Love Conquers All

*written fall of 2007
614


She stood silent biting her lip as he was being looked over.

"So this is the one?" She nodded confirmation to Felipe's statement. He contemplated for a moment before giving his answer. "No."

"No," Janet repeated breaking her silence. "But he should at least be able to see the High Council."

"Why waste their time," Felipe queried before lighting a long, dark cigarette.

"Hey now," the man in question protested. "Shouldn't the love I have for Janet be worth more than me fitting whatever image you had in mind?" Felipe let out a 'ha' that hung in the air on the cigarette smoke exhaled with it. The other man's eyebrows wrinkled in annoyance. He normally wasn't a violent person but Felipe kept hitting all the wrong buttons in so few shots. He kept restrained for Janet.

"Love conquers all eh?" Felipe put his arm around Janet to support himself. This made Janet cringe, a reaction ignored. "Let me tell you about dear, dear Janet." Felipe took a long drag. "This one is damaged. Do you know she can pretty much cry out a small pond? Once she cried so hard that blood rained from her eyes. I had to force her to feed from my very own vein to keep her alive." Felipe took another drag allowing the ash to grow long.

"She doesn't cry as much since she met me. I keep her eyes dry."

"I'm sure that's what she tells you. I can smell the tears fresh on her cheeks. Janet can't lie to us just like you can't lie to us. You love her. Are you willing to spend an eternity with her?"

"That's why I'm here."

Felipe let go of Janet and leaned against a pillar; she inhaled deeply. "Humans can easily say forever when there is a guarantee of death. She cries because she's young, still holding onto her human side. Before Janet turned, despite her age, she had been hurt too many times by the human ideal of love. Easy to say without feeling it, easy to feel without showing it. So many declarations and yet no arms to embrace her." Janet turned her eyes to the ceiling trying to divert her attention. "We may not be warm or hang out with her everyday, but we're there for her when she needs us and we love her. No lies, no embellishments."

"I haven't lied."

"Then why is she crying?" Felipe appeared at Janet's side and wiped away the tears on her cheek before kissing her forehead, leaving the scent of incense to linger there.

"She's crying because of all the things you said."

"She's crying because it's true."

"Tell him the real reason you're crying babe."

Janet tightly hugged herself, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a few moments of silence Janet opened her eyes to reveal two pools of blackness. When she turned her gaze to the man that addressed her as babe he shivered. Janet dried her cheeks before speaking.

"Felipe is right." She let out a sigh. "I'm...I'm so tired of the lies. What's the point? What exactly do you gain? I don't even know why I bother."

Felipe stood behind Janet with his hands on her shoulders. "Oh to be young with hundreds of years ahead of you."

The man in question opened his mouth to protest or to say something, anything, but the noir look in her eyes held his tongue.

"Come little one, the High Council still wishes for you to take an audience with them." They both walked towards the shadows. Felipe looked back, sadness in his eyes and resign on his face, before disappearing into the night.