Date Tue, 07 Jul 1998 133803 -0700
From The Duggers <"mdugger"@moscow.com>
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Subject Beginnings- a Janette story
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Permission to post this story to FKfanfic.com No other permission
granted to use or repost. 
All characters belong to TBTB/Forever Knight.
Feedback welcome- Wilz - mdugger@moscow.com


Beginnings     By W.L. Dugger 


Paris . . .  what a dirty town! But then this whole century was filled
with filth. People living like animals ready for the slaughter.

   Garbage and sewage filled the streets. The smell was overpowering.
The rains of the day made the night air pungent with the smells of human
waste and decay, a decay which destroyed both body and soul.

   The night . . . the hated dreaded nights . . . the darkness . . . 
the hands,  . . . the slobbering drunken kisses . . . Janette's stomach
turned at the thought of the night ahead. She hated her life, her rank,
her station. Her life was as drab as the clothes she wore, the color had
vanished, faded into a dull lifeless brown.

   I must go out. Anna needs me. Someone needs me and I need her.

   Janette looked across the room at Anna, struggling to get out of bed.
   " No Anna, you need your rest."
   "But Janette, Daviau will be by. We need the money."
   " No. I will go out for both of us."
   Janette hurried and finished dressing. She gave the last piece of
bread she had to Anna. Anna needed it more than her. 
   Janette smiled as she thought about the baby growing inside Anna. A
new life, maybe even a new beginning. They'd hidden some money from
Daviau, money stolen from the drunks, the men they slept with, the men
they were forced to sleep with.
   Janette threw her cloak over her shoulders  to head out, flashing a
smile at Anna before closing the door behind her.

   Anna, dear sweet Anna. She had come over from England without a penny
to her name. Janette found her one evening on the streets, hungry and
alone. Janette took one look at her and knew she needed a friend and
Janette needed her, A companion, a sister, a friend, a mother.
    But Janette had not been prepared for him, for Daviau. That bastard!
He had taken from Anna her pride, just as he had taken hers. 
   How she hated Daviau! She could barely remember her life before him,
his hands . . .  his kisses . . .  his violence and his rage! He had
bought her! He had raped her! The harder she fought, the harder he
slapped her. Her screams, her cries ignored by everyone passing by in
the street. Help! Please help me! But they all laughed. How she had
fought. Feisty wench he would say as he forced himself upon her. You
will see what you are worth to me! His punches knocked her to the
ground. Daviau lifted her skirts. Her face was in the filth which
covered the alley. She fought. She screamed but he was stronger than she
was, ripping her clothing and forcing her legs apart. Help! Please! But
laughter was all she heard and pain was all she felt. 


   Janette took a deep breath before she entered the bar. The air was
thick with the smell of sweat and mead. Yet there was something else,
something she could not place. She turned around but saw no one.

   You are nervous.  You are upset! Don't let your mind play tricks on
you. You have a job to do for Anna, for the baby.

   Janette entered  and surveyed the room. Soldiers, peasants, the
bastard sons of the noblemen, the usual lot of the evening was there.
But her eyes stopped on a tall, blonde man in black standing in the
corner. His eyes met hers. Money perhaps . . . 
   Janette felt a hand from behind her grab her breast. Startled, she
turned as a man kissed her full on the lips. She pushed him away with
disgust and hatred in her eyes.
   " Too good for the likes of me tonight Nettie?" he said.
   Laughter filled the air and Janette searched the room for her mark.
He was gone.
   The night was still young. The money flowed freely.


