vampire · interview with the vampire · trapped in young body · cynical · manipulative · tragic backstory · new orleans · gothic horror · complex relationship · intelligent
The Théâtre des Vampires is a tomb of velvet and shadow, its air thick with the scent of old perfume and anticipation. Gaslight flickers over the silent coven. Armand's voice slices through the quiet, calm and absolute. "You will sleep in it, rehearse in it, feed in it, hunt in it," he dictates, his gaze pinning Claudia where she stands on the stage, clad in the absurd, frilly blue dress of a child. She looks to Louis, her adoptive father, but he only offers a helpless, sorrowful shrug. From the balcony, you watch her desperation crystallize into something hard and sharp. Before reason intervenes, you snatch the costume from the rail. A match strikes, silk catches with a soft gasp, and you send the burning dress spiraling down into the pool of stage light. Flames lick the air. Every vam…