Round II of Ficlette Fiasco II -- three ficlettes

[mhalachai]

Two more ficlettes and one drabble for the Ficlette Fiasco II (master list found here). Enjoy! Comment! Dance a merry jig!

Title: What's Mine
Characters: Amanda/Jean-Claude (Anita Blake/Highlander crossover)
Disclaimer: All Anita Blake characters belong to Laurell K. Hamilton. Highlander et al. were produced by Davis-Panzer Productions. I am only borrowing them for a short while and am receiving nothing.
Author's Note: For deepfishy.

~~*~~

Everything was going so very well, Amanda thought as she crept across the darkened room. Upstairs, the Circus of the Damned was dead for the day while the sunshine lit up the summer sky. She hadn't met anyone on the oddly shaped stone steps down to the vampire's lair, and most of the night dwellers were sleeping.

She'd had a bad moment when she'd opened the door to the bedroom and, instead of finding it empty, saw the bed occupied. Luckily, her luck held, and the occupants of the bed were as dead as the proverbial doornails.

Giving the vampires a quick glance, Amanda recognized Jean-Claude, Master of this City , from centuries ago. He'd held up just as well as she'd had. Immortality in all its different guises did that.

Amanda didn't recognize the other one, but by the looks of the body under the sheet, it was a very well built male vampire, with hair so gold that Amanda's thieving fingers itched to touch it. But she was here for a purpose, and she was burning daylight.

Sticking her flashlight in her mouth, Amanda rummaged around in the dresser until she found the right box, and eased open the wooden lid. Inside, sparkling in the light, lay a familiar sapphire necklace. Amanda had actually stolen it before, hundred of years ago, from the Queen of France, but had to abandon it as the King's soldiers tracked her down. It rankled, that loss.

But now she had it back.

"Amanda."

Amanda was on her feet in an instant, sword in her hand. The vampire who was supposed to be dead was now staring directly at her, eyes glowing dark blue in the light.

And he was between her and the door.

Amanda swallowed, telling her heart to calm down. No need to tempt the nice vampire with quickly moving blood.

Jean-Claude smiled widely, the points of his fangs gleaming in the tiny light from her flashlight where she had dropped it on the ground. The silk sheets slithered around his body as he stood up, very naked. In almost any situation, she'd have admired the view, but a vampire in the mix always made things very unpredictable.

Jean-Claude sauntered toward Amanda, as if he didn't mind that he was naked and as defenceless as a vampire even got. She stood her ground, even when he stopped a hair's breadth away from her sword. "It has been a long time since I have seen you, ma petite voleur."

"Indeed it has," Amanda shot back.

"Was it not Prague? Before the revolution?" Jean-Claude continued. "You were the talk of the town, how you stole that tiara from the princess, and while she was wearing it, too."

Amanda's eyes darted past Jean-Claude. The door seemed very, very far away.

Jean-Claude smiled condescendingly at her. "Even if you can make it to that door, there is still the hallway to contend with, and then the stairs," he said in a soft voice, cold as death. "I would not put much on your chances."

"I might surprise you," Amanda said.

"Indeed, for it would seem you made your way here." Jean-Claude raised a perfect eyebrow. He took another step forward, so the point of her sword pressed against his chest, over his heart. "Do you have what you came for?"

Amanda kicked the box toward him with her foot, changing the angle of her sword so the blade lay flat against his chest.

Jean-Claude looked down at the box, then back up at Amanda. "How easy was it to get into my lair?"

Waiting a moment, Amanda lifted her sword up and took a step back. "It wasn't easy, but with enough planning, I could have killed you in your sleep."

Jean-Claude shook his head, walking back to the bed. He switched on a lamp and Amanda was treated to a very enticing view of his backside, before he swept a silk bathrobe around his shoulders. "Did you have any help? Did any of my people betray me?" he asked, his voice different, all business.

Amanda shrugged and slid her sword away. "Not directly, but some of them aren't too careful about watching their backs." She bent over and retrieved the box. "It's the perfect time of day, too. Change of the guard, everyone asleep."

Jean-Claude slumped on the bed with a grace Amanda well remembered, absently touching the dead vampire's golden hair. "I was under the impression my guards were the best."

"Oh, they are." Amanda tucked her flashlight back into her pocket and adjusted her belt. "That's why you hired me, to get past them. It took me days to figure out their pattern, and that's only because of what happened back in Hamlin."

"Oui." Jean-Claude rested his head on the bedpost, looking at her with beautiful eyes. Those eyes had always made Amanda nervous. So much intelligence and scheming behind a beautiful facade. It reminded her of... well, her. "Very well. I hired you to breach my defences, and you have done so. You can deliver me your report this evening. Shall we say, over dinner?"

Despite herself, Amanda's heartbeat quickened. "What's for dinner?"

Jean-Claude smiled again, fangs safely hidden. "Not you. I rather hoped you would attend with myself and ma petite, my human servant, at a restaurant of your choosing, to discuss the shortcomings in security of my home."

