Disclaimers: I don't own these vampires, Anne Rice does. I make no money from this, and do not claim any of these characters. This story is based loosely on Tam Lin, but there is no long passion play in the tale. However, Janet (the girl) does go into the garden a maiden and goes out a virgin no more. :)

Spoilers: I don't know, maybe?

The moon was bright and full, but it was occasionally hidden by black clouds drifting across the sky. A salty breeze swept across the landscape, blown in from the sea so far away. Louis loved these nights, when he was all alone in the hedge garden, surrounded by rose bushes and budding trees with no one else nearby. Often when he came out here, someone would be sent to find him and bring him in, but so far he was still on his own. Maybe it was the night that scared them away. It was the night before All Hallow's Eve, and the castle was full of rumors of ghosts and goblins running about. Of course Louis didn't care at all about danger. He just wanted to get away from the court for awhile.

I've never been in this part of the garden before, he suddenly realized, looking around himself. The roses here were much more wild and curled like lace. The grass seemed sharper, and the trees loomed over him. In front of him was a small well with vines growing around it. He sat down on the edge and looked into the dark, swirling waters. In the reflection, the moon shone perfectly above him, and he could see the roses around him. A few seconds later, another face joined the reflection.

Louis jumped back and stared at the newcomer. He'd never seen this man before. He had blonde hair that swept around his face like a wild creature's, and his eyes couldn't seem to decide if they wanted to be gray or blue. His skin was unnaturally white like milk, and his smile seemed a strange mix of sincerity and light-heartedness.

The stranger's dress was also unknown to him. He didn't wear the costume usually seen at the court. Instead he was clothed in a silk shirt and leather pants, with a long, flowing cloak behind him. He wore boots that went to his knees and gloves of the same material. About his neck was what looked like a miniature red dragon.

"Who...who are you?" Louis stammered.

The stranger came close and lay his hand on Louis' cheek. "Guardian of this well. Who are you that trespasses here, and give me a good reason not to punish you."

"I...merely came...to be alone," Louis tried to keep his voice steady. This man was beautiful but reeked of danger. "I meant no harm. I only wanted to pick a few roses..."

The stranger gave a cocky grin and stepped closer until they were only inches apart. He stared deep into Louis' eyes, and seized his shoulders to hold him still. "You wanted to steal the roses?"

"No," Louis shook his head vaguely, trying to clear his head. Why was this man so close to him? Why was he holding him like this? "I meant no harm, I mean that. I didn't know they weren't part of the garden. Why...?"

The other man managed to draw even nearer, and one arm snaked around Louis' waist while the other came up to hold the back of his throat in the gloved hand. Now Louis' face was tilted up so that the moonlight flashed off his eyes.

"The roses here are not yours, and yet you admit you came to steal them...what is your name, my sweet thief?"

"I...Louis," he said breathlessly. "I'm not a thief...I..."

Louis was silenced as the stranger lay his lips on his, gently forcing a kiss. For a moment, Louis could do nothing but give what was taken, almost frozen as his mouth was robbed. This kiss was warm and seemed to devour his whole body. Then he regained his senses and managed to push his way out of the man's grasp. He stumbled backward and tripped over a stone, falling into a bush and becoming tangled in the branches.

"Who are you?" he asked loudly. "I demand to know your name!"

"Lestat de Lioncourt," the man bowed elaborately, and his dragon did not fall from his neck. "And what would your name be, my sweet thief?"

"Do not call me that, I am not your sweet thief!" Louis hissed.

Lestat moved so quickly to stand in front of him, to tower over him, that Louis blinked in surprise. He tried to move, but his clothes were caught in the bush. Lestat kneeled and held his face in his hands.

"Ah, but you are my sweet thief," he insisted, caressing his cheeks. "You come to pick the roses, you resist me when I demand payment. A kiss for a rose, or...how many were you thinking of stealing? A dozen? Shall I rape your lips a dozen times? Or maybe two dozen?" His gloved hands pushed the strands of hair out of Louis' face and held him down in the bush, off balance so he couldn't escape.