   Janette straightened her skirt as she headed from the alley. How she
hated this existence that passed as a life! Why had she been taken, away
from the house of her lord, her husband? Why had she been left to this
life, this man? What had she done to deserve this?  She had tried to
produce an heir, tried to conceive, but each time was met with failure.
Her husband, tired of her mistakes, her excuses and the miscarriages
gave her to one of the servants who had then sold her to this hell on
earth.
   Janette hurried down the street, the morning sun beginning to paint
the sky with splendid colors. 
Anna! She smiled as she thought of the baby she would soon hold in her
arms. Why could it not be me? Why! Why!
   A man with a woman walks by Janette. He reaches out and grabs her
breast for a feel as he laughs at the reaction in Janette's face.
Revulsion fills her eyes and her heart.
    Janette opens the door to the small room that she shares with Anna.
It had been a long night. The money was poor, barely enough for one.
Daviau would not be pleased, but Janette still smiles as she sees Anna
and her swollen belly.
   "How was business?"Anna asks, the pain from the cuts and bruises
making her speech slow.
   " Daviau sent me four men." replied Janette, reaching for a cloth
from her pocket as she sat on the bed. "I hate
him!"                                                                                                                                                         
She noticed the blood on Anna's lip and knew that Daviau had been here
earlier. "Is it very bad?" Janette tried to comfort Anna as she cleaned
the blood from her face and lips.
  " It is my fault." said Anna. "We should have gone  away before he
found out."
   "No." The pain showed on Janette's face, a pain filled with disgust
as she thought of Daviau beating a pregnant woman, a woman with child.
   With child! Janette smiled at the thought. "What's it like, this
baby?" she asked.
   "You will find out one day." said Anna forcing a smile. "If I'd found
out sooner I'd still be married and living in England instead of a
prostitute in Paris."
   "So then you could be lying down for one man instead of twenty. Does
it really matter? If it is not one master it is another. At least we
have each other."
   " My husband but me out because I  could not conceive a child." Anna
grimaced with the memory and the pain. "And now Davaiu will but me out
because I did."
   " No, no he can't!"
   " How can I earn my keep like this?"
   " I can. I can earn it for you."
   Janette did not hear the door open. Anna turns her head away as
Davaiu enters the room.
   " Then you better get started." he said as he approaches the bed,
grabbing Janette by the arm and lifting her off the bed. " If you want
your next meal, you'll go where the customers are."
   " She needs a doctor!" Janette cried as Daviau pushed her to the
door.
   " No, she'll need a priest." as a wicked smile crossed his lips.
   " How can  you do this?" screams Janette. " You're killing her!"
   Daviau grabs Janette, forcing her from the room.
   "Nooo! Anna!"
   Daviau closes the door behind them, roughly pushing Janette out in
front of him into the alley.
   " No, Anna." Janette wails. She turns to face Daviau, hatred spilling
from her eyes. "You  bastard!"
   "You whore!" hisses Daviau. "You thief! Did you really think you
could hide this from me?" Daviau held in his hand a pouch of coins,
coins belonging to her and Anna.
   "Those are mine!" Janette reaches for the coins but he keeps them out
of reach.  
    Daviau latches onto her raven hair, pulling hard  and tight. " You
very stupid whore!"
Daviau hits Janette hard in the stomach and slams her head against the
wall.
   The impact sends her world swimming in flashes of red. Daviau's fist
hits her again as she slides unconscious to the damp, filthy ground, the
sun now lighting her body.


   Janette tried to move. Every bone in her body hurt, every muscle
ached. She slowly shook her head and she tried to focus her thoughts.
Anna!  Janette struggled to her feet. It was night! Night! She must have
laid in the filth all day. Anna! Who took care of Anna?    
   Janette was groggy  as she stumbled to the door and opened it. The
room was dim as Janette reached for a candle to light her way.
   As Janette's eyes adjusted to the dimness, she saw a sleeping form
silhouetted on the bed. She must be sleeping!  Janette hurried to reach
the bed.
   Abruptly Janette came to a halt. Before her was Anna, a cold, pale
Anna. Her skirt was up around her waist.  The empty pouch lay on her
bruised and swollen belly.
   Anna's eyes stared into space.

   No! Oh God! Not Anna! Not the baby! 
   
  A mournful wail shattered the silence of the room.



   He watched her from the darkness. Her scream cut through his
thoughts, his plans. He'd been following her, watching her for a long
time now. The raven hair beauty had something about her, something he
wanted.
   She was a fighter. He had watched her as she teased men, led them on
with her smile and her charms before she would rob them in the darkness
that concealed her shame. She was a rare jewel.


   Janette stood frozen, unmoving as the rage, the hatred and the fear
all enveloped her. 

How could he? He killed Anna! He killed the baby! That bastard!

  Anguish and pain filled her body and soul.
Anna! Anna! I should have been here! I could have helped you. 

Tears flooded her eyes. 

Daviau I will find you!


