Armand and Louis - A Vampire Love Story

By Linda

Louis stepped from the rowboat onto the island's sandy beach and looked up the hill towards the big Spanish-style house looming in the moonlight. A slight, warm breeze rustled through the grass as he effortlessly pulled the boat up out of the water, secured it to a large piece of driftwood and then moved cautiously towards the house.

"Why was he here?" he asked himself over and over. "Was it curiosity…loneliness…or was it something else?" He thought back on his recent encounter with Daniel, the vampire fledgling belonging - to his surprise - Armand. He thought of the story Daniel told him about the past few years he had spent with the mysterious vampire and how Armand had reluctantly, but lovingly, finally relented to Daniel's desire to become a vampire as Daniel lay on his own death bed. How curious this was to Louis. The Armand he had known was without compassion, without regret and certainly void of any human emotion. So how did this explain Daniel? Armand had to have loved him, had to have felt compassion and the pain of impending loss at that last moment before giving him the immortal kiss. Louis had to find out… find out what had changed Armand…if he was, indeed, changed. But was that really why he was here?

The house was quiet and dark. Louis wandered through the beautifully decorated rooms which were full of some of the most amazing works of art he'd seen outside of museums. The master bedroom, obviously belonging to Armand, seemed gothic in design; done in black and red velvet with gold trimming while another bedroom (Daniel's, Louis thought) was very modern. Louis quit his snooping through the house when his keen hearing brought attention to a sound from outside. He walked to the open balcony and focused on the image of a horse and rider far down the moonlit beach. Louis dropped to the grass below and moved towards the corral, continuing to watch the horse and rider move his way as he walked towards them.

As Louis stepped onto the sandy beach down beyond the corral, he stopped and watched as the horseman approached. As horse and rider came closer, Louis drew in his breath with a near gasp. He knew it was Armand. Armand riding bareback on a magnificent white Arabian stallion. Louis stood frozen to the spot as he took in this beautiful site. It was as if the world had suddenly moved into slow motion just to capture the scene before him. The ripple of the horse's long mane flying in the breeze, the powerful legs splashing through the ocean surf…his flaring nostrils and proud waving tail. Louis' gaze moved up from the motion of the horse to the rider whose legs were wrapped tightly around the stallion's girth. Bare feet and with blue jeans soaked from the splash of the ocean…bare arms and chest…a chest sprinkled perfectly with black curly hair trickling fetchingly downward into the top of his tightly-fitting jeans and glistening with the ocean spray. In the darkness of the moonlight, Louis couldn't quite make out the finer features of Armand's face, but the breeze played slowly and seductively through his long black hair as the two beautiful creatures moved as one entity down the beach towards him.

The world returned to normal speed all at once as the horse came to an abrupt but graceful stop right in front of Louis. He could feel the stallion's warm breath on his face. Louis looked up from the white stallion right into Armand's deep brown, seductive eyes. Armand gazed steadily at Louis for a time and then slowly slid down from the stallion's back, patted him on the neck, loosened the bridle and slid it off the horse's head. The Arab snorted playfully, tossed his head at his master and galloped off to find the fresh oats he knew would be waiting as his reward.

Armand smiled as he watched the stallion's departure, but then turned his attention from the horse and walked towards Louis, stopping within a foot of him. "Why have you come, Louis?" he asked in a near whisper. Louis was speechless for a moment and uncomfortable with Armand standing so near, bare feet and naked from the waist up . . . those droplets of water from the surf dripping down his arms and chest, his jeans soaked to a dark blue. Then quietly with eyes staring down at his shoes, "I saw Daniel a few nights ago and he told me where you lived. I was curious, is all… and decided just to come see you." Armand cocked his head to one side like a curious cat at Louis and then moved away and began walking towards the house. "Come," he motioned.

Armand grabbed a denim shirt hanging on the corral gate and loosely threw it around his shoulders as he led the way towards the enclosed back stairway. Halfway up the dark, narrow stairway Armand stopped and turned around, looking down on Louis. His nearness was unnerving and Louis looked away from Armand's seductive stare. Armand reached out with the tips of his fingers and caught Louis' chin, bringing his face closer. Louis looked back up cautiously at him just as Armand's lips lightly touched his own. Armand backed away, watching Louis' reaction. "Perhaps I could have waited, my beautiful one…but I've waited a hundred years for you to come to me, and I've grown impatient with you here before me now," Armand said softly. "Have you truly come out of curiosity about me and Daniel or are you here to finally come to terms with what we both know has always been between us? Tell me the truth, Louis." Louis stared up at Armand who was blocking his way. How direct Armand could be, thought Louis. "Can we go upstairs to talk?" Louis said, voice trembling. "Of course," Armand responded and then turned abruptly and led the way.

