DISCLAIMER: The Devil Wears Prada and its characters belong to Lauren Weisberger and 20th Century Fox. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a response to a challenge issued a very long time ago and I must admit that I forgot just who issued it O_o I know bad BAD girl. Anyways, here’s my contribution to the Spring Challenge by mxrolkr noe I know ;) This is slightly AU with vampires and all that hope you all enjoy! Happy birthday Meryl :D Oh and a BIG thanks to jazwriter, abina2810, quiethearted and shegottaread for going over this and correcting all of my mistakes.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To elfjet87@gmail.com
One True Thing
By Elf_jet
She felt old. Well, she knew that her actual age was far beyond what others imagined. But today, today she felt every one of her 285 years.
Call her nostalgic, but she calculated her age from the date of her actual birth and not, like others of her kind, from the date of her turning.
Her turning...she rarely thought about it, or she tried not to. She was at once grateful for the chance her maker had given her, of eternal life, perfect health, enhanced strength, and all the other perks of immortal life. But then, she was also very much resentful. She resented the lone existence to which he had doomed her by making her a vampire before making sure he was the perfect fit for her, before making absolutely sure she was meant to share eternity with him.
That he wasn't became clear fairly quickly. Just weeks after her turning, she discovered that she no longer found him desirable, was no longer awed by his beauty. Instead, she hungered and lusted after a female companion, her new interest taking her by surprise, though not unpleasantly so. The female form was just so much more pleasing to view.
He, her maker, noted the change. But, he didn't heed the signs that something significant had shifted, and because he didn't recognize it, he was defenseless once he had committed the offence that ended their involvement.
The incident had been a quick affair. To him, it had been natural, a given almost. He had assumed that the woman she had found, that she was enjoying, was for them both. He had been wrong! She had warned him, given him the chance to back off. He hadn't, and so she had killed him. A bit rash, perhaps, but it had been as unavoidable as her thirst for blood. Even since, she has remained alone. Alone and compelled to find her one true mate.
Soon after his death, she began her search, not stopping to mourn the loss of her maker. Instead, she travelled all over the world to find the answering echo to her call. Knowing that anything less than a true mate would leave her unsatisfied and wanting.
That journey has lasted the last couple of centuries; now, she had settled in New York, and still she had yet to find the perfect fit.
Many times she thought she had been close, but her maker had taught her a valuable lesson. She was not going to be hasty in the turning of a potential mate. A practice, she thought gravely, that had saved her from binding herself to the wrong woman more than once.
Attracting women wasn't the problem; she had no problem in that department. She had even tried to see if men still held a grain of appeal, but they hadn't.
Her appearance was flawless. Her eyes in particular had a quality to them that women and men alike found irresistible. Making them want to know her, get absorbed by her. Even when she revealed her true nature, they didn't recoil.
Some were accepting, and some became even more excited and enthralled by her after she explained. But, they never lasted.
When it came down to it, none of the potentials were faithful to her. Once they knew, they strayed from her. It was as if, as soon as she told them, they didn't think she'd care if they had sex with someone else.
She had learned to hate those damn myths about sensual vampires and their wanton ways. She had never been like that, and she was saddened when a potential companion was lost due to their new promiscuous ways.
Their actions had consequences though and they quickly learned their error when she fed on them, draining them of all their blood. That part was unfortunate but necessary, as she could not risk anyone discovering her secret. She wasn't an animal, though; she had a code, one she was sure was followed by all vampires. Children were not to be harmed in any way or form.
Some who thought they knew her would think she wasn't above hurting the innocent beings children were. That, though, was far from true, and she had ripped the windpipe out of a few child molesters in her time, delighting in their deaths.
Over the years, she had acquired abilities, day walking being the most valuable among them. Being able to go out into daylight and not die a painful death was a blessing and helped divert suspicious minds from making the right assumptions about her.
She had resided in New York for more than ten years, and she was growing impatient with her search until, she saw her. That first look across the desk, and she had been hooked. It felt as though her entire reason for being was centered around the exquisite creature on the opposite side of the glass desk.
Would she have the strength to continue if this vision of a woman denied her? No, she couldn't afford to fail this time. She had to posses this beauty as she longed to be possessed in return, an inclination she had never felt towards another before.
So, she took her time. After all, she had waited for centuries; what was a year more? And it didn't matter that she was involved with someone else; that was the least of her problems. The biggest problem was that this goddess made her more nervous than she had ever felt before, made her pause, made her not act it her normal confident way, not that anyone noticed she was sure. However, she was certain that the attraction was reciprocated, this being the only thing holding her together some days.
As time passed by, it turned out the perfect opportunity presented itself sooner than she had anticipated.
A hotel room in Paris, sitting opposite each other, no invisible walls between them, she guessed she should do it now. She might not get as perfect an opportunity any time soon. She rose from the lush seat, regaining the elegant, fluid movements she had lost at the first sight of the perfect woman in front of her. Though the clumsiness had vanished long ago, she had kept up the pretence, figuring it made her less threatening.
The woman across from her looked up, startling at her companion's sudden grace. She let the corners of her mouth tip upwards, standing in front of her magnificent chosen and spoke softly, like she would talk to a frightened animal she didn't want to flee. "Miranda," the beloved name falling from her lips, "I have an offer to make you." She knew this would be it for her, she would not regret it, and most of all she knew, as she looked into icy blue eyes still wet from tears shed earlier, that Miranda would accept her offer.
The End