   Janette fled the room, leaving Anna's pale body to the night. She
didn't know where to go, who to turn to. She only knew she needed to
flee . . . but where?  She had no one protect her. Daviau would be sure
to find her and kill her too.
   Janette runs down the street, trying to leave her pain and her
thoughts behind her. Tears blur her vision as she slows her steps to
clear her mind and catch her breath.
   Janette doesn't see the soldiers as she walks by.
   "How about a free one for a couple of veterans?"the younger one
yells. He grabs Janette and pushes her against the wall. The other
soldier laughs at her as the younger one pulls the cloak from her
shoulders. He roughly reaches to grab her breast, tearing the bodice of
her gown.
   " No. No!" Janette screams, escaping his grasp. She runs down the
street and into the open courtyard near the church. Janette sees the
sisters and the father leaving evening Mass. Janette runs to the group,
hoping for protection.
   "Sisters, please!" she pleads. "I beg you, help me!"
   The sisters stare at her with confusion and fear, never breaking step
or silence.
   Janette looks to see the Priest following behind and hears the
soldier close behind. She runs  behind him for safety as the soldier
catches up to her.
   " Soldier, now look here!" the priest says as Janette cowered behind
him.
   " What's wrong?" the soldier asked. "She's is a common woman."
   "Please, not in front of the sisters."
   Janette could not believe what she had heard, as the soldier seized
her waist and lifted her off the ground.
   " No! No . . .  Please help me!" she cried, but all of her pleas were
ignored as they continued into the night. Janette fights and kicks but
the soldier is too strong for her. He carries her off to a dim byway.
    "No . . .  No . . . Oh please  . . . no!"
    The soldier ignores Janette and pushes her up against the wall as
she struggles to free herself. A solid punch hits her firmly in the
stomach, the pain causing her head to reel. She feels his slobbering
kisses down her neck. She feels him fondle her body.
   
My body! I am not yours!

         Her mind screams as she bites the man. His grip loosens and 
she frees
herself from his torturous embrace, running for her life.
    She can hear his footsteps behind her as she runs past the church.
Suddenly she hears him stop. Janette holds on to the nearby fence to
catch her breath as she turns, her eyes filled with fear and pain.
   What she sees confuses her. A man stands between her and the soldier.
Al man dressed in a black cloak holds the soldier by both arms. Suddenly
the soldier falls dead to the ground.
   The man slowly turns to meet Janette's gaze, his eyes penetrating her
soul. Tall, blonde and strong. Janette turns, confused, running into the
night.



   Janette didn't know how long she had been running. She needed time to
think, to sort out all that she had seen. She walks to the nearest light
at the corner of an alley.
   
Oh God! Not here! Not where it all began!  This nightmare! This is where
I was sold to Daviau! 

Janette, her spirit crushed turned to face the cold, damp wall.
   
    She feels two hands upon her shoulder and whirls around to face the
man who had saved her.
Her cloak! 
   "I know you have been following me." Janette said firmly as not to
show her surprise.
   "You have no idea for how long." replied the man, his voice quiet,
silken, controlling."Daviau tells me you are of noble blood. Is it
true?"

   So this is all my savior wants, my gratitude. I do owe him. He is
just like all the others.

"I am whatever you want me to be." replied Janette, hoping the
disappointment didn't show in her voice.
   "I want you to be so much more than mere nobility. Come with me."
   "If you meet Daviau's price." Janette knew she needed money to escape
from this place.
   "Oh no, no. What I offer cannot be bought or sold. You must choose.
Stay here and die like your friend, as all these women will or come with
me and without your permission no mere mortal will ever dare touch you
again."
   Janette could not believe the offer she was hearing, a way out of
this place.
   " You've heard it said that living well is the best revenge." he said
as he offers his hand to Janette. " Au contraire." he softly whispered,
a smile playing on his lips. " Living forever is the best revenge."
    Janette did not hesitate as she took his hand. She expected to feel
his hands upon her but she only felt his lips brush against her neck.
   A gasp escapes her as she feels his teeth penetrate her neck. Life
drains from her body and dances with the candlelight on the street. So
warm, so sensual, so inviting was his touch, his embrace as the colors 
moved with the starlight in the sky.

   He held her close, feeling her pride and her downfall. He felt her
pain and her hope, her blood so sweet, so delicious he had to have her.
The essence of her life mingled with his own.

   The light, the brightness, so pure was calling to her. She felt warm,
peaceful.

   "Janette! Do you hear me?"   a voice was calling to her.
   "Janette." it whispered. "Come and taste a new beginning."
   The voice grew louder as the light faded into blackness. "Janette,
drink and live forever!"
   Janette felt a warm, salty liquid flow into her mouth. It was pure.
It was life and she wanted more.
   Janette grabbed his wrist and began to drink with a lust she had
never experienced. The man winced with pleasure as she clung to him,
holding to him with every fiber of her being.
   "Drink, my dear. No one will ever harm you again."He smiled as she
slowly opened her eyes
.
   The colors, the warm golden colors!

