#borrowing some of the energy from Dowry of Blood if I can

[tea-with-eleni]

Ludmilla Vilisevic, on the subject of sharing spells.

No, you can’t read my fucking spellbook.

I don’t say that.

I want to.

I want to scream. It isn’t for you. It isn’t for you. It was never for you.

I don’t. It isn’t fair. I can’t do that, because while he isn’t innocent, he also isn’t Strahd.

It was for her. It was always for her. She died, alone, in the mountains, and while I found her footprints, I did not find her. We have never, not once, found her body. She should not have died alone. She should have lived, forever. She should have been loved, forever. Instead, she died, and I could not have stopped it then. Even if I had been there in time.

But she always lives again.

I could not stop it the next time, or the next, but this time is different. This time, she has me at her side, and if I can do anything about it, if we can do anything about it, because she is not helpless, because she has so many friends, she is going to live.

I am a dead woman walking. So is my dearest, my little bird, my Volenta. But Ireena is alive and she is going to stay that way.

My spells will help. Are helping.

But they’re also mine. I am a dead woman walking, there is only so much I can do. But I can give her my magic. That is my gift to her. It is part of me, as her magic is part of her.

It isn’t for you.

I’ve spent centuries perfecting this shit, making sense of all of it, and no. You can’t just have it. Not when you’re on the path to becoming just like the monster who put us in this situation. I gave that monster my power, my life, my love, my loyalty for too many centuries. I’m not giving his would-be heir anything so personal.

I don’t say anything, instead, because the alternative is to give Vampyr what it wants: my fangs at his throat. Strahd created his equal in power, the beautiful night he accidentally returned my freedom to me. I will not give Vampyr what it wants. I will not lash out. I will not debase myself in that way.

Rage at me if you want. Accuse me of distrust. Accuse me of hoarding knowledge. Call me the monster I am.

I don’t care about that.

Not from you.

You don’t get to use me as a shortcut to power.

[lillianfromaccounting]

Lady In Red

This is my submission for @angryschnauzer and @ursulaismymiddlename ‘s If You Go Down to the Woods Today writing challenge. My selection was vampire & Lucas Lee.

author: lillianfromaccounting characters: Lucas Lee x female Chinese vampire word count: 1965 warnings: mentions of death, suicide, drowning

Summary: Lucas is filming a commercial in China during Chinese Halloween and meets a pretty lady.

A/N: Chinese vampires are traditionally stiff corpses that suck your life energy (qi or chi) out as opposed to sucking your blood out. More modern versions have incorporated blood sucking. They’re usually non-verbal and hop to get around. Here are some links if you want to read more about Chinese vampires or the Ghost Festival. Also I’m sorry the story was kinda on the downer side. I don’t know what got over me. Also, sorry for the shitty manip. I really wanted him in a costume and this was the best I could do right now. This was not based on any true legends or ghost stories that I know of. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

Lady in Red 500 years ago, Beijing, China

Yulan watched the full moon as her mother ran the red comb through her hair.

“The first brush, blessed to be together to the end,” her mother chanted.

Traditionally, all the women of the family would gather the night before a girl’s wedding for the hair brushing ceremony, but since this betrothal happened so quickly, only Yulan’s mother and their maid was present. It was usually unlucky to get married during the Hungry Ghost Festival, but due to their circumstances, a local priest gave the family his blessing.

“Second brush, may you have a hundred years of a harmonious marriage,” her mother continued.

Yulan had looked forward to this ceremony all her life, but never expected it to be on such bitter terms. She had fallen in love with one of the foreign traders, secretly meeting him by the lake on her afternoon walks. Her father caught them and immediately arranged for her marriage to the magistrate. Those people are not good enough for you, her father had said over and over again. The magistrate is honorable and will bring honor to our family.

“Third brush, may you have many children and grandchildren,” her mother choked back a sob.

The magistrate was more than twice Yulan’s age and was taking her as his fourth concubine. It was a good deal for Yulan’s family; they didn’t even have to put up much of a dowry. If Yulan were to be blessed with a son early on, then perhaps the other wives wouldn’t treat her too harshly.

