman. But when I was brutally attacked and turned years later I learned the truth - there is no God.” Lenore tried to interrupt but Bilquis shushed her. “Yes, I admit that the servants of God - the angels and prophets - do exist but they are nothing more than lost children trying to find their way.”
“How can you say that?” Lenore asked in puzzlement. “They are angels!”
Bilquis snorted in derision. “Nasty little bastards, if you ask me. One named Zachariah almost killed me once, had I not had some Holy Oil handy.”
Silently Lenore remembered her final - and traumatic - encounter with Castiel. “The actions of one or two does not mean God isn’t real.”
“Maybe he was once,” Bilquis shrugged. “But all things die eventually. Trust me my dear, if he were alive he wouldn’t let the wickedness in this world exist.”
Lenore held her tongue. She was faithful…although she had to admit that Bilquis brought up some good points. Those were questions she had never been able to answer either.
Finally she spoke. “So did you invite me here to discuss theology?” she inquired.
Her full ruby lips set in a thin line. “No. I wanted to deliver a warning - cease with your recruitment efforts and disable your organization.”
“Why?” Lenore cried out, completely aghast.
Bilquis’ head cocked to the side. “For the very reasons I just explained. I have heard the stories of you, the Vampire Saint. You seek to transform the very nature of our race for belief in a God that doesn’t exist. I cannot allow you to foolishly change our world order.”
Lenore jerked in shock. “You must be kidding.”
“Kidding?” She blinked several times. “What is kidding? I am not having young goats, my dear, but offering you a formal demand.”
Scowling, Lenore shook her head. “No, Bilquis. I will not and can not do this. Why is it so wrong if some vampires choose to drink only animal blood? This does not change the world order.”
“You think me a fool?” Bilquis asked in a clipped voice. “I know you have two hundred vampires within your clan. This the largest number of our kind in any one group. You are dangerous. Furthermore, you are spitting on our very ways with your actions.”
“Spitting on your ways…? Because we don’t want to kill humans to survive?” Lenore asked in outrage.
“We were created as race of the future - a master race that exceeds the weak humans,” Bilquis shouted as she pounded her fist on the floor.
“A master race? And what? One day we will put all the members of the ‘weak’ race in a gas chamber?” Lenore questioned in an incredulous tone.
Bilquis gave her a curious look and frowned. “No. The humans will be kept alive for food and will serve us.” A slow smiled curved up her face and her eyes shone with the righteousness of a true believer.
“You’re mad,” Lenore whispered.
Standing to her feet, Bilquis sneered slightly. “And you are a fool. But a young fool. I will give you time to consider my request. If you do not follow it then you will dislike my tactics of persuasion.”
There was something in her voice - something old and cold, molded by years of hard living - that sent a shiver down Lenore’s spine. She knew right then and there that even all of her magic was no match for this creature.
“Good day, Lady Lenore,” Bilquis nodded as she stalked out of the room.
Clasping her hands together so Jae and Theodore wouldn’t see them shaking, Lenore got to her feet and went to find her clan members.
She had a lot of thinking to do.
Unfortunately a lot of thinking wasn’t in the cards for her, she discovered later. With the stress of her meeting with Bilquis she had completely forgotten it was her birthday and that Loki would be arriving tonight like always.
He showed up hovering outside her hotel window with a goofy grin on his face. “Greetings, O’ Fair Lenore.”
Lenore let out a little shriek since she was only clothed in her undergarments and quickly shoved the curtains in front of the window. “Jeez Loki! Couldn’t you, I don’t know, wear a bell or something?” she questioned as she dress in one of her nicer dresses - a long, flowing turquoise that she had picked up at the market several days ago.
She could practically hear him smirking. “But that would take all the fun out of peeping at you barely clothed!”
Blushing, Lenore quickly smoothed her hair and silently rebuked herself for always allowing Loki’s flattery to mean something when it probably shouldn’t. Finally ready, she yanked the curtains back open. “You are ridiculous, positively ridiculous.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “I know.” Then he grinned again. “Hey, are you ready for your birthday celebrations or what?”
Lenore gave him a stern look. “On a few conditions.”
“Such as?”
“No tricking poor humans on my watch.”
“Oh,” Loki pouted.
“No transfiguring me into a tiger.”
“But that was so funny! Those frog-eating Parisians literally peed their pants!” he countered.
“No popping me into outer space to check out the moon when you know that my puny vampire body can’t take the denseness of space and zero gravity.”
“Aw, come on. I totally popped you back home before you, ya know, ‘popped’ yourself.”
Lenore folded her arms. “I almost died!”
Loki rolled his eyes. “But you didn’t,” he pointed out petulantly.
“And…” Lenore peered closely at him. “Why are you just floating outside my window? People will see you, you know.”
“No they won’t,” he grinned. “I’ve got an anti-human radar charm on this thing.”
“What thing?”
“Part of your birthday present!” he announced as he rose higher past the window…on top of a carpet…a flying carpet!
“L-Loki…where did you…those things exist?”
“Of course not,” he snorted. “But I can create anything.” He smirked. “Played a trick on this English businessman in Cairo and pretended to be a genie. Egotistical bastard ended up asking for the largest penis in the world - neglecting to mention the largest human penis.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes,” he laughed. “Gave him an eight-foot long penis, as long as a blue whale!”
Her nose crinkled in disgust. “Loki, that’s gross.”
“But funny!” Seeing her frown he rolled his eyes. “Trust me, the dude diddled his little girls on the side. Definitely deserved it.”
Lenore pursed her lips and shrugged. “I’ll take your word for it,” she replied half-heartedly.
“As you should in all things!” he cried out cheerfully with an impish smile. “Anyways, you ready for a magic carpet ride, baby?”
Smiling in spite of herself, she nodded as a thrill of anticipation ran through her. She hadn’t seen Loki since he had healed her six months ago…hopefully if she remained brave tonight could be a very good birthday indeed.
They sat side by side, him on left and her on the right, as they flew through the dark desert night. Alexandria was truly a gorgeous city and Lenore found herself appreciating it even more from an aerial view. “So where are you taking me?” she asked him over the sound of the wind.
“I remember you mentioning you had never seen the ancient sites, so tonight is a tour of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid,” he smiled as he leaned back on the palms of his hands. He was dressed in loose-fitting cotton trousers and a cream-colored tunic, much like many Egyptian men from the lower ranks of society.
“Really?” she asked in surprise as her lips curled in excitement. “You mean it?” she asked as she tugged lightly on his tunic like an kid on a sugar high.
Loki chuckled and grabbed her hand. “Whoa there sparky. Sheesh, if I had known you’d react like that I’d have done this years ago.”