Lestat's touch seemed to cast a spell over Louis, who found himself unable to move as Lestat began to take his payment. Each kiss was slow and invasive, and Lestat lingered over each one, tasting Louis' lips before and after as if they were rich delicacies. He drank Louis like a luxurious wine, becoming heady with each draught. Between each kiss, Lestat would stroke Louis' hair or hand, or even rub his thighs. The more kisses he took, the bolder he became, touching places that made his captive blush.

Once Lestat's fingers came too close to the joint between Louis' hip and thigh, and Louis bucked, trying to slap the offending hand away. His muscles were sluggish and weak, though, and he only managed to put his hand on Lestat's. Even so...

"And now my sweetling would try to stop me again?" Lestat laughed. "Such an unruly thief, trying to escape his punishment. You'll have to take more for that, another dozen or so. We haven't even finished the first twelve."

"No...stop," Louis groaned. "I'm not yours, I'm not a thief...let me go. I'm not a plaything for you...If only I could move..."

Another kiss, and this one stole his breath away for so long that for several minutes he could do nothing but gasp and pant. While he caught his breath, Lestat's hands wandered across his body, no longer caring about propriety.

"But you can't move," he smiled, stroking his throat. Louis bit his lip to try to quell his desires, to silence himself. It didn't work. He moaned at every touch. "In fact, you can't do anything I don't want you to. You're mine until you've repaid me for the roses, and you've quite a lot to pay still."

"But...I didn't even...didn't have a chance...didn't steal..."

"But you wanted to," Lestat insisted, silencing him with another kiss. He tasted every corner of Louis' mouth, raiding it like a city to be pillaged. His prisoner could not fight back or even try to keep his mouth closed, Lestat's hands could pull it wide open with a touch. Every kiss that followed was a mock to his vulnerability. "In this place, sweet thief, desire is everything." He stared into Louis' eyes, full of confusion and guilty pleasure. "Everything, indeed."

He suddenly nuzzled at Louis' throat, and Louis' head fell back as he moaned deliriously. His long hair fell into the bush and tangled up. He received another kiss, and then another one right after. Lestat broke from the second one to look down on him, on the sensual lust barely veiled in Louis' face, and he stole even more kisses. Whenever Louis tried to turn his head, no matter how slightly, Lestat would say that kiss didn't count, and he'd hold Louis' head still with his hands, and the next kiss would be even deeper and longer. There was not a corner of his captive mouth that was not touched by Lestat.

"Stop...I'll scream," Louis threatened, afraid of what he was feeling. "I'll call and..."

"No you won't," Lestat said sternly, his eyes darkening. He put his hand over Louis' throat and then made a fist. A glowing light jumped into his hand and hovered there, flickering.

Louis opened his mouth to speak, and found that he couldn't. He tried to say something, and then in a panic he tried to scream. Silence. He tried to yell, and instead his mouth was filled with a forceful kiss that was almost painful. He squirmed and bucked and twisted, but he couldn't break free.

"You can't call if you have no voice," Lestat smiled ominously, twirling the glowing voice in his fingers. "You mustn't provoke me, thief. I can be quite dangerous. This would make a pretty necklace, don't you think?"

Louis shook his head in disbelief, his eyes threatening tears. He wanted to beg and plead for it back, but all he could do was look on his captor. He looked so prettily alluring that he was kissed again, and this time he almost felt reassured that he would be all right.

Lestat grinned. "I could put this in a bottle and send it across the sea," he threatened, "or I could lock it in a stone. I could bury it deep within the earth, or hide it in a tree. I could keep you silent forever. Would you like that?"

Louis shook his head and struggled to rise, but he just fell back into the bush and trapped himself in even more. Lestat dangled his voice in front of him, teasing him cruelly.

"Would you like it back?"

Louis nodded helplessly, a pitiful look on his face.

"You won't threaten to scream? You'll only moan, and beg sweetly?"

He nodded again, and Lestat let his voice back in.

"Now, my pretty jewel, be good and all will go well with you." Lestat reached down and took off Louis' left shoe, and tossed it away. He slipped his fingers under the white stocking and slowly pulled it down, and now he caressed Louis' foot as if it belonged to him.

Louis could see what was happening, but he couldn't yet bring himself to beg Lestat to stop. Instead he watched as Lestat removed his other shoe and stocking, throwing them with the other set. Then Lestat slowly undid Louis' pants and drew them down off of him, putting them aside. This partial nakedness seemed profane in Louis' mind, but there was no denying that he was excited by it. Lestat stroked the bared thighs and kissed the unbelievably soft skin, making Louis moan.

