Lazy Days

© Anna Qureshi 

Disclaimer: the characters in this story are owned by Spelling Inc./Fox and Revolution 
Films. (Except Julian?s family, which I made up). By using them I am in no way trying to 
infringe on their rights nor will I attempt to make any money from this story. The 
concept of "Vampire, The Masquerade" on which the television series "Kindred, the 
Embraced" was based is owned by White Wolf. 

Julian exhaled lazily as he floated in the water letting the sunlight caress his face. 
Days like these were to be treasured. There hadn?t been many of them since his 
father had decided to uproot his family including his then twelve-year-old son 
from  New Orleans and bring them to San Francisco in search of gold. Not that 
the Lunas had needed more wealth. Even amongst the aristocratic community of 
New Orleans the family had been quite well off. But gold had always been the 
greatest allure in the life of Francisco Alessandro Luna. Though if nothing else 
Julian had rid himself of that pest of a girl, who had made his life miserable by 
following him everywhere, much to the amusement of his friends. He still caught 
himself turning around to see if she was there, even now full three years after they 
had left New Orleans. Evelyn d?Armagnac had been five years old when they had 
first met. At two years her senior he had at first been kind to the little girl. Right 
until the day the little minx had walked all the way from the French Quarters to 
the Luna mansion outside of town. There she had asked to see his father. 
Francisco had laughed for a week after Evelyn?s solemn request that he give her 
his son?s hand in marriage. Of course it hadn?t helped that his father had taken a 
shine to Evelyn and invited her to spend the weekend at "Shadows in the Mist", 
the family plantation. Evelyn had clearly taken the invitation as some sort of 
blessing and had continued to pursue Julian with the determination of an army 
general. Everywhere he went she just happened to turn up. Once he had snapped 
and yelled at her in front of his friends. He could still remember the sick feeling 
in his stomach at the sight of tears forming in her eyes. The next day he had gone 
swimming in a nearby creek only to find his clothes missing upon his return to the 
shore. It had taken half an hour to locate Evelyn sitting behind some rose bushes 
hugging his clothes to her chest. The look in her eyes had stopped him from 
tearing them away from her. She hadn?t cried, but there had been something 
terribly lost in her eyes. Something that had made him feel like the worst 
scoundrel in the world. It still made him wonder about his own sanity, when he 
thought of the ten-year-old boy sitting naked beside a little girl on a sunny 
afternoon. Yet it had seemed right to just sit there trying to reassure her that one 
day they would get married and have lost of babies. They just needed to be a little 
older first. Evelyn had raised her head and smiled through the tears, like the sun 
breaking through the clouds. He remembered looking at her and thinking that they 
probably would get married, but then his father had been caught up in the latest 
gold rush and that had been that. From that day and until they boarded the train 
that was to take them on the first step of their journey Evelyn had kept on 
following him around. Not only had she turned herself into a regular tomboy in 
the process, but the story of her devotion had spread through the city until people 
had started to invite her if they invited Julian and the d?Armagnac family if they 
invited the Lunas. 

Ah, well, enough memories for one day. His eldest brother was coming to visit all 
the way from New Orleans, where their father had left his Louisiana businesses in 
Damien?s hands. While drying himself Julian wondered briefly if there were 
anymore changes in the near future. Somehow the air had a slightly restless 
feeling to it. He knew that his father hadn?t been as taken with the California 
lifestyle as expected. Would they move again? 

By the time he got back to the house his brother had already arrived. His mother?s 
salon was filled with laughter and happiness as the Lunas caught up on each 
others? lives. And there was Damien in the centre of the room teasing and hugging 
his brothers and sister. "Julian!" Damien?s voice brought everyone to a halt. "Hey 
brother I bring you greetings from New Orleans," a mischievous grin warned 
Julian of what was to come, "The sweet Evelyn sends you her love and tells me 
that she can?t wait to see you again." Julian when are you going to marry her? 
When are you going to put the girl out of her misery, Julian? Oh, Julian how 
many babies have the two of you planned to have? Picked any names yet? Oh, 
Julian has the date been set? The teasing had gone on all night and continued the 
next morning until his father?s surprise announcement. He had decided to leave 
the San Francisco business in the hands of his second son, Alessandro, and take his 
wife and two youngest sons, Julian and Lucien, back to New Orleans. Damien 
would go to New York where Francisco?s brother, Angelo, would teach him the 
finer points of international trade. Their sister Alianora would go to Boston where 
she would attend a ladies academy for the two years until she was ready for her 
debut. Julian felt his head whirl. He had suspected yesterday that things might 
change and that that had been the reason behind Damien?s visit. Yet the 
knowledge that his family would all but split up and divide themselves between 
four states came as a total surprise. Then all of sudden something occurred  to him 
and as his eyes met Damien?s across the table the thought became certainty. This 
might all be news to Julian, but Damien had known. Known and told. When the 
family returned to New Orleans they would be expected. God had decided to put 
Evelyn Edith d?Armagnac in his way again?