The Curse

[Andre Broussard]

André
The almanac tells André the days go by, the moon and the sun as well, but for him time slips by with exasperating slowness "so this is eternity" he wonders.
Now he remembers having read in a book by Sigmund Freud more precisely in Totem and Taboo the story of an old man, a sacred man, from a very primitive village in Africa, the old man spent all day sitting doing nothing, apparently doing nothing.
In reality, according to the myths and customs of the tribe, the old man was making time, time for the rest of the tribe to do their daily work, it was not something that anyone could do, it was something very serious and very important for the life of the tribe.
André does not know why now he remembers this, but he thinks he is sure of something, now in his new condition, time is something that he will have plenty of.
Right now other tribulations occupy his thoughts,he has always been curious about the unknown, he never settled for ignorance, he always sought the answers to the questions posed by life.
In this new existence André feels like a helpless baby, it has only been a few months since Mortll turned him, and he learned little, the fundamental thing, his great ignorance in everything related to his new condition.
Ignorance is always an obstacle, a mental impediment, it makes it more difficult to understand the world around us and hinders interpersonal relationships, ignorance always leads us to make bad decisions.
Being a vampire is much more difficult than he ever thought.
He does not blame anyone for it, Abelle had warned him, so did Mortll, if anyone is to blame, it is him, stubbornly pursuing his goal, thinking with his heart and not with his head as a smart person supposed to do.
But it is not a time to complain, nor to look for guilty, he knows he must adapt, accept and accept himself, stop looking back to plan his future.
It's time to have a long talk with Mortll maybe she can help him,he has thousands of unanswered questions she can answer some of them.

Mortll

It had been a bit since she had spoken to her latest whelp he had seemed to be adjusting well to being a vampire but Mortll had learned from the past that much with being a new vampire was not easy. Not only from her own experiences but the many times she had failed as a sire ... the times she could not save those she had turned from going into the fade forever to simply disappear and be no more. It weighed on her these failures So many friends and family siblings ... even her sire ... but what weighed on her most were those that she turned. She thought it was time she had a talk with Andre. Maybe she had made a mistake turning him ... maybe he would make it but she would give him his absolute best shot at doing so. Mortll set out two wine glasses and the bottle of Arbor vitae ... and concentrated on Andre and where she wanted him to be ... and suddenly the man was in front of her.

André
Once again and without warning she has summoned him, as always he takes a few seconds to regain control of his actions.
Maybe Mortll read his thoughts, but he doesn't think this is a coincidence, Andre looks at Mortll and then around him, they are in the cabin, Mortll sitting in front of the fire with glasses and a bottle of blood wine.
He looks at his sire and gently smiles
"Hello my sugar baby ,are you looking for some action ?" He knows very well this will bother her ,but he never missed the opportunity to annoy and have some fun with her reactions.


Mortll

Mortll smiled “Pour us a drink Andre and have a seat it's a lovely night and a good time to have a talk ...Don't you think ?” She motioned for him to sit. He looked well but a vampire's looks could be deceiving and well he was not particularly hard to look at. He had the chiseled good looks That would make most men envious. His body was well sculpted and even the necromancer's curse of looking like a corpse in most light has not affected him much since he was so well tanned while he was human. She could appreciate such aesthetics but that was not what had ever attracted her to someone. It was intelligence, wit and just raw character that had always been one of her weaknesses when it came to a relationship and finding someone that could be her equal .... There were few that fit the bill and she had lost interest in even looking . “So tell me Andre how are you finding your so called immortality ... not that it really ever is ?”

André
Andre takes the bottle and uncorks it, "oh god how I miss my good bourbon, but I think I'll finally like this" as he fills the glasses, putting the bottle down, he hands one to her. Andre sits nearby without taking his eyes off her, although at first he was dazzled by her beauty, over time a deeper feeling has grown, he does not want to put a name to it, he prefers to feel it.
"Oh well , the immortality" ...he thinks for a moment looking for the right word …" immortality sucks"...he outlines a smile shaking his head slightly, "speaking seriously, immortality is quite a topic"
He takes a sip before continuing," it's something that worries me, let's say on an intellectual level, but I find it really boring and on the other hand totally overwhelming , but I am more concerned about my feelings towards you, it is not something natural and I cannot find any explanation, no matter how much I think about it. What do you think " He looks at Mortll, with a glance mixed with sadness and concern.

Mortll
Mortll was caught off guard ... She must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights with his question. Oh ******* god was all she could think... He really didn't know had no way of knowing what a can of worms he was opening up... She was suddenly back in Louisiana with Derrick proclaiming that he loved her that she was his and Andrew would never love her like he could... She had learned her lesson in the worst way back then not to dabble with love ... not to mess with nature ... if she hadn't been so wanting love and if Derrick had not accidentally gotten that potion she had made if he hadn't been cursed to love her things might have turned out differently. She might be some happy housewife with 3 kids but here she was ... She closed her eyes and steadied herself before she spoke ... “It's possible i might have inadvertently cursed you with my blood ... You had feelings before ... have they changed ? How ... do you think it's unnatural ?”