“Fourth brush, may your hair and eyebrows grow long and white,” her mother concluded with a sigh, placing the comb back on the table. “Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

The magistrate’s carriage was to pick her up at sunrise.

When the midnight bells chimed, the maid helped Yulan escape out of the house. Yulan used the light of the full moon to guide her down to the lake, where she was to meet her lover. She waited until sunrise, but her lover never came. Knowing that her father and the magistrate’s people will find her soon, she decided to die in the lake instead of living in a loveless marriage.

September 5, 2017, Beijing, China

“Since she disgraced her family, they did not give her a proper burial,” Maggie said. She was wearing a Ming dynasty costume in red, embroidered with shiny glass beads and brightly colored threads. Her eyes were heavily rouged and her face was painted a chalky white. A single beam of light illuminated her features as she spoke into her flashlight.

“Instead, they stashed her body in a nearby cave. On the anniversary of Yulan’s death, the maid went to pay her respects, but the corpse was nowhere to be found. Legend says she roams the lake, in search of her lover. Every year, around this time, there are reports of men, usually foreigners, either missing or dying near the lake. The accounts seem innocuous--they drank too much and fell in; they got lost and contracted hypothermia; they were attacked by wild beasts--it always seems reasonable, but how many times before a coincidence is not a coincidence? There were some reports that said there were bite marks on the victims’ necks.” She paused for effect.

Her audience’s wide eyes and slack jaws told her that she had gotten to them. “And that is why the Yulan vampire costumes are so popular on this holiday.” Maggie turned the flashlight off and slid it into the large sleeve of her costume. She passed out fake vampire teeth to her friends who were all dressed alike. “There are a ton of tourists around this weekend,” she said, baring her teeth, “which mean the parties are gonna be ca-ray-zeee! We should hit up the one at the big hotel first. I heard a famous actor was filming a commercial there!”

In another part of town--

“Ok, you skate down between the green cones, jump onto the ramp, do some tricks, land in front of the cans, strike a pose, and say, ‘That’s some good energy!’ Got it?” Jesse, the production assistant, asked.

“That’s some good energy! That’s some gooood energy. That is some good energy,” Lucas repeated the phrase to himself several times in different tones. He adjusted the weird looking hat with the red strings and the funky tunic they put him in.

“How many takes do you think it will take?” he asked.

“With me, it only takes one,” Lucas Lee replied.

“And action!”

The sound of the clapboard closing signalled that it was time. He pushed hard off the skateboard. Halfway down the stretch of the Great Wall, he jumped, rotating his body a full turn while flipping his board 540 degrees. Gaining momentum down the natural curve of the wall, he flipped his board four times at the top of the ramp before jumping over and landing in front of the display of energy drinks. He crossed his arms and stared coolly at the camera.

“That’s some good energy,” he cooed, sticking his chin out.

“Cut!” the director yelled. “Good take! That’s a wrap.”

“Perfect timing,” Jesse said. “We’ll make it just in time for the masquerade party.”

“Party?” Lucas asked.

“It’s Chinese Halloween,” Jesse replied. “There’s a costume party at the hotel. All the crew are going. You should come with us.”

“Lucas Lee doesn’t do costumes,” Lucas declared.

“Oh c’mon, it’ll be great. There will be lots of girls,” Jesse replied. “Look, we’ve worked together for a long time. If you don’t get back out there, you’ll never get over Ramona.”

“I’m over her,” Lucas retorted. “It’s--I--I don’t have a costume.”

“You can just go in what you’re wearing. We don’t need it for the commercial anymore. You can return it tomorrow,” Jesse said. “A lot of the PAs are borrowing set costumes. We have to break down the set though. We’ll meet you back at the hotel in half an hour.”

Lucas walked into the hotel lobby and was greeted by a sea people in all sorts of strange costumes hopping around on the dance floor, like they were doing some strange new dance. He stopped a passing waiter and grabbed a bottle of champagne.

“What’s with the hopping?” Lucas asked.

The waiter leaned in, gesturing for Lucas to repeat the question.

“Hop. The jumping.” Lucas mimicked the motion.

“Vampires,” the waiter replied and quickly walked away.