When they arrived in the living room - a room obviously designed for comfort - Armand started a fire in the hearth. It seemed as if he merely looked at the logs and they burst into flames. With the only light coming from the fire, Armand motioned for Louis to sit down on the sofa. He excused himself then. "I must change out of these wet clothes. I won't be long." He left and Louis' gaze followed him out of the room and then turned back to the fireplace where his thoughts went back to the beach and the vision of the stallion carrying Armand through the surf. He knew that picture would always be in his thoughts. Armand returned then and sat on the plushy carpeted floor leaning his arm against the seat of the sofa and gazed up at Louis. He was wearing a full length dressing gown made of soft black velvet with black silk pajamas underneath. "Forgive my casual attire, please. I like the warmth and comfort after such a ride. Please, now Louis, tell me what it is you've come to say." His voice was whispery and soft…his eyes seemed to devour every inch of Louis and reach into his very soul. As it was in their brief encounter a hundred years ago, being in Armand's presence still created a strange mixture of fear, curiosity and lust in Louis. The way Armand was looking at him at the moment, though, Louis had to struggle to contain his own lust and managed to speak.

"As I said…I was curious and decided I wanted to see you again. For some reason I just wanted to know how you are…how you're dealing with the new millennium. From this home, I see you've come quite well into the 21st century." "Have I?" Armand replied speculatively. He spoke slowly and softly. "I have learned the technology…the language…how to walk among humans …Lestat would be proud of me." Louis startled at Lestat's name. "Why would he be proud?" Louis asked. Armand's gaze wandered down Louis' lanky frame and then slowly back up to meet his eyes. A seductive, playful smile came on Armand's face and he said, "Your hair is a different color…and your eyes." He had abruptly changed the subject. Louis blinked at him and paused for a moment, caught off guard…"ah…oh…out of boredom, I guess, I experimented a few weeks ago and dyed my hair this blonde color…and purchased some blue contacts. It is interesting, the hair color doesn't change back." "No, it wouldn't, Louis," Armand responded. "I like it…and the eyes are beautiful, but I don't know…there's something…" "Armand, you were going to tell me about why Lestat would be proud of you," Louis interrupted.

"Ah, yes…" returning his attention to the subject, "Lestat told me he knew if left to my own devices and with courage and perseverance, I could meet the new world and live my life in it. He didn't want to help me himself, of course, it would have been too tedious for him… and as you surely know, he isn't a good teacher anyway. He likes to be right and, perhaps in this case, he was. Although, I did have assistance. Daniel was helpful…though at times, impatient with me." "Why did you choose Daniel?" Louis asked. "Surely you know…I sensed he had been with you." Armand responded. "He went to New Orleans looking for Lestat after your 'interview' and, instead, found me. I had no real thought of killing him, but every intent of satisfying my hunger at his expense -- he called out my name." Armand's gaze fell from Louis and he stared into the fire . . . his expression was one of remembrance and was vaguely tender. "You know when a human calls out your name, he could have only learned that name from another vampire. I knew where he had been and with whom. You know, Louis, what you did is forbidden - it is forbidden to reveal a vampire name to humans?" Armand's tone was that of a stern teacher. "I told him everything, Armand …everything I knew about what we are. It was a relief and I didn't care what happened after that. I wanted him to tell them all so they could hunt us down and exterminate us from the face of the Earth!" expounded Louis.

Armand said nothing for a few moments…just stared into the fire, seemingly enchanted and distracted by its flicker and warmth. Then he said very softly, "I understand your anger…why is such evil allowed to exist? If they knew of us, would they not strike out to eliminate our kind from existence? Our evil?" Armand turned back to Louis suddenly and said, "but Louis, Daniel wrote the book and it was taken for fiction. Surely you would have known that your story wouldn't have been believed?"