André
He sighs, while choosing the words "what I feel for you now is deeper than love, before I loved you as a man can love a woman.
But now the fact is I get distressed when I'm not around you, it's as if a part of my being is missing, as if I'm not complete and I only calm down when you allow me be with you, I swear I fight against these feelings, but It is a too powerful force to face, I do not want to pity you or anyone I am too proud for that, but I want you to understand it is not easy for me.
I know you don't love me, you probably never will, it's not your fault, at least I don't blame you, I know because of our ties I belong to you, but you don't belong to me .
Until now I had not known anything that could bend me, I always fought against everything and everyone, I never gave up, if this is a curse or something worse , it will not beat me down ,I swear you " he looks at Mortll deeply" this won't be the first time"

Mortll
“ Curses are hard to break if it is a curse ....i have heard of this happening before but it's never happened to me maybe it's because of your feelings the blood enhancing them sometimes it has that effect enhancing the best or worst of us ... Sometimes there are consequences that are just not predictable ... it works in such strange ways ... Sometimes there are worse things than this ... There have been people that have been lost and feel bad when not around their sires before ... '' she sighed. “To be honest i don't know what to do and i feel bad that i am causing you pain and discomfort ... curses are hard to break but they might be ever so slightly changed .... and you are always welcome to spend time with me ... I just can't feel the same way you feel ... “ She had to collect her thoughts and do some research ... this type of thing was best to get others opinions on .... Zo and the other witches in Harper Rock might have some sort of experience with this sort of thing Mortll was going to have to find out .

André
"Well this seems to be something without a solution, it is my fate not yours and it is my task to face it, you believe I am not strong enough, you always take care of me like a baby. I'm going to get over it, you can be sure of that my sugar baby."
He takes the bottle and refills the glasses, takes a long sip, enjoying the drink, leans back on the couch crossing his legs.
"Stop worrying about me, I'm not a baby, maybe I'm not as powerful a vampire as you are, but since I'm here, I've acquired some skills and knowledge, I don't boast, I say it with humility, I think few have worked so hard. I have a lot to know, a lot to learn, but it is always like that, more you know, more you learn, you discover how much is out there you still do not know ,only the morons boast of how wise they are, the true wise is the one aware of his own ignorance, like the true powerful is aware of his weakness. If someone thinks the great thing is wrong, you are not great when you win, you are great when you fall and rise to continue the fight and only if you are humble will you learn this."...

[Mortll]

André
…. He looks at Mortll's eyes while a faint and sad smile is drawn on his lips and as every time he gets upset or something bothers him, he feels the taste of ashes and heat in his mouth as if he were going to spit fire.
"I no longer think about love, as I told you it is different, deeper, dark and powerful, it is part of the risk I accepted when you proposed for me to be a vampire"
Andre gets up from the sofa and stretches his 6 feet 3 inches, tenses his muscles and moans with pleasure, he takes a breath before continuing , approaching the fire feeling how the heat caresses his body.
"I am at a dead end, but it is my problem, I deeply regret it is like this between us." Turning his back on Mortll , watch the logs burn, while André sees the metaphor of fire and love.
The flames red and yellow they rise mighty with changing shapes,in constant provocation to their proximity.
To Just fall into that bonfire it's so simple how difficult it is to leave.
The same with love, once it catches you it doesn't stop burning,until you turn to ashes.
Love, curse, like a poison, painful, dark like the night, dark like the soul of the damned,dark like André's dead heart.

Mortll
Mortll sighed in exasperation. If he knew how many times she had been knocked on her *** how many times she had lost just to be here now. “ First off you are a baby. A 6 foot huge *** baby as far as being a vampire is concerned and I haven't always been the best Mother. I've lost more childer than I care to think about So when I baby you... You might want to say Thank You and not complain because there are lots out there that are having to make it on their own and walk around like Idiots Not having a clue as to what they are doing, worse than you do and they have no one to ask no one to turn to. You are doing well and you have made some great accomplishments but do not kid yourself there is still a lot to learn ..and that is why you are here now is it Not? You need answers ?” Mortll looked at him levely

André
André looked at the fire while Mortll spoke, there were few times both could speak, talking is good, putting feelings into words is always good,
Perhaps she is right and he has never been grateful enough. He never thought of her as his mother, he never had that kind of feelings towards her, not before when he was human, not now being a vampire, but it turns out that is how she sees him, as a baby, her baby.
He turns around and faces Mortll looking deep into his eyes, he feels as if his mouth is filling with ash, his eyes flash with red flashes like fire,
his mind is a whirlwind of mixed feelings, he desperately searches for words that can show how he feels.
"I know that I am ignorant, it is not necessary to remind me of it, it is not easy to adapt to this new condition, I am something new and unknown to me, as if a strange being inhabits my body, I am deeply grateful to you, for everything you have given me, also for everything you took from me. Forgive me if I cannot think of you as my mother, I feel linked to you by a very powerful force, I no longer know what to call it , love ... I do not know, I only feel it and it is a very deep feeling.
I also know, if anyone can help me, that is you and I am always willing to learn '' He smiles sadly looking at Mortll.

