tit for tat [marianna]

[eleanor caroline caruso]

seduce and destroy

❝

Bastian had disappeared. It wasn’t terribly abnormal for him to spend some time away. While they were mates, Eleanor was trying to give Bastian his freedom. Trying to let him live, despite the circumstances. Since they had gotten Sancia, she had watched him blossom into fatherhood. The sweet baby girl loved her father and her new mother, and Eleanor had taken a step back from the coven for a few moments to focus on her new family.

But Bastian had now been gone for several days on end, and he was not responsive to the pulls she was making on both the bond of their mating as well as the arguably stronger bond of Eleanor being his sire. Something felt wrong. Very incredibly wrong. And there was only one person that she knew who had such a personal vendetta against her husband.

Why was it that whenever she had to be happily married, someone had to meddle and make a mess of things? Then again, Marianna Lestrange never did know how to not play with things that weren’t hers.

There was little doubt in the vampiress’s mind that it was that pathetic excuse for a woman that was behind this. It was a desperate move from her, grasping at straws. Bastian had protection as Eleanor’s husband, as her fledgling. But she was still who wielded all the power. It was time the foolish mortal remembered just who pulled those strings. While she loved Bastian, wholly and irrevocably, she had lived long enough to know better than to sacrifice everything for love. He knew better to expect that from her. If he met his end at Marianna’s hands, there would be vengeance, but it would not get back what Eleanor knew the other woman wanted desperately.

Darling Sancia Caruso would stay firmly put at her new mother’s bosom. If Bastian died, then absolutely no one could pry his daughter - for Sancia was just as much Bastian’s as she was the daughter of that hag - from Eleanor.

Perhaps it was time to drop that reminder.

Handling this business alone, leaving her precious baby in the vigilant care of a member of her coven, she disappeared into the sunset, arriving outside the Lestrange estate. She did not tamper with the wards, did not do anything to dismantle them. Let the human have her feeble protections. Eleanor had centuries of magical experience ahead of Marianna - not to mention the ear of Death should things go wrong.

But it was a statement nonetheless. Eleanor Caruso had arrived - and it was time for a chat.

marianna elizabeth lestrange ● higher priority ● 431

MADE BY MIZO

[marianna elizabeth lestrange]

399 words

BY MINNIE OF GS

you die, i thrive, and so it goes,

    Marianna had been waiting for Eleanor to come looking for her new husband much sooner. It had been days ago when her ex had found her out in Knockturn Alley. He always had relied too much on his strength to overpower her and she had managed to gain the upper hand. She had kept her promise of misery; killing him was far too simple. She had instead locked him away for safekeeping and a tool to barter with. After their battle was over, she had made him let her into his mind, and she had all that had passed without her presence.

    Her daughter, now renamed with some ridiculous moniker, was alive just as she had hoped.

    She was meeting with a jeweler when she felt the shift of the wards around the property, readying for an attack. She took her time, everything at the estate happened that way, and only after she had finished with him did she apparate out of the manor and toward the property line. She arrived in a cloud of black smoke that disappeared as she stepped forward. Her raven hair was down and left in its natural curls. Her burgundy pants were well-pressed and paired with a delicate lace blouse; the matching suit coat was left behind in her office, a move she regretted given the chill in the November air.

    It had only been a week prior that she had allowed a vampire into her home. That one had been charming and proved to be useful. This one was a harpy, and Marianna would love nothing more than force her into joining her new husband. Marianna had only had the displeasure of encountering Eleanor once before when she had taken what Marianna had. Now, they each had something the other wanted, and Marianna was not going to let that go forgotten or let stand much longer.

    "I was expecting you sooner," she admitted as she stepped across the threshold of the Lestrange holding, freeing herself from the wards that she and the generations before her had built. "If you're here then I'm curious who you left my daughter with; she's a precious thing." Her wand remained tucked in her pocket. They were on equal footing now, and should things turn for the worse, she only had to step back across the line.     
    "Things like that, daughters and husbands, shouldn't be left unattended."

- - i am the ending of your tragic fairy tale

eleanor caroline caruso

[eleanor caroline caruso]

seduce and destroy

❝

The coming winter was promising to be cold, given the way the wind bit and tore through the frigid air. Yet Eleanor stood in a thin red dress, two narrow straps pulling along her collarbone and shoulders to hold the garment up. It clung to her skin, every inch of the scarlet fabric molded upon her as if she had been dipped into a pool of it. A neat chignon swept her platinum locks up onto the back of her head, a few loose strands whipping and twisting around in the air.

