"Feeling any better?" Lestat muttered, rubbing his long, cold fingers along her back. "You seem comfortable enough."
Lestat glanced just over his shoulder at the window, seeing a small lightening beginning on the horizon. Faster than I thought, he murmured in his head.
Lestat smiled, shutting his own eyes, though not even thinking about sleeping. I'm sure Edward would love to see this, he thought happily.
"Hmm," Lestat muttered into her hair, wrapping her close to his chest. "You'll see him soon, trust me." Now sleep, he whispered in her head, grinning at how cold she was against him. Dreaming isn't fun, so try not to.
Lestat let out a small sigh, waiting for a moment before he leaned back on his side next to Hannah, propped up on his elbow, his hair falling in his eyes. He reached out a hand and trailed one of his fingers along her cheek, finally resting his palm on her neck. He could feel the small amount of blood in her body pumping past in her veins. You'll have to eat sometime, dear he thought to himself, not intending to let his thoughts drift into her dreams. And when that time comes, I'll tell you that if you drink from me once, you'll never have to worry about killing animals or humans again for a long time...
"Well, go ahead and rest, then," Lestat smiled. "But just to let you know," he added, turning his head to look at her. "If you do anything in your sleep, I won't hesitate to... restrain you at all."
"Excellent," Lestat said, lifting her into his arms. He opened the three doors again, letting them bang back on their ancient hinges. He carried her up the stairs and into the main bedroom again, setting her down on her feet next to the bed against the far wall. The king-sized, four poster bed had gold curtains hanging on it, old, dark red, Egyptian cloths, pillows, and comforters draped on the mattress. "I must admit sleep is the last thing I thought you'd do tonight," Lestat sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed himself. "But then I didn't know what to expect at all."
"Well, Hannah," Lestat began, standing with her wrapped in his arms against his soft, silk shirt. "You're going to have to tell me an answer or you'll have to sleep on a stone floor here."
"There's a bed upstairs if you want to sleep the rest of the evening," Lestat began in a sweet whisper. "But that's only if you think you'll be okay without three doors magically shut against you."
"Tired or something, dear?" Lestat said softly. "Is sleeping something on your mind?"
"I know," Lestat replied. "Actually, to tell you the truth, I at first had no idea how to help you survive this evening. But, it seems me being so 'amazing' as done a good enough job so far."
Lestat laughed under his breath. "I do," he whispered.
"You mean being... nice to people like you?" Lestat said softly, his fingers reaching back into her hair now. "Maybe. It's not like I expect redemption or anything like that."
"No, I..." Lestat began. "It used to be worse, but now, I think sad can't even decribe it. I'll be happy when the word 'numb' applies."
"It does seem so, doesn't it?" Lestat murmured, his tone soft and low. "Talking is something I... enjoy."
"You didn't," Lestat smiled, putting a hand to her face, brushing his thumb along her cheekbone. "I just... like talking."
Lestat nodded. "There's more things, things she made me do, but... maybe some other time. Her name..." He paused, turning to look at Hannah, his face an inch from hers. "Her name was Akasha." A blood-tear slipped down just one of his cheeks.
"What?" he asked calmly, clearing his throat. "What is it, dear?"
Lestat shook his head, his eyes shut. "She and Enkil reigned in peace for many years, and then they became so powerful they lost the urge for blood, to feed. They did not need it, being thousands of years old. They slept here, right behind us, for the whole time, an ancient man named Marius. They did not move, did not speak, nothing... until I came. "I had been searching for Marius for years, hearing of him from his one child, a friend named Armand whom said he was the oldest he knew of. I wanted to learn from him, and Marius showed me where the king and queen slept. I... I loved the look of her as soon as I saw her, the way she just sat, full of knowledge. I fed from her, woke her and loved her as I never cared for another human or immortal. But she was wrong, all the views for the world she had... I shan't explain them or the details, because it pains me too much, but this is the short of it: she killed Enkil, she planned to kill all other vampires in the world but me, her, and the ones I loved. But we stopped her; Makare's curse outlasted. She came and cut out the queen's heart and brain, ate them, and finished her. "I... I've mourned her ever since, despite her awful, twisted, disgusting, wrong views. I did love her. But it's all passed now..." he tried to finish, his smallest smile failed. "It's... all passed."
"Yes," Lestat spoke with the smallest nod. "The queen was dying, and Akim took advantage of the situation; he posessed her, and she turned her king, Enkil's blood tempting her beyond control. They did not understand what it meant to be what they were; so they decided to kill the witches, the queen still blaming them. They brought out Makare and Maharet, and... the queen wished to torture them before they burned. "They poked out Maharet's eyes so she could no longer see her beloved twin. They would cut out Makare's tongue so she couldn't speak to her sister, she being the older and the stronger of the two. But before they did so, Makare cried out a curse, using the power of all the good spirits that loved her, saying that the queen would suffer a death only she could induce eventually. Then they were thrown into a cell, and Khayman was turned by the queen that evening. She wanted to experiment with him to see what the curse would do. But he loved the twins, and turned them as wall, seeing they were dying. He set them free, and they were that way for a time, but without tongue and eyes. "The Egyptians caught them eventually in the desert. They were put into stone coffins, one set out on the eastern sea, the other on the western. They were separated for a long time, but, as you can tell, I met Maharet, and she spoke this story."