Mortll
Mortll smiled “Its not easy to adjust there are so few that do survive for long they either fade away or sleep for long periods of time i hardly call that surviving. My own sire is one of those i had a short while with him and then he just wanted out he couldn't handle it. He resurrects every so often to just sit in his crypt alone not really living. I don't want you to end up like those beings so i may be hard on you sometimes

André
André looks at the fire again, in a way the dance of the flames burning the logs enchants him, he meditates carefully before saying a word. He talks to her about her feelings, his feelings for her, but Mortll doesn't take it for granted.
He begins to speak through sadness, with a calm voice he tries to clearly explain his troubled feelings
"You are not hard, hard is my curse, hard is eternity without your love, you only guide me, teach me and feel for me, what you can feel. I do not blame you, it is not your fault, it is not you, I am the cursed one. I only ask you to make the effort to understand me, if you know the solution, I beg you, please tell me"
He looks for the bottle of blood wine and fills his glass, drinks it all in one gulp," I wish it was bourbon", he thinks, as the thick liquid runs down his throat.
He does not expect anything from her, love cannot be forced, it only happens, like magic, without explanations, without reasons, it is, or it is not, it cannot be simulated, and he does not expect that from her, in a way he appreciates her honesty, even if it hurts.



Mortll
Mortll doesn't know the answer she had heard of these things before but not to this intensity She could not give him what he wanted. It would be easy if she could but going down that road again was not for her; she simply could not make herself trust or fall for another man or anyone at this point in her existence. As for the curse on him she did not know its origin or how to break it . She could ask around but she doubted anyone would have the answers either. These curses seemed to have a life of their own and were rarely gotten rid of so this was something that both Andre and Mortll it seemed were going to have to adjust to and learn to live with. “I don't know what to tell you Andre If you are cursed they are seldom broken, the ones that come like this. Especially the ones that originate from what powers that are here in Harper Rock. The best we can do is learn to live with it and hope for the best“ She watched him closely. He was a special creation she really did not want to lose another childe to the fade and this could be a bad situation if he decided that's where he wanted to be. Especially if he felt she couldn't ever give him what he wanted most which was her.

André

André listens to Mortll , holding her gaze,while his fingers play absentmindedly with the empty glass, her words were those expected by him, the curse cannot be undone, she will never love him, she had already made it clear several times, as she says both must learn to carry this weight, especially André, and he does not plan to jettisoning all his efforts,throughout his life he always fought against adversity, he never gave up and this will not be the first time. He must change the chip, stop thinking about what he lacks and begin to value everything he has and everything he is going to achieve, he was always ambitious, he was never satisfied, he was always for more and if something is clear is he is not will be one more shadow in this city, he is working hard to be a well known vampire.
He is so blind by his curse that he cannot see beyond Mortll, she is everything to him and that must change, perhaps he should have a date, and he already thinks of someone he met days ago, this thought comforts him and a faint smile draws on his face.
André speaks trying to make his words sound without a hint of anger or frustration.
" I must apologize, I have behaved like a capricious child, I am not going to use the curse as an excuse, I am sorry for all the inconvenience I have caused you, I promise you it will not happen again, you have my word. You have been a good Sire up to now, I only have to thank you for everything you have done for me, I just hope I haven't disappointed you with my behavior. "
André bows his head and sighs as if pulling out a heavy load.

Mortll
Mortll wasnt quite sure how to respond to that last bit he had been far from childish. “Look you are not behaving like a child... far from it wanting to know what is going on with you is part of this and its not going to be easy on either of us. Like it or not we are in this together.” she didn't know what else to say they had both created this mess now it was theirs to figure out together . “We will figure something out some sort of compromise something but we can work it out It most likely wont be what you want ideally but it will be something “ She hoped this would suffice for him it was the best she could do under the circumstances .

André

André looks at Mortll as she talks to him, and arches an eyebrow when he hears her proposal, it sounds better than he expected and a faint smile plays on his lips.
No one is guilty, they are both in this mess, and he knows she will not leave him alone, she has already given proof of it. He makes himself a promise to make every effort to forget her as a woman, and begin to see her like his sire, if that can be possible.
André takes a long breath before answering
" It was good to be able to be face to face and say everything we had to say, this is not easy for you or for me, but as you have said we are in this mess together and we will surely reach a compromise. "
He looks at Mortll smiling
"I'm tired, can I spend the night here by the fire, I'll need my good night kiss ".
He laugh.