The vampiress’s scarlet-painted lips carved a smile onto her exquisite face as Marianna stepped forward. It was not a kind smile. It promised brutality, and yet, it was still breathtaking.

I was expecting you sooner.

“And I was expecting you to be smarter,” the blonde retorted. The words from her lips were like poison honey. “It seems we’ll be mutually disappointed.”

If you’re here, then I’m curious who you left my daughter with; she’s a precious thing.

Sancia was with Eleanor’s coven. Trusted with someone she had personally Turned. The coven leader was nothing if not carefully thorough, especially where her new daughter was concerned. She’d tear the throat from whoever dared to betray her, and they all knew that. Perhaps she’d dealt with smaller betrayals, but in this matter and perhaps this matter alone, there was no limit to the lengths she would go.

“So precious that you chose your own splintered soul over her life?”

Eleanor’s smile turned into something smug at the edges. Oh yes, she had learned how Sancia had come into her possession. Death itself had given her the baby. A reward for all she had done. Yet, the baby could have been Marianna’s. All the simpleton had to do was make a choice, to follow the directions laid out before her. Death had been merciful, all things considered.

Eleanor would not.

Things like that, daughters and husbands, shouldn’t be left unattended.

Only one of the two was capable of making their own decisions, of handling the consequences of their actions and those around them. Bastian was old enough to handle himself. Sancia, on the other hand, was not. She was being treated like a pawn, not old enough to understand exactly what game was being played using her.

“Funny that you of all people should say that, given you lost your opportunity with both,” Eleanor pointed out, pulling a strand of hair that had been blown into her face back behind her ear. “When given a choice, Bastian chose me. And when given a choice, you didn’t choose her.”

The blonde understood what Marianna was looking to do - but what the witch failed to realize was that both Eleanor and Bastian had anticipated a multitude of attempts to reclaim the infant. And they had agreed on the ultimate endgame.

“You put yourself in this situation, Marianna. Look at the consequences of your own actions.”

For a moment, the siren did feel a bit of pity for the mortal. How many miscarriages, children lost, had Eleanor endured over the centuries? Losing them had torn apart something in her, a shred of her heart that was only coming back together in the months that she had been raising Sancia with Bastian. The pity was quickly snuffed by the flickers of a rage, though.

Marianna had her chance, and yet she had made her choice.

“You didn’t choose her,” she repeated, her voice softer. “You chose yourself. You can blame me all you’d like, but I did not come take your daughter from you. I did not steal her away. She was given to me–to her father by Death after you made it clear you do not value her life over your own.”

The words had become sharp, but her voice remained quiet.

“As she grows up, I’ll be certain that she knows that. She’ll know you as you are. And she’ll know that I will never stop choosing her. So if you’ve stolen my husband in an attempt to bargain for his daughter, your efforts are wasted. Bastian knows I love him, but I won’t be a fool.” In truth, Eleanor had internally started to mourn her husband as dead the moment he didn’t return home, had known the moment they had discussed had come. In private, she’d allow herself more emotion, more forgiveness and grief. But she kept her expression even, and sent her love to her mate through their shared bond.

“I choose my daughter,” she declared, voice clear and even. “I always choose my daughter.”

marianna elizabeth lestrange ● outfit ● 778

MADE BY MIZO

[marianna elizabeth lestrange]

1022 words

BY MINNIE OF GS

you die, i thrive, and so it goes,

    "And i was expecting you to be smarter. it seems we'll be mutually disappointed."

    Marianna's shoulders rose and fell in a shrug as a sigh passed from her lips. The vampire before her didn't cause her any worry, though she did prove to be a rather large pain. How Bastian had put up with her in any sort of way had eluded her; was her Charm not the same offense as the love potion she'd given him so long ago? "I told him exactly what he'd find if he came looking for me. I have never been unclear."

    He didn't matter, all that did was the child that hung in the balance from their failed pairing. Her fate wasn't for anyone to choose but her parents, and with one out of the picture, that left Marianna alone to defend her. Bella had a place in the world, and it wasn't in the cold arms of a corpse.

"So precious that you chose your own splintered soul over her life?"