Janette had never seen a night like this. Her senses were on fire! Her
eyes could see the details of the night with clarity reserved for the
day. She could hear every cry created by mortal man, every heart that
beat in the night. Her hands felt sensations never imagined in her
wildest dreams.
   "More." whispered Janette as she reached out for his wrist, her
savior's wrist. 

Who was this man? What was this man?

    "Soon mon cherie, very soon. I am your master, your teacher. I am
Lucien LaCroix."
   Janette's eyes met Lucien's gaze. They were golden with hunger. A
hunger stronger, more intense than any she had felt before. A hunger
that filled her being. A hunger that filled her soul.
  " I hunger Lucien. Please"
   " My dear, you will soon quench your hunger. Intense, isn't it?
Strong, pulsating, filling every vein, every nerve with desire. You can
now possess all you have ever wanted, destroy anyone who dares to cross
your path."
   Janette's eyes glistened at the words.
   " Anyone my dear. Anyone."



   Daviau had found her on the street, dirty and hungry. Not very
pretty, not that it mattered. Blonde, fat but the equipment is the same
where it mattered. They all looked the same in the dark.
   Now the fun begins. Daviau loved breaking in his women, not that she
knew she belonged to him yet. All of his women were down on their luck,
needing a meal, a place to sleep. He was always willing to lend a
helping hand, the back of his hand! But then again, nothing is free.
   Daviau pushed her on the bed. " Now how shall we start." Daviau said
as he kissed her on the shoulder. The woman cringed at his touch. Daviau
hit her hard across the face. 
   "Now we will start again." as he grabbed the frightened woman by the
back of the head. " Try it for  a while. You'll see. You'll like it."
   Daviau suddenly felt his body lifted quickly into the air and thrown
hard against the wall.
Fear filled him. He'd seen this man before! Daviau knew him but somehow 
he has changed!
   LaCroix's eyes stared deep into the man, deep into his barren wasted
soul. His hand held Daviau tightly by the neck.  His feet off the floor.
   Daviau's breathing was becoming harsh. Oh God! What have I done!
   Janette slowly entered the room, as if beckoned by a silent call.
Daviau could see her as she drew nearer to him. She will help me!
   The woman on the bed flees the scene, fearing what was unfolding
before her.
   Janette's hand reaches up for Daviau's neck, the neck of the man who
had enslaved her.
   " Drink." Lucien said. His soft yet powerful voice was all Janette
heard, the hunger  was  all that she could feel.
   Janette's hand tightened around her prey and lowered him to the
floor. Daviau eyes filled with fear as he looked into her eyes.
   Lucien backs away from his beautiful protégé. He could feel her
hunger, her first hunger. The lust for blood was overpowering, the
thirst was unbearable.
   Janette turned Daviau's head to one side, exposing his neck. She
could see his veins throbbing. Her fangs descended and the sound of
Daviau's fearful heart filled her senses. The smell of his blood took
control as she sank her fangs into his neck.
   LaCriox could smell the blood and the  fear, the luscious fear . The
sight of Janette's feeding filled his mind with the  memories of his
first hunger, his first bloodlust. He could feel her pleasure, her fire,
her hunger being satisfied.
   Janette's grip on Daviau lessened and a snapping sound was heard as
he slumped to the floor. She had tasted his fear, his life! Janette
turned to face her master, her maker, her eyes still golden and warm
with the lust of the kill.
   Lucien licked his lips at the trickle of blood dancing on Janette's
full lips.

So beautiful, so sensual she looks in the darkness of the evening. 
   A smile crossed Janette's lips. She raised her finger to her mouth,
wiping away the trickle of  blood and sucking the remains off her
finger. 
   Janette's eyes met Lucien's. " The best revenge is revenge."

   The circle was now complete. LaCroix looked with pride upon his
young, beautiful student. She was perfection in women, the beauty of
many centuries. Her eyes were still golden, her heart still warm with
the pleasure of revenge.
   Lucien smiled. It had been a long time since he had a family. A long
time since he had someone to call his own.
    He offered his hand to Janette and with  ethereal grace she reached
for her master, their eyes locking.
   " Yes my dear.  Revenge is the best revenge." Lucien's golden voice
replied.

   Suddenly the room was empty. The night again was quiet and still.









   
  





                        .