“Loki, these are the artifacts of Ancient Egypt - how can I not be excited?” she grinned. Of course, some of her happiness came from the warmth that was enveloping her hand now. “I’ve read so many books on these lands. In fact, when I was a kid - as Tara - I used to be obsessed with mummies and pharaohs and everything,” she admitted.
“Really?” he asked with a raised brow. “I never would have picked you - in either life - as a knowledge nerd,” he commented with a carefully schooled expression that still managed to reek of sarcasm.
Lenore smacked his stomach with her free hand but he grabbed that as well. “Just because some of us would rather enlighten ourselves than play mean tricks all day, doesn’t make me a knowledge nerd,” she refuted.
“Right. And a horse with stripes isn’t a zebra,” he countered dryly with a glint of mischief in his eyes.
Laughing, Lenore leaned into him. “You’re an awfully mean friend. Sometimes I don’t know why I put up with you.”
“Because your life would be utterly boring without me.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. It was, after all, true.
Aberdeen, Scotland
November 23, 1851
Lenore’s perception of Loki changed that day when he healed her after Petrali’s attack. After he had left she had, after careful consideration, broken things off with Heracles and retreated to Eli’s current residence in her native Scotland. Although Loki had healed her wounds physically, there were a slew of emotional ones that every victim of torture was bound to have - thus she needed to be surrounded by Eli and the other members of her vampire family.
As soon as she had walked into the abandoned barn that Eli’s clan had been holed up in, he had carefully inspected her.
“You heard?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered in a heavy voice. “The others met the final death.”
She had nodded. “It was quick, in comparison.”
A hug. “I’m glad you are okay. Had Petrali killed you as well…well, I don’t know how I could have survived. You are like my Maker, Lenore. I don’t know if I could have continued living.”
She had shaken him. “Never talk like that, Eli. If I die you need to govern the clan. That is more important than me.”
He nodded but not in an entirely convincing way. “I am surprised you did not continue your healing in Rome,” he commented, effectively changing the subject.
Lenore carefully avoided eye contact. “We parted ways.”
A snort of exasperation had her turning to him in alarm. “About damn time.”
“Eli! Honestly.”
“What did it?”
She had shrugged. “I liked Heracles quite a bit but…I do not know. After I was healed I spent the next couple weeks wondering about us…and I decided we were not right for each other.”
“Not exactly breaking news.”
“Oh sod off,” she muttered. “I know you never liked him but he really is a nice man, er god. He just didn’t strike that…fire, you know?”
Then a slow smile grew on Eli’s face. “Ah, I get it now. Next couple weeks after being healed, huh?” he chuckled under his breath.
“Eli?” she asked in a warning tone. Lenore hated secrets.
“Loki was the one who kindly updated me - and told me he healed you. So,” Eli grinned. “You finally wake up to realizing you’re in love with Loki?”
“W-what? L-Loki?” she asked in astonishment, all the while as her stomach knotted up. “What are you talking about, Eli?”
“Lenore, it’s been obvious to me ever since you introduced me to him back in ’22.”
“It…has?”
He shrugged. “When you had walked out of the house that night Maria had accused him of trying to steal you away and that was why they came to blows.”
“…Oh.” Lenore had sat down at that point.
“I know you were in love with that Kali woman, but I think that blinded you to being in love with Loki.”
“Well…it’s only because he’s my best friend. And…he’s a god.” Or an angel, but that was a secret. “He prefers goddesses - apparently the really tarty ones if my sources are correct. And…I didn’t really think I should be with a man - I had only ever known love with women before.”
“But you enjoyed you, ah, relations with Heracles, yes?” Eli asked with a sly grin.
She mirrored his smirk. “Yes, I did indeed.” Then she frowned. “But Kali. And Willow.”
Eli rolled his eyes. “You’ve been sending letters to Kali ever since she left you but each one has been returned. Face it, Lenore, she’s part of your past and is never coming back to you. Even your sources say that she is ruling her lands once again with her consort Shiva. And Willow? Sure, perhaps she is part of your future but that’s still over a hundred years away. Are you just supposed to be a nun in the meantime?”
“But that’s just it! If Willow is my future then someday we will be together…which means even if something happens between Loki and I it will eventually end…and maybe we won’t be friends anymore,” she finished sadly.
At that point her ever-logical friend had let out a heavy sigh. “Lenore, stop over thinking this stupidity and just let yourself be happy. He loves you too, even if he tries to pretend it’s nothing.”
Hope had flared. “Do you really think so?” She was so self-conscious when it came to his past relationships.
“I know so,” he had answered confidently.
And now Lenore, on the night of her 180th birthday, was hoping her friend’s analysis had been correct.
Giza, Egypt
May 7, 1852
As they passed over Cairo, Lenore couldn’t help but smile in anticipation. The chilly desert night had her leaning against Loki and his arm was around her; it was a pleasant feeling. There was only no moon tonight and the cloudless sky glittered like a field of diamonds; bright stars and several planets shone fiercely against the black sky. As they approached Giza the meager light reflected off of three towering pyramids and a smaller figure that Lenore knew had the be the Sphinx. Smaller objects were scattered over the ground and Lenore figured they were other parts of the necropolis.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Loki grinned.
“That’s an understatement,” she murmured in amazement. Her keen vampire eyes were able to make out the scene before her regardless of the nighttime darkness but it wasn’t quite as good as perhaps it would be during the day. “Shame it’s so dark.”
“Oh, I almost forgot!” he stated as he reached under his shirt to pull out a dimly glowing moonstone. “This should help.”
Lenore hadn’t seen the gift since she had given it to him. “You wear it?” she asked in surprise. Not seeing it, she really had no idea.
He gave her an incredulous look. “Of course! It’s only my best gift ever - which is really saying something since Coyote once gave me a harem of twelve very feisty women,” he waggled his brows.
Lenore rolled her eyes.
Laughing, Loki threw the moonstone up in the air. She almost shouted in shock but stopped herself when the pendent just hovered a hundred feet in the air. It began glowing brighter and brighter until it finally lit up the entire necropolis like a full moon would have.
“You’ve been experimenting,” Lenore commented. She had never thought of this usage for her creation.
“Usually my experiments involve honey and naked bodies, but yeah, I toyed around with this one too,” he smirked.
Shaking her head in exasperation, Lenore hid her mild feelings of dejection at his constant mention of other women. “You are too much. But nice trick.”
His amber eyes glinted with mischief. “That, my dear, was no trick. But you know I’d love to show you some…”
“No.”
“You sure? C’mon, there’s this corrupt banker in Hungary who loves to drain his customers dry with high interest rates. I’d love to show him what it was like to have a real vampire after him.”