"No, stop, stop," he cried raggedly, unable to make his voice louder than a whisper. "This is not right, not proper...this is wrong...stop, let me go..."

Lestat grinned and caressed his skin as if he were a pet. "Let you go? While I have you like this? While I have you helpless, and at my convenience? While your pants are off? I don't think so."

Louis groaned at the refusal, but he wasn't sure if he was genuinely disappointed.

"In fact, I don't have to let you go at all," Lestat continued. "I could keep you here by my well for as long as I want. You're my prisoner, aren't you?" Louis didn't answer, so Lestat kissed him again, invading him above as he intended to do below. "Aren't you my prisoner? I want to hear you say it." He gave Louis' inner thigh a little pinch, prodding him on.

"Yes, I'm your prisoner," Louis said breathlessly, wincing at the slight sting.

"And why is that?" Lestat giggled. "Is it because you're trapped in my hedge? Is that why you're my prisoner? Because you're tangled in the branches?"

"Mm-hmm," Louis whimpered as Lestat fondled him, and he wondered if it was so wrong to lay with a man after all.

"And do you know what I do with my prisoners? Do you know what I do with rose thieves?"

"Take your payment?" Louis guessed, and he was rewarded with a fiery kiss.

"Oh, yes, I take my payment," Lestat nodded with a smile. "I'll take you, my thief, and have you. Every inch of you. And you can't stop me from having my way with you."

The bush rustled a little, and then moved on its own. It leaned back, pulling Louis back with it. His shoulders and head were brought lower to the ground, and with the way the ground lay near the plant, his hips and legs slid upward. Louis looked up and saw Lestat smile, and then the gloved hands stroked his body. The feel of it made Louis moan, and he momentarily forgot that he was supposed to be fighting.

If I could have this man, Louis thought, I would keep him chained to my bed. I would make him read to me, and I would make him write things for me. He wouldn't like to give up writing himself, but the thought of having a captive lover do things at his command...I'd make him memorize poetry, and learn to sing and paint, only to amuse me.

Suddenly Lestat tore the front of his prisoner's shirt and opened it wide. Louis bucked wildly, alarmed by his sudden nudity and the drifting hands on his skin. He watched as Lestat removed his own clothes, and the dragon flew on its own to nestle in the pile they made. Lestat stretched and sighed, and Louis finally had a good look at his body. There were scars and painful looking marks, and he couldn't help but feel pity for this being.

Pity for a rapist? he thought in amazement. But I seem to be enjoying this...and he's been so gentle...

Lestat lay down on Louis, taking care not to hurt him. He wrapped his arms around the chilled body to warm him up, and he kissed Louis once more. He was only slightly surprised when Louis kissed him back.

"So now you aren't begging me to stop?' he asked playfully.

"Don't...stop," Louis whispered back.

Lestat smiled, and softly trespassed into Louis' body. Louis moaned and shuddered, and his body felt frozen and boiling at the same time. Sweat broke out over his body and he shut his eyes tight. The stars had become too bright for him. He felt tickling kisses over his throat and face as his body rocked with Lestat's masterful thrusts, and he heard Lestat moan as well. Louis put his arms around Lestat, too euphoric to realize that his arms were free now. He clutched Lestat tight against him, helping him delve deeper inside. When they finished, Lestat collapsed in exhaustion against Louis, not noticing that Louis was loose.

Louis knew he wouldn't have another chance. Moving faster than he ever thought he could, he seized Lestat and turned over, pushing Lestat into the bush and backing away a bit. The tables reversed themselves, and the vines seemed to take a life of their own. The bush wrapped around Lestat's arms and throat, holding him prisoner just as it had held Louis. Lestat looked up in shock, trying to figure out what had happened. Louis looked down at him in triumph, and now he was the one stroking a helpless body. Lestat squirmed, trying to free himself, but he couldn't get loose.

"Now," Louis smiled almost coldly, "perhaps I should take payment from you, for using me against my will? Perhaps I should leave you like this, caught in your own trap, until someone else finds you and has you. Or maybe I should only leave you for a few nights, to teach you a lesson, and come back a week from now."