Lucas wasn’t sure what that meant, but he decided to go out to the balcony for some fresh air. The hotel overlooked a lake that spanned the horizon. Gulping the bubbly, he watched little paper boats with candles on them float down the water. At the edge of the lake, a hopping red figure caught his eye. He found a set of stairs and made his way down to the water. “Hello,” Lucas said.

She was wearing an elaborate red Chinese dress, much like the costumes he saw on the dance floor. The full moon highlighted the stark contrast of the red around her dark eyes and her pale skin. Lucas found her gaze too intense to stare directly into but at the same time he was transfixed by her beauty and couldn’t look away. "Do you speak English?" he asked. She didn't answer. "Nice party,” he nodded towards the lobby.

She held her hand out. She wore elaborate golden finger adornments that looked like they could be dangerous if you sat on them wrong. She beckoned him to follow her as she hopped towards the lake.

“You’re really staying in character with this vampire stuff,” he chuckled. “I can appreciate that. I’m a pretty good actor, you know.”

He wasn’t sure what compelled his feet to follow her; maybe he was feeling the effects of the booze. They stopped in front of a large blooming magnolia tree whose white flowers popped against the dark lake. They were far enough away that he couldn’t hear the music from the party anymore. He turned to look back at the hotel, but it was suddenly obscured by a low fog. She turned to him and reached up to touch his face with both her hands. Her gaze was cold but determined. Her face was barely an inch from Lucas’ when he pulled back.

“I’m--I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I guess I’m just not ready to--I don’t even know your name.”

She picked up a magnolia flower off the ground.

“That’s a really pretty flower,” he said, looking back at her. She stared at him, a mix between confusion and anger in her eyes.

“Look, it’s not you,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders to steady himself. “I just--there’s this girl. Here.” Lucas pulled out his phone and unlocked it, turning the screen towards the woman, who turned her head away from the brightness. “Her name is Ramona. Ramona Flowers, actually. She broke up with me. A long time ago. This was before I got famous.”

Lucas sat down on a nearby log. “I just don’t get it. She left me for this pretty boy. He was so cocky too.” He downed the rest of his champagne and threw the bottle into the lake. “I spent every day with her. I guess I just wasn’t good enough.” He looked up and the woman was now sitting beside him. “You s-seem like a very s-sweet girl.” His words were starting to slur. “But what if I’m not good enough f-for you,” he swallowed hard. “I’m just not good enough.”

The woman placed the magnolia on his lap and stroked his face. Her hands felt frigid against his cheeks. She cupped his face and leaned into him. He didn’t resist her this time. He couldn’t. Maybe it was the booze but he didn’t feel in control of his own body anymore. Her lips were strong, sucking on his mouth hungrily, quite literally taking his breath away.

“We’ve found him! He’s down by the lake!”

Lucas stirred to the sound of familiar voices. He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. His head pounded and the ground felt like it was moving. He felt cold and damp and ached all over.

“We’ve been looking for you all night, dude,” Jesse said. “How’d you get down here?”

“Too. Loud,” Lucas muttered.

Jesse helped him up to a sitting position. “Are you okay man? You don’t look too good.”

"What--where--where's the girl?"

"What girl?" Jesse asked.

"The lady in the red costume," Lucas replied.

“There were like a million of those last night,” Jesse said.

“She--she was right here,” Lucas looked around.

His surroundings looked very different in daylight. What he had thought was a log last night was actually a stone with some Chinese characters carved into it. Where the magnolia tree had stood were a pile of dead branches.

“You ok? You got like a cut on your neck,” Jesse said, gesturing below his chin.

Lucas wiped his neck and sobered up when he saw blood on his hand. He looked again to the stone and vaguely recall watching the woman walk out into the lake last night. “Wha-what does that say on the stone?”

One of the Chinese guides turned to read what Lucas was pointing at. “It says, ‘Beware the--Yulan--I think that means--what’s that flower, on the trees? Um--Magnolias! Beware the magnolia. Her beauty will consume you.”

Lucas looked from the stone back to the pile of branches.

“Dude, we should find you a doctor. That cut looks pretty bad,” Jesse said.

Lucas picked up the hat from his costume and kissed it before placing it on top of the stone. Looking over the lake with his signature stare, he said, “Let’s get out of here.”