“Loki.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine. Be boring and just enjoy a mild evening at the ancient Giza necropolis.”
Lenore smiled. “Speaking of…can we fly around it now?”
Loki returned her smile. “But of course!”
So they began weaving in and around the wind-worn structures. Lenore was able to see, up-close and personal, how the Sphinx’s nose was broken off and how the Great Pyramid was no longer smooth on the sides but had begun to show its rougher structure past its casing. They ended their flying carpet adventures on the back of the Sphinx where Loki created a towering five-layer chocolate frosted cake decked out with two-hundred candles out of nowhere.
“L-Loki!” she laughed in surprise. “You’re going to create an inferno with all those candles!”
“Well you need one for every year,” he told her like she was slow. “Besides,” he grinned, “two-hundred is a big year! You’re no longer a baby immortal - now you’re a toddler!”
She laughed some more before letting out a burst of air that blew each and every candle, all the while making a wish that she would stick by her plan for tonight.
Seconds later plates with giant slabs of cake and forks were in their hands. “So what’ja wish for?” Loki asked between chocolaty mouthfuls.
A secretive smile played on her lips. “If I tell you it may not come true.”
“Or it could. Ya know, on account of my awesome powers and me making it come true,” he pointed out with a stab of his fork.
Lenore took a small bite and relished the intense flavor of the rich cake. She rarely ate food but when she did Loki always made sure it was the best. “Thank you Loki. Tonight’s been a pretty wonderful birthday.”
“Oh yeah?” he smiled. “Good. I’d hate to see anyone, like maybe your boyfriend, try to out-do me. Lenore birthdays are my specialty.”
Rolling her eyes at the subtle dig, she gave him a ‘look’. “Listen gossip queen, I already know that you know everything that goes on. Surely you know that I left Heracles.”
He grinned widely. “Oh, I know. I just wanted to hear you say it.”
“Brat.”
Loki shrugged and gave her a sly smile. “Comes with the whole Trickster deal, baby.”
Lenore kept trying to think of the perfect moment to tell him what had been on her mind the last six months but the words struggled to leave her lips.
“So, why’d you leave him? Unsatisfied?” he inquired with a smirk.
“If you must know,” she drawled as her mind tried to formulate the right phrase. “It was just that he wasn’t the one for me. Fun for a while but no one special.”
“Oh yeah?” Was that just her wishing or were his eyes lighting up with interest?
“Yes. And I think…I think he didn’t compare to the person I really have feelings for.”
Loki shifted nervously in his seat and he suddenly broke eye contact. “Oh…yeah? Well, ah, that’s good you left him then. Listen! I, um, almost forgot to give you your present.”
She mentally kicked him for trying to change the subject. “Loki, tonight has been an excellent present in itself.”
“Well, yeah, but I still needed to make up for the Christmas of ’49 when you gave me the moonstone.”
Curious, she peered closely at him. “Indeed?”
“Indeed,” he grinned, his nervousness gone. He presented her with a small carved wooden chest that featured floral designs. Upon closer inspection she recognized the flower.
“A Forget-Me-Not?” she inquired as her fingers traced the patterns.
“Yeah, well, I thought it was appropriate,” he answered sheepishly.
“Thank you, Loki,” she murmured as her fingers moved over the smooth wood.
“Oh, hold on - you gotta open it first! The real present is inside!” he told her with childish excitement.
“Oh!” she laughed wildly. She opened the box and saw a finely made golden heart-shaped locket that was no bigger than her thumbnail. “Oh…so pretty,” she breathed softly. Lenore carefully picked up the locked and was suddenly awash in this feeling of warmth and love and happiness that stole her breath away. A shudder ran through her body as she clutched the locket to her heart.
“Lenore?” Loki asked in worry.
The feeling of love pulsed within her and Lenore felt her magic intensify. When she focused her powers and connected to the earth she could feel all living things, but now it came to her without concentration. The beetle in the sand, the little girl sleeping in a nearby house, the palm trees…then a fresh wave as her senses traveled through the Nile to witness crocodiles and fish…and then into the sea as she witnessed sharks searching for their prey…suddenly she heard a child cry out for help in Turkey and then heard a women praying before bed in Spain and then there were the galloping buffalo in America and polar bears in Canada and her senses traveled all the way to monkeys in the Amazon and sheep in New Zealand…
“Lenore!” Loki shook her, she felt something rip out of her hand, and then she gasped as the greater world faded away and she was back in Giza, under the light of the moonstone, with Loki staring at her in shock…and fear.
She realized she was panting and sucking in great mouthfuls of air - even though breathing was no longer required for her. Her entire body was shaking and Loki quickly summoned his polar bear furred cloak and wrapped it around her. But she shook it off just as quickly because even though she was shivering she felt feverish with warmth - a very uncommon feeling for a vampire.
“Lenore, my…are you okay?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes,” she repeated in a stronger voice. “Good God, Loki, what was that?”
Loki carefully laid the locket back in the small wooden chest and bit his lip. “What did you feel?”
“Everything!” she exclaimed with a brilliant smile. “It was like mediating on my magic but so much more! Oh Loki, it felt wonderful,” she explained as her eyes brimmed with happy tears.
Loki paled. “I’ve been working on this since that Christmas…I had no idea it would have that sort of affect…”
“What is it?” she inquired as she hastily brushed the tears away from her eyes.
He ran a hand awkwardly through his short hair. “I made it…with the smallest bit of my…myself.”
That stilled her. “Like your powers?”
“Something like that,” he shrugged. “It’s highly uncommon…perhaps never even done…but I fused it with that locket so that way if you were ever in trouble again I’d be able to feel it. I figured it would make your magic more powerful as well to help you, in case some sicko like Petrali ever got a hold of you again.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything,” he said quickly. “It’s too powerful…and dangerous. Your reaction wasn’t what I predicted at all.”
“No.” Her hand covered his when he tried to take the wooden chest away. “I was just taken by surprise is all. I can learn to control it.”
He stared into her eyes before sighing. “This might be a mistake.”
“It won’t be.” She took the chest out of his hands and then brushed her fingertips over the locket. The sense of life itself rushed through her again but this time she focused on not getting carried away by the currents of the locket’s power. She picked it up and pulled the chain over her head so the locked fell in between her breasts. The warmth swirled within her again but this time she was ready. She was prepared for the explosion of power and she fought to control it…and she succeeded.
When she was calm she opened her eyes and smiled at Loki, who had his eyes closed. Lenore fingered the locket in her hand and he smiled dreamily. “Thank you Loki. This is the greatest gift I have ever received.”
He blinked his eyes open almost sleepily. “I am glad.”