"It didn't matter. I told the story and then it just wasn't important any more. A human knew the truth…one human knew the truth and I was relieved. A weight was lifted from me. It didn't matter any more…at least for a time." Louis slid down off the sofa and sat along side Armand on the floor. He seemed more at ease now, his guard down. As Louis gazed into the fire, Armand watched him for a time and then reached out and brushed Louis' hair aside with this fingers. Louis stared deeper into the fire and didn't move or pull away as Armand's fingers lingered in the tangle of his hair. Armand moved closer and still the fire seemed to hold Louis' attention. Armand reached in and kissed him lightly on the cheek and then ran his lips back to his ear and down his neck. Louis shuddered then and turned to face Armand. He caught Armand's long black hair and moved himself around so they were face to face. Armand fought his grip and moved in closer, kissing Louis on the lips, softly and tenderly at first and then with intensity and eagerness. The kiss lingered. Armand then nicked his own tongue with the edge of a sharp fang and allowed Louis to taste just a small amount of blood. Louis grabbed Armand's shoulders and pushed him away suddenly, shocked by the taste of this blood that went through him like a bolt of lightening.

"What are you doing!" he yelled as he pushed Armand further away and stood up. Armand sat still and turned his attention to the fire. "Making love to you," he finally whispered casually. Louis stood fuming above him but as Armand's words sunk in he began to calm down and slowly lowered himself back to the sofa along side and above Armand who still sat on the floor leaning against the sofa. All was quiet for nearly an hour between the two vampires as they sat entranced by the fire. Finally, Louis spoke in a low and soft voice. "I didn't know…I didn't know. I was never told. I'm sorry. It felt good, Armand…but I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"What gives us the feeling that humans know when they make love has the same answer as everything else for us…it's always the same…blood," he said forlornly. "Were you to taste of me and take in all you wanted, you would experience such an intense and total pleasure…something you never felt as a human. No human experiences the degree of pleasure we do when we taste of one another…perhaps one small gift to us as compensation for our constant need of blood and the death it brings to our victims. I assumed you knew. If I had known otherwise, I would have prepared you. I am sorry as well, Louis." The beautiful vampire sighed deeply, closed his eyes and leaned his head back onto the sofa.

Once more, the two sat speechless together until Louis gathered his courage and once again ran his fingers down into the soft darkness of Armand's hair as he lay there with his eyes closed. Armand moved to Louis' touch, turned to softly kiss the inside of his hand and then laid his head lovingly on Louis' lap. Finally, Louis slid once again down to the floor and Armand opened his eyes at the movement and gazed upon Louis. Louis reached out to Armand and brought him close once again. A breath apart, they gazed at one another while Armand waited patiently to see what Louis would do. Louis pulled him close, finally, but shyly stopped short of touching lips once again. Impatient all at once, Armand moved slowly in and lightly brushed his lips against Louis' mouth, tracing his tongue softly along the line of Louis' lips. Louis closed his eyes and parted his lips, opening himself up into Armand's kiss. Again, the kiss was long and deep. Armand pushed Louis lightly away, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet. "Come with me, Louis." Louis obediently followed Armand to his bedroom. Inside, Armand shut and locked the door, moved to the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony, shut and locked them and closed the drapes tightly against the dawn that would eventually come.

Armand crawled seductively, almost in a feline movement, onto the bed and bid Louis follow. Louis eagerly, if not somewhat cautiously, climbed onto the bed and lay down on one of the large pillows. Armand, propped on one elbow above him, slowly unbuttoned Louis' shirt and leaned down, nuzzling his neck and chest with soft, wet, lingering kisses. Louis shuddered from the touch and ran his fingers through the softness of Armand's long dark hair one more time. His anticipation was growing and…the urge to take Armand was beginning to demand its way. Armand's warm lips continued to explore Louis' body, softly pulling his clothes away as he kissed every inch of his muscled chest and then downward into the mound of hair and flesh below. Louis groaned and thrashed with the pleasure. When Armand finally found his way back up to Louis' mouth, he reached out and held Louis' arms down as their lips met once again. Louis, unable to endure any more, grabbed Armand's hands, pushed him over and rolled on top of him. Louis stared down into Armand's eyes for a brief moment and then sank his teeth deeply into Armand's neck. Armand struggled in momentary pain and then calmed beneath Louis' weight.

