First
person survey for: Madame Victoria Sanguine
Name Given at Birth: Victoria Rose Sanguine
Nicknames: Madame
Hometown or where you were born: Guildford, Surrey, England
Current Residence: A decaying mansion on the outskirts of London where I keep a brothel.
Age: 161 years since my birth, 115 years since I was made a vampire.
Class: Born lower middle class, made a rather nice living as an actress.
Are you dead or alive? Dead but pretty lively.
If dead, how did you die or how were you sired? In the early 1700’s, when actresses were still a novelty and all the rage, I made quite a name for myself as "Victoria Rose". Over the years, I had a series of wealthy patrons, both male and female. The gentlemen flattered me greatly and I would spend intimate evenings with my favorite of the moment, but I found my female admirers much more interesting. One of them was Elizabeth Barrow, a beautiful aristocratic woman who attended my performances regularly. Though I had never actually met her, she sent me kind notes and small gifts and I was able to spot her from the stage in her private box. She was sometimes alone, but more often accompanied by a series of different young women. The girls were always pretty but usually shabbily dressed and it warmed my heart that she was extending her charity to these unfortunates. This went on for several months. Then a new young lady appeared, a child really, who seemed to become Miss Barrow’s constant companion. The quiet, well-dressed pair looked enough alike that I thought perhaps the girl was her niece or even her daughter.
One evening I was pleased and surprised to receive a message asking if Miss Elizabeth Barrow and her ward Olivia could visit me in my dressing room after the play. I found that in person, Miss Barrow held a mysterious, magnetic fascination for me. When she and the silent Olivia invited me to accompany them to dinner in their carriage, I eagerly accepted. That is the last I remember of that evening. I never saw another sunrise.
Short term goal: To maintain the Ancient One’s power by successfully completing the ceremony involving the chalice.
Long term goal: To keep the Ancient One’s love and grow in power with her.
What do you do, your main function in life/society? I run a bordello that is both a thriving business and a source of sustenance for its vampire residents. I do actually provide pleasure and pastime for many mortals but the brothel exists mainly as an endless feast for the Ancient One and her coven.
Have you ever taken a life? An average of one a week for 115 years—you can do the sum. This week, however, is looking to be above average.
Have you ever committed or been convicted of a crime? Though some would have called my life as an actress immoral, I never committed an actual crime as a living woman. I consider myself above human law now, though my very existence would be considered by most to be against natural law.
Closest friends/How did you meet? Other than the Ancient One, I have no true friends now, though I suppose you could say I have several "blood sisters". Alicia and Bridget are companionable and the other harlots respect and obey me, but there is no trust between any of us. Alicia and I have a certain bond because I sired her. Though there is no emotional attachment, I enjoy sharing physical affection with whichever of the women is nearby.
Pets: Filth is my current pet—they don’t last long. I do feel very tender towards him—right after I’ve ripped him to shreds.
Favorite food: Blood is the only food allowed to me now—what I miss most is garlic. Of course, I didn’t indulge very often when I was an actress—patrons and leading men object to garlic breath almost as much as vampires.
Favorite place to relax: Behind thick velvet curtains with Filth within scratching distance.
Favorite Drink: Blood when it’s still hot. It is Filth’s task to keep our stored wine at the proper temperature, but the texture is never the same as blood fresh from the vein.
What's your bedtime? An hour before sunrise.
What, if anything, do you usually wear on your feet? Black boots with heels, the better to walk on my victims.
Are you married or single? Eternally single
Do you have a family / who are they: The Ancient One could be called my parent, Olivia my sibling, Alicia my child, and the other harlots my wards—but that is certainly not a good description of how we function together. I left my birth family at the age of 13 to make my way in London.
Favorite Entertainment: Listening to the screams of my victims. I know at one time I was a kind and compassionate woman. The long years in the service of the Ancient One have changed my tastes.
Most Humiliating Moment: When I was a new vampire just learning to kill quickly and discreetly, the Ancient One would critique my technique in the presence of little Olivia. The child-vampire was merciless in her taunting until I became stronger than she (and higher in the Ancient One’s favor). I have long since forgiven the Ancient One. I have never forgiven Olivia.
Proudest Moment: When I was living, King Charles himself once summoned me for a private performance. It lasted all night and I lived on the proceeds for several months.
What do you look for in the opposite sex? When I was living, money, wit and charm, no matter the age or appearance. Now I look for health and vitality as well as a certain depth of feeling—the passionate ones suffer so much more than the shallower ones.
In our Hierarchical Society everybody has somebody "over" them, who is your immediate "overlord"? The Ancient One, Elizabeth Barrow.
How do you feel about that person? I worship and adore her, not the least because my continued existence is dependant on hers.
Favorite sport to watch: My former pets descending into madness and their beastly antics.
Do you remember your first kiss? My first stage kiss was in a musical version of "Taming of the Shrew". My first real kiss was with a lovelorn stagehand—he was sweet, but I was after money, so it was the last kiss I gave him.
Do you keep in touch with your childhood friends? No, they’ve all been dead for ages except one. Valentine, a girl who ran away to London with me to go on the stage, was the one human I continued to see after I became a vampire. As she aged I begged her to join me in my eternal existence—I was being selfish, as I was lonely. When she was nearly crippled with illness and death seemed very near, she finally agreed. She soon regretted her decision, finding life as a vampire intolerable, and disappeared. I do not think she destroyed herself, as I am sure I would feel it. But I have no idea where she is.
Do you have dirt/mud floors or stone? Wood, except in the kitchen and the cellar, where the floor is stone.
What is your bed made of? I have a very fine bed with thick curtains in an inner room—it is so well insulated from daylight that I can sleep in it if I choose.
How many people sleep in your bed? Only me, but I keep Filth within reach unless he is on a daylight errand.
10 Things Everybody Should Know About Me:
1. I enjoy being a vampire—I love the power and the pleasure it has provided me.
2. The Ancient One is the only vampire who has power over me and her anger is the only thing I truly fear.
3. I do care, in my way, for the harlots of my brothel—we share an intimacy unlike any I knew as a human. But in the long run I am looking out only for myself.
4. I resent Olivia for being eternally young, while I was taken past the bloom of youth. I am also jealous that she was close to the Ancient One before I was, and humiliated me when I was newborn. I deal with these emotions by keeping her dressed in a childish fashion and treating her as I might a doll.
5. The chained maniacs were all first my clients, then my pets, as Filth is now. I begin to tire of him and shall soon be looking for a new favorite for my entertainment.
6. Speaking of entertainment, I prefer males for playthings and females for food. I am much more likely to kill a woman quickly for her blood, while a man can provide days or even months of diversion.
7. I control my pets by the amulet they wear on their collars. The Ancient One used to wear the necklace that rules them, but passed that responsibility on to me about 30 years ago.
8. I take most of my kills from the streets of London, where they are not likely to be traced to the brothel. Most of our clients at the bordello exit unharmed—we may drink a little from them without their knowledge, but we maintain our illusion of an "honest" business.
9. I maintain an excellent library at the brothel and all the girls know how to read. I find that reading is one thing that makes an endless existence exciting—in over a century I have never run out of new material. Also, when you pick up a book or a play that you last read 80 years ago, it’s almost as good as reading it for the first time.
10. I am mystically linked to the Ancient One in a way that is rare among our kind—we have discovered that we are able to combine our power and, in so doing, become stronger than any single vampire can possibly overcome.