A little niggling thought formed in her brain and she scooted closer to him and took his hand. Here, under the light of the moonstone and the warmth of the locket between her breasts, something clicked within her and she threw caution to the wind. Loki gave her a curious look as she stared at him with heavy-lidded eyes. “Actually, I lied.”
“Lied?” he asked with furrowed brows.
“It is the second best gift…the best is you,” she murmured before she leaned forward and caught his lips with her own.
She pressed gently against him and his body froze. Lenore started to pull back, certain that she had overstepped their boundaries, when Loki suddenly kissed her back. He tasted like chocolate and smelled like clean mountain air. A cautious hand reached around her neck and then his fingers were tangled in her hair as she pressed her palms against his warm cheeks.
Anxious to decrease the amount of space between them, Lenore scooted closer to Loki and suddenly he pulled her into his lap and squeezed his arms tightly around her. She was happy, so happy, that he felt for her like she did for him. His lips became more demanding and she opened her mouth slowly and savored the taste of him. A tiny moan left her mouth as his lips traveled along her jawbone and over her earlobe.
“I love you, Loki,” she whispered.
He paused in his kissing and slowly turned to meet her eyes. Loki swallowed heavily and suddenly they were both standing on their feet and he put five feet between them.
“Loki?” she asked with trepidation.
Looking at her with sad eyes, he shook his head. “I…I can’t. It wouldn’t be right,” he told her stiffly.
“Wouldn’t…wouldn’t be right? Loki, you do whatever the hell you want to…why can’t you do this?”
Loki pursed his lips and took in a deep breath as he looked away “If only you knew…” He shook his head forlornly. Then in the sky the moonstone’s light flickered and disappeared…and so did Loki.
A/N: Loki has secrets, and not just the one Lenore knows about ;)
So I know people didn’t really care for the last two chapters - which I agree are my least favorite. I strayed from my earlier outline and that wasn’t very good of me. *smacks hand* Anyways, things are going to intensify over the next 150 years until Lenore takes a trip to Sunnydale. Loki, Bilquis, vampire wars, and so much more. I hope you continue to enjoy the ride.
The ride, by the way, will likely end at 30-33 chapters. I won’t swear on my life, but that’s what it’s looking like.
As always, thank you for reading and reviewing!
References
*The title comes from the Aladdin song where Al takes Princess Jasmine on a magic carpet ride
*In the Koran ‘Bilquis’ is the name of the Queen of Sheba, although she is not named that in the Torah or the Old Testament. She visited King Soloman and was so overwhelmed by the might of his God that she converted on the spot. She is a figure only spoken of in these texts and Ethiopian lore (even though it is more likely she was from Yemen, but scholars say either Yemen or Ethiopia) and is not, technically, a true historical figure.
* Once the invading Caliph Omar burned our precious library in 640 and the Muslims conquered this land I left. ---- No one knows who or why the Library of Alexandria was destroyed but this is one theory.
*One named Zachariah almost killed me once, had I not had some Holy Oil handy.”--had to mention this bastard at least once ;)
*“A master race? And what? One day we will put all the members of the ‘weak’ race in a gas chamber?” Lenore questioned in an incredulous tone.------ A reference to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
Author: Luna (aka Luna_del_Cielo on lj)
Fandom: Supernatural/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Cast of Characters: Tara/Lenore McLeod, Fergus McLeod/Crowley, Loki/Gabriel, Anya, Castiel, Kali, Eli, Angel, Darla, Spike, Drusilla, Dean, Sam, Scoobies
Rating: T
Summary: Willow tried to bring Tara back…and she did. Unfortunately, she was brought back to life in 1672. Now 'Lenore' has to deal with witches, demons, pagan gods, and even angels, as she struggles to find the red-haired woman she sees in her dreams.
Pairings: Multiple pairings that will include the characters: Anya, Gabriel, Kali, Tara/Lenore, Willow - at least.
Spoilers: BTVS S6E19 ‘Seeing Red’, SPN S2E3 ‘Bloodlust’. Spoilers for Crowley's past in S6 “Weekend at Bobby’s” and Trickster/Loki's past in S5 ‘Changing Channels’
Warnings: Character death, Femslash (nothing explicit)
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If I did then fewer people would have died in each of those shows :)
Read specific chapters here: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22| Chapter 23
Or all of the entire story here: Living as Lenore
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“A Whole New World”
Alexandria, Egypt
May 7, 1852
Meetings with other vampire leaders had been altered in their approach since the debacle with Salvatore Petrali.
For years Lenore had been far too trusting - in both that she would be treated with respect and that she could always count on her magic in defense. But clearly that trust had been broken last November. With the loss of her smaller clan at Petrali’s hands Lenore recruited the best and brightest of her entire two-hundred soul vampire clan to travel with her. These vampires were older, smarter, faster, and stronger. They were the ones who would not make great clan leaders but made excellent followers - and especially bodyguards. These seven vampires accompanied her to every meeting; several went inside with her and others patrolled the area.
Today was her first meeting with a vampire leader since Petrali and Lenore was feeling anxious while she waited. The vampire was called Bilquis and it was rumored that she was the Queen of Sheba herself. However, like many ancient vampires, legends cloaked her like thick fog and no one knew the truth of her past. All Lenore knew was that this vampire had requested to meet her here in Alexandria so she had come.
Four male Arab vampires, all dressed in warrior gear with swords at their sides, had shown Lenore and her two clan members - Jae and Theodore - to a modest hall and were waiting with her for Bilquis to show. The room was adorned with rich tapestries and Persian rugs sitting under colorful thick pillows.
A light breeze was the only announcement of Bilquis’ arrival; the old vampire was certainly light of foot.
“Lady Lenore, leader of the Animal Drinkers, how fare you? I hope your travel here was uneventful.” Bilquis spoke in the smooth voice of a woman who was experienced in diplomacy. Nodding in her direction, Bilquis then sat across from Lenore on a purple pillow embroidered with gold. Her nose and mouth were covered by a silk black cloth that was supported by gold thread tied at the back of her head; it flapped slightly as she spoke. Dark brown eyes were outlined with kohl and her black hair was piled on top of her head in an intricate design. Her dress was more modest than Lenore would have presumed; it was white with flowing sleeves and a tight bodice - nothing terribly fancy.
“Uneventful and pleasant,” Lenore affirmed. “My clan and I thank you for your hospitality.”
The corner of her eyes moved and Lenore knew the other vampire was smiling under her veil. “Yes, well it is the least I could do for the murderer of my childe.”
Lenore’s eyes sharpened and she felt her Jae and Theodore fall into battle stances. “Of whom do you speak, Bilquis?”