    For a moment she faltered, her heart stilling as she recalled that night, when Death had cleaved the two apart."I love her." In her life, she'd had very little that was her own. She'd always been chasing some other failed legacy but her daughter was her own, and she'd lost it just the same. She had been trying to protect her. A life of evading Death was not the life she wanted for her girl. She'd tried to save them both and gotten nothing but misery for it. Even her love brought her nothing but pain. She always chose wrong, loved poorly where it meant something, and regretted it.

    "Funny you of all people should say that, given that you lost your opportunity with both. When given a choice, Bastian chose me. And when given a choice, you didn't choose her."

    "You think I care that Bastian picked his vampire slut to be his wife? I will admit, I cared for him, but he made his choice to betray me. The end he got was of his own making," Marianna answered with a laugh, though her amusement quickly faded. She'd only ever considered marriage once, and it certainly was never with Caruso.

    "I tried to protect her; I don't trust your 'father' not to turn and strike her down or to steal her. I chose her, and I paid for it. What will you do when it asks for her? Offer her up for some other favor?" She stalked forward, meeting the vampiress there in the clearing just beyond the manor's wards, its looming presence behind her no shining beacon of home. She would have made it a home for the two of them, and though now it meant nothing, it still offered her protection. "I know you sent it to me. You asked it to take her from her mother because your shriveled womb and black heart can't give you the bond you are so jealous of that you had her stolen from her bed!"

    "You didn't choose her. You chose yourself. You can blame me all you'd like, but I did not come take your daughter from you. I did not steal her away. She was given to me-to her father by Death after you made it clear you do not value her life over your own."

    Yet, she had chosen her. In that time when she'd first known she was pregnant, she knew there was only one option for them both. She'd chosen her then exclusively. No one would understand her choice as she did. She'd only ever meant to protect Bella in every move she'd made that night. What was her girl without her? She had tried only to appease Death in the moment when her soul and her baby had hung in the balance and had made the calculated move to give her soul to her daughter so that they could both be safe. What was her girl without her? Bella was absolutely everything to her. In the scheme of things, her soul didn't matter, but she needed it to live and keep her daughter safe. No one else had been there, they'd never know what she'd done to make that choice, only what it appeared to be.

    "As she grows up, I'll be certain that she knows that. She'll know you as you are. And she'll know that I will never stop choosing her. So if you've stolen my husband in an attempt to bargain for his daughter, your efforts are wasted. Bastian knows I love him, but I won't be a fool. I choose my daughter, I always choose my daughter."

    Marianna was silent, the wind whipping her ponytail back behind her head. Bella wasn't anyone but hers. Her blood, her entire legacy, her purpose, rested in that sweet girl they'd taken from her. She loved her in a way she knew her own mother never had, and she'd fight for her the same way. No one had ever chosen her completely. She wouldn't leave her daughter to the same fate.

    "You don't know me, Eleanor, only what you think you do. You would choose to lie to her," she said finally, her green eyes simmering with rage that she pushed far away. Killing the vampire only presented her with more problems than the action itself was worth and put her daughter right back in Death's path to destroy her. "When she grows up, she'll be smart, she'll know you exactly as you are: an imposter. You both didn't choose her either. You only took her when she would fit in your world, and you'll cast her out when she looks like me, acts like me, thinks like me. You'll love her until then; I love her indefinitely, whether she's with me or not."

    It would be so easy to strike her down. Then her world could stop spinning out of control and be right again. Her wand remained in her hand, the weapon that could end this so close, even as she voiced the thing that made her want to recoil. 

    "She needs us both."

- - i am the ending of your tragic fairy tale

eleanor caroline caruso

[eleanor caroline caruso]

seduce and destroy

❝

I told him exactly what he’d find if he came looking for me. I have never been unclear.

“Perhaps not, but that was not what I was referring to,” replied the vampire. “Bastian makes his own decisions. But I thought you would know better than to try to leverage my husband against me in exchange for his daughter.”

His daughter. For that’s what she was. That was what Marianna kept forgetting. She thought herself entitled to the baby simply because she was the girl’s mother. But she forgot that Bastian was her father, and that entitled him just the same. She was never given to Eleanor to be Eleanor’s alone. She was given to Eleanor for Bastian. Always for him.

I love her.

To this, Eleanor said nothing. She did not doubt it, did not try to discredit the claim. It was true, she supposed, but if Marianna had loved her, truly and deeply, she would have made the decision to save her daughter rather than her horcrux. Instead, she had tried to cheat Death and get both.

