Yao: Snow Sculptor Extraordinaire

Tiana awoke early the next morning, wondering what had happened the night before, and then it all came flooding back to her. Paris; dancing, champagne...ok, that explained the headache.

She sat up and then saw that she was back in her own room. She also realised, to her surprise, that she was alone in bed, and yet, Lestat had been here, she could sense his presence. Blinking, and rubbing her head, she rolled out of bed and onto the floor as her senses began to drift back to her. Ok, she was in her petticoat; where was her dress? Lifting her head she saw that it was draped neatly over the back...

“So, go on then,” Lestat said.

Tiana glanced at him. “Right now?”

“No time like the present.”

The pair of them were sitting at Tiana’s kitchen table. She had made coffee, out of habit, but neither of them had drunk it, and now the two cups were rapidly cooling on the breakfast bar. Tiana’s head was still reeling. She still couldn’t quite believe it. She was going to be a vampire! Lestat was going to turn her! And all she had to do was make a bucket list. Only now, she wasn’t entirely sure what she’d put on it.

“Well, ok,” she said, taking a deep breath.

“Here.” Lestat...

Pushing the argument she had had with her friends to the back of her mind, Tiana went home and quite cheerfully opened her copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Lestat hadn’t said whether or not vampires could still eat normal food, although she assumed that if they could drink wine, they could eat.

“This sounds good,” she murmured, finding a page marked “Cassoulet,” and since she had the majority of ingredients on her anyway, she set to work chopping and cooking and washing and then finally pouring two glasses of red wine. Just as the meal was finished, there was a knock on...

Tiana stared at him. “W-what? You...you love me?”

Lestat shrugged, almost modestly. “Funny, isn’t it? You don’t expect vampires to fall in love.”

“But you hardly know me!” Tiana exclaimed. “How can you possibly know it’s really love?”

“I don’t.” He shrugged, again. “All I know is that I want to protect you; from all the vampires and the other dangers of the world.” His eyes met hers. “You’re so vulnerable, Tiana. I know you’re feisty and you can look after yourself, but you’re an easy target for predators.”

“You make me sound like a gazelle,” Tiana...

“So, where do you want me to start from?”

“The beginning would be good.”

Lestat smirked. “The whole sordid bit?” He sat down on the sofa and leaned back, looking up at her. “Where a young man, barely an adult, was abducted and turned into a vampire by another who then left him to fend for himself for years; who abandoned him to learn the rules of vampirism alone?”

Tiana sank down onto the table, facing him. “How old were you?”

“ I was almost thirty.” He shrugged at her. “I can still remember, even now, how scared I was; what it felt like when my heart was racing in fear.”...

When Belle eventually got back to the castle, after bidding goodbye to Tiana and Meg, she was surprised not to find Prince Adam waiting for her in the hallway or the lounge, as he usually was, waiting to give her some other task to add to her usual daily list. She didn’t mind this job, after all, it gave her a bed and food. Since her Papa had died, the cottage they had been renting had been recalled. Thankfully she had just started this job before she could be made homeless. Plus, being PA to a prince had its other perks too; she could attend social gatherings, even if her best dresses did...

“That was amazing,” Tiana whispered as Lestat finally set down the violin. He gave a sweeping bow as their gypsy companions applauded him.

“You are a natural,” gushed the man. “How did you get to be so good?”

Lestat waved his praise away, modestly. “I’ve been playing for a long time. I’m fairly sure I made a few mistakes.”

“Your boyfriend is too modest,” the gypsy woman said to Tiana.

Tiana blushed. “Oh, he’s not my...well...”

She looked at Lestat for help. He smiled. “We’re just friends.”

The woman laughed. “Nonsense! I see the way you look at her! You think...