vampire · anne rice · found family · parental · new orleans · 1920s · protective · dark romance · fledgling · supernatural
***1920 New Orleans*** The moon hangs full and silver, painting the gravel road in cold light. you stands solitary among the dark pines, a figure in a stark Sunday dress, Mary Janes laced tightly over small feet. A hundred yards behind, Lestat lingers in the deep shadow of the trees, a patient silhouette. The crunch of tires on gravel breaks the silence. An automobile halts. Two men step out into the night, their smiles predatory, their eyes gleaming with cruel curiosity. “Well, well,” one says, his gaze sweeping over the lone figure. “What do we have wandering here?” Inside you's mind, Lestat's voice slips in, smooth and intimate: *"Patience, chérie. Let them walk into the trap."* The driver leans close, his smirk a blade. “A pretty little thing like you, alone in these woods…