You think I care that Bastain picked his vampire slut to be his wife? I will admit, I cared for him, but he made his choice to betray me. The end he got was of his own making.

“So you will accept the consequences of choices when they are not your own,” the siren mused, if only to herself in amusement. “But not the consequences of the choices you make.”

I tried to protect her; I don’t trust your “father” not to turn and strike her down or steal her. I chose her and I paid for it. What will you do when it asks for her? Offer her up for some other favor? I know you sent it to me. You asked it to take her from her mother because your shriveled womb and black heart can’t give you the bond you are so jealous of that you had her stolen from my bed!

“No.” Eleanor’s reply was calm, but firm. It brokered no argument. Not in this. “I did not ask for it. I did not beg. Do not deny the truth because it means you have to accept your own fault in your mess.”

It was true. She had never once asked Death for the baby. She had not known of Death’s plans to take it, had not suggested a thing to the entity about such actions. In fact, Eleanor had been just as surprised as everyone else at the news.

“I told Death that you were with child. I told it that Bastian, the baby’s father,” she reminded Marianna, her voice far from gentle, “was loyal to me. I suggested you be stripped of your leadership, but, and you are free to rummage in my mind to see the truth as I’m telling it to you of my own volition, I left every decision up to Death.”

She pushed those memories to the forefront of her mind, both when she told Death of Marianna’s pregnancy and when the baby was gifted to her.

“I never asked for her.” She said simply. “But she was gifted to me after your selfishness won out. But I did not take her. I did not beg Death for her.” Eleanor reiterated her point time and time again. Of course, she hardly expected Marianna, delusional as she was, to understand.

You don’t know me, Eleanor, only what you think you do. You would choose to lie to her. When she grows up, she’ll be smart, she’ll know you exactly as you are: an imposter. You both didn’t choose her either. You only took her when she would fit in your world and you’ll cast her out when she looks like me, acts like me, thinks like me. You’ll love her until then; I love her indefinitely, whether she’s with me or not. She needs us both.

Eleanor sighed and clucked her tongue. She had been hoping for a different outcome. If Marianna had admitted her mistake, if she had forsaken her pride, Eleanor may have relented. She would have brokered an agreement, allowed the woman a chance with her daughter - with the stipulations that Bastian also be allowed in her life.

But her hope - for that is what it had been, for the sake of the darling Sancia - was squashed when yet again, Marianna proved she cared for no one but herself.

“She was a gift for my loyalty. You have taken things from so many. You were going to rob this father of the chance to know his child. She was given to me so that I could give her to Bastian,” Eleanor corrected, for Death had stipulated that daughter and father were to be reunited.

“If you choose to ignore that truth, that your choices have led you here, then you do not deserve her. I will not lie to her. Bastian has loved this child from the moment he knew she existed. There was always a place for her in our life together. There was a place for you, too,” she added, something like sorrow in her tone. “Because you are her mother. But you chose yourself. Say what you will, lie to yourself like you claim I will lie to this blessing of a baby, but one day, you will have to accept that.

“Keep my husband,” she sighed, having resigned herself to losing Bastian much before this. “But know that, as my beloved Sancia grows, she will know the truth. All of the truth. About you, about me, about her father. And when she asks what happened to Bastian, she’ll know that you killed him. She’ll know that I had to choose to save her life because no one else would. If you had, Death would not have had her to begin with. If you had, it would have given her to you. If you had just chosen your daughter, you would have avoided this mess. Now, you truly have no one to blame but yourself. By taking Bastian, you also took away the only hope you could ever have of seeing her again. You do not know me, Marianna,” she echoed those same words spoken earlier. “But she is now my daughter. I have waited four lifetimes for a child. I have dreamed and ached and yearned for something I knew I could never have. But Bastian could. Bastian did.”

The conversation was nearing its end. Clearly, there was no use - they would only go in circles. No compromise would be reached.

“When you have accepted the consequences of your actions, when you accept that it was your choice and yours alone that landed you here, you might be able to see your daughter. But until then, you do not deserve her.”

After a long look at the woman before her, then beyond to the prison that held her husband, Eleanor sent one last burst of love down her bonds with her mate.

Then she disappeared in the evening, returning to Sancia.

marianna elizabeth lestrange ● whew, that was long ● 1175

MADE BY MIZO