Louis drank deeply and he felt the rich blood flow slowly and erotically throughout every vein, artery and nerve in his body. As he drank, he tore Armands' dressing gown and silk pajamas away and his hands explored a body he found to be so beautiful to the touch. As Armand fell into a deep sleep induced from the loss of blood and his own erotic sensations, Louis finally pulled away in exhaustion. He gazed at the sleeping vampire and his eyes slowly followed the contour of his naked body from the angelic face downward to the trim but lightly muscled arms and chest and then farther down to observe with a distant longing, the well endowed manliness. He thought what it might be like to make love to Armand as a human would. The thought lingered for a time until exhaustion settled in and, snuggling against Armand, he fell asleep as well.

The two slept peacefully in each other's arms throughout the day. Louis was the first to awaken at sunset that evening. He lifted himself above Armand and gazed down into his angelic sleeping face. Louis smiled shyly as he thought of what happened only a few hours before. As he watched, Armand appeared deathly quiet to him. Louis, suddenly fearful that he had harmed Armand, shook him violently. "Armand! Armand, wake up!" Armand stirred and sleepily opened his beautiful brown eyes, staring up at Louis. A dreamy smile slowly emerged on his face and he reached up and kissed Louis lightly on the lips. "Good evening, my lover," he whispered. "And how did you like it?" Louis pulled himself from Armand's embrace and sat up on the bed. He seemed to blush and his eyes were busy gazing down at the pattern on the comforter. "Louis? Don't be ashamed…it's how we make love and there is no other lovemaking like it in the world. Don't you agree?"

"Yes," Louis finally managed. "I just thought I'd harmed you." "You cannot harm me in that manner, my love. As long as you were there afterwards to protect me in my helplessness, there is no harm…and I have my strength back now. How do you feel?" Louis thought for a moment as if having to consider and analyze how he felt. "I'm not hungry…for the first time I can ever remember, I'm not hungry upon waking." Armand smiled and, never taking his gaze from Louis' eyes, brushed his finger tips along Louis' mouth and lightly touched his eyelashes, traced his nose and cheek and then lingered in his long blonde hair. "Can we live off each other?" Louis asked suddenly. Armand lowered his hand to Louis' chest and smiled. "For a night - or maybe two - perhaps. No more, I'm afraid. It seems our blood is, indeed, erotic to the taste, but is not nourishing to us." Armand crawled seductively into Louis arms as they continued their discussion.

"I've never had anything like the taste of you," Louis reflected while wrapping himself around Armand. "You are the first to taste of me in the act of love in over 500 years, mon ami. My maker is the only other." Louis looked down quizzingly at Armand, "you've not made love to any other in all this time? What about Daniel?" "Well, Daniel did taste small amounts of my blood from time to time when he was human and, indeed, when I saved him from his deathbed, but in his struggle to become accustomed to what he now is, he seems to be angry with me and so has not asked for more. And…I've tasted a few others out of curiosity or boredom, but never out of love until now…and none have tasted of me in this manner…not even Lestat when he begged for it. Of course, under different circumstances, I may have given…as I do have love for him…but he had angered me." The two broke their embrace and moved apart. Armand pulled his dressing gown loosely around him and spoke lovingly to Louis as they continued to lay on the bed - Louis sitting with his knees crossed and Armand lounging on his back at the other end of the bed with his head propped up on an oversized pillow. They were like two familiar lovers exchanging new secrets.

"He angered you?" asked Louis. "Yes, I speak of the first time we met. As I came to know of him, he was curious to me. He was a vampire unlike any other I had known since my maker, three hundred years earlier. I had lived in the dark all those years, never venturing into the human world…guided always by rules that had been forced upon me. But that is another story. I wanted to be with Lestat, Louis. He was of a new era, a new kind of vampire - he walked in the world among the humans and I wanted that. I begged him to teach me, to take me with him - to be his companion…much as I asked of you, my love." Armand paused and studied Louis' expression. Louis stared into Armand's eyes, fascinated by the story. "Go on…please."

Armand smiled dreamily at Louis and then went on with his story. "There isn't much else to tell. Lestat refused me and to placate me or settle his own guilt, he gave me the Theatres de Les Vampires. 'Gave' is perhaps too generous a word…forced it upon me is perhaps more accurate. That's how I came to have the theater…it had belonged to Lestat. He and his mother left Paris several weeks later, but not until after Lestat and I had several arguments. I love him, Louis. Not in the way I love you, but love him nonetheless. It's curious, though…I have yet to understand why."