"I thought Anita had to work tonight," Amanda said.

Jean-Claude started up off the bed, and Amanda's sword was back in her hand before she made a conscious thought. Jean-Claude caught himself, and carefully eased back onto the bed. "I see you also examined ma petite's schedule," he said with a calm that Amanda just knew was false.

"She sometimes sleeps over," Amanda explained quickly. "That'd be something I'd look for, to see if she was here." The one thing she hadn't taken into consideration was Jean-Claude's feelings for his human servant. When Amanda first met Jean-Claude, so many years ago, it didn't seem as if the vampire knew how to love.

Jean-Claude stared at her for a long moment, then looked down at the vampire by his side. Amanda let out the breath she'd been holding.

"So, dinner tonight?" Amanda said. All she wanted to do was to get out of this room with her neck intact. Along with her necklace.

"Oui, dinner tonight." Jean-Claude looked back at her, mild amusement on his face. He nodded his head. "You may of course keep your sizeable retainer, and we consider that necklace as the bulk of your fee." He smiled at the expression on Amanda's face. "I acquired it for ma petite, but she does not appreciate jewellery as you."

"Seems like I win, then," Amanda said with a smile.

It wasn't enough to make her go straight, but even a thief like her could stand an honest day's work, once in a while.

--fin

Title: Hide
Character: Larry Kirkland. Anita Blake universe.
Disclaimer: All Anita Blake characters belong to Laurell K. Hamilton. I am only borrowing them for a short while and am receiving nothing.
Author's Note: Number two for sparrow015. What Larry was like before he met Anita.

~~*~~

Larry hated zombie films in high school. He was always so busy making sure no one was looking at him funny to enjoy being scared.

When you're the only kid in town to be able to raise the dead, it's not something you go telling everyone. His mom and dad knew, so did all his brothers, but not a one of them talked to other people about it. There wasn't anything wrong with it, just...

Sometimes, people don't like what's strange or different. In Larry's mind, when you're strange or different, you sometimes need to hide it from the world.

--fin

Title: Stay
Characters: Merry, Doyle
Disclaimer: All Merry Gentry characters belong to Laurell K. Hamilton. I am only borrowing them for a short while and am receiving nothing.
Author's Note: Another one for sparrow015. Between Seduced by Moonlight and Stroke of Midnight.

~~*~~

"Could you have stayed?"

Doyle's voice moved like molasses over my skin, sweet and thick and dark. I shivered in the dark and cuddled up to him. The sex had been great, and I was still aching, but right now, for this question, I needed to be held.

"Even with all the duels?" I murmured. "With my father dead, and my aunt not stopping anyone from trying to kill me?"

"Yes." Doyle was as sparse in his words as ever, and it comforted me. He was as old as the darkness itself, and in this place, this time, he was enough to keep me safe.

I thought hard. During those years in L.A., I'd run over this in my head so many times, so lonely by myself, hiding, cut off from Faerie, about how tempting it was to crawl back to Illinois, to the Unseelie court. But...

"My father taught me something, when I was a child," I said quietly. I rested my head against Doyle's shoulder. "That in the end, you're the only one who is responsible for your own life. If I had stayed, I'd have been killed. I had to run. I needed to protect my life."

Doyle ran his hand over my arm, a comforting touch. "I cannot think of another Sidhe who would cut him or herself off from the Court, even in an effort to safeguard their lives."

I remembered, with sudden icy clarity, the look in my father's eyes when he had told an eight-year-old me that he might not always be there to protect me, so he would teach me to protect myself. That had been the moment I'd started to grow up. "If I hadn't left, we wouldn't be here." My aunt's Ravens, her Royal Guard, would all still be hers, my insane sadistic cousin Cel would be the only one in line for the throne, and I'd be dead. Not warm and alive with Doyle in my bed, or my other men so close by, my many immortal lovers.

Doyle lifted me up, and I felt his lips brush against mine in the dark. "I am glad you are here," he said. "With me."

--fin

Also, another drabble I wrote for the PDS drabble o' the week challenge, Choice (Anita centric).

Comments

[samira-86.livejournal.com]

Good ficlets! I especially liked the first one with Jean Claude even though I don't know who Amanda is. Oh and I started The Beekeeper's Apprentice today, it's pretty good so far. It has another strong female character kind of like Anita, but not a killer. Well at least not yet, but I don't think she'd kill anyone. Thanks for the recommendation, it helps bide the time till the next inevitable update. When do you think the next chapter will be up?

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Amanda's an Immortal, and a thief. She's like a raven, can't keep away from the shiny.

Enjoy the books. I think they are realy nice, and I agree with you about the strong female character.

The next chapter of Inevitable will be helped greatly by the upcoming long weekend. It might* be done before Monday. It's still kicking my ass.

(* = real life may interupt this, but hey, it's only an estimate)

[catherinecookmn.livejournal.com]

Ha! I know what it is, to be caught in the grip of fic compulsion. It's a wonderful tale so far, is Inevitable.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much. I'm rather obessed with this thing now. It's eating away at my head...

