Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 11:27:49 -0400 From: James Marshall Subject: "Return of the Ladies" (01/01) To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Per several people's requests, this is a follow-up to my earlier story "Ladies of the Knight". If you haven't read "Ladies of the Knight", you probably won't enjoy this one as much. It's archived, but if you want me to send you a copy, send a request to me at: . "Forever Knight" and its characters belong to Sony/TriStar. These characters are not mine, and I intend to reap no monetary reward for their use. Thanks to Sorel for beta-reading. Permission for Mel to archive on the fanfic site My permission is given to archive this on the ftp site. For permission to archive anywhere else, all you have to do is ask. What follows is not true; it is still one writer's daydream. * * * "The Return of the Ladies" (01/01) by J.T.Marechal Natalie stood in what used to be the home of homicide detective Nicholas Knight, remembering. It was hard to believe that a year had passed. It was still harder to believe that she had lived a whole year as a vampire. The time had moved so swiftly. But it was hardest to believe that Nick was dead. One year ago, she became a vampire through a freakish twist of fate. Nick died and she was given immortality. A small shiver ran through her body, a shiver that had nothing to do with the coolness of the warehouse apartment. The last year had been fascinating to her from a scientific perspective, noting the changes that she had undergone, what it meant to be a vampire as opposed to a mortal . . . a HUMAN. She had to keep reminding herself not to fall into the trap of thinking about people as somehow inferior to her. They were different, but never inferior. That was the one thing that occasionally irritated Janette. Their disagreement on that point had caused more than one . . . debate. Natalie had to admit, however, that the advantages of the vampire were, at times, extraordinary. She loved to fly, and her own experiments with the power to hypnotize ordinary people fulfilled all the dreams she had had about it when she had seen Nick use that power and had jokingly told him "You HAVE to teach me how to do that." The reminder of Nick brought her back to herself with a start, as it had so often in the last year. She would see something marvelous or amusing and, all too often, her first thought was "Nick HAS to see this." Then she would remember and the sadness would once more touch her heart. She was thinking of him less and less as time passed, but he was still in her thoughts: especially his boyish smile, and his often infuriating boyish attitude toward some things. Janette had been (she had to chuckle at the term) a godsend during that time. Natalie was sure she was grieving as well, but she was such a pillar of strength. Janette had shown her a great deal of what a vampire needs to survive in the modern world, while at the same time teaching Natalie to revel in her power. It had been a time of exhilaration mixed with the sadness of necessity, and even moments of fear. The most frightening part was when LaCroix found out about her, and she wasn't sure if he was going to laugh, offer her a drink or stake her on the spot. Instead, he had ignored her as he discussed some detail or other with Janette concerning The Raven. Natalie was surprised to find herself a bit disappointed at his reaction, but happy enough to get out without acquiring a piece of wood through her heart. Janette said that he would eventually come around, but it could take a century or two. Natalie remembered something she had once told Nick, that 'old friend' took on a whole new meaning with him. And, now, herself as well, it seemed. The hardest part of the past year was arranging for Nick to 'disappear' without raising too many eyebrows. They had created the story behind Nick's disappearance, faking a letter from him saying that he would be going on a long trip and closing up his loft. Janette and Natalie had returned to Toronto this one last time, to arrange for Nick's belongings, his life, to be packed away and shipped to where he had supposedly resettled. And just that easily, Nicholas Knight would vanish from the face of the earth, as if he had never been. Except for the people whose lives he had touched. Like hers. Slowly, she began walking around. Dust covered everything, from the sheet-draped furniture to the photos, objets d'arts and other mementos of Nick's eight hundred years. Nat explored the loft, remembering Nick's voice as he explained a piece of pottery with some archaeological history, remembering his hands as they moved across the canvasses he had painted, remembering the way he sat on the motorcycle she had never actually seen him ride. Remembering . . . . She ended up at the piano where she had heard him play pieces of music from different eras of his long life, and even his own compositions. She ran her fingers along the keys. It was out of tune, and the discordant sound threatened to bring tears to her eyes, as if it were a symbol of all that she had lost. "This is a mistake, Natalie." Nat turned to the doorway to see Janette, her teacher, her vampire 'sister'. She was, as always, impeccably dressed, this time in a dress of black silk, with red lace at the neckline and wrists. Tall and cool and perfect Janette. Natalie always felt a bit, well, shabby when she compared herself to her dark-haired companion. She wondered if she would ever feel equal to the older vampire. "I know," she said, unconsciously brushing an errant strand of auburn hair out of her eyes and straightening her own midnight blue dress. "I know it's a mistake, but I had to. I had to remind myself that he's really gone." Janette's face flashed through sadness and annoyance before settling on a concerned expression. "And have you?" she asked. "Yes," Natalie said in a whisper. "Yes," she repeated more loudly. "I know it. He's really dead and gone. I can accept that, now." She paused and, with a great sadness, added "I still miss him, though." Janette's expression softened. She joined Natalie by the piano and put a hand on her shoulder. "As do I, ma soeur. That is why we MUST move on and never come back here again. If I did not have to arrange for Nicola's things to be moved, to complete the fiction of his disappearance and protect our kind's secret, I would not have come back at all." In a firmer tone, what Natalie called her 'lecturing-voice', Janette continued "Remember what I told you: the vampire's heart must be cold, especially to the passing of another's life." "You're right, of course." Natalie smiled wryly. "Are you ever NOT right?" Janette returned the smile. "Even vampires do not live long enough to stop making mistakes, Natalie. What we cannot afford is to linger upon them . . . guilt and regret are poison to our kind." "So we have to forget Nick?" Natalie asked, a touch of defiance creeping into her voice. "Forget him and everything he was?" Janette kept her own voice level as she responded. "No, Natalie. Never that. I do not think either of us will ever forget our dear Nicola. What we must do is move on, even as a mortal woman who loses her husband must eventually move on with her life. Did not Detective Schanke's wife remarry? What was her name?" "Myra," Natalie supplied. "She got married last January; to another cop, if you can believe it. I would've liked to have gone to the wedding, but it was held at noon." Nat remembered the pictures she was sent. "It was a bit of a shock, but I'm glad that she found someone to make her happy . . . that she won't be alone." Janette nodded. Her own voice was soft and full of reflection. "When Robert died, I did not think I could go on, but I survived. And sooner or later we, too, will find new people who make us happy." Switching back to her lecturing voice, she said "I had been a vampire for many, many years before I found Nicola. Another thing that you must learn is patience." Natalie laughed. "That's going to be a tough one," she said. "But you have all the time in the world to practice," Janette said. She took Nat's hand and added "Now, come. It is getting late. The sun will rise soon, and I would rather not spend the day HERE." Natalie nodded and squeezed Janette's hand. "I think I understand." She flew out of the loft with vampiric speed. Janette took a last look around and said to herself "There are too many ghosts." They never returned to Toronto. The End That's it. I don't plan to write any more tales along this story line. If you have any final comments, critiques or suggestions, send them to . ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]