Her eyes glittered with amusement as she glanced at Lenore’s clan members. “I speak of Salvatore, darling. I made him during my Mediterranean travels long ago. I heard it is because of you that my childe is dead, indirectly as it may be.”
Lenore summoned the strength of her magic and let it leak into the room. “That bastard tortured me for an entire day. His death was well-deserved.”
Bilquis’ laughter tinkled like shattering glass. “Oh young one. Don’t you realize that if I had wanted you dead it would have already happened? I have lived since the tenth century B.C. - before the birth of your precious Christ. Even your impressive swell of magic is no match for my abilities.”
Still alert, Lenore lowered her defenses slightly. “I admit then I am puzzled, Bilquis. Why invite me here?”
Bilquis’ dark eyes glanced towards her guards. “Leave us,” she commanded. They did as she said and gave Lenore an expectant look. After a moment Lenore excused Jae and Theodore - if Bilquis tried anything it’s not like any of them could stop her.
“I was asleep for many years - a common activity for us ancients. Once the invading Caliph Omar burned our precious library in 640 and the Muslims conquered this land I left. Upon my travels I found Salvatore.” Her face turned thoughtful. “He was much different as a human. Softer, kinder.” Bilquis turned her gaze to Lenore. “But the demon affects each of us in different ways, does it not?”
Lenore didn’t like to think that a demon was affecting her at all, thank you very much, so she just shrugged.
“Anyways I went to sleep during the Dark Ages for I was bored and no longer amused by the creativity of humans. But you, yes you, awoke me when Salvatore was killed. I felt it in our connection and knew he had met the final death.”
The dark eyes of Bilquis seemed to fade to black and the pressure in the hall heightened as Lenore felt the full weight of the almost 3,000 year old vampire’s powers. Lenore used her own powers to wrap her body in a tight cocoon of protection.
Then the feeling faded and Bilquis smiled again under the silk cloth. “Fear not, Lenore of the Animal Drinkers. I am not upset by his death. I have heard a great deal of stories about my once-dear Salvatore - it seems during my slumber my old lover sank into a greater sense of madness than previously known.”
“Oh,” Lenore said in surprise. “Well, I am glad you are not upset,” she said cautiously as she wondered why the ancient vampire had called her here.
“You are likely wondering why I asked you here, if not to kill you?” Again, the amusement in her tone was evident.
“Indeed.”
Bilquis nodded. “Indeed. It is a good question. You see Lenore, I have lived through many different religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I am even featured, from my human years, in your precious Old Testament.”
Lenore nodded. She read the Bible every day in support of her ministry efforts to save the souls of her fellow vampires. The tale of the Queen of Sheba meeting King Soloman was well known.
“But you see, I am beyond religion - as are all vampires. It is not our place to contemplate God because God simply does not exist.”
She felt herself bristling at Bilquis’ words. “That is a matter of opinion, my dear Bilquis.”
Bilquis laughed again, and this time the tinkling of her voice felt like sharp pinpricks on Lenore’s soul. “As I said before, you are young. You are idealistic and full of energy but you are living in a dream. God does not exist nor does he deserve your adulation.”
“I am afraid you are wrong,” Lenore said with a hardened look. “I know he exists. My entire existence is due to the blessings and curses thrown into my life. I was a Prophetess of the Lord, once. I have even had a Guardian Angel. Therefore, I know God exists.”
With a sigh, Bilquis unhooked her face mask and let the silk covering fall to her lap. “Lenore, trust me. I understand how you feel. As a human I thought I had been convinced of God’s greatness through the efforts of King Soloman. But when I was brutally attacked and turned years later I learned the truth - there is no God.” Lenore tried to interrupt but Bilquis shushed her. “Yes, I admit that the servants of God - the angels and prophets - do exist but they are nothing more than lost children trying to find their way.”
“How can you say that?” Lenore asked in puzzlement. “They are angels!”
Bilquis snorted in derision. “Nasty little bastards, if you ask me. One named Zachariah almost killed me once, had I not had some Holy Oil handy.”
Silently Lenore remembered her final - and traumatic - encounter with Castiel. “The actions of one or two does not mean God isn’t real.”
“Maybe he was once,” Bilquis shrugged. “But all things die eventually. Trust me my dear, if he were alive he wouldn’t let the wickedness in this world exist.”
Lenore held her tongue. She was faithful…although she had to admit that Bilquis brought up some good points. Those were questions she had never been able to answer either.
Finally she spoke. “So did you invite me here to discuss theology?” she inquired.
Her full ruby lips set in a thin line. “No. I wanted to deliver a warning - cease with your recruitment efforts and disable your organization.”
“Why?” Lenore cried out, completely aghast.
Bilquis’ head cocked to the side. “For the very reasons I just explained. I have heard the stories of you, the Vampire Saint. You seek to transform the very nature of our race for belief in a God that doesn’t exist. I cannot allow you to foolishly change our world order.”
Lenore jerked in shock. “You must be kidding.”
“Kidding?” She blinked several times. “What is kidding? I am not having young goats, my dear, but offering you a formal demand.”
Scowling, Lenore shook her head. “No, Bilquis. I will not and can not do this. Why is it so wrong if some vampires choose to drink only animal blood? This does not change the world order.”
“You think me a fool?” Bilquis asked in a clipped voice. “I know you have two hundred vampires within your clan. This the largest number of our kind in any one group. You are dangerous. Furthermore, you are spitting on our very ways with your actions.”
“Spitting on your ways…? Because we don’t want to kill humans to survive?” Lenore asked in outrage.
“We were created as race of the future - a master race that exceeds the weak humans,” Bilquis shouted as she pounded her fist on the floor.
“A master race? And what? One day we will put all the members of the ‘weak’ race in a gas chamber?” Lenore questioned in an incredulous tone.
Bilquis gave her a curious look and frowned. “No. The humans will be kept alive for food and will serve us.” A slow smiled curved up her face and her eyes shone with the righteousness of a true believer.
“You’re mad,” Lenore whispered.
Standing to her feet, Bilquis sneered slightly. “And you are a fool. But a young fool. I will give you time to consider my request. If you do not follow it then you will dislike my tactics of persuasion.”
There was something in her voice - something old and cold, molded by years of hard living - that sent a shiver down Lenore’s spine. She knew right then and there that even all of her magic was no match for this creature.
“Good day, Lady Lenore,” Bilquis nodded as she stalked out of the room.
Clasping her hands together so Jae and Theodore wouldn’t see them shaking, Lenore got to her feet and went to find her clan members.
She had a lot of thinking to do.
Unfortunately a lot of thinking wasn’t in the cards for her, she discovered later. With the stress of her meeting with Bilquis she had completely forgotten it was her birthday and that Loki would be arriving tonight like always.