A smile slowly came over Louis' face. "I understand why. It came to me a while ago. He's 'Lestat.' It's as simple as that. As cruel as he can be, there's the times when he says just one little thing that brings him back into my heart. One simple act of kindness. It's like I'm a child again eagerly anticipating the acceptance of my parent. I gave up trying to figure it out. No matter what he's done, he's my 'father' and I love him. It's as simple as that."

Armand watched Louis with a comforting tenderness as he spoke of Lestat. When Louis finished, a seriousness came over Armand. "Louis…we need to discuss something . . . we need to speak of the thing that came between us. We need to speak of…" "No, Armand. The past is dead and buried. It will do no good and it could only ruin what we now have." "Louis, I must tell you. Claudia…all that I had been trained to be…all that I knew…" Armand seemed to struggle for the right words to convey his message to Louis. "Louis, I had no choice in her death…" "NO, Armand! Nothing can bring her back. The past is gone. We all caused her death! Lestat killed her! You killed her! I killed her! I didn't listen when you said to send her away! And she killed herself by her own actions! As much as I loved her, Claudia should never have been born to darkness. It was an abomination…and it was Lestat and I who did it. I have come to terms with it, Armand, and you need to as well."

Tears had welled up in Armand's eyes as he listened to Louis. They sat at opposite ends of the bed deep in their own thoughts. Finally, Louis slowly crawled next to Armand and brought him into an embrace, holding him lovingly as the tears fell and he sobbed uncontrollably in Louis' arms. After some time, "Talk to me, my love," Louis said at last. "Talk to me of more pleasant things…tell me things about us that I don't know. Let this pass…it has passed for me and all I want now is to love you and be loved by you." Armand finally pulled himself out of Louis' embrace and looked deeply into his eyes. "Louis, I hurt you all those years ago and I didn't understand why -- I didn't understand the love that is possible to have for a child until I came to know Daniel. I just wanted you to know -- and that now I understand the kind of love you had for her." There was a long silence, each in their own thoughts. Finally, Armand whispered, "But, yes, my love…let us go on…I have many things to tell you…many things to teach you." Louis looked up at him, smiled and nodded in agreement.

The night grew long as the two finally continued with their reminiscences and discovery of one another. Dawn, being only a few hours away, they finally decided to venture across the water and into the city to feed. "Let me take you, Louis. Let me show you how to find those who are evil doers or those who wish to die so that their death will not punish you so harshly." Louis thought on Armand's words for a moment and then said sadly, "Will that really help, Armand? A death is a death. Whoever it is, I'm sending someone to their grave before their time. Who are we to do this? Does your careful choice of victims truly ease your mind or are you fooling yourself ? Or is it possible to really not care?"

Armand's eyes wandered to the floor and he seemed to have fallen deep in thought. After some time, he whispered slowly and methodically, "Marius taught me to choose carefully, Louis. I am a vampire and there is nothing I can do to change that. To live, I must kill. The only alternative is to not live. Do you know how often I've considered how easy it would be to die?…how I longed to die when you left me in Paris. But…in the long run, there is still that struggle…that all too human struggle to survive that even we - the most evil of beings - have. It's an instinct that I have fought and found that I can't win. I am a living being, Louis, as are you. Where will this life take us? That's what I now seek. Are we God's creatures? Or are we creatures of the devil or some unknown evil? A constant question, Louis. One I know you share with me. A question even Lestat has asked. But for me, choosing an evil doer victim or one who wishes to die, at least makes it easier in some degree. I only wish to help make it easier on you. If you choose to continue in your own way, so be it. I will not force my ways upon you, my love."

Louis gazed deeply into Armand's eyes which had filled with tears once again. He reached out towards Armand and pulled him into a warm embrace, obsessively running his fingers through the long dark hair once again. "I would like you to teach me this thing, Armand. You know I can't read the thoughts of my victims, but your way is better than mine and I need a better way. Thank you for helping me."

Armand smiled and for a long moment there was quiet again. "Stay with me, Louis," Armand finally whispered softly as he snuggled deeper into Louis' embrace. "Stay with me now and always, my love," he pleaded. Louis stared down into Armand's engaging eyes, ran his hands inside the evening gown and wrapped his arms even tighter and more lovingly around the beautiful vampire, "I am with you, Armand…I'm not going anywhere…let's not go out tonight after all…let's stay home." Armand, with a mischievous look in his eyes, smiled seductively back up at Louis, "yes, let's stay home."