Lestat opened his mouth to say something, and Louis kissed him before he could speak. "Of course, I could fence this area off, and keep you here forever, for my use."

Lestat shook his head in fear. "Please don't hurt me, please..."

"I begged you to stop," Louis said angrily. "You didn't pay attention to me."

"But you wanted me to keep going," Lestat argued.

Louis couldn't believe such arrogance. He slapped Lestat hard, making his head snap to one side and bringing out hot tears of pain. "So I wanted to be raped, is that it?" he hissed, feeling a twinge of guilt for knowing how he'd grasped at Lestat.

Lestat's eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped, as if he had been completely surprised. "Rape?" he whispered, shaking his head slowly in disbelief. "But...you came to me...no one comes here not knowing..."

Louis narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about? Is this a brothel I don't know about?"

Lestat started to cry, and the tears ran down his cheek since he couldn't wipe them away. "I'm sorry...I thought you knew...I thought...everyone comes to be punished...for stealing..."

There's more here than I know about, Louis realized. Did Lestat think I came for a night of seduction? He looked back down at him, completely naked and helpless. He didn't look dangerous. With his mask of confidence off, he was just as helpless as Louis had been. Perhaps even more. Louis had not known, but apparently he hadn't been in any real danger. Lestat was certain he would be hurt for...what? Waiting for people to come use him?

Gently, he lay his hand on Lestat's cheek, trying to make him look up. Instead Lestat jerked and tried to pull away. The bush appeared to tighten and constrict around his arms. Blood appeared from under the twigs, and Lestat winced in pain. Louis brushed the tears away for him, and kissed him softly. When he drew back, Lestat had calmed down a bit.

"I'll let you go if you promise not to run," Louis said, and Lestat nodded. Louis put his hands on the branches, meaning to break him free, but the bush just opened up and released him.

"Who are you? I've never heard the name Lioncourt here. Why are you here? You certainly aren't human, the way you steal voices and make plants obey orders."

"I am human!" Lestat argued, sitting up. "I was...I came here when I was boy, I used to live in the castle."

"Impossible," Louis shook his head. "My family has had this land for generations. The last owners died when their son disap..." He stopped cold. "Disappeared...but that was over two hundred years ago..."

"Two hundred...?" Lestat gasped. "No one told me..." his lip trembled and he started to weep. "She...she said it wouldn't be so long...it hasn't seemed like that...long..."

"Who? Who said it would be long?"

"She did...Akasha, queen of the faeries...she said I had to pay for stealing her roses...I had to stay and punish those who came...I thought I'd only been here a month or two..."

Louis looked at him closely. In the darkness, it had been hard to see him and he'd looked older, but now, crying like this, he seemed like a child. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen..."

Louis gasped and shook his head. "She put you to this?"

"She gave me a couple spells, like the bush, and the voice theft...but she bound me to the well. After awhile, people found out about me, they came to steal them so they'd be punished..." Lestat sniffled. "They said they'd tell everyone, and so many came that said they'd been told...I thought you came for it, and you looked so kind, and sad...two hundred years? Everyone I know is dead..."

Louis crawled close and put his arms around Lestat, hugging him close. "I'm sorry...I had no idea..."

Lestat put his head on Louis' shoulder and cried. "I thought I'd only get a scolding for running away. I didn't think I'd never see them again. Even if she does let me go, I'll die. I don't know anything about the world except this garden."

Louis stroked his hair and kissed him again. He wanted to stay close to him, and comfort him, but it was not to be. There was a bright flash of lightning that burned green, and a roaring sound that came closer and closer to them. Lestat looked up in fear.

"She's coming, she's coming, you have to go! She'll kill you if she sees you!"

"Who?"

"Akasha! Go, please, run!" Lestat pushed him away and hurried to dress. "Go! Take Mojo with you!"

"Mojo?"

"My dragon! He used to be a dog, but she wouldn't let me keep a dog, so she changed him! Now go!"

Louis scooped up the dragon, who was remarkably lethargic, but instead of leaving, he ran behind the hedge of rose bushes and hid. He could see Lestat trembling and backing up as someone came down the path. There was a burst of flames, and then a tall woman on a black horse rode into view, coming right up to Lestat.

"Boy, your time here is at an end!"