He showed up hovering outside her hotel window with a goofy grin on his face. “Greetings, O’ Fair Lenore.”
Lenore let out a little shriek since she was only clothed in her undergarments and quickly shoved the curtains in front of the window. “Jeez Loki! Couldn’t you, I don’t know, wear a bell or something?” she questioned as she dress in one of her nicer dresses - a long, flowing turquoise that she had picked up at the market several days ago.
She could practically hear him smirking. “But that would take all the fun out of peeping at you barely clothed!”
Blushing, Lenore quickly smoothed her hair and silently rebuked herself for always allowing Loki’s flattery to mean something when it probably shouldn’t. Finally ready, she yanked the curtains back open. “You are ridiculous, positively ridiculous.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “I know.” Then he grinned again. “Hey, are you ready for your birthday celebrations or what?”
Lenore gave him a stern look. “On a few conditions.”
“Such as?”
“No tricking poor humans on my watch.”
“Oh,” Loki pouted.
“No transfiguring me into a tiger.”
“But that was so funny! Those frog-eating Parisians literally peed their pants!” he countered.
“No popping me into outer space to check out the moon when you know that my puny vampire body can’t take the denseness of space and zero gravity.”
“Aw, come on. I totally popped you back home before you, ya know, ‘popped’ yourself.”
Lenore folded her arms. “I almost died!”
Loki rolled his eyes. “But you didn’t,” he pointed out petulantly.
“And…” Lenore peered closely at him. “Why are you just floating outside my window? People will see you, you know.”
“No they won’t,” he grinned. “I’ve got an anti-human radar charm on this thing.”
“What thing?”
“Part of your birthday present!” he announced as he rose higher past the window…on top of a carpet…a flying carpet!
“L-Loki…where did you…those things exist?”
“Of course not,” he snorted. “But I can create anything.” He smirked. “Played a trick on this English businessman in Cairo and pretended to be a genie. Egotistical bastard ended up asking for the largest penis in the world - neglecting to mention the largest human penis.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes,” he laughed. “Gave him an eight-foot long penis, as long as a blue whale!”
Her nose crinkled in disgust. “Loki, that’s gross.”
“But funny!” Seeing her frown he rolled his eyes. “Trust me, the dude diddled his little girls on the side. Definitely deserved it.”
Lenore pursed her lips and shrugged. “I’ll take your word for it,” she replied half-heartedly.
“As you should in all things!” he cried out cheerfully with an impish smile. “Anyways, you ready for a magic carpet ride, baby?”
Smiling in spite of herself, she nodded as a thrill of anticipation ran through her. She hadn’t seen Loki since he had healed her six months ago…hopefully if she remained brave tonight could be a very good birthday indeed.
They sat side by side, him on left and her on the right, as they flew through the dark desert night. Alexandria was truly a gorgeous city and Lenore found herself appreciating it even more from an aerial view. “So where are you taking me?” she asked him over the sound of the wind.
“I remember you mentioning you had never seen the ancient sites, so tonight is a tour of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid,” he smiled as he leaned back on the palms of his hands. He was dressed in loose-fitting cotton trousers and a cream-colored tunic, much like many Egyptian men from the lower ranks of society.
“Really?” she asked in surprise as her lips curled in excitement. “You mean it?” she asked as she tugged lightly on his tunic like an kid on a sugar high.
Loki chuckled and grabbed her hand. “Whoa there sparky. Sheesh, if I had known you’d react like that I’d have done this years ago.”
“Loki, these are the artifacts of Ancient Egypt - how can I not be excited?” she grinned. Of course, some of her happiness came from the warmth that was enveloping her hand now. “I’ve read so many books on these lands. In fact, when I was a kid - as Tara - I used to be obsessed with mummies and pharaohs and everything,” she admitted.
“Really?” he asked with a raised brow. “I never would have picked you - in either life - as a knowledge nerd,” he commented with a carefully schooled expression that still managed to reek of sarcasm.
Lenore smacked his stomach with her free hand but he grabbed that as well. “Just because some of us would rather enlighten ourselves than play mean tricks all day, doesn’t make me a knowledge nerd,” she refuted.
“Right. And a horse with stripes isn’t a zebra,” he countered dryly with a glint of mischief in his eyes.
Laughing, Lenore leaned into him. “You’re an awfully mean friend. Sometimes I don’t know why I put up with you.”
“Because your life would be utterly boring without me.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. It was, after all, true.
Aberdeen, Scotland
November 23, 1851
Lenore’s perception of Loki changed that day when he healed her after Petrali’s attack. After he had left she had, after careful consideration, broken things off with Heracles and retreated to Eli’s current residence in her native Scotland. Although Loki had healed her wounds physically, there were a slew of emotional ones that every victim of torture was bound to have - thus she needed to be surrounded by Eli and the other members of her vampire family.
As soon as she had walked into the abandoned barn that Eli’s clan had been holed up in, he had carefully inspected her.
“You heard?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered in a heavy voice. “The others met the final death.”
She had nodded. “It was quick, in comparison.”
A hug. “I’m glad you are okay. Had Petrali killed you as well…well, I don’t know how I could have survived. You are like my Maker, Lenore. I don’t know if I could have continued living.”
She had shaken him. “Never talk like that, Eli. If I die you need to govern the clan. That is more important than me.”
He nodded but not in an entirely convincing way. “I am surprised you did not continue your healing in Rome,” he commented, effectively changing the subject.
Lenore carefully avoided eye contact. “We parted ways.”
A snort of exasperation had her turning to him in alarm. “About damn time.”
“Eli! Honestly.”
“What did it?”
She had shrugged. “I liked Heracles quite a bit but…I do not know. After I was healed I spent the next couple weeks wondering about us…and I decided we were not right for each other.”
“Not exactly breaking news.”
“Oh sod off,” she muttered. “I know you never liked him but he really is a nice man, er god. He just didn’t strike that…fire, you know?”
Then a slow smile grew on Eli’s face. “Ah, I get it now. Next couple weeks after being healed, huh?” he chuckled under his breath.
“Eli?” she asked in a warning tone. Lenore hated secrets.
“Loki was the one who kindly updated me - and told me he healed you. So,” Eli grinned. “You finally wake up to realizing you’re in love with Loki?”
“W-what? L-Loki?” she asked in astonishment, all the while as her stomach knotted up. “What are you talking about, Eli?”
“Lenore, it’s been obvious to me ever since you introduced me to him back in ’22.”
“It…has?”
He shrugged. “When you had walked out of the house that night Maria had accused him of trying to steal you away and that was why they came to blows.”