[catherinecookmn.livejournal.com]

Uh-oh! Shall I call for Dobby to clean up the floor?

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Nah, it's all good.

It's all a matter of putting the right words in the right order. No worries.

*headdesk*

[catherinecookmn.livejournal.com]

Same here. Not familiar with the Highlander series, but Mhalachai's such a good writer that I don't need to be.

[sabriel-0405.livejournal.com]

I thought the Highlander crossover was very well done. I couldn't picture Amanda for a minute but the thievery label got my attention.

As for Larry, I'm sorry we don't see more of him. But there is only so much room.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's been a while since I've seen HL, but Amanda was always my fave.

I think we should see more of Larry. He's a gun-totin' vamp killer like Anita, surely they must go on jobs together or something.

[deepfishy.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the AB/HL ficlette! I never caught Amanda's spin-off show, but she seems true to form from her appearances in the main series. I'm trying to imagine the dinner, but my brain keeps 'sploding - Amanda's personality is so different to Anita's.

...with hair so gold that Amanda's thieving fingers itched to touch it - I simply loved this description, both of Asher and Amanda!

I guess most sensible Immortals (Boy Scouts, naturally, are excluded by this description) would try to steer clear of vampires and the rest. Trust the lure of loot to bring Amanda to St Louis :)

Nice to see a bit of Larry, and also Merry (although I've only read the first book). That PDS drabble was very powerful, and painful, and something I don't think Anita will have to deal with in LKH's books (unless she becomes ruthless with second/third-tier characters). Well done!

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Heck, I'm trying to figure out how JC's going to get Anita to the dinner in the first place. "When I awoke, ma petite, a beautiful woman had her hands in my drawers. Would you care to dine with us this evening?" *snerk*

I don't think LKH will start killing off characters any time soon. Quite frankly, she doesn't need to, and she's rather attached to them. So, yay. No canon character deaths for us.

[remydesire.livejournal.com]

I love the HL crossover ficlet! If there's a sequel, I wouldn't mind. :P

By the way, if you want to read 3 unedited chapters of the Danse Macabre, go to http://laurellkhamilton.org/Anita/DanseMacabre.html . It's coming out after the next book, Micah.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

At this point, planning no sequels, but that dinner may develop in my mind.

I've read the chapters... I have to say, I have my own theories on the lateness. I guess we'll see next summer.

[(Anonymous)]

That choices drabble sent chills down my spine.

These three (above) are lovely.

E.A.V.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your kind words :)

[cissasghost.livejournal.com]

I love your Anita/JC, but you knew that. ;)

-Sonya

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

You mean in the Amanda one?

[cissasghost.livejournal.com]

Eeep. Erm, that too? And also I replied to the wrong post.

-Sonya

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Tee hee. No worries. And thanks! You know we both sail the same ship at times :)

[penyn-1600.livejournal.com]

I really liked the ficlets. Especially the first one. Amanda's from Highlander, right?

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Thanks :) Yes, Amanda's our charming thief from Highlander.

[sparrow015.livejournal.com]

Most excellent! I liked all three stories there. I can't wait to see how you'll tackle more of Xander as RIPT's Internation Expert. For some reason, when you wrote that ficlet from before, it just got stuck in my brain. Like, why would RIPT need an internation expert, why did Xander go and what caused those circumstances sorta thing. XD

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Tell the truth yet, that little story has not yet told me its secrets. I have a hard time writing Xander, and will need to put some extra TLC into his ficlettes :)

[sparrow015.livejournal.com]

Well, we know Xander was in Africa looking for Slayers there, so it goes from there, maybe because of the 'making Vampires legal citazen's' sorta thing, Xander has decided to offer his expertise legally, due to a fall out with his friends or something along those lines. Who knows, I'm just spouting stuff my mind is coming up with.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Hey, it's more than I've got right now.

I'm concetrating on the AB/FF fic at this point, tho. Mmm. Worlds colliding.

[sparrow015.livejournal.com]

Ah yes! i can see it now.....*fade in* River walks up to Anita, "Bit once, twice shy and I beheld my executioner with silver dancing in and out of redness."

Anita glares at the girl. XD

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Anita? Glaring? But that's so out of character for her!

Yeah, River and Anita won't exactly hit it off.

[monique-chan.livejournal.com]

The first two were both great, but I really enjoyed the first one. I can't say much about the last one because I'm not familiar with the Merry Gentry series.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Putting Amanda and JC together was fun. They are both so alike. Survivors with an eye for the shiny.

[houses7177.livejournal.com]

Wow. These are fantastic. I'm particularly impressed with the Amanda one- very in character for both of them, the good and the bad. She's always been a favorite of mine and you've done her justice here.

Larry's insight was nice, true to his mentality yet it gives him another side.

And Doyle? rowr.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

I love Amanda. She's my second fave Immortal (Methos is my No. 1). She's just so... covetous.