"I...what? I don't understand--"

"Of course not, you're only a stupid mortal! Tomorrow night is the tithing. Every All Hallow's Eve we must sacrifice five of our own to Hell, and this year you have been selected. You'll ride a white horse with a blue cloak right into the very maw of the pit!" She reached down and with one hand dragged Lestat up onto the horse, and rode back whence she came before he could beg for his life.

Louis stood up in awe. So much in one night...and so much for tomorrow night, as well, he vowed. Lestat would not die, he would not allow it!

The next night Louis stole away once more from the castle, and he ran back to the rose patch. Mojo lay in the branches above him, idly puffing smoke. Louis sat down and waited for hours, and for a moment he wondered if the faeries would take this road at all, but then he heard the sound of horns playing and flutes piping high into the air. He nestled himself back into the shadows.

First came the queen, riding sidesaddle and turning her face towards the moonlight. Then came several elfin lords and ladies, and faerie minstrels, all riding dark horses and looking rather bored. Then came five white horses. Four of the riders seemed to be proud of what they were doing, and wore green finery and smiles. The last of the five, however, was weeping quietly. His arms had been tied severely behind his back so he couldn't escape, and his mouth was gagged so the faeries wouldn't have to hear him wail. He was covered in a blue cloak.

Not knowing if he would survive this, Louis waited until Lestat was right in front of him, then darted out and jumped, catching hold of him. He pulled the gag away and was about to help Lestat run when the queen turned and screamed at them.

"Hold me tight and don't let go," Lestat whispered frantically. "I won't hurt you, but just hold me and put me in the well--"

"You won't have our sacrifice!" Akasha yelled at Louis.

Suddenly the warm body in his arms seemed to melt away, and for a moment, Louis was certain he'd lost Lestat. Then he felt something wriggling in his hands and instinctively caught it. He looked down and saw a tiny mouse twitching in fright. As he watched, the mouse shifted and grew and grew. He was left holding the sinewy body of a gigantic serpent that twisted and coiled around him. He clutched at the snake, though, praying that Lestat had meant he wouldn't hurt him. All he had to go by was that hurried whisper.

Then the shape in his arms changed again, and now he held a huge lion that roared and snapped at him, flailing with its massive paws. Louis shut his eyes in fear, and his grip tightened. The lion threw its weight to one side, and they both fell to the dirt. Louis gasped as the wind was knocked from him, but he never let go. Then the struggling stopped. He was grasping an iron bar that burned white hot against him. Remembering what little Lestat had said, he ran for the well, dodging screaming faeries, and thrust the iron into the water, still not loosening his grip. Steam sputtered from the well, and then he was holding something soft and warm again. Louis helped Lestat up out of the well and wrapped his own cloak around him, covering his nakedness.

"I knew you'd rescue me," Lestat whispered, resting his head on Louis' shoulder.

"I couldn't abandon you to her," Louis answered and held him tight.

There was a loud roaring to their right, and they both looked up in fright. A firestorm opened up in front of the faerie procession, and the four sacrificial victims were immediately drawn in. Instead of closing, though, the wall of flames raged brighter and began to expand. The faeries screamed in terror and tried to ride away, but the queen, who had been at the head of the procession, was slowly pulled backward toward the flames. She fell from her horse, which ran off, and she clawed at the ground, trying to stop her slide. Two tendrils of fire and smoke thrust out at her and wound around her waist. Akasha screamed one last time before she disappeared into hell, and the gate closed with the fifth victim.

Lestat sighed wearily, and Louis put his arms around him supportively. This was a night they would talk about for years to come.

"Can you walk to the castle?" he asked.

Lestat nodded, but as they went, his bare feet kept finding burrs and sharp stones so that Louis finally picked him up and carried him. Lestat fell asleep along the way and woke up in Louis' bed, unknowingly already presented to King Marius and already betrothed to Louis. Mojo lay curled up on the corner.

He sat up in bed as Louis came in with a book in hand. Louis smiled at him and slipped into bed, giving the book to Lestat.

"I want you to read to me," Louis said, laying his head on his chest.

Lestat opened the book, but he held back a moment. "You...aren't angry with me?"

Louis looked up at him. "You mean for what you did near the well?"

Lestat nodded.

Louis laughed and lay back again. "Don't worry, I'll find some way to take my payment from you."

The End