“…Oh.” Lenore had sat down at that point.
“I know you were in love with that Kali woman, but I think that blinded you to being in love with Loki.”
“Well…it’s only because he’s my best friend. And…he’s a god.” Or an angel, but that was a secret. “He prefers goddesses - apparently the really tarty ones if my sources are correct. And…I didn’t really think I should be with a man - I had only ever known love with women before.”
“But you enjoyed you, ah, relations with Heracles, yes?” Eli asked with a sly grin.
She mirrored his smirk. “Yes, I did indeed.” Then she frowned. “But Kali. And Willow.”
Eli rolled his eyes. “You’ve been sending letters to Kali ever since she left you but each one has been returned. Face it, Lenore, she’s part of your past and is never coming back to you. Even your sources say that she is ruling her lands once again with her consort Shiva. And Willow? Sure, perhaps she is part of your future but that’s still over a hundred years away. Are you just supposed to be a nun in the meantime?”
“But that’s just it! If Willow is my future then someday we will be together…which means even if something happens between Loki and I it will eventually end…and maybe we won’t be friends anymore,” she finished sadly.
At that point her ever-logical friend had let out a heavy sigh. “Lenore, stop over thinking this stupidity and just let yourself be happy. He loves you too, even if he tries to pretend it’s nothing.”
Hope had flared. “Do you really think so?” She was so self-conscious when it came to his past relationships.
“I know so,” he had answered confidently.
And now Lenore, on the night of her 180th birthday, was hoping her friend’s analysis had been correct.
Giza, Egypt
May 7, 1852
As they passed over Cairo, Lenore couldn’t help but smile in anticipation. The chilly desert night had her leaning against Loki and his arm was around her; it was a pleasant feeling. There was only no moon tonight and the cloudless sky glittered like a field of diamonds; bright stars and several planets shone fiercely against the black sky. As they approached Giza the meager light reflected off of three towering pyramids and a smaller figure that Lenore knew had the be the Sphinx. Smaller objects were scattered over the ground and Lenore figured they were other parts of the necropolis.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Loki grinned.
“That’s an understatement,” she murmured in amazement. Her keen vampire eyes were able to make out the scene before her regardless of the nighttime darkness but it wasn’t quite as good as perhaps it would be during the day. “Shame it’s so dark.”
“Oh, I almost forgot!” he stated as he reached under his shirt to pull out a dimly glowing moonstone. “This should help.”
Lenore hadn’t seen the gift since she had given it to him. “You wear it?” she asked in surprise. Not seeing it, she really had no idea.
He gave her an incredulous look. “Of course! It’s only my best gift ever - which is really saying something since Coyote once gave me a harem of twelve very feisty women,” he waggled his brows.
Lenore rolled her eyes.
Laughing, Loki threw the moonstone up in the air. She almost shouted in shock but stopped herself when the pendent just hovered a hundred feet in the air. It began glowing brighter and brighter until it finally lit up the entire necropolis like a full moon would have.
“You’ve been experimenting,” Lenore commented. She had never thought of this usage for her creation.
“Usually my experiments involve honey and naked bodies, but yeah, I toyed around with this one too,” he smirked.
Shaking her head in exasperation, Lenore hid her mild feelings of dejection at his constant mention of other women. “You are too much. But nice trick.”
His amber eyes glinted with mischief. “That, my dear, was no trick. But you know I’d love to show you some…”
“No.”
“You sure? C’mon, there’s this corrupt banker in Hungary who loves to drain his customers dry with high interest rates. I’d love to show him what it was like to have a real vampire after him.”
“Loki.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Alright, fine. Be boring and just enjoy a mild evening at the ancient Giza necropolis.”
Lenore smiled. “Speaking of…can we fly around it now?”
Loki returned her smile. “But of course!”
So they began weaving in and around the wind-worn structures. Lenore was able to see, up-close and personal, how the Sphinx’s nose was broken off and how the Great Pyramid was no longer smooth on the sides but had begun to show its rougher structure past its casing. They ended their flying carpet adventures on the back of the Sphinx where Loki created a towering five-layer chocolate frosted cake decked out with two-hundred candles out of nowhere.
“L-Loki!” she laughed in surprise. “You’re going to create an inferno with all those candles!”
“Well you need one for every year,” he told her like she was slow. “Besides,” he grinned, “two-hundred is a big year! You’re no longer a baby immortal - now you’re a toddler!”
She laughed some more before letting out a burst of air that blew each and every candle, all the while making a wish that she would stick by her plan for tonight.
Seconds later plates with giant slabs of cake and forks were in their hands. “So what’ja wish for?” Loki asked between chocolaty mouthfuls.
A secretive smile played on her lips. “If I tell you it may not come true.”
“Or it could. Ya know, on account of my awesome powers and me making it come true,” he pointed out with a stab of his fork.
Lenore took a small bite and relished the intense flavor of the rich cake. She rarely ate food but when she did Loki always made sure it was the best. “Thank you Loki. Tonight’s been a pretty wonderful birthday.”
“Oh yeah?” he smiled. “Good. I’d hate to see anyone, like maybe your boyfriend, try to out-do me. Lenore birthdays are my specialty.”
Rolling her eyes at the subtle dig, she gave him a ‘look’. “Listen gossip queen, I already know that you know everything that goes on. Surely you know that I left Heracles.”
He grinned widely. “Oh, I know. I just wanted to hear you say it.”
“Brat.”
Loki shrugged and gave her a sly smile. “Comes with the whole Trickster deal, baby.”
Lenore kept trying to think of the perfect moment to tell him what had been on her mind the last six months but the words struggled to leave her lips.
“So, why’d you leave him? Unsatisfied?” he inquired with a smirk.
“If you must know,” she drawled as her mind tried to formulate the right phrase. “It was just that he wasn’t the one for me. Fun for a while but no one special.”
“Oh yeah?” Was that just her wishing or were his eyes lighting up with interest?
“Yes. And I think…I think he didn’t compare to the person I really have feelings for.”
Loki shifted nervously in his seat and he suddenly broke eye contact. “Oh…yeah? Well, ah, that’s good you left him then. Listen! I, um, almost forgot to give you your present.”
She mentally kicked him for trying to change the subject. “Loki, tonight has been an excellent present in itself.”
“Well, yeah, but I still needed to make up for the Christmas of ’49 when you gave me the moonstone.”
Curious, she peered closely at him. “Indeed?”
“Indeed,” he grinned, his nervousness gone. He presented her with a small carved wooden chest that featured floral designs. Upon closer inspection she recognized the flower.
“A Forget-Me-Not?” she inquired as her fingers traced the patterns.
“Yeah, well, I thought it was appropriate,” he answered sheepishly.
“Thank you, Loki,” she murmured as her fingers moved over the smooth wood.
“Oh, hold on - you gotta open it first! The real present is inside!” he told her with childish excitement.
“Oh!” she laughed wildly. She opened the box and saw a finely made golden heart-shaped locket that was no bigger than her thumbnail. “Oh…so pretty,” she breathed softly. Lenore carefully picked up the locked and was suddenly awash in this feeling of warmth and love and happiness that stole her breath away. A shudder ran through her body as she clutched the locket to her heart.
“Lenore?” Loki asked in worry.
The feeling of love pulsed within her and Lenore felt her magic intensify. When she focused her powers and connected to the earth she could feel all living things, but now it came to her without concentration. The beetle in the sand, the little girl sleeping in a nearby house, the palm trees…then a fresh wave as her senses traveled through the Nile to witness crocodiles and fish…and then into the sea as she witnessed sharks searching for their prey…suddenly she heard a child cry out for help in Turkey and then heard a women praying before bed in Spain and then there were the galloping buffalo in America and polar bears in Canada and her senses traveled all the way to monkeys in the Amazon and sheep in New Zealand…
“Lenore!” Loki shook her, she felt something rip out of her hand, and then she gasped as the greater world faded away and she was back in Giza, under the light of the moonstone, with Loki staring at her in shock…and fear.
She realized she was panting and sucking in great mouthfuls of air - even though breathing was no longer required for her. Her entire body was shaking and Loki quickly summoned his polar bear furred cloak and wrapped it around her. But she shook it off just as quickly because even though she was shivering she felt feverish with warmth - a very uncommon feeling for a vampire.
“Lenore, my…are you okay?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes,” she repeated in a stronger voice. “Good God, Loki, what was that?”
Loki carefully laid the locket back in the small wooden chest and bit his lip. “What did you feel?”
“Everything!” she exclaimed with a brilliant smile. “It was like mediating on my magic but so much more! Oh Loki, it felt wonderful,” she explained as her eyes brimmed with happy tears.
Loki paled. “I’ve been working on this since that Christmas…I had no idea it would have that sort of affect…”
“What is it?” she inquired as she hastily brushed the tears away from her eyes.
He ran a hand awkwardly through his short hair. “I made it…with the smallest bit of my…myself.”
That stilled her. “Like your powers?”
“Something like that,” he shrugged. “It’s highly uncommon…perhaps never even done…but I fused it with that locket so that way if you were ever in trouble again I’d be able to feel it. I figured it would make your magic more powerful as well to help you, in case some sicko like Petrali ever got a hold of you again.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything,” he said quickly. “It’s too powerful…and dangerous. Your reaction wasn’t what I predicted at all.”
“No.” Her hand covered his when he tried to take the wooden chest away. “I was just taken by surprise is all. I can learn to control it.”
He stared into her eyes before sighing. “This might be a mistake.”
“It won’t be.” She took the chest out of his hands and then brushed her fingertips over the locket. The sense of life itself rushed through her again but this time she focused on not getting carried away by the currents of the locket’s power. She picked it up and pulled the chain over her head so the locked fell in between her breasts. The warmth swirled within her again but this time she was ready. She was prepared for the explosion of power and she fought to control it…and she succeeded.
When she was calm she opened her eyes and smiled at Loki, who had his eyes closed. Lenore fingered the locket in her hand and he smiled dreamily. “Thank you Loki. This is the greatest gift I have ever received.”
He blinked his eyes open almost sleepily. “I am glad.”
A little niggling thought formed in her brain and she scooted closer to him and took his hand. Here, under the light of the moonstone and the warmth of the locket between her breasts, something clicked within her and she threw caution to the wind. Loki gave her a curious look as she stared at him with heavy-lidded eyes. “Actually, I lied.”
“Lied?” he asked with furrowed brows.
“It is the second best gift…the best is you,” she murmured before she leaned forward and caught his lips with her own.
She pressed gently against him and his body froze. Lenore started to pull back, certain that she had overstepped their boundaries, when Loki suddenly kissed her back. He tasted like chocolate and smelled like clean mountain air. A cautious hand reached around her neck and then his fingers were tangled in her hair as she pressed her palms against his warm cheeks.
Anxious to decrease the amount of space between them, Lenore scooted closer to Loki and suddenly he pulled her into his lap and squeezed his arms tightly around her. She was happy, so happy, that he felt for her like she did for him. His lips became more demanding and she opened her mouth slowly and savored the taste of him. A tiny moan left her mouth as his lips traveled along her jawbone and over her earlobe.
“I love you, Loki,” she whispered.
He paused in his kissing and slowly turned to meet her eyes. Loki swallowed heavily and suddenly they were both standing on their feet and he put five feet between them.
“Loki?” she asked with trepidation.
Looking at her with sad eyes, he shook his head. “I…I can’t. It wouldn’t be right,” he told her stiffly.
“Wouldn’t…wouldn’t be right? Loki, you do whatever the hell you want to…why can’t you do this?”
Loki pursed his lips and took in a deep breath as he looked away “If only you knew…” He shook his head forlornly. Then in the sky the moonstone’s light flickered and disappeared…and so did Loki.
A/N: Loki has secrets, and not just the one Lenore knows about ;)
So I know people didn’t really care for the last two chapters - which I agree are my least favorite. I strayed from my earlier outline and that wasn’t very good of me. *smacks hand* Anyways, things are going to intensify over the next 150 years until Lenore takes a trip to Sunnydale. Loki, Bilquis, vampire wars, and so much more. I hope you continue to enjoy the ride.
The ride, by the way, will likely end at 30-33 chapters. I won’t swear on my life, but that’s what it’s looking like.
As always, thank you for reading and reviewing!
References
*The title comes from the Aladdin song where Al takes Princess Jasmine on a magic carpet ride
*In the Koran ‘Bilquis’ is the name of the Queen of Sheba, although she is not named that in the Torah or the Old Testament. She visited King Soloman and was so overwhelmed by the might of his God that she converted on the spot. She is a figure only spoken of in these texts and Ethiopian lore (even though it is more likely she was from Yemen, but scholars say either Yemen or Ethiopia) and is not, technically, a true historical figure.
* Once the invading Caliph Omar burned our precious library in 640 and the Muslims conquered this land I left. ---- No one knows who or why the Library of Alexandria was destroyed but this is one theory.
*One named Zachariah almost killed me once, had I not had some Holy Oil handy.”--had to mention this bastard at least once ;)
*“A master race? And what? One day we will put all the members of the ‘weak’ race in a gas chamber?” Lenore questioned in an incredulous tone.------ A reference to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust